Rekha showcases her love for classic Indian weaves at The Archies screening | Hindi Movie News

Veteran actress Rekha made the night even more special when she arrived for the grand premiere of Zoya Akhtar‘s upcoming directorial The Archies.
Over the years, Rekha has become synonymous with the six yards of elegance, and her saree looks have consistently dazzled the fashion world. Her penchant for Kanjeevaram silk sarees reflects a timeless and traditional aesthetic, showcasing her love for classic Indian weaves.

For this Tuesday event, Rekha opted for a vibrant yellow saree featuring rich texture and intricate zari work. She paired it with a matching long sleeves blouse. She let her shiny long locks down from one shoulder and completed her look with a bindi and matching lipstick.

Rekha bows down to Vicky Kaushal’s ‘Sam Bahadur’ poster, SURPRISES everyone, looks elegant in dark black saree – WATCH IT

The screening was also attended by the Bachchans. Not only Amitabh Bachchan but his wife Jaya Bachchanson Abhishek Bachchandaughter Shweta Bachchan, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, son-in-law Nikhil Nanda, granddaughters Navya and Aaradhya also attended the screening. The whole family arrived in style and happily posed for the paps on the red carpet.

Other celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and his family, Ranbir Kapoor, Karan Johar, Neetu Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Saba Azad, Rekha, Shilpa Shetty, Ibrahim Khan, Sonali Bendre, Atlee, Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif and Janhvi Kapoor among others.

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Jaya Bachchan says 'don't shout' to paparazzi as she reprimands them at grandson Agastya Nanda's 'The Archies' premiere - See photos | Hindi Movie News

The entire Bachchan family made their presence felt at the star-studded premiere of Zoya Akhtar‘s ‘The Archies‘. The film marks the debut of Amitabh Bachchan‘s grandson Agastya Nanda.
The Bachchans were seen chatting and posing for the paparazzi at the event. Jaya Bachchanexpressed a bit of displeasure with the photographers when they requested her to pose.Despite her initial response of “Don’t shout,” she eventually joined the family for a photo session.

Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aaradhya Bachchan, Shweta NandaNavya Naveli Nanda, and other members of the Bachchan-Nanda family came together for a family photo on Agastya’s special day. Additionally, Abhishek, Aishwarya, and Aaradhya posed separately with Agastya for individual shots.

Mother-daughter duo ROCKS! Aishwarya Rai Bachchan grooves with daughter Aaradhya at an event, WATCH VIRAL VIDEO

In addition to Agastya, ‘The Archies’ also marks the debut of Suhana Khan and Khushi Kapoor. Shah Rukh Khanalong with the entire Khan family, was present to support Suhana, while Janhvi Kapoor attended the event to support her sister Khushi.

In his first film, ‘The Archies,’ Agastya portrays the character of Archie Andrews. During a previous conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Agastya mentioned that Zoya Akhtar was incredibly patient with the newcomers. He shared insights into the learning process, stating, “I had to learn how to play the guitar. I had to learn how to sing. Learning to sing and how to play the guitar was a great learning experience.”

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Urban malaria risk in Surat, India: climate and socioeconomic factors at play

