Category: Life & Style

India shone at the 95th Academy Awards in Los Angeles with two Oscar trophies, as The Elephant Whisperers won the Best Documentary Short Subject, and “Naatu Naatu” song from Telugu film RRR won for Best Original Song, becoming the first Indian song to win an Oscar.

Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga, The Elephant Whisperers is a heartwarming film on the deep bond between a pair of elephants and their humans. The 40-minute film on Netflix features, as Gonsalves said, the ‘sacred bond between us and the natural world and respect for indigenous communities’.

The Oscars for Naatu Naatu were awarded to composer MM Keeravaani, who sang a version of The Carpenters’ hit “Top of the World” as his acceptance speech, and lyricist Chandrabose. The famous track is directed by SS Rajamouli and features actors Ram Charan and Jr NTR. The Telugu song beat heavy-weight competitors – Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All At Once, and “Applause” from Tell It Like A Woman. The song, “Naatu Naatu” had won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song in January. It was also performed live during the Oscar ceremony by singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, and danced by Lauren Gottlieb. Deepika Padukone – the third Indian to attend as a presenter after Persis Khambatta and Priyanka Chopra – introduced the performance.

Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Environment, Forest & Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on March 11 inaugurated the NDMC G20 Flower Festival at Central Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi. New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had organised the two-day G20-themed flower festival to showcase the vibrant and colourful display of G20 members and guest countries. China, Japan, Singapore and the Netherlands participated in the G20 Flower Festival.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) also participated in the G20 Flower Festival, where a large variety of seasonal and exclusive flora was on display, said officials. Flower plants of different colours and varieties were on display in different forms and installations at the flower festival. It also showcased paintings or photographs of flowers such as national flowers or major flower gardens of G20 members and guest countries. The public could also purchase their favourite plants from various stalls set up in the event.

The Connaught Place in New Delhi, which is a major tourist and commercial spot, attracted a large number of visitors to the flower show. Horticulture enthusiasts could walk in to enjoy vibrant flowers such as dahlias, bougainvillea, foliage plants, bonsai, cacti and succulents in pots, and hanging baskets and can purchase their favourite plants, and flowers, etc., from the stalls. Floral figures, tray garden, and floral arrangements were also displayed. The visitors also enjoyed the musical and cultural programmes organised at the Central Park Amphitheatre.

An 11-minute brisk walk daily could prevent one in 10 premature deaths worldwide, says the largest ever study of its kind. This equals 75 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, half the weekly 150 minutes recommended by the NHS.

The study conducted by Cambridge University experts has found that brisk walking, dancing, riding a bike, playing tennis or hiking can all substantially cut the risks of early death, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers, including those of the head and neck and myeloid leukaemia.

Globally, one in 10 early deaths could be avoided if everyone met just half the recommended weekly target of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity, the largest ever pooled data analysis suggests. The results were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Moderate-intensity physical activity is defined as activity that raises the heart rate and makes people breathe faster, but not so fast they cannot speak.

Researchers looked at 196 peer-reviewed articles, covering more than 30 million participants from 94 large study cohorts. They then examined the association between levels of physical activity and the risk of heart disease, cancer and early death. Accumulating 75 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity lowered the risk of early death by 23%, they found. It was also enough to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 17% and cancer by 7%.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), operated by DIAL, has bagged the award for Airport Service Quality (ASQ) best airport for 2022 in the category of over 40 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA). It has also been named as the cleanest airport in the Asia Pacific region by the Airports Council International (ACI).

“The ASQ programme is the world’s leading airport customer experience measurement and benchmarking programme. This recognition is based on live research via surveys gathered at the airport direct from the traveller rating their satisfaction on the day of travel,” DIAL said in a release on March 6.

In a separate release, Airports Authority of India (AAI) said Tiruchirappalli International Airport has been rated the best in the Asia Pacific region in the category of under 2 million passengers by ACI. The Government of India owned AAI operates Tiruchirappalli airport in Tamil Nadu.

Cruise company Life at Sea Cruises is now accepting bookings for its 3-year-voyage on the MV Gemini, which sets sail from Istanbul on November 1, said a CNN report. The Rs 25 lakh per person cruise will take people to as many as 135 countries, covering 375 destinations, including the Caribbean, Antarctica, Hawaii, Asia and other places.

The package of the three-year World Cruise, starting from $29,999 per year (around ₹24.5 lakh), includes access to all dining venues and alcohol with dinner, a state-of-the-art wellness centre, sundeck and swimming pool, high-speed internet, entertainment, “enrichment seminars” and housekeeping with a 24-hour on-call hospital with free medical visits. The cruise offers travellers to live, work and explore, all while being onboard the ship. It will visit 13 out of 14 ‘Wonders of the World’, with packages starting from $29,999 (₹24,51,300) to $109,999 (₹89,88,320) per person for a year.

The MV Gemini vessel, which has 400 cabins and room for 1,074 passengers, will have pick-ups in Barcelona and Miami. At each port, the vessel will stay docked for multiple days to allow its passengers to explore at their leisure. The cruise will stop by 100 islands, including numerous Caribbean and Central American visits. It will also spend 98 days in South America and Antarctica.

Saudi Arabia is set to introduce yoga in its universities due to its significance for mental and physical health. Several agreements will be signed with major universities in Saudi Arabia to support and promote yoga over the next few months, according to Saudi Yoga Committee President Nouf Al-Marwaai.

