SOUTH INDIA VISION

Six deAd, 116 ArreSTed in Nuh violence: Haryana CM

ChandIgaRh

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said six people have died and 116 arrested due to the violence in Nuh and appealed for the maintenance of peace. He said the victims were two Home Guard men and four civilians. The Chief Minister said 30 companies of the Haryana Police and 20 companies of Central paramilitary forces have been deployed, adding that 14 of them have been positioned in Nuh where no new incident was reported. “The perpetrators of violence would be soon identified,” he added. State Home Minister

We have deployed 30 companies of Haryana Police and 20 companies of central forces. We are also monitoring social media. Fortyone FIRs have been registered so far and 116 people have been arrested in Nuh alone.”

Anil Vij told the media that the situation is under control.

“We have deployed 30 companies of Haryana Police and 20 companies of central forces. We are also monitoring social media. Forty-one FIRs have been registered so far and 116 people have been arrested in Nuh alone.”Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Khattar over the violence, officials..The

Muslim-dominated Nuh district witnessed clashes between two groups. Police said the fight started after Vishwa Hindu Parishad's 'Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra' was stopped by a group of men near Khedla Mod in Nuh, and stones were pelted at the procession. Some police vehicles were also damaged. On Tuesday, shops in Gurugram’s Badshahpur area were set on fire.

Haryana violence

Rapid Action Force personnel hold flag march in Gurugram

day’s clash in Nuh. The deceased home guards identified as Neeraj and Gursevak were deployed at Khedali Daula police station.Heavy police have been deployed in Nuh district and nearby areas. Curfew has also been imposed in Nuh and Section 144 has been imposed in some places. Chief minister Khattar informed that around 44 FIRs have been registered and 70 people have been taken into custody. Khattar also appealed to locals to maintain peace.

GuruGram:

Rapid Action Force personnel conducted a flag march in Gurugram's Badshahpur early on Wednesday morning following the clashes that broke out in Nuh district of the State. Security has been strengthened in the districts adjoining Nuh -- Faridabad, Palwal, and Gurugram-- in light of the violence that broke out between two groups on July 31.

Section 144 has been imposed for 48 hours from Monday midnight in Nuh and mobile internet services have been temporarily suspended in the district. On Tuesday, fresh violence was reported from Gurugram in Badshahpur and on Sohna road. Assistant Commissioner of Police Varun Dahiya (Crime), Gurugram said today, "All schools, colleges and workplaces are functioning normally. There are no restrictions on the movement of traffic. The internet is also operational. I appeal to all to not pay heed to rumours on social media. If anyone wants to report any information, they can reach helpline number '112'."

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar yesterday said he suspected a "conspiracy" behind Monday’s clashes. Khattar called the incident "unfortunate" and said that clashes broke out at several places and that a big conspiracy seems behind the violence.

"This is an unfortunate incident. A Yatra was being organised during which some people conspired an attack Yatris and the police. Violent incidents were reported at several places. There seems to be a big conspiracy behind this," said Khattar.

Haryana Deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, however, said that the violence in Nuh district could have been avoided if organisers of the yatra had given complete information about the yatra to the district administration. "Strict action will be taken against those found responsible," said Chautala, leader of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) on the incidents of violence in the state.

A total of five people have died including two home guards who were shot dead in Mon-

Rapid Action Force personnel conducted a flag march in Gurugram's Badshahpur early on Wednesday morning following the clashes that broke out in Nuh district of the

State.

Security has been strengthened in the districts adjoining Nuh -- Faridabad, Palwal, and Gurugram-- in light of the violence that broke out between two groups on July 31.

rajya Sabha passes 3 bills amid opposition walkout over manipur issue

new DelHi

Amid persisting logjam between government and the opposition parties over Manipur violence, the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 and also the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provi sions) Bill, 2023. As Lok Sabha has already passed all the three Bills they would now be sent for President’s assent. As mem bers of the opposition parties staged a walkout, the bills were passed in their absence by voice vote.

While Mines and Minerals (Devel opment and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 seeks to encourage private sector in the exploration of critical and deep-seated minerals, the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 exempts certain types of land from the purview of the forest conservation law including land within 100 kilometers of the country’s border needed for national security projects and road or rail links for local habitation. Replying to the discussion on Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi said that the Bill will go a long way in achieving net zero emission by 2070. “We will give exploration licenses in a transparent manner through auction system. As a result of this, we will be able to do exploration of critical minerals like lithium and gold at a larger scale,” the Minister said.

Replying to the discussion on Forest (Conser vation) Amendment Bill, 2023, Union Environ ment and Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav said that the Bill exempts certain types of lands such as forest lands for providing connectivity to local habitations and road side amenities up to a maximum size of 0.10 hectares. Commenting on passing on the Bill, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh said,” The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 that makes several far-reaching and radical amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 has just passed in Rajya Sabha now in the absence of the Opposition that is being silenced on Manipur. The journey of the Bill to soon becoming law is a case study on how to completely subvert the legislative process.”He further said in the Twitter post, “Both the substance of the

amendments and the manner they have been bulldozed through in Parliament, reflect the mindset of the Modi Government, and the vast gap that exists be- tween its global talk and do mestic

forests and the rights of adivasis and other forest-dwelling communities.” The Upper House also passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023 which seeks to amend 183 provisions to be decriminalized in 42 Central Acts administered by 19 Ministries and Departments. The bill proposes measures such as revision of fines and penalties commensurate to the offence committed, establishment of Adjudicating Officers, establishment of Appellate Authorities and periodic increase in quantum of fine and penalties.

Modi surname row: ‘Won’t apologise’, Rahul Gandhi tells SC

new DelHi:

Congress leader and Former MP Rahul Gandhi reiterated before the Supreme Court on Wednesday that he is not guilty of criminal defamation for his comment, “All thieves have Modi surname.” Rahul stated that he would not apologize for his statement and that if he wanted to compound the offense, he could have done so much earlier.

Gandhi’s affidavit to the Supreme Court accused plaintiff Purnesh Modi of using slanderous language like ‘arrogant’ to characterize the former Congress head solely because he refused to apologize.Gandhi, filing an affidavit before the top court said that he has always maintained that he

is not guilty of the offence and that the “conviction is unsustainable” and if he had to apologise and compound the offence, “he would have done it much earlier”. The complainant, Gujarat BJP MLA Purnesh Ishwarbhai Modi, in his reply before the apex court, used slanderous terms such as ‘arrogant’ to describe him only because he has refused to apologise, stat-

Rajiv Gandhi had 'Mr Clean' image, PM Modi enjoys same reputation: Ajit Pawar

all thieves have modi surname.” rahul stated that he would not apologize for his statement and that if he wanted to compound the offense, he could have done so much earlier.

ed Gandhi’s affidavit.

Using the criminal process and the consequences under the Representation of Peoples Act to “arm twist” Gandhi into apologising for no fault, is a gross abuse of the judicial process and ought not to be countenanced by this court, he added.

\ The affidavit further stated that Gandhi has an ‘exceptional’ case considering the offence be-

Pune:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said late Rajiv Gandhi was known as `Mr Clean', and Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoys the same reputation.Pawar, who split the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and joined the BJP-Shiv Sena government last month, was speaking to reporters in Pune on Tuesday after attending a ceremony where Modi received the Lokmanya Tilak National Award. He said the people of Pune welcomed Modi by standing on both sides of roads when his convoy was passing. "I and Devendra ji (deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis) were in the same car in the

ing a trivial offence, and the irreparable harm that accrues to him as an elected MP. On the other hand, there is no prejudice caused at all to the complainant. It is therefore prayed for that the conviction of Gandhi be stayed, enabling him to participate in the ongoing sittings of the Lok Sabha and the sessions thereafter,” Gandhi said. The complainant in the Rahul Gandhi’s criminal defamation case in which he was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by the Surat court over the ‘Modi surname’ remark, on Monday told the Supreme Court that the attitude of the Congress leader reveals arrogant entitlement and he doesn’t deserve any relief in form of stay on his conviction.

convoy. We did not see any black flags during Modi's journey to the venue. In fact, we saw that people, standing on both sides of the road, welcomed and greeted him," said Pawar, when pointed out that NCP workers (of the rival faction) staged a protest and showed black flags during the prime minister's visit."Any prime minister will think of having a good atmosphere in the country from the law and order point of view. Nobody supported whatever that is happening in Manipur. The prime minister has taken cognizance of the issue. Chief Justice of India has also taken cognizance. Everyone has condemned whatever happened there," said Pawar.

Om Birla “upset’ over repeated disruptions in House; refuses to chair proceedings

new Delhi

As logjam continued in Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla has expressed his displeasure over the members of the house, stating that he is “upset” with the behaviour of the members and will not attend ses sion un till lawmakers behave accordingly, sources said on Wednes day. As per official, both the opposition and treasury benches have been informed of the Speaker’s “displeasure” over the repeated disruptions in the House since Parliament’s Monsoon session, which commenced on July 20.

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Wednesday as well, amid the ongoing protests by the opposition members on the Manipur issue. The Lok Sabha was scheduled to take up the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 for consideration and passage on Wednesday.

The opposition has demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation in the state, which has been affected by months-long ethnic violence. Meanwhile, 31 MPs of opposition on Wednesday met the President Droupadi

Murmu handed over a memorandum and sought her intervention in the ongoing crises in Parliament.“ We submitted a memorandum to the President. our main demand is that the PM should visit Manipur and take steps towards restoring peace in the state,” Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said after meeting the Presi-

In a memorandum to the President, the Opposition alliance INDIA urged her to “press upon the Prime Minister to urgently address Parliament on the prevailing situation in Manipur followed by a detailed and comprehensive discussion on the matter”.‘ The shocking viral video that surfaced online has left the nation in shell shock, and it is evident that the state administration and police have failed to address the matter promptly, “ said the Memorandum. ‘ The impact of the violence has been devastating, with more than 200 lives lost, over 500 injured and more than 5,000 houses gutted in arson-related incidents. A staggering number of over 60,000 people are displaced, living in dìre condition in relief camps across the state, “ the memorandum added.