Surat, northwest India, faces an escalating risk of urban malaria, challenging existing perceptions of disease dynamics in city environments. A comprehensive study, supported by the US National Institutes of Health, spanning a decade, delves into the impact of climate and socioeconomic factors on reported Plasmodium falciparum cases in the city, and was published in the latest The Lancet, Planetary Health.
The research analyzed monthly data on P falciparum cases over ten years, categorizing them at three spatial resolutions—seven zones, 32 units, and 478 worker units. Employing a Bayesian hierarchical mixed model, the study considered population density, poverty, relative humidity, and temperature, along with structured and unstructured random effects. Socioeconomic data underwent principal component analysis to distill key axes of variation, mitigating covariate correlation. Model selection identified primary drivers of malaria incidence at each spatial level. The study compared observed and model-fitted cases, ensuring prediction accuracy.
Urban malaria cases exhibited stationary spatial variation over time, with consistent high and low yearly case locations. Three principal components, capturing approximately 80% of socioeconomic variance, summarized local socioeconomic variation. The model integrating temperature, humidity, and two principal components, reflecting population density and poverty, emerged as the most accurate across spatial resolutions. As model resolution increased, humidity’s effect diminished, while temperature and the population density-related principal component gained significance. Model predictions effectively mirrored aggregated monthly cases for the city, with the closest match at the intermediate scale, encompassing around 57% of units within the observed risk category. The model’s mean absolute error was lowest at this level, presenting it as the optimal aggregation level for predicting malaria incidence rates.
This statistical model lays the groundwork for a climate-driven early warning system for urban malaria in Surat. Environmental and socioeconomic covariates identified here suggest that refining measurements at high resolution could enhance model precision. Early warnings, coupled with local surveillance and insights into disease hotspots, empower targeted interventions for urban malaria elimination.
Cities, with their escalating heterogeneity, emerge as critical habitats for disease-carrying mosquito vectors. In Surat, northwest India, the interplay of climate and socioeconomic factors significantly impacts the dynamics of urban malaria. The study seeks to unravel these complexities by scrutinizing extensive datasets over space and time.
Urban landscapes, characterized by rapid environmental changes, present a unique challenge in understanding vector-borne disease dynamics. The traditional notion of urbanization reducing malaria transmission is challenged by the presence of Anopheles stephensi, a truly urban malaria vector in the Indian subcontinent. Unlike Africa, where malaria is primarily rural, the Indian subcontinent grapples with the spread of urban malaria facilitated by A. stephensi breeding in artificial containers within homes and construction sites.
This study extends beyond Africa’s predominant focus, delving into the nuanced interaction of climate and socioeconomic conditions in Surat, India. While climate change is expected to impact urban areas globally, the sensitivity of mosquito vectors to fine-scale environmental variations necessitates a closer examination. The study not only identifies the dominant drivers of malaria risk but also underscores the importance of spatial resolution in modeling.
India’s rapid urbanization presents a unique challenge in combating malaria. The study reveals that urban malaria cases, often fueled by migrants settling in slums, constitute a substantial portion of the overall disease incidence. The study emphasizes the need for targeted anti-larval measures and treatment efforts in urban areas, where water storage within homes and construction sites serves as breeding grounds for malaria vectors.
In conclusion, this research provides a crucial foundation for developing a climate-driven early warning system for urban malaria. By deciphering the intricate interplay of climate and socioeconomic factors at various spatial resolutions, the study paves the way for more effective and targeted interventions in the ongoing battle against urban malaria.

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Siddaramaiah: JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy accuses Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah of Muslim appeasement

KARNATAKA: JD(S) leader and Karnataka former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday accused chief minister Siddaramaiah of indulging in Muslim appeasement and said that Congress had “misused” secularism for political expediency.
“Siddaramaiah spoke at a Muslim conference, and wherever he goes, he makes statements to please them. Yesterday also he did the same, nothing surprising.For the political benefit, they(Congress) misused the word secularism,” Kumaraswamy said referring to the Siddaramaiah’s participation at the ‘Aluad-E-Gouse-E-Azam’ conference of various Muslim religious heads from across South India on Tuesday.
The conference, held on the outskirts of Hubballi, was inaugurated by the Chief Minister.
After performing poorly in the Assembly election held in May this year in the state, JD(S) recently joined the BJP-led NDA alliance. The decision of the party caused several Muslim leaders to quit the party, alleging that the leadership ditched the secularism the party had espoused.
Kumaraswamy said that the Siddaramaiah government is struggling to implement the guarantees announced by the Congress ahead of the Assembly election in May this year.
“No development works are happening in the state. Even their MLAs are making statements in this regard,” Kumaraswamy said.
Pointing to the political scenario currently prevailing in the country, he said that it indicates the consecutive third term for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.
“Regional parties have to work hard to get success, but the whole scenario says Narendra Modi will become PM again,” He said.
Kumaraswamy also rejected the Siddaramaiah government’s allegation that the Centre is not providing the funds due to the state.
“The funds that the Central government needs to be given will be given. Nothing was stopped by the BJP-ruled Centre when I was chief minister. Unnecessarily why are they making such allegations against the central government? He is showing a finger towards the central government. What is his responsibility in implementing his announcements?” He asked.

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Auto driver dies by suicide by driving auto into Gorai creek in Mumbai

MUMBAI: A 69-year-old autorickshaw driver died by suicide by driving his auto in speed into the Gorai creek recently. Former corporator from the area, Shivanand Shetty, took to Instagram to tweet videos and photos of attempts to rescue him.
Shetty posted that he received a call from a boat owner about the incident around 10 pm on December 1, following which he summoned the Borivali police and fire brigade to the location immediately.
With the help of these agencies and local residents, the senior citizen’s body was fished out. Shetty said the deceased’s name was Pravin Patkar and he lived in Charkop’s sector 2.
The Borivali Police said he was living away from his family and was also unwell which could have left him depressed. Police have recorded an accidental death case and are probing further.

