In 2005,  'Black' was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji in lead role. It became the most acclaimed film after its release. Black, The National Award-winning movie is all set to release on streaming giant Netflix after 19 years of its release. The film's makers and team decided to release Black's OTT on Black's 19th anniversary. Black was released on February 4, 2005. IT is finally out on Netflix in the same date. To coincide with the film's 19th anniversary, the makers and team surprised fans with the announcement. “It's been 19 years since Black released, and today we're celebrating it's first ever digital release on Netflix", Amitabh Bachchan tweeted on Sunday (Feb 4).  

Severe snowfall in parts of the country has brought road transport to a halt and crippled air traffic. Many cars and lorries have got stuck on icy roads. A severe winter snow storm that hit western and southern Germany on Wednesday has caused major traffic disruptions, including kilometers-long traffic jams on the nation's highways. The icy and slippery roads have led to many accidents. Many cars and trucks have also been trapped in the deep snow. In some cases, salt and gravel-spreading vehicles could no longer get past the stranded vehicles, making it difficult to clear the blockages. Towing services were called in to push or tow away the lorries. But it proved difficult for them to get to the affected areas, as the snow made it tough for other drivers to form rescue lanes. Emergency services provided those stranded in their vehicles with blankets and hot drinks.   What's the impact on flight services? The German Weather Service says heavy snowfall is likely to continue in parts of the country, expecting some places to be hit with as much as 30 centimeters of snow over the next 24 hours. The weather conditions have also crippled air traffic. At Frankfurt airport, Germany's busiest, ,ore than 300 of about 1,000 scheduled flights for Thursday at have been cancelled. The airport cited a danger of de-iced aircraft icing up again as they taxied toward the runway. The airport said on its website that passengers should check their flight status before going to the airport. "If your flight is canceled, please do not come to the airport."   How is train traffic affected? Deutsche Bahn (DB), Germany's national train operator, also canceled several long-distance and regional trains on Wednesday. Furthermore, it limited the maximum speed of its ICE high-speed trains to 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles per hour) for the day as a precaution. DB warned that the weather conditions will also impact its operations on Thursday. The train connections between Stuttgart and Paris and between Frankfurt and Paris will be particularly affected, it said.     What's the situation in Scandinavia? Heavy snowfall also brought traffic to a standstill in large parts of Scandinavia. Police in several parts of Denmark urged people to stay home. The airport in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, was closed temporarily on Wednesday as the challenging weather conditions reduced visibility for pilots. Shipping company Maersk also said that weather-related disruption at ports in northern Europe, in addition to the volatile security situation in the Red Sea, is causing logistical problems.  "Winter weather conditions as well as the Red Sea contingencies are expected to affect operations across Europe and Hub terminals," Maersk said. "This is leading to increased yard density across terminals and customers are kindly asked to pick up their units as soon as possible after discharge to support fluidity," it said.  

Three Washington state officers were acquitted in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis, which happened in the months before the murder of George Floyd. Footage subsequently emerged of Ellis's death, sparking major protests. A jury in the United States on Thursday acquitted three Washington state police officers of all charges in the 2020 death of an unarmed Black man in Tacoma. The case of Manuel Ellis, who was shocked, beaten, and held face down on a sidewalk as he struggled to breathe, paralleled the murder of George Floyd that same year. Two of the officers, Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, were charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, while Timothy Rankine was charged with manslaughter. The jury found the three not guilty on all counts after a trial that lasted more than two months. The case is the first to charge police with a suspect's death since Washington voters in 2018 approved a ballot measure that made it easier to hold officers criminally responsible in such instances. What happened to Manuel Ellis? Witnesses and a doorbell surveillance camera captured video of parts of the encounter on the night of March 3, 2020. The officers punched 33-year-old Manuel Ellis, put him in a chokehold, and shot him with a stun gun, according to witness testimony and video evidence presented at trial. Video footage showed Collins restraining Ellis by the neck as Burbank fired a Taser into his chest as he lay on the ground. Ellis could be heard repeatedly saying, "Can't breathe, sir," during the encounter and was declared dead at the scene. Parallels with Floyd's case The officers later told investigators that Ellis attacked them and was violent. Witnesses said they saw nothing of the sort. Lawyers for the officers also argued that Ellis, who had methamphetamine in his system, died due to his drug use and a heart condition, even though the Pierce County medical examiner ruled Ellis' death a homicide caused by oxygen deprivation. Ellis's killing came weeks before the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked months of protests around the world over racial injustice and police brutality. Bystander video of Ellis's death was released in June 2020, a week after Floyd's killing, leading to protests in Tacoma. In 2021, Derek Chauvin, a former police officer, was sentenced to over 22 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.

