Sarus crane population increases in UP

Lucknow, June 23 2024-

The population of the Sarus crane, named the state bird of Uttar Pradesh in July 2015, has been increasing and the trend is expected to continue this year too, forest officials said.

The information has come after the first round of the two-day Sarus census.

In 2021, the Forest Department survey counts put the Sarus crane figure at 17,329 in 2021, 19,188 in 2022 and 19,522 in 2023 and the trend is expected to continue this year too.

Uttar Pradesh’s principal chief conservator of forests, Sanjay Srivastav, said, “We carried out the first phase of the counting on June 20 and 21 in the bird sanctuaries and forest areas where these birds frequent. The counts were recorded twice a day, in the morning and evening. Now we will commence the second phase that comprises ground trooping by forest rangers, and forest officers who also inquire about Sarus sightings from the masses.”

“The process is time-consuming as all the data needs to be collected from different districts and ranges. That is why announcing the numbers may take a few more days,” he added.

He said that it is expected that the Sarus crane numbers will go up this year as well.

Officials confirmed having recorded a marginal increase in bird population in the Meerut and Bijnor forest divisions.

In Meerut, 47 adult and 4 minor cranes were counted in the Malipur area of Bheekund wetland, Draupadi Ghat and Sikanderpur forest area of Hastinapur forest range while in the Bijnor division, a total of 146 adult and minor cranes were spotted during the survey, officials said.

These survey numbers indicated six new members had been increased in the Sarus cranes’ population in the Meerut Forest division since the last survey in June 2023 and seven new members added in the Bijnor Forest division since the last survey in December 2023.

Sub-Divisional Officer of Bijnor Forest division, Gyan Singh, said that a maximum of 53 cranes were spotted in the Amangarh area, 37 in the Nagina forest range, 20 in Bijnor and Dhampur, 11 in Nazibabad and five in Chandpur. (Agency)

DSP reverted as constable for extra-marital affair

Lucknow, June 23 2024-

In an incident, the Uttar Pradesh Police has reverted a promotee Deputy Superintendent Kripa Shankar Kannaujiya to the rank of constable, after he was caught in a hotel with a female constable three years ago, officials said.

He has been now posted as a constable in the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) Gorakhpur battalion.

On July 6, 2021, the then Circle Officer (CO) in Unnao, Kannaujiya, requested leave from the then Unnao Superintendent of Police (SP) for family reasons.

Instead of going home, he reportedly checked into a hotel near Kanpur with a female constable and switched off his private and official phones.

When his wife found his number unreachable, she called for help from Unnao SP, who discovered the CO’s mobile network was last active in a hotel in Kanpur. A police team reached the hotel and found the duo.

It was reported that Unnao police took video evidence related to the CO.

Later, then Inspector General of Police (IGP), Lucknow Range, recommended stern action against him. (Agency)

T20 World Cup: ‘Thank God we at last beat Australia’, says Naib after Afghanistan’s epic triumph

Kingstown, June 23 2024-

Pace all-rounder Gulbadin Naib, who took the Player-of-the-Match award in Afghanistan’s historic 21-run win over Australia in the Super Eights stage of 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, said he was elated and relieved over his side finally beating their much-fancied opponents in international cricket.

At the Arnos Vale Stadium, Naib became the game-changer for Afghanistan though his spell of 4-20, where he bowled his four overs without any interruption. He took out Marcus Stoinis and Tim David, before getting the all-important wicket of Glenn Maxwell for 59 in the 14th over to end Australia’s hopes of winning the game.

The result means Afghanistan are still in the race to enter the semi-finals, and opens up Group 1 incredibly. The epic win also is very sweet for Afghanistan, who dealt with two heartbreaks previously while facing Australia in World Cups.

In the 2022 T20 World Cup, Afghanistan fell short of beating Australia by just one runs and in the 2023 ODI World Cup, their hopes of a win were dashed by a cramping and one-legged Maxwell making an unbeaten 200.

“Thank god we at last beat Australia. It’s a great achievement for our cricket in Afghanistan. If you look at history of our cricket, it is not much. Last ten years, we achieved a lot of goals. This is a big achievement.

“We played very good cricket and in the first round we beat New Zealand. Then (to beat) Australia is not easy. They are a world champion team and it is a big achievement for our cricket. We can carry this to the next level. Our journey starts now. We are very lucky to have such a staff and management,” said Naib after the match.

Naib also paid gratitude to captain Rashid Khan for trusting his bowling skills again in a crucial juncture of the game. “We were waiting (for this win) for a long time. It’s a great moment not just for me but for my nation and my people.

