Category: Life & Style

Indians now have the opportunity to explore 62 countries without the need for a visa. This development is particularly exciting for globetrotters, as Indian passport holders can now travel to destinations such as the Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Zimbabwe, and Jamaica without undergoing the often arduous visa application process. This increased accessibility to global travel reflects India’s growing influence on the world stage.

The recent release of the Henley Passport Index 2024 (HPI) underscores India’s evolving passport landscape, with its global rank reaching 80th place. The HPI, a widely used tool for comparing and ranking passports worldwide, relies on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to generate its rankings.

Six countries—France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain—share this year’s coveted title of having the most powerful visa in the world. Passport holders from these countries enjoy visa-free entry into 194 other nations. The United States of America follows closely in seventh place, with visa-free access to 188 countries.

Conversely, Afghanistan finds itself at the bottom of the list, with only 28 nations granting visa-free entry, while Syria closely trails with access to 29 nations. Iraq and Pakistan round out the list with 31 and 34 visa-free destinations, respectively.

On Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s lawmakers passed a bill to regulate online content. The move has sparked fears among opposition politicians and activities of free speech crackdowns.

With 108-62 votes in favour, the Online Safety Bill was passed. Its objectives are to “prevent the use of online accounts and inauthentic online accounts for prohibited purposes” and “make provisions to prohibit online communication of certain statements of fact in Sri Lanka.”

The bill also calls for the establishment of an “Online Safety Commission,” a five-person committee that the president will appoint, whose responsibility it will be to “direct all persons who communicate prohibited statements under this Act to stop communicating any such statements.”

The Sri Lankan government asserts that the proposed bill aims to safeguard citizens from online harassment. However, human rights groups have raised doubts about this assertion, contending that the bill is designed to stifle dissent and criticism.

Meenakshi Ganguly, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, stated, “Sri Lanka continues to grapple with an economic crisis exacerbated by government actions and a lack of accountability. In 2022, prolonged protests calling for reform led to the removal of the Prime Minister and President. Since assuming power in that year, President Wickremesinghe has taken steps to suppress dissent.”

In a bid to combat the ongoing cholera crisis, Zimbabwe initiated a door-to-door vaccination campaign on Monday, aiming to immunize more than 2 million individuals. The initiative is particularly crucial in densely populated urban areas with inadequate sanitation facilities.

As of January 24, the waterborne disease has claimed 452 lives and infected a total of 20,446 people in the southern African nation. Zimbabwe has been grappling with the cholera outbreak since February of the preceding year, with reports indicating that half of the cases involve children, according to the health ministry.

The country has secured 2.3 million vaccine doses from UNICEF, with 892,000 doses already dispatched. The vaccination effort relies on the Euvichol-Plus vaccine, manufactured by EuBiologics (206650.KQ). Administered orally, this vaccine provides at least six months of protection against cholera infections.

Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) will deploy teams to 29 severely affected districts to support the vaccination campaign.

In response to the surge in cases, the Zimbabwean government implemented measures in November to restrict public gatherings, regulate food vendors, and manage burials in cholera-affected districts. Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora confirmed that the vaccines procured are the same ones used during the cholera outbreaks in 2018 and 2020.

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has started a research study to develop lab-grown fish meat. In this groundbreaking initiative, India will soon have its first lab-grown fish meat, meticulously designed to emulate the original flavour, texture, and nutritional value of natural fish.

The Kochi-based CMFRI has partnered with a start-up, Neat Meatt Biotech, which is working on cultivated meat. CMFRI will be responsible for conducting research on the early cell line development of valuable marine fish species, including the isolation and culture of fish cells. It will also manage the project’s analytical, biochemical, and genetic tasks.

The anticipated lab-grown fish meat will be crafted by isolating specific cells from fish specimens and nurturing them within laboratory confines, utilising animal component-free media. Meanwhile, Neat Meatt will assume the responsibility for crafting scaffolds or microcarriers, refining optimal cell growth conditions, and amplifying production through bioreactors.

India’s determination to meet rising seafood demand while reducing pressure on wild resources led to the creation of this innovative initiative. Additionally, it aims to position India alongside trailblazing countries like Singapore, Israel, and the US in the realm of cultured seafood research.

French President Emmanuel Macron will attend India’s Republic Day as a chief guest on Friday. This visit is seen as a significant milestone in strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries ahead of a multi-billion-dollar deal to buy French fighter jets and submarines for the Indian military.

On January 25, he will first visit Jaipur to see the Amber Fort and later meet PM Modi to take a tour of the pink city together.

According to reports, Macron’s visit will be more ceremonial than substantial, and he will meet many business leaders from the pharmaceutical, auto, space, energy, and hydrogen industries. India-France ties have been one of the oldest among European nations. Additionally, it has been India’s second-largest arms supplier, and India has been relying on French fighter jets for more than 40 years now.

PM Modi’s last visit to France was for the Bastille Day celebration in July. During his visit, the Indian government first authorised the acquisition of 26 Rafale aircraft, and the two countries collaborated to build three 800 billion rupee Scorpene-class submarines.