We will help Rajasthan arresting

Monu Manesar: Haryana CM

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said the state government would provide help to Rajasthan arresting Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar, who has been blamed by police as one of the triggering factors of violence in Muslim-dominated Nuh district.He said Rajasthan Police are free to act against him and his government will extend all needed help.

On conspiracy an gle in this week’s violence that spread over to neighbouring Gurugram too, Khat tar told the media here that “it is not correct to speak now, let probe find it out”. Earlier in the day, the Chief Min ister alleged “big conspiracy behind the Nuh violence”. Replying to a question on the presence of Manesar at the time of violence, he said, “There was no matter of Manesar being there. We should not believe in rumours. Whatever is the truth, we will act accordingly.” The Chief Minister was categorically clear in saying the police would investigate every angle. “Whosoever will be responsible, action will be taken against them. There will be no leniency.”“The police are examining call records and CCTV footage to identify culprits behind violence in Nuh.”

Khattar said 20 paramilitary forces have been deployed so that no unlaw-

ful activity takes place in the state. The state government has sought four more companies of central forces, he said, adding “one battalion of the (IRB) Indian Reserve Battalion will also be deployed in Nuh.”Six deaths have been reported out of which two were police personnel and four civilians. A total of 116 people have been arrested and 90 others detained and af - ter questioning action will be taken.

The Chief Minister said those who indulged in violence and damaged private property will be made to compensate for it. “We have passed an Act wherein it provides that the government will provide compensation for loss to public property but as far as private property is concerned those who caused the loss are liable to compensate for it.“So, we will ensure compensation is collected from those who are liable for it,” he added.

Punjab CM hands over cheques to 25,000 beneficiaries for construction of houses

luDHiana:

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday handed over cheques of Rs 1.75 lakh each to 25,000 beneficiaries, totalling a sum of Rs 101 crore, for construction of houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) scheme.

Addressing the gathering at the state-level function after handing over the cheques, he said the state government is duty bound to ensure wellbeing of every strata of society, especially of the weaker and underprivileged sections.

Noting that it is duty of the government to provide food, clothes and house to all residents of the state, Mann said that in a welfare state, the money for these pro-people initiatives come from the tax collected from

masses which is repaid in the form of welfare schemes back to them.

He said there was no dearth of funds earlier but the successive state governments lacked the vision and will to use these funds for the wellbeing of people. Mann claimed that the funds at that time used to go in pockets of the corrupt leaders but his government has checked this pilferage with a

heavy hand and now this fund is being used for welfare of masses.

"Due to incompetent and corrupt leaders the people lost faith in the political leadership of the state," he said, adding that in the 2022 Assembly Polls, the people of state had reposed huge trust in him for which he will always remain indebted to them. Mann said his government is making

every effort to uphold this confidence of people by ensuring the welfare of every section of society and giving impetus to development of the state. Expressing concern over the fatalities due to road accidents in the state, he said in order to save precious lives of people, his government has decided to form first-of-its-kind ‘Road Safety Force’ to streamline the movement of traffic on roads. He said daily around 14 lives are lost in road accidents in Punjab, adding this causality can be checked by manning the roads well for which ‘Road Safety Force’ has been formed.

Mann said this force will be entrusted with the task of checking rash driving, streamlining vehicular movement on roads and others to check the road accidents.

Air Vice Marshal, Shri Alok Sharma, VM VSM, ACA (Org & Cer) as member, SMSES and the Secretary General, Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, AIFF witnessing the signing of MoU between SMSES and AIFF, in New Delhi.

SC Stays rahul's Conviction, restores MP Status

new DelHi:

In a breather to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Supreme court on Friday stayed his conviction in a defamation case over his 'Modi' surname remark. BJP MLA Purnesh Modi had filed a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi. The bench of justices comprising PK Misra and BR Gavai stated that there was no specific reason granted by the trial judge to impose maximum sentence on the Congress leader even though the utterances were not in good taste."There is no doubt that utterances are not in good taste, person in public life is expected to exercise caution while making public speeches. No specific reason has been granted by trial judge to impose maximum sentence apart from a comment by this court. Had the sentence been even a day lesser, the provisions (pertaining to disqualification) would not have applied," Justice BR Gavai said. The court then ruled, "Taking into consideration these and that no reason has been given by trial judge for imposing max sentence, order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication." Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told the Supreme Court that the original surname of former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi, who filed a defamation case against him, is not Modi and he belongs to the Modh Vanika Samaj.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, told a threejudge bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar that his client is not a hardened criminal and there is no conviction in any case despite several cases filed against him by BJP workers. The top court is hearing a plea by Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court verdict which dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark. The Supreme Court also restored Rahul Gandhi's status as Lok Sabha MP.

BJP's conspiratorial hounding of Rahul Gandhi exposed: Kharge

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court judgement staying the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in ‘Modi surname’ remarks defamation case, saying truth alone triumphs and BJP’s conspiratorial hounding of the former party chief has been thoroughly exposed. He also said that it is high time the BJP respect the mandate given by the people and start governing the country, on which they have "miserably failed" in the last 10 years.In a tweet, Kharge said: “Truth Alone Triumphs. We welcome the verdict

by the Supreme Court giving relief to Rahul Gandhi. Justice has been delivered. Democracy has won. The Constitution has been upheld. BJP’s conspiratorial hounding of (Rahul) Gandhi has been thoroughly exposed."Time for them to stop their malicious targeting of Opposition leaders. It is high time they respect the mandate given by the people and start governing the country.

Satyameva Jayate, SayS Priyanka Gandhi on SC Stay

ThE SUPrEME COUrT ON FrIDAy STAyED rAhUl GANDhI'S CONVICTION IN DEFAMATION CASE IN MODU SUrNAME CASE. ThE VErDICT AlSO rESTOrED ThE SENIOr lEADEr'S STATUS AS lOk SAbhA MP. C ONG r ESS l EADE r S hAIlED ThE SUPrEME COUrT'S INTErIM OrDEr AS 'VICTOry OF TrUTh'. ChECk OUT rEACTIONS OF CONGrESS lEADErS.

17 Workers Killed in Crane Collapse at Thane Expressway Construction Site

Seventeen workers were killed and three injured as a crane fell on a bridge slab during construction of the third phase of Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra's Thane district on Tuesday, an official said. "A few persons are still feared trapped and efforts are on to rescue them," an NDRF official said. Three persons were injured in the incident and they were being treated at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital at Kalva in Thane, he said. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a tweet said he has ordered a probe into the incident by experts. He expressed grief over the death of workers in the accident.

It was a special-purpose mobile gantry crane used in bridge construction and to install precast box girders in highway construction projects. The accident took place shortly after midnight on Tuesday near Sarlambe village in Shahapur tehsil, around 80 km from Mumbai, the official said.The Samruddhi Mahamarg, named Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, is a 701-km-long expressway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur. It traverses 10 districts including Nagpur, Washim, Wardha, Ahmednagar, Buldhana, Aurangabad, Amravati, Jalna, Nashik and Thane.The construction of the Samruddhi Mahamarg is being carried out by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. The first phase, connecting Nagpur to the temple town of Shirdi, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2022. It covers a distance of 520 km.Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis inaugurated the 80 km long second phase of the Samruddhi Mahamarg stretch from Bharvir village in Igatpuri taluka to Shirdi on May 26. Shin-

maharashtra cm Shinde orders probe, announces rs 5l ex-gratia

The death toll in the mishap where a girder launching machine collapsed in maharashtra’s Thane rose to 17 after one more body was pulled out from the accident site on Tuesday morning, officials said. a search and rescue operation is continuing to rescue more people feared trapped under the debris after the crane collapsed on a bridge slab during construction of the third phase of the Samruddhi expressway near Shahpur in Thane district. according to

de said in May that the third and last phase would be completed by the end of December this year. As many as 88 people ave lost their lives in road accidents in the last six months on Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra, including 25 last month as a private bus caught fire after hitting a divider, an official said. Road

officials, the accident took place around 1:30 am maharashtra chief minister eknath Shinde has ordered an investigation into the “unfortunate” incident.

hypnosis is cited as one of the causes of the accidents on the six lane wide access-controlled expressway, the state highway police official said. Highway hypnosis or driving hypnosis is a condition when a driver zones out while driving a vehicle without remembering what occurred in that specific period.

GNCTD (Amendment) Bill 2023 introduced in LS

New Delhi: Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 has been introduced in Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid uproar and sloganeering by opposition.

GNCTD (Amendment) Bill aims to replace an ordinance that provided the Centre control over Delhi services.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke on this Bill and said, “All objections of opposition parties are ‘political’ which don’t have a constitutional base.”

Shah said that the Constitution gives the house power to bring any law regarding Delhi.Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

said that it is designed of digging up a graveyard for cooperative federalism. This bill takes away the powers of elected Delhi government to make laws regarding services.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi raised several questions regarding this bill and said that he opposed the bill as the government cannot

change the constitution by a simple bill.Replying to GNCTD (Amendment) Bill introduction in LS, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh said the Bill presented by the Centre is against the verdict of the Supreme Court, the Constitution and federal structure of the country.“They may pass the Bill in the Lok Sabha,

but in the Rajya Sabha the opposition has the number to defeat the bill,” Singh said. Meanwhile, “We have seen a very corrupt government in Delhi in the recent past and it has subverted the very electoral mandate of people by the non-performance in the national capital,” BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi told UNI, while she was replying over AAP’s allegations about bringing GNCTD (Amendment) Bill 2023.“If the Supreme Court in its judgement mentioned the Centre has every right to make the law then why the opposition is making hue and cry over the issue. The opposition’s sole purpose is to disrupt parliament proceedings,” BJP MP Manoj Tiwari.