NASA astronomers have made a startling discovery as the team has managed to detect one of the oldest black holes with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope. The details are astonishing as the black hole might be dating back more than 13 billion years to the dawn of the universe. The earliest black holes have major possibilities to unlock a puzzle about the amazing counterparts of the galaxies including the Milky Way, which is a billion times bigger than the mass of the sun.  Now, the latest observations reveal that the galaxy called GN-z11 has pushed the origins of this mystery of the black hole’s infancy and has suggested that these black holes are either constructed big or grow rapidly in their early phase. Black holes are one of the universe’s most questionable and weirdest objects. They are extremely powerful and have an intense gravity with light or matter fighting hard to escape their grip.  The threshold of a black hole is traced out by its horizon, which is a no-point-of-return zone. Therefore, if anything goes beyond that boundary, it’s gone forever.

Pakistan is grappling with a crippling economic crisis, losing a staggering USD 23 billion per year due to the pervasive issues of black marketing and smuggling, according to a recent report by ACE Money Transfer, a UK-based company.  These illicit activities encompass a wide range of clandestine operations, including black market currency trading, oil smuggling, gold smuggling, and circumvention of import controls.  The impact of these activities is not only causing significant financial losses but also posing a severe threat to Pakistan’s economic stability, government revenue, and overall financial health. The ACE report underscores the profound consequences of these underground economic activities. They not only foster a shadow economy, making it increasingly challenging to monitor and regulate financial transactions, but also distort exchange rates.  This distortion, in turn, leads to currency devaluation and soaring inflation as imported goods become prohibitively expensive for ordinary citizens. Perhaps more worrying is the erosion of trust and confidence in Pakistan’s financial system, as these illicit operations undermine the effectiveness of monetary policies.  In recent years, Pakistan has witnessed significant fluctuations in exchange rates, exacerbating its economic woes.  To address these pressing issues and pave the way for economic recovery, experts unanimously stress the immediate need to eradicate smuggling in key sectors. Rashid Ashraf, CEO of the ACE group of companies, emphasizes that improved governance is the linchpin for achieving this objective.  He asserts that a concerted effort to combat smuggling and enhance regulatory measures will not only restore stability to financial markets but also foster economic and financial growth in Pakistan. The ACE report provides a breakdown of the staggering losses incurred by Pakistan. Dollar smuggling alone siphons off approximately USD 150 million per month, resulting in an annual loss of around USD 2 billion.  The gold smuggling racket is another major concern, with only a mere 1.32 percent of the total gold market value of PKR Rs 2.2 trillion (equivalent to USD 7.1 billion) being officially declared to tax authorities. A grave concern is the rampant smuggling of Iranian oil, which accounts for over 30 percent of Pakistan’s diesel market. This nefarious trade deprives the government of more than USD 1 billion in revenue each year, further exacerbating Pakistan’s economic woes. The report also underscores the unintended consequences of import bans, which, though well-intentioned, have led to the emergence of a shadow economy. Smuggling, misreporting, and product substitution have become commonplace methods to bypass import restrictions. This disruption in economic activity is poised to escalate unemployment figures, with projections exceeding 2 million people unemployed by the end of 2023 if corrective measures are not taken urgently. To chart a course towards economic stability, Pakistan must prioritize a comprehensive crackdown on smuggling in key sectors, bolster governance, and put an end to illicit activities.  Only through these concerted efforts can Pakistan hope to surmount its economic challenges and establish a foundation for sustainable growth. The time to act is now, as the economic well-being of the nation hangs in the balance. Source: Khalsa VOX

The display of solidarity comes after Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior was subjected to racial abuse while playing for his club Real Madrid at away games. In a message against racism, Brazil's football team abandoned their iconic yellow shirts for an all-black look as they played a friendly international against Guinea in Barcelona on Saturday. The powerful display comes after forward Vinicius Junior was racially abused in Spain this season while playing for his club Real Madrid at away games. This is the first time Brazil's outfield players have worn all black. Vinícius and his team also took a knee. The Brazilian Football Confederation is behind Saturday's move with the slogan: "Com racismo nao tem jogo" (With racism, there is no game).

