The Indian government has issued notices to Bollywood A-listers Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan for appeared in gutka advertisements despite a ban on promoting the addictive and harmful products.
The actors have been issued notices by the government after a court hearing in which the state lawyer mentioned that the Supreme Court is already looking into the. matter. The actors appeared in the ads years ago. Akshay Kumar has even apologized to his fans for doing the advertisement.
Gutka is an addictive substance made from areca nuts and tobacco. Once extremely popular in the subcontinent, gutka is known to cause cancers of the mouth, head and neck.
There have been rumors circulating about Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan’s marriage. While there hasn’t been any official confirmation, some reports suggest that they might be heading towards a divorce. The rumours became more persistent after people noticed that Abhishek is not wearing his wedding ring anymore. Others are also stating that the divorce has to do with father, Amitabh Bachchan distributing property amongst his children.
Here is what X users are saying.
Reason why Amitabh Bachchan gave his property to his daughter Shweta Bachchan instead of Abhishek, is because likely an imminent divorce with Aishwarya. No one seems to want any property to be in her name or what she could claim. Its a nice couple, hope this is just a rumour.
Amitabh Bachchan may be for tax reasons and will definitely spread his assets and income now. Gift to daughter won’t attract anything in the hands of both father and daughter. Swetha doesn’t earn. So it’s simple. It doesn’t imply Ash is going for divorce.
Zafar Mahal, a historical monument in Delhi’s Mehrauli village, has been vandalized by unknown miscreants in India, damaging part of the jaali (lattice screen) in front of the tombs of three Mughal emperors and Bahadur Shah Zafar’s empty tomb.
The incident was reported by Sunit Arora, a journalist, who visited the site. He was informed by the guard that the vandalism took place eight days ago, and no action has been taken by the authorities so far.
Reporting vandalism at Zafar Mahal in Delhi’s Mehrauli village. The guard informed me that 8 days ago, vandals destroyed part of the jaali (circled area in older pic) in front of the tombs of three Mughal emperors and Bahadur Shah II’s empty tomb.@aarvee1970@SamDalrymple123pic.twitter.com/e42dY42COb
Zafar Mahal is an ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) protected monument and is one of the last remnants of the architectural legacy of the Mughals in India. The palace is associated with the festival of Sair-e-Gul Faroshan, initiated by Bahadur Shah Zafar, to honour the Sufi saint Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, whose dargah is also located nearby.
However, Zafar Mahal is in a state of neglect, with minimal maintenance and frequent vandalism. The jaali, which is now spoilt, was a fine example of the Pachin Kari (inlay work) technique.
Indian tombs of Mughal emperors, including Akbar Shah II, Shah Alam II, and Mirza Fakhruddin, also stand in a deteriorated condition inside the Mehrauli Archaeological Park.
Art historian William Dalrymple criticised the ASI for its neglect.
How the Archaeological Survey of India neglects the monuments in its care…
Zafar Mahal 2000 vs Zafar Mahal 2020
The last great Mughal Palace is allowed to rot and be encroached upon and no one does anything… pic.twitter.com/T0ETj4dhuX
Twitter user Tamjeed Ahmed said that, “ASI earlier said they will restore Zafar Mahal in October but they never did!”
ASI earlier said they will restore Zafar Mahal in October but they never did! This is so so sad! Legal action should be taken against ASI for this negligence. They have let the palace to ruin for years! This needs to stop.
Another user pointed out that “unfortunately, far too many Indian visitors are extremely disrespectful of our ancient monuments”.
Unfortunately, far too many Indian visitors are extremely disrespectful of our ancient monuments. Every time I visit any of them, I see people trying to scribble something on wall, etc, and we now also have right-wing thugs acting out.
In a strategic manoeuvre aimed at reducing its reliance on China, Apple has reportedly communicated a strong preference for manufacturing iPhone 16 batteries in India.
As part of this initiative, an existing Indian battery supplier has been encouraged to scale up production, while Chinese suppliers, including Desay and Simplo Technology, have received directives to establish battery factories within India.
Additionally, Japanese battery supplier TDK is gearing up for its own production facility in the country.
