IN August 16-31, 2023

New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS)

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India has emerged as a confident nation in the last 10 years, and now even at the international level, it is known as the voice of the Global South and a critical part of global supply

chains.

Modi, with his eyes firmly focused on the slew of Assembly elections in the next few months as well as the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, said that he was giving a report card of the last 10 years under the shadow of the Tricolour.

“We have left behind an old school of thought and whatever projects I am inaugurating today were conceptualised in the last 10 years. We work on the principle of ‘Sarvajan Hitay Sarvajan Sukhay’. We have fulfilled all our targets, whether it is providing toilets to rural women, opening bank

accounts for the poor, providing cheaper housing loans for urban poor, the fastest rollout of 5G, and even the building a new Parliament.

"This is a new and confident India, which never loses, tires or stops,” Modi said.

Today, he added, our frontiers are now more secure, as we are making our defence forces more battle ready and therefore we are working on defence sector reforms.

"Terror attacks are now a thing of

Mumbai, Aug 14 (IANS) Veteran actress Shabana Azmi hoisted the Indian flag at the Indian Film

Festival of Melbourne 2023. As the Tricolour fluttered against the Melbourne skyline, the shared emotions of patriotism and unity resonated strongly with attendees.

Commenting on the ceremony, Shabana said: "To be having this honour to hoist the Indian flag, the flag that I’m so proud of,

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) The Centre on Friday introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha which completely overhauls the British-

era Indian criminal laws, the Indian Penal Code (1860), Code of Criminal Procedure (1898), and the Indian Evidence Act (1872).

Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 which seeks to replace the IPC, the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 which seeks to replace the CrPC and the Bharatiya Sakshya

Bill, 2023 which seeks to replace the Indian Evidence Act in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the monsoon session.

Referring to the three bills for consideration of the Parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, Shah said that the earlier laws strengthened British rule, while

Chennai, Aug 14 (IANS) The Indian space agency on Monday said the process of putting the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft in a

circular orbit around the moon has begun.

The spacecraft has moved further closer to the moon.

The Indian space agency also said its Aditya-L1 spacecraft -- the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun -- is getting ready for the launch. “Orbit circularisation phase commences. Precise maneuvre performed today has achieved a near-circular orbit of 150 km x 177 km. The next operation is planned

Mumbai, Aug 11 (IANS) Rani Mukerji was named the Best Actress In Film (Female), Vijay

Varma as Best Actor (Male) In Series took home the top honours at the 14th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).

Rani won for 'Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway' and Mohit Agarwal took home the award for Best Performance in Film (Male) for 'Agra'.

While 'Sita Ramam' was announced the Best Film, 'Agra'

the Best Indie Film, Kannada Filmmaker Prithvi Konanur was feted with Best Director.

'To Kill A Tiger' took home the Best Documentary.

Vijay Varma for 'Dahaad' and Rajshri Deshpande for 'Trial By Fire' were named as Best Performance (Male) and Best Performance (Female) in a series

New

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday remembered those who lost their lives during the country's Partition in 1947. In a tweet in Hindi, the Prime Minister said: "Partition Remembrance Day is an occasion to reverently remember those Indians whose lives were

Delhi, August 14 (IANS)

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Centre introduces 3 bills in LS to overhaul British-era IPC, CrPC & Evidence Act

Continued from Page 1

the proposed laws will protect the rights of the citizens and give speedy justice to the people.

A new offence on acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering sovereignty or unity and integrity of India has been added in the revised laws.

The sedition law "has been repealed", the home minister said. The word "sedition" is not in the proposed law. It is replaced by Section 150 for acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

"Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine," it says.

Shah said the Centre will also introduce the provision of capital punishment in mob lynching cases.

On punishment, the home minister said that under the new laws, the intention is protection of Constitutional justice and not to punish. Punishment is to be given only when an example is to be made.

"The laws that will be repealed... the focus of those law was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen," Shah said in the Lok Sabha.

"The aim will not be to punish, it will be to provide justice. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime," he added.

The death sentence has been retained in the new bills.

The explanation states this: "Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures, or administrative or other action of the Government with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means without exciting or attempting to excite the activities

referred to in this section."

The legislations also prioritise laws for crimes against women and children, murders and "offences against the state".

For the first time, community service will be one of the punishments for petty offences. Also, offences have been made gender neutral. In order to deal effectively with the problem of organised crimes and terrorist activities, new offences of terrorist acts and organised crime have been added with deterrent punishments.

The fines and punishment for various offences have also been enhanced.

The home minister said that 475 colonial references have been removed.

He further informed that the bill has been referred to the Parliamentary panel for home affairs so that it can be examined by all lawmakers and also the bar councils and Law Commission. The new bills were exhaustively discussed during the past four years and 158 meetings were held to finalise the bills, with all the concerned stakeholders.

PM Modi addresses Indians on 77th Independence Day

Chandrayaan-3 getting closer to moon for landing, ISRO gears up for Sun

Continued from Page 1

for August 16, 2023, around 0830

Hrs. IST,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) tweeted.

The spacecraft comprises a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), a lander (1,723.89 kg) and a rover (26 kg).

On attaining the required orbit, the lander will get separated from the propulsion module and later expected to make a soft-landing near the South Pole of the moon on August 23 at 5.47 p.m.

The lander will descend to the moon from a height of about 100 km from the moon's surface. The soft landing is a tricky issue as it involves a series of complex manoeuvres consisting of rough and fine braking.

Imaging of the landing site region prior to landing will be done

for finding safe and hazardfree zones. Subsequent to the soft landing, the six-wheeled rover will roll out and carry out experiments on the lunar surface for a period of one lunar day which is equal to 14 earth days. The Chandrayaan-3 was put into orbit on July 14 in a copybook style by India's heavy lift rocket LVM3. The spacecraft completed orbiting around the earth and headed towards the moon on August 1. On that day a successful perigee-firing performed at ISTRAC, the ISRO had injected the spacecraft into the translunar orbit.

Be that as it may, ISRO also said its Aditya-L1 spacecraft- the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, is getting ready for the launch.

Shabana Azmi hoists the Tricolour in Melbourne to celebrate Independence Day

the flag all of us present today are proud of in Melbourne is an honour I never believed I could have."

"I would like to reiterate that we are here to celebrate Indian cinema in Melbourne, and I truly believe that art knows no boundaries and cinema can be an instrument for social change."

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023 continues to be a significant platform for showcasing the vibrancy and diversity of Indian cinema on the global stage and the festival started on 11th august and will conclude on 20th august. The IFFM 2023 also feted many Indian personalities for their contribution.

Rani Mukerji was named the Best Actress In Film (Female), Vijay Varma as Best Actor (Male) In

Series took home the top honours at the 14th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). Rani won for 'Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway' and Mohit Agarwal took home the award for Best Performance in Film (Male) for 'Agra'.

While 'Sita Ramam' was announced the Best Film, 'Agra' the Best Indie Film, Kannada Filmmaker Prithvi Konanur was feted with Best Director. Vijay Varma for 'Dahaad' and Rajshri Deshpande for 'Trial By Fire' were named as Best Performance (Male) and Best Performance (Female) in a series respectively.

Period Drama 'Jubilee' starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Sidhant Gupta, Aditi Rao Hydari, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ram Kapoor was tagged as the Best Series.

Continued from Page 1

the past, and such incidents have considerably come down."

The Prime Minister went on to say that "in 2014, we were placed 10th economy-wise, now we are the fifth largest economy due to people’s efforts".

"There was a time, when scams and corruption prevailed and India was counted among the Fragile Five. We strengthened the economy and focussed on poor’s welfare, and when nation is strong economically, then hearts are filled with confidence.

“Human sensibilities need to be at the centre of all solutions, and this is what the Covid-19 pandemic taught us. Today India is a confident nation, there are no ifs and buts in the hearts of our

people. The ball is in our court, don’t let this opportunity go.

"We have the capability to understand situations and that’s why in 2014, people after 30 years decided to bring a stable and strong government, which brought to an end a period of political indecisiveness, instability and of weak governments,” Modi added.

"Hearts of people are connected with the thought of nation first, which is going to result in positive initiations. It is you who formed the governments in 2014 and 2019 and this is what gave Modi confidence to launch reforms and perform. With people’s participation, things are being transformed, reforms are

launched and transformation is taking place. Reform, perform and transform is the new motto to take the nation forward.

“We formed the Jal Shakti Ministry, which is providing water to each and every household of the country. Holistic healthcare is today’s demand, we formed the Ayush Ministry. Fishing sector’s development is in our hearts, so we formed a separate ministry for it too. To support and strengthen the cooperative sectors, we also formed the Cooperation Ministry,” he added.

PM Modi recalls pain of people on Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

Continued from Page 1

sacrificed in the partition of the country.

"Along with this, this day also reminds us of the suffering and struggle of those who were forced to bear the brunt of displacement.

I salute all such people."

On his part, Union Home Minister Amit Shah called the "partition of the country on the basis of religion" as a "dark chapter in history".

"The hatred it generated has killed millions and displaced crores of people. The country had to pay a heavy price for this and many

people are still facing the brunt of this menace.

"Today, on 'Partition Vibhishika Memorial Day', I bow down to all those people who lost their lives and their family members due to partition." he also tweeted in Hindi.

Also taking to X (formerly Twitter), External Affairs Minister s. Jaishankar said: "The Partition caused immense suffering to millions. Its strategic consequences were also far reaching. This painful period of our history holds important lessons for our nation.

Free nurse training program comes to Springfield

Mater Education is bringing its renowned nurse training program to Springfield – and it will be fee-free for students starting in October

career.

Springfield’s Diploma of Nursing students will become hospitaltrained Enrolled Nurses in just 18 months.

“We are excited to be bringing our Diploma of Nursing program to Springfield, which will give local students the chance to learn from highly qualified clinical educators with real-world experience,” said Mater Education Executive Director Barry Hankinson.

“And the timing of our first Diploma of Nursing program could not be better, as all our new Springfield students will now receive their nurse training for free.

“This is a great opportunity for people to become part of Queensland’s fast-growing health workforce – and to become part of this community’s bright future.”

the hub will provide a range of health services, including allied health services, women’s health, paediatric and child development services and group wellbeing services. Many specialists from Mater Private Hospital Springfield will also have consulting rooms at the new hub.

Mater Education’s Springfield nursing students will study in a purpose-built centre with state-of-the-art simulation technologies.

They will gain hands-on, practical learning during placements at Mater Private Hospital Springfield and Mater’s South Brisbane hospital campus.

Mater Education is the only hospital-based Registered Training Organisation in Australia which connects the hospital and classroom environments for those seeking a career in healthcare.

And thanks to the support of the Australian and Queensland Governments’ Fee-Free TAFE initiative, all students who enrol for the first intake in October will receive free training for their new

The nurse training program will be taught at the new Mater Health Hub, Springfield, which is set to open on Southern Cross Circuit, Springfield Central, in October. As well as Mater Education,

Potential students can also contact Mater Education student services on 1300 070 350 or go to matereducation.qld.edu.au.

Conditions and criteria apply |

Subject to ANMAC approval | RTO 5210 | HLT54121

Visionary receives UQ’s highest honour

“This is a tremendous honour and I thank the University of Queensland,” Mr Sinnathamby said.

“I had the privilege of addressing graduates at the ceremony. I told them how failure had been one of my best motivations.

“I learned from failure. During my engineering degree at university, my father wrote to me and told me that the darkest night brings the brightest dawn. He was right.

“And I told the graduates that as you think, so you will become. So, think big.”

The University of Queensland recognised Mr Sinnathamby as a “visionary entrepreneur” for his “commitment to philanthropy, community welfare and initiatives that uplift and empower communities”.

Honorary Doctorate (“Doctor of Business honoris causa”) at the University of Queensland’s midyear graduation ceremonies. “Honorary Doctorates acknowledge those whose exceptional achievements have made a unique and lasting contribution to the community,” UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said.

The honour adds to Mr Sinnathamby’s achievements including the Centenary Medal, the Paul Harris Fellowship from Rotary International, and the Australian Institute of Management Medal for Management Innovation.

Mr Sinnathamby was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 for “his significant service to the building and construction industry, and to the community”.

Springfield City Group

Chairman Maha Sinnathamby

AM acknowledged the lessons learned in challenging times as he received the University of

Queensland’s highest honour yesterday.

Mr Sinnathamby was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his service as a community

leader, philanthropist and as an entrepreneur driving the development of Springfield city, southwest of Brisbane.

The university singled out Springfield City Group’s passion for education through its 22 early learning centres, 12 schools and a university campus in a city that now features more than 50,000 residents.

Mr Sinnathamby was awarded the

Prime large homesites from $615,000

The Mater Education Diploma of Nursing program is being launched in Springfield to help meet the region’s demand for nurses, which is set to soar with the Stage 2 expansion of Mater

Private Hospital Springfield. The new hospital will employ more than 1,100 people, creating an exciting range of new opportunities for students and those looking for a career change.

Hundreds of villages in Punjab, Himachal inundated; evacuation underway

rumours. We are evacuating people in danger zone. The district administration and the NDRF are offering full assistance,” he said.

While Manipur is burning, PM Modi is cracking jokes, laughing in Parl: Rahul

Chandigarh/Shimla, Aug 16

(IANS) Hundreds of villages in Punjab located along the swollen Satluj and Beas rivers were inundated on Wednesday with the opening of floodgates of the crucial Bhakra and Pong dams as the inflow in these reservoirs has alarmingly increased owing to torrential rains in its catchment, mainly Himachal Pradesh, in the past three days.

Rescue and evacuation of people are currently underway by teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

Authorities, however, said the inflow in the reservoirs declined significantly compared to Tuesday with the decline in the rainfall activity.

The flood gates of both dams, which serve the irrigation requirements of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, were opened to lower the reservoir level.

With the opening of the floodgates, flood-like situation prevailed mainly in Punjab’s Ropar, Anandpur Sahib and Hoshiarpur districts and Himachal’s Kangra district.

In Punjab, the inundation of villages has been reported second time within a month, severely impacting the standing crops.

Education Minister Harjot Singh

Bains said due to releases from the Bhakra Dam some villages have been severely affected in his Anandpur Sahib constituency.

“Please don’t panic or trust

“For the past three the inflow in all three rivers – the Beas, the Satluj and the Ravi -- was very high. Today it has come down drastically. We have declined the discharges from both Bhakra and Pong dams as already there was a problem of flooding in downstream areas of Punjab and Himachal,” an official of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) told IANS on Wednesday. While the Bhakra dam is built on the Sutlej river, the Pong dam is on the Beas and the Ranjit Sagar on the Ravi.

At present the water level in the Bhakra dam’s Gobind Sagar reservoir and the Pong dam reservoir stood at 1,677 feet and over 1,390 feet, respectively, said an official of the BBMB, which manages both the dams built on the Punjab-Himachal border.

Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu said more than 800 people were evacuated from the low-lying areas of Kangra near the Pong Dam till Wednesday as their villages became inaccessible due to the elevated water level in the dam reservoir.

Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO conducts Drogue Parachute Deployment Test

New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the no-confidence motion in Parliament, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised him saying that instead of talking about the violence in Manipur, he was cracking jokes and laughing while his party leaders indulged in sloganeering. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Rahul Gandhi said: "The Prime Minister wants Manipur to burn. I heard him speaking in the Parliament laughing, joking and his leaders sloganeering. The Prime Minister seems to have forgotten that the state of Manipur is on fire, and has been on fire for four months.

"This does not behove a Prime Minister as women and children are dying over there, people are being murdered, women are being molested, are being raped and the Prime Minister sitting in the middle of the Parliament

laughing. This is not about Rahul Gandhi, this is not about the Congress Party, this is not about the Opposition parties, this is about India," he said.

The Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Wayanad said that it is about the country's state which has been decimated, and it is happening because of the politics of the BJP. Slamming the BJP, he accused it of indulging in the politics of divide and rule and burn.

"Divide, rule and burn. That is why in my speech I said 'Bharat Mata' has been murdered in Manipur. And for the first time the words 'Bharat Mata' have been expunged from the Parliament proceedings. It's an insult to those words, whatever was said, was that wrong? I have said 'Bharat Mata' which is an idea, which is the idea of India, where everybody lives peacefully, harmoniously and with affection, has been killed in Manipur, it's a fact," he said referring to his words that he spoke in Parliament on Wednesday expunged from the records.

"So, the word (Bharat Mata) itself cannot be spoken by the people of India; we cannot say 'Bharat Mata' in Parliament," he said. He also said that he has been in politics for the last 19 years and have been to all states.

Chennai, Aug 12 (IANS) As part of India’s proposed human space mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that it had successfully conducted a series of Drogue Parachute Deployment Tests.

According to the Indian space agency, the test was conducted at the Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility of the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh, from Tuesday to Thursday.

The tests were conducted in collaboration with Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE)/DRDO.

The Gaganyaan mission entails the safe transportation of astronauts to space and back.

A crucial component of this mission is the deployment of drogue parachutes, which play a pivotal role in stabilizing the crew module and reducing its velocity to a safe level during re-entry, ISRO said.

Drogue parachutes, packed within pyro-based devices known as mortars, are ingeniously designed to eject the parachutes into the air upon command. These conical ribbon-type parachutes, boasting a diameter of 5.8 meters, employ a single-stage reefing mechanism, ingeniously minimising canopy area and mitigating opening shock, ensuring a smooth and controlled descent.

During the three comprehensive tests conducted at the RTRS facility, a range of real-world scenarios were simulated to rigorously evaluate the performance and reliability of the drogue parachutes, ISRO said.

The first test simulated the maximum reefed load, marking a groundbreaking introduction of reefing in a mortar-deployed parachute within India.

The second test emulated the maximum disreefed load, while the third showcased the deployment of the drogue

parachute under conditions mirroring the maximum angle of attack experienced by the Crew Module during its mission. These successful RTRS tests serve as a critical qualification milestone for the drogue parachutes, confirming their readiness for integration into the upcoming Test Vehicle-D1 mission, ISRO added.

Earlier this year, the RTRS tests of Pilot and Apex cover separation parachutes were also conducted, further accentuating the progress of the Gaganyaan mission's parachute system development.

The intricate parachute sequence for the Gaganyaan crew module's deceleration system encompasses a total of 10 parachutes. T he sequence commences with the deployment of two Apex cover separation parachutes, followed by the stabilisation achieved through the deployment of two drogue parachutes.

Upon release of the drogue parachutes, the mission transitions into the extraction phase, with three Pilot chutes individually extracting three main parachutes, a pivotal step in reducing the Crew Module's speed to safe levels for a secure landing.

CJI Chandrachud announces release of handbook on combating gender stereotypes

“The handbook identifies common stereotypes about women, many of which have been utilised by courts in the past and demonstrates how they are inaccurate and how they distort the application of law,” CJI Chandrachud said in open court addressing the lawyers.

New Delhi, August 16 (IANS)

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y.

Chandrachud on Wednesday announced the release of a handbook to assist judges and lawyers in identifying, understanding and combating gender stereotypes about women in legal proceedings.

The handbook, made available for both judges and lawyers, contains a glossary of gender unjust terms and suggests alternative words or phrases which may be used in pleadings, orders and judgments. It explains stereotypes and helps judges to avoid them by identifying language that promotes gender stereotypes and offering them with alternative words and phrases.

He said the release of the handbook is not to cast doubt or criticise past judgments, but to indicate how stereotypes may unwittingly be employed.

The objective of the handbook is to raise awareness against utilisation of harmful stereotypes, particularly those prejudicial to women, the CJI added.

The handbook also contains previous judgments of the Supreme Court rejecting gender based stereotypes.

He said the handbook will be uploaded on the website of the Supreme Court shortly, adding that a user manual and FAQs on e-filing with video tutorials will also be made available.

Enough evidence to proceed with trial against Brij

Bhushan: Delhi Police tells court

354-A (sexual harassment), and 354-D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code against Singh," he told the court.

The court is scheduled to reconvene on August 19 to allow the complainants' advocate to present their arguments regarding the charges.

Rahul to tour 4 European countries in September

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) The Delhi Police on Friday told a court that they possess sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and a BJP MP. Singh is facing allegations of sexual harassment involving women wrestlers.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal was informed by the Delhi Police that there is a clear case against Singh and co-accused, Vinod Tomar, who is the suspended assistant secretary of WFI. The police's representative, public prosecutor Atul Srivastava, emphasised that the accused should be charged according to the offences listed on the charge sheet.

"The evidence is substantial enough to establish charges under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty),

"Srivastava has opened arguments by submitting that the submissions made by the Ld. defence counsel are not meritorious," the court order read.

"Firstly, qua submissions made by the defence in reference to Section 188 Cr.P.C., it is submitted that the bar of Section 188 is applicable when the offence is committed outside India in its entirety and not otherwise," it stated.

"Secondly, it is argued that the offences in question have partly been committed in Delhi and partly outside and therefore, the Delhi Court will have jurisdiction. Thirdly, it is argued that matter at hand squarely falls under section 354 IPC and having recourse to Section 468(3) Cr.P.C., there can be no questions on the bar of limitation," the order further stated.

"Fourthly, it is argued that the oversight committee report cannot be called a report which

has exonerated the accused. As per the Ld. Addl. PP, it is merely a departmental enquiry and the same does not bar the jurisdiction of this court. Lastly, it is argued that the court is duty bound to only see the material on record in the strict brackets of prima facie scrutiny and a mini trial cannot be conducted at this stage," the order further stated.

On July 18, Rouse Avenue court granted interim bail to Singh and Tomar.

The Delhi Police's charge sheet running over 1,000 pages was filed before the court for the offences under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (making sexually coloured remarks), 354D (stalking) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against accused Singh.

Tomar has been accused of offences under Sections 109, 354, 354A, 506 of the IPC. In the FIR registered at Connaught Place police station, it has been alleged by the six adult grapplers that Singh allegedly attempted to coerce one athlete into sexual acts by offering to provide her with "supplements", invited another wrestler to his bed and hugging her, as well as assaulting and inappropriately touching other athletes.

Thousands of women stage protests in Manipur over gangrape of 37-yr-old woman

lost consciousness. Later, when I regained my senses, I found myself in a house surrounded by some Meitei people."

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be on a visit to four European countries, including France in the second week of September this year.

A Congress source told IANS:

"Rahul Gandhi will be visiting France, Belgium and Norway." The source said that the Congress leader will also be interacting with the members of the European Union.

He will also meet the students and the Indian diaspora during his visit.

Earlier this year, Rahul Gandhi visited the US and UK. He also interacted with students, the Indian diaspora and with some prominent university members.

Bihar Shocker: Nurse found dead in ambulance, mother alleges gang-rape

Patna August 11 (IANS) A nurse at a private nursing home in Bihar's Motihari was found dead in an ambulance under mysterious circumstances in Muzaffarpur on Friday.

The 25-year-old nurse had gone to the nursing home on Thursday morning but did not return home in the evening.

The mother of deceased has accused five persons, including a doctor of the nursing home, of raping her daughter before killing her.

Motihari police are conducting raids to arrest the remaining accused after lodging an FIR under the IPC sections related to murder and rape at the Fenhara police station in the district. The victim’s mother said in her complaint: “When my daughter did not return home, I went to the nursing home which I found was closed. I searched everywhere but could not find her. On Friday, I received a call from a policeman who informed me that the body of my daughter was found in an ambulance in Muzaffarpur. The accused gang-raped my daughter and strangled her to death. "My daughter was a widow. Her husband died a few years ago. She was living with me."

Imphal, Aug 11 (IANS) Thousands of women on Friday participated in sit-in demonstrations in Manipur’s five valley districts in protest against the alleged gang rape of a 37-year-old woman in Churachandpur on May 3 and demanded a CBI probe into the crime.

The sit-in protests were organised by the Meira Paibi (Women torch bearers), an organisation of Meitei women in five valley districts -- Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Bishnupur, and Kakching.

Meira Paibi leader M. Velinda said that they are always protesting and demanding justice to the perpetrators who sexually or physically assault women of any community, be it Meitei or Naga or Kuki community.

Demanding arrest of the culprits, Longjam Bina Devi said: "We strongly condemn the gangrape of the woman by miscreants in Churachandpur on May 3."

The survivor of the horrific incident in her recent complaint to the police on August 9 alleged that she was gangraped by a group of men while she, along with others, was fleeing her burning house in Khumujamba Leikai in Churachandpur on May 3, when the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur.

The protest was called by Meira Paibi President Longjam Memchaubi against "unspeakable crimes against women and men by armed militants and infiltrators from Myanmar".

The 37-year-old married woman said in her complaint: “Fivesix people got hold of me and started verbally abusing and assaulting me. Despite my resistance, I was forcefully pinned down. "After this, they started sexually assaulting me... They inserted their fingers into my private part in a violent manner. There was no help coming from anybody despite my cries for help. "Thereafter, some more men joined them. At that time, I

The non-tribal woman alleged that she was severely assaulted and gang-raped on May 3 when she, her family members and neighbours were trying to flee from their homes after a mob attacked and burnt down their houses at Churachandpur, one of the worst hit districts in Manipur amid the ongoing violence.

The victim, now staying in a relief camp, also said that she did not disclose the incident earlier to save herself and her family's honour and dignity, and to safeguard themselves from social ostracism.

Last month, a horrific video of two women being paraded naked on a road by a group of men in Manipur on May 4 was shared widely on social media, drawing nationwide condemnation and calls for action. So far, nine accused persons seen in the video have been arrested. The Supreme Court had also criticised the Manipur government on this issue.

Based on her complaint, the district police have arrested one of the accused persons.

“We have registered an FIR and arrested an accused. Raids are on to nab the remaining accused,” the police said.

Kannada film producer arrested for rape, extortion of victim

According to the police, Virendra Babu demanded Rs 15 lakhs from the victim and threatened to leak the video if she did not pay the amount.

The incident had taken place in 2021.

In her complaint, the victim said that she had to sell her gold jewellery to pay the accused. But on July 30, the accused called and threatened her again.

Bengaluru, Aug 12 (IANS)

Karnataka Police on Saturday arrested a Kannada film producer in connection with raping a woman and trying to extort from the victim by threatening of leaking a video of the crime.

The victim further alleged that he took her in the car and had threatened her with a gun. The complaint is registered on rape and threatening with life. The Kodigehalli police have also registered case against the friends of the accused in connection with the case. Further investigation is on.

Abhishek Bachchan recalls how he unfurled Tricolour in Melbourne with Kapil Dev

in Melbourne, along with former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev. Abhishek, who graced the stage of India's Best Dancer 3's 'Azaadi Ki Kahani' special episode, reflected on the significance of Independence Day.

Expressing his pride, Abhishek said: "We've travelled extensively and held respect for other nations, but the sight of India's Tricolour flag fluttering in the sky elicits a unique feeling; it's just such a good feeling. At home, we proudly hoist the flag and adhere to the evening protocol of lowering it as per regulations. This sense of pride deepens as we observe these acts on Independence Day, reminding us of the sacrifices made by our ancestors, and enabling us to celebrate this day today."

"I vividly recall an extraordinary

experience during a film festival in Melbourne. I was granted the honor of unfurling the Indian flag at the Main Square, a momentous occasion as I had never officially hoisted the flag before. Sharing this remarkable moment with the legendary Kapil Dev Ji was truly special," the actor said.

The actor further said: "During the filming of 'LOC', I had the privilege of interacting with the military. A Lieutenant Colonel imparted a poignant insight that remains etched in my memory. He remarked that the flag does not flutter due to the wind alone; it soars because of the weight of the sacrifices made by martyrs who laid down their lives for our nation."

'LOC Kargil' is a 2003 historical war film based on the Kargil War fought between India and Pakistan, produced and directed by J. P. Dutta. It starred Mohnish Bahl, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, Nagarjuna, Saif Ali Khan, Suniel Shetty, Abhishek, and Akshaye Khanna.

as the talented contestants, along with their choreographers, delve into the stories of our forefathers who were instrumental in bringing about the freedom we now enjoy.

Paying a heartfelt tribute to Mahatma Gandhi will be contestant Boogie LLB and choreographer Saumya Kamble. The duo's performance will transport audiences back to the pivotal year of 1920, depicting the fervor of the Non-Cooperation Movement and the indomitable spirit of the Indian people. The sheer visual brilliance created by Boogie and Saumya received a standing ovation.

Praising Boogie's performance, Abhishek said: "I don't know much about dance technicalities, but dance is about emotions, and the way you maintained your expression was amazing. As an actor, knowing how to emote through your expressions apart from the dancing is crucial."

the world, Congratulations."

Vijay has won over audiences with his talent and variety by giving back-to-back standout performances in Dahaad, Lust Stories 2, and Kaalkoot. Vijay will next be featured in Homi Adajania's 'Murder Mubarak', Sujoy Ghosh's 'Devotion of Suspect X,' and the eagerly anticipated 'Mirzapur 3.'

"As we appear on this show today, we are reminded of the immense struggles our forefathers endured to secure our independence. Let us honor their sacrifices on this significant day, a day that should be revered by every Indian," added Abhishek.

The episode will take viewers on a poignant journey highlighting India's struggle for Independence

"The way you use your hands in dance has always been a challenge for me. When I dance, either my legs move or my hands move, but I loved how you had control over your hands. I would definitely do that if given the opportunity. Your performance was fantastic, the choreography was outstanding, and the story conveyed its message very effectively," he shared.

