‘Stranger Things 4’ is Netflix’s no. 3 most popular TV season among Eng-lang titles

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‘Stranger Things 4’ is Netflix’s no. 3 most popular TV season among Eng-lang titles

The debut of the first seven episodes of ‘Stranger Things Season 4’ marked Netflix’s biggest premiere weekend ever, drawing in 287 million hours viewed in just three days.

According to ‘Variety’, now, after the season’s first full week of availability, its success continued and broke another, and bigger, record: It’s Netflix’s third most popular English-language TV season ever.

Netflix calculates that list based on viewership during a title’s first 28 days of availability, meaning the ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 still has 18 days to move even higher up the chart, reports Variety’.

According to the streamer’s newly released weekly Top 10 rankings, ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4, Volume 1 has also smashed the record for the most-viewed show in a week among Netflix’s English-language TV series, with 335 million hours watched from May 30 to June 5.

That title was previously held by the second season of ‘Bridgerton’, which racked up 251.74 million hours viewed for the week of March 28 to April 3 – its first full week on the streaming service.

South Korean drama ‘Squid Game’ still holds the overall record for the most-viewed show on Netflix across a seven-day period, among both English-language and non-English-language titles, with 571.76 million hours viewed in one week.

With those impressive stats, ‘Stranger Things 4′ easily retained its No. 1 position on Netflix’s Top 10 list for English-language TV series during the May 30-June 5 viewing window.

Season 1 of the Duffer brothers’ science fiction series reappeared in the Top 10 the week before Season 4 premiered, and last week, the second and third seasons made the chart as well.

According to ‘Variety’, that trend continued this week: Season 1 led the pack, coming in second place after being viewed for 75.1 hours between May 30 and June 6. Season 2 followed in the No. 3 position with 58.3 million hours viewed, with Season 3 as No. 4 with 47.4 million hours. All in all, ‘Stranger Things’ was viewed for a collective 515.8 million hours during this viewing period.

The continued relevance of the series is undeniable. Nielsen reported on Monday that the combined viewing of all four seasons made ‘Stranger Things’ the third series ever to pull in over 5 billion minutes viewed in one week, and that statistic doesn’t account for viewing on mobile devices or in other countries.

The last two episodes of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 will premiere on July 1.

ln, the No. 5 position on the Top 10 English-language TV series list for May 30 to June 5 with 42.5 million hours viewed as ‘The Lincoln Lawyer, and Season 4 of ‘All American’ came in sixth place with 30.6 million hours.

Elsewhere on the chart were ‘Ozark’ Season 4 (16.8 million), ‘The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib’ (10.5 million hours), ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2 (10 million hours), and ‘The Blacklist’ Season 8 (8.7 million hours).

Samyuktha: ‘777 Charlie’ made me relive many moments I’ve had with my dogs

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Samyuktha: ‘777 Charlie’ made me relive many moments I’ve had with my dogs

Actress Samyuktha Hegde, who recently watched actor Rakshit Shetty’s upcoming film, ‘777 Charlie’, has heaped praises on both the film and its cast and crew.

Taking to Instagram to wish the actor a belated birthday, the actress said, “Happy belated birthday to you. Watching ‘777 Charlie’ yesterday made me relive so many of the moments I’ve had with my dogs over the years. It was such an apt movie with the best kinda execution. You captured all the emotions so well.

“You are a freaking star, for doing a whole movie with Charlie. I’m sure it must have been tough considering everything I saw on screen but you have outdone yourself. So freaking real.

“The cast, the crew everyone outperformed themselves to deliver an emotional flick like one we haven’t seen before. It plays all the strings of your heart and shows how a dog can make your life so much better.

“This movie is a must-watch, especially for people who DON’T have dogs. PS: Kannada movies taking over the whole country!”

The film, which has been directed by Kiranraj K, features Rakshit Shetty and Sangeetha Sringeri in the lead. It is to hit screens on June 10 this year.

India records nearly 41% jump in new Covid cases

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India records nearly 41% jump in new Covid cases

India reported a nearly 41 percent spike in new Covid-19 cases in a span of 24 hours.

A total of 5,233 fresh cases were recorded in a span of 24 hours as against 3,714 reported on the previous day, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday morning.

