Tag: India

  • Elon Musk offers $43 billion to acquire Twitter

    Elon Musk offers $43 billion to acquire Twitter

    Elon Musk has submitted a takeover bid for Twitter, offering $54.20 per share, days after becoming the group’s largest shareholder. This is an offer worth more than $43 billion.

    According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Mr. Musk described this as a “best and last offer,” reflecting a 54 per cent premium over the day before he commenced investing in the business in late January 2022.

    Musk stated in the filing that “I don’t have faith in the management” and that he could not make the adjustments he desired in the public market.

    As per a letter written to CEO Salesforce and chairman of Twitter, Bret Taylor, Musk stated that if the proposal is not accepted, he will reassess his status as a shareholder as Twitter has a lot of potential which needs to be unlocked.

    The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the world’s richest man, purchased a 9.2 per cent share in Twitter on April 4, according to a regulatory filing. The tech mogul was invited to join Twitter’s board of directors the next day, but he denied the offer by the end of the week.

    Musk wrote to Mr. Taylor on April 13: “I invested in Twitter because I believe it has the potential to be the global platform for free speech, and I believe free speech is a societal requirement for a healthy democracy”.

    Read more: Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter board as the microblogging network is “dying”

    “However, after making my investment, I’ve come to recognize that the company, in its current form, can neither thrive nor serve this societal need,” he wrote. “Twitter should be turned into a private firm”.

    Considering the tweeted document, Musk’s financial adviser for the proposal is Morgan Stanley.

  • Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter board as the microblogging network is “dying”

    Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter board as the microblogging network is “dying”

    The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk will not be joining the Twitter board of directors, according to Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal. Musk’s appointment on the board was supposed to start on April 9, however, he announced that he would no longer be joining.

    Agrawal posted a statement on April 10, saying Musk’s appointment to the board would be subject to a background investigation and that once nominated, he would have to operate in the company’s best interests. “Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input,” he added.

    What Happened Earlier?

    Earlier, the tech mogul tweeted the list of the top ten most followed personalities, which included celebrities and politicians such as former US President Barack Obama, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga.

    The world’s wealthiest man had a complaint: many of the top Twitter accounts do not upload anything.

    Former US President Barack Obama (131.4 million followers), singer Justin Bieber (114.3 million), Katy Perry (108.8 million), and other top accounts belonging to popular artists Rihanna and Taylor Swift were among the names on the list from the Twitter account of World of Statistics, which Musk posted.

    Interestingly, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ranked ninth on the list, with a popularity of 77.1 million followers, one notch below Musk, who has 81 million followers on the social network.

    Whereas Modi is an avid Twitter user who publishes everything from his daily schedule to welcoming foreign leaders, Musk laments that celebrities like Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber rarely post. Taylor hasn’t posted anything in three months, and the ‘yummy’ singer Justin Bieber only tweeted once in 2022.

    Musk, who just purchased a 9.2 per cent interest in Twitter for roughly $3 billion in his controversial style, asked his followers another question: Is Twitter dying? 

    In an ‘April fool’ message, Twitter said that it is testing some new features, one of which is a long-awaited ‘edit’ button. The platform later explained that the change to the edit button was not an April Fool’s prank and that it was truly being tested by the company.

    It is worth noting that Musk also proposed a number of improvements to Twitter’s Blue premium subscription service, including lowering the price, limiting adverts, and allowing users to pay in the crypto. Many internet users were surprised by the recent announcement, as they had been expecting Tesla’s CEO to join the board of microblogging site and witness what changes he would make.

  • Journalist, seven others stripped naked for questioning BJP leaders

    Journalist, seven others stripped naked for questioning BJP leaders

    A picture has gone viral on social media, in which a group of men, can be seen stripped to their underwear inside a police station in Madhya Pradesh. The eight men were seen standing against the wall with their hands clasped in front. They were kept in the custody for 18 hours.

    The eight men were seen standing against the wall with their hands clasped in front. The arrested journalist runs a YouTube channel, he and his cameraperson were arrested on April 2, when they went to a local police station to inquire why theatre artiste Neeraj Kunder was arrested. Kunder was allegedly arrested for making “indecent remarks” against BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla Shukla and his son Kedar Guru Dutt Shukla on social media.

    In this regard, two officers in Madhya Pradesh have been sent to the police lines.

    As per Indian media, there is one journalist among others. The SHO while explaining the reason said that it was for the “accused’s safety”. He said that the arrested accused were stripped of their clothes in the lock-up so that they don’t commit suicide.

  • Couple gets petrol, diesel as wedding gift

    Couple gets petrol, diesel as wedding gift

    A newly-wed couple in Tamil Nadu received petrol and diesel as gifts at their wedding ceremony, Indian media has reported. Girish Kumar and Keerthana the knot at Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu’s Chengalpattu district.

    In the video being widely shared on social media, the married couple can be seen accepting the gifts with a smile on their face.

    As per reported by Indian media, the country saw 14 price hikes in the price of petrol and diesel in 14 days.

    This is not the first time that a couple has received such gift. In August 2021 a newly-married couple in India received five litres of petrol as a gift at their wedding reception.

    As per reports, a Tamil comedian named Mayilsamy gave an unusual gift to the couple. The images of the wedding ceremony and the gift have gone viral on social media platforms.

  • Bigg Boss contestant, actor Kamaal Rashid Khan wants politicians like Zartaj Gul in India

    Former Bigg Boss Contestant and actor Kamaal Rashid Khan has shared his wish on Twitter that he wants to see politicians like Zartal Gul, the State Minister for Climate Change, in India.