Kharge accuses BJP of trying to threaten opposition, vows INDIA will keep on fighting

New Delhi: Congress president and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun

Kharge on Tuesday hit back at the BJP-led central government accusing it of trying to threaten and intimidate the opposition parties, saying INDIA will keep on fighting to save democracy and the Constitution. Addressing the media outside at Vijay Chowk (near Parliament House), Kharge alleged that he was being insulted in Parliament, as he was not allowed

to speak, despite being the LoP in Rajya Sabha.

The Congress president said, “INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) will not be intimidated and it was not constituted to run away.” Hitting out at the BJP gov-

ernment, Kharge said, “The government was resorting to dictatorship, but no matter how much injustice the government does with them (the opposition), we will keep on fighting against them, and we will defeat them in 2024.”

“We will continue to work for the public interest and lay down whatever sacrifices are required of us to save the democracy and the constitution”, he said, adding that he was being insulted as he was not al-

lowed to speak in the Rajya Sabha. He pointed out that a record number of 65 members of the Rajya Sabha had sought discussion under rule 267.He said that this was for the first time that so many members had sought suspension of business, to discuss Manipur violence, since it was not an ordinary incident. He also highlighted that about hundreds of people had died, while 5,000 others were injured and 60,000 families had to leave their homes.

Facing the Education Dropout Dilemma

Education is one of the core building blocks of a society and of a nation. This is why countries with high literacy rates and good educational systems tend to be more developed than those without. It can be said that education is also such a weapon by which a person can change not only himself but also the society, the nation and the world. When it comes to making a new India - a strong India, then there is a need to develop a positive attitude towards education and pay maximum attention. But it is a matter of concern that despite this positive thinking of the governments, our education system has been giving opposite signals. The increase in the number of dropouts of students in higher education and school education in India, that is, increasing the number of students leaving studies in the middle, is becoming a big question not only on the education system but also on the government's education policy and system. According to a reply given in the Parliament, during the last five years, more than 34,000 students left their studies midway in the country's renowned higher educational institutions. On the other hand, in the analysis of the board examinations of the year 2022 by the Union Ministry of Education, it has been said that lakhs of children drop out in the country at the level of tenth and twelth. According to the analysis, last year 35 lakh students did not go to class 11th after class 10th.

Out of these twenty seven

and a half lakh were not successful and seven and a half lakh students did not appear in the examination. Similarly, 2.34 lakh students dropped out after class XII last year. Seventyseven percent of these were from eleven states. That is, about fifty eight lakh students leave studies in tenth and twelth, so it should be a matter of great concern for any government and it is a question mark on the ground level implementation of government welfare programs from the overall education system.

If we talk about higher education, then our educational institutions look far behind on global standards. This is when in the 76 years of independence;

the governments made a lot of efforts towards the spread of education, gave shape to multidimensional schemes and made huge provisions in the budget as well. Among the more than 34,000 students who drop out midway, Dalit, tribal and backward class students are more. These institutes are not any ordinary government colleges but of the level of IITs, NITs and IISERs, IIMs and Central Universities and the like. Is the standard of education and environment not proper in such institutions? The government and the educationists of the country will also have to worry about the fact that why 92 students who took admission in

these higher educational institutions in the last five years committed suicide in the middle of their studies? Similarly, Darshan Solanki, a first year student of IIT Bombay, committed suicide recently, after which the students there have been officially asked not to inquire with each other about JEE (advance) rank or GATE score. Nor ask any such question which exposes the caste of the student and its related aspects. Such a guideline is needed not only by IIT Bombay, but by all higher education institutions. But the question is whether such symbolic steps can solve serious problems like the increasing number of suicides.

chief minister inspected the vehicles carrying breakfast to schools under chief ministers Breakfast Scheme.

chief minister handed over compassionate ground appointment order to the eligible legal heirs of the persons who had died while in service in the offices functioning under municipal administration Department.

MHC reserves final judgment in a batch of cases against Senthilbalaji

ChENNAI:

The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court (MHC) on Friday reserved the final order in a batch of cases against the jailed Minister Sentilbalaji to continue in the Council of Ministers without portfolio. The petitioner’s counsel and the Advocate General (AG) R Shunmugasundaram appeared before the first division bench of the MHC comprising Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice P D Audikesavalu and filed the written submission.

Marking the submission, the Chief Justice posted the matter for pronouncing the order without mentioning any date.J Jayavardhan, son of AIADMK leader and former minister D Jayakumar and another petitioner S Ramachandran filed a quo warranto petition against the continuation of Senthilbalaji in the Cabinet as Minister without portfolio. Likewise, another petitioner ML Ravi filed a petition to quash the government order, which allows Senthilbalaji to continue as Minister without a portfolio in the cabinet. However, the AG said that the Gover-

TN

nor cannot act on his own will, he must arrive at an opinion of the Council of Ministers, and he can only act in accordance with and advice of the Ministers. All the petitioners submitted their written arguments, and the final judgment is reserved without any date.

The Senior counsel Raghavachari appeared for Jayavardhan and questioned whether a tainted and incarcerated person can be appointed as a min-

ister, and if so what duty he vested to serve whle he was in prison.

The Senior counsel Sakthivel for another petitioner M L Ravi contended that the Governor has the power to remove a Minister under certain circumstances, the Governor removed Senthilbalaji with reasons hence this removal is fit to accept.Noting that the Governor kept the removal of Senthil-

CHENNAI: Leader of Opposition

Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday urged the Tamil Nadu government to extend financial aid to the families of two Tamils, who were among the 17 killed after an under construction bridge collapsed near Thane in Maharashtra.Palaniswami took to social media to register his condolence to the demise of the workers in the fatal accident. The accident took place during the early hours of Tuesday at Khutadi Sarlambe village. The victims were engaged in the construction of the bridge as part of the third phase of the Samruddhi Expressway. They were killed after the girder collapsed. “I express my deepest condo-

The chief Justice of the madras High court (mHc) on Friday reserved the final order in a batch of cases against the jailed minister Sentilbalaji to continue in the council of ministers without portfolio.

balaji in abeyance the Senior counsel argued that he cannot revisit his actions again.However, the AG said that the Governor cannot act on his own will, he must arrive at an opinion of the Council of Ministers, and he can only act in accordance with and advice of the Ministers. All the petitioners submitted their written arguments, and the final judgment is reserved without any date.

lences to the families of the workers. I am deeply saddened after learning that two of the victims were from Tamil Nadu, “ he said in his tweet and urged the TN government to provide appropriate relief to their families.

EPS urge

govt to extend aid to 2 Tamil workers killed near Thane

Chandrayaan-3 covered 2/3rds of distance to Moon, to enter Lunar Orbit on Saturday

chennai: Marking yet another milestone in its third Moon Mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday said the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has covered about two-thirds of the distance to the moon.

The Lunar Orbit Injection (LOI) of the spacecraft set for August 5, 2023, around 1900 hrs, ISRO tweeted. After the successful trans-lunar injection (TLI) on August one, the spacecraft is now on a lunar transfer trajectory, heading towards the Moon’s vicinity.It may be noted that the Indian Space Agency had on August 1 midnight successfully injected the Chandrayaan-3 into the TransLunar Orbit after completing five Orbit raising maneuvers ever since its launch on July 14. ISRO tweeted : “A successful perigeefiring performed at ISTRAC, ISRO has injected the spacecraft into the translunar orbit. “Next stop: the Moon”, ISRO said, posting a photo of the moon. As it arrives at the moon, the next Lunar-Orbit Insertion (LOI) is planned for August 5, 2023, ISRO said.

nIa arrests 12th accused in Kovai car bomb blast case

cHennai:

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) have arrested one more person in connection the LPG cylinder blast in a car loaded with explosives in Coimbatore on Deepavali eve last year. With the the total number of accused arrested in connection with the car blast that took place front of Sangameswarar temple in the Textile City on October 23 night last year, went up to 12. The arrested accused was identified as Mohammed Idris (25), a native of the Ukkadam area in Coimbatore.He was suspected to be a close aide of Jameesha Mubin, the alleged mastermind of the car blast in front of the temple at Kottaimedu

and the one who perished in the explosion, which later turned out to be a suicide attack and revealed the terror module in it.Sources said that Idris was part of the criminal conspiracy that led to the car blast. NIA officials found the role of Idris in the

conspiracy, after examining his mobile call detail records and the confessions made by the other accused, who were arrested, in the case.After preliminary questioning by summoning, the NIA arrested Idris and brought him to Chennai

on Tuesday evening. He is expected to be produced before the NIA Special Court at Poonamallee in Chennai later on Wednesday for judicial remand.Sources said the NIA is likely to file a petition before the court for custodial interrogation of Idris to ascertain more details about the conspiracy theory. It may be recalled that the NIA had filed a chargesheet against six accused in the case against Mohammed Azharudheen, MuhammedThalha, Firos Ismal, Muhammed Riyas, Nawaz Ismail and Afsar Khan on April 20. The agency filed a supplementary chargesheet against five others, Umar Farooq, Firoz Khan, Mohammed Thoufiq, Sheik Hidayathullah and Sanofar Ali on June 2.

cHieF miniSTer inSPecTeD THe STorm waTer DrainaGe work in ProGreSS, conSTrucTion oF Sluice in Porur lake anD conDucTeD SurPriSe inSPecTion in PazHavan

THanGal Police STaTion.

'Low-dose radiation is linked to a higher lifetime risk of heart disease'

BenGaluru:

Astudy of the most recent evidence published today in The BMJ reveals that low doses of ionising radiation are related to a slightly elevated excess risk of heart disease.