Mumbai, Aug 11 (IANS)

Filmmaker Karan Johar is very impressed with Vijay Varma as he could not stop himself from praising the actor and his performances at the 14th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) which commenced on Friday.

Vijay recently traveled to Melbourne for the Indian Film Festival. The actor was the only

member of the industry to receive nominations for Best Actor in Films for Darlings and Best Actor in a Web Series for Dahaad at the famous film festival. At the film festival, Karan Johar acknowledged Vijay Varma's talent and said: "I just watched him in a series called Kaalkoot last night, and I was like, he can do anything, and if an artist can do anything, that means that his versatility can take him to all kinds of places in

At the same event Karan confirmed that he and actor Kartik Aaryan are "working on something" and is hoping it would "materialise". On being asked by an Indo-Australian media outlet present at the press conference about them working together, Karan said: "We did attempt to work together once in the past but that didn't materialise. But we are working together on something. Hopefully this will materialise." Kartik and Karan Johar were suppose to work on the sequel of 2008 film 'Dostana' starring John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Abhishek Bachchan.

IFFM 2023: Rani Mukerji, Vijay Varma, ‘Sita Ramam’ & ‘Jubilee’ win top honours

Mumbai, Aug 11 (IANS) Filmmaker

Karan Johar has confirmed that he and actor Kartik Aaryan are "working on something" and is hoping it would materialise.

Karan and Kartik are currently in Melbourne for the 14th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) which commenced on

Friday. The event was inaugurated by personalities Karan, Kartik, Mrunal Thakur and Vijay Varma.

On being asked by an IndoAustralian media outlet present at the press conference about them working together, Karan said: "We did attempt to work together once in the past but that didn't materialise. But we are working together on something. Hopefully this will materialise.

Kartik and Karan Johar were supposed to work on the sequel of 2008 film 'Dostana' starring John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Abhishek Bachchan.

For the unversed, it was in 2019 when Karan Johar announced

Dostana 2. The follow-up initially had Janhvi Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan and Lakshya. However, later Kartik was dropped from the movie and the news went on to grab a lot of eyeballs.

On the work front, Kartik will next be seen in Chandu Champion directed by Kabir Khan. According to the makers, the film is based on the extraordinary real-life story of a sportsman and his spirit of never giving up.

The film will be jointly produced by Sajid Nadiadwala's banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment (NGE) and Khan, known for critically-acclaimed films such as 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' and '83'.

Continued from Page 1 respectively.

Period Drama 'Jubilee' starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti

Khurana, Sidhant Gupta, Aditi Rao Hydari, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ram Kapoor was tagged as the Best Series.

Best Short Film - People's Choice honour was won by 'Connection Kya Hain' and Best Short Film - Australia was 'Home' by Mark Russel Bernard.

Equality in Cinema Awards went to the movie 'Darlings', People's

Choice Award was given to SRKstarrer 'Pathaan'.

Filmmaker Karan Johar was honoured for completing 25 years in the Hindi film industry.

Bollywood's chocolate boy Kartik Aaryan was honoured with Rising Global Superstar of Indian Cinema.

Diversity in Cinema Award went to Mrunal Thakur, Bhumi Pednekar took home the Disruptor Award and Rainbow Stories Award went to Onir for 'Pine Cone'.

‘Vijay Varma’s versatility can take him to all kinds of places in the world,’ says KJo

KJo on collab with Kartik: ‘We are working on something, hopefully it will materialise’

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) Actor Abhishek Bachchan went down the memory lane, and recalled

an 'extraordinary' experience of unfurling the Tricolour at the Main Square during a film festival

MAKE IN INDIA

As world economies restart their engines in a bid to regain lost ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India too shows signs of economic buoyancy and promise. India’s Make in India initiative holds a key to the global economic revival, something that should interest Australian government ministries, corporate sector, entrepreneurs, institutions seeking R&D collaborations and Australia Inc in general, among others. India assumes greater importance as several major world economies including American, Japanese, German, British and South Korean look to move out and diversify their businesses from China. India has jumped to 63rd rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Development 2020 report, and has also been ranked as the 9th largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment destinations in 2019 by the World Investment Report 2020 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Mobile production crosses 2 bn units under ‘Make in India’ initiative: Report

Pathak noted.

BGMI maker Krafton pledges $150 mn investment in India

Sohn, CEO, Krafton India.

New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) 'Make in India' mobile phone shipments crossed the 2-billion cumulative units mark during 2014-2022, registering a 23 per cent Compound annual growth rate (CAGR), latest research showed on Monday.

The huge internal demand, increasing digital literacy and government push are the major reasons for this growth. As a result, India has become the second-biggest mobile phoneproducing country, according to Counterpoint Research.

"In 2022, more than 98 per cent of shipments in the overall market were 'Make in India', compared to

just 19 per cent when the current government took over in 2014," said Research Director Tarun Pathak. "Local value addition in India currently stands at an average of more than 15 per cent, compared to the low single digits eight years ago," he informed. Many companies are setting up units in the country for manufacturing mobile phones as well as components, leading to growing investments, increasing jobs and overall ecosystem development.

The government now intends to capitalise on its various schemes to make India a ‘semiconductor manufacturing and export hub’.

"Going forward, we may see increasing production, especially for smartphones, as India gears to bridge the urban-rural digital divide and also become a mobile phone exporting powerhouse,"

Under the 'Make in India' initiative, the government introduced the Phased Manufacturing Programme and increased import duties on completely built units and some key components over the years to push local manufacturing and value addition.

The government introduced the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for 14 sectors, including mobile phone manufacturing.

“Due to all this, exports from India have increased. Going forward, the government is focused on making India a semiconductor hub. It has proposed a semiconductor PLI scheme and now is focusing more on infrastructure with a proposed investment of $1.4 trillion,” said senior analyst Prachir Singh.

Amazon says digitised 62 lakh MSMEs, created over 13 lakh jobs in India to date

Amazon had pledged to digitise one crore (10 million) MSMEs, enable $20 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports and create 20 lakh (2 million) jobs in India by 2025 and is well on track to fulfil these pledges.

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) BGMI game maker Krafton on Thursday pledged $150 million investment in India over the next two to three years.

The company said it will invest in the gaming and startup ecosystem in the country, focusing on content-based platforms and deep tech.

“We firmly believe in India’s potential as a key player in the global gaming and technology industry, and our commitment to invest an additional $150 million over the next two to three years reflects our dedication to fueling this growth,” said Sean Hyunil

“We believe in the power of Indian IPs and content in making a lasting global impact,” he added. Since its first investment in March 2021, the company has infused approximately $140 million into 11 innovative startups. Beyond game development studios, the company’s investments span diverse and complementary sectors, including, Esports, multimedia entertainment, content creation and audio platforms.

In recent months, Krafton has expanded its focus to include the creator economy and deep tech, actively supporting startups in these emerging segments.

Investments in country rose by 65% between 2014-15 and 2022-23

provisional estimates).

To spur investments in the country, the government also implements the scheme for special assistance to states for capital expenditure and a scheme for special assistance to states for capital investment.

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Amazon on Thursday said that it has cumulatively digitised over 62 lakh (6.2 million) micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), enabled nearly $8 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports and created more than 13 lakh (1.3 million) direct and indirect jobs in India till date.

We

“As we continue to work with lakhs of micro-entrepreneurs, small businesses and startups across the country, we remain committed to bringing new tools, technology and innovation that will unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of Indian businesses, boost exports from the country and help create jobs at scale,” Manish

Tiwary, Country Manager India Consumer Business, Amazon India, said in a statement. About two years ago, the tech giant announced the $250 million Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund to invest in technology-led startups passionate about unlocking the possibilities of a digital India. Over the last 24 months, the Venture Fund has made several investments, including ‘FreshtoHome’, ‘XYXX’, ‘Hopscotch’, ‘Fitterfly’, ‘Cashify’, ‘MyGlamm’, ‘M1xchange’ and ‘smallcase’.

New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) Investments in the country have risen by 65 per cent between 2014-15 and 2022-23, from Rs 32,78,096 crore to Rs 54, 34,691 crore.

The government and private sector together invest in the economy, which is indicated by Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) in the Indian economy. This GFCF was Rs 32.78 lakh crore (constant 2011-12 prices) in 201415, which rose by 65 per cent to Rs 54.35 lakh crore in 2022-23 (as per

Centre has approved and released special assistance in the form of 50-years interest free loan for capital expenditure on capital projects, including capital projects pertaining to sectors like health, education, irrigation and power, etc.

Foreign direct investments (FDI) into India have also continuously risen since 2014-15.

In the last seven financial years between 2014-15 and 2021-22, over $443 billion worth of FDI inflows have come into the country.

set June quarter records in India driven by robust iPhone sales: Tim Cook

2023 third quarter results late on Thursday, Cook said that the performance of “our new stores in India this spring exceeded our expectations”.

also opened our first two retail stores during the quarter and of course it’s early going currently, but they are currently beating our expectations in terms of how they are doing”.

Cupertino (California), Aug 4 (IANS) Apple has set a June quarter records in India, driven by the robust sales of iPhones, its CEO Tim Cook has said. During the company’s fiscal

Apple opened its own-branded Mumbai and Delhi retail stores in the country in April this year, which met with great enthusiasm. On a specific question on the potential of India, Cook said: “You know we did hit a June quarter revenue record in India and we grew strong double digits. We

He further said that the company continues to work on building out the channel and putting more investment in its direct-toconsumer offers in the country.

“If you look at it, it’s the second largest smartphone market in the world and we ought to be doing

really well there and we are very pleased with our growth there,” said Cook “We still have a very, very modest and low share in this smartphone market, so I think it’s a huge opportunity for us. And we are putting in all of our energies to make that occur,” he added.

Apple, with the highest average selling price (ASP) of $929, registered a massive 61 per cent YoY growth in India in April-June period, according to the IDC.

India is now among Apple’s top 5 markets globally as the iPhone maker continued to lead the ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000 and above).

The company has also broken local manufacturing records. In May, iPhone exports reached a record Rs 10,000 crore, pushing the total mobile shipments from the country to Rs 12,000 crore in that month.

Breastfeeding boosts mother’s heart health for 3 years or more: Study

The study conducted the followup of 280 women and their children between 2018 and 2021.

"We found that women who breastfeed for at least six months had significantly lower body mass index (BMI), lower blood pressure, mean arterial pressure and lower central blood pressure than those who did not," said Dr Maleesa Pathirana from University of Adelaide.

Business leaders back Australia’s Indigenous Voice

"We believe the Voice is the right mechanism to give Indigenous Australians a stronger say on legislation, policy and programs that directly impact their communities and their lives," she said.

Sydney, Aug 13 (IANS)

Breastfeeding for six months or more appears to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems developing in mothers for at least three years after delivery, a new study has found.

The surprising cardio-metabolic benefit for maternal health is particularly important for women who experienced a complicated pregnancy, which can increase their chance of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life.

The study, published in the International Breastfeeding Journal, showed that women who breastfed a baby for at least six months experienced lower blood pressure and body-weight recovery (or BMI) for up to three years after the birth of their baby. According to Professor Claire Roberts, who leads the Pregnancy Health and Beyond research group at Flinders University, the study was positive for women

with pregnancy complications, as they recorded lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol measures at three years postpartum.

"That means that breastfeeding improves women’s cardio metabolic risk factors, which is good news for new mothers who might be at risk of developing future cardiovascular and metabolic diseases," Roberts added.

Pregnancy complications are associated with later cardiovascular disease risk and their children are also at risk of impaired metabolic health earlier in life.

Along with neurological and other health benefits for babies, the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding exclusively for up to six months, and breastfeeding over 12 months to promote a significant reduction in both chronic hypertension and diabetes in women.

"We found that if women with at least one major pregnancy complication -like preeclampsia, gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes -- breastfeed for at least six months, they had significantly lower blood pressure, improved cholesterol profile and lower insulin compared to those who did not breastfeed for at least six months.

"These findings indicate an overall improvement in cardiovascular health," Dr Pathirana said. The researchers recommended further investigations in a larger sample size of women who breastfeed compared to those who choose not to breastfeed. They also recommended more interventions that support breastfeeding in disadvantaged or low socioeconomic areas, particularly for women with pregnancy complications to reduce their lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease.

Outgoing Australian central bank Guv warns against inflation threat

the official cash rate by four percentage points since May last year, the most aggressive increase in interest rates since the 1980s. Lowe acknowledged that many households are "facing a painful squeeze on budgets", and the increase in interest rates also weighs on their disposable incomes. However, he still signaled that interest rates could climb further.

Canberra, Aug 3 (IANS) Australia's biggest companies have thrown their support behind the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. The Business Council of Australia (BCA), which represents more than 100 of the country's largest corporations, has officially declared its support for a "yes" vote in the upcoming referendum, reports Xinhua news agency. If successful, the referendum would alter Australia's constitution to establish an independent Indigenous Voice to Parliament and formally recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The voice would advise federal politicians on matters relating to Indigenous Australians.

BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott said the employers' group had a long-held position of supporting Indigenous recognition in the constitution.

"We know that we get better results when we listen."

The statement was released alongside an economic statement showing BCA members employ more than 20,000 Indigenous Australians and spend over A$1 billion ($654 million) with Indigenous-owned businesses every year.

"Our members are proactively helping to drive economic and cultural empowerment by supporting Indigenous businesses to expand, innovate, hire more workers and create vibrant ecosystems in their communities," Westacott said.

In order to be successful more than 50 per cent of Australians and a majority in at least four out of six states must vote "yes" on the referendum, which is set to be held later this year. Recent polls have indicated national support for the proposal is sitting at approximately 47 per cent.

Pollution at Australian Antarctic research station exceeds guidelines

Canberra, Aug 11 (IANS) Outgoing

Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Philip Lowe on Friday warned against the ongoing threat of inflation despite signs that it is easing.

In an opening statement of his last hearing to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Lowe said while goods price inflation has slowed considerably, the prices of many services are continuing to increase strongly and the momentum in rent inflation is particularly strong, reports Xinhua news agency. He said the RBA has made

progress in getting on top of the high inflation rate, and things are moving in the right direction, "but it is too early to declare victory".

Lowe warned that high inflation is "corrosive" to the healthy functioning of the economy, and it makes life more difficult for everybody, especially those on low incomes.

"The Australian economy is currently experiencing a period of below-trend growth and this is expected to continue for a while yet," he said.

To curb the high inflation rate, the central bank has lifted

"Looking forward, it is possible that some further tightening of monetary policy will be required to ensure that inflation returns to target within a reasonable timeframe. Whether this is the case will depend upon the data and the board's evolving assessment of the outlook and risks."

The RBA expects consumer price index inflation to return within the 2 to 3 per cent target range by late 2025.

Lowe also warned against two substantial risks to the economic outlook, one is the outlook for household consumption that is fast changing, and the other is that services inflation remains high for longer.

Canberra, Aug 10 (IANS) Marine pollution at Australia's largest Antarctic research station exceeded international guidelines for almost 20 years.

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) researchers on Thursday published the results of marine sediment analysis around Casey station from 1997 to 2015, reports Xinhua news agency. It revealed that levels of multiple contaminants, including arsenic, lead and cadmium, exceeded international quality standards for the period.

At locations disturbed by humans the analysis found consistently higher concentrations of contaminants.

"Antarctic research stations such as Casey are likely to pose a moderate level of long-term ecological risk to local marine ecosystems through marine pollution," the study said.

Established in 1969 and located about 3,800 km south of Perth, Casey is the largest of the AAD's three research stations on the continent.

Scientists, led by AAD principal research scientist Jonathan Stark, monitored pollution at wastewater outfalls, two former waste disposal sites and the wharf area as well as control locations, measuring the presence of metals, hydrocarbons, nutrients, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and fire retardant chemicals.

Until 1986, solid waste from Casey was disposed of at a dump site on the foreshore of the nearby Brown Bay.

The research found one of the dumps, which was removed in 2004, "could not have been at a worse place for the environment".

Stark said a new project is expected to ensure only pure water runs off into the ocean within years.

Aus teacher ‘vilifies’ Indians as ‘Uber drivers and Deliveroo people’

presenter, knowing that I am of Indian race. It was embarrassing and hurtful."

The student also told the tribunal that Anderson continued to play the video despite another student in the class repeatedly asking for the video to be turned off.

National Gallery of Australia returns Cambodian sculptures

Sydney, Aug 7 (IANS) A teacher in Australia has been slapped with a disciplinary warning and training by a civil tribunal after she described Indians as “Uber drivers and Deliveroo people” during a business studies class in 2021.

Acting upon a complaint by an Indian-origin former student, who attended James Anderson's class, the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal has also asked the Department of Education to make an official apology to the pupil, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Anderson of Cronulla High School had played an educational YouTube video, which ran for over 20 minutes, for the class on March 3, 2021, featuring a presenter of Indian descent.

Anderson, according to the student, had mocked the presenter before saying “all Indians are Uber drivers and Deliveroo people, and their service is bad”.

Dissatisfied with the school principal's response to the incident, the student and her parents approached and filed a complaint with the tribunal.

“As the video was playing, I saw Mr Anderson, while smiling, glance at me a few times and continue to mockingly giggle at the lady and her accent,” the student said during her evidence at the tribunal, according to The Herald.

“I was distressed and uncomfortable that Mr Anderson was looking at me during the video and mocked the Indian

Anderson denied mocking the presenter, but admitted his statements were “inappropriate” and “racial in nature”.

“At the time there was nothing in the nature of any reactions by the students in the class that day to cause me to think that one or more of the students was upset,” he told the tribunal.

Anderson remains at the school but received a disciplinary warning and training from the tribunal last week, which found the student’s complaint of racial vilification substantiated.

“We reject all forms of racism and are committed to the elimination of racial discrimination in NSW public schools,” a spokesman for the Department of Education told The Herald

Great Barrier Reef faces irreversible impacts of climate change: Report

coral reef could be irreparable regardless of whether global carbon emissions stabilise or not.

Canberra, Aug 3 (IANS) The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) on Thursday announced the return of sculptures to the government of Cambodia. Following a decade-long investigation, the NGA said it had concluded the three bronze sculptures were, on the balance of probabilities, exported from their country of origin illegally, reports Xinhua news agency. The three 9th-10th century bronze sculptures were purchased in 2011 for A$2.3 million ($1 million). They were removed from display in the gallery's collection in 2021 amid an investigation into their provenance.

"The decision to repatriate these

sculptures to the Kingdom of Cambodia is the culmination of years of research and due diligence that would not have been possible without the support of the Cambodian Government through the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts," NGA director Nick Mitzevich said in a statement on Thursday.

"We are grateful for their support in identifying the place of origin of these culturally significant sculptures and are pleased we can now return them to their rightful home."

The sculptures were handed over in a ceremony in late July.

They will remain on display at the gallery for three years on loan while the Cambodian government prepares a new home for them.

Susan Templeman, the Australian Government's Special Envoy for the Arts, said the repatriation was an example of the shared respect between the nations.

"It is an opportunity to put right a historical wrong but also to strengthen our ties and deepen our understanding," she said.

Canberra, Aug 3 (IANS)

An Australian government commissioned report on Thursday revealed that the impacts of climate change on the iconic Great Barrier Reef could become irreversible within decades.

The report, published by the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) assessed the possible futures of the Great Barrier Reef under different emissions scenarios, reports Xinhua news agency.

It concluded that by 2050 the damage to the world's largest

The report was ordered by the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, which engaged the AAS to hold three expert roundtables on climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, interventions and the reef's future.

More than 80 leading experts contributed to the report.

It was delivered to the Reef 2050 Plan Independent Expert Panel to consider in its advice to the government on the resilience of the GBR and its connected systems.

"It reminds us that sticking to that path we are currently on, simply because we started on it, will not offer the best solution for the Great Barrier Reef," Chennupati Jagadish, President of the AAS,

said in a statement.

"It highlights that in the mediumterm, there are opportunities to slow the decline in the health of the reef, however, this requires Australia to take further action now."

The report makes several recommendations to improve management of the reef, including establishing a comprehensive review of the current system, further relying on Indigenous knowledge of land management and standardising and centralizing ecological data from the Great Barrier Reef. "Truthful, open, and clear communication with the public is needed to prepare Australians for what is to come, given the Great Barrier Reef will continue to change as the environment becomes more challenging for its habitats and species," it said.

Northern Australia warned to prepare for worst bushfire season in decade

Sydney, Aug 15 (IANS) Consumer electronics major Dell's Australia arm has been slapped with a AUD10 million (nearly $6.49 million) fine for selling overpriced monitors at discounted prices.

The Federal Court ordered that Dell Australia Pvt Ltd pay AUD10 million for "making false and misleading representations on its website about discount prices for add-on computer monitors”.

In enforcement proceedings brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Dell Australia admitted that it had misled customers about the price of a selection of monitors available to ‘bundle’ with a purchase of a desktop, laptop or notebook.

The add-on monitors were often advertised with a higher

‘strikethrough’ price, indicating a significant saving if purchased with other computer products, the ACCC said in a statement late on Monday. In many cases, consumers paid more than if they had purchased the monitor as a standalone product.

More than 5,300 monitors were sold to consumers with overstated discounts, the regulator informed.

Canberra, Aug 15 (IANS)

Authorities have warned that Australia's Northern Territory (NT) is facing its worst bushfire season in over a decade.

Tony Fuller, the Bushfires NT chief fire control officer, recently said that a blaze currently burning near the central city of Alice Springs is only the start of a potentially devastating season, reports Xinhua news agency. He warned that up to 80 per cent of the NT is expected to burn by the time the fire season ends in March, with fuel loads at 50-year highs following years of high rainfall.

"To give an indication of what we're expecting, in 2011-12 we lost 80 per cent of the Northern Territory to fire -- we're expecting that this season or

into next year," he was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"It's what's called a decadal event where there's a build-up of fuel. This season we've had extra rain just before the season and that's just added to our fuel load."

The fire reached Alice Springs on August 12 after a planned burn by NT Parks on August 10 broke its control lines.

As of Monday, the fire was 34 km wide and 16 km long.

It is one of 322 fires already reported in the NT since the start of August.

The fire season in the northern part of the territory ends in November and central Australia's starts in October.

Dell fined $6.5 mn for selling overpriced monitors at discounts

$8 million for crisis accommodation pilot program

• Crisis accommodation pilot model to assist victim-survivors experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV).

• Specialist teams to deliver oneon-one assistance.

• Funding of $8m includes a Rent Assist Brokerage grant scheme of up to $50,000.

Brisbane, 12 August: The Palaszczuk Government has allocated $8 million to develop and pilot a new service delivery model, Housing Connectors, to integrate support for victimsurvivors experiencing, or at risk of homelessness because of DFV. The pilot program includes a total of nine specialist workers, working in teams of three, that will be embedded at three South East Queensland locations –Toowoomba, Brisbane and Moreton Bay.

These regions have been chosen following consultation with the

Department of Housing on data indicating unmet demand in the area and local sector capacity.

The Housing Connectors will work with the victim-survivors in a one-on-one capacity to manage their safety and assist them to navigate the housing and human services systems, while helping to locate suitable and sustainable housing and support referrals.

The Housing Connector teams will be embedded within DFV services and work with government and local agencies to assist victim-survivors to maintain or establish housing, including transitioning any existing supports or services to a new location if required.

Each Housing Connector role will have access to brokerage funds, as part of an integrated service response and will be a vital resource for victim-survivors.

In addition, funding will also be made available to DFV services across Queensland under a new

DFV Rental Assist Brokerage Grant that will provide up to $2.55m across the state.

The grant will be available to existing funded organisations and could be used to cover rental arrears or other costs where debts present an imminent risk of homelessness, or a barrier to successfully entering the private rental market.

Grants will be available up to $50,000 for DFV services from across the state. Organisations will be able to apply through Smartygrants when the round opens in the coming weeks.

The Housing Connectors initiative is part of the FDSV Responses 2021-27 National Partnership Agreement (NPA). The initiative will be reviewed in 2024 to examine outcomes and shape any future policy and planning.

Expansion of emergency relief program to provide vital support to Queenslanders experiencing hardship

• More Queenslanders will have access to vital supports as the Palaszczuk Government expands Emergency Relief program.

• Neighbourhood Centres have reported increased demand for emergency relief amid rising cost of living.

• $3.3 million has been committed to expanding emergency relief funding to new service locations.

Brisbane, 10 August: More Queenslanders will be able to access financial support for essential items as the Palaszczuk Government expands a vital service to ease cost of living

Queenslanders to have say on keeping children safe

Brisbane, 10 August:Queensland is stepping up the fight against child sex predators with a swathe of proposed new measures to further protect children from abuse and better detect paedophiles in organisations working with children.

Thousands of organisations across the state from schools to churches and sports clubs are being asked for public input on a proposal to implement nationallyconsistent Child Safe Standards and a Reportable Conduct Scheme in Queensland.

Child Safety Minister Craig Crawford today publicly released the 140-page “Growing Child Safe

Organisations in Queensland” report and consultation paper for feedback on the impact of the proposed regulation.

Under the preferred model, a single, independent oversight body would be established to help organisations implement 10 new child safe standards and handle child abuse complaints and allegations as part of a reportable conduct scheme.

It comes with the tabling of the Queensland Government’s fifth and final annual report on the implementation of recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Funding boost triples

QCS body-worn cameras

• 720 body-worn cameras are now deployed throughout Queensland

Corrective Services facilities

Alexandra Hospital Secure Unit, now have the use of the cameras to ensure their safety and the safety of prisoners.

pressures for families.

The Emergency Relief program supports Queenslanders experiencing immediate financial hardship, providing access to items such as food hampers, vouchers for essential items and transport, and contributions towards the payment of bills.

The 2023-24 State Budget delivers $4.25 million in food and emergency relief, including $3.3 million to extend and expand emergency relief throughout Queensland. There are currently 88 providers delivering state-funded

emergency relief services, including 35 Neighbourhood Centres.

The Queensland Government is also working with Queensland’s discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to provide Emergency Relief funding into these communities for the first time.

This funding will increase the amount of emergency relief available to vulnerable Queenslanders. It will also ensure that state-funded neighbourhood centres will also have the opportunity to provide emergency relief.

Ripley Satellite Hospital to open its doors this month

• The Ripley Satellite Hospital will open to patients on Wednesday, 30 August 2023.

• The facility will feature a minor illness and injury clinic, as well as treatment spaces for paediatric care, obstetrics and gynaecology, oral health, BreastScreen and mental health services.

• The Premier and Health Minister joined local MPs to open the facility at the community open day today.

Brisbane, 13 August:Premier

Annastacia Palaszczuk and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman have joined local MPs to welcome West Moreton locals to the Ripley Satellite Hospital community open day.

Today, locals will have a sneak peek ahead of the Satellite Hospital’s opening on Wednesday,

30 August.

The facility includes a Minor Injury and Illness Clinic, which will provide urgent care to people without an appointment between 8am and 10pm, seven days a week.

The clinic will provide treatment for common injuries and illnesses, such as strains and sprains, broken bones, minor head injuries, infections and rashes, minor eye issues, minor cuts and burns, toothaches, earaches, and fevers.

Ripley Satellite Hospital will also provide paediatric care, obstetrics and gynaecology, maternity and antenatal, gerontology, diabetes and endocrine treatment, oral health, BreastScreen, mental health, medical imaging and diagnostic services – catering for up to 800 outpatient

appointments a week.

The Aboriginal name for the satellite hospital was also announced – MoodoombarDabbil – meaning “place of good water”. The Ripley Satellite Hospital is the second of seven satellite hospitals to open under the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to supporting public healthcare delivery in rapidly growing communities across South East Queensland.

Satellite Hospitals in Kallangur, Redlands, Bribie Island, Eight Mile Plains and Tugun facilities will open later in 2023 and in 2024. Anyone can attend a public hospital or satellite hospital for treatment. If you hold a Medicare card, and choose to be treated as a public patient, your acute medical treatment will be free.

• Research shows that body worn cameras deter anti-social behaviour and protect officers and prisoners

• Queensland Corrective Services contributes to community safety through management and rehabilitation of offenders

Brisbane, 09 August:An additional 500 body-worn cameras are now available to Queensland

Corrective Services’ custodial officers, after funding was provided in last year’s State Budget.

Officers at high security correctional centres around the state, including the Escort and Security Branch’s Princess

Body-worn cameras deter antisocial behaviour and provide vital, contextual evidence when investigating incidents. They are now commonly used within law enforcement, correctional and security agencies across Australia. Deployed strategically throughout each Queensland correctional facility, they act as an additional security measure, along with triple-layer perimeter fencing, controlled prisoner movement and extensive CCTV camera networks.

QCS is widely regarded as one of the best trained, best equipped, best paid and safest correctional services in Australasia.

Queensland halfway to achieving 2030 renewable energy target

• More than a quarter of the state’s energy is now powered by renewables, thanks mostly to Queensland’s wind and sunshine

• Clean energy supply has increased by more than 20 percent in past year

• Queensland on track to renewable energy and emissions reductions targets

• Queenslanders are installing a rooftop solar system on average every 10 minutes

Brisbane, 08 August: More than 25 percent of the state’s energy supply is now powered by renewables, including Queensland’s sun and wind, as the Sunshine State powers towards its renewable energy targets. Queensland is on track to beat the state’s renewable energy target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

With the implementation of the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan in full swing, it’s expected Queensland will connect a further 682MW of new clean generation before Christmas 2023.