    Khan shared a video of the minister in which she claimed that her ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would sweep the next general elections by a two-thirds majority.

    Kamaal Rashid praised her speaking ability and described her as clever. He expressed his opinion that such politicians should be in India.

    https://twitter.com/kamaalrkhan/status/1511700947252219916?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511700947252219916%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F410220-kamal-rashid-politicians-zartaj-gul-india

    In another tweet, he tagged Zartaj Gul and said, “You are a very clever and good speaker politician. Kaash Aapki Jaisi 2-4 politician India main Bhi Hoti (I wish there could be 2-4 politicians in India too)”.

    https://twitter.com/kamaalrkhan/status/1511704081479446528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511704081479446528%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F410220-kamal-rashid-politicians-zartaj-gul-india
  • India detects first case of Covid Variant XE

    India detects first case of Covid Variant XE

    India’s first case of coronavirus variant XE was detected in Mumbai on Wednesday, Indian media reported.

    The patient is a 50-year-old costume designer who returned from South Africa in February. She tested positive for Covid on March 2, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in its release.

    This strain was detected in the UK at the start of the New Year. Britain’s health agency had on April 3 said that XE was first detected on January 19 and 637 cases of the new variant have been reported in the country so far.

    The new mutation XE appears to be 10 per cent more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

    A case of the Kappa variant has also been detected in India.

  • ‘Ugly’ girls can get married easily if they paid dowry: textbook

    ‘Ugly’ girls can get married easily if they paid dowry: textbook

    A topic on ‘merits of dowry’ in textbooks for nursing students has sparked a heated controversy in India. The image of the textbook page has gone viral on social media which started a debate among people on the negative impacts of such readings on young minds and society overall.

    NDTV reported that users claimed that this is the textbook of Sociology for Nursing students written by T K Indrani. The book cover says that this is written according to the Indian Nursing Council syllabus.

    The image of the textbook’s page has been shared by the Indian party Shiv Sena’s leader, MP Priyanka Chaturvedi. She requested the education minister to remove the content from the textbook.

    She stated, “A textbook elaborating merits of dowry can actually exist in our curriculum is a shame for the nation and its constitution”.

    The section on Merits of Dowry highlighted that it is helpful in establishing new a household with items including furniture, electronic goods, and a vehicle. Girls can receive a share of parental property through dowry. The most shocking point which provoked people is that ‘ugly looking girls can be married off with attractive dowry with well or ugly looking boys’.

  • Pakistan’s exports grew 25% in the last nine months

    Pakistan’s exports increased by 17.3 per cent in March 2021 to $2.773 billion, up from $2.365 billion in March 2021 and 25 per cent in the last nine months.

    The Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, said that exports increased by 25 per cent to $23.332 billion in the July-March fiscal year 2021-2022, compared to $18.688 billion in the same period last year, implying a $4.644 billion upsurge.

    On the other hand, according to preliminary data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports fell 2 per cent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis to $2.77 billion in March 2022, down from $2.82 billion in February 2022.

    Dawood said in a tweet, “We are glad to share that Pakistan’s exports for Mar-2022 grew by 17.3 per cent to $2.773 billion as compared to $2.365 billion Mar-2021. For Jul-Mar 2022, our exports grew by 25 per cent to $23.332 billion as compared to $18.688 billion in Jul-Mar 2021. This is an increase $4.644 billion”.

    While talking about the target for exports he added that “We expect to achieve our yearly target. The import figures would be shared when finalised by the PBS. We would like to congratulate our exporters for maintaining the momentum of exports under these testing times in the global market”.

    Pakistan’s current account deficit (CAD) decreased by 78.46 per cent to $545 million in February from $2.531 billion in January, owing primarily to a steep drop in imports.

    Read more: FBR records 29.1% growth during July 2021 to March 2022, despite providing ‘massive tax relief’

    Surprisingly, the CAD crossed the $12 billion level in the first eight months of FY22, showing no signs of improvement in the external account. The CAD was only $34 million in February 2021.

  • Rats in Indian hospital kill patient

    Rats in Indian hospital kill patient

    A 38-year-old man bitten by rats in the respiratory intensive care unit (ICU) was left bleeding in a hospital in Telangana, India, and passed away after being transferred to a different hospital,NDTV reported.

    “The death happened due to complications and not due to rat-bite,” Director of Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr K Manohar was quoted by NDTV.

    The public is however infuriated at MGM Hospital, where Srinivas was left with the rats.

    “He was bleeding badly. The bed was blood-soaked, so I complained,” the patient’s brother Srikant said.

    The staff and patients reported that rats were fairly common due to the drainage under repair.

    “Nothing we can do as the drainage work is under repair,” a nurse said.

  • ‘There’s no place for me in the entertainment industry’: Anwar Maqsood expresses disappointment

    ‘There’s no place for me in the entertainment industry’: Anwar Maqsood expresses disappointment

    Legendary scriptwriter Anwar Maqsood who is famous for his cult projects like Fifty Fifty and Aangan Terha has expressed his dissapointment on the current content and scripts of drama seriels. He also cited it as a reason for not working actively in the entertainment industry.

    The veteran writer stated that, “I have stepped back [from writing] because what is happening on the television in the recent times, there is no place for me. Now that the rating has occupied a decisive place, the directors or producers have been left behind in every respect. The marketing department decides which actors are needed and which are not”.

    The industry veteran believes current television content is influenced by Indian soap operas, “When Indian dramas paved their way to the Pakistani screens, we thought that they would learn something from our dramas, but on the contrary, our writers started learning from them. It was then that our drama industry began its demise.”