In the same period, the country has reported 7 Covid deaths, taking the nationwide death toll to 5,24,715.

Meanwhile, the active caseload of the country has also risen to 28,857 cases, accounting for 0.07 percent of the country’s total positive cases.

The recovery of 3,345 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,26,36,710. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.72 percent.

Meanwhile, India’s daily positivity rate has gone up to 1.67 percent, while the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 1.12 percent.

Also in the same period, a total of 3,13,361 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall tally to over 85.35 crores.

As of Wednesday morning, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 194.43 crores achieved via 2,48,41,726 sessions.

Over 3.46 crore adolescents have been administered with a first dose of Covid-19 jab since the beginning of the vaccination drive for this age bracket.

 

1st T20I: Hazlewood, Warner, and Finch lead Australia to a convincing 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka

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1st T20I: Hazlewood, Warner, and Finch lead Australia to a convincing 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka

A sensational bowling effort by Josh Hazlewood (4/16) followed by a dominating batting performance by David Warner (70 not out off 44) and Aaron Finch (61 not out off 40) led Australia to a convincing 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the three-match series at R Premadasa Stadium, here on Tuesday.

Apart from Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc (3/26) also picked crucial wickets as Australia bowled out Sri Lanka for 128-10 in 19.3 overs.

With such a low total to defend, Sri Lanka didn’t have many options but to attack with spin upfront. So, Maheesh Theekshana opened the bowling and Wanindu Hasaranga bowled the fifth over, only for the latter to concede 19 runs in what was the most expensive over in the match.

David Warner raced to a 32-ball fifty as Aaron Finch played second fiddle, bringing up his fifty off 37 balls much later in the rain-punctuated game. Australia brought up their 100 in the 12th over and was able to overhaul the under-par target in 14 overs with 10 wickets in hand.

Earlier, put into bat first, Sri Lanka was off to a solid opening partnership as they scored 59 for 0 in the Powerplay. Pathum Nissanka (36) was the first to be dismissed, ending his 61-run stand with Charith Asalanka but it didn’t affect Sri Lanka’s innings much as the hosts got to 100 for 1 in the 12th over.

But, Hazlewood returned in the 14th over and produced Sri Lanka’s downfall. The pacer struck with his first ball, getting Kusal Mendis caught at cover. A couple of balls later, Bhanuka Rajapaksa edged one to the keeper while Hazlewood’s third was the big fish Shanaka, who was trapped right in front.

It wasn’t just Hazlewood, Sri Lanka also had two batters in Charith Asalanka (38 run out) and Chamika Karunaratne run out to push themselves deeper into the hole. Both runouts happened in the space of four balls which brought chaos for Sri Lanka in the middle overs.

Starc then came back on and helped wrap things up with a couple of wickets in the 19th over. The hosts in effect never really recovered from that over by Hazlewood and were bowled out with three balls left in the innings.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 128 all out in 19.3 overs (Asalanka 38; Hazlewood 4-16, Starc 3-26) lost to Australia 134/0 in 14 overs (Warner 70 not out, Finch 61 not out) by 10 wickets

Investors lose Rs 1.2 lakh cr as LIC shares tumble 20% below the issue price

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Investors lose Rs 1.2 lakh cr as LIC shares tumble 20% below the issue price

Those investors who had put their money in the initial public offerings of Life Insurance Corporation of India had experienced a heavy depreciation in their portfolio, as the shares of the insurance major have been tumbling ever since its exchange listing.

The government had offloaded 3.5 percent of its stake through the IPO route. The IPO valued LIC at Rs 6 lakh crore.

At the time of writing this report, the company’s market capitalization was at around Rs 4.8 lakh crore, which essentially means the investors have lost worth Rs 1.2 lakh crore recently.

The shares of the much-awaited LIC made a weak listing on the stock exchanges on May 17. It is listed on the stock exchanges at a discount of 8.62 percent at Rs 867, from its IPO issue price of Rs 949.

Now the share price is at its all-time low of Rs 756, which is a decline of little over 20 percent from its issue price.

Notably, the IPO of the company had, however, received a robust response from investors as the insurance major’s offer has been subscribed 2.89 times.