The increase in renewable energy uptake, thanks to large scale investment and global partnerships, has meant Queensland’s renewable energy supply has increased by more than 20% in just one year, and by more than 250% in eight years.

Renewable energy targets of 50 per cent by 2030, 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035 will be legislated as part of the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan to ensure all Queenslanders have access to cleaner, reliable and affordable power for generations.

WORLD THIS WEEK

In collaboration with National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bengaluru

Authored by

Jerry Franklin A, Padmashree Anandhan and Sneha Surendran, Rishika Yadav, Ankit Singh, Anu Maria Joseph, Femy Francis, Padamshree Anandan and Akriti Sharma

Niger: Standoff after the coup

Jerry Franklin

On 10 August, the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met in the Nigerian capital Abuja to discuss the coup in Niger. Following the meeting, the leaders of the bloc agreed to assemble a “standby” military force. Meanwhile, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said that the use of force will be a “last resort” to bring constitutional order to Niger. The meeting

comes after the coup leaders disobeyed an ultimatum to reinstate the ousted president by 6 August.

On 7 August, the US Acting Deputy Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, stated that her requests to meet with Bazoum, whom she referred to as being under "virtual house arrest," were turned down. Nuland stated: “They are quite firm in their view of how they want to proceed, and it does not comport with the Constitution of

Niger.” On 7 August, in response to regional threats to intervene against the coup leaders in Niger, the governing juntas of Mali and Burkina Faso dispatched delegations to Niamey to demonstrate their solidarity with Niger's coup leaders.

On 7 August, the spokesperson of the Niger's National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, Amadou Abdramane announced Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine as the new Prime Minister.

The War in Ukraine: Escalation after drone attacks

Padmashree Anandhan

On 1 August, the Russian Ministry of Defence reported three drone strikes in Moscow and the Black Sea and accused Ukraine of launching the attacks. The strikes ranging 450 kilometres into Moscow caused damage to several ministerial buildings and oil depots. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the claims and stated: “..inevitable, natural and fair process….we don’t attack Putin or Moscow.” He added: “We fight on our territory. We’re defending our villages and cities. We don’t have enough weapons for these.”

On 1 August, RT news reported and BBC corroborated that another Ukraine drone attack took place in Moscow’s business district. The Russian Ministry of Defence states that three drones were involved, with two destroyed in mid-air and the third suppressed by electronic warfare systems, crashing into a non-residential complex. In response to the drone attacks, on 5 August, Russia retaliated with a series of drones and missiles using cruise missiles and Shahed-136 drones over the Caspian Sea. Russia’s spokesperson Maria

ALSO IN NEWS

Rishika Yadav, Ankit Singh, Anu Maria Joseph, Femy Francis, Padmashree Anandan and Akriti Sharma

China: On allegations of disrupting G20 discussion on climate change

On 2 August, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted the allegations of disrupting discussions on climate change measures at the G20 meeting held in India on 28 July. The ministry described the allegations as "completely inconsistent with the facts," while the European delegation backed the accusation stating that China refused to make any commitments. The countries failed to reach a joint statement following a three-day discussion on issues including cutting emissions, fossil fuel use, and climate finance to support poorer countries. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented that it “regrets” the failure in not reaching a joint conclusion which was caused by “geopolitical issues” created by other countries “for no reasons.”

Taiwan: Foreign minister warns "disastrous results" if invaded

On 2 August, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, warned that the Chinese aim of invading Taiwan would have "disastrous results" for the world, citing Taiwan’s global importance in the semiconductor industry and global shipping lanes. Wu stressed that more than 50 per cent of the global shipping containers pass through the 180 kilometres of waters separating Taiwan from China, and that the conflict would hinder the shipping lane, disrupting “crucial elements of international security and prosperity.” He added: “We hope that the Chinese government will not resort to the use of force against Taiwan, because the impact is going to be too serious for the world.”

North Korea: Hackers breach Russian rocket design bureau

On 7 August, according to technical evidence reviewed by Reuters and the Sentinel LABS which is a group of security researchers, hackers from North Korea breached computer networks at a Russian missile developer. The hackers are assumed to be linked with the

On 1 August, Antara, an Indonesia based media, reported that Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs RetnoMarsudi, urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to condemn the Quran burnings in Sweden and Denmark. During the OIC meeting held virtually on 31 July, Marsudiemphasised the need to respect holy books and called for legal measures against blasphemy. A spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Teuku Faizasyah, stated: "In the forum, we reaffirmed our position that freedom of expression must not hurt those who have closeness and respect for holy books."

India: Communal clashes in Haryana

Zakharova stated: “There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished.”

Following the drone attacks in the Black Sea, on 8 August, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence declared war in the Black Sea against Russia. It stated that Russia’s ports surrounding the Black Sea will be a “war risk zone.”

Padmashree Anandhan, "Ukraine: Russia claims victory in Bakhmut," NIAS-IPRI-KAS Conflict Weekly Vol.4 No.21 & 22, 25 May 2023

North Korean government. State-sponsored hackers of ScarCruft and Lazarus are said to have installed a digital back door into NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a Russian rocket design bureau, for five months. The development comes after Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu’s visit to Pyongyang on 26 July.

Myanmar: Military grants clemency to Aung San Suu Kyi and ex-President Win Myint

On 1 August, Myanmar Now reported that the Myanmar military granted clemency to Aung San Suu Kyi and exPresident Win Myint, reducing their prison sentences. Suu Kyi's sentence is reduced to 27 from 33 years, and Win Myint's is now eight years. The clemency order was granted by the head of Myanmar's military council, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Sentences on five cases out of 19 against Suu Kyi relating to violating coronavirus restrictions, illegally importing walkie-talkies, and sedition were reduced. Besides, the junta also pardoned nearly 7,750 prisoners, including 22 ethnic armed group members and 125 foreign inmates.

Indonesia: OIC urged to take action against Quran burnings

On 1 August, communal clashes broke out during a religious procession in the Gurugram region in the state of Haryana. The clashes erupted between the Hindu and Muslim communities after an armed mob attacked a mosque. At least six people were killed and several were injured during the clashes. The Chief Minister of Haryana, M L Khattar, stated: “The conspirators are being identified.”

India: Manipur violence continues

On 10 August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, addressed the people of Manipur. He assured them of efforts to bring peace and development back to the state of Manipur. Modi stated: “Crimes against women are unacceptable and the Central and State governments are working together to ensure the guilty are punished. We want to assure our mothers and daughters in Manipur that this country is with you, this House is with you.” On 6 August, unidentified perpetrators set fire to 15 houses in the Langol region. The security forces had to fire tear gas to contain the violence.

On 8 August, Manipur police filed a case against Assam Rifles, accusing them of "disobeying law by public servant with intent to cause injury to any person, obstructing public servant in charge of public function." The Assam Rifles were also accused of obstructing the police from conducting a search operation after two people were killed by unidentified armed men in Manipur. The ethnic clashes in Manipur have been continuing for the past three months, which according to the Hindu, has claimed more than 160 lives.

Sri Lanka: Indian fishermen arrested

On 8 August, Sri Lankan Navy arrested ten Indian fishermen for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). The fishermen were caught illegally fishing in Sri Lankan waters. The trawler was seized and the fishermen were handed over to the Sri Lankan Fisheries Directorate for further proceedings.

Palestine: Israeli attack kills three Palestinians

On 6 August, Al Jazeera reported

that Israeli forces shot three Palestinians in the West Bank dead. Following the attack, the Israeli forces stated: “A short time ago, a vehicle carrying a squad of terrorists from the Jenin refugee camp was identified while on its way to carry out an attack.” The army conducting the attack claimed that they were “involved in military action against Israeli security forces and advancing military activity directed by terrorists in the Gaza Strip.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded the security forces and added that the country would continue attacks against “those who seek our lives anywhere and at any time.” A Hamas Gaza spokesperson Hazem Qasem, stated: “The enemy, which assassinated three of our Palestinian people, will not escape paying the price of its crimes.” According to an Al Jazeera report, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed this year alone in the occupied Palestinian territories. Ukraine: War declared in Black Sea against Russia

On 8 August, Ukrainian presidential spokesperson Oleg Ustenko, stated that Ukraine would target anything moving in the Black Sea, as Russia withdrew from the grain deal and launched attacks on agricultural storage in Odessa. Highlighting how Ukraine's maritime infrastructure is under constant attack, Ustenko stated that the six Russian ports surrounding the Black Sea that include ports of Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi, and Taman, will remain a “war risk area.” The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence stated: "Terrorize peaceful Ukrainian cities and destroy grain condemning hundreds of millions to starvation. There would be no more safe waters or peaceful harbors for you in the Black and Azov Seas."

About the authors

Akriti Sharma and Ankit Singh are PhD Scholars at NIAS. Anu Maria Joseph, Femy Francis and Rishika Yadav are Research Assistants at NIAS. Padmashree Anandhan is a Research Associate at NIAS. Jerry Franklin is a Postgraduate Scholar at Madras Christian College, Chennai. Sneha Surendran is a Postgraduate Scholar from OP Jindal University, Haryana.

The report has been modified by Australia India News for space considerations.

41 migrants feared dead in latest Mediterranean shipwreck

Rome, Aug 10 (IANS) Some 41 migrants were feared dead in the latest shipwreck on the treacherous route across the central Mediterranean.

The deaths were reported by four survivors of the tragedy who were brought to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to media reports, the four survivors were rescued by the Rimona, a Maltese cargo ship. The victims were taken to the Italian coast guard, which brought them to Lampedusa for treatment on Wednesday.

The survivors said the boat carrying 45 would-be asylum

seekers left Tunisia for Lampedusa on August 3. It appears the vessel capsized either late August 3 or in the early hours of the next day, and the four survivors managed to stay afloat by clinging to wreckage of the boat. They subsequently found an empty boat at sea, before being rescued by the Rimona.

In a joint statement, the International Organization for Migration, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Unicef expressed their "deepest condolences for the loss of dozens of lives" in the shipwreck.

"Today's numbers add to the growing death toll of shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean. According to IOM's Missing Migrants Project, more than 1,800 people have already been reported dead and missing along the route this year," said the statement.

On Sunday, about 57 people were rescued after two ships sank between Tunisia and Lampedusa within a few hours of each other, while 32 people were declared dead or missing from the two vessels.

Also on Sunday, 34 refugees were rescued after being stranded for 36 hours on a steep cliffside in Lampedusa, after their ship hit rocks just off the island. Rough waters made a rescue by sea impossible, but the victims were eventually lifted to safety by helicopter.

According to the Italian Interior Ministry, nearly 92,000 refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and beyond have landed on the country's shores so far this year, more than double the amount that arrived in the country during the same period last year, and three times the number from 2021. The IOM has reported nearly 134,000 migrant arrivals in Europe so far in 2023.

Indian-American doc arrested for indecent act in front of minor on flight

on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts said.

Mohanty had covered himself with a blanket up to his neck and that Mohanty’s leg was bouncing up and down.

After 47 years, Russia journeys to Moon with Luna-25

"There are signs of ice in the soil of the Luna-25 landing area; this can be seen from data from orbit. In the equatorial regions where we landed earlier, this is not the case."

Moscow, Aug 11(IANS) After 47 years, Russia is set to return to the Moon with its Luna 25 lander mission.

Luna-25 took off atop a Soyuz2.1b rocket from the Vostochny launch facility in Russia at 2:10 a.m. Moscow time (4:40 am IST) on Friday, TASS news agency reported.

Russia's last lunar mission, Luna24 was launched in 1976, during the former Soviet Union period. It successfully delivered about 170 grams of moon samples to Earth.

Luna-25 is expected to reach the Moon’s orbit on August 16 before landing on August 21. The spacecraft will spend between three and seven days about 100 km above the lunar surface before touching down in the area of the Boguslawsky crater.

Interestingly, Luna-25 is slated to touch down around the same time, and in the same general area, as India's Chandrayaan 3 probe, which launched on July 14 and arrived in lunar orbit on August 6.

US space agency NASA also plans to establish one or bases near the moon's south pole by the end of the 2020s, via its Artemis programme.

The spacecraft aims to search for natural resources, including water, and study the effects of space rays and electromagnetic emissions on the lunar surface. The lander is equipped with several cameras. They will make a timelapse footage of the landing and an HDR wide-angle image of the moonscape.

New York, Aug 12 (IANS) An Indian-American doctor has been arrested for an alleged indecent act and exposing himself within the view of a 14-year-old girl seated next to him onboard a flight from Honolulu to Boston in May 2022.

Sudipta Mohanty, 33, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US. An internal medicine and primary care doctor with a practice in Boston, Mohanty was arrested on Thursday and was released

Bushra

“Everyone, especially children, has the absolute right to not be exposed to lewd conduct when they are traveling,” said Acting US Attorney Joshua S Levy.

“If you engage in the type of illicit behaviour alleged here, you will be caught and held accountable wherever it happens.”

According to the charging documents, Mohanty was a passenger aboard a Hawaiian Airlines Flight enroute from Honolulu to Boston with a female companion on May 27, 2022.

He was allegedly seated next to a 14-year-old minor travelling with her grandparents, who were seated nearby.

About half-way through the flight, the minor allegedly observed that

Shortly thereafter, the minor observed that the blanket was on the floor, no longer covering Mohanty, and that Mohanty was masturbating.

The minor moved herself to an empty seat in a different row for the remainder of the flight.

After arriving in Boston, the minor informed members of her family about the incident and law enforcement was notified.

“What Dr Mohanty is accused of doing in front of a 14-yearold girl is reprehensible,” said Christopher DiMenna, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division.

Manzinus and Pentland-A craters have been named as alternative landing sites.

Once landing safely, Luna-25 aims to work on the lunar surface for at least one Earth year. Its key goal is to polish the soft landing technology. If successful, the mission may become the first spacecraft ever to land near the South Pole of Moon.

Luna-25's "most important task, to put it simply, is to sit where no one has sat," Maxim Litvak, a chief scientist for the mission from Russia's Space Research Institute (known by the acronym IKI), said in a posting on the IKI website.

"Now everyone is aiming for the polar regions; this area is intriguing to everyone in the scientific community," Litvak said.

Luna-25 will turn its cameras during pre-programmed periods and on a signal from the Earth, TASS reported.

Meanwhile the Russian space agency Roscosmos' Director General also announced timeframes for upcoming Moon missions.

"Luna-26 is scheduled for 2027, Luna-27 - for 2028, Luna-28 - in 2030 or later," Yury Borisov was quoted as saying.

After that, Russia's space corporation will launch the next phase of the programme.

"Subsequently, we will begin the next phase - a manned mission and the construction of a lunar base - with our colleagues from China," Borisov said. "This would be a long-lasting and important program and we expect many countries to join it."

Bibi’s diary reveals extent of her influence on Imran Khan’s politics

Islamabad, Aug 12 (IANS) An alleged private diary of Bushra Bibi, the wife of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, has made startling revelations about her influence in political and private matters revolving around her husband's life, local media reported.

The alleged diary has several entries, and one of those shows that Bushra Bibi used to decide about the time and the person to put pressure on the judiciary, the army and the government, The News reported. The development comes just a day after Bushra Bibi met her husband in the Attock

jail for the first time after the PTI chief got arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on August 5 in connection with the Toshakhana case. Khan has been accused of misusing his 2018-2022 tenure to "buy" and "sell" gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and were worth more than Rs 140 million ($635,000). According to the revelations, from the PTI chief's diet to control his legal matters, the alleged diary has shown how Bushra Bibi used to "dictate" Khan and how he followed her directives. It also talks about the situation

arising in case the governor’s rule is imposed, stating that the legal team should be prepared to shut down the city and call for a shutter-down strike if it happens, The News reported. The diary also discloses Bushra Bibi's control of Imran Khan's diet and daily routine, and at what time he has to eat. Details show that Khan has to drink 'Kahwa', juice and honey as soon as he wakes up in the morning. It also reveals that the PTI chairman has to eat only fish, meat or kebab as his lunch along with vitamins. It further says that the former prime minister should be given milk at 12 in the night.

Not holding my breath for Musk: Zuckerberg on cage fight in Italy

he says has not been agreed on,” Zuckerberg posted.

He continued: "Not holding my breath for Elon, but I'll share details on my next fight when I'm ready.

Musk says cage fight with Zuckerberg to livestream from epic Italy location

San Francisco, Aug 12 (IANS)

Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has responded to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s cage fight challenge, likely to happen at an “epic” location in Italy, saying he is "not holding his breath" for Musk to agree to a date. But Zuckerberg took to his own social media platform Threads, saying he loves this sport and is ready to fight since the day “Musk challenged me”.

"If he ever agrees on an actual date, you'll hear it from me. Until then, please assume anything

Musk earlier said he has been in contact with the Italian prime minister and minister of culture about hosting the event.

However, Zuckerberg said no date has been agreed.

"When I compete I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game.

"You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card,” said Meta CEO.

Zuckerberg, 39, holds a blue

belt in jiu-jitsu and recently won gold and silver medals in a tournament.

Meanwhile, Musk also posted the word "gladiator" with two emojis of swords crossed as well.

Musk had previously said that “some chance fight happens in the Colosseum."

Musk on X (formerly Twitter) posted that the “fight will be managed by my and Zuck’s foundations (not UFC). Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in the camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all”.

In a subsequent post, Musk said that "Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy. And all proceeds go to veterans".

Man who threatened Biden shot dead during FBI raid

visit, reports the BBC.

The agents were giving commands to the man when he pointed a gun at them, CNN quoted a law enforcement source as saying.

The FBI has not provided any further information on the incident.

"Digging out my old Ghille suit and cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle. Welcome buffoon-inchief."

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) Tech

billionaire Elon Musk on Friday said that the much-anticipated cage fight with Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will livestream at an epic location in Italy.

Musk on X (formerly Twitter) posted that "I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location."

"The fight will be managed by my and Zuck’s foundations (not UFC). Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all," he added.

In a subsequent post Musk said that "Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy. And all proceeds go to veterans".

The tech billionaire also went for an MRI recently.

When a user asked in the post, "How was the MRI?"

Musk replied: "I spent 3 hours in an MRI machine on Monday. Bottom line is that my C5/C6 fusion is solid, so not an issue. However, there is a problem with my right shoulder blade rubbing against my ribs, which requires minor surgery. Recovery will only take a few months."

The talk of the fight initially started when Musk in June replied to a tweet about the news that Meta was releasing a Twitter competitor.

"I'm sure Earth can't wait to be exclusively under Zuck's thumb with no other options. At least it will be 'sane'. Was worried there for a moment."

To this, a user replied, "Better be careful @elonmusk I heard he does the jiu-jitsu now".

"I'm up for a cage match if he is lol," Musk replied.

Then, Zuckerberg posted a screenshot of the Tesla CEO's tweet with the caption "send me location".

Later, both were seen training Jiu-Jitsu.

Washington, Aug 10 (IANS) A man who allegedly made threats against US President Joe Biden ahead of the latter’s trip to the state of Utah, was shot dead during a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raid, media reports said.

The raid occurred on Wednesday in Provo, about 65 km south of state capital Salt Lake City, while FBI agents were attempting to serve an arrest warrant against the accused person, Craig Robertson at his home, just hours ahead of the President's planned

Robertson was facing three federal charges, including threats against the President as well as influencing, impeding and retaliating against federal law enforcement officers by threat.

Investigators noted that Robertson appeared to owns “a sniper rifle” and several other firearms.

Some of the threats happened just ahead of Biden’s planned trip to Utah on Wednesday evening.

“I hear Biden is coming to Utah,” one threat read.

The US Secret Service, which is responsible for protection of high-level government officials, including Biden, said that it is "aware of the FBI investigation involving an individual in Utah who has exhibited threats to a Secret Service protectee”. Robertson also posted online threats in recent months againsy Attorney General Merrick Garland, Vice President Kamala Harris, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, California Governor Gavin Newsom and New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Biden will now make his first visit to Utah as president on Thursday, with a visit to a veterans' hospital and a fundraising event in Park City.

Ahead of Independence Day, another Hindu temple vandalised in Canada

Toronto, Aug 13 (IANS) Just ahead of India's 76th Independence Day, another prominent Hindu temple was vandalised in the Canadian province of British Columbia with its walls defaced with antiIndia and pro-Khalistan posters, according to reports.

The posters were found pasted on the front and rear walls of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey the early hours of Saturday, and were removed after they were discovered by the temple authorities.

Displaying photos of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the poster was shared by 'The

Australia Today' on its twitter handle and read: "Canada investigates India's role in June 18th assassination".

The CCTV footage of the incident, which was shared on social media, showed two masked men pasting posters and taking pictures before leaving the temple premises.

Despite New Delhi registering strong protests, an anti-India campaign continues in Canada with pro-Khalistani graffiti and posters targeting Indian diplomats and temples across the country.

Hawaii’s Maui island wildfire deadliest in century as deaths near 100

An uptick in Khalistani poster campaign has been noted after Nijjar, chief of the separatist organisation Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), was killed by two unidentified men on the premises of the gurdwara on June 18 evening.

On August 1, a poster saying "wanted" and "kill India" was put up near the entrance to the building housing the consulate in Vancouver.

In April this year, the premises of the BAPS Swaminarayan temple in Windsor was spray-painted with pro-Khalistan graffiti.

Kahului (Hawaii), Aug 14 (IANS)

The raging wildfire that swept through Lahaina town on the Hawaiian island of Maui this week has killed at least 93 people, making it the most deadly US fire in a century.

Maui County officials said early Sunday that firefighting crews are continuing to extinguish flareups in the Lahaina and Upcountry Maui fires. In the Upcountry Maui fire, three structures in Olinda and 16 structures in Kula were destroyed, CBS News reported. Earlier on Saturday, Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned that the death toll could rise "significantly" as forensic work continues to identify the victims, the BBC reported.

"It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced...We can only wait and

support those who are living. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding," Green reportedly said Saturday as he toured the devastation site. It is thought that more than 2,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed since the fires broke out. The majority of these were homes in the Lahaina area, the British news broadcaster reported.

The death toll surpassed 2018’s Camp Fire in California, which killed 86 people.

Multiple media reports said that the Hawaii emergency management records do not indicate the warning sirens sounded before the fire hit the town.

India, US discuss G20 cross-border payments, global debt challenges

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) India and the US have held wide-ranging discussions on cross-border payments issues including G20 payments roadmap, India’s United Payments Interface (UPI) platform, and the Federal Reserve’s implementation of the FedNow payments system.

The meeting was held on August 3 between senior Finance Ministry officials led by Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran and the US Treasury Department representatives in New Delhi, as part of their second subministerial meeting following the 9th ministerial meeting of the Indian-US Economic and Financial Partnership (EFP) held in November 2022.

The US delegation was led by Assistant Secretary for International Finance Brent Neiman, while representatives from the Reserve Bank of India and the US Federal Reserve in Washington DC participated virtually.

Domestic investors holding declined in June quarter

During the meeting, issues related to Indian and US priorities in addressing global debt challenges, joint efforts to advance the clean energy transition and mobilide climate finance, and the progress on creating innovative investment platforms to accelerate deployment of renewable energy projects, were also discussed, official sources said. Both sides agreed to continue their collaboration and build on successful meetings that took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden during the former's US visit in June this year.

Indian auto component industry logs Rs

5.60 lakh crore business in FY23: ACMA

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) After rising for 6 quarters in a row, from 22.40 per cent as on September 30, 2021 to 25.73 per cent as on March 31, 2023, the share of Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) along with Retail and High Net-worth Individual (HNI) investors in companies listed on NSE declined to 25.50 per cent as on June 30, 2023, as per Primeinfobase, an initiative of Prime Database Group.

share increasing for the fourth quarter in a row to 18.94 per cent as on June 30, 2023 (up by 7 bps from 18.87 per cent as on March 31, 2023).

While FIIs pumped in a huge Rs 44,065 crore and Rs 16,818 crore in Financial Services & Auto sector respectively, they pulled out Rs 9,376 crore from Information Technology sector during the quarter.

Following from the above, the gap between FII and DII holding widened in this quarter with DII holding now being 15.19 per cent lower than FII holding (On March 31, 2023, DII holding was 13.29 per cent lower than FII holding).

Chennai, Aug 7 (IANS) A combination of good domestic, exports, and after market sales of automotive components last fiscal resulted in the industry logging a 32.8 per cent growth to Rs.5.60 lakh crore or $ 69.7 billion, said top officials of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). Sharing his insights on the performance of the industry, ACMA President and Chairman, Sona Comstar, Sunjay Kapur said: "On the front of trade, it is appreciable that there has been steady growth in exports despite recessionary trends in Europe and the US which are key export destinations for the auto components industry. Strong rebound in vehicle sales in the domestic market also led to a sharper rise in imports that has translated into a trade deficit this year."

He said sales of cars, commercial vehicles and tractors have now reached the pre-pandemic levels and even the two wheeler industry has recovered well.

"With significant mitigation in the

supply-side issues of availability of semiconductors, input rawmaterial costs and logistics, the vehicle industry is expected to continue to perform well in FY24, which augurs well for the auto components sector. That apart, exports and growth in the domestic aftermarket continue to be robust," Kapur said. Looking back at the fiscal that went by, ACMA Director General Vinnie Mehta said: "The component industry sized-up to Rs 5.60 lakh crore ($69.7 billion) registering 32.8 per cent growth, thus outpacing its highest ever turnover of Rs. 4.20 lakh crore in FY 21-22. Exports grew by 5.2 per cent to Rs 1.61 lakh crore ($20.1 billion) while imports grew by 10.9 per cent to Rs 1.63 lakh crore ($20.3 billion). The Aftermarket, estimated at Rs. 85,333 crores also witnessed a steady growth of 15 per cent. Component sales to OEMs in the domestic market grew by 39.5 per cen t to Rs. 4.76 lakh crore."

Key findings of the ACMA Annual Industry Performance Review for 2022-23: Auto Component sales to OEMs, in the domestic market, at Rs 4.76 lakh crore ($59.3 billion) grew 39.5 per cent compared to the previous year.

Consumption of increased valueadded components and shift in market preference towards larger and more powerful vehicles contributed to the increased

turnover of the auto-components sector. Exports of auto components witnessed growth of 5.2 per cent to Rs 1.61 lakh crore ($20.1 billion) in 2022-23 in contrast to Rs 1.41 lakh crore ($19 billion) in 2021-22.

North America, accounting for 32 per cent of exports, saw a growth of 8 per cent. Europe accounting for 31 per cent and Asia for 26 per cent, grew 3 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. The key export items included drive transmission and steering, engine components, body/chassis, suspension, braking and others.

Traction in the domestic market also reflected on imports of components into India.

Component imports grew by 10.9 per cent in 2022-23 to Rs 1.63 lakh crore ($20.3 billion) from Rs 1.36 lakh crore ($18.3 billion) in 202122. Asia accounted for 66 per cent of imports followed by Europe and North America at 26 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.

Imports from Asia grew 12 per cent, while those from Europe by 6 per cent and from North America by 23 per cent. Increased movement of vehicles postpandemic and surge in demand for used vehicles led to buoyancy in the aftermarket across all segments. The turnover of the aftermarket in FY 2022-23 stood at Rs 85,333 crore ($10.6 billion) compared to Rs 74,203 crore ($10 billion) in the previous year.

According to Pranav Haldea, Managing Director, Prime Database Group, this was on account of profit booking by LIC, mutual funds as also retail and HNI investors with markets reaching all-time highs. Net inflows from DIIs stood at just Rs 3,368 crore during the quarter. Meanwhile, net inflows from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) of a huge Rs 1,02,617 crore during the quarter resulted in FII

The widest gap between FII and DII holding was in quarter ending March 31, 2015, when DII holding was 49.82 per cent lower than FII holding. The FII to DII ownership ratio also increased to 1.18 as on June 30, 2023 up from 1.15 as on March 31, 2023.

Meanwhile, the total share of institutional investors, FII and DII combined declined to 35.01 per cent in quarter ending June 30, 2023, down from 35.24 in quarter ending March 31, 2023.

Musk’s Tesla appoints Indiaorigin Vaibhav Taneja as CFO

San Francisco, Aug 7 (IANS) Elon Musk-run Tesla has appointed Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), as the company targets India as it next major supply ecosystem creator.

Taneja is currently serving as the Chief Accounting Officer, and will take the CFO post as an additional responsibility. He will replace Zachary Kirkhorn who completes his 13-year stint with Tesla, according to repeats.

"Being a part of this company is a special experience and I'm extremely proud of the work we've done together since I joined

Leap-forward climbing plan: realme’s vision for redefining

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) In a fiercely-competitive smartphone market, where industry giants dominated, realme emerged as a daring underdog five years ago. Its progression from obscurity to setting new standards for the sector is nothing short of amazing. realme's success has been a result of its persistent dedication to its "Dare to Leap" guiding philosophy, which has

been fueled by creative product lines and clever marketing.

