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Karisma Kapoor shared a brief note on her Instagram StoriesActor Karisma Kapoor, who turned 51 on June 25, has thanked her fans and followers for their best wishes on Instagram. This also marks the actor’s first post after the death of her former husband, entrepreneur Sunjay Kapur on June 12.

Kareena Kapoor wished her sister Karisma Kapoor on her 51st birthday, which came two weeks after the death of the latter’s ex-husband Sunjay Kapur on June 12.

The actor shared her most favourite photograph of her husband Saif Ali Khan and Karisma on Instagram, calling her sister “the strongest and the bestest girl in the universe”.

Nine-year-old Aarit Kapil almost beat World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen recently in a tournament, eventually settling for a draw.

He’s just 9 years old, and the way he dominated Magnus Carlsen, I truly believe Aarit Kapil is the Sachin Tendulkar of chess.” These were the words of International Master Vishal Sareen, the coach of nine-year-old Indian chess prodigy Aarit Kapil. In a recent match against Magnus Carlsen in the Early Titled Tuesday competition, Aarit had a winning position until the 46th movem but had to settle for a draw due to time constraints. Despite this, his performance has made him a hero among chess experts worldwide.

“Aarit plays fearless chess like Magnus Carlsen and other top players, and he calculates moves quickly like Fausto Oro,” says Vishal Sareen, proud of his student’s skills.

Here are a list of Aarit Kapil’s achievements so far:

1. Draw against Magnus Carlsen: Aarit Kapil drew a match against the world chess champion in an online blitz game.

2. Youngest Indian Grandmaster defeater: He became the third-youngest player globally to defeat a grandmaster in classical time control at just 9 years old.

3. Under-10 World Cup contender: Aarit is currently participating in the Under-10 World Chess Championship in Georgia, where he has won three out of four matches.

Aarit’s background:

However, Aarit’s father is looking for sponsors to support his son’s chess career, as becoming a grandmaster requires significant financial investment.

Aarit started playing chess at the age of 5, taught by his elder sister. Within a week, he began beating his parents, and soon his potential was recognized. He started training with a coach and won an international online tournament within a few days. Aarit’s parents, Vijay and Nisha Kapil, work as mutual fund distributors and are currently seeking sponsors to support their son’s chess ambitions.

According to Aarit Kapil’s coach, Vishal Sareen, Aarit has immense potential in chess, drawing comparisons to legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Vishal Sareen says, “I give him training with International Master-level difficulties, but he surprises me every time. I think he’s born for chess.” But he also adds, “However, he needs a lot of support. You’ll soon see him becoming a Grandmaster”.

Arjun celebrated his special day with his close friends and family.

Actor Arjun Kapoor celebrated his 40th birthday on June 26 with his close friends and family. Now, his doting sister, Anshula Kapoor, gave a sneak peek into the delicious cakes on Instagram. She shared a photo on her Instagram stories and tagged the actor, among others. It featured two cakes, one reportedly brought for the entrepreneur Samyukta Nair. The first one was a red velvet treat adorned with three orange macarons and an Oreo cookie. Additionally, an adorable note on top of the thick milky layer read, “Happy birthday bhai.” The other one was a butter scotch delight decorated with various shades of brown and white frosting, resembling textured scales. On top of it, the note read, “Happy birthday, Sam.”

mphoto from his birthday celebrations shared by his friend and pastry chef Pooja Dhingra. In the snap, Arjun was seen posing with two cute red velvet cupcakes that were adorned with whipped cream on top. Alongside the photo, Pooja wrote, “Happpppy birthday @arjunkapoor hope you have your fill of red velvet cakes today.” In reply, the actor said, “I did and loved it,” and indeed the proof is his cakillicious birthday moments.

Arjun Kapoor used to mark his birthday celebrations with a variety of indulgences. Last year, on his 39th birthday, he celebrated the day with a dinner feast alongside his uncle Sanjay Kapoor with wife Maheep Kapoor, sisters Janhvi Kapoor, Anshula Kapoor, and Shanaya Kapoor, and friends Varun Dhawan and Aditya Roy Kapur.