This significant shift in strategy deviates from the original decision made by Steve Jobs to centralize most of Apple’s manufacturing operations in China, a move that was previously lauded as a key achievement by Tim Cook during his tenure as COO.
The change reflects a growing recognition of the strategic risks associated with being overly dependent on a single country, evident in events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing geopolitical tensions between the US and China.
The multifaceted rationale behind this move includes concerns about the impact of global events on manufacturing capacity, the unpredictability of trade relations between major economies, and the reputational challenges posed by close associations with a country facing human rights criticisms.
Apple’s decision aligns with a broader industry trend of diversifying manufacturing locations to mitigate risks associated with geopolitical and economic uncertainties.
Notably, the company aims to prioritise Indian production for iPhone 16 batteries, with local government support evident in a Japanese supplier, TDK, establishing a significant facility in Manesar, Haryana.
While this facility is expected to begin production in 2025, post-iPhone 16 release, it signifies a strategic commitment to bolstering the electronics manufacturing ecosystem in India.
Apple’s move underlines the industry’s evolving approach to supply chain management in response to a dynamic global landscape.
Actor Salman Khan has shared endearing images capturing heartfelt moments with Actor Dharmendra on his 88th birthday.
Khan took to Instagram to share some heartwarming pictures and wish him a happy birthday. In one picture, Dharmendra is seated on a sofa, while Khan sits in front of him. Another image captures them standing together behind the sofa, with Khan placing his hands on Dharmendra’s shoulders. Khan captioned the pictures with, ‘Happy Birthday Dharam Ji,’.
Another cross-border marriage is about to take place, this time in India. Jaweria from Karachi and Sameer from Kolkata are set to get married soon. Jaweria Khanum finally made it to India after a wait of five years to marry Sameer Khan Yousafzai.
The two befriended each other on social media and got the approval of their families in 2018. The pair got engaged and started trying to get a visa to culminate their deep bond into marriage.
Detailing the difficulties she met, Jaweria revealed that her visa was rejected twice, in addition to travel restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Pure intent transcends borders’: Pak woman arrives in India to marry Kolkata man
Javeria Khanum, a woman from Pakistan’s Karachi, arrived in India on Tuesday to marry her fiancé Sameer Khan, a Kolkata resident. The 21-year-old woman has been granted a 45-day visa by the Indian… pic.twitter.com/AUFisFXt4I
She was eventually granted a 45-day visa after two rejections. The couple plans to marry in the first week of January, with Jaweria expressing joy at fulfilling her wish after five years.
Following her arrival in India, she was received with a wholehearted welcome from her future in-laws. The couple is set to travel from Amritsar to Kolkata, where the marriage ceremony is scheduled to take place.
Cyclone Michaung was expected to make landfall on the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh around noon on Tuesday, the country’s weather office said, with sustained winds of 90-100kph (56-62mph), gusting to 110kph.
The cyclone was forecast to hit the coast of Andhra Pradesh state later Tuesday as a “severe cyclonic storm”, packing winds up to 100 kilometres, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
In Chennai, cars were seen floating on raging torrents, homes were flooded, and a crocodile was spotted swimming the streets in the city.
In some parts of the flooded city, people used boats to get out of their flooded neighbourhoods to the safety of government relief shelters.
The IMD warned of “exceptionally heavy rainfall” in some areas.
“We are facing the worst storm in recent memory,” Tamil Nadu state chief minister M.K. Stalin said, in a statement late Monday.
Police said on Tuesday that eight people had been killed in the state capital of Chennai.
They included some who drowned, as well as one person hit by a falling tree, another electrocuted by live wires in the water, and one crushed by a falling wall.
Trees were uprooted and vehicles swept away due to the heavy rains, according to images posted on social media.
Apple iPhone manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron and automaker Hyundai suspended their operations in Tamil Nadu due to the storm, local media reported.
The cyclone is expected to hit India’s southeast coast near the town of Bapatla, on the 300-kilometre (185-mile) stretch between Nellore and Machilipatnam.
Hundreds of people from coastal villages in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh have moved inland, with emergency rescue teams deployed to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone’s landfall, according to local media.