From the moment of its launch in 2018, realme surpassed expectations and quickly cemented its position in the mainstream of the world. The brand made daring moves, surpassing one milestone after another, with a young energetic leadership team. With a bold business strategy and a special

understanding of the tastes of its young consumer base, the smartphone brand aced it all. In just five years, realme's innovative products became a symbol of excellence, consistently delivering leap-forward performance and design. The brand strategically navigated the challenging market landscape, adapting quickly to market changes and establishing its

over 13 years ago," Kirkhorn said in a post on the professional networking platform LinkedIn. The development comes at a time when Tesla has reportedly held discussions with the Indian government officials to bring its auto parts and electronics chain to the country in the near future. Musk, during his June meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US, has said he will visit India next year.

Musk told reporters in conversations following his meeting with Modi: "He really cares about India because he’s pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something that we intend to do and we’re just trying to figure out the right timing."

It was a change of plans for the mercurial Musk who had earlier refused to consider manufacturing in India unless India lowered tariffs for imported Teslas to be sold in India.

smartphone market

presence in multiple markets globally. With each new product launch, realme's popularity surged, and it has now secured a spot among the top three smartphone brands in India. realme's "light assets, short channel modes, and e-commerce prioritisation" strategy is responsible for its success. By utilising these ideas, the brand was able to break into the top six

global brands for the first time and become the smartphone brand with the fastest growth rate for four straight quarters. With the help of this strategy, realme was also able to establish itself as a top proponent of 5G and hit significant sales milestones quickly.

Vanadium Mining for Energy Storage: Powering the Future with Redox Flow Batteries

Opinion Piece: Kriti Bhardwaj

(Mining and Resources

Professional)

As the world transitions towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy landscape, the role of energy storage technologies becomes increasingly vital. Among the innovative solutions gaining prominence is vanadium mining for energy storage, particularly in the form of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). This article delves into the significance of vanadium in energy storage, the mechanics of VRFBs, and the potential impact of this technology on the renewable energy sector.

Vanadium (V) is a soft, ductile, silver-grey metal that is primarily used with iron to make metal alloys for high-strength steel production. High-strength steel has a wide range of applications, including for gas and oil pipelines, tool steel, jet engines, the manufacture of axles and crankshafts for motor vehicles, as well as for reinforcing bars in building and construction. Vanadium, a transition metal with exceptional energy storage capabilities, plays a pivotal role in addressing the intermittency challenge of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Its ability to store and release energy efficiently makes it a

prime candidate for energy storage applications.

At the heart of this energy storage revolution are vanadium redox flow batteries. Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries, VRFBs store energy in chemical solutions containing vanadium ions with different oxidation states. During charging and discharging cycles, these vanadium ions exchange electrons, producing electricity. This unique mechanism grants VRFBs a longer lifespan, rapid response times, and the capacity to store large amounts of energy.

Advantages of VRFBs

Scalability: VRFBs are easily scalable, making them suitable for various applications, from residential energy storage to grid-level solutions.

Longevity: VRFBs can endure a high number of charge-discharge cycles without significant degradation, prolonging their lifespan.

Safety: The use of non-flammable and non-toxic electrolytes in VRFBs enhances their safety profile.

Efficiency: VRFBs offer higher round-trip energy efficiency compared to some other battery technologies, thanks to their inherent design.

Vanadium mining and VRFB technology hold the key to

unlocking the full potential of renewable energy sources. As the generation of sol energy fluctuates, VRFBs can store excess energy during peak production and release it during low production periods, ensuring a stable and consistent power supply.The impact of vanadium mining for energy storage reaches beyond individual countries. Developing countries with limited access to stable power grids can benefit from VRFBs to provide reliable electricity, contributing to economic development and improved living conditions. In developed nations, VRFBs can help balance energy demand, integrate higher levels of renewables, and enhance grid resilience.

Despite its promise, the adoption of VRFBs faces challenges such as cost and energy density. As technology advances and economies of scale come into play, these barriers are expected to diminish. Research efforts are ongoing to enhance vanadium extraction methods, optimize battery efficiency, and explore alternative materials for VRFBs.

Vanadium mining for energy storage, particularly through vanadium redox flow batteries, represents a significant leap towards achieving a sustainable energy future. With the potential to revolutionize energy storage on a global scale, VRFBs could pave the way for greater renewable energy adoption, grid stability, and reduced carbon emissions. As vanadium continues to power innovation in the energy sector, the path to a greener world becomes clearer and more achievable.

The Vedanta Group on Tuesday said it remains committed to building India’s first semiconductor and display fabs in Gujarat, and has already engaged with more than 100 global suppliers and ancillary industries. The statement came after Taiwanese chip-making giant Foxconn withdrew from a joint venture to manufacture chips with India-based industrial giant.

According to Vedanta Semiconductors and Display Global MD Akarsh K. Hebbar, Vedanta Group remains fully committed to building India’s first semiconductor and display fabs in Dholera Special Investment Region in Ahmedabad district.

He said that the state government

has allotted the land in Dholera and work is already underway to prepare it for construction of the fabs. “In display fab, we already have a partnership with Innolux and are ready to proceed with speed with full support of our partner,” Hebbar said.

The company is currently awaiting the government’s nod to its applications under the modified scheme for semiconductor and display fabs. “Thereafter, we will immediately begin construction and set out on the path to make India atmanirbhar in electronics in line with the vision of our Prime Minister,” said Hebbar.

Last week, Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal said that he is 100 per cent committed to produce semiconductors and display glass in India and have lined up partners for the same.

A total of 67 first mile connectivity (FMC) projects with 885 million tonnes capacity are being taken up in three phases to achieve capacity of 1 billion tonnes mechanised handling of coal.

Out of these, 59 projects belong to Coal India Limited (CIL), five belong to Singareni Collieries

Company Limited (SCCL) and three projects are from Neyveli Lignite Company India Limited, official sources said. In line with the goal of PM Gatishakti, the coal ministry has undertaken railway projects worth Rs 26,000 crore to develop multimodal connectivity. The implementation of technology-driven processes not only increases productivity

but also reduces operational costs, contributing to the overall profitability of the coal sector. This shift towards sustainable transportation plays a pivotal role in mitigating climate change and improving air quality. At present, 13 railway lines are being constructed in collaboration with the railway ministry for expansion of coal distribution capabilities, which are at various stages of construction. First mile connectivity also eliminates road transportation of coal in mining areas by using conveyors or roads to the nearest railway siding. By transporting coal through a conveyor belt or road to the nearest railway siding, FMC reduces the number of trucks on the road and the associated environmental impacts such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and road damage, leading to a cleaner and healthier environment.

In a virtual address at the inaugural session of the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial meeting in Chennai, Modi said, "I call on the G20 to work constructively to work on an effective international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution."

He also highlighted responsible management of oceanic resources."Responsible use and management of ocean resources is of vital importance. I look forward to the adoption of G20 high-level principles for a sustainable and resilient blue and

ocean-based economy," the prime minister said.

PM Modi pointed out that India is one of the top five countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy capacity. "We have also set a target of attaining net-zero by 2070. We continue to collaborate with our partners through our alliance, including the international solar alliance, CDRI and the leadership group for industry transition. India has consistently been at the forefront of acting on biodiversity conservation, protection and enrichment," PM Modi informed delegates

Engaged with 100 global suppliers to build chip, display fabs in India: Vedanta

PM Modi urges G20 for Int’l legally binding document to end plastic pollution

67 first mile connectivity projects under process to achieve 1bn tonnes mechanised handling of coal

The Australian Vanadium mine in WA is expected to start producing vanadium in 2022.

(Source: AVL)

Image Source: IANS

Image Source: IANS

Image Source: IANS

From the editor’s desk

India & China regular talks imperative to keep guns silent

The contemporary history of India-China relations has been one of aggression and distrust. Since the war in 1962, India and China have never been able to forge any kind of peaceful neighbourhood as it should have been. The war in 1962 caught India unawares as not many political analysts would have, back then, anticipated a fullfledged war of the proportion that it saw at that time. But times change, and though India is still behind China in military might, India is now far better equipped to take on China than it was back than in 1962. Both India and China have nuclear weapons and this is a deterrent. Though full-fledged war may not be a possibility, skirmishes take place with regularity, which can spiral out of hand and start a war if allowed to go unattended. This is precisely why attempts are being made from both sides to restore some semblance of normalcy in the region. In that spirit, the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are likely to hold the 19th round of military talks on August 14 in a bid to ease tensions along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) where the two sides have been locked in a border conflict for more than three years. While political leaders at the highest level have their work cut out, the implementation at the ground level is all the more significant. Therefore the latest round of Corps Commander level talks assumes significance. The need for such talks is so much essential that these talks will take place almost four months after the last military dialogue was held on April 23. The situation at strategic locations are tensed, and it can be gauzed from the fact that despite four rounds of disengagement from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), the Indian and Chinese armies still have more than 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre. Interestingly, the Indian and Chinese armies have had several rounds of talks on the border issue, without being able to ease tensions at Depsang in Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok sector. Talks related to tensions in these areas are still on.

The 19th round of military talks are more significant in the light of the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are attending the BRICS Summit in South Africa’s Johannesburg on August 22-24. This increases the possibility of a meeting between both leaders on the sidelines of the summit, and such meetings sans formal planning are sometimes more helpful in reducing tension than the more formal ones. Moreover, this meeting could set the tone for another opportunity for the meeting of the two leaders when the Chinese leader comes to New Delhi for the G20 summit in September. Modi and Xi had discussed the need to stabilise bilateral ties when they met briefly on the margins of last year’s G20 Summit in Indonesia. India and China have been engaged in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh since AprilMay 2020. The relations between India and China saw a six-decade low following a brutal skirmish in Galwan Valley which killed 20 Indian soldiers. Following that skirmish, there have been claims and counter-claims related to PLA casualties, with India claiming PLA had twice as many casualities as the Indian Army had, while Beijing claims that only four Chinese soldiers were killed. These claims and counterclaims do little to normalize the situation. India External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has also reiterated that peace and tranquility on the border alone will ensure normalcy in bilateral relations.

While diplomacy has been ongoing, both India and China have been focusing on strengthening border infrastructure and connectivity. India has built significant infrastructure to thwart any Chinese attempts of aggression in the Indian region. Significantly better sense may have prevailed on the Chinese side, as in a statement issued after the 18th round of talks in April, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs stated that the two sides agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.

Brics

must deliver on its promises to stay relevant

By Rabindra mukherjee

With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s confirmation recently that he will attend the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22-24, earlier speculations ended that the summit could become a virtual meet as Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided not to attend it in-person. In a telephonic conversation with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Indian Prime Minister accepted the invitation saying he looked forward to his visit to Johannesburg to participate in the summit. Now that the summit is all set to take place as per schedule, the focus shifts on what this summit could entail. To put the whole thing into perspective a quick reminder of what BRICS is. BRICS is a multilateral grouping of countries comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and it represents and symbolizes the fast-growing economies of the world that would collectively dominate the global economy by 2050.

It all started with the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China meeting for the first time in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the margins of G8 Outreach Summit in July 2006. This was followed by formalizing the group as Bric during the first Bric foreign ministers’ meeting in 2006 on the side lines of the General Debate of the UN Assembly in New York City. A series of high-level meetings paved the way for the first Bric summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2009. Later when South Africa joined the group and became its full member, Bric was renamed as BRICS. Though BRICS has held 14 summits so far, a reassessment of the grouping and its achievements are needed for it to remain relevant in a fastchanging global environment. It is here significant to appreciate the fact that BRICS can become a major grouping with a lot of influence in the international arena as it has brought together the major emerging economies, comprising 41% of the world population, with 24% of the world GDP and over 16% share in the world trade. In that light, BRICS countries have already been the main instruments of global economic growth over the years. This fact ought to be taken into consideration as the BRICS countries collectively have the potential to shape the world’s history, provided they can leave aside irritants of the past that may not have fructified the aspirations of this grouping to the extent it ought to have achieved.

While deliberations among BRICS countries have primarily been held on important issues related to political, security, economic, financial, cultural and peopleto-people exchanges, there are certain key areas on which these countries have largely focused

and would, in all likelihood, want to move on from there to more wide-ranging issues facing the world today. It all looks promising when the BRICS member countries focus on key areas such as having a consensus on important global and regional issues that will be reflective of a non-western view rather than having a western perspective. The non-western way of looking at important international and regional issues is significant given the fact that many challenges facing the world have not been addressed adequately due to what can be termed as a western stereotypical approach to solving international problems. This calls for multi-polarity in international order thereby putting a curb on the ever-growing western influence which has not been of much benefit to the developing world. Therefore if BRICS needs to remain relevant and influential in the world, it must opt for geopolitical cooperation among member countries. Then there is the question of economic cooperation among the members.

The 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (Brazil) in 2014 saw the leaders sign the agreement for establishing the New Development Bank, which has committed $32.8 billion in 96 socio-economic development projects as of now. In the same year, the member countries signed a treaty with a view to forestalling short-term balance of payments pressures and strengthen financial stability of the BRICS nations. Moreover, BRICS member countries are endeavouring to create a payment system as an alternative to the SWIFT payment system. With the Russia-Ukraine war showing no signs of ending any time soon, this initiative has taken on a new urgency as Russia has been out of the SWIFT payment system. But diplomatic logjam continues within the BRICS platform on the issue of China and Russia fully supporting India, South Africa and Brazil wanting to play a greater role in the UN Security Council. China has so far been a major hurdle insofar as India’s bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council is concerned. In a multi-lateral grouping, if certain member countries deserve their share of prominence internationally by virtue of what they have done for other countries and the potential they have economically and in other areas of human sphere, it is only apt for other member countries to support their aspirations. This has, however, been lacking with BRICS so far showing that diplomatic bankruptcy prevails within the grouping. This needs to be tackled collectively during their forthcoming summit in Johannesburg.

Then there is the issue of festering India-China relations following China’s aggressive stance along the Line of Actual Control. China’s military

assertiveness and utter neglect of India’s concerns along the border and repeated skirmishes between the armies of the two nations make it challenging for a multi-lateral grouping like BRICS to conduct normal business and build consensus on issues of global and regional interests. The consolidation of China-Russia relations following Russia’s war with Ukraine has made it difficult for other member countries of BRICS to maintain a balance between the West and ChinaRussia. The West is already against both China and Russia’s belligerent policies, and therefore any country that allies with them will naturally attract their wrath, though global politics is now much more considerate of the international compulsions of respective countries, unlike the days before World War II and during the Cold War.

Moreover, as all the BRICS member countries have trade relations with China, it is being felt and articulated as well that there is a trade imbalance with China which favours it more than other BRICS member countries. Balancing trade with China is a challenge, and it is being increasingly felt that China uses the BRICS platform to promote its own interests rather than ensuring multilateral trade interests are fulfilled. Also China has been pushing for a common currency for trade among BRICS countries, and consensus is yet to be built on this issue among the members of the grouping.

While the BRICS began with a lot of promise, much of its sheen was lost after events like COVID-19, the Galwan clash, and the Ukraine conflict unfolded. However, the group continues to attract attention as several countries want to be its member. Countries like Argentina, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Uruguay from Latin America, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal, and Morocco from Africa, and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Türkiye, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Bangladesh from Asia want to become its member.

Then, there is the third option of admission to five new members, one each supported by an existing member, with none of the other four members using their veto.

If there is a consensus on the third option, countries such as Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, UAE, and Bangladesh are the most likely states to become new members of BRICS. Therefore the forthcoming BRICS Summit could see many important decisions of global and regional interests taken by striving to build consensus on most of these issues. This is the need of the hour if BRICS is to continue to remain relevant, and possibly increase its share of power and influence globally.

A timely collaboration

By D.C. Pathak

New Delhi: Of all the matters validating strategic cooperation between India and the US from a long-term perspective, perhaps the most important point in the current - that might have gone somewhat unnoticed by the analysts - is the pledge of common resolve of President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep up commitments on safety, security and trust in regard to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The US is already working with seven leading AI companies including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta to make sure that AI applications were built up as a safe and trustworthy instrument for lifting the humanity at large.

It goes to the credit of Prime Minister Modi, who in his recent visit to the US took up the AI issues in an in-depth manner during his talks with President Biden - with full realisation that AI was going to affect everyone’s life.

Science Advisor to President Biden, Arati Prabhakar of Indian origin, announced that Indo-US cooperation would boost the ability to deal with AI’s harms and start using it for good. There is an implied acknowledgement of the great reality that Information Technology can be used with equal effectiveness as a weapon of combat in ‘information warfare’ and other covert operations as well as as a means of spreading subversion and radicalisation.

The potential for misuse includes malware injection technologies,

data manipulation, forgery, cyber-attacks and terrorism. On the other hand, AI-powered cyber security solutions in coordination with human intelligence can be extremely useful particularly when one is dealing with large amounts of data.

The AI can analyse this data to find patterns and anomalies and possibly detect the modus operandi of the adversary’s operation.

A sobering thought is that of all digital data in the world 90 percent has been created in the last two years - the speed with which information is generated apart, protection of personal data is the emerging challenge.

Smart computer systems are becoming increasingly adept at remembering and reading what we as people would be doingthis includes skills of ‘looking’, ‘listening’ or ‘speaking’. And they learn to discover patterns and rules from huge amounts of data which can even give them an upper hand in some areas of human activity.

AI systems are faster, are never tired and have a built-in capacity to learn from examples. They are better able to recognise art forgery and detect dementia before a medical specialist could consider that option and predict diabetes.

The predictive value of AI is very extensive within the input-output paradigm that remained its defining feature.

Amazon is said to have taken to ‘predictive shipping’ whereby they would be able to send you a package before even you know

you want it. AI does appear to be overriding the limitation of the input-output principle while creating new products and services.

An area of concern regarding AI is that if ‘automated decision-making systems’ are fed discriminatory data, they will reproduce the bias of the input reflected in the choice of algorithm and yet have the advantage of falsely inspiring more belief because of the human nature of considering these systems trustworthy. This bias can come into play in the area of ‘predictive policing’ where the vulnerable in society could face an undeserved disadvantage on account of a contaminated data set traceable to the hostility of a certain kind from data providers. On the other hand, an AI company can use its resources for producing clearly defined profiles of people - with greater precision - which can be used for political purposes.

It is a measure of the apprehensions about the possible misuse of AI that governments across the world are already seized of the issue of putting in place laws and restrictions to regulate AI operations.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended the creation of an independent statutory body to ensure the right development of AI across sectors. It wanted the adoption of an ethical code by both public and private entities.

Ethical use of data has been flagged by TRAI as a major concern for the government as well as corporate entities.

It has to be understood that AI-powered national security systems run the risk of hacking or manipulation by the adversary with disastrous consequences.

AI is effectively used in rockets, missiles, aircraft carriers, naval assets and other automated defence systems. Creators of AI need to know that the new technology could also be used by the enemy for indoctrinating young minds and raising agents of terror including ‘lone wolves’. On the other hand, AI-based systems can be proactively used for detecting whether a website or email is a phishing trap. In short, the inevitable use of AI brings in its own challenges spanning the

ethical and regulatory realms. Major powers like the US and China are investing big time in creating AI-based systems in their search for maintaining a military lead. AI is being used for preparations needed for facing the future battlefield.

Meanwhile, AI’s wide applicability in almost every sector has permeated human lives ranging from the service sector using voice assistants like Alexa, Siri and OTT platforms to health care, agriculture, climate change and financial spheres. However, its immense potential in the area of security and defence is what is attracting the attention of policymakers and defence analysts.

Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), cyber security, military logistics and in particular Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems(LAWS) have acquired newfound importance because of AI and so have image clarification from drone footage and geospatial data analysis. In the military domain, an area of concern is that AI is providing new autonomous and affordable capabilities to a wide range of actors. AI has given weak states and non-state actors more options to enhance their capabilities and in the process strengthened asymmetric warfare possibilities. Too much AI development favoured on the presumption of its potential positives should not make people oblivious of its negative side including in particular, the danger posed to national security itself.

The risk of AI Chatbots influencing young minds vulnerable to neurodivergence to become terrorists is real. Greater transparency has to be demanded of AI technology companies and this would include identifying the personnel responsible for checking the guardrails. These members could themselves become a source of threat on account of some vulnerability they were suffering from - they should rightly be kept in the purview of a functioning internal vigilance system that all sensitive organisations were expected to have.

Advancement in AI is expressed mainly in ‘machine learning’ that can enable a high degree

of automation in otherwise labour-intensive activities such as satellite imagery analysis and cyber defences.

AI will affect national security generally while driving military and information superiority because of the fact that the adversary could be using the same AI operations for damaging the other side.

The US National Commission on AI had in 2020 recommended that the US should form a USIndia Strategic Tech Alliance (USISTA) to develop an IndoPacific strategy on emerging technologies considering India’s enhanced geopolitical standing.

The India-US 2+2 dialogue has called for strengthening bilateral partnerships on these technologies, particularly in the field of energy.

The QUAD summit of 2022 flagged cooperation in the sphere of AI. Advances in AI will progressively multiply threats, challenges and opportunities from the national security perspective. India therefore, needs to create a supportive AI ecosystem.

Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US has paved the way for lasting cooperation between the two countries in the best interest of both sides.

India is well ahead on its AI journey and AI-enabled projects in defence are getting priority.

An AI-based Signal Intelligence Solution can enhance the Intelligence collection and analysis capabilities of the armed forces. India is poised to become a powerhouse of AI research and innovation as a responsible AI global leader.

According to Sundar Pichai CEO of Google, ‘AI is probably the most important thing that humanity has ever worked on’. India hosts one of the most thriving startup ecosystems with dozens of unicorns using AI-powered tools. They are expanding the scope for AI strategy for India and the world and especially for the global South - which this country is successfully leading as the President of G20.

(The writer is a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau. Views expressed are personal)

India-born college student is first Republican to enter US Senate race in Wisconsin

Tammy Baldwin. Raveendran, chair of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College Republicans, launched her run against Baldwin on Tuesday in Portage County with just under a year to go until the primary, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Washington, Aug 9 (IANS)

India-born college student Rejani Raveendran has announced her senate candidacy for the US state of Wisconsin, becoming the first Republican to officially get in the race against Democratic Senator

A mother of three, Raveendran has never run for office in the state, and had only decided to run for Senate after her trip to Washington earlier this summer.

"I see what’s going on in our country. I realised how much

D.C. is (dominated) by these polished politicians. I realised there is a need for a change in our political system. We need some new faces with new ideas.who has never run for office in the state," Raveendran, who recently visited Washington, told The Sentinel. She joined the Stevens Point College Republicans this year and plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a certificate in international relations next year.

"I am not a politician, and I do not want to be a politician," said

Raveendran, who immigrated to the US in 2011 from India, where she was a nurse and midwife. She became a US citizen in 2015 and lived in California before moving to Wisconsin in 2017.

Raveendran said her campaign will focus on securing the border and cracking down on illicit drugs like fentanyl, stopping illegal immigration and advocating for "medical freedom", implying that she is opposed to vaccine mandates. She raised concerns over purported adverse reactions to the coronavirus vaccine and said she also "will be fighting

against the woke agenda to preserve the innocence of our children".

Raveendran told the Sentinel that she supported former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 and is supporting him again in 2024. As Baldwin seeks a third term in a presidential election year, other Republicans considering a run include Madison businessman and 2012 Senate candidate Eric Hovde, Franklin businessman Scott Mayer and former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke.

I am delighted to wish our Indian brothers and sisters a wonderful Independence Day and the culmination of the vibrant Azadi

On

this historic milestone let us pause to remember the values and principles that form the core of India’s universal appeal and conduct. It is time to reminisce about Mahatma Gandhi’s resolve and unwavering faith in nonviolence and peace and his fortitude to take on the mighty British Empire and with no money and army and yet change the course of human history.

India’s Independence Day is an occasion to draw inspiration from Gandhian values and philosophy and help shape a better world for all. Stay safe, dream big, and never give up. Jai Hind.

We Team "Aigiri" from Kannada Sangha Queensland want to take a moment to extend our warmest greetings to you and your loved

ones.

Indian Independence Day stands as a proud reminder of the sacrifices made by countless individuals who fought valiantly for the freedom we enjoy today.

It serves as a testament to the resilience and determination of our nation, as we continue to progress and flourish.

Let us also renew our commitment to the ideals of justice, equality, and freedom that

our forefathers fought for. We at Kannada Sangha are proud to showcase our culture, commitment towards a progressive community and nurturing young minds to participate in events upholding Indian sentiments. The speciality of Kannada Sangha Queensland is we had two female committees till now and this year we have the youngest president within all Kannada Associations in Australia.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER INDIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY 2023

Happy Indian Independence Day to our fantastic Indian community here in Brisbane!

Brisbane is an inclusive and multicultural city, with more than 32% of residents born overseas.

Over 35,000 India-born residents call Brisbane home, making India the fourth highest country of origin for Brisbane residents outside of Australia.

From businesses, to music and events, to amazing food, we are

so lucky to experience the many wonderful parts of Indian culture here in Brisbane.

Today we acknowledge the independence of the Indian people and their contribution to making Brisbane even better. May today be an opportunity to gather with friends and family and have a safe and happy celebration.

Message from Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner

MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER INDIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY 2023

On India’s Independence Day, I’m delighted to send my best wishes to communities across Australia that are celebrating.

At the dawn of independence, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru called for the people of India,

‘… to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world …’

In 2023, India can reflect with pride on its success in pursuit of Nehru’s dreams. Whether as students, entrepreneurs or professionals, building families and communities, Australia is grateful for all the experiences, knowledge and ideas you have shared. We are a richer country because you have made Australia your home.

As I said during my visit to India in March, the warm friendship between Australia and India reflects the deep bonds between our people. My aim is to bring our two nations even closer together in the future. We will do that through the strength of Australia-Indian communities.

On the 77th anniversary of India’s Independence, let us celebrate our shared democratic heritage

I wish all those celebrating a happy Independence Day

India’s Independence Day is significant not just for the fact that India gained freedom from the oppression and exploitation of colonial rule, but also for the lessons it taught the world. Wedded to the ideals of Ahimsa or Non-Violence, Mahatma Gandhi showed the world that moral force and commitment to Truth were crucial for the success of a cause. It is no wonder that India’s independence was a catalyst for many independence and civil liberties movements and continues to inspire democracies

around the world! 15th August 1947 was the culmination of the efforts and painful sacrifices made by countless Indians and to them, we pay tribute. With every passing year, we also reinforce our commitment to the democratic ideals of India that go back to antiquity; to the unity in diversity that sustains its life force and to being a responsible member of the global family.

JAI HIND!

Hon. Consul Mrs. Archana Singh

Mr. Maha Sinnathamby, Chairman Springfield City Group

Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

PRIME MINISTER

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP Prime Minister of Australia 15 August 2023

A Magical Science Teacher, the greatest Toy Maker, Padma Shree, Shri Arvind Gupta- Special Interview

by Community News Editor (Australia India News), Amrita Deshpande.

Shri Arvind Gupta is a wellknown and most loved science teacher among children not only in India but also internationally. He is a nationally and internationally recognised educator. He is an engineer by profession but took up the mammoth task of using trash to convert it into toys which he could use as aids to teach children concepts in science. It has been about 50 yrs that he is relentlessly working in this field. He is challenging and developing the malleable brains of India’s young aspiring scientists through his toy making workshops. He is an explorer and traveler who has also visited Australia and taught workshops in schools in Canberra. In 2018 he was awarded Padmashri for his work in science communication. He is also recognised by UNESCO, UNICEF, MIT Media Lab, International Toy Research teachers of several developing countries. Universities like the Halmstad University, Boston Science Centre, have acknowledged his work and his books. Walt Disney Imagineering and Research, Auhof Rehabilitation Centre, Hilpolstien, Germany and the International Play Association, Finland are organisations who have recognised his designs for teaching aids. IIT Kanpur has recognised him as a distinguished alumnus. Several Indian local organisations have recognised him and his books on science teaching aids.

Community News Editor, Ms

Amrita Deshpande interviewed Shri Arvind Gupta about his work as an educator, and his journey as aToy maker.

Following is the interview.

Amrita: You have been in the profession of teaching children through experiments and toys for almost 50 yrs, what was the moment, when you first felt this is it, this is what I should do?

Shri Arvind Gupta: In 1972, as a second-year student, I first heard of Dr. Anil Sadgopal a PhD from Caltech who started the grassroots program “the Hoshangabad Science Teaching Program (HSTP)”. The HSTP aimed at making science fun for village children, using simple, local, low-cost materials and turning them into science activities. Later the HSTP spread to over 1000 schools. In 1978, as a young engineer working in a truck plant in Pune, I took a year’s leave to work with the HSTP. During my first month I designed the Matchstick Meccano using matchsticks and pieces of rubber cycle valve tube as joints. This made me very happy. That was the first time I felt I could use my engineering background for a larger social good.

Amrita: When one says Arvind Gupta it has now become synonymous with "toy maker”, if you could elaborate on why and what inspired you to experiment, create and teach children through these toys?

Shri Arvind Gupta: While designing low-cost science experiments I stumbled across a book by Sudarshan Khanna titled DYNAMIC FOLK TOYS. It was a documentation of India’s finest

traditional toys which often used recycled materials. They were aesthetic, low-cost and accessible to the poorest. Inspired by it I tried to use modern day junk - plastic bottles, Tetra Pak, old newspapers etc into making toys. We have over 100 experiments using old plastic bottles. Also 60 toys made with Tetra Pak. We also fold newspapers to make 20 different caps which children can wear.