Later, Anshula shared a couple of heartwarming photos from her doting brother’s closed-door birthday bash. In the last slide of her carousel, we get to see a video of Arjun’s cake-cutting ceremony. It featured three beautiful cakes – an ice-cream delight and two classic chocolate treats adorned with candles and ‘Happy Birthday Arjun’ written on them.

The Vida VX2 electric scooters will have multiple colours, all following a monotone pattern.

Vida, the electric vehicle manufacturing arm of Hero MotoCorp, is preparing to launch its new affordable VX2 electric scooter in India on July 1. Before the event, the brand had been teasing the vehicle, revealing its details bit by bit. Until now, we know that the electric scooter will miss out on the front disc brake and will come with drum brakes in the lower variants. Furthermore, there will be design similarities with the V2 range. Now, we have more details of the EV.

Starting with appearance, the Vida VX2 electric scooter will have a smooth body design. With a rather minimalistic appearance, this will be complemented by paint scheme options like White, Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Black, and Grey. These monotone options are different from the dual-tone options offered with the V2 electric scooters.

Apart from that, the electric scooter is likely to get two variants, which will be called Go and Plus. These will have different battery capacities and ranges. The smaller battery pack version is likely to have a 2.2 kWh unit, while the larger one will be a 3.4 kWh battery pack. They might also have a removable battery pack consisting of two swappable batteries. These are speculated to offer a range of around 100 km on a single charge.

The unit of Vida VX2 was spotted with a TFT display that appeared smaller than those found in the V2 series, potentially suggesting a downgrade. Additionally, this model featured a keyhole, highlighting its focus on being cost-effective.

Once launched, the Vida VX2 is expected to be priced around Rs 1 lakh. It will make the electric scooter a perfect rival for models like Bajaj Chetak, Ola S1 Air, and TVS iQube in the Indian market.

Aamir Khan’s film was consistent from Monday to Wednesday (this week)

Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par, which marked his return to the big screen after three years, managed to earn Rs 88.69 crore at the domestic box office in week one. The film, which has been steady at the box office throughout the week, saw a dip in its earnings on Thursday.

What’s Happening 

• Sitaare Zameen Par opened its collection with Rs 10 crore on its opening day (June 20).
• Over the weekend, it managed to maximize the collection and pulled up the numbers to Rs 60 crore. 
• Starting from Monday (April 23) to Wednesday (April 25),  the film has maintained its hold at the box office with consistent numbers.
• As per a Sacnilk report, the film minted Rs 6.29 crore on Thursday, taking the total to Rs 88.69 crore.

About Sitaare Zameen Par 

The film has been directed by RS Prasanna. Apart from Aamir Khan, Genelia Deshmukh, Brijendra Kala, Dolly Ahluwalia and 10 debutant neurodivergent actors play pivotal roles in the film.

 film critic Saibal Chatterjee gave Sitaare Zameen Par 3.5 out of 5 stars. He wrote, “Sitaare Zameen Par blends comedy, emotions and the infectious vitality of a physically tough sport to drive home the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity – physical, mental and societal.”

In A Nutshell

Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par, which adopted new release strategies to bring in audience in the theatre, has to maintain its hold over numbers as it will face a stiff competition with Kajol’s Maa and Brad Pitt’s F1 in the week ahead.  

News of the exit has circulated internally among some employees in recent days. Afshar’s name no longer appeared to show up in an internal directory.

Omead Afshar, a powerful executive at Tesla Inc. and one of Elon Musk’s closest confidants, has left the company, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest high-level departure during a volatile period for the electric vehicle maker.

News of the exit has circulated internally among some employees in recent days, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal information. Afshar’s name no longer appeared to show up in an internal directory, two of the people said. The reason for the change and his future plans weren’t immediately clear.

Afshar, Musk, Zhu and Tesla didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tesla Vice President Omead Afshar, left, at a Tesla manufacturing facility in Shanghai in 2019.