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Nineteen enemy properties disposed of through e-auction: Home ministry informs Lok Sabha | India News

NEW DELHI: Nineteen enemy properties in Uttar Pradesh have been disposed of by way of sale through e-auction held on September 9, 2023 and shares worth over Rs 2709 crore sold so far, the home ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question, junior home minister Ajay Kumar Mishra said the proceeds of sale or disposal of enemy properties done in accordance with Section 8A of the Enemy Property Act, 1968, are deposited in the Consolidated Fund of India.
Sharing details of procedure and mechanism for disposal/auction of the enemy property, Mishra said prior valuation of immovable enemy property is done by a valuation committee chaired by the district magistrate of the district where the property is situated.The valuation reports submitted by the district magistrate are placed by the Custodian before the enemy property disposal committee who gives its recommendation to the Central government for the disposal or the manner in which the enemy property may be dealt with. The sale of movable property such as ‘shares’ is done on the recommendation of a high level committee which recommends the quantum and price or price level for sale of ‘shares’, Mishra informed the Lok Sabha.

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Jail: RJD vice-president Shivanand Tiwary gets 1 year in jail in defamation case; granted bail

PATNA: RJD national vice president Shivanand Tiwary was on Tuesday sentenced to one year in prison by a Patna court in a criminal defamation suit filed by Bihar minister Sanjay Kumar Jha five years ago. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sarika Bahaliya also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on Tiwari, a former state minister himself.
According to Jha’s counsel Madhukar Anand, “The court has also granted provisional bail to Shivanand Tiwary, and gave him 30 days to appeal against the order”.
Jha, who holds key portfolios like water resources and information and Public Relations in the Nitish Kumar government, had filed the petition way back in 2018 when he was a national general secretary of the JD(U).
Jha had moved the court against Tiwary, taking exception to comments the latter had made about his close relationship with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U)’s supreme leader.
Kumar has realigned with the RJD, which he had dumped in 2017, and hinted that he was now willing to pass on the mantle to his deputy Tejashwi Yadavwhose father Lalu Prasad heads the party.
Tiwary, a veteran socialist leader who has known both Prasad and Kumar for nearly five decades, has been a member of the parties floated by the two leaders at different points of time.

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Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, BJP to relaunch 'sneha yatra' for Christian outreach in Kerala | India News

KOTTAYAM: Seeking to reach out to minority communities ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP unit in Kerala on Tuesday decided to resume its ‘sneha yatra‘ — an outreach programme aimed to connect with the state’s Christians.
The party initially launched the initiative during this year’s Easter.
In a meeting of the saffron party’s state committee, it was decided to carry out the yatras during the Christmas season.
MT Ramesh, the general secretary of the BJP’s Kerala unit, told reporters after the meeting that the political possibilities for the NDA have increased in the state.
The BJP-led NDA will be expanded by including like-minded people and parties ahead of the polls, he said.
“Party leaders and workers will visit Christian homes between December 20 and 30. The objective of the sneha yatra is to bring the Christian community closer to the party,” Ramesh said.
The party has also decided to carry out ‘padayatras (foot marches)’ across the state with an eye on the Lok Sabha pollshe added.
Prominent BJP leaders and workers had conducted the sneha yatra, visiting Christian homes and religious heads on the occasion of Easter earlier this year.

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Archie Comics owner John Goldwater visits Film Bazaar at IFFI 2023; reveals why he chose India to make a film on his comics | Hindi Movie News

As Zoya Akhtar‘s The Archies premieres at IFFI 2023the owner of Archie Comics John Goldwater is at the festival too. It’s his first visit to India and at the event, he said, “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the National Film Development Corporation, and the organisers of the International Film Festival of India for giving me the opportunity to personally welcoming my company Archie Comics to India and also speak to the young people who will shape the future of the global Indian content industry.”
The publisher is thrilled to be in Goa where he feels creative vibes everywhere.”I want to congratulate the 75 minds of tomorrow for being selected from all over the country and for embarking on this journey to tap into their creative potential and unleashing their massive wonderful talent. I am always amazed to see how much talent there is in India. Be that filmmaking, directing, acting, singing, songwriting, cinematography, all of it, everything that it takes to be part of the movie business. India’s diversity is part of its creativity and it inspires me to see how young Indians are able to take a deep dive into the melting pot of cultural languages, dance, folk songs, and tales that we use to tell stories to move and motivate millions of people,” he said.
John said it is for this reason that he chose India as the ideal destination for making the first feature film of Archie Comics ever. The film taps into India’s exceptional creative talent and lends the otherwise American-based Archie Comics by infusing it with wholesome amounts of Indian spice to make it enjoyable to audiences worldwide while experiencing a new location and, different community, but the same themes that continue to stay relatable to everybody fifty years on.
“It gives me immense pleasure to be here today addressing the 75 young people who are as passionate about the film business as I am. When I took over Archie Comics in 2009, I was exactly where you guys are today. Someone who wanted to bring a change by telling life stories from everywhere, continue creating pop-culture moments with iconic characters from diverse generations and make the relatable no matter what the era and I believe that I have done so. I took the idea and the characters and turned them a little bit on their heads. Coming up with experimental shows like Riverdale and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. It is part of that very endeavour that I am in India today unveiling The Archies film made in India by Indians for the entire the world to enjoy.”