Amrita: Science as a subject often is difficult to learn for children unless they see for themselves what happens when a chemical reaction happens or what is pressure, force etc. Tell us about your experiences with children, how do they react to the demonstrations and workshops?

Shri Arvind Gupta: Unfortunately, children in Indian schools get little exposure to science experiments. Mostly science is learnt by rote. In the best school with an active science lab the teacher might simply demonstrate. But children seldom get an opportunity to handle science equipment. Our toughest exams, the JEE (entrance to IITs) and NEET (entrance to Medical Colleges) are based on ticking the right box in multiple choice questions. There is little emphasis on working with the hands or relating science to real life.

So, when children see working science models out of everyday materials they are enthralled. They feel empowered. They feel that they too can make them.

Amrita: I know you have tons of books, YouTube videos and films to your name, how has that journey been for you from engaging children via books, vs

engaging via YouTube channel videos?

Shri Arvind Gupta: The opportunity to share came about in 2003 when I was invited by Prof. Jayant Narlikar – India’s most distinguished astrophysics to work at the children’s science centre of IUCAA (Inter University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics) located in the Pune University. We had a very passionate young team of three people. We documented over 1100 toys and science activities in 2-minute videos. Today we have 8700 videos on You tube in 15 languages. We have 300 videos in Spanish. They have been viewed by over 100 million children worldwide. We have made available thousands of books in Indian languages. Everyday 7000 books are downloaded from my website: arvindguptatoys.com

Amrita: You have met Nobel laureates, eminent people. Do you have a story to tell in that regard vis a vis your passion for science and toy making, teaching tribal children?

Shri Arvind Gupta: One common trait in most eminent people islove for their own roots. You can see that in Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi. Unless you love your own roots deeply, it is unlikely that you will work for change. Often there is much to learn from tribal children. They know their forests and habitats inside out –they know each local plant and tree and their uses. Unlike urban children they have a deep and rich knowledge of their surroundings. Before we suggest any solution, we need to first learn from the people. Ultimately, the people should be part of the solution.

Then only will it work.

Amrita: What has your experience been in terms of teaching children in villages, vs teaching Children in cities?

Shri Arvind Gupta: The village kids have fewer distractions as compared to the children in the city. They have less electronic devices, toys etc. So, their concentration is much more. In most of the hands-on workshops we find village kids do things better and faster with their hands as compared to city kids.

Amrita: You have been recognised by UNESCO, UNICEF, MIT Media Lab and International Toy Research teachers of several developing countries. Any stories to tell about that?

Shri Arvind Gupta: I was privileged to have worked in 25 countries. A few years back I was invited to Australia by a company called Hotel-Hotel. This seven-star hospitality company is deep into sustainability. So, they wanted to feature Toys from Trash, as an alternative to factory-made mass-produced toys. I went to Australia for 15 days - first a week in Canberra with Hotel-Hotel. They featured some workshops in their Hotel itself. The rest of the days I was sent to demonstrate my toys in several schools - some were old established Ivy League schools, but some were small progressive schools (I liked them very much).

After having visited many science centres in several countries, I realized that we must learn from their experiences but create something different, something which is much more relevant to our conditions in India. Children

Continued from on next Page

Continued from on next Page learn best not by seeing or listening, but by making things with their own hands. This is what we latched on.

Amrita: The current Education system in India, do you think it has changed now to accommodate teaching and learning in a non-formal way?

Shri Arvind Gupta: Yes, there has been a distinct shift from rote learning to activity-based learning.

Today the NCERT and the SCERTs talk about learning through projects and activities. But there is a great shortage of practitioners of this craft. We need to inspire a new breed of teachers to make hands-on activities mainstream.

Despite all the good initiatives the state of education in India remains quite dismal. We have many good private schools comparable to some of the best in the world but very poor public schools. The educational terrain is quite barren and stony. Even a good seed will wilt because of lack of nurturance. As civil society our small task is to everyday create a fistful of soil. Without soil there will be no flowers, no spring harvest. We must endeavour to collectively create that soil.

Amrita: Talking of Indian teachers, what would you tell teachers today, how should they equip themselves when teaching science in school?

Shri Arvind Gupta: I have visited over 3000 schools and when I

see their science labs, I find the cupboards locked. Most teachers and management are afraid that children will break burettes and test tubes, so they keep them locked. They forget that the most precious thing in the lab is not the fancy glassware and plasticware, but it is the children’s mind.

I would tell teachers that most of the science experiments until class 10th can be improvised with simple very low-cost materials. You don’t have to be rich or an elite school to do science experiments. More important is the political will. Even if something breaks it is not the end of the world. Let the children do hands-on activities using simple readily available materials. Yes, you have to buy magnets, copper wire, straws and sundry

ITC Hotels millet recipes now at Marriott International hotels reaffirming commitment to ‘UN International Year of Millets’

and Turmeric loaf and Pearl millet focaccia are some of the breads in this menu that will be available in all their wholesome goodness. Additionally, interesting millet recipes from the ITC Hotels will feature as part of the buffet spreads across the Marriott International hotels as well, some signature favorites to watch out for would be Finger Millet & Jaggery Pancake, Ragi Flour Khandvi, Jackfruit Millet Haleem, Pearl Millet Risotto with Prawns & Pickled Tomato and the Chicken & Pearl millet Kebabs.

commitment to popularize millets in support of 2023 being declared as the United Nations International Year of Millets on the behest of the government."

other stuff. We have coined an anarchistic slogan: THE BEST THING A CHILD CAN DO WITH A TOY IS TO BREAK IT.

Amrita: Having got Padmashree and other awards, and recognition, is there something you feel that “I still need to do”?

Shri Arvind Gupta: I have an abiding interest in children, which keeps me busy and going. The awards are incidental and welcome because they give the work a certain visibility and legitimacy.

I feel nice that our work has reached out to so many. But in a large country like India, we need to do much more especially in the regional languages and the Hindi speaking states where the Human Development Index is very low.

I come from Uttar Pradesh, from the Hindi heartland. There is great poverty and lack of good children’s books in Hindi, even greater shortage of good books on Education. So, I keep translating children’s books in Hindi and motivating others to do the same in Hindi, Marathi and other Indian languages. That is something that we need to promote among our younger generation to take up as a career. We need translators for translating books in Hindi. Shri Arvind Gupta has many books and videos compiled on how to make toys for teaching as well as for children to experiment. Please check his youtube channel for videos. https://www.youtube.com/@ arvindguptatoys/about

New

Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS)

Contributing towards growing their preference and popularity not only in India but also internationally, the ITC Hotel Group, known for its superior culinary excellence, and sustainability ethos has taken the initiative to launch an extensive range of Millet based breads across ITC Hotels and select Marriott International hotels in India and the APAC region that includes countries like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Indonesia.

The initiative aspires to make a meaningful contribution to the government's pioneering role in promoting the goodness of millets across the world by commemorating 2023 as the International Year of Millets along with the United Nations.

As part of this initiative, Chefs at ITC Hotels have extensively researched and curated a milletbased breads menu.

Millets are nutritionally dense, with higher levels of protein and dietary fibre and a possible answer to the 21st century lifestyle conditions. These millet breads are gluten-free and have a lowglycaemic index.

Sorghum Sundried tomato sourdough bread, Foxtail millet and Carrot bread, Multi millet

With the government spearheading the mission to revitalize millets or Shree Anna, there has been a widespread revaluation of these small grains and their relevance.

Various scientific research emphasizes the importance of millets as a winning proposition both in terms of food security and fulfilling nutritional goals.

ITC Hotels, as a part of its core Responsible Luxury ethos, continues to build a model that has food offerings that are healthy and sustainable.

This joint initiative between ITC Hotels and Marriott International aims to create and promote dining experiences centered around millets, to further popularize the benefits of this forgotten grain across the world, thereby supporting and furthering the government's mission.

Anil Chadha, Divisional Chief Executive, ITC Hotels said: "ITC Hotels have had a history of offering millets as part of their menu across properties in India and bringing the forgotten grains back on the plate. Our chefs have created exquisite millet-based recipes for various cuisines. We shall continue to promote the same in India and are delighted to share our knowledge of this ‘millet repertoire’ with Marriott for international markets. This underscores ITC Hotels’

Ranju Alex, Area Vice President, South Asia, Marriott International echoed the importance of millets, stating, "This is a great collaboration between Marriott International and ITC Hotels to support the Year of the Millet. Hotels in India have for long featured millets in their menus across various properties and local infusions. We are delighted to take this a step further and showcase these recipes at our international properties as well. The significance of Millets in today’s global scenario cannot be emphasized enough. Through this partnership, we hope to increase public awareness on the health benefits of millets and their suitability for cultivation under challenging conditions caused by climatic change."

This initiative shall popularize exciting millet-based Indian and international recipes, specially created by world-renowned ITC culinary masters, providing a unique blend of taste and nutrition.

Millets are not just a superfood. They are now seen by the scientific community as ‘foods of the future’.

What is most exciting about the new research of millets is that the humble grain emerged as the answer to modern food security and a sustainable food option.

Earlier this year, ITC launched its 'Mission Millets' initiative to bring millets to the mainstream. ITC’s Agri division has actively educated and empowered farmers to enhance millet farming along with its Hotels and Foods divisions enabling consumers to adopt millets as part of everyday diet.

Cracking the Code: Brisbane School Catchments and Property Value Power

is that the catchment area encompassing Canungra State School takes second place on the list. The houses within this zone command a higher median price of $950,000, indicating its popularity and premium status within the market.

Brisbane’s suburb for primary schools

roads, schools, jobs, and shops. Some areas seeing rapid price hikes might not actually have the things needed to sustain that growth.

Considering the substantial annual fees of up to $28,230 per child that elite private schools in Brisbane are charging, it's no surprise that there's a strong demand for high-performing public schools.

In this article, I'm going to delve into Brisbane's top 10 school zones. My goal is to understand why these areas are experiencing such a high demand for housing and what factors are driving

people to pay premium prices for rentals or real estate purchases in these neighborhoods.

Based on the 2023 School Zones Report by Domain Group, it's interesting to note that the most sought-after school catchment areas are spread throughout both inner, middle, and outer suburbs, offering a variety of price points. What stands out is that there seems to be a dominance of more affordable options in the outer suburbs on the list.

south of Brisbane, has witnessed the largest increase. House prices in this zone skyrocketed by an impressive 37.9%, resulting in a new median price of $910,000.

Another noteworthy contender is the catchment zone of Beaudesert State High School, which closely followed with a remarkable 32.6% price surge, leading to a new median of $570,000 for houses in the vicinity.

Equally impressive is the performance of houses within the Woodridge State High School catchment area. This zone saw a substantial 32.4% increase in house prices, resulting in a fresh median price of $450,000. This achievement secures its position in third place within the top 10 list of catchment areas with the highest price appreciation.

Brisbane’s suburb for primary schools

OK then … let’s just buy in these suburbs.

The incredible price hikes we're seeing in these emerging areas might seem like a golden investment opportunity at first glance. However, when I look closely, I realize that these rapid increases in property prices might not necessarily mean they're the best places to invest. There are a few reasons behind this that I've thought about:

1. Sustainability of Growth: I'm wondering if these skyrocketing prices will last in the long run. It's important to figure out if the current surge is just a temporary thing caused by certain factors, like people buying properties without a clear plan.

2. Market Stability: When prices shoot up really fast, it can actually be a sign that the market is unstable. Rapid growth might be a sign of an "overheated" market, which can lead to sudden drops in prices, wiping out any gains.

6. Smart Buying: Paying a lot for a property just because prices are shooting up might not be smart. I believe in buying properties that make sense based on their real value and potential, rather than just what others are paying.

7. Balancing Investments: It's risky to put all my eggs in one basket. If I only focus on areas with big price jumps, I might end up with a lot of risk. Spreading my investments across different places can help me manage the risk better.

8. Goals Matter: I need to remember what I want from an investment. If I'm looking for the value of my property to increase over time, then these areas might work. But if I want steady rental income, I need to think if these areas match that goal.

*Schools are ranked by the annual house price growth of the school catchment.

Median: This is the middle sale price of the total number of houses sold within the school catchment over the 12-months to July 2021.

YoY: This is the annual change in the median house price within a school catchment. It compares the median sale price from August 2020 - July 2021 to the median

sale price from August 2019 - July 2020.

Source: Domain, Powered by APM

Over the past 12 months leading up to July 2021, it's fascinating to observe the catchment areas that have experienced the most significant surge in median house prices. Notably, the area surrounding Tamborine Mountain State High School, located approximately 80km

Among Brisbane's primary schools, I've noticed some impressive trends in the data. For instance, houses situated within the catchment zone of Walloon State School saw an astonishing price surge of 43.9% during the 12 months leading up to July 2022. This is truly remarkable.

As a result of this increase, the suburb's median price has now reached $626,000, reflecting the substantial demand in the area. Another interesting finding

3. Rental Demand: Buying a property for investment is often about renting it out. But just because an area's prices are going up doesn't mean people are clamoring to rent there. If there's not much demand for rentals, it might be tough to find tenants and get consistent rental income.

4. Supply and Demand Balance: If everyone's rushing in to invest in these areas, we might end up with too many properties for the number of people who want to buy or rent. This oversupply can drive prices down, leading to slower growth or even losses.

5.Infrastructure and What the Area Offers: For growth to last, an area needs more than just rising prices. It needs things like good

9. Thinking Long-Term: Investments should be about the long haul. Smoother, steady growth might be more reliable in the long term, even if it starts off slower than these rapid jumps. Considering all these factors, it's clear that the allure of price surges should be approached with caution. Rushing into investments without careful consideration might lead to undesirable outcomes. I believe it's crucial to take a step back, conduct thorough research, seek advice from experts, and ensure that any investment aligns with your longterm goals and capabilities.

If you're seeking personalized guidance to navigate these investment decisions effectively, I'm here to help. My name is Anna Khandhar, and you can reach me at 0424164980. Feel free to get in touch so we can discuss your investment aspirations and chart a path that's right for you. Your financial future deserves careful planning, and I'm here to assist you every step of the way.

Regards Anna Khandhar

Lyra Homes Pty Ltd 0424 164 980

anna@lyrahomes.com.au

Company sacks employee after using keystroke tech to monitor her WFH output

then used to analyse the number of times she physically pressed her keyboard on 49 working days from October to December.

Sydney, Aug 9 (IANS) A leading insurance company has laid off a woman employee after it reportedly used a keystroke technology on her laptop to figure out how many hours she worked from home, and found the working hours insufficient.

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) consultant Suzie Cheikho was fired earlier this year for missing deadlines and meetings, being absent and uncontactable, and failing to complete a key task, reports News.com.au.

Now, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has rejected an unfair dismissal application by Cheikho, saying she was sacked for a “valid

reason of misconduct”.

According to the commission, she was responsible for creating insurance documents, meeting regulatory timelines, and monitoring “work from home compliance”.

Cheikho had claimed to the FWC that her employer had a “premeditated plan to remove her from the business and that she was targeted due to her mental health issues”.

She, in fact, received a formal warning in November 2022 about her poor output and was put on a performance improvement plan.

The keystroke technology was

The review found she did not work her duty hours for 44 days, started late on 47 days, finished early on 29 days, and performed zero hours of work on four days. She averaged 54 strokes per hour over the duration of her surveillance, which showed “she was not presenting for work and performing work as required”.

“Sometimes the workload is a bit slow, but I have never not worked,” she told her managers, according to the FWC findings.

“I mean, I may go to the shops from time to time, but that is not for the entire day. I need to take some time to consider this and I will put forward a response. I have tried to go through emails and messages to see if I can explain it,” she added.

FWC, however, ruled that the evidence showed Cheikho “was not working as she was required to do during her designated working hours” while monitored.

Brisbane residents to have their say on short-stay accommodation

From Lord Mayor’s Desk: Residents have been invited to have their say on the future of short-stay accommodation in Brisbane with the launch of a new community survey today.

The survey is an initiative of the Short-Stay Accommodation Taskforce which was announced as part of the Schrinner Council’s 2023-24 Budget to regulate the fast-growing sector.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the survey would be critical in striking a balance between the economic benefits of short-stay accommodation and the concerns of residents.

“The launch of this survey comes off the back of a blockbuster weekend of events, with thousands of people staying in our city for the Women’s World Cup, Ekka, and two footy games,” Cr Schrinner said.

“More and more people will be visiting our city as we continue to build on the momentum of hosting the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“While the short-stay accommodation sector is an important economic driver during major events, we need to

make sure impacts on neighbours are limited.

“If you’ve lived next door to, used, or listed a short-stay property, we want you to have your say to help us identify what improvements could be made.”

Opening Monday 14 August and closing Saturday 30 September, the survey will seek the feedback of property owners, bodies corporate, short-stay platforms, and the wider community to inform future regulation of the sector.

The survey questions will cover the impact of short-term accommodation, its benefits, and challenges, and give participants the opportunity to provide their views on best-practice to help maintain a strong economy and liveable city.

Taskforce Chair Councillor Fiona Cunningham said Council will continue to roll out its transitory accommodation rating policy while the work of the Taskforce was being completed.

“Last year, Council introduced new rating categories for transitory accommodation to discourage owners from

removing properties from the long-term rental market,” Cr Cunningham said.

“We lifted this Transitory Accommodation Rating category surcharge as part of the 202324 Budget from 50 to 65 per cent, to bring them more in line with commercial rates and to recognise the higher regulatory costs of managing the complaints that these properties generate.

“The introduction of this groundbreaking policy generated interest from other jurisdictions right across Australia, highlighting the lack of regulation this industry currently experiences.

“This is a challenge currently being experienced worldwide, and we hope the survey provides a clearer view of how we can improve things here in our own backyard.”

For more information about the Short-stay Accommodation Taskforce, visit Council’s website at www.brisbane.qld.gov.au or call Council on 3403 8888.

BACKGROUND

The Short Stay Accommodation Taskforce will consult with the industry and residents, investigate mechanisms being

used elsewhere in Australia and around the world and work with the State to achieve legislative changes that can deliver a better system.

The Short-Stay Accommodation Taskforce will:

Be chaired by Brisbane Civic Cabinet Chair for Finance and City Governance, Councillor Fiona Cunningham

Consult with short-stay providers, including Airbnb, Stayz, and Booking.com, property owners, bodies corporate, and other peak bodies

Hold a public engagement process

Investigate rules being used elsewhere and make recommendations about what should be introduced in Brisbane Advocate to the State Government to develop necessary legislative changes

Top suburbs paying transitory accommodation rates:

1. Brisbane City (112)

2. New Farm (49)

3. South Brisbane (41)

4. Teneriffe (41)

5. Fortitude Valley (34)

Short-Stay Accommodation

Taskforce Terms of Reference:

1. Review the options afforded by state legislation which form the basis of the Council’s current ability to regulate short-stay accommodation

2. Conduct benchmarking of other jurisdiction’s approaches to short-stay accommodation regulation and review the existing and potential role of governments, property owners, and bodies corporate in regulating or managing shortstay accommodation

3. Engage with a range of stakeholders including residents, property owners, bodies corporate, short-stay accommodation providers, and other peak bodies, including through a public submission process

4. Identify the desired economic and tourism, environmental health, safety and amenity outcomes short-stay accommodation could deliver in Brisbane

5. Identify and recommend best practice approaches to managing short-stay accommodation in Brisbane.

PM Anthony Albanese’s speech at Exercise Malabar Welcome Reception at Kirribilli House in Sydney

From Prime Minister’s Desk: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave a speech at the Exercise Malabar Welcome Reception at the Kirribilli House in Sydney.

At the occasion mentioning his visit to Mumbai, he said, “ It’s great to welcome you to Kirribilli. This is a fitting location for today’s reception — overlooking Sydney Harbour, as it flows into the Pacific Ocean. Because it’s there that Australian, Indian, Japanese, and United States forces are participating in Exercise Malabar.

As I said in Mumbai in March, standing aboard INS Vikrant, it’s a privilege for Australia to host Exercise Malabar for the first

time. And, of course, I’m grateful to Prime Minister Modi for passing the baton to Australia. It’s an important demonstration of the strength of the defence relationship between our countries. It is a relationship that requires the will of nations, and also the courage of individuals –those who put on the uniform and serve in our name. They know that the life they choose is not one without risk, but they serve their nations with honour and devotion, even in the face of danger.

We pause to remember the four Australian soldiers who lost their lives last month while taking

part in Exercise Talisman Sabre. Captain Danniel Lyon. Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent. Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph ‘Phillip’ Laycock. Corporal Alexander Naggs.

Our thoughts are with their loved ones — and their friends and colleagues in uniform. It was a tragic reminder that there are no easy days for those who serve. We will remember them. And I would like to thank those who assisted in the search effort. Some of you are with us this afternoon. I want you to be in no doubt of our gratitude — not only for your contribution to the search but for all you do in the

service of Australia. And to our friends from India, Japan, and the United States, we thank you for your service to your countries as well.

Because peace is not a gift. It’s never a given. It has to be built, defended, and upheld. The entry into force today of the Australia–Japan Reciprocal Access Agreement augments collective efforts to ensure regional stability and security. Signaling and enabling closer defence cooperation between Japan and Australia, is a timely measure to meet the challenges of our regional environment. As champions for peace and prosperity in our region and the

world, we must remain engaged. That’s why Exercise Malabar is so important as an opportunity for our Defence Force to partner and train with others. It brings the practical benefits of testing and improving the interoperability of our defence forces. It’s a statement of collaborative action and collective responsibility. US Secretary of Defence Lloyd. J. Austin has said that Exercise Malabar is a type of rare and precious cooperation. I couldn’t agree more. It’s an honour to be part of a venture so rare and so precious in our joint effort to preserve an open, stable, and prosperous Indo–Pacific. Thank you.”

One-third of Australians suffering from loneliness: Report

more likely to have depression and two times more likely to have chronic disease than the rest of the population.

Canberra, Aug 7 (IANS) Almost one-third of Australians report feeling lonely, a landmark study revealed on Monday.

Ending Loneliness Together, a national coalition of research and advocacy organisations, on Monday published the first State of the Nation Report into social connection, reports Xinhua news agency.

The survey of more than 4,000 people aged 18-92 revealed that 32 per cent of Australian women and 31 per cent of men are lonely. Those aged 18-24 were the most likely to often or always feel lonely, at four times the rate of those aged 75+.

People in rural areas were slightly more likely to be lonely than those in metropolitan areas.

The report found that Australians who feel lonely are typically less engaged in physical activity, less productive at work and more likely to have a social media addiction.

Lonely Australians are 4.6 times

"Loneliness is a critical issue of our time and has been recognized as a public health priority for many countries around the world. While the detrimental health, economic and social impacts of loneliness are well established, community awareness and action remain low," Michelle Lim, chair of Ending Loneliness Together, said in the report.

The report was released to coincide with the start of Australia's first Loneliness Awareness Week.

"Loneliness should not be seen as a sign of weakness or fault.

Feeling lonely is an innate signal for us to acknowledge and address our basic human need for connection. Understanding this is the first step to creating a more connected Australia," Lim said. Thirty-nine per cent of people who reported loneliness were living in Australia's most disadvantaged neighborhoods compared to 28 per cent in the least disadvantaged.

One-third of people said they feel ashamed about being lonely and 58 per cent said they avoid talking about it.

No delay for Indigenous Voice referendum, says Australian PM

In order to be successful, more than 50 per cent of Australian voters as well as a majority in at least four out of six states must vote yes in a referendum.

Canberra, Aug 6 (IANS) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared that the referendum on the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament will go ahead this year.

In a recent speech at the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory (NT), Albanese said there was no guarantee of success for the referendum, but rejected calls to put it off, Xinhua news agency reported.

The referendum will ask Australians to vote yes or no on altering the nation's constitution to establish the voice, which would advise federal politicians on all matters relating to Indigenous Australians, and formally recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia.

"Today I can promise all of you - and all Australians - there will be no delaying or deferring this referendum," Albanese told Australia's largest Indigenous cultural gathering on Saturday. "In the months ahead, just as we will continue to make it clear what voting Yes will achieve. Australians should be equally clear about what voting No means: it is more of the same. Not only rejecting the opportunity to do better but accepting that what we have is somehow good enough."

He listed some examples of the gap between Indigenous and nonIndigenous people to show the urgency, including high suicide rate and shocking disease rate. The statement comes despite support for the "yes" campaign trending downwards in recent months according to some polls.

Court ruling allows Sikhs in Queensland to carry Kirpan in schools

Women set for saree walkathon in London on National Handloom Day

London, July 25 (IANS) Around 500 women are set to participate in a first-of-its-kind saree walkathon, which will be held in London to mark National Handloom Day on August 7, and raise awareness about Indian handloom.

The women, wearing the drapes representing different states of India, will walk past the iconic and historical landmarks on August 6, London-based news website UK Malayalees reported.

British Women in Sarees group, which is hosting the event, told ukmalayalees.com.

Melbourne, Aug 4 (IANS)

The Supreme Court in Australia's Queensland state has overturned a law banning Sikh religious dagger (Kirpan) on school grounds calling it "unconstitutional".

The ruling by the state's highest court came after Kamaljit Kaur Athwal took the state government to court last year, claiming that the ban discriminated against the kirpan -- one of five religious symbols that Sikhs are supposed to carry at all times as part of their faith.

Ruling in Athwal's favor, the state's highest court found the legislation to be unconstitutional under the Racial Discrimination Act, ABC News reported on Thursday.

An initial court ruling last year had dismissed the suggestion that the ban on carrying knives was discriminatory. But this week, three judges in the Court of Appeal found that a section of the Queensland Weapons Act of 1990

-- which bans carrying knives in public places and schools -- is inconsistent with Section 10 of the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act of 1975. In response, the Queensland Education Department said it is considering the implications of the court decision. "As this legal decision has just been handed down, the department will now consider any implications."

Athwal's lawyer was cited as saying by the ABC News that the court had a difficult task "to balance the human rights of individuals to practice their religion and express their faith with the human rights of student and teacher safety".

"Today marks the day that members of the Sikh faith can practice their faith and positively participate without discrimination as proud members of their local school communities," the lawyer said, adding that her client is pleased with the court's decision.

The walkathon will begin from Trafalgar Square and move to the historic Parliament Square in Westminster, London, via 10 Downing Street.

The event is organized by the British Women In Sarees group and is supported by the Inspiring Indian Women group.

“The modern Indian woman of today believes in traversing the world beyond her cocoon and she does all that and more, in a saree while redefining the codes of power dressing," Dipti Jain of

"The British Women in Sarees group was formed out of this idea. It is a group of empowered women who take pride in flaunting handloom sarees and representing the unique cultural melting pot that is India. It is a not-for-profit organization which likes to organise events to promote our National Heritage and make everyone around the world aware of the toil, handwork and artistry which goes behind weaving each of these masterpieces," Jain told the website.

She had also organized the very first event at the Ladies Day Royal Ascot Races on June 16, 2022 in Berkshire, where several women from the Indian subcontinent turned up in sarees.

"As residents of UK, we felt elated and proud of the inclusivity that the stage provided us to pay homage to our roots, India.

The world watched us but the limelight that our sarees fetched provided us the platform to raise awareness about the plight of artisans and weavers who need support to continue and pass on their craft to the next generation," Jain said.

The proceeds from the event were given to a community of weavers in Nanoor, West Bengal.

"As we grow bigger, we intend to reach out, grow and connect with more artisans and weavers who need support. This will be our way of preserving ancient handicrafts,” she told UKMalayalees.

At the upcoming walkathon, a team of 30 women from Kerala will be showcasing the traditional settu mundu and handloom sarees bought directly from the weavers to support them. They will also do a traditional Kerala dance at the Parliament Square before finishing off with a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

New Delhi, 1st August 2023 PIB government of India Women and Child Development

The G20 EMPOWER Summit took place in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on 1 st August 2023. This followed on from the Inception Meeting held in Agra, Uttar Pradesh on 11th and 12th February 2023 and the 2nd meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 5th and 6th April 2023. During India's G20 Presidency, women-led development has emerged as a crucial focus area on a life-course approach basis marking a shift from women’s empowerment alone.

The Summit had a total participation of over 300 participants (263 domestic participants and 70 International delegates). The international delegates were from 13 G20 and 4 guest countries and 8 International Organisations. These included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UK, USA, Bangladesh, The Netherlands, Spain, UAE, WTO, ISA, UN Women, UN, UNICEF, ILO, World Bank, and ADB.

The Inaugural session of the EMPOWER Summit was addressed by Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani; Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri BhupendraPatel; Minister of State for Women & Child Development, Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai; CEO NITI Aayog, Shri B.V.R. Subramanyam; Secretary, Women & Child Development, Shri Indevar Pandey; Chair, G20 EMPOWER, Dr. Sangita Reddy; Chief of Staff, Office of Executive Director, UN Women, Mr. Mohammad Naciri; and President FICCI, Mr. Subhrakant Panda.