Sea surges of waves up to 1.5 metres (nearly five feet) above normal tide levels are expected when the cyclone makes landfall, the IMD said.
Home Minister Amit Shah said the government was “braced to provide all the necessary assistance to Andhra Pradesh”, with rescue teams deployed and more “on standby to mobilise as needed”.
The cyclone is expected to weaken late Tuesday.
Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer with climate change.
Cyclones — the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the Northwest Pacific — are a regular and deadly menace on coasts in the northern Indian Ocean, where tens of millions of people live.
Schools, colleges, offices and banks were closed on Monday and Tuesday in at least four districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, because of weather conditions, a government notice said.
Hania Amir is going viral on the internet for a very, very weird reason. The actress shared pictures of her trip to Dubai where she went around with Indian rapper Badshah, including dining together in a restaurant. Indian media outlets quickly assumed the two were dating. Because lo and behold, if you’re seen sitting next to a man, you have to be romantically linked with him.
We have to question our media: why in this day and age are y’all still resorting to such sexist thinking? Can Hania actually spend time with a male friend without dating him? Men and women can remain friends, and its clear from their past interaction that the two respect each other.
Rather than trying to fuel rumors to get more traffic on your websites, can we instead celebrate that despite political and cricket rivalries, here are two public figures from Pakistan and India who keep uplifting each other publicly?
Also, Hania Amir doesn’t need to be linked to another man in order to be recognised publicly. Her projects have gotten immense praise, and she continues to remain booked and busy, so stop trying to assume she has to be dating someone just to get some attention. Insinuating such a thing is deeply demoralising, and proves how women can never be recognised for their achievements alone.
We’re not going to be paying any heed to careless rumours, but instead we’ll be celebrating the wholesome friendship between Hania and Badshah. In January, Badshah gushed about the ‘Mere Humsafar’ actress by calling her an instant mood lifter during an Instagram live.
“Yes I follow her she’s a very funny person. My mood uplifts every time I see her posts, and I think its also just her personality. I think she’s a very bright human being,” responded the rapper.
An Indian Hyderabad family recently experienced a horrifying dining ordeal that can send shivers down anyone’s spine at the mere thought of accidentally eating a reptile.
Their Zomato-ordered chicken biryani from Bawarchi Biryani, located at the RTC Crossroads, came with an unexpected and unwelcome addition—a dead lizard.
The disturbing incident unfolded as a self-indulgent treat turning into a cause for concern, with a lifeless lizard discovered in the online-ordered chicken biryani. The shocking scenes, captured in a video, have since surfaced on the internet, leaving viewers in disbelief.
Reportedly, Vishwa Aditya from DD Colony, Amberpet, placed an online order for chicken biryani on Zomato. However, upon receiving the parcel, they were greeted with the unpleasant sight of a dead lizard nestled amidst the rice.
The matter gained attention after Telugu Scribe posted a video and images on X (former ) Twitter, exposing the unsettling incident.
హైదరాబాద్ ఆర్టీసీ క్రాస్ రోడ్ లోనీ బావర్చి హోటల్లో చికెన్ బిర్యానిలో ప్రత్యక్షమైన బల్లి
అంబర్పేట డిడి కాలనీ కి చెందిన విశ్వ ఆదిత్య ఆన్లైన్లో జొమాటోలో చికెన్ బిర్యానికి ఆర్డర్
జొమోటో బాయ్ తీసుకువచ్చిన చికెన్ బిర్యానిలో బల్లి వచ్చిందని కుటుంబ సభ్యుల ఆరోపణ
The tweet stated, “Live Lizard in Chicken Biryani at Loni Bavarchi Hotel Hyderabad RTC Cross Road. Vishwa Aditya from DD Colony, Amberpet ordered chicken biryani online on Zomato. The family members allege that the chicken biryani brought by Zomato Boy got a lizard. The family members got worried as the Bavarchi management gave a negligent reply.”
Zomato reacted to the video with, ‘We are looking into it immediately – if you would like to share any additional details with us, please reach out via DM.’