The researchers say these findings “have implications for patients who undergo radiation exposure as part of their medical care, as well as policy makers involved in managing radiation risks to radiation workers and the public.” And a linked editorial suggests that these risks “should now be carefully considered in protection against radiation in medicine and elsewhere.” It’s well recognised that exposure to high dose radiation can damage the heart, but firm evidence linking low dose radiation to heart disease (eg. scatter radiation dose from radiotherapy or working in the nuclear industry) is less clear.To address this knowledge gap, an international team of researchers examined scientific databases for studies evaluating links between a range of cardiovascular diseases and exposure to radiation (mostly radiotherapy and occupational exposures).They excluded uninformative datasets or those largely duplicating others, leaving 93 studies, published mainly during the past decade, suitable for analysis. These studies covered a broad range of doses, brief and prolonged exposures, and evaluated frequency (incidence) and mortality of various types of vascular diseases.

After taking account of other important factors, such as age at exposure, the researchers found consistent evidence for a dose dependent increase in cardiovascular risks across a broad range of radiation doses. For example, the relative risk per gray (Gy) increased for all cardiovascular disease and for specific types of cardiovascular disease, and there was a higher relative risk per dose unit at lower dose ranges (less than 0.1 Gy), and also for lower dose rates (multiple exposures over hours to years). At a population level, excess absolute risks ranged from 2.33% per Gy for a current England and Wales population to 3.66% per Gy for Germany, largely reflecting the underlying rates of cardiovascu-

lar disease mortality in these populations. This equates to a modest but significantly increased excess lifetime risk of 2.3-3.9 cardiovascular deaths per 100 persons exposed to one Gy of radiation, explain the authors. Substantial variation was found between studies, although this was markedly reduced when the authors restricted their analysis to higher quality studies or to those at moderate doses (less than 0.5 Gy) or low dose rates (less than 5 mGy/h). The authors suggest that mechanisms for these cardiovascular effects are poorly understood, even at high dose. They also acknowledge that few studies assessed the possible modifying effects of lifestyle and medical risk factors on radiation risk, particularly major modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease like smoking, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and say further research is needed in this area. In conclusion, they say their findings support an association between acute high dose and (to a lesser extent) chronic low dose radiation exposure and most types of cardiovascular disease and suggest that “radiation detriment might have been significantly underestimated, implying that radiation protection and optimisation at low doses should be rethought.”

The researchers say these findings “have implications for patients who undergo radiation exposure as part of their medical care, as well as policy makers involved in managing radiation risks to radiation workers and the public.” And a linked editorial suggests that these risks “should now be carefully considered in protection against radiation in medicine and elsewhere.”

UNVEIlING EVENT OF NMDC lIMITED

The Union Minister for home Affairs and Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah launches the 'Sahara refund Portal’ to transfer of funds to the genuine depositors of Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies at Atal Akshay Urja

in New Delhi

bhawan,

Air Vice Marshal, Shri Alok Sharma, VM VSM, ACA (Org & Cer) as member, SMSES and the Secretary General, Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, AIFF witnessing the signing of MoU between SMSES and AIFF, in New Delhi.

MOU bETwEEN SMSES AND AIFF

Gyanvapimosquecase:Muslimsidenowtomove

SCafterAllahabadHCallowsASIsurvey

Lucknow: Hours after the Allahabad High Court allowed the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, the Muslim side is now considering moving the Supreme Court.

Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said, “We are hopeful that justice will be done as this mosque is about 600 years old and Muslims have been offering prayers there for the last 600 years. We also want that the Places of Worship Act should be implemented in all the places of worship in the country. We will implement the order of the court. The court said that no excavation should be done at that site. One option before the Muslim side is to challenge the matter in the Supreme Court. So that we can get some relief.”

Earlier in the day, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the Muslim side's plea that the survey may damage the structure, and said: "The survey is required to do justice. Survey needs to be done with few conditions. Do survey, but without dredging."

On Thursday's verdict, Vishnu Shankar Jain, lawyer of the Hindu side, said: "Allahadbad High

Court has allowed the ASI survey and asked to implement order of the district court with immediate effect. ASI has submitted its affidavit. Now, no question arises. The High Court has dismissed plea of Muslim side." The Anjuman Mosque Committee had moved the high court challenging the order of the Varanasi Court directing the ASI to survey the mosque premises (except for wuzukhana).

The Supreme Court on July 24 had stayed the ASI survey till July 26 so as to allow some "breathing time" to the Masjid committee to approach the High Court. The top court had asked the Masjid Committee to move the Allahabad High Court to challenge the order passed by the Varanasi District Court.

The main plea filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee under Article 136 of the Constitution challenges the order of the Allahabad High Court upholding maintainability of Hindu worshipper's suit filed before the Varanasi court. The management committee of the Gyanvapi mosque has apprehended that the historic structure may fall during the ASI survey. The ASI had said that the structure of the mosque won't be affected as radar mapping will be done.

Hours after the Allahabad High Court allowed the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, the Muslim side is now considering moving the Supreme Court.

Beijing records heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years, causing severe flooding and 21 deaths

ZHUOZHOU, China: China’s capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days as remnants of Typhoon Doksuri deluged the region, turning streets into canals where emergency crews used rubber boats to rescue stranded residents. The city recorded 744.8 millimeters (29.3 inches) of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday. Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei were hit by severe flooding because of the record rainfall, with waters rising to dangerous levels. The rain destroyed roads and knocked out power and even pipes carrying drinking water. It flooded rivers surrounding the capital, leaving cars waterlogged, while lifting others onto bridges meant for pedestrians.

The number of confirmed deaths from the torrential rains around Beijing rose to 21 on Wednesday after the body of a rescuer was recovered. Wang Hong-chun, 41, was with other rescuers in a rubber boat when it flipped over in a rapidly flowing river. Four of her teammates survived. At least 26 people remain missing from the rains. Among the hardest hit areas is Zhuozhou, a small city in Hebei province that borders Beijing’s southwest. On Tuesday night, police there issued a plea on social media for lights to assist with rescue work. Rescue teams traversed the flooded city in rubber boats as they evacuated residents who were stuck in their homes without running water, gas or electricity since Tuesday afternoon. “I didn’t think it would be that severe, I thought it was just a little bit of water and that it would recede,” said 54-yearold Wang Huiying. She ended up spending the night on the third floor of her building as the water seeped into the first floor, which holds her steamed bread shop. All the machinery is now underwater. It’s unknown how many people are trapped in flood-stricken areas in the city and surrounding villages. Rescue teams from other provinces came to Zhuozhou to assist with evacuations.“We have to grasp every second, every minute to save people,” said Zhong Hongjun, the head

ZHUOZHOU, China: China’s capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days as remnants of Typhoon Doksuri deluged the region, turning streets into canals where emergency crews used rubber boats to rescue stranded residents.

of a rescue team from coastal Jiangsu province. Zhong said he had been working since 2 a.m. Wednesday when they arrived, and expects to work into the night. They’ve rescued about 200 people so far. “A lot of the people we saved are elderly and children,” he said.

On Wednesday, waters in Gu’an county in Hebei, which borders Zhuozhou, reached as high as half-

way up a pole where a surveillance camera was installed. Gu’an county resident Liu Jiwen, 58, was evacuated from his village on Tuesday night. “There’s nothing we can do. It’s natural disaster,” he said. Two other people were trying to pass through the flooded areas to rescue a relative trapped in a nearby village.Nearly 850,000 people have been relocated, local authorities in Hebei province said. The previous record for rainfall was in 1891, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday, when the city received 609 millimeters (24 inches) of rain. The earliest precise measurements made by machines are from 1883.

Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, called the recent rainfall “extreme.” Last year’s total rainfall in Beijing did not even top 500 millimeters (19.6 inches). Ma said there should be a review of how cities are planned because some places experience repeat flooding. “We need to avoid building large-scale construction ... in low-lying areas,” Ma said. The record rainfall from Doksuri, now downgraded to a tropical storm, may not be the last. Typhoon Khanun, which lashed Japan on Wednesday, is expected to head toward China later this week. The powerful storm, with surface winds of up to 180 kph (111 mph), may also hit Taiwan before it reaches China.

Rates of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are soaring

Certain genes and metabolic disorders such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure may raise the risk of the most common cause of liver disease.

The rates of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease — which can lead to life-threatening conditions, including cirrhosis and cancer of the organ — have been soaring over the past three decades, a new study finds. Hispan ic Americans, especially Mexican Americans, are disproportionately affect ed by the disease, which causes fat to build up to ab normal levels in the liver. Although fewer white Americans currently have the disease, rates have been increasing rapidly, 133% over three decades in this group — more than twice the rate of increase seen in Mexi can Americans, research ers reported Friday at the annual meeting of the En docrine Society. Overall, more than a third of the tens of thousands of adult participants in the study developed the condition, more recently referred to as metabolic associated fatty liver disease. “More and more people are getting extra fat in their livers,” said co-author Dr. Theodore Friedman, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at both the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.

Certain genes and metabolic disorders — such as obesity, diabetes, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol — are known to raise the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a leading cause of liver transplantation.

Having an apple shape rather than a pear is also

linked to the disease, experts say.Friedman suggests people steer clear of junk foods and overly processed foods and cut back on carbs. “It’s a disease that develops because peo

no symptoms. People who do have symptoms may feel fatigued or discomfort in the upper right side of the abdomen.Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common cause of liver dis

lifestyle modifications are a better choice,” he said. Gastroenterologist Dr. Meena Bansal, director of the NASH Center of Excellence at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in

To take a closer look at rates of NAFLD, Friedman and his team turned to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. An analysis of data from 32,726 adults who participated in that study revealed that overall, NAFLD rose from 16% in 1988 to 37% in 2018, an increase of 131%.