It received bids for 46.77 crore equity shares against the IPO size of 16.2 crore equity shares.

To attract a large number of investors, the policyholders were offered a Rs 60 discount, while for retail investors, the discount was Rs 45.

Coming to earnings, the state-run insurance company reported its consolidated net profit of Rs 2,409 crore during Q4FY22, down 17 percent year-on-year from the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

The insurance company’s consolidated income from net premium income during the quarter rose nearly 18 percent to Rs 1,44,158 lakh crore, the earnings report shared with the exchanges showed.

Notably, these are the first earnings results reported by the company after it went public on the exchanges.

It had also recommended a dividend of Rs 1.50 per equity share for FY22, which is subject to the approval of shareholders in the annual general meeting.

 

How Dhoni remains calm at the crease is amazing, says Dwaine Pretorius

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How Dhoni remains calm at the crease is amazing, says Dwaine Pretorius

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) 33-year-old South African all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has said that the biggest thing he has learnt from Mahendra Singh Dhoni is “how to remain calm at the crease”.

Pretorius, who will now be turning out in South Africa colours in the five-match T20I series against India beginning in New Delhi on June 9, said that he likes Dhoni’s philosophy of, “anything is always possible”.

Dhoni has successfully guided CSK to four Indian Premier League titles, and when the chips were down for CSK this season, Ravindra Jadeja handed over the captaincy reins back to the veteran cricketer.

“Anything is always possible. I really enjoyed playing under Dhoni and batting with him. Seeing the brand he has in India shows you how big he is and what he’s done for the sport in this country,” said Pretorius in a press conference ahead of South Africa’s T20I series against India.

“The biggest thing I learnt from him (Dhoni) is how calm he is at the crease, and how much he tries to take pressure off himself and put it onto the bowler. He made me realise that, at the death, the batter isn’t under more pressure. It’s actually the bowler who is under more pressure. You can still lose the match if you have to defend 18 off the last three balls, and as a batter you can actually win it. It was a fresh mindset,” added Pretorius.

Pretorius also stated that Dhoni is very optimistic and always believes that anything is possible on the cricket field.

“He doesn’t get too excited. He doesn’t get too down on himself. Anything is always possible. He’s very optimistic. He believes he can do anything. I’m going to try and bring that into my game – the calmness but also the self-belief that, from any position, any game can be won,” concluded Pretorius.

 

Necklace bead extracted from infant’s lungs in Kerala

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Necklace bead extracted from infant’s lungs in Kerala

A necklace bead, which accidentally got stuck in the lungs of a year-old child, was successfully removed by a team of doctors at a hospital near here.

A couple — Binshad and Fathima — noticed a severe cough in their one-year-old kid.

They immediately took him to a nearby hospital, where an X-ray revealed the presence of a foreign body in the child’s lungs.

After being referred to two-three hospitals due to the complexity, the infant was finally taken to Amrita Hospital.

A team of doctors headed by Dr. Tinku Joseph, Chief Interventional Pulmonologist successfully removed the impacted necklace bead from the upper lobe of the left lung by rigid bronchoscopy procedure.

“The impacted foreign body was the cause of recurrent chest infection which the child suffered from, and such rare instances should be suspected in both pediatric and adult age groups who suffer from recurrent non-resolving pneumonia.

“The procedure lasted for nearly 30 minutes and the child was discharged from the hospital within 24 hours after the procedure. The removal was a difficult task. In this case, it was impacted within one of the most difficult sites to retrieve a foreign body, the left upper lobe,” said Dr Joseph.

It is believed that the child would have accidentally aspirated it while playing. However, the child’s parents were unaware of how it exactly happened.

 

Varun Dhawan promises to help fan who said she and her mother are facing domestic abuse

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Varun Dhawan promises to help fan who said she and her mother are facing domestic abuse

Bollywood star Varun Dhawan has promised to help a fan after she tweeted that her father abuses her and her mother.

Varun replied to a fan who asked for help alleging she and her mother are facing domestic abuse from her father.

The ‘Badlapur’ star assured the fan that he will speak to authorities about the matter.