Al-Marwaai said that the committee was striving hard to introduce yoga to universities. “Yoga gives its practitioners many health benefits (for) both physical and mental well-being… One of the most important pillars of achieving Vision 2030 is to enhance participation in sports activities, and to achieve sports excellence locally, continentally, and internationally,” she said.

She added that yoga is not just meditation and relaxation as some might believe, but “includes Asana posture practice, Pranayamas breathing techniques, Bandhas muscle control (and) then comes Dhayan and Yoga Nidra meditation and relaxation.” She added that the committee “aims to discover the talents of distinguished yoga practitioners in all types of yoga in general or Yogasana sports, to hone their talents, and support them to participate and represent the Kingdom in local and international tournaments.”

The announcement was recently made in Riyadh during the forum, The Role of University Sports in Supporting the Kingdom’s Vision in Sports, organised by the Saudi Universities Sports Federation in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

Passenger traffic at Changi Airport should return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, or possibly earlier, said Singapore’s Transport Minister S. Iswaran in the Parliament.

S. Iswaran told the House that passenger traffic volumes, flights and city links at Changi are now at about 80 percent of pre-Covid-19 levels, while flights at Seletar Airport have recovered fully since January 2023.

In 2019, 68.3 million passengers passed through Changi Airport, with 3,82,000 commercial flights taking off or landing at the airport. Passenger traffic fell to a low of 0.5 percent of this total during the pandemic in 2020.

Singapore’s aviation sector has made a strong recovery from the debilitating impact of the pandemic. The weekly flight services from Singapore to China have more than doubled from 38 in January to nearly 100. As this is a quarter of the weekly flights to China compared to those in 2019, the Chinese and Singapore carriers are expected to resume more services in the coming months. The aviation workforce – currently at 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels – is also expected to recover fully by 2023.

The authorities are working with consultants to update the upcoming Terminal 5’s design so that it is more modular, resilient and energy-efficient. Scheduled to be operational in the mid-2030s, T5 will serve 50 million passengers a year.

Dubai International Airport (DXB), a major international hub, registered a 127% jump in annual passenger traffic to 66.1 million in 2022. The DXB, the hub of airline Emirates, is forecast to welcome 78 million passengers this year, as the United Arab Emirates gets ready to host major international events, including the COP28 climate conference.

Dubai Airports, the airport’s operator, in November forecast DXB passenger traffic to reach 64.3 million in 2022. About 60% of people travelling through DXB are origin and destination travellers, while 40% are transfers, said Dubai Airports Chief Executive Paul Griffiths.

While the figures are still below volumes reached before the COVID-19 pandemic, Griffiths expected to exceed pre-pandemic monthly levels during the second half of this year. The state-owned operator maintains its expectations for passenger levels to restore to pre-pandemic level by 2024.

Griffiths said China’s reopening after it ended pandemic restrictions is expected to feature strongly in the airport’s growth figures in the next few months. The Dubai International Airport has 25 flights a week to seven cities of China on five different airlines.

Saudi Arabia organised Al Liwan cultural event in Riyadh on February 22 to commemorate its foundation day. The event highlighted the three centuries’ history, tradition and growth of the country. February 22 was declared a national holiday last year, following a royal decree by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Al Liwan was organised at King Abdullah Financial District in the Saudi capital, showcasing the dynamism of Saudi Arabia’s traditional markets and the originality of its traditional attire. Celebrations were held in 14 locations to mark the foundation of the country by Imam Mohammed bin Saud. In addition to interactive exhibitions, cultural seminars and historical theatrical performances were organised.

People dressed in traditional attire and their families and visitors from other countries were seen celebrating in the event. Parade, balloon flights, painting competitions, melodies and family events were the other engagements held across the nation during the four-day holiday. The Ministry of Culture held a musical theatre performance highlighting the history of Saudi Arabia in Princess Nourah University’s Red Hall. The show premiered on February 20, and will continue till February 27. A popular family festivity was the Majlis, an educational event spotlighting the heritage and culture of the First Saudi State through lectures, panel discussions and workshops hosted in King Fahd National Library.

India has surpassed France to become the United Kingdom’s largest Scotch whisky market in terms of volume, with a 60% hike in imports in 2022 over the previous year, says the latest figures released by industry body Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).

The data revealed that India imported 219 million bottles of Scotch compared to France’s 205 million last year, growing more than 200% in the past decade. However, despite the double-digit volume growth, Scotch whisky only comprises 2% of the Indian whisky market. SWA pointed out that the hike in volume still makes up only a fraction of the Indian whisky market due to high tariffs. It is one of the key sectors of focus for the UK in the free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India, which is now in their seventh round of negotiations.

SWA analysis shows that a UK-India FTA deal which eases the 150% tariff burden on Scotch whisky in India could boost market access for Scotland’s whisky companies, allowing for an additional GBP 1 billion of growth over the next five years, it noted.

The value of the Indian market for Scotch exports comes in at fifth worth GBP 282 million, up 93% in 2021 and behind France, Singapore and Taiwan. In 2022, the Asia-Pacific region overtook the European Union (EU) as the industry’s largest regional market, with double-digit post-pandemic growth also witnessed in Taiwan, Singapore, China and India.