Ayushmann Khurrana, Vicky Kaushal share National Award for Best Actor
Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal won the National Award for Best Actor for ‘AndhaDhun’ and ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ respectively. While Ayushmann played the role of a pianist pretending to be visually-impaired in ‘AndhaDhun’, Vicky portrayed an Army Officer in ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’. The award for Best Actress went to Keerthy Suresh for Telugu film ‘Mahanati’.
‘AndhaDhun’ wins National Award for Best Hindi Film
Ayushmann Khurrana starrer ‘AndhaDhun’ won the 66th National Award for Best Hindi film, the jury announced on Friday. The film, which also starred Tabu and Radhika Apte, is a crime thriller directed by Sriram Raghavan. The announcement of the National Film Awards was delayed this year due to the Lok Sabha polls.
BCCI agrees to come under the ambit of National Anti-Doping Agency
The BCCI has agreed to come under the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), Sports Secretary Radhey Shyam Julaniya said. “BCCI does not have discretion to say no. All are same, everyone has to follow the same rules,” Radhey Shyam Julaniya added. The BCCI had been opposing to sign up with NADA, claiming that it is an autonomous body.
After being stopped at Srinagar airport, Yechury to be sent to Delhi
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury is being sent back to Delhi after he was detained at Srinagar airport on Friday, along with CPI leader D Raja. This comes a day after Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad was stopped at the Srinagar airport and sent back to the National Capital amid lockdown in J&K.
Don’t link Kashmir issue with Afghanistan: Taliban tells Pakistan
The Taliban has told Pakistan to not link the issue of Kashmir with Afghanistan. Afghanistan should not be “turned into the theatre of competition between other countries”, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement. The Taliban called upon both India and Pakistan “to refrain from taking steps that could pave a way for violence and complications in the region”.
Apple hikes its bug-finding program’s max reward to ₹7 crore
Apple said that it is expanding its bug bounty program to include Macs, MacBooks, Apple TV and Watch. The iPhone maker has raised the maximum award for spotting a bug to $1 million (about ₹7 crore) from the current maximum of $200,000 (about ₹1.4 crore) per exploit. Apple will provide security researchers with special iPhones to help them discover bugs.
Prakash Javadekar appointed BJP in-charge for Delhi elections
BJP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has appointed Union Minister Prakash Javadekar as election in-charge for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Further, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been appointed as the election in-charge for Haryana. Senior party leaders OP Mathur and Bhupender Yadav were appointed as poll in-charges for Jharkhand and Maharashtra respectively.
Mahindra to suspend production for 8-14 days across plants in Q2
Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday said its automotive segment, which makes passenger and commercial vehicles and spare parts, would suspend production for 8-14 days at various plants during the second quarter. Chairman Anand Mahindra on Wednesday urged the government to take a few short-term measures for reviving the automotive industry, including lowering GST or removing the cess.
Uber posts its largest quarterly loss of $5.2 billion, up 496% YoY
Uber has posted a net loss of over $5.2 billion for the quarter ending June, marking its largest-ever quarterly loss, a difference of over 496% year-over-year (YoY). The reported loss included $3.9 billion of stock-based compensation expenses related to the ride-hailing giant’s Initial Public Offering. Uber shares fell as much as around 11% post the earnings report.
3 Mumbai doctors accused in Dr Payal Tadvi suicide case get bail
Bombay High Court has granted bail to all three doctors Bhakti Mehare, Hema Ahuja and Ankita Khandelwal accused in the Dr Payal Tadvi suicide case. The accused will have to submit a surety of ₹2 lakh and appear before the crime branch every alternate day. Moreover, they will not be allowed to go inside BYL Nair Hospital.
Maha CM conducts aerial survey to review flood situation
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday conducted an aerial survey to review the flood situation in Sangli and Kolhapur districts. Fadnavis also chaired a meeting in Kolhapur with various officials and agencies to review the flood situation and asked them to undertake various measures for the availability of food, drinking water, healthcare and shelter.
Death toll from rain-related incidents in Kerala rises to 22
The death toll from rain-related incidents in Kerala has risen to 22, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday. Further, as many as 22,000 people are being given shelter in 315 relief camps, he added. The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert in nine districts and warned of “extremely heavy” rainfall at isolated places in these areas.