“(It is a) big achievement for our cricket. I have no words to say but thanks to the fans for supporting our career and cricket journey. It’s a great teamwork, we worked hard for the last two months and the result is in front of you.”

Rashid was also glad that Afghanistan got third time lucky in beating Australia in World Cups, which he described as a great feeling and hoped for their loyal fans back home to be proud of the side.

“It’s a massive win for us as a team and as a nation. In the World Cup, beating champions is a great feeling. It’s something we missed in last two years – in 2023 World Cup and also in 2022 in Australia where we lacked some runs.

“It is so much important for us home and for everyone and all over the world where Afghans are there. They were badly missing this win. I am sure they would be proud of this and would have enjoyed the game. It is just the beginning for us, big game next and we have all the chances of making the semis.”

In the batting, Afghanistan were propelled by Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran putting on an opening stand of 118 runs, before crumbling in the fag end of their innings to end up on 148/6, as Pat Cummins took another hat-trick.

Rashid felt Afghanistan having the services of eight bowlers made things easy for them to bowl out Australia for 127 in 19.2 overs.

“The thought was although we didn’t finish as well as we would have liked to, but this is how this wicket is. The more important thing was that the opening partnership gave us the best start. That let us get to a total we had in mind.

“We all watched two games before, and on this wicket anything 130-plus we said we were capable of defending. We keep calm and have that belief. The beauty of this team is having too many allrounders gives you options. As a captain, it makes it easy,” he said (Agency)

Meet Chennai triplets pursuing engineering despite adversity

New Delhi, June 23 2024-

As the world celebrates International Women in Engineering Day on Sunday, meet Chennai-born triplets Dhanushree, Dhanush, and Dhanuja who share a love for engineering that is more common than their biology.

International Women in Engineering Day is observed every year on June 23 to celebrate the achievements of women engineers as well as to raise awareness on closing the gender gap in the sector.

More than being bound by blood, the triplets are classmates of the B.Tech programme at Sona College of Technology, Salem, who love discussing the intricacies of mechanics like Ackerman steering geometry, Beale number, Cotter pin, and damping ratio.

The triplets were born to businessman B Murugan and K Kamala, a government employee, in a nondescript Chidambaram town, in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district.

Call it a quirk of fate, they were born on Engineers’ Day (September 15), the birthday of Sir M Visvesvaraya, one of the most renowned engineers in the country, whose legacy left a lasting impact on India’s infrastructure and engineering education.

From their early childhood, Dhanushree, Dhanush, and Dhanuja picked up the importance of education and the courage to pursue their dreams.

With their commendable scores in Class XII, the triplets secured admission at Sona College of Technology. Yet financial adversity scuttled their dreams of becoming engineers.

To provide them with a good education, the parents relocated to Salem and had to reestablish their business.

Dhanush loves electronics and is pursuing his dream of becoming a software developer. In addition to mechanical engineering Dhanushree and Dhanuja are also pursuing a credit course in Japanese.

“Dhanuja and Dhanushree are very attentive in the class and participate in discussions. They made friends with classmates quickly and often helped them in their studies. Dhanuja has a natural flair for singing,” said B Renuga, Head of Department for the first-year students at the college.

Dhanuja, the youngest among the triplets, is excited about getting the highest score not only among the siblings but the entire class. (Agency)

‘Bigg Boss OTT 3’: Housemates wake up to energetic beats of ‘Udta Punjab’ on Sunday

Mumbai, June 23 2024-

It’s a relaxed Sunday morning at the ‘Bigg Boss OTT 3’ house on the second day, with contestants waking up to the energetic beats of ‘Udta Punjab’.

The visuals show social media influencer and YouTuber Armaan Malik hugging his second wife, Kritika Malik.

Armaan is participating in the controversial reality show along with both his wives, Payal and Kritika.

Television actress Sana Makbul and the famous ‘Vada Pav’ girl Chandrika Dixit also grooved to the track.

However, it will be interesting to see whether the day will remain smooth and easy or if there will be any storms on the horizon.

On day one, the audience witnessed actor Ranveer Shorey criticising social media influencer Lovekesh Kataria’s behaviour over a rationing issue. Tension flared in the house during a discussion about dividing food between vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Ranveer asserted his right to take his share according to his needs, but things got heated when Lovekesh approached the ‘Ugly Aur Pagli’ actor too closely. Ranveer replied, “Be in your limits. I’m double your age; so, don’t cross boundaries.”