Hi there, thanks for highlighting this. We are looking into it immediately – if you would like to share any additional details with us, please reach out via DM. https://t.co/YNwthvabYu
Cricket is the third most popular sport in the world with approximately 2.5 billion fans spread across the globe. The gentleman’s game, mocked at times for being slow, has morphed into a fast-paced, adrenalin- pumping speedy ride.
The first international match between two countries was played between United States of America (USA) and Canada in New York in 1844, but the fact that the International Cricket Council (ICC) did not exist in 1844, means this match wasn’t recognizes as an official game. The first official cricket match was played between Australia and England in Melbourne in 1877.
The first cricket World Cup was organized in 1975 in England, with the mighty West Indies walking away with the trophy.
How India destroying cricket for other countries?
India won just two matches in the 1975 and 1979 World Cup tournaments, the weakest team at that time. Wisden Sports magazine’s Chief Editor David Frith had infamously written in an article that a team like India should not play in the tournament if they have not improved and if a team like India wins, “I will eat my words.”
In the 1983 World Cup, India won four out of six matches in the group stage, cementing their place in the semi-finals where they defeated England by six wickets.
The final was played between India and West Indies, the hot favorite team after winning two World Cups in a row. All the odds were stacked against India, but the country created history on June 25, defeating West Indies at Lords, and lifting the Cup.
The historic win gave Narendra Kumar Prasadrao (NKP) Salve the confidence he needed to grab the mantle of the British’s own game from them. NKP Salve befriended Sri Lanka and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to form the Asian Cricket Committee, on which ICC had no control in 1984. They arranged a tournament between Asian teams, named Asia Cup. This was Salve’s way of telling Britishers that the southern countries could host tournaments too.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had no money to host a World Cup at first. Salve asked Pakistan to host the next world cup together. Then Salve contacted Dhirubhai Ambani with the help of Indira Gandhi. When the money was arranged, Mr. Salve put forth his proposal at the next ICC Meeting.
There was no rule before this that a new nation will host a World Cup. NKP Salve proposed a Rotational Policy. According to this policy “A new nation will host the World Cup after every four years.”
Australia and New Zealand agreed, . And when voting took place, India and Pakistan got the hosting of 1987 World Cup.
It was a success, but BCCI didn’t make any money 30 years ago. Even after the 83 tournament, Indian players would get INR 200 per day allowance and 1500 as match fees.
The South African cricket team was returning to international cricket in 1991 after a gap of 21 years and they were going to play their first three match ODI series against India.
At that time Indian television Doordrshan was broadcasting these matches and they were charging money for broadcasting instead of paying, and BCCI was just earning on tickets and on-ground advertisements.
But this time they kept the broadcasting rights in their hand and sold it to South African television channel for $200,000.
On the same year India opened their market for globalization foreign companies. New money started floating into India at the same time, these foreign companies wanted to market their products in India and nothing was watched more than cricket.
Because of satellite television, cricket was now seen even in small villages of India. It was great for these companies and BCCI. In 1993, India sold broadcast rights of England’s tour of India to a broadcasting company TWI for $600,000.
In no time, BCCI became the richest cricket board in the world. However, things change after you get rich. Remember, how NKP Salve grabbed 1987’s World Cup from England. It was decided according to rotational policy that England will host 1996’s World Cup.
But in 1996, a broadcaster named Mark Mascarhanes made an offer to BCCI that if India hosts the tournament, then he would give $ 14 million for broadcasting. BCCI liked the offer and got the hosting of 1996 World Cup.
But in 1996, Australia and West Indies refused to play their matches in Sri Lanka. Then a BCCI administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya thought, ICC’s next Chairman should be an Asian.
In 1997, Dalmiya contested ICC elections, and won.
But the question is, how?
Actually Mr. Dalmiya knew one thing, that most of ICC’s full time members would vote for the English Boards favorite candidate. At that time, associate teams had one vote each in these elections, but the representatives of these associate teams had no money to be present in the elections being held in London.
So Mr. Dalmiya bought tickets for representatives of associate teams, booked hotels in London for them, even hosted a dinner party for them before elections and when elections happened these representatives voted for Mr. Dalmiya and he won. Now an Indian was the boss of the world of cricket.