The user wrote: “Respected Sir, I have been beaten and abused by my father several times. He abuses me and my mother every single day. He, for days, doesn’t let me eat food, also threatens us by using curse words and abusive language.”

She detailed her father’s abusive nature in other tweets, noting that she had complained against him once but the Gujarat Police let him off after a few hours.

She shared that her father repeated the same cycle.

Tagging Gujarat Police, she tweeted: “I have lost my hopes for getting the help when needed from the police, this is not right. The women’s helpline is also unable to provide us with help. Kindly please look into this matter as soon as possible Sir.”

Varun noticed the fan’s tweet and responded to it.

He wrote: “This is an extremely serious matter and if this is true I will help you and speak to the authorities.” The fan retweeted his post, and also thanked him for coming forward to help her. She wrote, “Thank you so much Vede. I’ll forever be grateful to you.”

 

‘RRR’ choreographer Prem Rakshith on board for Vishnu Manchu, Sunny Leone’s next

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‘RRR’ choreographer Prem Rakshith on board for Vishnu Manchu, Sunny Leone’s next

After the phenomenal success of ‘Naatu Naatu’ from director S.S. Rajamouli’s epic ‘RRR’, choreographer Prem Rakshith will next be designing steps for Vishnu Manchu and Sunny Leone in director Eeshaan Surya’s upcoming Telugu film.

A source says, “The shooting of the movie is currently on in Hyderabad. The team this week will be canning a special dance number on Vishnu and Sunny at a specially built set in Ramoji Film City.”

The much-awaited film starring Vishnu alongside actress Payal Rajput is an action-comedy entertainer, being directed by Eeshaan Surya. The movie features Sunny Leone in a key role.

The source also adds, “This film is designed to be a commercial entertainer and is gaining good buzz with every passing day. Besides the stardom of Vishnu, the film is going to have racy dance numbers.

“Earlier, they’d got Prabhu Deva to do a dance sequence, and now Rakshith. The choreography is superlative. The actors will be training for a few days before the shoot commences.”

Prem Rakshith says, “It is an absolute joy to be working with Vishnu and Sunny. It’s a great song and we’ve had a blast creating the steps for it. It’s an energetic track and with their vibe, they will only elevate the dance number.”

The story has been written by G Nageshwar Reddy, who had earlier directed two blockbusters with Vishnu Manchu – ‘Dhenikaina Reddy’ and ‘Edo Rakam Ado Rakam’.

The story and screenplay have been penned by Kona Venkat, who’s also the creative producer of the film. Cinematographer Chota K Naidu is behind the lens while Anup Rubens is composing the pulsating music.

Karan Johar reveals he’s a big Sai Pallavi fan

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Karan Johar reveals he’s a big Sai Pallavi fan

Bollywood bigwig Karan Johar took to Twitter to share the recently-released theatrical trailer of Rana Daggubati and Sai Pallavi-starrer Virata Parvam’.

The excited Bollywood filmmaker announced that he is a huge fan of actress Sai Pallavi, as he shared the trailer of the actress.

Praising Rana-Sai Pallavi’s ‘Virata Parvam’ trailer, he wrote, “This looks fantastic Rana!!!!” he tweeted. “I’m excited to see it! Intensely raw and enthralling!!! You’re fantastic! I’m also a big Sai Pallavi fan!”

Sai Pallavi has been hailed as one of the most accomplished actresses of her generation, and the trailer for ‘Virata Parvam’ demonstrates her versatility in the role.

‘Virata Parvam’ will be released on June 17 and is directed by Venu Udugula. This film features Naveen Chandra, Nivetha Pethuraj, Eeswari Rao, Priyamani, and others in important roles. The film’s music is composed by Suresh Bobbili.

 

Lavanya Tripathi-starrer ‘Happy Birthday’ teaser out

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Lavanya Tripathi-starrer ‘Happy Birthday’ teaser out

Happy Birthday is a Telugu upcoming Film starring Lavanya Tripathi, Naresh Agastya, Satya Akkala, Vennela Kishore, and more. The movie is directed by Ritesh Rana and produced by Chiranjeevi, Hemalatha Pedamallu, Clap Entertainment, and Mythri Movie Makers.