Among Mexican Americans, the rate of NAFLD was 36% in 1988 and rose to 58% in 2018, an increase of 61%. Among African Americans, the rate was 11% in 1988, rising to 25% in 2018, for a 127% increase. Among white Americans, the rate in 1988 was 15%, which rose to 35% in 2018, for a whopping 133% increase.

Most people with fatty liver disease don’t know they have the condition, which is called a “silent disease” because it has few or

proved to treat it, but fatty liver disease can be reversed. “People who exercise and lose a lot of weight can revert to normal,” Friedman said. If NAFLD continues unabated, it can turn into nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which leads to cell damage and inflammation of the liver and eventually cirrhosis.

Can weight loss drugs reverse fatty liver disease?

Friedman hopes that his study will alert people with risk factors to the possibility that they might have developed fatty liver disease without knowing it. He noted that the new class of weight loss drugs — Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1 agonists, which also help people with diabetes control their blood sugar — might aid in reversing fatty liver disease brought on by metabolic factors.“But I think

new research. "We need to do more about educating that population about their risks." It’s important to realize that a genetic predisposition doesn’t mean you will get fatty liver disease, Bansal said. The best way to avoid it is to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly, she added.

Dietary trends that started in the late 1980s may help explain the increases in fatty liver disease in all populations, Bansal said. That’s when “they started adding high fructose corn syrup to sodas,” she said, adding that the sweetener stimulates the liver to make more fat. Fatty liver disease “is only important if it’s causing inflammation and scarring of the liver,” Bansal said. And one way to know if you’re at risk is to have your doctor calculate your FIB-4 score, she added.

Scientists edge closer to engineering blood vessels

WHO should not have dismissed Covid lab leak theory: Top virologist

Chennai: A top virologist on the UN health body's panel, Professor Marion Koopmans, has said that the World Health Organization (WHO) should never have dismissed the lab leak theory about the origin of the Covid pandemic. The WHO in its initial assessment in 2021 had stated that it was "extremely unlikely" that Covid might have spilled into humans from a lab.

In a breakthrough, a team of Australian scientists has developed a fast, inexpensive and scalable method for engineering blood vessels from natural tissue. By combining multiple materials and fabrication technologies, the team from University of Melbourne developed the method to create blood vessels with complex geometries like native blood vessels. Blood vessels serve an important function in sustaining life, by carrying oxygen-rich blood and essential nutrients to all parts of the body while removing toxic products. Illness and dysfunction in blood vessels, on the other hand, can result in life-threatening disorders such as heart attacks, strokes and aneurysms, making cardiovascular disease the number one killer globally.

According to Professor Andrea O’Connor, from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the research is an exciting step in scientists’ ability to engineer human blood vessels. “We are now able to rapidly and cheaply manufacture blood vessels using living tissue that has appropriate mechanical properties and mimics the cellular orientation of the innermost layer of blood vessels.

“While the engineered blood vessels are not yet ready for bypass surgery, the findings mark a significant advancement in the field of tissue engineering,” O’Connor said, in the paper published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

The tissue-engineered blood vessels are made from human cells and tissues. These created vessels have the potential to treat cardiovascular illness, as well as construct built-in blood supply for larger tissue creations.

Associate Professor Heath said researchers around the world have been trying to perfect blood vessel tissue engineering for many years. “Current methods are slow, require specialised and expensive equipment like bioreactors, and are low throughput -- meaning it’s difficult to provide the needed supply of engineered vessels,” Associate Professor Heath said. “By combining multiple materials and fabrication technologies, our method brings us closer to a future where engineered blood vessels will become a transformative solution for cardiovascular disease, especially for those patients who lack suitable donor vessels.”

Koopmans, who heads the Department of Viroscience at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, is one of 12 people investigating the emergence of the pandemic on behalf of WHO. Speaking to the BBC podcast "Fever: The Hunt for Covid's Origin", Koopmans said the theory that the virus escaped from a secretive lab in Wuhan could never be ruled out, the Daily Mail reported. "We shouldn't have done that," she added. A team of experts from the WHO spent four weeks in China in January 2021 to investigate whether Covid-19 is the result of a lab-leak.

The agency announced that "all hypotheses remain on the table," and that "we have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do." But the global health body ruled that the naturalorigins theory was the most likely -- and placed a leak from the

Wuhan Institute of Virology as "extremely unlikely" and behind the frozen-food origin theory.China, on the other hand, stated that the virus began in a US research facility in Maryland or in imported frozen food packaging. Meanwhile, Koopmans said that she hasn't ruled out both theories of the frozenfood and lab-leak. "Neither of them are ruled out in my mind," she was quoted as saying. Asked whether including the frozen-food theory in the final report undermined WHO's mission, Koopmans said: "I don't think so."

"Again, as a scientist, looking at the literature and looking at what is possible, I felt we should also not throw it out because it was pushed politically." In May, former Chinese CDC head Dr George Fu Gao, also said that the theory that Covid-19 is the result of a lableak should not be discounted. Gao directed China's CDC when Covid first emerged in Wuhan."You can always suspect anything. That's science. Don't rule out anything," Gao was quoted as saying to the same BBC podcast. China has since the beginning dismissed any suggestion the disease may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory.More than two years after the pandemic that has infected over 763 million and claimed more than 6.9 million lives globally, the origins of Covid-19 remain unclear.

Irregular sleep patterns like late sleeping on weekends, waking early on workdays could be associated with harmful bacteria in your gut and negatively affect your health, suggests a research. The study, published in The European Journal of Nutrition, is the first to find multiple associations between social jet lag -- the shift in your internal body clock when your sleeping patterns change between workdays and free days -- and diet quality, diet habits, inflammation and gut microbiome composition in a single cohort. Previous research has shown that working shifts disrupts the body clock and can increase risk of weight gain, heart problems and diabetes. However, there is less awareness that our biological rhythms can be affected by smaller incon-

sistencies in sleeping patterns due to waking early with an alarm clock on workdays, for example, compared to waking naturally on non-work days for people working regular hours. Researchers found that just a 90-minute difference in the timing of the midpoint of sleep -- the halfway point between sleep time and wakeup time -- is associated with differences in gut microbiome composition.

Having social jet lag was associated with lower overall diet quality, higher intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, and lower intakes of fruits and nuts, which may directly influence the abundance of specific microbiota in your gut. “Sleep is a key pillar of health, and this research is particularly timely given the growing interest in circadian rhythms and the gut

microbiome. Even a 90-minute difference in the midpoint of sleep can encourage microbiota species which have unfavourable associations with your health,”said Kate Bermingham, from King’s College London.

“Maintaining regular sleep patterns, so when we go to bed and when we wake each day, is an easily adjustable lifestyle behaviour we can all do, that may impact your health via your gut microbiome for the better,” added Dr Sarah Berry from King’s College London. The composition of the microbes in your gut (microbiome) may negatively or positively affect your health by producing toxins or beneficial metabolites. Specific species of microbes can correspond to an individual’s risk of longterm health conditions such as diabetes, heart

disease and obesity.The microbiome is influenced by the food you consume which makes the diversity of your gut adjustable.In a cohort of 934 people, researchers assessed blood, stool and gut microbiome samples as well as glucose measurements in those whose sleep was irregular compared to those who had a routine sleep schedule. While previous studies into the association between social jet lag and metabolic risk factors have been done in populations with obesity or diabetes, this cohort consisted of mainly lean and healthy individuals with most getting more than seven hours sleep per night throughout the week. Three out of the six microbiota species more abundant in the social jet lag group have ‘unfavourable’ associations with health.

Late sleeping on weekends, waking early on workdays maybe bad for health

Want to reduce your blood sugar levels? Drinking kombucha may help

Adaily shot of kombucha -- a fermented tea drink -- may help people with Type 2 diabetes who find it hard to lower their high blood sugar levels, according to results from a small clinical trial. The study, reported in Frontiers in Nutrition, included 12 people and showed that diabetics who drank the fermented tea drink kombucha for four weeks had lower fasting blood glucose levels compared to when they consumed a similar-tasting placebo beverage.

Kombucha is a tea fermented with bacteria and yeasts and was consumed as early as 200 BC in China. Its popularity has been bolstered by anecdotal claims of improved immunity and energy and reductions in food cravings and inflammation, but proof of these benefits has been limited.

"Some laboratory and rodent studies of kombucha have shown promise and one small study in people without diabetes showed kombucha lowered blood sugar, but to our knowledge this is the first clinical trial examining effects of

kombucha in people with diabetes," said Dan Merenstein, Professor of Human Sciences in Georgetown's School of Health and professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine.

time. Kombucha appeared to lower average fasting blood glucose levels after four weeks from 164 to 116 milligrams per deciliter while the difference after four weeks with the placebo was not statistically significant.

The researchers also looked at the makeup of fermenting microorganisms in kombucha to determine which ingredients might be the most active.

They found that the beverage consisted mainly of lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, and a form of yeast called Dekkera, with each microbe present in about equal measure; the finding was confirmed with RNA gene sequencing.

The study had one group of people drinking about eight ounces of kombucha or placebo beverage daily for four weeks and then after a two-month period to "wash out" the biological effects of the beverages, the kombucha and placebo were swapped between groups with another four weeks of drinking the beverages. Neither group was told which drink they were receiving at the

"We were able to provide preliminary evidence that a common drink could have an effect on diabetes. We hope that a much larger trial, using the lessons we learned in this trial, could be undertaken to give a more definitive answer to the effectiveness of kombucha in reducing blood glucose levels, and hence prevent or help treat Type 2 diabetes," said lead author Chagai Mendelson, at Georgetown.

"A lot more research needs to be done but this is very promising," Merenstein said.

