New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) The decision by several municipal bodies across the country to shut down meat shops and slaughterhouses on Independence Day has sparked sharp criticism from opposition leaders, who say such restrictions contradict the very idea of freedom being celebrated.Samajwadi Party MP Virendra Singh questioned the logic behind marking August 15 with bans. “On Independence Day, every citizen should feel a sense of pride and joy about the country’s freedom. But if we celebrate th…

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) With the ruling BJP refusing to yield to Opposition’s demands on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive in Bihar and accusing the Opposition of politicizing the matter for political gains, Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, fired back and questioned the former, asking “If we are doing politics, then what are they doing — social service?” He also rallied behind Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s upcoming yatra in Bihar, stating that the ruling disp…

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) Liverpool manager Arne Slot and ex-boss Jurgen Klopp reflected on the late Diogo Jota’s impact and praised centre-forward’s achievements over the past year.Jota and his brother Andre Silva passed away in a car accident in the Spanish province of Zamora. Jota’s car veered off the road while driving at a high speed, a tyre blowout caused the car to lose control and catch fire.Slot praised the centre-forward’s personal and professional achievements, while Klopp hailed…

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) Women with Down syndrome have more advanced signs of Alzheimer’s disease than men do, according to research.However, the average age of Down syndrome diagnosis is the same for both men and women, said the University of California, Irvine.The study suggests that women with Down syndrome may carry a higher burden of beta amyloid and phosphorylated tau — two hallmark Alzheimer’s proteins — than men. It was particularly high in the occipital lobe in women with sporadic Alz…

Chennai, Aug 13 (IANS) Actress Madhushalini, who is as popular in Tamil as she is in Telugu, has now turned a producer by presenting director Srujan Attada’s Telugu film ‘KanyaKumari’, featuring Geeth Saini and Sricharan Rachakonda in the lead. Talking to IANS, the actress, who made a name for herself in the Tamil film industry with her impactful performances in director Bala’s ‘Avan Ivan’ and the Kamal Haasan-starrer ‘Thoongavanam’, says that she is now working both as an actress and at the sam…

Chennai, Aug 13 (IANS) Congratulating superstar Rajinikanth for completing 50 glorious years in the film industry, actor, producer and Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday disclosed that he had watched the Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Coolie’ and that he had “enjoyed this power-packed mass entertainer.” Taking to his X timeline to pen the congratulatory post to Rajinikanth and to all the cast and crew members of director Lokesh Kanakaraj’s Coolie, which is to hit screens o…

Mumbai, Aug 13 (IANS) Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar, who was recently seen in the streaming series ‘The Royals’, has spoken up on the issue of dog confinement, and the recent directive of the apex Court. On Wednesday, the actress took to her Instagram, and shared a series of pictures and videos of her pupper, Bruno and herself. She also penned a long note in the caption, detailing the journey of her furry friend, and how he walked into her life.She wrote, “My Bruno baba came into our li…

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) Tech giant Apple has denied any foul play, insisting its platform is “fair and free of bias” after Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk accused the iPhone maker of favouritism in App Store rankings.Musk had claimed that that OpenAI’s ChatGPT ranks first because of Apple’s favouritism, while his apps, X and xAI’s Grok, are being sidelined.Apple denied allegations that its App Store algorithms or curated lists favour ChatGPT over Musk’s offerings. “The App Store is…

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may implement a 25 basis point rate cut in the fourth quarter this year if moderate high-frequency data from June continues, a report said on Wednesday.The high one-year-ahead growth and inflation forecasts from RBI have led some market participants to believe RBI will be hesitant in further easing, but the central bank may lower its forecast and cut rates, according to the report from HSBC Global Investment Research.”If high frequency act…

Seoul, Aug 13 (IANS) Former South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee was placed under custody at a solitary cell Wednesday, a prison official said, after a Seoul court issued a warrant for her arrest as special prosecutors investigate various corruption allegations against her.Being taken into custody made her and her husband, former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, the first former presidential couple to be detained simultaneously.Kim was moved to Seoul Nambu Detention Centre in southwestern S…