Day one also featured a heated debate task, with journalist Deepak Chaurasia stepping into the judge’s chair.

The house was split into two rival teams: Lovekesh, Indian boxer Neeraj Goyat, and Armaan on one side, while Ranveer, social media influencer Sana Sultan Khan, and TV actor Sai Ketan Rao on the other.

During the debate, Sana accused Armaan of portraying himself as a husband rather than an individual.

Day one also included a special Tarot card reading for Armaan by astrologer Munisha Khatwani.

Other contestants in the show include TV actress Poulomi Das, rapper Naved Shaikh a.k.a. Naezy, social media influencer Vishal Pandey, and YouTube sensation Shivani Kumari.

The show, hosted by Bollywood superstar Anil Kapoor, is streaming on JioCinema Premium. (Agency)

‘Bigg Boss OTT 3’: Sai Ketan breaks down in front of Deepak Chaurasia; recalls getting Rs 100 for short film

Mumbai, June 23 2024-

‘Bigg Boss OTT 3’ contestant and TV actor Sai Ketan Rao opened up about his life struggles inside the house during a conversation with journalist Deepak Chaurasia, recalling how he received just Rs 100 for a role in a short film.

In a video shared by the show’s makers on Sunday, Sai, who is known for his roles in TV shows ‘Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali’ and ‘Imlie’, became emotional while speaking with Deepak.

Sai is seen crying in the video and saying to Deepak: “2016 me maine ek short film kia tha… hero ka bhai tha main (In 2016, I did a short film in which I played the role of the hero’s brother).”

Sai was referring to the 2016 Telugu short film ‘Devil in Disguise’.

The actor then continued, “Rs 100 mile the mujhe or is pure time me struggle kafi tha. Hamari situation bahut hi kharab thi… maine sab kuch kho dia… paise kho diye opportunities kho diye, My father was never there in my life (I got Rs 100 for my role in the short film. There were a lot of struggles. Our situation was very bad… I lost everything — money, opportunities, etc. My father was never there in my life).”

Deepak replied sympathetically, saying, “So sad,” to which Sai further added, ” Unhone hame chodh dia (My father had left us).”

The video ends with Deepak consoling Sai, saying, “Don’t cry.”

The post is captioned: “Hero ka bhai tha, 100 rupay mile the – Sai Ketan gets real about his life struggles.”

‘Bigg Boss OTT 3’ is streaming on JioCinema Premium.

Meanwhile, Sai has featured in TV shows like ‘Chashni’ and ‘Agni Sakshi’, and web series such as ‘The Baker and the Beauty’, ‘Aham Bhramhasmi’, ‘Love Studio’, ‘Beyond Breakup’, and ‘Three Half Bottles’.

He has also starred in Telugu movies like ‘Most Eligible Bachelor’, ‘Ajay Passayyadu’, ‘Strangers’, ‘Pellikuturu Party’, and others. (Agency)

Haj Trip Frauds: Egypt cracks down on travel agencies

Cairo, June 23 2024-

The Egyptian government is set to ban the operation of 16 travel agencies for arranging “fraudulent” Haj trips to Saudi Arabia for unregistered pilgrims.

At a Haj deaths crisis unit meeting held on Saturday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said he has ordered the license of these agencies to be revoked and those involved persons and entities transferred to public prosecution, according to an Egyptian cabinet statement.

The statement did not detail which agencies or concerned persons were behind organising such trips through fraudulence or other illicit means for unregistered pilgrims to Mecca, Xinhua news agency reported.

Madbouly updated that among more than 50,000 registered Egyptian pilgrims, a total of 31 people with “chronic diseases” were confirmed dead.

The move came amid media reports of more than 600 deaths among unregistered Egyptian pilgrims during their performance of Haj over the past week under the extreme heatwaves in the Saudi city. The temperatures there at times hit 51 degrees Celsius.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told the meeting that the crisis was most deadly to unregistered pilgrims, claiming that the tourism companies transporting them “did not provide any services”.

He noted that his Ministry would continue to coordinate with the Saudi authorities to find missing Egyptian pilgrims as soon as possible and ensure the home return of all Egyptian pilgrims.

Haj, a pillar of Islam, is annually performed in Mecca by crowds of pilgrims from all over the world.

The number of pilgrims has exceeded 1.8 million this year, according to Saudi authorities. (Agency)

Yemen’s Houthis launch ballistic missiles at US aircraft carrier Eisenhower in Red Sea

Sanaa, June 23 2024-

Yemen’s armed Houthi group has said in a statement that it had launched ballistic missiles at the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower in northern Red Sea.