A daily shot of kombucha -- a fermented tea drink -- may help people with Type 2 diabetes who find it hard to lower their high blood sugar levels, according to results from a small clinical trial.

India, West Indies fined for maintaining slow over-rate in first T20I

India and West Indies have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate in the first T20I at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago. India was fined five per cent of their match fee for falling one over short of the minimum over-rate, while West Indies have been fined 10 per cent of their match fee for falling two overs short of the minimum over-rate.

Richie Richardson of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Hardik Pandya and Rovman Powell’s sides were ruled to be one and two overs short respectively of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct

for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum overrate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, subject to a cap of 50 per cent of the match fee.

Pandya and Powell pleaded guilty to the offences and accepted the proposed sanctions, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Gregory Brathwaite and Patrick Gustard, third umpire Nigel Duguid and fourth umpire Leslie Reifer levelled the charges.

Coming to the match, West Indies suffered a slow slowdown in the middle overs -– going from 54/2 after the end of the first six overs to 96/3 at the end of 14 overs. In-

dia’s spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel took three wickets between themselves in their nine overs combined.After Nicholas Pooran fell for 41 off 34 balls, Powell took centre stage by hitting 48 off 32 balls and taking West Indies to 149/6 on a slow pitch. In reply, Tilak Varma shined in his debut with a fine 39 off 22 balls. But all-round Jason Holder's spell of 2-19, including a double-wicket maiden, helped West Indies get over the line, apart from Romario Shepherd defending 10 runs in the last over, restricting India to 145-9 in 20 overs. West Indies now have a 1-0 lead in the five-game series and will play the second T20I against India at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday.

India and West Indies have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate in the first T20I at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago.

australia Open: Sindhu, Srikanth, Prannoy advance to round of 16; Lakshya retires mid-way

Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu advanced into the second round of the Australia Open after registering wins in their respective singles matches at the State Sports Centre, here on Wednesday. Sindhu, who has been struggling for form this year, defeated compatriot Ashmita Chaliha 21-18, 21-13 to make the women's singles round of 16.She will face another compatriot Aakarshi Kashyap, who made it to the second round with a 21-15, 21-17 win over Malaysia's world No. 34 Goh Jin Wei.

In the men's singles, Srikanth beat world No. 14 Japanese shuttler Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 21-18, 21-7. He will play Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei in the second round on Thursday.

Prannoy, India's highest-ranked singles shuttler, fended off a challenge from world No. 15 Lee Cheuk Yiu from Hong Kong to win 21-18, 16-21, 21-15.The world no. 9 Indian will next take on Chi-

nese Taipei's Chi Yu Jen. Meanwhile, the 2021 world championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen retired mid-way into his first-round match against countryman Kiran George.

Mithun Manjunath, however, registered a shock 21-19, 21-19 straightgames win over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. Priyanshu Rajawat also advanced to the second round after beating local shuttler Nathan Tang 21-12, 21-16 in 33 minutes and set up a second round clash against Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei. India's challenge in the mixed doubles ended after BS Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa and Rohan Kapoor and N Sikki Reddy lost their respective opening round matches. Reddy and Ashwini lost to the Japanese pair of Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito 13-21, 12-21 while Rohan and Sikki were beaten by Korean pair Seo Seungjae and Chae Yujung 14-21, 18-21.

England, Australia docked points, fined for slow overrate during men's Ashes 2023

Dubai: England and Australia were on Wednesday docked crucial ICC World Test Championship points and hit with fines for maintaining a slow over-rate during the the recently-concluded men's Ashes 2023. Under the revised regulations, they were fined five percent of their match fee and one WTC point for every over short.According to ICC, Australia have been docked 10 WTC points from the recently-concluded Ashes series for a slow over-rate

in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, while England lost 19 points combined for falling behind in four of the five Tests. Notably, teams earn 12 points for a Test win, four points for a draw and no points for a loss in the WTC. Typically, a team needs to bowl 90 overs in a day.England fell two overs short in the first Test at Edgbaston, nine in the second Test at Lord's, three in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, and five in the last and final Test at The Oval.

World archery Championships: Indian women's compound team clinches historic gold medal

tero, Ana Sofía Hernandez Jeon and Andrea Becerra 235-229 in the final. In the semifinals, the second-seeded Indian women's compound team defeated defending champions Colombia 220-216. The team overcame the challenge of Chinese Taipei and Turkey in the quarterfinals and the pre-quarterfinals respectively after receiving a bye in the first round.Before this Berlin meet, India had won 11 medals -- nine silver and two silver -- at the World Archery Championships. This gold was India's fourth consecutive medal in the compound women's team at the world championships, after silvers in 2017 and 2021 and a bronze in 2019. Jyothi Vennam has been a part of all four medal-winning teams.

Incredible feat! India hails 17-year-old Gukesh on becoming country's No.1 chess player

The Indian women's compound team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Gopichand Swami won the gold medal at the World Archery Championships 2023, here on Friday. It was India's first-ever gold at the archery world championships in any category. The Indian trio defeated the Mexican team of Dafne Quin-

Mumbai: Grandmaster (GM) Viswanathan Anand was there on both occasions when an Indian player overtook him in Live Rating to become India’s No.1 chess player -- first when Pentala Harikrishna did in March 2016 and again on Thursday when Dommaraju Gukesh surpassed him in ratings at the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. In March 2016, Anand was playing at

On the other hand, the Indian compound men's team featuring Abhishek Verma, Ojas Deotale and Prathamesh Jawkar lost to the Netherlands 230-235 to bow out from the quarterfinals. In the mixed compound team event, Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam suffered a 154-153 defeat in the quarterfinals at the hands of the USA. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Gopichand Swami will be in action in the individual women’s compound quarterfinals on Saturday while Ojas Deotale is the lone Indian in the top eight of the men's category.

the event and won back his position as India’s highest-rated Indian player.On Thursday when Gukesh overtook him, Anand was in Baku as one of the official commentators for the event. He faced questions over the possibility that Gukesh will overtake him in ratings before the start of the 17-year-old player’s second game against GM Misratdin Iskandarov in the

first round of the FIDE World Cup in Baku.

“Today I will be in a funny situation of commentating on the event where this record can be broken. At the same time, it feels very strange to talk about that because Gukesh’s job at the tournament is to be very focused, finish the job every round and qualify for the next one,” Anand told Chessbase India said before Gukesh’s round.

Indian equities ended positively for the fourth consecutive month

New Delhi: After two days of pause, domestic equities resumed their uptrend as sentiments improved after data showed an easing in US inflation and better-than-expected China manufacturing data, says Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Nifty opened higher and gained momentum throughout the session to close with gains of 108 points at 19754 levels.

Broader market closed with gains of 1 per cent. All sectors ended in the green, except for FMCG and Healthcare. Metals, IT, Auto, oil & Gas, and Consumer Durables ended with gains of more than 1 per cent, he said.

Indian Equities ended positively for the fourth consecutive month with Nifty gaining 2.9 per cent on the back of a healthy Q1 earning season, a 6 per cent surplus in rainfall, and positive FIIs flow during the month, he said.

“Going ahead, we expect the market to continue its northbound journey with phases of consolidation. The power sector remains in focus after NTPC reported strong quarterly results. Auto stocks will be in action as companies are likely to release im-

proving monthly sales numbers, especially 2W and CV segment,” he added.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities said Nifty bounced up post a two day fall and now is headed towards 19826-19868 band. On falls 19563 could offer support. Broader market is performing even better even as the results sea-

son has entered a peak fortnight. Nifty gained 2.94 per cent over the month of July. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said Indian indices have resumed their rally, following the global market trend, as cooling inflation across the globe gave hopes of an end to the policy tightening era.

Foxconn to set up mobile component facility in TN investing Rs 1,600cr

Chennai: Taiwanese electronics major Hon Hai Technology Group or Foxconn will be setting up a mobile phone component manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu's Kancheepuram district at an outlay of Rs 1,600 crore. An agreement to this effect was signed between Foxconn and Tamil Nadu government's Guidance Bureau in the presence of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. The Foxconn team led by the Group Chairman Young Liu had met Stalin here. "Was delighted to meet the Foxconn Group Chairman Young Liu and his team. Various investment oppor-

tunities in Tamil Nadu were discussed. Investment commitment to establish a mobile

component manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram district for Rs 1,600 crore with

a potential employment for 6,000 persons was signed in my presence," Stalin tweeted.

"We also discussed further investments in EV (electric vehicle) and electronic components. Another milestone in our ambition to make TN the new emerging electronics manufacturing hub of Asia!" Stalin said. According to Industries Minister T.R.B. Rajaa, the Taiwanese group's repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu is a testament of Tamil Nadu being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world.

Women of Bengaluru hold peace rally against atrocities on Manipur women

Bengaluru: A massive peace rally was organized by women in Bengaluru at the St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral Grounds on Sunday, under the joint auspices of the Women’s Commission of Archdiocese of Bangalore and the Conference of the Catholic Bishops of India. The rally aimed to voice their protest against the atrocities committed against women in Manipur and demanded that the guilty be punished, and peace be restored in Manipur, which has been rocked by ethnic violence for almost three months. A delegation of the organizers, led by Sheema Mohsin of Islamic Voice, Ruth Manorama, a Dalit activist, Fr. Susai Raj, Ecclesiastical Advisor to the Women’s Commission of Archdiocese of Bangalore, and its President Priya Francis, along with Paul Newman, Principal of

St. Joseph’s Evening College, Kamilah Uroj, a student, Sushma Veer, a Social Activist, Colin Calamiano, Founder Director of Spread Your Wings, and others, later submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru addressed to the President of India, Prime Minister, and the State Governor, with a request to forward it.