It remains unclear what caused the plane to go down shortly before landing at an airport in the resort town of Pokhara. The crash is Nepal's worst aviation disaster since 1992. Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority on Monday said the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the Yeti Airlines plane that crashed in Pokhara have been recovered. The plane was en route from Kathmandu and went down on approach to a newly opened airport in the tourist town of Pokhara on Sunday, killing at least 69 of the 72 people aboard. The data on the recorders may help investigators determine what caused the country's deadliest aviation accident in three decades. Both recorders were in good shape and will be sent for analysis based on the recommendation of the manufacturer of the ATR 72 aircraft, said Kathmandu airport official Teknath Sitaula. The aviation authority said it had inspected all ATR 72 and ATR 42 aircraft that are operating in the country and had found no technical issues. Three passengers still missing Rescuers called off their recovery operations on Monday, saying the search would resume again on Tuesday. The aircraft went down in a gorge near the Seti River, nearly one mile (1.6 kilometers) from Pokhara International Airport. In an update, Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority said out of the 72 people on board, 69 bodies had been retrieved and 41 were identified. Three passengers were still unaccounted for, although rescuers said it is unlikely that they are still alive. "We pray for a miracle. But, the hope of finding anyone alive is nil," said senior local official Tek Bahadur KC. Debris from the airliner was strewn across the crash site, including the mangled remains of passenger seats and the plane's white-colored fuselage. Agonizing wait for relatives Nepal declared a day of national mourning on Monday and set up a panel to investigate the disaster. Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority said there were 15 foreigners on board: five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina, and France. The rest were Nepalis. Hundreds of people gathered outside the Pokhara Academy of Health and Science, Western Hospital, where the bodies were being kept. The bodies will be handed over to their families once officials finish post-mortem reports, police said. The remains of foreigners, and those which are unable to be identified, will be sent to Kathmandu for further examination.

Switzerland’s ambassador to India Dr. Ralf Heckner stated that black money is no longer a problem in Switzerland-India financial relations because both parties have previously shared multiple batches of information. In an interview with ANI, Ralf Heckner explained that he has been the Swiss ambassador for more than two years but he heard hardly anything about black money. "The black money issue has been dealt with by a bilateral treaty between Switzerland and India in 2018 on the automatic exchange of bank information between Switzerland and India. We had several batches of information exchange between Switzerland and India, so the black money issue isn't the issue anymore. There is not even one cloud over bilateral relations when it comes to financial relations," he said. According to some reports, Indian investment in the Swiss banking system witnessed a sharp rise in 2021. Switzerland had shared information about Indian account holders in four batches since the automatic exchange of bank information agreement was signed in 2018. Traditionally, Switzerland was seen as a safe tax haven for Indian businessmen, politicians and industrialists. According to a release by the Federal tax administration of Switzerland, in 2021, it exchanged information on financial accounts with 101 countries. The exchange took place within the framework of the global standard on the automatic exchange of information (AEOI). Switzerland says it has committed to adopting the global standard for the international automatic exchange of information in tax matters. The legal basis for the implementation of the AEOI in Switzerland came into force on January 1, 2017. Identification, account and financial information are exchanged, including name, address, country of residence and tax identification number, as well information concerning the reporting financial institution, account balance and capital income. The exchanged information allows the cantonal tax authorities to verify whether taxpayers have correctly declared their financial accounts abroad in their tax returns. The OECD's Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) reviews the implementation of the AEOI. Swiss ambassador further said, "I see a lot of convergence now because sustainability is very dear to honourable prime minister and the same applies to the Swiss government. Our government came up with a strategy for Switzerland's financial centre. The Swiss government wants to see a shift toward sustainability. We are not talking USD 100 billion being invested in climate mitigation or climate adaptation, we are talking about trillions of US dollars being managed by Swiss banking funds, insurance and banks that according to the Swiss government be invested in a sustainable manner." He also elaborated on the opportunities for Indian investors in the sustainable financial model. "What does it mean for India, for example, if you are a sustainable Indian company, you might be the company that the Swiss center would like to invest in. You are an Indian fin-tech company and you have data on sustainable companies and sustainable business models. You might be the company of choice for banks insurances and pension funds in Switzerland to direct money flows to sustainable business solutions," he said. Source:ANI