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BJP win in state polls not INDI bloc's defeat as opposition did not contest together: Omar Abdullah

SRINAGAR: The BJP’s victory in the assembly polls in three states is not the defeat of the INDIA bloc as the opposition parties did not contest the polls together, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday.
The BJP swept Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh on Sunday inflicting a resounding defeat on the Congress to tighten its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland.
“INDI alliance didn’t fail, the Congress was unsuccessful to some extent in this election and it knows the reasons better,” Abdullah told reporters after paying tributes to his grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on his 118th birth anniversary.
“These elections were not contested as an alliance. They were fought separately by the parties. There were candidates from the Congress, SP, AAP, and others. So, I don’t consider it as a defeat of the INDI alliance because we didn’t contest as an alliance,” Abdullah said.
The NC vice-president, whose party is part of the INDIA bloc, said the alliance will now have to assess the damage done by the statements given by some alliance members against one another during the elections.
Asked about West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks that she has not received an invitation for the Wednesday’s meeting of the alliance, Abdullah said he can’t speak on behalf of the TMC chief while asserting that his party will be in attendance.
“I can’t speak for Mamata ji… I can only speak for the NC and the NC has received an invitation for dinner at the residence of the Congress president tomorrow. Now, if this meeting takes place, then certainly, we will attend. If, for some reason, it is postponed, then we will see what happens going ahead,” he said.
On the BJP claiming the elections were a semi final before the 2024 Lok Sabha pollsAbdullah said when the BJP loses a state poll, it says that the result will not impact the general elections, but when the party wins, it terms it as a victory of the Narendra Modi and central government.
“Whether this was a semi final or not, you can gauge it from five years before when Congress won (assembly polls) in Chattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan. But, when Parliament elections were held, the Congress faced defeat in all three states,” he said.
Abdullah also asked the Congress to focus on the general elections next year.
“Elections are like that, you win some, you lose some. You can’t only be satisfied with the elections you win, you must also be ready to accept defeat. Now, if the Congress has lost… it must analyse the reasons,” he said.
Hitting out at the BJP over its statement that the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir will be from the saffron party, Abdullah said the party lacks courage to conduct assembly polls in the Union Territory.
“A chief minister will be elected when elections take place, there cannot be a CM without an election. The BJP is not in a mood to hold elections, they don’t have the courage to conduct elections as they know that they will have to face heavy defeat,” he said.
“They are not even ready to conduct Panchayat elections. Panchayats are completing their tenure on January 5, municipalities are ending one by one, when they are not ready to conduct these elections, how are they claiming about assembly polls,” the NC leader said.
The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said the BJP knows that it can’t get the required numbers to form a government in the Union Territory.
“Union home minister (Amit Shah) has introduced a Bill in Parliament today to reserve three seats on which people will be nominated by the LG. Seats have been filled by nomination earlier too, but it happened after elections,” he said.
“Giving the LG the power to nominate people clearly proves that the BJP is aware that they will not get the numbers and so, they are trying to save face through nominations,” he added.
Abdullah also expressed grief over the accident in Shimla in which six labourers from Jammu and Kashmir were killed.

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Star kids who received luxury gifts

Aaradhya, AbRam, Taimur: Star kids who received luxury gifts

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India has one of highest mortality rates due to antimicrobial resistance, say experts