The Peace Rally expressed outrage at the despicable video showing unspeakable crimes committed by a mob against three women from the Kuki tribe in Manipur. The video shows the women being stripped, physically and sexually assaulted, groped, slapped, and paraded naked. The mob also gang-raped one of the victims while policemen remained mere onlookers seated in a car, watching the violence unfold. When the victim's brother (19 years

old) and father tried to protect her from the mob, they were ruthlessly killed. The police did not intervene to prevent the assaults, rapes, and killings. The crime took place 77 days ago, and the culprits are still at large. The rally participants strongly condemned these monstrous acts of violence, indignity, and brutality, expressing their horror and anguish at the disturbing silence and apathy of the state machinery meant to protect citizens and enforce laws.

"As women and men of India, our collective consciousness is shaken by these acts of brutality and outraged at the impunity enjoyed by the mob and its instigators. The women were forcibly stripped naked, paraded, and gang-raped, and the ruthless murder of the victim's brother and father who tried to stop this heinous crime is deplorable and

intolerable," they said.

The memorandum also highlighted the distressing fact that the video of the incident was recorded by members of the mob and has been circulated widely. There have been reports of two other college students being raped and killed by the same mob, which carried sophisticated weapons like machine guns and machetes. The organizers expressed shock at the Manipur Chief Minister's nonchalant claim of having no information about the incident, pointing out that it reflects the complete breakdown of law and order in the state.

"We mourn the loss of humanity and the shattering of constitutional promises of safety and dignity for all women. We are also enraged by the abuse of power by state officials to wreak havoc on tribal Christians in Manipur.

Sugar Intake Linked to Worsening Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Study

According to a recent study from the University of Pittsburgh, in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), extra sugar inhibits cells that regenerate the colon’s lining. The results, which were published in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, may help to explain why cutting back on sugary foods helps IBD patients with their symptoms. “The prevalence of IBD is rising around the world, and it’s rising the fastest in cultures with industrialized, urban lifestyles, which typically have diets high in sugar,” said senior author Timothy Hand, PhD, associate professor of paediatrics and immunology at Pitt’s School of Medicine and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

“Too much sugar isn’t good for a variety of reasons, and our study adds to that evidence by showing how sugar may be harmful to the gut. For patients with IBD, high-density sugar -- found in things like soda and candy -- might be something to stay away from.”Led by Ansen Burr, PhD, a student in Pitt’s Medical Scientist Training Program, the researchers started by feeding mice either a standard or high-sugar diet. Then they mimicked symptoms of IBD by treating the animals with a chemical called DSS that causes damage to the colon.To their shock, all the mice on the high-sugar diet died within nine days. In contrast, all the animals on the standard diet survived until the end of the 14-day experiment.To learn what made sugar so deadly in mice with IBD symptoms, the team looked at the animals’ colons. Also known as the large intestine, the colon is lined with a layer of epithelial cells that are arranged in fingerlike projections called crypts. In a healthy colon, these cells are continually replenished by dividing stem cells at the bottom of each crypt”I think that we need to investigate more deeply what diets are going to benefit patients who have intestinal damage, whether that be from IBD or from radiation therapy to treat colon cancer,” said Hand. “It’s about a nutraceutical approach to colon damage or the idea of finding the right diet for a particular patient.”.”The

colon epithelium is like a conveyor belt,” said Hand, who is also director of Pitt’s Gnotobiotic Animal Core Laboratory. “It takes five days for cells to travel through the circuit from the bottom to the top of the crypt, where they are shed into the colon and defecated out. You essentially make a whole new colon every five days.”

When mice on the high-sugar diet were given DSS, that circuit collapsed, said Hand. In some of the animals, the protective layer of epithelial cells was completely lost, causing the colon to be full of blood and immune cells.Unexpectedly, a high-sugar diet was similarly lethal in germ-free mice treated with DSS, showing that sugar affects the colon directly and is not dependent on the gut microbiome as the researchers had predicted. Next, the team tested how sugar affected mouse and human colonies, poppy seed-sized miniature intestines that can be grown in a lab dish. As concentrations of glucose, sucrose or fructose increased, fewer colonies developed and they grew slower, evidence that sugar impaired cell division.”We found that stem cells were dividing much more slowly in the presence of sugar -- likely too slow to repair damage

to the colon,” said Hand.

“The other strange thing we noticed was that the metabolism of the cells was different. These cells usually prefer to use fatty acids, but after being grown in high-sugar conditions, they seemed to get locked into using sugar.” In sugary conditions, the cells had vastly altered metabolic pathways, and they produced lower levels of ATP, the energy-providing molecule that drives cellular processes. The researchers suspect that this rewiring of cellular pathways inhibits the capacity of stem cells to divide, slowing the renewal of the colon lining and accelerating gut damage in IBD. According to Hand, these findings could help explain other research that has linked sweetened beverages, including sodas, soft drinks and juices, to negative outcomes in IBD patients.”If you eat an apple or an orange, you’re eating a lot of sugar, but that sugar is tied up in the fruit’s cells, so it takes a long time to digest and open up those cells to get the sugar,” said Hand. “Whereas if you drink a soda, the sugar is available almost the second it hits your intestine, and it’s easy to drink a huge amount of sugar in a very short time.

In sugary conditions, the cells had vastly altered metabolic pathways, and they produced lower levels of ATP, the energy-providing molecule that drives cellular processes.

Suicide bombing kills 54 people in Pakistan

Indian man admits smuggling people from his country into US via Canada

New York: A 40-year-old Indian national living in Canada has pleaded guilty to smuggling several Indian nationals from Canada into the US for profit. Simranjit 'Shally' Singh admitted to six counts of alien smuggling and three counts of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling during an appearance in Albany, New York on Friday. At the request of the US government, Singh was taken into custody on June 28, 2022, in Ontario, Canada.

Islamabad: The death toll from the suicide blast in the Jamiat Ulema-e-IslamFazl (JUI-F) workers’ convention in Pakistan’s Bajaur rose to 54 after more of those wounded in the explosion succumbed to their injuries on Monday, media reports said.

A deadly blast ripped through Bajaur district’s Khar, a former tribal area bordering Afghanistan, on Sunday evening when a suicide bomber set off explosives at the JUI-F gathering, killing around 40 people on the spot and over 100 injured.

Police said the initial probe suggested that the terrorist organisation Daesh was behind the suicide attack.

Currently, 83 injured people are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, Geo News quoted Counter-Terrorism Department’s (CTD) Additional Inspector General Shokat Abbas as saying Sharing the investigation update, the official said the convention began at 2pm while the explosion occurred two hours later at 4:10pm.He said ball

bearings and other stuff used in making the explosives had been found at the site of the explosion. Abbas further stated that the terrorist group behind the attack had been identified. It is suspected that the terrorists had targeted someone “specific” in the gathering.He said the initial probe had led the CTD close to the attack’s perpetrators. Abbas said many pieces of evidence have been found at the site of the explosion, and forensic reports are expected soon. He confirmed that 10-12kg of explosives were used in the blast. Meanwhile, the KP CTD registered an FIR against unknown suspects on charges of terrorism, murder, attempted murder and other offences, on behalf of Khar Station House Officer Niaz Mohammad.Separately, CTD’s Bajaur Senior Superintendent (SP) Amjad Khan said investigators visited the crime scene and gathered evidence to further the ongoing investigation. He said statements of the injured had been recorded while the process of geo-fencing at

the site of the explosion had also been completed. The United States and Saudi Arabia condemned the deadly suicide blast, with Russia condoling the affected families. Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by extremists since last year when a ceasefire between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad broke down. A mosque bombing in Peshawar killed over 100 people earlier this year.

A report submitted to the UN Security Council recently mentioned that the TTP might be seeking a merger with Al Qaeda to create an umbrella organisation that shelters all militant groups operating in South Asia.Pakistan has long blamed Afghanistan for not living up to its commitment to ensuring that its soil is not used for terrorism in Islamabad, but cross-border militancy continues. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman demanded that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and KP Caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan investigate the incident.

He was extradited from Canada to the US on March 30 this year, the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of New York stated in a release. From March of 2020 through March of 2021, Singh admitted to facilitating the smuggling of several Indian nationals from Canada into the US, via Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the St Lawrence River region. Back in March, bodies of four Indian and four Romanian migrants were pulled from the St Lawrence River in Akwesasne -- some 120 kilometres west of Montreal and a perilous route for smuggling, according to authorities. Singh's plea agreement said that he arranged to move people into the US from India by flying them to Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, before transporting them to Cornwall in Ontario. He then moved the Indian nationals by boat across the St Lawrence River through Akwesasne, according to CBC News.According to documents released in April, some migrants told American law enforcement that Singh charged anywhere between $5,000 and $35,000 for facilitating their entry into the US. Singh's sentencing is scheduled for December 28, 2023, before US District Judge Mae A D’Agostino in Albany, New York. He faces a mandatory term of five years in prison which may go up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. He will be subject to deportation following the conclusion of his sentence, which is determined by an immigration judge.