India raised concern on Monday at the Security Council about the suspension of the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain initiative, saying that this move is likely to further exacerbate the food security, fuel, and fertilizer supply challenges faced by the world. Indian diplomat R Madhu Sudan said the Black Sea Grain deal had provided a glimmer of hope for peace in Ukraine and helped contribute to lowering the prices of wheat and other commodities. "The initiative had resulted in export of more than nine million tonnes of grains and other food products out of Ukraine. We believe the exports had contributed to lowering prices of wheat and other commodities, evident from the drop in the FAO Food Price Index," said Madhu Sudan, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, at the UNSC briefing debate on Ukraine. "The suspension of the Black Sea Grain initiative is expected to further exacerbate the food security, fuel and fertilizer supply challenges faced by the world, particularly the Global South," he added. The UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed during a ceremony in Istanbul in July. Under the deal, ships transporting grain from three Ukrainian ports travel along an agreed corridor to markets worldwide. This UNSC debate comes after Russia requested the meeting following its decision to suspend participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative "for an unspecified period of time", announced this past weekend, in response to alleged Ukrainian attacks against its ships. Counsellor Madhu Sudan said India supports the engagement of the Secretary-General with the parties on renewal and full implementation of the initiative, including facilitating of exports of food and fertilizer from Ukraine and Russia. "The Black Sea Grain initiative and its successful implementation over the last four months is consistent with India's long-standing position that diplomacy and dialogue is the only solution to end this ongoing conflict that has resulted in serious consequences for the region and beyond," he said while adding that India continues to support all efforts, including that of the Secretary-General, to end the conflict. On Monday, UN officials told the Security Council the landmark agreement to export grain and related foodstuffs from Ukraine must be kept alive amid the ongoing war and the global cost of living crisis. "Ukraine's grain exports are not a food aid operation. They do operate as a huge lever on price, with positive ripple effects throughout the world. New security allegations are a cause of grave concern to the Secretary-General and many Member States are worried now that the deal is in trouble," said UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths. According to UN News, Ukraine and Russia account for roughly 30 per cent of the world's exported wheat and barley, one-fifth of its maize, and over half of its sunflower oil. Russia is also the world's largest exporter of fertilizers, accounting for 15 per cent of global exports.  Source: ANI

Black fungus is under strict observation by the health directorate as well as the transmission situation of coronavirus in the country. There is no scope to be panicked about ‘black fungus’. But the patients with uncontrolled diabetes have to be alert. In fact black fungus could be a real threat to the uncontrolled diabetic patients. If people remain conscious then black fungus infection will not be out of control. The information was delivered by spokesman of the health directorate and director of cell of disease control Professor Nazmul Islam at a bulletin on Wednesday. The health directorate is preparing the preventive treatment method, treatment expense and management process to contain black fungus. Professor Nazmul Islam said, there is no scope to be concerned or panicked about black fungus infection. The disease has been remaining with the environment since ancient time. He said, currently two patients are undergoing treatment with complaints of black fungus infection at a private hospital in Dhaka. We cannot certainly say anything until the definite results come after completing all types of experiments and examinations. There would be no concern if we inform people after getting the facts and findings. In this present situation we have to cooperate each other. About expenditure of the treatment he said, black fungus is a rare disease and our findings say that it does not affect larger number of people. But there is no doubt that the treatment of this disease is costly. AH