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India has one of the highest mortality rates due to antimicrobial resistancewith data indicating that one child dies every nine minutes from illnesses caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteriaexperts at the Global Ayurveda Festival said on Tuesday. The experts are of the view that traditional medicines systems such as Ayurveda can contribute significantly to improving the situation.
The plenary session of the fifth edition of the Global Ayurveda Festival on Tuesday discussed the role of traditional medicines in overcoming the threat of antimicrobial resistance, which was declared as one of the top health threats by the World Health Organisation.
“India ranks among the countries with the highest mortality rates due to AMR (antimicrobial resistance) and statistics show that one child dies every nine minutes due to illnesses caused by bugs that resist antibiotics,” the organisers said in a release.
Prof Thomas Rampp from the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, an expert in integrative medicine, said the use and overuse of antibiotics are leading to antimicrobial resistance.
“The reasons for resistance to antibiotics come from the overprescribing of antibiotics, patients not finishing the treatment properly, the overuse of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming, poor infection control in hospitals and poor sanitation,” the release quoted Rampp as saying.
Addressing the plenary session at the Greenfield International Stadium in Kariavattom, Rampp said the US and European countries also face the threat from antimicrobial resistance but the risk to countries in Asia and Latin America is bigger.
The resistance to antibiotics is not a new phenomenon, he said, adding that resistance to penicillin was reported in 1940, though the drug was put into use by 1928.
“This led to the creation of newer antibiotics to overcome that but, in the last three decades, no new antibiotics have been developed and this has aggravated the problem,” he said.
Traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda can contribute significantly to improving the situation as they approach problems and work to improve immunity. This can prevent illness and stop the unnecessary use of antibiotics, the expert added.
Ayurveda has always focused on providing a balanced diet, he said.
Subarna Roy, the director of ICMR-National Institute of Traditional Institute in Karnataka, said their studies showed that resistance to antibiotics is different in various areas within the state.
He warned that antimicrobial resistance is contributing to the rise of diseases such as diphtheria in some regions of India.
A network of facilities established to monitor the antimicrobial resistance situation in India has identified about 10 pathogens that are proving to be dangerous, Roy said.
The conclave, a biennial event, is organised by the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Ayush, the government of Kerala and various Ayurveda associations, the release stated.
The five-day conclave, which began on December 1, with the theme “Emerging Challenges in Healthcare and a Resurgent Ayurveda” concluded on Tuesday.
Former Health Minister of Kerala, V S Sivakumar Tuesday inaugurated the valedictory function of the conclave at Greenfield International Stadium here.
Sivakumar said the relevance of Ayurveda has increased many fold, and added that Kerala has a great potential to emerge as a global Ayurveda hub.
“It is significant to note that this traditional knowledge system is being augmented by adopting modern research methods which will enhance its credibility and open new vistas of opportunities,” Sivakumar was quoted as saying in a release.
Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the event on December 1, where a special message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailing the initiatives of Ayurveda fraternity was read out by Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V Muraleedharan.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was the Chief Patron of GAF 2023.
The biennial event was organised by the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Ayush, the Government of India, Government of Kerala.

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Women's representation in Indian police falls short of 33% target: Home Ministry report

NEW DELHI: Even though the all-India percentage of women in the police force has improved steadily over the past 10 years, rising from 5.87% in 2013 to 11.75% in 2022, it is still way short of the 33% target set by the Union home ministry for the improved representation of women in their police forces, as per information shared by the home ministry with Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Junior home minister Nityanand Raiin written reply to a question, shared that women police personnel across all states and Union territories as on 01.01.2022 totalled just over 2.4 lakh, of which 1.8 lakh were posted at constable level and 20,196 at head constable level. Women officers in the various state/UT police were few and included 8 in the rank of DGP, 37 in the rank of Additional DGP, 31 IGPs, 368 at SSP level, 269 at Additional SP level, 908 at SP level, 3,680 Inspectors, 13,146 Sub-Inspectors and 6,052 Assistant Sub Inspectors.
Rai said that UP accounted for the highest number of women police personnel, though experts said this is not unusual since it is the most populous state in the country. Other states with a high number of women police personnel are Maharashtra (30,432), Tamil Nadu (22,547), Assam (19,299), Gujarat (14,681), Delhi (10,228) and Rajasthan (9,996). In contrast, Jammu and Kashmir has only 2,598 women in its police force, Kerala 4,142 and Jharkhand 3,880.
The home ministry said it has issued five advisories to the states and Union territories between 2014 and 2022, requesting them to increase the representation of women police to 33% of their total strength. All the state governments and UT administrations have been requested to create additional posts of women constables or Sub-Inspectors by converting the vacant posts at these levels. “The aim is that each police station should have at least three women Sub-Inspectors and 10 women constables, so that a women’s help desk is manned around the clock,” said Rai.
Incidentally, women police stations — comprising an all-women staff — rose to 745 on 01.01.2022 from 518 on 01.01.2014. Of the 745 such police stations, 202 are located in Tamil Nadu, 77 in UP, 52 in Madhya Pradesh and 48 in West Bengal.

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