However, the deal was not finalised then. France further looks forward to enhancing cooperation in the space and nuclear sectors.

A prominent socialist leader and former Bihar chief minister, Karpoori Thakur, will be awarded the highest civilian award in the country, ‘Bharat Ratna.’ Along with him, 49 other people have been granted the Bharat Ratna award, including 17 posthumously.

Thakur was dubbed the Jan Nayak despite serving for a short while. He served as the Bihar CM from December 1970 to June 1971 and from December 1977 to April 1979. The award was presented 35 years after he passed away on February 17, 1988.

Bihar’s chief minister, Nitish Kumar, and his party, JDU, have long demanded the award from the Centre for the state’s first non-Congress Chief Minister. Kumar stated, “This highest honour to the late Karpoori Thakur ji on his 100th birth anniversary will create positive sentiments among the Dalit, deprived, and neglected sections.”

Upon the award being given posthumously, it is seen as a BJP masterstroke ahead of the general election as Thakur belonged to OBC and BJP aims to gain allegiance of this group as they are still loyal to Nitish Kumar. Bihar has forty parliamentary seats and it is yet to be seen how this move will impact the upcoming elections.

The silvery-white element is set to put Thailand on the global stage as one of the key sources of lithium mines, as it has discovered nearly 15 million tonnes of lithium deposits. The latest discovery has positioned Thailand as the third-largest lithium resource in the world. However, it is unclear about the amount to be commercially exploited.

Meanwhile, Thailand aims to start producing lithium mines in its southwest in about two years. Government deputy spokeswoman Rudklao Intawong Suwankiri said, “We are trying to find out how much we can use from the resources we found. It will take time.”

According to government officials and companies involved in lithium production, it will boost Thailand’s ambition to become a regional electric vehicle production hub. Along with lithium mines, it will develop an EV production industry, which will include $1.44 billion in investment commitments from Chinese carmakers.

The 14.8 million tonnes of lithium are distributed between two separate sites in the southern province of Phang Nga. Miner Pan Asia Metals is gearing up to file mining permits in March. It will be filed for the Phang-Nga, which includes the prospective Reung Kiet and Bang I Tum sites.

On Tuesday, a massive crowd poured in to seek the blessings of Lord Ram in Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir Temple. After the spectacle inauguration of the Ram Janmabhoomi by PM Modi on Monday, the gates were swung open to the general public on Tuesday.

However, tens of thousands of devotees flocked to the temple on Tuesday morning, which compelled the temple management to temporarily stop the people from darshan. The gates were re-opened at 2 p.m. With the massive influx, separate gates for entry and exit were introduced, and a separate line for women was added.

Many devotees had been lining up since 4 a.m. in temperatures below 8 degrees. It became difficult for security personnel to manage the crowd, with at least one person fainting in the commotion. The historic occurrence of the public inauguration of the temple, which continues to attract devotees, represents profound devotion and the culmination of a journey spanning centuries.

According to reports, more than 100,000 devotees are expected to visit the temple each day for the next few months. The police urged people to avoid overcrowding the temple for the next few days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the first traditional Hindu stone temple in Abu Dhabi on February 14. The temple will be inaugurated in a Vedic ceremony under the guidance of Pujya Mahant Swami Maharaj. On February 18, the temple will open its gates to the general public.

The Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) previously confirmed in a press release that Mr Modi will be accompanied by Swami Ishwacharandas and Swami Brahmaviharidas, along with the board of directors.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan gifted the land during the prime minister’s first official visit to the UAE in August 2015. The temple construction kicked off in December 2019 and is anticipated to last for more than 1,000 years.

1,500 workers meticulously crafted the 27-acre pink sandstone temple by hand. Countless community leaders and hundreds of volunteers supported the temple construction, which is a dream come true for BAPS and millions of Hindus.

Abdulnasser Alshaali, the UAE’s ambassador to India, stated that the inauguration of the Swaminarayan temple of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha will be a momentous occasion to “celebrate tolerance and acceptance.”

President Draupadi Murmu awarded the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2024 to nineteen children on Monday. Among the winners were Aaditya Vijay Brahmane, 12, from Rajasthan who sacrificed his life to save his cousins Harsh and Shlok from drawing in the river while playing.

The list includes a nine-year-old mountaineer, R Surya Prasad, from Andra, who was awarded for accomplishing his feat of scaling Mount Kilimanjaro at the age of nine. The six-year-old ‘Google boy,’ Armaan Ubhrani, for his outstanding prowess in mathematics and science. Anushka Pathak, 8, captivated people across 22 states by establishing herself in ‘Katha Vachan’n (religious text narration).

Arijeet Banerjee, 13, a prodigy who plays the traditional Pakhawaj, has had a major impact on the cultural landscape. He also received the Bharat Ratna MS Subbulakshmi Fellowship and the Asia Book of Records. 17-year-old Aryan Singh is recognised for his work on an AI robot that integrates state-of-the-art technologies such as the Internet of Things to help improve the lives of farmers.

The 13-year-old Hetvi Kantibhai Khimsuriya has created 250 works of free-hand painting despite suffering from cerebral palsy. She also donates her monthly pension to support differently-abled children.