Rajnikanth is not to be messed with in showcase of 'Jailer'

Superstar Rajnikanth is back in a new avatar, bringing in massive swag while packing in a dangerous new vibe which one would surely not want to miss. If 'Kabaali' was

Rani MukeRji

to conduct masterclass on her journey at IFFM

Actress Rani Mukerji will be conducting an exclusive masterclass on her illustrious journey in cinema at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). The special event will take place a day ahead of the 14th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, on August 10. Rani in a statement said: "I'm honoured to have been invited to the 14th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. As an actor, I have been fortunate enough to receive incredible love from people in Australia and I'm looking forward to sharing my journey in Indian cinema through a masterclass that I have been invited to conduct." "I think it will be a beautiful experience to connect with my fans and cinephiles during this event. I'm ready to delve into some of the most memorable characters from my filmography and try to peel off layers of emotions and nostalgia attached to those characters and scenes," she added. The actress said: "I'm humbled that the film festival feels such roles and films have had an everlasting impact in the history of Indian cinema and that they should be discussed with audiences, fans and media in Australia." Over the years, Rani has made an incredible impact on the Indian film industry and has emerged as one of the most revered and beloved actors of modern-day cinema. From her debut in the late 90s to her recent works, Rani has consistently amazed audiences with her impeccable performances and path-breaking roles. Rani will be in conversation with a live audience comprising of fans and cinephiles.

where the Tamil superstar displayed his criminal killer side, in 'Jailer' he is the mighty policeman and killer in the trailer for his upcoming black comedy. The 'Showcase' is vague on details, but it quickly establishes that Rajni who is playing the role of policeman 'Tiger' Muthuval Pandian is someone not to be messed around with. Now his son has gone missing, and the veteran officer who packs in lethal killer instincts will stop at nothing to find his son and kill anyone who dares harm his family. Donning some of the most contrasting attire, at one point Rajni is wearing a very simple shirt and dhoti which makes him a very unassuming personality, hiding the man beneath and his true nature. Then suddenly we see him wearing black leather jacket, awesome glasses and wielding guns, shooting his way through with explosions charring the landscape, bullets flying and blood getting spilt.

My body is ready to handle an increased bowling workload: Hardik Pandya

TriniDaD:

Indian allPandya has the amount of load he can han amp up their prepa ICC Men’s Cricket er this year. Pandya his body is ready increased bowling he will still adopt a approach in the buildthe World Cup. India currently engaged a three-match ODI ries against the West Indies which is currently tied 1-1 and Hardik is yet to complete his bowling quota of 10 overs in either of the two matches so far, an ICC report on Monday said.

SPORTS TAKES

Japan Dominates Group C in FIFA Women's World Cup

Wellington: Japan won the Group C of the FIFA Women's World Cup with a perfect record after it dominated Spain 4-0 in a highly-anticipated last round group match, here on Monday. Japan and Spain had already booked their last-16 berths after the previous two rounds. Japan put on a fantastic show in the first half as they broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when Endo Jun's spectacular pass found Miyazawa Hinata who coolly beat goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez one-onone, a Xinhua report said.

India Women's Rugby Sevens Qualify for Asian Games

Mumbai: coming edition of the Asian Games by being ranked seventh in the continent. The prestigious quadrennial event is scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8. The Indian team has been consistently performing well on the Asian stage for the past few years with triumphs recently in the Asia Rugby 7s Trophy, the Asia Rugby U20 Championship, and the Asia Rugby U18 Championship, where the team won three silver medals on the trot.

Prithvi Shaw set for his county debut with Northamptonshire

Indian allrounder Hardik Pandya has spoken about the amount of bowling workload he can handle, as India amp up their preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup later this year.

Pandya has bowled 9.4 overs across the two games –three overs in the first match and 6.4 overs in the second where he was leading the side in Rohit Sharma’s absence. Despite bowling in a limited capacity, Hardik has reassured everyone that there is no reason to worry about any niggling injuries or about his fitness, stat- ing, “My body is fine. I have to bowl more overs and get my workload up for the World Cup.”“I’m a turtle right now, not the rabbit and hoping everything goes right as the World Cup comes on,” he said.After comprehensively winning the first ODI against West Indies in Barbados, the Indian team were handed a defeat in the second match at the same venue as the hosts valiantly fought back. India were bowled out for 181, with the West Indies chasing down the target in 36.4 overs with six wickets in hand.The deciding contest will be played in Trinidad on Tuesday and Pandya is relishing the challenge ahead. “To be honest, you want to be going 1-1 to the third game as it’ll be more challenging and exciting. They will be tested; we will be tested now that the series stands 1-1.

New Delhi: India opener Prithvi Shaw is all set to make his county debut with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club (NCCC) on Friday. According to a Cricbuzz report, the Mumbai opener was supposed to reach England a bit earlier but due to some logistical issues, his visit was delayed. But, he is now set to kick-start his county stint with a one-day cup game. "I am delighted to say Prithvi arrived in the UK today (Sunday) and will feature in our one-day cup starting Friday, August 4. Official announcement (will come) tomorrow (Monday)," Ray Payne, the Chief Executive of NCCC) was quoted as saying in the report.

Serie A: Leaders Botafogo rout Coritiba to stay 12 points clear

Rio de Janeiro: Gustavo Sauer netted two goals and set up another as leaders Botafogo cruised to a 4-1 home victory over Coritiba in Brazil's Serie A championship, here. Sauer opened the scoring by rifling a 20-yard shot into the bottom left corner but Bruno Gomes equalized with a long-range effort after Diogo Oliveira's headed pass on Sunday. Tiquinho Soares continued his prolific scoring form by heading home after Sauer's delivery from a corner and the latter extended the hosts' lead with a cool finish from 12 yards following Victor Sa's pass, a Xinhua report said.

individual compound gold medal

India’s Aditi Gopichand

Swami clinched the gold medal in the women’s individual compound event at the World Archery Championships 2023 after defeating Andrea Becerra of Mexico 149-147 in the final, here on Saturday. With her gold, the 17-year-old Aditi, who was seeded sixth in the qualifying round, has become the youngest archer to top the podium in an individual category at the senior world championships.

Aditi, a U18 world champion and

a diti g opichand

Swami clinches

world record holder, defeated fellow Indian Jyothi Surekha Vennam, seeded second, 149-145 in the semifinals to book her place in the final. Meanwhile, Jyothi Surekha Vennam beat Ipek Tomruk of Turkey 150-146 to win the bronze medal in the women’s individual compound event. Another Indian archer, Parneet Kaur, was knocked out in the quarterfinals after losing to Jyothi.

Earlier, Jyothi, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Gopichand Swami had

W ORL d aRC he R y Cham PIO n S h IPS :

teamed up to win the women’s compound team event and clinched India’s first-ever gold at the archery world championships. In the compound men’s and mixed team events, Indian archers failed to progress beyond the quarter-final stage. None of the Indian recurve archers made the medal rounds, thereby failing to win any Olympic quota places for the Paris Olympics on offer in Berlin. Only recurve archery competitions are held at the Olympics.

Article 370 ushered in peace in J-K, Oppn parties demand restoration

Srinagar: On the fourth anniversary of Article 370’s abrogation, the government on Saturday highlighted that the “historic” decision has ushered in peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir, while opposition parties, including the PDP and the Congress, held protests demanding restoration of statehood. The BJP marked the day with a public meeting in Srinagar and its leaders there said that following the 2019 decision, there has been no shutdowns in the Kashmir Valley, and with the situation getting better, the Union Territory has hosted international events and witnessed record tourist footfall. The biggest change after the abrogation of the article is that the common people of Jammu and Kashmir are living life according to their own wishes, Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha said in Srinagar. The Centre on this day in 2019 had revoked Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.During an event in Odisha capital Bhubaneswar, Shah said, “On

August 5, 2019, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi had taken the historic decision to scrap Article 370. On this occasion, I thank the prime minister on behalf of the people of the country.” “The historic decision to scrap Article 370 taken on this day in 2019 ushered in a new dawn of peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir,” the home minister tweeted.Highlighting changes in Jammu and Kashmir post-2019, LG Sinha said, “Pakistan-sponsored shutdowns by terrorists and separatists, due to which schools, colleges and business establishments used to remain closed for about 150 days a year, have ended.” “The biggest change that is visible on the ground is that the common

On the fourth anniversary of Article 370’s abrogation, the government on Saturday highlighted that the “historic” decision has ushered in peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir, while opposition parties, including the PDP and the Congress, held protests demanding restoration of statehood.

people of Jammu and Kashmir are living life according to their own wishes. Street violence has ended,” he said while talking to reporters after an event in Srinagar.“The dreams of the youth of Kashmir have got wings now and in the days to come, their contribution to nation building will not be less than anyone,” Sinha said and added that Jammu and Kashmir will soon regain its lost glory for which it was known across the world.

PM Modi to participate in National Handloom Day celebration on Aug 7

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday participate in the National Handloom Day celebration at the Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan here, his office said. This year, the 9th National Handloom Day is being celebrated. Modi will participate in the National Handloom Day celebration on August 7 at 12 noon at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, Delhi, a

statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said. The prime minister has always been a firm proponent of giving encouragement and policy support to the artisans and craftsmen, who are keeping alive the country’s rich tradition of artistry and craftsmanship, it said. Guided by this vision, the government started celebrating National Handloom Day, with the first such celebration

being held on August 7, 2015. The date was specifically chosen as an ode to the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on August 7, 1905, and encouraged indigenous industries and in particular handloom weavers.During the programme, the prime minister will also launch the e-portal of ‘Bharatiya vastra evam shilp kosh’ – a repository of textiles and crafts that has been developed

by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), the statement said. The programme will be attended by over 3,000 handloom and khadi weavers, artisans and stakeholders from the textile and MSME sectors.

Opening ceremony of 132nd Durand Cup

The union minister for Defence, rajnath Singh graces the opening ceremony of 132nd Durand cup in kokrajhar, assam

Glimpse of the opening ceremony of 132nd Durand Cup in Kokrajhar, Assam

Fresh violence in manipur, father, son among 3 killed

At least three people including a father and son were killed by unidentified men in Bishnupur district early on Saturday morning.

The victims used to stay in a relief camp but had returned to their residences at Kwakta on Friday only after the situation improved.”

Three persons, including one policeman, were injured following heavy exchange of fire between state forces and an armed mob near Kwakta on Saturday morning. The policeman sustained splinter injuries on his face. All the three have been brought to Raj Medicity in Imphal for treatment. They are out of danger," police said.