Indian Premier League (IPL) is the second richest sports league in the world, with a net worth surpassing 15 billion dollars but IPL is not the only T20 cricket league in the world. Every cricket Board has made their own cricket leagues, but BCCI does not allow their players to play in these leagues.
BCCI knows, value of these leagues might increase because of Indian viewership and if their value increases it might dilute the power of BCCI. So Indian players are not allowed to participate.
These boards have become so weak that they have to listen everything that BCCI orders because these boards only make money when India tours their countries. BCCI uses this very thing to get their things done in world cricket.
In 2012 England’s former Chief Justice submitted an independent report to ICC In which, he suggested some changes in governance. He felt that ICC shouldn’t be a Member Club Cricket Power is leaning to one side especially towards India. Associate nations aren’t getting enough funds, cricket won’t grow in these countries without funds.
BCCI takes the biggest share, ICC has only 12 full time members and 96 associate members. These members are underfunded. There is no chance that, cricket will grow in these countries without funds. Once $30,000 were given to the Chinese cricket board to improve cricket there. [2008 stats, current stats are not published]. China’s population is around 1.5 billion, how’s that even possible, that cricket will grow in country like China with such a small fund?
It’s not only about associate nations, even full time members are being further weakened. If we see the latest ICC Men’s Future Tours Program India will play most of the matches with top teams and with Zimbabwe and Ireland, India will play three and two matches respectively in five years, when Zimbabwe and Ireland are also full time members.
As far as the administrators of the game are concerned, they don’t care about West Indies Cricket. West Indies Cricket Board is bankrupt today, two times world champion team couldn’t even qualify for World Cup 2023, just because of lack of funds. How will these teams, cricket boards grow without the funds?
ICC is unofficially run by BCCI and instead of growing the game, they are shrinking it. In 2007’s World Cup, 16 teams played the tournament, and in 2023’s, only 10 teams participated. Apart from this there were 26 teams in International Association Football Federation (FIFA) World Cup 2006, and now there are 48 teams participating in 2026 World Cup.
You know why?
In 2007’s World Cup, India was eliminated early from the tournament, they could only play three matches. Broadcasters had to face a loss. If India had played more matches, broadcasters would have benefitted. BCCI reduced the teams and the format is designed in a way that India will definitely play nine matches.
BCCI doesn’t care about winning World Cups, they just want to make money. I feel, this sport should spread like football all around the world. With only 10 teams, it’s becoming boring and I think cricket has power to spread peace and happiness.
HowBCCI is killing Cricket:
You won’t believe it, from 2024 onwards, there will be no international cricket played for 2.5 months, only IPL. Isn’t this the murder of the sport we love so much?
Indian cricket is mostly run by Indian politicians and businessmen. Arun Jaitley’s son is president of Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA). Rajasthan’s CM’s Son Vaibhav Gehlot is President of Rajhistan cricket Association (RCA,) Sharad Pawar’s grandnephew is a President of Mumbai cricket association (MCA), Anurag Thakur, BJP politician, was a president Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) from there he became a president of BCCI.
Today his brother is a president of HPCA. Ashok Sigamani is president of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), the son of a Minister Jyotiradhitya Scindia is the president of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA), his father was president of BCCI.
BCCI treasurer Chirayu Amin’s son Pranav Amin is Bihar cricket association (BCA)’s President, Sourav Ganguly’s brother is a President Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the most fun example of this is Gujarat cricket associations former president was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He gave that post to Amit Shah after becoming Prime Minister and today, Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah is the secretary of BCCI and I’m only talking about a few states here.
Cricket shouldn’t be run by politicians and businessmen, it should be run by former cricketers, that’s it. I’m the biggest fan of cricket, like any Pakistani, I can’t bear to see one private organization is controlling the growth of this game. I want this sport to grow all over the world because this sport can do many good things.
Afghanistan cricket team is one such example, these players initially used to live in refugee camps, they played World Cup in 2015 and you know what, Afghanistan cricket was initially helped by Pakistan.
But it feels like there are people in BCCI who don’t care about the growth of this game. They just want to make money, they just want to keep their power safe, even if they have to kill this centuries old sport to achieve that.
Note: This information is collected from various platform, like cricket websites, YouTube, Facebook etc.