The makers of the movie have released the teaser of the film ‘Happy Birthday’.

 

The rape of three more minor girls comes to light in Hyderabad

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The rape of three more minor girls comes to light in Hyderabad

Three more incidents of rape of minor girls have come to light in Hyderabad even as the police investigation continued in the May 28 gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl by five persons in a car.

Since the sensational case of sexual assault in posh Jubilee Hills came to light, a total of five more cases have been reported. Two of these crimes were reported in the old city on Sunday.

In one of the latest reported incidents, police arrested five accused of sexually exploiting a minor girl in the name of friendship. Police also arrested the owners of two lodges, where the accused exploited her.

Karkhana police clarified that it was not a gang rape but the accused exploited the girl in different days in two lodges. The accused include two juveniles.

A case was registered at Karkhana police station on May 30 on a complaint by the victim’s father. According to police, the accused developed friendships with the class 10 student over social media. They allegedly took some photographs of the victim in a compromising position and continued blackmailing her.

In two other cases, two minor orphan girls were sexually assaulted by youngsters who had developed friendships with them. Both the victims were students of a junior college in the city.

The incidents occurred in April but came to light after the warden of the girls’ hostel learned about it and lodged a complaint with the police.

Two cases were registered under zero FIR at Humayun Nagar police station and later transferred to Ramgopalpet and Rajendra Nagar police stations. The accused were booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

One of the victims was sexually assaulted by one Suresh in a car on Necklace Road abutting Hussain Sagar in the heart of the city. The 23-year-old accused sexually assaulted the victim by calling her for a birthday party of a friend.

In the second incident, the victim was lured and raped by a minor boy at a theatre at a shopping mall in the Attapur area. The accused allegedly took the victim out of the theatre in the middle of a show and sexually assaulted her on the same premises.

Police apprehended the juvenile and sent him to an observation home.

We originally planned to have our wedding at Tirupati: Vignesh Shivan

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We originally planned to have our wedding at Tirupati: Vignesh Shivan

Director Vignesh Shivan, who is to wed actress Nayanthara at a popular resort in Mahabalipuram on Thursday, said on Tuesday that they had originally planned to get married at Tirupati.

Talking to media persons ahead of his wedding, Vignesh Shivan, after making an official announcement about their wedding, said that they had to change the venue because of logistic issues.

The director, who thanked mediapersons for their support and encouragement in different stages of his career as a director, producer, and lyric writer, said that he was moving to the next stage in his personal life as well.

Vignesh Shivan said, “I am moving to the next stage of my personal life. On June 9, I will be getting married to the love of my life, Nayanthara. It has been planned as an intimate event with only a small circle of family and friends attending.

“We had originally planned the wedding at Tirupati but there were logistic issues,” he said and pointed out that they chose this option because of practical difficulties.

The director disclosed that they would share photos of their wedding in the afternoon of June 9 and added that both Nayan and he would meet the media on June 11.

 

‘NBK107’ makers tease fans with Balakrishna poster

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‘NBK107’ makers tease fans with Balakrishna poster

The makers of Nandamuri Balakrishna’s upcoming film, tentatively titled ‘NBK107’ and directed by Gopichand Malineni, have released some exciting news along with a poster.

“NBK107 First Hunt Loading,” the team announced on this poster, which only shows Balakrishna’s hands. Fans of Balakrishna will be ecstatic to learn of this, as they will undoubtedly expect a special presentation on the actor’s birthday.

On the occasion of the ‘Akhanda’ actor’s birthday on June 10, the makers of ‘NBK107’ are expected to release the title announcement along with an introductory teaser.

The upcoming film, which is billed as a commercial potboiler, also stars Shruti Haasan.

Kannada star Duniya Vijay is venturing into Tollywood with this movie where he is playing the antagonist. Varalaxmi Sarathkumar will be seen in a significant role.

Naveen Yerneni and Y Ravi Shankar are producing the film under the Mythri Movie Makers banner. S. Thaman is the music director for ‘NBK107’.

 

iOS 16, iPadOS 16 announced with major updates

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iOS 16, iPadOS 16 announced with major updates

Apple has previewed the latest iOS 16, along with 16, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura, and watchOS 9 and it also confirmed that public betas of these OS’ will be available in July through the company’s testing website.