“The missile force in our armed forces carried out an operation targeting the American aircraft carrier Eisenhower in the northern Red Sea with several ballistic and cruise missiles, and the operation achieved its goals successfully,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Saturday in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

However, there is currently no evidence to confirm that the aircraft carrier was indeed attacked, Xinhua news agency reported.

This is the second claimed attack by Houthis targeting the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower in the Red Sea in less than a month. The first attack against the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was on May 31, in which the US military didn’t comment.

Sarea said that the militant group also attacked the merchant vessel TRANSWORLD NAVIGATOR in the Arabian Sea with ballistic missiles, as a response to what Houthis called the vessel owner’s violation of their entry ban to Israeli ports.

The statement threatened more such strikes “until the (Israeli) aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted”.

Earlier on Saturday, fighter jets of the US-British coalition conducted four airstrikes against Houthi targets northwest of Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, according to the Houthi al-Masirah television.

Hours before the coalition airstrikes, the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported explosions in the vicinity of a merchant vessel 126 nautical miles east of Yemen’s southern port city of Aden. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

The Houthi group, which controls much of northern Yemen, began in November last year to launch anti-ship ballistic missiles and drones targeting what they said were Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea, to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In response, the US-British naval coalition stationed in the waters has since January conducted air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group, but this only led to an expansion of Houthi attacks to include US and British commercial vessels and naval ships. (Agency)

In a first, Samajwadi Party’s official mouthpiece releases message in English

Lucknow, June 23 2024-

Once an ardent champion of Hindi, the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh is adapting to changes.

In a first, the party has added a new chapter to its communication channel by reaching out to millennials using English as a medium.

For the first time ever, the party’s official mouthpiece — Samajwadi Bulletin — has a message in English from the party’s National President, Akhilesh Yadav.

The message talks of reasons which prompted party brass to field young first-timers like Iqra Hasan, Priya Saroj and Pushpendra Saroj in the recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha polls and is aimed at addressing a ‘younger’ audience cutting across state and national boundaries.

The message from Akhilesh endorses the belief that candidates’ own capabilities to voice concerns of the people he or she represents, matter more than anything else.

Iqra, Priya and Pushpendra have won from Kairana, Machhlishahr and Kaushambi, respectively, and by their education at the world’s leading universities abroad and professional commitments, all three are fluent in English.

Apart from Akhilesh Yadav’s message, the party’s monthly mouthpiece has a chapter each, on the three newly-elected young parliamentarians, in English.

The party spokesman says that Hindi will continue to remain the main and only language of communication within the party and its cadre and use of English will be limited to addressing those millennials who are more comfortable conversing in English.

“This is only a means to reach out to the people who ideate and think in English,” said a senior party strategist.

Interestingly ever since Akhilesh Yadav, who has secured his Master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Sydney, took over the reins of the party in the run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections, he has chosen Hindi as his only means of communication. There will hardly be a media interview in the archives where he can be seen and heard responding to the media queries in English even if the question is asked in English or even by a journalist from abroad.

Senior party strategists say the use of English, for now, will only be limited to a section of the party’s communiques which will be directed towards an audience which prefers to read, speak and write English for any reason whatsoever.

“For instance, people in Kerala and Karnataka will be more inclined to read our write-ups in English than those in the Hindi heartland,” said the spokesman. (Agency)

Cummins becomes first player to claim two consecutive hat-tricks in T20 World Cup

Kingstown (St Vincent), June 23 2024-

Australia pacer Pat Cummins created history on Sunday (as per IST) when he became the first player to register a hat-trick in consecutive Men’s T20 World Cup matches.

The Aussie achieved the feat against Afghanistan when he had skipper Rashid Khan (17.6 over), Karim Janat (19.1 over) and Gulbadin Naib (19.2 over) dismissed with three consecutive deliveries across his two overs.

It was just the eighth time that a bowler has completed a hat-trick at a Men’s T20 World Cup and the first time a player has achieved the feat on multiple occasions, reports ICC.

Cummins is already a member of an illustrious group of seven players to have taken a hat-trick at a Men’s T20 World Cup, with Brett Lee (2007), Curtis Campher (2021), Wanindu Hasaranga (2021), Kagiso Rabada (2021), Karthik Meiyappan (2022) and Josh Little (2022) the other bowlers to have done so previously.

On Friday, he registered a hat-trick across two overs against Bangladesh on Thursday, becoming the second Australian after Brett Lee to claim a hat-trick in the T20 World Cup. (Agency)