Delhi court frames charges of rape against Unnao MLA Kuldeep Sengar
A Delhi court has framed charges of rape against expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar for allegedly raping a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao in 2017. The court has also framed charges against Sengar’s accomplice Shashi Singh for kidnapping the girl. This comes after the Supreme Court ordered to shift all cases related to Unnao rape case to Delhi.
It scares me to talk about #MeToo movement: Casey Affleck
On Dax Shepard’s podcast ‘Armchair Expert’ Hollywood actor Casey Affleck said that it scares him to talk about #MeToo movement. “I felt like the best thing to do was to just be quiet,” he added. Two of his co-workers from ‘I’m Still Here’ (2010) had accused Casey of sexual harassment which resurfaced in 2018 during the #MeToo movement.
It will be the biggest blockbuster: Anupam Kher on his biopic
Anupam Kher in an interview said that whenever it gets made, his biopic will be the biggest blockbuster. “I feel a biopic has to be inspirational and my life is full of drama..success and failure again followed by success,” added Kher. “I hope it will be a guide on how to deal with failure, sadness and depression,” he said.
Ex-EPL referee Howard Webb backs VAR to improve the league
Former football referee Howard Webb, who officiated in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, said, “[B]ecause of the speed of it (football in the PL), referees will make mistakes and VAR is there to help.” “There were 1,299 goals in MLS last season, and only four were allowed to stand that should have been cancelled,” Webb added.
Gujarat fintech startup Lendingkart raises ₹212 crore
Gujarat-based fintech startup Lendingkart has raised around ₹212 crore in an equity round led by existing investors including Fullerton, Bertelsmann India Investments and India Quotient. Founded in 2014 by Harshvardhan Lunia and Mukul Sachan, Lendingkart provides small and medium enterprises easy access to credit. It had raised over $87 million in a Series C equity funding round last year.
Innovaccer may raise up to $60 mn from Tiger Global, others
Noida and US-based healthcare analytics startup Innovaccer is reportedly in advanced talks to raise up to $60 million from Tiger Global, Steadview Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group. The startup was founded by IIT-Kharagpur graduates Abhinav Shashank and Kanav Hasija, along with IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus Sandeep Gupta in 2014. It has raised around $54 million to date, as per Crunchbase.
Waive loans of Maharashtra farmers from flood-hit areas: NCP
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Thursday urged the Maharashtra government to waive loans of farmers from flood-affected areas in the state. According to the official estimates, over two lakh people have been rescued to safer places in Maharashtra. NCP also said that all public representatives of the party will donate a month’s salary for flood relief.
Rainfall, thunderstorms likely in parts of Himachal: IMD
Several parts of Himachal Pradesh are likely to witness thunderstorms accompanied with light to moderate rainfall on Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. Light to moderate rainfall and thunderstorms may occur in Dharamshala, Mandi, Manali, Kullu, Bilaspur, Palampur, Hamirpur, Solan and Shimla, the IMD said in its bulletin.
Liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda, 23 others get life sentence
Punjab liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda and 23 others were reportedly sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2015 murder case of his former employee, Bhim Tank. Tank and his friend Gurjant Singh were attacked at Doda’s farmhouse where they had allegedly gone to resolve a conflict. Bhim succumbed to his injuries later while Gurjant ended up as the key witness.
Amnesty Int’l issues travel warning for US over gun violence
Human rights organisation Amnesty International issued a travel warning for the US on Thursday, citing the recent mass shootings in Ohio and Texas that killed 31 people. The organisation alleges that US government was prioritising gun ownership over basic human rights. The advisory claims travellers’ race, country of origin, ethnic background and sexual orientation may put them at risk.
Let them come, we will eliminate them: Indian Army on Pak threats
Commenting on the recent threats from Pakistan, the Indian Army said, “Let [Pakistan] come & try & disrupt the peace in valley, we will have [them] eliminated!” “We’ll take care of all of them,” Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon added. Pakistan PM Imran Khan had said, “Another Pulwama-like terror attack can happen if India continues to crush people of Kashmir.”
Pak begins ‘Say No To India’ campaign, bans cultural exchanges: Report Pakistan government has launched a ‘Say No To India’ campaign and decided to ban all cultural exchanges with India, including joint ventures in the entertainment industry of the two countries, Pakistani media reported. A Pakistani official said all kinds of Indian content have been stopped and authorities have been directed to take action against the sale of Indian DTH instruments.