The tech giant said that the iOS 16 delivers the biggest update ever to the Lock Screen with new features that make it more beautiful, personal, and helpful.

“iOS 16 is a big release with updates that will change the way you experience iPhone,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said in a statement.

“We have reimagined how the Lock Screen looks and works with exciting new features that make it more personal and helpful,” he added.

With iOS 16, the company has introduced iCloud Shared Photo Library for families, streamlined communication through new capabilities in Messages and Mail, and harnessed enhanced intelligence with updates to Live Text and Visual Look Up.

Users can also create Lock Screens using their favourite emoji or colour combinations. With multiple Lock Screens, users can switch between their favourites with just a swipe.

Live Activity is a new feature that helps users stay on top of things that are happening in real-time, such as a sports game, workout, ride-share, or food delivery order, right from the Lock Screen.

Siri has added the ability to run shortcuts as soon as an app is downloaded without requiring upfront setup.

Face ID for iPhone will work in the landscape in iOS 16.

Meanwhile,AiPadOS 16 introduced a new multitasking experience, new ways to collaborate with others, and new features for pro users that take advantage of the power of the M1 chip.

It has come up with an entirely new multitasking experience with Stage Manager and full external display support, new ways to collaborate via Messages, big updates to Mail and Safari, iCloud Shared Photo Library, and more.

The tech giant has also previewed macOS Ventura, the latest version of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system, which takes the Mac experience to a whole new level.

“macOS Ventura includes powerful features and new innovations that help make the Mac experience even better,” said Federighi.

“New tools like Stage Manager make focusing on tasks and moving between apps and windows easier and faster than ever, and Continuity Camera brings new videoconferencing features to any Mac, including Desk View, Studio Light, and more.”

 

Covid infection may up risk of psychiatric disorders: Study

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Covid infection may up risk of psychiatric disorders: Study

People infected with Covid-19 had a roughly 25 percent increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder in the four months following their infection, compared with those who had other types of respiratory tract infections, finds a study.

Researchers at Oregon State University in the US found that Covid patients had a 3.8 percent rate of developing a psychiatric disorder compared with 3.0 percent for other respiratory tract infections.

The 0.8 percent difference amounts to about a 25 percent increased relative risk.

The team looked specifically at anxiety disorders and mood disorders and found a minor but significant increase in risk for anxiety disorders and no change in risk for mood disorders.

The results speak to the need for both patients and health care providers to be more proactive when it comes to addressing mental health concerns following Covid infection, said Lauren Chan, a doctoral student in nutrition in OSU’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences.

“For people that have had Covid, if you’re feeling anxiety, if you’re seeing some changes in how you’re going through life from a psychiatric standpoint, it’s totally appropriate for you to seek some help,” Chan said.

For the study, published in the journal World Psychiatry, researchers included data of 46,610 Covid-19 positive individuals and control patients who were diagnosed with a different respiratory tract infection so they could compare how Covid specifically affected patients’ mental health.

They looked at the rate of psychiatric diagnoses for two time periods: from 21 to 120 days after patients’ Covid diagnosis, and from 120 to 365 days after diagnosis, limited to patients with no previous mental illness.

When patients leave a doctor’s office, sometimes care stops there, but Chan recommended that providers consider calling in two weeks for a check-in.

“I don’t want to say that every single person who gets Covid is going to have this type of problem, but if you start to have concern for yourself or a family member, ita s not unheard of. You should definitely seek care for yourself or others around you,” Chan said.

 

‘Humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is turning to human trafficking crisis’

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‘Humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is turning to human trafficking crisis’

The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is turning into a human trafficking crisis, a top UN official has warned.

From the outset of the war on February 24, heightened risks of trafficking in persons, including for purposes of sexual exploitation and prostitution, have been alarmingly evident, Xinhua news agency quoted Pramila Patten, the UN secretary-general’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, as saying at a Security Council meeting.

“The lack of consistent vetting of accommodation offers and transportation arrangements is a serious concern, as well as the limited capacity of protection services to address the velocity and volume of displacement,” she told the meeting.