The Summit marked the achievement of tangible outcomes alongside the identification of commitments and recommendations encompassing all three themes of

G20 EMPOWER under the Indian presidency –Education: A Gamechanging Pathway to Women’s Empowerment, Women’s Entrepreneurship: A Win-Win for Equity and Economy and Creating a Partnership for Promoting Women’s Leadership at all Levels including Grassroots. An essential enabler for all three has been Digital Inclusion. Over this year, G20 EMPOWER scaled up several ongoing initiatives, while also developing concrete new outputs.

Chief of Staff, Office of Executive Director, UN Women, Mr Mohammad Naciri lauded India for undertaking a women-led development approach. He highlighted that this shift in semantics from development for women to women-led development creates a seismic shift in power which turns women from beneficiaries to contributors. To the “One Earth, One Family, One Future” motto of G20 announced by India, he added ‘One Chance’ to signify that we have one more chance to get back on track to a future that is sustainable and the key to doing so lies in gender equality.

The Minister of State, Women & Child Development, Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai recognized that narrowing the digital gender divide is crucial for empowering women to contribute more effectively to economic growth, and for that, we need to focus on improving women’s access to basic and advanced digital resources, education, entrepreneurship opportunities, and leadership roles for women and girls.

There is also an urgent need to collect gender-disaggregated data to understand the dynamics of the digital gender gap.

Union Minister for Women Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, expressed the hope that TechEquity, a Digital Inclusion platform developed and launched at the Summit under India’s G20 Presidency would be of

Zubin Irani

value and use for women around the world in education and subsequently as an enabler for transition and progression in careers, particularly in STEM. The platform has been designed to enable women from across the world to educate and upskill themselves in digital literacy, financial literacy, and technical areas through training programs and resources provided on the platform. With courses being submitted by G20 Members and Guest Countries, it is envisaged that these courses will be available in 120 international and Indian languages. The platform envisages an outreach of 1 million users, internationally.

G20 EMPOWER serves as a platform to learn from insights and best practices across industries and businesses and strengthen knowledge sharing across the public and private sectors. Towards this end, the G20 EMPOWER Best Practices Playbook has been substantially scaled up under India’s Presidency. With extensive outreach and surveys, 149 best practices from 19 G20 countries have been added to the Playbook. The Playbook has been digitized to make it easily accessible. With the Indian Presidency having focused on women entrepreneurs and community leaders at the local level as a key theme, a fourth new focus area was added to the Playbook for encouraging the private sector to increase initiatives for women at the local or grassroots level. While congratulating the G20 EMPOWER team for its various successes, the Minister for Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani observed that India’s presidency has given a voice to women at the grassroots by successfully focusing on India’s SHG revolution wherein 80 million women in 8 million Self Help Groups manage 34 billion dollars of monetary value. She observed that the Playbook would now provide a glimpse into the lives and achievements of women

at the grassroots, stories which would otherwise have been unheard. For the first time, the KPI Dashboard would also for the first time look at the role of women in Small and Medium Enterprises.

Chair, of G20 EMPOWER, Dr Sangita Reddy highlighted that to truly empower women, there is a need to nurture their roles in leadership and decisionmaking across all levels of society, with the G20 EMPOWER recommendations representing a significant stride towards that goal.

Working Groups under EMPOWER have developed three papers on important themes –corporate women empowerment, STEM, and financial inclusion. In order to drive the participation and progression of women, G20 EMPOWER has onboarded advocates from amongst CEOs and organisation heads to promote the G20 EMPOWER messages within their companies, sectors, networks and countries. Under India’s Presidency, the number of advocates has increased from 380 to 544, with over 100 of the additions coming from India.

The Chair G20 EMPOWER, Dr Sangita Reddy also remarked that the measures proposed by EMPOWER are about enabling women entrepreneurs to become strong pillars of the economy. EMPOWER is encouraging the private sector to step up, not only as financiers and procurers but also as mentors and enablers of growth. A mentorship platform has been designed to bring together mentors and mentees as an outcome of the EMPOWER alliance.

As a first under India’s Presidency, 73 Inspirational Stories from 9 countries have been curated on the G20 EMPOWER Website to highlight success stories of women achievers from across G20 nations and invited countries to motivate the next generation of girls and women.

India has emphasized Citizens’ Engagement across its policy action. With the goal of making this a true people’s G20, 51 Jan Bhagidari or citizen engagement events were held under EMPOWER to disseminate the message of women’s empowerment and underlying actions to over 100,000 people.

Shri Indevar Pandey, Secretary of Women and Child Development remarked that the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, envisions a new India where women play an equal and pivotal role in driving robust, sustainable, and inclusive growth. During India's presidency, there has been a strong determination to uphold the commitment to global progress, with women at the core of achieving success in the interconnected pillars of People, Planet, and Prosperity.

Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel highlighted various schemes and initiatives of the Government of Gujarat towards the empowerment of women. He highlighted the centrality of women’s empowerment towards achieving inclusive and sustainable growth. He also emphasized the need to bridge the gender digital divide and empower women with the digital skills needed to succeed in the evolving job market being conditioned by new technologies. Through several commitments and initiatives, the G20 EMPOWER outcomes, commitments and recommendations will accelerate the creation of a world where women have the necessary skills, access to resources, supportive infrastructure and environment, and mentorship for a transformational shift towards women-led development.

Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani concluded the inaugural session with her inspiring words “Make women a priority if you want to grow with equity and equality. Make women a priority if you want an empowered future”.

Skills and training collaboration between India and Australia

Conversations with Minister Brenden O’ Connor

The relationship between Australia and India has never been stronger with the two countries continuing to work in partnership to achieve shared goals.

Australian Skills and Training

Minister Brendan O’Connor recently traveled to New Delhi and Indore, meeting with Indian Ministers and further strengthening relations between the two countries.

Minister O’Connor met with India’s Minister of Education and Minister of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Shri

Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi to discuss collaboration to combat ongoing skill shortages.

The meeting followed the first dialogue between the Ministers since Minister Pradhan visited Australia in August 2022 and was an opportunity for the two Ministers to update each other on their current skills priorities.

It builds upon the visit in May to Australia by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reinforces efforts to further deepen the education and skills relationship between the two countries.

He then traveled to Indore to attend the G20 Labour and Employment Minister’s Meeting and met with the Indian Minister of Labour and Employment Mr. Bhupender Yadav.

Minister O’Connor said his visit reinforced the positive relationship between India and Australia and gave him greater insight into how the two countries can continue to partner in important areas.

Minister for Skills and Training

Brendan O’Connor highlighted India’s importance in Australia. He said, “India and Australia are not only friends, we are comprehensive strategic partners

with many shared priorities, goals, and mutual interests.”

“Australia’s vibrant Indian diaspora, our second largest and fastest growing overseas-born group, is at the heart of our strong relationship," he added.

Summarising the meeting with Minister Pradhan, Minister O’Connor reiterated, “My discussions with Minister Pradhan and Minister Yadav highlighted not only the close relationship between our two countries, but the many opportunities that exist for further collaboration in education, skills, and renewable energy.”

Minister O’Connor further said, “I’m committed to strengthening existing cooperation and exchange in skills and training and exploring further opportunities, including delivery in India by quality Australian providers. As the G20 host this year, I was pleased the topics India chose for our meeting were global skills gaps, improving social protections for those working in the gig and platform economy, and sustainable financing of social protection. These are all important issues for Australia and the rest of the world.”

Make women a priority if you want to grow with equity and equality; Make women a priority if you want an empowered future: Smt Smriti

GOPIO Cairns celebrates India’s Independence Day

GOPIO Cairns Inc. celebrated India's Independence Day on 13th Aug 2023 and had a formal inauguration by Umesh Chandra OAM from GOPIO International at Fogarty Park Esplanade, Cairns. The celebrations started by hoisting of the Indian and Australia flags followed by national anthem.

Aju J Mathew – Joint Secretary was the host and he introduced the GOPIO Cairns Inc. team as follow:

1. Subash Chetry – President

2. Dr Suresh Kesavan -Vice President

3. Jess Kumar -Secretary

4. Aju J Mathew – Joint Secretary

5. Manish Mathew – Treasurer

6. Gurdip Singh – Vice Treasurer

7. Jatinder Singh -Executive member

Subash Chetry, the president delivered the welcome speech, acknowledging the traditional owners and introduced GOPIO and its objectives as below: Cairns being a bit far north, misses some of the benefits and exposure like larger cities and there was a need for an organisation which is well connected and can take Cairns to wider communities across the globe especially in Indian

diaspora.

GOPIO Cairns Chapter envisions promoting the well-being of People of Indian Origin (PIOs) and enhancing cooperation and communication between PIOs living in Cairns and surrounding areas.

Independence Day is not merely a date on the calendar; it is a symbol of our unity, resilience, and the unbreakable bond that binds us together. It's a day to remember the struggles, to acknowledge the achievements, and to reiterate our commitment to upholding the ideals that our nation was built upon.

The event was attended by over 150 people and included dignitaries like:

• Ms. Seema Chauhan from GOPIO Gold Coast

• Mr Ravin Nair from Community Laison Officer, Department of Home affairs

• Ms Amy Eden from Division 5, Cairns Regional Council

• Ms Yolonde Entsch – LNP Candidate for Cairns

• LSC Luke Balestriel, Australian Federal Police

• Sergeant Brian Mcalonan, Australian Federal Police

• And various community leaders

and members.

This was followed by cultural programs like Bhangra and Bharatnatyam dance.

The program was supported by Cairns regional Council and Mahindra and the morning tea was provided by SpicyBite Restaurant.

Jessica Kumar – the secretary delivered the vote of thanks speech for all the dignitaries and supporters.

For queries please contact Subash Chetry – 0469217141 (President); gopiocairns@gmail.com

Iskcon Brisbane’s Janmastami is back in 2023!

Brisbane’s largest Janmastami festival is set to attract devotees and guests from all around the city at The Croatian Club,Rocklea to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna.

On Thursday,7thSeptember, the Croatian Club Brisbane 164 Dunn Road, Rocklea will be transformed into a spectacular arena enabling festival goers to experience the magic of Janmastami. From 5pm onwards, visitors can look forward to an enthralling stage program with dramas, live music and dance; experience the cuisine of India; shop from the bazaar; and keep children entertained with fun and engaging activities.

“2022, Janmastami was mainly celebrated at The CroatianClub with good presence of peoples across the Brisbane. Devotees can stay until the midnight arati ceremony - celebrating the exact time of Lord Krishna’s birth,” explains festival organiserMr Sheth.

“With a bigger venue, and years of experience, we’ve started working earlier to make this festival even bigger and better than previous years,” Mr Sheth said. For more than 8 years, the Janmastamiorganised by the Hare Krishna community has been headed and organised by the youth of the society. They bring innovation and dynamism to the traditional event - making it fun and appealing for people of all ages. From the decor, to the stage program, and even the different engaging activities - all aspects of

the festival have a unique flavour. The festival will begin at 5pm and go on until midnight - which is the exact time of the birth of Lord Krishna - in whose honour this festival is celebrated. The stage program will consist of live music, arati ceremonies, the abhishek (ceremonious bathing of the Lords), dramas and spiritual discourses. For those that want something more interactive - they can check out the many stalls on offer, grab a sumptuous bite to eat or watch as their children engage in various fun activities at the kids stall.

“We’ve really tried hard to keep making the festival better than previous years - we want it to be an event that everyone looks forward to - not something that people are dragged along to come because of cultural obligations,” explains JalajGuwalani who has co-organised the festival for more than 5 years in a row.

“And we’ve begun to see that over the past few years - with increasing numbers, and more people attending the festival for longer periods of time. Guests are engaged with each aspect of the festival - and it’s great to see their enthusiasm and appreciation for the whole event,” comments Mr Guwalani.

Several dignitaries and prominent personalities have confirmed their attendance for this year’s Janmastami, lending their support to the Hare Krishna community and all its initiatives

Indian Independence Day a moment to reflect on Constitutional recognition for First NationsAustralians

Tuesday 15 August 2023 – Desis for Yes is joining more than 700,000 Indian Australians in celebrating India’s independence from the British seventy-six years ago.

As South Asian Australians and this being a referendum year, it is also an opportunity to reflect on our common history and cause with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, who also experienced persecution, dispossession, and impoverishment under colonial rule.

Desis for Yes Co-Convenor, Nishadh Rego reflects “Today I celebrate India’s Independence Day, and

acknowledge everything that freedom and self-determination has given my family, community, and

people for multiple generations.

“Like other multiculturalAustralians, I walk in two worlds.

Celebrating India’s independence reminds me of the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are still seeking to be recognised in Australia’s Constitution. The upcoming referendum is a oncein-a-generation opportunity to overcome this. Through our work at Desis for Yes, I am proud to play a small part in Australia’s coming to terms with its past and its ongoing journey towards a reconciled future.”

Desis for Yes Community Engagement Lead, Anjali Roberts said “when India won its independence from the British in 1947, we wrote our own Constitution. By contrast

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were explicitly excluded from Australia’s Constitution in 1901.”

“It was to remain that way for a further sixty-six years until more than 90% of Australians voted to amend the Constitution and count Indigenous people as citizens. In 2023, all that Indigenous Australians are asking is to be recognised as the First Peoples of Australia and to have a say on the matters that affect them,” she continued.

Desis for Yes Co-Convenor, Khushaal Vyas noted “As South Asian Australians, we are in a unique

position to celebrate independence as well as our contribution to Australia. However, with that heritage comes a unique understanding of colonial impacts and the significance that selfdetermination has played in the advancement of our peoples.”

Vyas believes this referendum is a call that all Australians, especially the South Asian diaspora, have a duty to respond to – “As Australians with that understanding, it is our duty to support Indigenous Australians in their fight to be heard – the very people whose land we are on today. It is our duty to stand up and take a step toward closing that gap and use our experience to inform those around us about the importance of a Voice to Parliament. It is our duty to vote Yes.”

Desis for Yes will be hosting a series of online and face-to-face

community conversations August, September, and August to deepen understanding and conversations about the referendum within South Asian diaspora communities in Australia.

Asian Champions Trophy: India surge back to beat Malaysia 4-3 for record fourth title

off.

However, on Saturday, the hosts looked in trouble for some time before they fought back to seal a memorable victory, which is a big boost to the team's morale ahead of the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Chennai, Aug 12 (IANS) Having struggled to make a mark in the event so far, seasoned forward Akashdeep Singh scored when it mattered as India fought back brilliantly from a two-goal deficit to beat Malaysia 4-3 in a highoctane final to bag the Asian Champions Trophy title for a record-breaking fourth time here on Saturday.

This is India's fourth title in the event as they broke the record of three titles (two outright and one shared) with archrivals Pakistan, becoming the most successful team in the event. India had previously won the title in the inaugural year in 2011 and then in 2016. In 2018, they had shared the title with Pakistan in Muscat, Oman as the match was rained

Jugraj Singh (9'), Harmanpreet Singh (45'), Gurjant Singh (45') and Akashdeep Singh (56') scored in India's victory. For Malaysia, Abu Kamal Azrai (14'), Razie Rahim (18') and Aminudin Muhamad (28') scored to keep them in the title hunt.

India, who took the lead in the ninth minute through a penalty corner, committed a few defensive errors as Malaysia came back to not only level scores but go ahead 3-1.

There was plenty of action in the first quarter with both teams living up to the billing, producing thrilling hockey. India, who came into the final after a convincing 5-0 win against Japan in the semifinal, was quick to take a 1-0

lead when Jugraj Singh flicked at lightning speed to the left corner. But a spirited Malaysian team was quick to respond when Azuan Hasan tackled Indian defenders in the right flank to enter the circle. His goal attempt needed a faint deflection by Abu Kamal Azrai to put it past the Indian goalie. With scores levelled, the second quarter was exhilarating. Malaysia shifted gears, to put India under pressure with two goals in this quarter. Their second goal came off a PC in the 18th minute, through a combined effort by trapper Shello Silverius and flicker Razie Rahim. The Malaysians stunned the hosts with a third goal in the 28th minute when Muhamad Aminudin scored from a fine PC as Malaysia led 3-1 at half-time. Though the Indian side began the third quarter on an attacking note and earned a penalty corner, a goal continued to elude them despite some sustained attacks till the 45th.

FIFA Women’s World Cup: Australia stun France in penalties to claim maiden semis spot

in the penalty shoot-out.

corner.

Lauderhill (USA), Aug 14 (IANS)

Following Team India’s fivematch T20I series loss to West Indies, chief coach Rahul Dravid defended his side, saying It is a “developing team” and he knows there will continue to be fluctuations of form for his side should the less experienced players be persisted with. "We did well to come from 0-2 down, but we just couldn’t close out the series today," Dravid said after the match.

"We made a few mistakes along the way if you look at the five

games, but that can happen.

"It is a young team and a developing team so there are going to be times when we have our ups and downs.

"Of course we are disappointed... credit to the West Indies as they are a good T20 side and playing in their home conditions they play particularly well."

The West Indies have broken a six-year drought by defeating India by eight wickets in the fifth and final T20I in Florida on Sunday to clinch the five-game series in style.

Opener Brandon King (85*) and Player of the Series Nicholas Pooran (47) were the stars of the show as the West Indies successfully chased down India's total of 165/9 with two overs remaining to ensure the Caribbean side registered the 3-2 series triumph.

Brisbane, Aug 12 (IANS) Courtney Vine scored the decisive penalty as hosts Australia made history in the FIFA Women's World Cup on Saturday by storming into their maiden semifinals, prevailing over France via penalties in a quarterfinal clash here.

After holding the European giants goalless in regulation time, the Matildas came out victorious 7-6

Vine converted the decisive penalty in a heart-stopping shootout and clinched a tense and hard-earned victory, thus making the Matildas the first Aussie team, male or female to reach the semifinals of a FIFA World Cup. Though they were second-best for the bulk of the match, France began brightly and should have moved in front inside 13 minutes, but Maelle Lakrar failed from inside the six-yard box, scooping the ball over from the closest of ranges.

Les Bleues had a miraculous escape late in the first half when Australia's Mary Fowler fired towards an apparently open goal with goalkeeper Pauline PeyraudMagnin stranded and out of position. Elisa de Almeida came to France's rescue, though, with a magnificent goal-line clearance, diverting the ball behind for a

Fowler was excellent throughout but had a luckless night in front of the goal, with Peyraud-Magnin producing a couple of smart stops to keep the youngster out.

Australia turned to the seasoned Sam Kerr in search of a goal ten minutes into the second half and the Matildas skipper nearly made an immediate impact, setting up Hayley Raso for a curling left-foot shot that the France keeper kept out.

The hosts had their hearts in their mouths in extra time when Alanna Kennedy headed a corner into her own net. But the French celebrations were quickly curtailed as referee Maria Carvajal whistled immediately, having spotted a Wendie Renard shirt-tug while the ball was in the air. take on the winner of the match between England and Colombia.

New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday rubbished reports suggesting that he rakes in a staggering sum of INR 11.45 crore from every post of his on the photo-sharing app -- Instagram.

“While I am grateful and indebted

to all that I’ve received in life, the news that has been making rounds about my social media earnings is not true,” Kohli wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, there were reports that Kohli is the highest-earning Indian on Instagram.

According to the same report, Ronaldo commands a massive fee of USD 3.23 million for every sponsored post, which roughly translates to INR 26.75 crore. His eternal rival Messi, who came in second place earns USD 2.56 million per Instagram post which translates to INR 21.49 crore. Kolhi is currently on a break having been rested by the BCCI ahead of the Asia Cup 2023 which is set to start from August 30.

5th T20I: Shepherd, King, Pooran shine as West Indies beat India by 8 wickets in decider, seal series 3-2

T20I series win over India since 2017.

Lauderhill

(USA), Aug 13 (IANS)

After Romario Shepherd's sensational bowling display, Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran starred with the bat to seal the five-match T20 series after beating India by 8 wickets in the fifth and final match at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, here on Sunday. WEst Indies won the five-match series 3-2 -- their first

After losing the first two matches, India bounced back strongly and clinched the next two games to level up the series but couldn't continue with the momentum in the decider as they suffered their first T20 series loss against West Indies since 2017.

Moreover, this was India's first series loss in 13 T20Is since July 2021.

After opting to bat first, India posted 165/9 in 20 overs, thanks to Suryakumar Yadav's 61 off 45 and Axar Patel's little cameo of 13 off 10. In response, opener Brandon

King (85 not out) and Nicholas Pooran (47) fired for West Indies as the host wrapped up the match and the series.

Chasing 166, West Indies started off well with Kyle Mayers hitting a boundary and a six in the first over. The next over, Arshdeep Singh got the first breakthrough, dismissing the former for 10. Then, Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King rolled up their sleeves and proceeded to dominate the Indian bowlers with an aggressive batting display.

Captain Hardik Pandya brought Kuldeep Yadav in attack in the Power-play and the spinner

almost trapped Pooran with lbw but the batter survived as the ultra-edged showed a spike when the ball passed by the glove. Then, King smashed three sixes and a boundary in the sixth over as the Windies were raced to 61/1 at the end of the Power-play.

Pooran and King proceeded with the calculated approach in the next four overs as the West Indies were comfortably placed at 96-1 in 10 overs, needing only 70 needed with 9 wickets in hand.

In the 13th over, King completed his half-century as he danced down the track lofting it over

long-off for a huge six. A moment later, the play stopped due to bad weather as the players were coming off the ground due to some lightning in the skies.

Soon after resumption, Tilak Varma got the big wicket of Pooran and denied him a halfcentury, breaking the 107-run partnership. Afterwards, King took bowlers to the cleaners before Shai Hope sealed the deal with a maximum as Windies wrapped the win with 12 balls to spare.

It’s a developing team so there are going to be times when we have our ups and downs: Rahul Dravid

News about my social media earnings is not true: Virat Kohli

Goodwill Cup sparkles under lights at the iconic Allan Border Field

Brisbane, 5 August: The Multicultural Community Inclusion and Engagement

Goodwill Cricket Cup (T20) between the Institute for Australia India Engagement (IAIE - South Asia XI) and Queensland Police Commissioner’s XI was held at the Allan Border Field, Albion in Brisbane on Friday, 4 August, for the first time under lights. After a late morning shower, pristine weather set the stage for the third Goodwill Cup clash.

The proceedings kickstarted with the IAIE CEO Dr Ashutosh Misra welcoming the guests, dignitaries, players, officials and the diverse community members to the event. This was followed by Brother Adrian Coolwell from the Queensland Police Service performing the Acknowledgement to the Country, followed by smoke ceremony, blessings and didgeridoo performance by Uncle Ricky. Then, as the Queensland Police pipe band played a mesmerising tune, young community girl representatives waving multination flags walked on to the field to join the players and officials.

Then followed a heart-warming Australian National Anthem recital by Zaisha Chakraborty and Aneesha Chakraborty from the Sargam Music Academy. Then Dr Misra invited the Queensland Cricket CEO Terry Svenson to present the welcome remarks after whom, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll

was invited to deliver her welcome speech and also flip the coin for the toss.

The toss was won by IAIE XI Captain Rohit Halder, whodecided to bat first.QPS XI Captain Wayne Clayton led his team on to the field amidst a loud cheer from the crowd. In the stipulated 20 overs, IAIE XI batting first scored 183 for the loss of 6 wickets. Ash Loganathan was the highest scorer with 50 (36), Rishabh Agarwal 46 (44) and Connor Carroll 36 (18). For the QPS XI, Luke Feldman, Jake Coolwell and Justin Kersey shared one wicket each. In response, after a shaky start and losing two quick wickets, Justin Kersey steadied the ship and scored a match winning 72(42) balls in partnership with Raymond Atkinson 48 (30) and Daryll Johnson 33 (21).

In a close fight, QPS XI passed the target with three balls to spare for the loss of 6 wickets.

For the IAIE XI, Heidee Birkett claimed two wickets, while Rohit Halder, Muhammad Bilal, Krishna Pokharel and Connor Carroll claimed one wicket each. For his blistering knock of 72, Justin Kersey was adjudged the Man of the Match by Match Referee John Bell. In sum, on a cold night, the crowd was treated with a nailbiting contest, enthrallingall with several ups and downs during the course of the match.

What was unique about the event this year was gender diversity— inclusion of women cricketers—

in the two teams. While the former New Zealand player Nicola Browne played for QPS XI, Queensland’s Heidee Birkett played for the IAIE XI. The two umpires officiating the match were Matt Shaw and Ian Barsby, and the scorers were Doug O’Neill andGreg Bartlett. A note of special acknowledgement goes to the groundsmen —Tony Potter, Liam Sherriff, Conrad Moore, Lachlan Shiner, Sean Brackin and Luke Wilmont for preparing an international standard ground and pitch, protecting it from the overnight and morning showers, and keeping it ready for the match. The live streaming on frogbox was organised by the Queensland Nepalese Cricket Association. During the innings break, Heilani Polynesian School of Arts and the Kalpana Prasad’s Bhangra United presented scintillating performances giving a glimpse of Polynesian and Indian cultures. The guests were in complete awe of their performances. Also, Queensland Police won the hearts of the community with cuddly undertraining Labrador pups from the QPS Dog Unit, majestic horses from the QPS Mounted Unit, and the QPS Recruiting, Crime prevention, First Nations and Multicultural Units. Goodwill Cup 2023 attracted a large number of community champions, dignitaries, government officials andlegends of the game. Some of the

noted names included QPS CommissionerMs. Katarina Carroll APM, Queensland Cricket CEO Mr. Terry Svenson,Mr. Andrew Sly, Deputy director General Queensland Government, Ms. Christine Castley, CEO, Multicultural Australia, Mr. Jimmy Sullivan MP (representing the Premier and Police Minister Mark Ryan), Mr Shayne Neumann MP, Mr. Ben Hodgart (Cricket Australia), Michael Sing, Greg Rostron and Varun Gupta (Rostron Carlyle Rojas Lawyers), Mr. Ankit Taneja (Mahindras Automotive), Mr. Ashawani Soni (Holistic Homecare), Mr. Grant Smith and Mr. Paul Sujevich (Virtu group), Dr. Amol Wagholikar (Rise01), Mr. Suman Nepal (Nice Loans), Dr Ram Mohan (India News), Mr. Amit Lohani (QNCA), Mr John Bell, , Mr Syed Ashghar Rizvi (Pakistan Australian Cultural Association), Mr. Jishu Das (Brisbane Bangladeshi Association), Mr Joginder Modi (Hindu Council of Australia), Mr Jaynesh Brahmbhatt and Brijesh Banwadiya (BAPS Swaminarayan), Mr. Anu Parera (Wolston Park Cricket Club), and the IAIE Board members Mr. Muthuraj Guruswamy, Dr. Shaun Star, Ms Sweta Misra, Dr. Jacqueline Drew, and other officials including Ms. Kriti Bharadwaj and Mr. Kartik Pratap Singh, among others.

Ms. Christine Castley presented plaques of appreciation to the leaders of the Multicultural associations along with Mr Jimmy

Sullivan. QPS Commissioner and Queensland Cricket CEO, and Queensland’s contracted women players Courteny Sippal and Mikayla Hinkley presented plaques to the corporate sponsors namely, Rostron Carlyle Rojas Lawyers and Queensland Government (platinum sponsors); Mahindras Automotive, Holistic Homecare, Virtu group and Energy Queensland and Rise01(Gold sponsors); Nice Loans (Silver sponsor);and Sankalp, Sustainable Homes and Top in Town (Bronze sponsors).

At the end of the match Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll and Inspector Wayne Clayton felicitated Dr Misra with a special plaque for his contribution to community engagement and association with QPS. The winner’s and runner’s up medals, the Goodwill Trophy and the Man of the Match Trophy were presented by QPS Commissioner and Shayne Neumann MP. Inspector Clayton delivered the vote of thanks. On behalf of Queensland Cricket Ms Lucy Hicks, Mr. John Butterworth, Mr. Liam Green, Mr Nic Roberts and Ms Rebecca Goodwin deserve a special commendation for their support to the event. Musical entertainment was provided by DJ Ashu from the Gold Coast and Australia India News as the Media partner provided the coverage for the event.

Researchers use VR technology to measure brain activity, stress

to giving a human the chance to see through the eyes of a robot.

"Virtual reality is so much more immersive than just doing something on a big screen," said lead researcher Nanshu Lu, Professor at the varsity’s Cockrell School of Engineering.

Scientists discover highestenergy light coming from Sun

with the scalp.

The most popular electrodes are rigid and comb-shaped, inserting through the hairs to connect with the skin, an uncomfortable experience for the user.

that can be detected with the observatory’s instruments. The team began collecting data in 2015 and in 2021, had accrued enough data to start examining the sun’s gamma rays with sufficient scrutiny.

New York, Aug 7 (IANS) US researchers have modified a commercial virtual reality headset, giving it the ability to measure brain activity in order to examine how we react to hints, stressors and other outside forces.

The team at The University of Texas at Austin created a noninvasive electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor that they installed in a Meta VR headset that can be worn comfortably for long periods. The EEG measures the brain's electrical activity during the immersive VR interactions.

The device, detailed in the journal Soft Science, could be used in many ways, from helping people with anxiety, to measuring the attention or mental stress of aviators using a flight simulator,

"It gives the user a more realistic experience, and our technology enables us to get better measurements of how the brain is reacting to that environment," Lu added.

The pairing of VR and EEG sensors has made its way into the commercial sphere already. However, the devices that exist today are costly, and the researchers said their electrodes are more comfortable for the user, extending the potential wearing time and opening up additional applications.