Afshar, who has worked in the office of the CEO, was promoted last year to oversee sales and manufacturing operations in North America and Europe. Those markets have become particular pain points for the automaker recently, with sales plunging due to rising competition and a consumer backlash to Musk’s role in US President Donald Trump’s administration.

This marks the latest departure of a prominent Tesla leader in recent weeks. Milan Kovac, the head of engineering for the company’s Optimus humanoid robot program, stepped down citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

Jenna Ferrua, who is listed on LinkedIn as a human resources director for North America, has also left Tesla and no longer appears to be in the company directory, according to people familiar.

The personnel changes punctuate a tumultuous year for Tesla, whose shares have tumbled about 19% while demand has waned for its EV models and Musk has spent time in Washington. The chief executive officer is trying to reorient the company around artificial intelligence, robots and driverless cars, recently rolling out a small number of Tesla’s long-promised robotaxis in Austin.

Tesla is expected to report global delivery results for the second quarter next week.

Its shares briefly turned negative after Bloomberg reported Afshar’s departure, and were little changed as of 1:57 p.m. in New York.

The executive oversaw the construction of Tesla’s plant in Austin. A member of the office of the CEO since 2017, his most recent job title was listed on his LinkedIn page as a cowboy hat emoji. 

He came under internal scrutiny in 2022 for his role in purchasing hard-to-get construction materials, including a special kind of glass, Bloomberg reported.

It’s not unusual for executives to shuffle from one part of Musk’s empire to another, and Afshar worked at SpaceX for a time.

Tesla has just three named executive officers: Musk, Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja and Zhu.

Mumbai oppose the state government’s three-language formula.

Mr Raut confirmed the development today in a post on X , writing,”A united march will take place against the imposition of Hindi in schools in Maharashtra. Jai Maharashtra!”

With the BMC elections approaching, this move is being seen as more than just the estranged cousins coming together for a cultural protest, but also a strategic move ahead of the polls.

Raj Thackeray, founder of the MNS, had originally announced a protest for July 6. The date clashed with Ashadhi Ekadashi, a day of religious significance in Maharashtra. Raj Thackeray revised the date to July 5. 

“With warm regards, Jai Maharashtra. This morning, for our Marathi language, for Maharashtra, and for the Marathi people, a morcha was announced on July 6. There is a slight change in that plan; the morcha will now take place on Saturday, July 5, at 10 AM from Girgaum to Azad Maidan.

Separately, Uddhav Thackeray had backed a July 7 march initiated by the Tribhasha Sutra (Three language formula) Anti-Mumbai Coordination Committee.”We will not allow the imposition of Hindi as a third language in Marathi and English schools for Classes 1 to 5 in Maharashtra. This is not just an educational issue; it is cultural encroachment.”

Uddhav Thackeray also questioned the constitutional basis and political motivation behind the policy, invoking comments made by BJP national president JP Nadda and calling for scrutiny of the state’s education system.

Speaking on behalf of the next generation of the Thackeray legacy, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said: “No language should be forced. What we have been learning should continue. Education should be enhanced, but not burdened. Why only Hindi? Why not improve what’s already in place rather than adding to the load?”

Veteran political leader and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar echoed similar views recently.

“My view is that Hindi should not be made compulsory in primary education. There is no issue with children learning Hindi after Class 5. But we must analyse how many languages a child of a certain age can realistically learn and what linguistic burden that places on them.

Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers spend over 80 per cent of their work doing “non-core work”, Rajasthan Principal Secretary (Energy) Ajitabh Sharma has said. In a critique of the existing administrative work culture, Mr Sharma, a 1996-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, raised concerns over what he described as an overwhelming focus on routine and procedural tasks that detract from the core responsibilities of governance.

“I have never been able to convince myself of the thought that all assignments are of the same difficulty level,” he wrote. “This narrative perhaps arises from the conceived generic nature of the administrative services we are part of.”