According to Patten, there were also concerns regarding the multiplicity of volunteers, with limited vetting, and little or no training or experience.

During her visit to a supermarket-turned-converted receiving center for Ukrainian refugees in Przemysl, Poland, the official said she found “grave security and protection concerns” in a facility run by volunteers, and with only a “bare-bones presence” of UN agencies.

Humanitarian staff at the site gave credible anecdotal accounts of attempted human trafficking, said Patten.

With minimal security screening, a man registered as a volunteer at the center in the afternoon and entered the “French room” where refugees were waiting for transport to France. At that time, he made contact with a 19-year-old woman, whom he later woke up in the sleeping hall at 2 a.m., offering a ride to France, she said.

Another man, wearing a yellow volunteer’s vest and standing with a sign at the Przemysl train station hall, was offering free transport from Poland to Germany. Other volunteers became suspicious and informed local law enforcement when they noticed that the man was selecting only young women for transportation in his minivan, she said.

Patten called for a coherent and coordinated response at the level of European institutions to strengthen the overall response.

“This is of utmost urgency as I believe that this humanitarian crisis is turning into a human trafficking crisis,” she said.

“This requires a concerted, integrated, and holistic cross-border response by humanitarian partners, law enforcement agencies, border forces, immigration officials, and political leaders. A regional compact is urgently required.”

‘Vikram’ continues to rule box office

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‘Vikram’ continues to rule box office

Director Lokesh Kanakaraj’s action entertainer ‘Vikram’, featuring actors Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi, and Fahadh Faasil, seems to be doing brisk business at the box office if one is to go by what trade experts and industry insiders have to say.

Well-known trade expert Taran Adarsh tweeted that the film had had a victorious weekend and that it was proving to be sensational overseas.

He said that the film had made Rs 13.43 crore in the US until Sunday, while in the UK and Australia, it had made Rs 3.90 crore and Rs 3.55 crore respectively for the same period.

The film did brisk business during the weekend in other parts of the world too.

Taran said that in Germany, the film made Rs 34.09 lakh, while in New Zealand, it made Rs 33.91 lakh.

In Canada, the film earned Rs 24.36 lakh and in Ireland, it made Rs 25.83 lakh. In Tamil Nadu, the film continued to impress, registering almost 85 percent occupancy in theatres on its first Monday.

Entertainment industry tracker Sreedhar Pillai tweeted, “‘Vikram’ continues to dominate the worldwide box-office on its first Monday. In Tamil Nadu, the film is rock steady and recorded almost 85 percent occupancy on Monday, the highest post-pandemic. The Kamal Haasan and Lokesh multi-starrer action extravaganza is a blockbuster!”

The tracker also claimed that ‘Vikram’ had turned out to be a universal hit with terrific word-of-mouth promotion. He tweeted, “The Kamal Haasan action extravaganza directed by Lokesh has grossed over Rs 150 crore from worldwide box-office in the opening weekend with India alone accounting for Rs 100 crore Plus. Biggest post-pandemic hit from Kollywood!”

The film’s success has overwhelmed the entire unit including director Lokesh Kanakaraj.

 

Mahesh Babu gearing up for the commencement of his next

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Mahesh Babu gearing up for the commencement of his next

Telugu actor Mahesh Babu, who was last seen in ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’, will be joining the sets of his much-anticipated upcoming movie ‘SSMB28’ soon.

The ‘SSMB28’ shoot is set to begin in July, and the shooting schedules are currently being finalized.

Mahesh Babu, who is currently vacationing in Germany with his family, will return soon to join Trivikram Srinivas and the rest of the cast.

Trivikram, who has apparently joined Mahesh in Germany, is said to have discussed the final alterations in the script work.

A high-octane action thriller is expected from this untitled project.

Expectations are high because this is Trivikram Srinivas and Mahesh Babu’s second collaboration after ‘Khaleja’.

Pooja Hegde, who starred in ‘Radhe Shyam’, will star alongside Mahesh Babu in this film.

After ‘Maharshi,’ Pooja has been brought in to work alongside Mahesh for the second time. Thaman will compose the soundtrack, and the film’s cast includes a number of well-known actors.

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