The best EEG devices today consist of a cap covered in electrodes, but that does not work well with the VR headset. And individual electrodes struggle to get a strong reading because our hair blocks them from connecting

"All of these mainstream options have significant flaws that we tried to overcome with our system," said Hongbian Li, a research associate in Lu's lab. For this project, the researchers created a spongy electrode made of soft, conductive materials that overcome those issues. The modified headset features electrodes across the top strap and forehead pad, a flexible circuit with conductive traces, and an EEG recording device attached to the back of the headset. To validate the viability of the VR EEG headset, the researchers designed a driving simulation game. In the game, users must react to turn commands by pressing a button. The EEG measures the users’ brain activity, providing insight into their attentiveness during the driving simulation.

iPhone 16 Pro models may feature stacked camera sensor design: Report

camera on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus.

Sony, which provides high-end sensors, increased production capacity by 100-120 per cent to meet Apple's demand.

New York, Aug 7 (IANS) An international team of scientists has discovered the highestenergy light coming from the sun. "The sun is more surprising than we knew," said Mehr Un Nisa, a postdoctoral research associate at Michigan State University in the US.

"We thought we had this star figured out, but that’s not the case."

The team also found that this type of light, known as gamma rays, is surprisingly bright. Although the high-energy light doesn’t reach the Earth’s surface, these gamma rays create telltale signatures that were detected by the team working with High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory, or HAWC. The energy of the original gamma ray is liberated and redistributed amongst new fragments consisting of lower energy particles and light.

It’s these particles -- and the new particles they create on their way down -- that HAWC can "see".

"After looking at six years’ worth of data, out popped this excess of gamma rays," Nisa said. "When we first saw it, we were like, 'We definitely messed this up. The sun cannot be this bright at these energies'."

The gamma rays that the team observed had about 1 trillion electron volts, or 1 tera electron volt, abbreviated 1 TeV. Not only was this energy level surprising, but so was the fact that they were seeing so much of it. For the first time, the team has shown that the energies of the sun’s rays extend into the TeV range, up to nearly 10 TeV, which does appear to be the maximum, Nisa said, in the new paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

San Francisco, Aug 6 (IANS) Apple will reportedly adopt a stacked rear camera sensor design across its iPhone 16 series next year, following similar moves in this year's iPhone 15 models.

According to Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, two iPhone 16 Pro models will adopt a stacked CIS (CMOS Image Sensor) design. The camera's stacked CIS design lets it capture more light, have a wider dynamic range, and perform better in low-light circumstances.

Apple is already rumoured to adopt a stacked sensor arrangement for the 48MP wide

"Following two 2H23 iPhone 15 standard models, two 2H24 iPhone 16 Pro models will also adopt stacked-designed CIS, so Sony's high-end CIS capacity will continue to be tight in 2024, benefiting Will Semi to continue to obtain more orders for high-end CIS from Chinese smartphone brands (design-in & design-win)," Kuo said in a Medium post.

Sony's limited capacity is expected to benefit competitor Will Semi, which will receive more orders for high-end CIS from Chinese smartphone manufacturers as a result.

The iPhone 16 series is expected to release sometime in the second

half of 2024.

As per the rumours, the iPhone 16 Pro Max's 48-megapixel wide-angle camera would have an eight-part hybrid lens with two glass components and six plastic elements, as well as enhancements to the telephoto and ultra-wide camera lenses. Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly planning to unveil the iPhone 15 smartphone series on September 13.

If the tech giant does the unveiling on September 13, pre-orders should begin on September 15, following the official launch a week later on September 22, reports 9To5Mac. For comparison, pre-orders for iPhone 14 started on September 9 last year, with the official release in stores a week later on September 16.

YouTube to no longer recommend videos to users with disabled watch history

San Francisco, Aug 9 (IANS) Google-owned YouTube has announced that it will no longer recommend videos to users if their watch history is turned off. "Starting today, if you have YouTube watch history off and have no significant prior watch history, features that require watch history to provide video

recommendations will be disabled - like your YouTube home feed," the company said in a support page on Tuesday.

This means that now users' home feed may look a lot different. Users will see the search bar and the left-hand guide menu with no feed of recommended videos, allowing them to more

easily search, browse subscribed channels and explore Topic tabs. The company is rolling out this "new experience" to make it more clear which YouTube features rely on watch history to provide video recommendations, and to make it more streamlined for users who prefer to search rather than browse recommendations.

When the shower particles interact with water in HAWC’s tanks, they create what’s known as Cherenkov radiation

Currently, the discovery creates more questions than answers. Solar scientists will now scratch their heads over how exactly these gamma rays achieve such high energies and what role the sun’s magnetic fields play in this phenomenon, Nisa said. When it comes to the cosmos, though, that’s part of the excitement. It tells us that there was something wrong, missing or perhaps both when it comes to how we understand our nearest and dearest star.

New York, Aug 7(IANS) While artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT are making their way into everyday use, doctors are less likely to adopt them over lack of skills to interpret and act according to it, finds a study.

Like every other industry, physicians will soon start to see AI tools incorporated into their clinical practice to help them make important decisions on diagnosis and treatment of common medical conditions.

These tools, called clinical decision support (CDS) algorithms, can be enormously helpful in helping guide health care providers in determining, for example, which antibiotics to prescribe or whether to recommend a risky heart surgery.

The success of these new technologies, however, depends largely on how physicians interpret and act upon a tool’s risk predictions -- and that requires a unique set of skills that many are currently lacking, according to a new perspective article published in the New England Journal of Medicine. CDS algorithms, which make predictions under conditions of

clinical uncertainty, can include everything from regressionderived risk calculators to sophisticated machine learning and artificial intelligence-based systems. They can be used to predict which patients are most likely to go into life-threatening sepsis from an uncontrolled infection or which therapy has the highest probability of preventing sudden death in an individual heart disease patient.

“These new technologies have the potential to significantly impact patient care, but doctors need to first learn how machines think and work before they can incorporate algorithms into their medical practice,” said Daniel Morgan, Professor of Epidemiology & Public Health at University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and coauthor of the perspective. While some clinical decision support tools are already incorporated into electronic medical record systems, health care providers often find the current software to be cumbersome and difficult to use.

Why doctors aren’t prepared for use of ChatGPT in medicine

Antibody-based

therapies

She said antibody-based therapeutics are safe, but clinical trials have generally shown minimal or no impact on influenza A, and there are currently no approved antibodybased therapies to treat human influenza.

may

help fight influenza B: Study

for influenza B by measuring different types of antibodies. Dr Vanderven said their findings suggest that certain types of influenza antibodies, that are capable of killing infected cells, may assist in recovery from severe influenza B but not influenza A.

Sydney, Aug 7 (IANS) Antibodybased therapies may be effective in combating influenza B, according to a study.

Dr Hillary Vanderven from James Cook University said antibodybased therapies for respiratory viruses are of increasing importance as they can be a safe and effective tool to treat severe respiratory infections, especially in high-risk groups.

"Antibodies are proteins made by the immune system that can target specific molecules on pathogens," said Dr. Vanderven, a lecturer in immunology and infectious diseases.

"A recent clinical trial used hyperimmune intravenous immunoglobulin (Flu-IVIG) -- purified from donors who were vaccinated against or had recovered from flu -- which contained antibodies to fight flu infections. This new therapy was tested on 308 patients hospitalised with severe influenza A or B," said Dr. Vanderven, the lead author of the study published in JCI Insight.

Flu-IVIG treatment improved outcomes in patients with influenza B but showed no benefit for influenza A.

In this new study, researchers wanted to understand why FluIVIG therapy was only effective

She said the need for antibodybased treatments targeting respiratory viruses has become increasingly urgent. The demand for an expanded arsenal of antiviral therapies to combat severe respiratory infections is high, with influenza, Covid-19 and RSV all co-circulating in the community.

"Our comprehensive examination of serum antibodies has provided invaluable insight into the mechanisms and antibody characteristics that underpin effective humoral immunity against influenza virus. This knowledge will help to inform the development of new and improved antibody-based therapies."

Poor lifestyle leading to high BP among even adolescents: Expert

adolescents?

London, Aug 7 (IANS) People’s perception of their sleep quality is linked to their well-being, especially their mood the next day, finds a study.

Researchers from the University of Warwick in the UK conducted a study across a two-week period. More than 100 participants aged 18-22 years were asked to keep a daily sleep diary about the previous night's sleep, including what time they went to bed, time they got ready to fall asleep, the amount of time it took them to fall asleep, what time they woke up, what time they got out of bed, and how satisfied they were with their sleep in general.

Five times throughout the following day, participants were asked to rate their positive and negative emotions and how satisfied they were with their life. Participants also wore an actigraph on their wrist which measures a person's movement, for the duration of the study, to estimate their sleep patterns and rest cycles.

"Our results found that how young people evaluated their own sleep was consistently linked with how they felt about their well-being and life satisfaction,” said lead author Anita Lenneis from Warwick's Department of Psychology.

"For example, when participants reported that they slept better than they normally did, they experienced more positive emotions and had a higher sense of life satisfaction the following day. However, the actigraphyderived measure of sleep quality which is called sleep efficiency was not associated with the next day's well-being at all.

"This suggests there is a difference between actigraphymeasured sleep efficiency and people's own perception of their sleep quality in how they link to people's evaluations of their wellbeing."

Overall, the study, published in Emotion, suggests that evaluating your sleep positively may contribute to a better mood on the next day.

Hyderabad, Aug 5 (IANS) Poor lifestyle habits, obesity, sleep deprivation and consumption of junk and processed food are the important reasons for blood pressure (BP) in youth and adolescents, according to leading physician Dr V. Jagadeesh Kumar.

The consultant physician at KIMS Hospitals, Secunderabad, says that there is no disease called low BP. A person’s BP might decrease if he is dehydrated significantly but there is no medical definition of disease called low BP, he contends.

Here are excerpts from an interview:

IANS: Why is BP called a silent killer and how is it affecting Indians?

Dr Kumar: Blood pressure is the degree of pressure exerted by the column of the blood on the walls of the vessels. As our whole body and organ system is loaded with blood vessels of various calibers, higher the blood pressure and longer the duration, there will be damage to the blood vessels, structurally as well as functionally leading to various problems pertaining to various organ structures.

So BP, which is abnormally

elevated, causes damage to the vessels and organs which are not identified or appreciated by oneself for a longer time, until unless the damage is significant which can be knocking as oneself in the form of a heart stroke, brain stroke, loss of vision or kidney failure. That’s why BP is called a silent killer as it has no symptoms to be identified unlike any fever or an infection.

IANS: How does high BP affect our body? Why does low BP also matter?

Dr Kumar: In general, BP means high blood pressure (hypertension). Any blood pressure more than 140 mm systolic (upper number ) and more than 85 diastolic (lower number) is called hypertension.

As such there is no disease called Low BP. Low BP is a situation or moment or a finding. It’s not a disease. For example, when you are dehydrated significantly, and you don’t have intake of fluids, once BP might decrease. We mention that patients BP is low but there is no technical term or proper medical definition or disease called Low BP.

IANS: Why is hypertension increasingly affecting even

Dr Kumar: BP (Hypertension) is multifactorial. The causes may be genetic, primary or essential hypertension, renovascular causes, endocrine causes, stress and psychological causes and poor lifestyles. Among these poor lifestyle habits, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, sleep deprivation, consumption of a lot of unhealthy junk processed food are important reasons for BP in young and adolescents.

IANS: How does high BP increase the risk of complications during pregnancy?

Dr Kumar: Blood pressure in pregnancy is divided into a few categories -- Chronic Hypertension, Gestational Hypertension, Pre-Eclampsia and Eclampsia . All put together they are called hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. They cause all kinds of compilations in pregnancy including low birth weight, seizures in pregnancy, pregnancy loss, preterm delivery, premature rupture of membranes and IUGR IANS: How technology is transforming blood pressure control?

Dr Kumar: Technology has no direct effect but indirect effect by decreasing physical activity and significantly increasing sedentary life which is the most important risk factor for hypertension. Another important factor is the infodemic, a series of thorough flow of health information causing panic and unnecessary restlessness amongst youngsters causing increased incidence of hypertension.

Researchers compared the actigraphy data with the participants' perceptions of their sleep and how they felt throughout the following day. They wanted to find out how fluctuations from people's usual sleep patterns and quality are related to their mood and life satisfaction the next day.

"The findings are consistent with our previous research that identified people's self-reported health, and not their actual health conditions, as the main factor associated with their subjective well-being and especially with life satisfaction,” said Professor Anu Realo from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick.

"It's people's perception of their sleep quality and not the actigraphy-based sleep efficiency which matters to their wellbeing," she added.

US, UK sees rise in Covid cases with new variant

London, Aug 5 (IANS) The UK has reported a new Covid variant EG.5.1, accounting for 1 in 7 new cases, according to the country's Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

This comes after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated an increase in new Covid cases as well as the number of Covid hospitalisations -- from around 6,300 in June to more than 8,000 for the week ending July 22. Nicknamed Eris, EG.5.1 was first raised as a signal in monitoring on July 3, and is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant of Covid. The UKHSA in a statement said that Covid rates have increased this week -- 5.4 per cent of 4,396 respiratory cases from 3.7 per cent of 4,403 respiratory cases reported in the previous week. Accounting for 14.6 per cent of Covid cases, EG.5.1 is the second most prevalent in the UK, after XBB.1.16 which makes up 39.4 per cent of all cases.

"We continue to see a rise in Covid-19 cases in this week's report. We have also seen a small rise in hospital admission rates in most age groups, particularly among the elderly," said Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), in the statement.

While the admission rates are extremely low, Ramsay said, the variant will be monitoredc "losely" for any spike in numbers.

"Regular and thorough hand washing helps protect you from Covid-19 and other bugs and viruses. If you have symptoms of a respiratory illness, we recommend staying away from others where possible," she added.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has added EG.5.1 to the list of variants under monitoring.

became an important risk factor," Hunter was quoted as saying to Daily Mail.

How you feel about sleep can shape your well-being

After

Antique collectibles to elevate your home

cut flower rosettes. Osler was known for the superior quality of their crystal and the incredible craftsmanship and attention to detail in each of their pieces.

An Important Chaise Lounge by F&C Osler

A journey of yarns and weaves

New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANSlife)

Embracing antique home decor opens the door to a world of character and exquisite craftsmanship that has the power to enhance any living space. These timeless pieces, aged a century or more, come with rich histories and boast aesthetically pleasing, opulent details that transport us to the elegance of times long past. Antique collectibles can serve as essential elements in interior design, harmoniously tying rooms together and even taking center stage as focal points. They possess the unique ability to bestow balance and depth to the most contemporary homes, infusing them with a sense of regality and splendor. AstaGuru Auction House showcases some such timeless treasures in their upcoming ‘Imperial Treasures’ auction.

A Ten-Light Tent And Waterfall Victorian Chandelier by F&C Osler

This impressive ten-light cut glass and silvered mounted chandelier created circa 1850, features a classic tent and waterfall design. The two drop canopies terminate in a scalloped top piece and the main ring is supported by ten candle arms. The scalloped slice-cut candle nozzles and flute-cut drip pan add to its allure. The waterfall consists of concentric rings with spangles and suspended prism drops while the main ring features faceted spikes and star

Another exceptional creation by renowned glassmaker F&C Osler, this chaise lounge brings a royal touch to any interior. Signed Osler, the refurbished crystal chaise lounge features original emerald green crystal Osler legs with caster wheels. The armrest and backrest too are executed in Osler crystal. Executed circa 1880, it is evidence of the impeccable quality and craftsmanship that Osler was synonymous with.

The 1840s saw the company diversifying from creating chandelier parts to ornate furniture pieces and tableware.

An Important Hallmark Silver Victorian Candelabrum by Hunt & Roskell, London

Executed in 1898, this ornate silver candelabrum features a coat of arms belonging to the Walmsley family of Foston Hall, Derbyshire in England.

An earlier, similar design candelabra was a part of the esteemed collection of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth House. The circular base rests on scrolled shell supports and the stem is richly cast, chased and textured. It depicts a seated male accompanied by a goat with a cherub on his shoulder supporting a grape-laden basket. The five scrolled foliate branches feature detachable tops, drippans and sconces centred by a floral bouquet finial.

An Antique Gold Hookah Base

The exceptional hookah base is

set in gold and white metal with table-cut diamonds, rose-cut diamonds and rubies within foiled surrounds. This is reminiscent of jewellery making popular with royal families of the Deccan. The flared upper border of the hookah base is alternately set with ovalshaped rubies and emeralds. Executed with applied openwork botch scroll and foliate panels, the tapering base is a perfect addition to any collection.

A Pair Of Large Meiji Bronze Vases by Hashimoto Isshi

The magnificent pair of Meiji period bronze vases feature gilded decoration. The baluster shaped bodies feature birds and flowers in high relief. The lower half of the body is decorated with large dragons and the two stylised handles depict birds. Created in the Meiji period by master craftsman Hashimoto Isshi, these vases also feature inscriptions of poetry, roughly translating to 'Bush warblers are singing and flitting between the branches of plum trees, as if they are embroidering a hat with designs of plum blossom' on one vase and ‘The guards are idle at the moment, however, the scent of plum flowers is carried through the fence by the wind.’ on the other. Hashimoto Isshi, the creator of these parcel-gilt bronze vases, was renowned for his metalworks in Japan.

AstaGuru’s upcoming ‘Imperial Treasures’ auction is scheduled for August 12-13, 2023 and will showcase an assortment of antiques and rare collectibles from 19th and 20th century India, China, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the UK, among other places.

A global celebration of creativity marking 100 years of Disney

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANSlife) Top celebrate 100 years of Disney storytelling, some of the world’s most renowned visionaries and next generation talent across fashion, music, art and more have donated artworks, items and experiences inspired by their personal connection to stories and characters across Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Warsand 20th Century, to benefit Make-A-Wish as Disney marks the launch of Create 100, a global celebration of creativity marking.

To begin, Disney is commemorating the launch with a $1 million donation to Make-AWish to support the granting of life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

“Disney’s timeless stories and characters have made an indelible mark on pop culture around the globe, transcending borders, industries and generations,” said Consumer Products, Games and Publishing President Tasia Filippatos. “We couldn’t think of a better way to honor 100 years of Disney storytelling than by collaborating with this outstanding collective of visionaries in support of Make-AWish.”

India’s ace fashion designer and creative powerhouse, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, will represent the local creative community as part of Create 100 and will produce a special item in honour of Disney’s 100th anniversary.

“I was born in 1974. I grew up with the beloved character Mickey Mouse. There weren’t endless streams of entertainment back then, but Disney was always around. I think the fantastical worlds created by Disney shaped my imagination and made me

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANSlife)

The National Crafts Museum is hosting an educational initiative on Indian Handlooms from August 1 to 14, 2023 at National Crafts Museum, Bhairon Marg, Pragati Maidan, Delhi.

Aimed at educating and reconnecting India’s future generations with the country’s rich heritage; and evoking awareness and appreciation for the work of the artisans and weavers from all parts of the country.

The two-week educational initiative will offer a unique and insightful journey into the intricate world of Indian handlooms and weaves.

Master craftsmen and weavers from India’s diverse handloom clusters will take visiting students through the comprehensive process of making handlooms from different parts of the

country including Banarsi Brocade, Ikat, Paithani, Jamdani, North-eastern textiles, and more, guiding the curious visitors through the entire journey from raw fibers to the exquisite finished products.

What visitors can experience:

Preparation of Yarn: Students will learn about the crucial first step in handloom creation – preparing yarn from natural fibers.

Preparation of Loom: Students will get to know about the intricate process of setting up handlooms. This includes understanding the preparatory steps, including winding the warp threads onto the loom, the art of warping, and ensuring the correct sizing of the loom.

Introduction to Weaving: This stage will provide a comprehensive overview of weaving, exploring various types of looms and weaving techniques. Decoration: Students will get introduced to various techniques of surface decoration, including embroidery, applique work, and tie and dye.

Preventing ‘Duck-Walk’ in old age

New Delhi, July 25 (IANSlife)

the designer I am today. It’s my absolute honour and privilege to represent India and be a part of Create 100. It feels like a perfect homecoming,” said Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

To kick off the campaign, Disney worked with Virgil Abloh Securities to reveal a 6-foot structural sculpture of Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey from Disney’s Fantasia at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London. The life-size piecetitled‘Structural Sorcerera Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey Sculpture’was commissioned by Disney and designed by ALASKA ALASKA. “Paying homage to the everlasting legacy of Virgil Abloh, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey sculpture takes inspiration from his work on the grid furniture series and the Mickey Mouse illustration he created in 2018 in celebration of Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday,” said the late artist’s wife, Shannon Abloh.

As individuals age, a condition known as 'Duck-Walk' or waddling gait can occur due to knee malalignment caused by osteoarthritis. This condition often leads to individuals walking with a distinctive gait resembling that of a duck. However, in the early stages of osteoarthritis, there are conservative methods that individuals can employ to prevent or delay the progression to an advanced stage.

Let us delve into some detailed information about the exercises that can help individuals prevent the progression of ‘Duck-Walk’ due to advanced osteoarthritis and maintain normal mobility even when they age.

First and foremost is weight reduction

One of the most effective ways to prevent or slow down the progression of 'Duck-Walk' is through weight reduction. By maintaining a healthy weight, the force exerted on the knees is reduced, resulting in a decreased likelihood of deformity progression. Incorporating a balanced diet and regular exercise can help individuals achieve and maintain a healthy weight, which is beneficial for overall joint health.

Exercises to Avoid ‘Duck-Walk’ in Old Age Prone Leg Hangs: This exercise involves lying in a prone

position on a bed with the knees positioned at the edge of the table and a rolled towel placed underneath for support, allowing the lower part of the legs to hang in the air but straight in alignment with the knees. Individuals should aim to perform this exercise for 10 minutes, twice a day. Prone leg hangs help certainly reduce flexion or knee bending deformities causing the 'Duck-Walk.'

Core Abdomen Strengthening: Strengthening the core and spine muscles is essential for maintaining proper posture and stability. By engaging in exercises that target the abdomen and lower back muscles, individuals can improve overall hip and thigh muscle strength, which directly impacts walking ability.

Quadriceps Strengthening: Strong quadriceps muscles at the front of thigh play a crucial role in maintaining proper knee kinematics. Exercises such as leg extensions, and lunges can help strengthen the quadriceps and provide better support for the knees. Hamstring Strengthening: The muscles at the back of the thighs, known as the hamstrings, are vital for maintaining balance and stability during walking. Strengthening these muscles through exercises like leg curls and bridges can improve overall leg strength and reduce the likelihood of a waddling gait.

Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) Strengthening: The VMO muscle, located on the inner thigh, plays a crucial role in knee stabilisation. Exercises like leg presses, stepups, and inner thigh squeezes can target and strengthen the VMO, helping to alleviate knee malalignment.

Suneet Varma’s romance with fashion

New Delhi, July 27 (IANSlife) Its no surprise that Suneet Varma is a bridal favourite, and his latest collection at FDCI Hyundai India Couture Week in association with Reliance Brands very much plays to his strength.

Feminine, flirtatious, sexy and everything you'd want to be during the run up to your wedding, was on his runway. 'Mogra' draws inspiration from the incredible traditional motifs

and embroideries found in the decorative arts of India. Varma revisits the traditional techniques and crafts that have made Indian embroideries a worldwide celebration, while infusing a modern and fresh twist.

Varma's sari blouses and cholis have always made headlines for their daring necklines, sexy styles and burlesque silhouettes. Team them with his sequin saris or elegant lehengas and you have a

winning fashion moment. Speaking about the collection, Suneet shares, "India has had a century-old love affair with couture, which is made-tomeasure for pure pleasure. There is no denying the luxurious indulgence of precious finery, the magical beauty of one-off embellished wedding attire, and the sparkle of personalised jewels that are designed to match.” The collection featured large abstract-shaped mirrors adorned with multi-coloured thread embroidery, offering a contemporary take on bridal wear. The glamorous lehengas, with off-shoulder blouses, exaggerated shoulders and short jackets, showcase dark shades of midnight blue and burgundy, complemented by silver accents. Draped skirts worn with capes and ruffled organza shirts paired with high-waisted palazzo pants complete the ensemble.

Aditya Roy Kapoor and Sara

Ali Khan’s fashion outing

What’s the trend with denim skirts?

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANSlife)

Bollywood actors Sara Ali Khan and Aditya Roy Kapoor were showstoppers for designer duo Shantnu & Nikhil at FDCI Hyundai India Couture Week in association with Reliance Brands on July 31 at The Taj Palace, Delhi. The actors join a host of other stars who have made it to the Capital over the past five days for the fashion extravaganza.

Etheria Bridal Couture ’23 draws inspiration from the ethereal beauty of travel and the irresistible allure of an era long past, it captures the essence of

timeless elegance and indulgent luxury.

The collection is a descendant of the designer’s travels across Italy and especially a gorgeous town called Catania in Sicily.

Inspired by the grandeur of Roman palaces, a seamless fusion of Indian and Roman influences creates a tapestry of magnificence that ignites the imagination. The bridal silhouettes from the collection explore exaggerated ornate veils paired with bejewelled capes and gloves, just like in the Gatsby Era. The signature cocktail gowns are

revisited with a lens of splendour. The menswear features threepiece layering with ornamented tuxedos, glittering in crystals and beautiful glass beads.

Actor Disha Patani made an appearance for designer Dolly J. The collection titled Selene featured soft flowing silhouettes sculpted to accentuate its wearer, with Pearly white sequins, metallic tissues, Ivory tulle, and iridescent silver sequins.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

New Delhi, July 31 (IANSlife)

In the ever-evolving world of fashion, some pieces transcend the fleeting trends and seasons to become timeless icons of individuality and self-expression. Among these coveted garments, the denim skirt stands as a powerful symbol, embodying the essence of freedom, empowerment, and personal style. Rooted in the rebellious counterculture of the 1960s, denim skirts have journeyed through the ages, leaving an indelible mark on the realm of fashion.

Today, as the world celebrates the beauty of self-expression, denim skirts remain at the forefront, empowering fashion enthusiasts to embrace their unique identities. Universally ageless and versatile, they appeal to the young and the young-at-heart, celebrating life's diverse stages and offering a seamless blend of nostalgia and contemporary charm.

Rupanshi Agarwal, co-founder of QUA says, "The beauty of denim skirts lies not only in their ability to bridge generations but also in their remarkable adaptability. From minis to midis, distressed to tailored, and classic blue to an array of washes, denim skirts cater to every taste and preference. They have become a blank canvas, allowing wearers to express their true selves through creative styling, making each denim skirt a personalised work of art.

"The distressed denim trend, an art form in itself, adds a unique touch to denim skirts. With every fray and tear, these skirts become storytellers, symbolizing the wearer's journey through life's battles and victories. Embracing imperfections, they celebrate the beauty of life's individual

path, empowering individuals to embrace their true selves. Denim skirts champion inclusivity, embracing diverse body types and celebrating the beauty of individuality. With various cuts and styles, they become a powerful tool for positive self-expression, fostering an environment where all can feel confident and beautiful."

Embodying fluidity and acceptance, denim skirts have played a significant role in breaking gender norms. Evolving into a unisex garment, they provide a stylish and comfortable option for those seeking to express their identity beyond conventional roles.

"Denim skirts have graced the wardrobes of iconic fashion figures, solidifying their status as a timeless fashion staple. From style icons like Jane Birkin, who popularised the denim mini skirt in the 1970s, to modern-day fashion influencers, denim skirts have consistently held a place of reverence in the world of haute couture", adds Rupanshi.

"Their diverse colors and washes further highlight their versatility. From the timeless classic blue to a myriad of washes, denim skirts offer endless possibilities for personal expression, reflecting the wearers' personality and style. Denim skirts, not content with remaining confined to casual wear, have seamlessly integrated into professional settings. When paired with tailored blazers and sophisticated accessories, they become a chic and contemporary choice for the modern workplace, proving that self-expression and professionalism can harmoniously coexist."

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

Cheat codes to elevate basic looks to chic ensembles

New Delhi, July 253 (IANSlife) Are you tired of your everyday outfits following the same trends? The Monday blues and the "Wednesday we wear Pink" routine can become monotonous. We all find

ourselves asking, "What should I wear tomorrow?" or "Do I need to go shopping, again?"

Adding a touch of magic to our everyday attire while maintaining an effortless look is something we

all desire. Unfortunately, our busy lives with tight schedules leave little time for meticulous fashion choices. However, fear not, as you are not alone in this fashion dilemma. Instead of revamping

your entire wardrobe, why not explore your jewellery casket?

Enter the world of demi-fine jewellery, a game-changer in creative outfit styling. Whether you're donning a bossin'-it-at-

work attire or a casual no-workbrunch outfit, these gold-laden demi-fine accessories know how to make a statement as your daily essentials.

The business of beauty Great hair days

and universal products does not align with the new consumer’s preferences and expectations. Consumers are looking for unique solutions that can help them with concerns specific to their needs. Brands are increasingly innovating through the integration of technology to help consumers with hyperpersonalised recommendations. Research and data have become key in driving these efforts. Brands are also witnessing a higher sense of loyalty toward them through personalised offerings.