He argued that this mindset has led to a loss of focus on department-specific goals, with officers often caught in an endless loop of administrative formalities that offer little sectoral insight or impact.

Mr Sharma drew a clear line between what he considers non-core and core responsibilities. While non-core tasks include meetings, litigation, and routine correspondence, core work, according to him, involves hands-on engagement with the mission and vision of specific departments such as water, energy, education, health and infrastructure.

“These common-to-all-department tasks are important though. But they leave you with little time for the Core Work,” he added. “Handling the Core Work of the department successfully is a real challenge and a true contribution to the organisation and society.”

He warned that a persistent neglect of core departmental functions can not only stall innovation but also create a “false sense of being an expert administrator,” ultimately harming service delivery in the long term.

As he steps into his role in the Energy Department, his resolution is to reverse the current pattern and dedicate 80 per cent of his time to core work.

modern technology, radio remains a critical survival tool in emergencies and wartime, providing essential information when other systems faiL

In earlier days, radio was a crucial source of information and entertainment in India, connecting remote villages with news, music, and cultural programmes. During wartime in Western countries, it spread government messages, boosted morale, and delivered frontline updates. Even today, in the digital age, radio remains a vital survival tool during wars, disasters, and blackouts, proving its enduring role in communication, resilience, and public unity across generations and geographies.

According to The Metro, when internet and mobile networks fail, as seen in Spain and Portugal’s 2024 blackout or during the Russia-Ukraine war, radio remains functional. In Ukraine, when TV towers were destroyed and signals jammed, citizens turned to crank radios to access life-saving updates and coded escape routes. Similarly, Palestinians in Gaza have relied on radio for news amid telecommunications blackouts.

Experts say radio’s dependability lies in its simplicity. It doesn’t rely on expensive devices, data plans, or fragile digital infrastructure. Emergency radios powered by cranks or solar energy can continue broadcasting even when electricity is down.

TikTok Sparks Radio Buying Frenzy Amid WW3 Fears

Fears of World War 3 have triggered a surge in radio purchases, fuelled by TikTok influencers in Europe and US urging users to include radios in survival kits. They warn that if the power grid fails, people may miss vital government alerts without access to traditional radio broadcasts.

How Does Radio Work?

Radio waves, a type of light, are created by accelerating electrons in an electric circuit. By altering their amplitude (AM) or frequency (FM), these waves carry information. A radio receiver decodes the waves into sound. Shortwave radio, useful for long distances, remains vital for aircraft and rescue operations. Its evolution owes much to physicist Edward Appleton, who proved the ionosphere’s role in bouncing signals.

Secular’, ‘Socialist’ Not Part of Original Preamble, Added in Emergency Era: RSS

Dattatreya Hosabale, the general secretary of the BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, today said the fate of two words in the preamble of the constitution – “Socialist” and “Secular” — should be decided through debate.

“During Emergency, two words Secular and Socialist were added to the Constitution, which were not part of the original Preamble,” Mr Hosabale said at an event organised on 50 years of the Emergency.

“Later, these words were not removed. Should they remain or not, debate must happen on this. These two words were not in Dr Ambedkar’s Constitution. During Emergency, the country had no functioning Parliament, no rights, no judiciary and yet these two words were added.” 

On the occasion, he also took a jibe at the Congress, and without naming him, its senior leader Rahul Gandhi.

“The people who did this (imposed Emergency) are roaming around with copies of the Constitution today. They have, to date, not apologised to the people of India for this,” he said.

“You put more than 1 lakh people in jail, kept more than 250 journalists in jail, violated fundamental rights, and forced 60 lakh Indians to undergo sterilisation… You ended the independence of judiciary.  

The BJP’s move to name the 50th anniversary of Emergency —  – imposed by the government of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975  — as the “Samvidhan Hatya Divas (Murder of Constitution Day)”, has opened a new front with the Congress.

The two parties have been again at loggerheads since yesterday, with leaders from JP Nadda to Union home minister Amit Shah ripping into the Congress.  

The Congress has responded sharply in face of the concerted BJP attack .