New Delhi, July 30 (IANSlife)

The global beauty industry stands as no exception to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, its story of recovery and even growth is an outstanding example of resilience and innovation. The industry has aptly dealt with the negative effects of the pandemic, with the changes becoming prevalent in the times to come. The use of e-commerce is continually on the rise and brands are increasingly banking on online platforms and supply chains to be relevant in unexpected situations. Beauty brands across the world are focusing on providing the bestin-class experience to their consumers as the pandemic’s after-effects wane.

Online shopping becoming more relevant than ever

Digitisation rose to prominence during the pandemic and the beauty sector stepped in to increase its digital presence. With the implementation of a robust digital marketing strategy and e-commerce experience, beauty brands are aiming to increase sales and appeal to varied lifestyles.

Brands are enhancing the virtual shopping experience through Artificial Intelligence (AI) to recreate in-store beauty counters and compensate for the feeling of smell, swatch, and sampling of the products. Simply by optimising images and videos of their products, the industry is looking to provide an in-depth look at the customers' preferences sitting in the comforts of their homes.

Technology enabling innovation

The beauty industry and technology have forged a deep partnership. Technology is riding the innovation for the brands, offering novel experiences to consumers. Platforms like websites and mobile applications are integrating technology to offer personalised solutions.

Brands with digital presence are more interactive than ever, thanks to technology. Voice assistance, chatbots, and in-app quizzes have made consented data collection possible to analyse consumer behaviour, trends, needs, and demands.

Entrepreneurship and new D2C brands

The pandemic paved the way for entrepreneurs across towns and cities. Businesses focused on beauty – from lip balms, cheek tints and more found a medium of business in social media. Numerous success stories empowering women and the youth made their way to social and media streams.

The route of D2C brought consumers and businesses closer with increased brand connections. The whole phenomenon of D2C humanised the consumer-brand connection and continues to flourish.

Rise of skincare routines

With working from home, physical distancing, and maskwearing becoming a norm skincare was brought into focus as brands witnessed consumers opting for products with health functions.

Products like serums, hydrating masks, face oils, and beauty tools like guasha and face rollers started gaining popularity. There was an increased use of DIY skin care and brands diversified their portfolio to provide homemade solutions to cater to the changing consumer needs. Skin health became the focus area and it continues to be so postpandemic.

The Renaissance of makeup

After almost two years of lull, consumers are now making up for the lost time. They are more than eager to go out, celebrate with their friends and family, and travel around the world. For the beauty industry, this has translated into a higher traction for makeup products.

More so now than ever, consumers want to look their best and express themselves through makeup. Some of the trends we have seen in the makeup category include abstract eyeliners, colour pops of neon, bold blushes, and everything glitter.

Realising the importance of personalisation

Resonating with Epilson’s survey which indicated that 80 per cent of consumers are likely to buy a product if it offers personalisation, brands are innovating in terms of giving personalized beauty treatments, products, and supplements. The age-old idea of ‘one-size-fits-all’

Hyperlocal models of delivery

The path from discovery to delivery is increasingly becoming quicker. Prior to the pandemic, the idea of beauty products being delivered within a day was talked of as a distant reality. Today, however, brands and service providers have gone one step further to bring orders to your doorstep in as less as 2 hours. Hyperlocal delivery models are facilitating this transition, bringing in convenience and efficiency for both the consumer and the marketer. Being focused on specific geographical spaces, they open avenues for brands to draw cultural insights and further customise experiences for the target audience.

Content

as a medium

With increased screen times, the path from online discovery to delivery, content to commerce is more relevant than ever. Over the past few years, content formats like short videos and tutorials have become a mouthpiece of beauty brands to reach their target audience and convey the merit and use-case of their products.

Today, we see a shift from traditional ideas and collaborations with digital influencers. In an ever-expanding competitive market, brands are more open to experimentation. The idea of brands closely collaborating with content creators through blogs and social media has proven incremental in enticing and informing consumers.

Ethics and values matter more than ever

The pandemic put a lot of things into perspective. Today, consumers are more informed and are looking to be associated with brands that align with their values. They want the companies to respect their values and individuality.

In this manner, brands are intending to become more eco-aware, transparent, ethical, and more-consumer centric. This can include anything from being plastic-free, supporting women empowerment, against animal cruelty, understanding of diversity, and more.

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANSlife) One of the leading hair brand in the US, Redken, has made its highly anticipated debut in India. The brand brings together the power of science and the prowess of its hairdressers to empower everyone to express themselves and make a statement with their hair.

At its core, the brand is known to deliver powerful hair transformations with its unique pH balanced formulas that preserve the health of hair. Its extensive range of products covers all the bases - colour, care, styling - ensuring they've got your back for every hair need.

“In recent years, there has been substantial growth in the number of young affluent consumers in India. These consumers are quite individualistic, experimentative and are willing to spend on specialised products and services best suited to their specific needs. We feel that this is the right time to bring a global brand like Redken to India which offers a performance-driven, comprehensive portfolio to this evolved cohort”, said D.P. Sharma,

Director – Professional Products Division, L’Oreal India.

To drive this global mission of the brand, Florian Hurel, an internationally acclaimed celebrity hairstylist, has been announced as Redken's Pro Ambassador for India. Florian’s unique approach is deeply rooted in his belief that beauty should be customised for every customer in a way that helps them to reflect their individuality, making him the perfect fit for a young empowering brand like Redken.

“I am excited to come on board as the Pro Ambassador for Redken India, supporting a brand where creativity knows no bounds! From cutting-edge trends to hair perfection, I look forward to elevating professional hair experiences in collaboration with Redken", says Florian Hurel, Pro Ambassador, Redken India, who is all set to launch his first salon, Florian Hurel Hair Couture, in association with Redken, in Walkeshwar, South Mumbai. This will be Redken's first flagship in India offering the brand's most iconic and transformative hair treatments and services.

Kriti Sanon x mCaffeine launches skincare brand Hyphen

New Delhi, July 27 (IANSlife) PEP Technologies, the parent company of mCaffeine and celebrity entrepreneur Kriti Sanon unveils Hyphen, a premium skincare brand that transcends the ordinary and redefines the very essence of skincare. Recognising the need for an uncomplicated skincare regime, Hyphen was born with the core purpose of providing simplified and realistic skincare solutions. It aims to make skincare journeys effortless, achievable, and affordable for everyone. By combining multiple benefits in a single multi-purpose product, this innovative Indian skincare brand seamlessly merges the power of nature with the potency of science. It is dedicated to shattering the complexities and challenges that surround daily skincare rituals.

Kriti Sanon, Co-founder, and Chief Customer Officer, Hyphen expresses, "We are very excited to unveil our extraordinary brand, Hyphen, to the world. Teaming up with my partners

and co-founders Tarun, Vaishali, Vikas, Saurabh and Mohit fills me with excitement as we prepare to introduce a range of revolutionary products capable of addressing numerous skin concerns. Our journey starts with rigorous research and comprehensive market studies, and the experience that the PEP Technologies team has, enabled us to truly understand the industry and pave the way for Hyphen's creation. From a young age, I've been passionate about skincare, and as I've grown older it has only intensified. Hyphen serves as the perfect amalgamation of these two aspects. In my role as the CoFounder and Chief Customer Officer, I have tried and tested all three products from the brand, and I have been applying them for the past four months, and believe me, it really made a difference in my skincare regime. My utmost desire is for our valued customers to experience the same sense of satisfaction after using our products. With the power of nature and the potency of science,

Indians second most confident travellers in Asia-Pacific

New Delhi, July 29 (IANSlife)

Despite complex global challenges, including inflation, geopolitical instability, climate change and supply chain disruptions, this year’s research uncovers a striking paradox: a remarkable 86 per cent of Indian travellers are brimming with optimism about their future travel plans, while 61 per cent have no intention of postponing their travel plans in the next 12 months. Even more striking, over half (59 per cent) of these travellers intend to maintain, if not increase, the number of trips they take and 68 percent intend to increase their travel expenditure budget for the year ahead, finds travel site Booking.com's, 2023 edition APAC Travel Confidence Index (TCI).

The study provides perceptions into the attitudes of APAC travellers and the significant influence that economic and global concerns have on their travel choices. India is the nation with the second-most confident

passengers out of the 11 APAC nations surveyed, just behind Hong Kong. After Singapore and Taiwan, China comes in third.

Travel Behaviours

Indians stand out for their unusual travel behaviours, especially in how they approach itineraries and how much attention they place on cuisine. More than half (57 per cent) prefer to follow a set schedule and reserve their lodging, activities, and meals in advance. This suggests a desire for a planned travel experience and the confidence that requested services will be booked in advance. Even though they are open to trying new foods, a sizeable percentage (60 per cent) believe that having access to Indian food is essential while making vacation arrangements.

Indian travellers have a stronger inclination to explore their own country (43 per cent) and foster meaningful connections on their travels (33 per cent). When it

comes to destinations they would like to explore domestically, a majority of the respondents (71 per cent) want to travel to North India, 60 per cent lean towards destinations in South India, 41 per cent West India, 37 per cent North East India, 16 per cent East India and 13 per cent opted for Central India.

Top Places and Activities of Interest while Travelling Indian tourists exhibit a strong preference for nature and scenic areas (67 per cent), suggesting a desire to immerse oneself in the beauty of natural settings. Beaches (63 per cent) and food and dining (57 per cent), which also maintain a strong attraction, are next in line. Shopping (52 per cent), local culture and lifestyle (55 per cent) and tourist attractions and landmarks (56 percent), among other things, are of interest. Compared to Indians, APAC tourists prefer to seek out food, then nature, tourist destinations, and beaches.

Ideas for upcoming long weekends

New Delhi, July 28 (IANSlife) Long weekends energise everyone, whether you are a fastidious planner or a last-minute packer. The desire to visit a place that offers unique encounters while minimising the difficulties associated with visa procedures, language hurdles, and lengthy flights is a common trait among tourists. Plan wisely for the upcoming long weekends of August 12-16 and August 26-30.

It is now up to you to take care of your leave application once we have made the ultimate wish list for you. These conveniently located nations provide a variety of exciting experiences, whether you choose to travel alone, with friends, as a family, or in search of new adventures.

Seychelles

Perched near the equator on the Indian Ocean, Seychelles is an excellent holiday destination with

pleasant weather throughout the year. Indians can enjoy a visa-free holiday in Seychelles with a direct 4.5-hour flight from Mumbai to Mahe on Air Seychelles, the country’s national carrier. Other airlines like Air India, IndiGo, Emirates, Ethiopian, and Qatar Airways also offer connecting flights from different hubs in India. While the official languages in Seychelles are Seychellois Creole, English is widely spoken and understood. So, Indian tourists can easily communicate with locals and navigate the destination without language barriers. Travellers can exchange Indian Rupees for Seychellois Rupees at authorised currency exchange counters in airports, hotels, or banks. Carrying cash in small denominations is better as not all local establishments accept cards. Comprising 115 islands, Seychelles is the perfect destination for island hopping.

A

spectacular retreat in the heart of Rajasthan

New Delhi, July 26 (IANSlife)

Nestled among the magnificent Aravalli Range, Radisson Blu Resort, Kumbhalgarh is set to alter the hospitality landscape of the area by providing visitors with a pleasant and fashionable experience.

The luxurious and peaceful resort is nestled in a stunning natural environment. The resort's architecture honours Rajasthan's illustrious past by deftly fusing traditional and contemporary features to produce a setting that is utterly captivating. The resort is two hours' drive from the Maharana Pratap Airport Udaipur and the Udaipur City Junction Train Station and is situated in a stunning setting with mountains in the background.

The property is located in proximity to the illustrious Kumbhalgarh Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its architectural splendor. The resort’s strategic location ensures convenient access to other prominent attractions, including the revered Ranakpur Jain Temple and the captivating wildlife of Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary. Just a 2-hour drive away from Udaipur, life at Radisson Blu Resort, Kumbhalgarh is all about the simple pleasures -- waking up to warm sunshine, strolling through lush gardens, savouring local culinary delights, and exploring tales of bravery with guided treks and trails to sites undiscovered.

The resort also features a fitness center, a rejuvenating spa, and an outdoor pool for relaxation. It provides expansive meeting and banquet facilities with advanced technology. Guests can engage in self-rejuvenating recreational activities such as artisanal, puppet, and pottery workshops, guided treks led by naturalists, jungle visits, and cultural trails. The resort further enhances the guest experience with a royal welcome, performances like Nagada and Flute recitals, Ghoomar dance, and Sandhya aarti.

It is a serene oasis spread across 5.18 acres. Surrounded by diverse flora and fauna, including multiple-aged banyan trees, it offers a refreshing change of pace. It is the only IGBC-certified

property in the region. The resort boasts spacious rooms and suites that are elegantly designed with thoughtful touches offering stunning views of the picturesque landscape, ensuring a tranquil retreat for every guest. The resort offers three unique dining options, comprising a pizzeria, an all-day diner, and a lounge bar.

"We are delighted to collaborate with Radisson Hotel Group for the opening of Radisson Blu Resort, Kumbhalgarh. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our journey as a hospitality brand, as we join forces with a renowned global leader in the industry. Through this collaboration, we are confident in delivering an exceptional experience that allows our guests to immerse themselves in the rich culture and heritage of Rajasthan. We are committed to providing unparalleled hospitality and ensuring that every guest enjoys a memorable stay,” said Sharad Mishra, Director & Owner of Radisson Blu Resort, Kumbhalgarh.

“We are thrilled to unveil Radisson Blu Resort Kumbhalgarh, a true gem in our growing portfolio. With its captivating setting, thoughtful amenities, and Rajasthan’s warm hospitality, we are confident that it will become a preferred destination for travelers seeking an unforgettable experience. Radisson Hotel Group, in the past 25 years of operations in India, has become a part of the country’s social fabric. We derive deep inspiration from this and will continue to add more such magnificent hotels to our portfolio that are an embodiment of India’s rich heritage,” said Zubin Saxena, Managing Director & Area Senior Vice PresidentSouth Asia, Radisson Hotel Group. Gourav Deb, General Manager of Radisson Blu Resort, Kumbhalgarh said, “Radisson Blu Resort, Kumbhalgarh is designed to offer a perfect blend of tranquility, luxury, and cultural immersion. We are dedicated to crafting memorable experiences for our guests with exceptional services and recreational activities, making it a perfect cultural holiday spot.

From bliss to battles: 5 series that depict strained marital bonds

husband Hemant (Suhaas Ahuja). Everything changes when she encounters Peeplika (Monica Dogra), an artist who inspires Astha to recognise her true value. Astha comes to realise that her marriage revolves around her self-centered husband Hemant. Fueled by her newfound selfworth, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, navigating inner turmoil.

The series explores the transformation of a dutiful wife into a courageous woman. Through Astha's story, the show delves into the complexities of marriage, societal beliefs, and the empowerment of women. The Married Woman is a compelling portrayal of one woman's evolution, exposing the impact of gender roles and the challenges it poses in a marriage. It is streaming on Zee5.

Majburi Mein Bandha Ek Rishta

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) From infidelity and communication breakdowns to deep-seated secrets and emotional upheavals, here are some shows that offer an unfiltered view of the complexities within marriages. Exploring the stormy seas of troubled marriages, each narrative is gripping with raw emotions and thought-provoking dilemmas faced by couples.

Made In Heaven

'Made in Heaven' is a critically acclaimed show by Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and Alankrita

Shrivastava that delves into complex issues, including the turbulent relationship of Tara (Sobhita Dhulipala) and Adil Khanna (Jim Sarbh). Their seemingly perfect marriage shatters when Adil's affair with Tara's best friend Faiza (Kalki Koechlin) is exposed. Despite the betrayal, Tara and Adil attempt to salvage their relationship, only to uncover deeper underlying problems in their marriage.

The series explores the intricacies of love, trust, and self-discovery, painting a vivid picture of human complexities and the pursuit of happiness in the face of adversity. 'Made in Heaven' streaming on

Prime Video takes viewers on an emotionally charged journey filled with compelling characters and thought-provoking dilemmas. The 'Made In Heaven 2' series will premiere from August 10 on Prime Video.

Decoupled

It revolves around celebrity author Arya Iyer (R Madhavan) and finance manager Shruti Sharma Iyer (Surveen Chawla), who find their love fading after years of marriage. Determined to co-parent their daughter Rohini (Arista Mehta), they seek an amicable divorce and choose to live together. In a unique twist, they organise a Decoupling Party/ Ceremony in Goa to celebrate their new chapter and redefine the meaning of separation. As emotions run high, the couple faces nostalgia, laughter, and heartache, discovering that love can endure beyond romance. 'Decoupled' streaming on Netflix is a heartwarming tale of family, growth, and finding strength in unexpected ways.

The Married Woman

It follows Astha (Riddhi Dogra), a devoted wife and mother, living a tranquil life with her

In this audio series 'Majburi Mein Bandha Ek Rishta', marriage takes an unexpected turn when Rudra Rai Chauhan is forced to marry Anya after his original bride flees. Unwilling to accept the forced union, Rudra creates tension in the relationship from the start. For Anya, who values relationships deeply, this journey is a difficult one, as she refuses to succumb to the coerced situation. Can Anya overcome her painful past and cope with this compelled relationship? Will Rudra look beyond money and power when dealing with Anya? As they navigate this unexpected bond, can they make the compelled relationship work, or will circumstances tear them apart? It is available on Pocket FM.

Married Woman Diaries Phase 2

It takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride as Shweta and Rishi navigate the second phase of their married life. With the arrival of their bundle of joy, Bani, they find themselves caught up in the whirlwind of parenthood, leaving little time for each other. Their attempts to reignite their passion fail, pushing their marriage to the brink. Now, an external thr

Wamiqa Gabbi to star alongside Varun Dhawan in Atlee’s next production

Mumbai, Aug 7 (IANS) Actress

Wamiqa Gabbi, who surprised everyone with her acting prowess in 'Jubilee', will be seen in filmmaker Atlee's upcoming Hindi production, which also stars Varun Dhawan.

The yet-untitled film, which has been generating immense buzz across social media platforms, is popularly referred to as #VD18 and is slated for release on May 31, 2024.

Wamiqa said: "I am thrilled

and grateful to be a part of this project. The opportunity to work alongside Varun and Keerthy Suresh is definitely something I'm looking forward to. I have been looking and waiting to do a full commercial Hindi project and this is just it. And I'm really excited to be working and collaborating with Murad sir and Atlee."

Having proved her mettle in the industry with some remarkable performances in 'Grahan', 'Mai' and recently released 'Jubilee',

Wamiqa is all geared up about this project.

Written by the talented screenwriter Kalees, known for his critically acclaimed film 'Kee', the movie promises to deliver an enthralling cinematic experience. With such a power-packed combination of directorial brilliance, a stellar cast, and a compelling storyline, #VD18 is expected to be one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year 2024.

Mumbai, Aug 7 (IANS) Indian auteur Anurag Kashyap, whose films like 'Gangs of Wasseypur', 'Ugly', 'Dev.D', 'Black Friday' and others have strengthened the parallel cinema in India and have cultivated an enormous fan base, is set to visit the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) as his upcoming film 'Kennedy' has been selected as the closing film at the festival.

Kashyap, who is often credited as the poster boy of the present day indie cinema in India, shared that he had the idea of 'Kennedy' brewing inside him for 20 years but it only got materialised when the pandemic hit the world. In a way, the pandemic became the perfect physical setting for Kashyap's story as he wanted to give it a very "comic book" kind of a spin to the story. Talking about how the came together, the director told IANS: "I have had the idea for 'Kennedy' for close to 20 years, the titular character existed in my head for 20 years. It was based on a character that was narrated to me by Sudhir Mishra in 2003. But, back then I didn't want to make another encounter-cop film because during those days this subject was a hot topic."

The director shared that he wanted to render a "Giallo" kind of a treatment to the story. Giallo is a genre of Italian cinema of murder mystery fiction that often contains a broad range of themes like slasher, thriller, psychological horror and supernatural horror elements.

Anurag further mentioned: "I decided to give my own spin to it more like a comic book take. I wanted to render a Giallo kind of treatment to it. But, somehow it wasn't materialising and then the lockdown happened and it gave me a great opportunity to set this film in the context of a

lockdown because people were anyway wearing a mask during the lockdown so it presented an opportunity for the masked character to become one with the crowd."

The director told IANS that the film is also based on a true story that happened in the late 1980s. Kashyap's tryst with realistic crime films isn't new. His debut film 'Paanch' which never saw the light of day due to its violent content, was based on the JoshiAbhyankar serial murders, a series of ten murders committed by Rajendra Jakkal, Dilip Sutar, Shantaram Kanhoji Jagtap and Munawar Harun Shah of Pune, India between January 1976 and March 1977.

"I took the character and the story from the 1980s and put them in the context of lockdown and that's how the film came into existence," Kashyap said.

Anurag, who is known for his knack for fully improvising the scenes on sets, made a rare exception for 'Kennedy' as he said that the film was completely designed before the team ended up on set, leaving little to no room for improvisation.

"This film follows a pre-designed model and there were no improvisations in the scenes. Dialogues? Yes, but not too much. I even restricted myself to delve too much into improvisation," he added.

'Kennedy' stars Sunny Leone, and Rahul Bhat in lead roles, and tells the story of an insomniac ex-police officer who operates secretly for the corrupt system, lives in different conditions and goes on a lookout for salvation.

'Kennedy' is the closing film for the 13th edition of the IFFM which is set to be held from August 11 to August 20 in Melbourne.

Anurag Kashyap wanted to give a ‘comic book’ kind of spin to ‘Kennedy’

Nawazuddin Siddiqui stares with bloodthirsty eyes in new look from ‘Haddi’

Saurabh Sachdeva, Shridhar Dubey, Rajesh Kumar, Vipin Sharma, and Saharsh Shukla.

Mumbai, Aug 7 (IANS) Actor

Nawazuddin Siddiqui's new look from his upcoming streaming release 'Haddi' has been unveiled and it shows the actor in the role of a transgender, in an intense look with a penchant for blood as he holds a butcher's knife laced with blood. With the new look, the film has also locked its streaming partner.

In the new poster, Nawaz's character can be seen sitting comfortably on a chair with a blood stained knife in hand surrounded by many women in the background.

The film has been helmed by the debutant director Akshat Ajay Sharma, and also stars Anurag Kashyap along with Ila Arun, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub,

Co-written by Akshat Ajay Sharma and Adamya Bhalla, 'Haddi' is a crime revenge drama that showcases the prolific actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui in a never-seen-before avatar. In the film, Nawazuddin takes on the challenge of portraying two distinct characters - Haddi and Harika, a transgender woman. Talking about the film, director Akshat Ajay Sharma said: "'Haddi' circles around the intoxicating world of vengeance, violence, and power, delving into the very essence of a criminal's psyche. It highlights the ruthlessness of society. It took me a lot of time to flesh out characters and craft this politician-mobster-transgender drama. With bated breath, I am truly hoping that 'Haddi' exceeds every expectation, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of the audience." The film has been produced by Zee Studios, Sanjay Saha and Radhika Nanda's –Anandita Studios, and will soon debut on ZEE5.

Anjali Anand: Journey of ‘KKK 13’ brought growth, self-discovery into my life

confidence and discovered a lot about myself."

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Producer

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Actress

Anjali Anand, who got eliminated in the third week of stunt based reality show 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13', said this journey allowed her to explore different aspects of her personality, and she is grateful for the growth and self-discovery it has brought into her life.

Hosted by Rohit Shetty the show brought back the muchanticipated 'Relay Week,' infusing terrifying stunts with the added element of fear ‘fanda’.

Amid the intense competition, Anjali fearlessly took on every daunting task thrown her way. In her last shock-based stunt, Anjali was outperformed by Shiv Thakare as she couldn’t adhere to the time limit set for it.

Bidding farewell to the show, Anjali said, "Participating in 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13' has been an exhilarating journey for me.

Although I felt nervous initially, once I started the stunts, my fears faded away. Despite facing numerous challenges, I gained

Anjali made a great first impression on the show with her determination to win the title of the ultimate Khiladi. She proved her mettle and resilience in a stunt involving creepy crawlies that were raining on her as she was cycling to collect coins. She befriended wild animals and did not back down in stunts that involved cheetahs and crocodiles. In a stunt that tasked contestants to pick crocodiles up, Anjali lifted the maximum number of crocodiles. Her performance in all the height-related stunts was nothing short of incredible. Talking about the same, the actress said: "I take immense pride in my achievements on the show. It primarily tested my mental strength than my physical prowess. Surprisingly, I remained calm when facing animals like cheetahs, snakes, and crocodiles. I handled crocodiles with such ease, as if they were my pet dogs, after a while."

Anjali further said: "This journey allowed me to explore different aspects of my personality, and I am grateful for the growth and self-discovery it has brought into my life."

She also extended her heartfelt gratitude to Rohit, saying his mentorship brought out her true potential.

'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13' airs on Colors.

Sargun Mehta and Ravie Dubey's family drama 'Udaariyaan' is all set to take a 20-year leap, and actors Alisha Parveen, Anuraj Chahal, and Aditi Bhagat will be joining the show.

Commemorating the original cast before the leap, Sargun took to her social media to express gratitude to Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, Ankit Gupta, Isha Malviya, Karan Grover, Twinkle Arora, Hitesh Bharadwaj, Sonakshi Batra, Rohit Purohit, Vivian Dsena for portraying the memorable roles, while also offering words of encouragement to the new actors Alisha, Aditi and Anuraj.

From touting Priyanka as the strong pillar of 'Udaariyaan' to revealing Ankit as the first audition for the show, Sargun also regarded Isha Malviya as the best choice for Jasmine and Harleen, offering heartwarming insights into the bond shared by the actors and the producer.

Sargun posted a video with special notes for each actor. For Priyanka, who played Tejo Sandhu Virk, she said: "She didn't play the character of Tejo, she made it iconic. This message is a year too late but I had to put it out there. Thank you for being such a strong pillar of Udaariyaan. We love you and hope you know you have a family in us @ priyankachaharchoudhary."

For Ankit, who played Fateh Singh Virk, Sargun wrote: "You were the 1st audition we saw for Udaariyaan and it felt like Fateh

and you were a match made in heaven. And now you are killing it as jahaan everyday. Dreamiyata is and will always be your familyLove love and love to you @ ankitgupta."

For Alisha, Anuraj and Aditi, she said: "You 3 have really big shoes to fill.. par waqt aa gaya hai apna jalwa dikhane ka… rock it superstars. Let the show begin."

Filled with romance, drama, excitement, and intrigue, 'Udaariyaan' has a magical allure that has left its audience hooked. Alisha will be portraying the role of Alia Randhawa, Anuraj will take on the character of Armaan Gill, and Aditi will captivate the audiences as Aasmaa Dhillon.

Alia is the beloved daughter of Nehmat (played by Twinkle Arora) and Ekam (played by Hitesh Bharadwaj), a rebellious soul who considers Nehmat her greatest adversary. She believes that Nehmat drove her mother away and selfishly took her father, mistaking Harleen for her real mother.

Armaan is a 25-years old highspirited guy, who holds a special place in Alia's heart, and believes there's nothing a jugaad can't fix. On the other hand, Harleen's biological daughter, Aasmaa, is a dreamer raised in Canada but carries a profound love for India in her heart.

As fate would have it, the lives of Alia, Armaan, and Aasmaa intertwine in unexpected ways. How will their paths cross? What will be their 'Udaariyaan'? It airs on Colors.

Sargun Mehta to new cast of ‘Udaariyaan’: ‘You have really big shoes to fill’

Buyers Like What They See at Brookwater.

Your 5 minute neighbourhood:

Just 35 minutes away from Brisbane CBD, the interest among buyers has been at a record level, according to Narendran Sinnathamby, the General Manager of Brookwater Residential. Brookwater’s current land release, The Dress Circle, is situated around the first nine holes of the championship golf course designed by Greg Norman. It is the only integrated golf community near Brisbane. “Discerning buyers are recognising that Brookwater is a premium lifestyle destination,’’Mr Sinnathamby said.

“The Dress Circle, Brookwater is situated within Springfield City, one of Australia’s fastestgrowing regions. Springfield City sets the standard for world-class master-planned urban environments in the 21st century and has become a blueprint for nation-building,” he added. “The area boasts outstanding schools, and state-of-the-art health facilities, and is now home to the Brisbane Lions AFL Club. Everything you need is within reach.”

Within the Springfield City area, there are 12 schools, 22 childcare facilities, and the University of Southern Queensland providing a remarkable array of options for both private and public amenities, making it an ideal choice for growing families.

Springfield City is positioned as the gateway to the western corridor of Southeast Queensland. With an expansive area of 2,860 hectares, it is Australia’s largest master-planned city and the first of its kind since Canberra.

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The wider Springfield Growth Corridor including Springfield and Greater Springfield is currently home to 145,300 people.

- This is expected to grow rapidly to almost 200,000 people in 2026 and over 435,000 in 2041.

- Represents an annual growth rate of 5.6% over the 20 years to 2041.

LARGE REGISTERED HOMESITES FROM $615,000

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City Springfield Central – home to Mater Private Hospital Springfield, Aveo Springfield and Quest Apartment Hotel.

Springfield Central offering major retail shops, restaurants, a movie theatre and food court. SOURCE: