"We Feel ...": Why Sonakshi Sinha Didn't Want A "Wedding Video"

Sonakshi Sinha, who got married to Zaheer Iqbal on Sunday, shared a beautiful wedding video on her Instagram feed today. Sonakshi also shared an elaborate note, giving a shout out to the video team, who captured the emotions and essence of her wedding the way she wanted. Sonakshi wrote in the note, "We've met Sam and Ekta at multiple friends weddings where they've captured the essence of the couples and the overall vibe so perfectly that I promised them whenever Zaheer and I got married... they would be there! Best decision ever!"

Sonakshi continued, "We dint want a "wedding video" we wanted the emotions, where everytime we watch it, we feel how we felt in that moment... we feel what everyone there was feeling... and we got excatly that! Thank you Samwalzade and Ekta Rekhi... and your entire team... You guys are magic."

ICYMI, this is the video we are talking about. The video beautifully captures moments from their registry ceremony, garlands exchange ceremony. The video also shows the newlyweds exchanging wedding vows. The video ends with Sonakshi shedding tears and saying, "That's why Sona is crying. Pushpa is not crying." Sharing the video, Sonakshi wrote, "Family, friends, love, friendship, laughter, silly comments, kids running around, happy tears, warm hugs, excitement, bloopers, screeches, fun, joy, anticipation, nerves, emotions and above all just pure happiness this was our chaotic little Shaadi ka ghar... and it was PERFECT... it was US." Take a look:

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A post shared by Sonakshi Sinha (@aslisona)

Sharing the wedding pictures, Sonakshi Sinha wrote a note. It read, "On this very day, seven years back (23.06.2017) in each others eyes, we saw love in its purest form and decided to hold on to it. Today that love has guided us through all the challenges and triumphs... leading up to this moment... where with the blessings of both our families and both our gods... we are now man and wife. Here's to love, hope and all things beautiful with each other, from now until forever." Sonakshi added in the post, "Sonakshi weds Zaheer. 23.06.2024" Sonakshi wore her mother's vintage saree and jewellery for the wedding. Take a look:

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A post shared by Sonakshi Sinha (@aslisona)

Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal registered their marriage under the provisions of Special Marriage Act.

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"Could've Chosen Better Words": Sam Pitroda After Congress Reappointment

Sam Pitroda -- Congress's overseas unit chief who is back in saddle after a seven-week break -- today stood by his statement about diversity among Indians that were seen as racist, but admitted that he could have put it better. "It is not about words but about the meaning... but maybe I could have done a better job," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.  And about the row that followed that comment, he shrugged it off.

"I have to run my life. They can twist the fact that I live in Chicago and why I am talking about India... I would expect civilised conversation, dialogue... but that is lost... People are not interested in the substance of a conversation, they are interested in the form of the conversation," he said.

Mr Pitroda had stepped down from the post in May after his two consecutive statements sparked huge controversies. He was reinstated yesterday.

In an exclusive interview with The Statesman in early May, Mr Pitroda had described India as a "diverse country... where people on East look like the Chinese, people on West look like Arabs, people in the North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africans".

It had triggered a huge uproar in the run-up to the election, coming on the heels of his comments about inheritance tax.

Barely two weeks before, Mr Pitroda had cited inheritance tax as an example of "new policies that can "help prevent concentration of wealth" which should be discussed and debated. The Congress, he had added, always helps people at the bottom of the economic pyramid.

His remarks were interpreted as advocacy of inheritance tax in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had remarked that if elected, the Congress would redistribute the personal wealth of people among "infiltrators" and won't even spare the mangalsutras of women.

Mr Pitroda today said no one had questioned him about what he meant before jumping to conclusions. "When I made the comment on inheritance tax, I did not mean that I'm proposing inheritance tax. How do you come to that conclusion?"

His comments about diversity were also twisted, he said.

"Next time I said something about – my way of saying how diverse we are, people thought it was racial. There is nothing racial in saying that we came from Africa. It is a fact of life. And who says that being black is racist? No. I am dark. My wife is not very dark. So what?" he said.

"We tend to make issues out of nothing. And that's the reason I decided that is better to take myself out," he added. That was the way to bring back the focus on issues that matter, he said.

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2 Maldivian Ministers Arrested For 'Black Magic' On President: Report

Maldives police have arrested two serving ministers for allegedly performing black magic on President Mohamed Muizzu, local media reported on Thursday.

Shamnaz Saleem, who was a state minister at the Environment Ministry, her ex-husband Adam Rameez, who was serving as a minister at the President's Office, and two others were arrested, local media said quoting the police, which, however, declined to share any information about the reasons or the alleged performance of black magic.

"Shamnaz, alongside two other individuals, was arrested on Sunday. All three of them have been remanded in custody for seven days. She was suspended from her post on Wednesday as per the Environment Ministry," news portal Sun.mv reported, adding, Rameez too has been suspended on Thursday.

Incidentally, both Shamnaz and Rameez have worked with Muizzu as members of the Male City Council when he was serving as the city's mayor.

Media reported that after Muizzu assumed office as the President in November last year, Shamnaz was appointed as a state minister first at Muliaage, the official residence of the president and then transferred to the Environment Ministry.

"Rameez, during his time at Male City Council, was known as a close aide of Muizzu, who was the mayor at that time," Sun.mv said further and added, "However, he has been absent from the public light in the past five months or so." Neither the Maldives government nor the President's office has made any official comment on the issue.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Kenya's U-Turn Over Tax Hikes After 22 Die In Violent Protests

Kenyan President William Ruto said Wednesday that a bill containing contentious tax hikes would "be withdrawn", dramatically reversing course after more than 20 people were killed in clashes with police and parliament was ransacked by protesters opposed to the legislation.

The initially peaceful demonstrations were sparked last week by the 2024 finance bill -- which politicians passed Tuesday afternoon -- and took Ruto's administration by surprise as rallies gathered momentum across the country.

But the Gen-Z-led protests spiralled into violence Tuesday when police fired live bullets at the crowds outside parliament, leaving the complex ransacked and partly on fire.

Nineteen people were killed in the capital Nairobi, a state-funded rights watchdog said.

"I concede and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill and it shall subsequently be withdrawn," Ruto told a press briefing. "The people have spoken," he said.

"I will be proposing an engagement with the young people of our nation, our sons and daughters, for us to listen to them," he said, in a marked shift from his late-night address Tuesday when he likened some of the demonstrators to "criminals".

'Cannot kill all of us'

Immediately after his speech, prominent protester Hanifa Adan dismissed Ruto's announcement as "PR".

Referring to his comments the previous night, she said on X: "He made that speech trying to intimidate us and he saw it won't work hence the PR."

"The bill is withdrawn but are you going to bring everyone that died back alive?"

Ahead of Ruto's about-turn, protesters had called for fresh rallies on Thursday.

"Tomorrow, we march peacefully again as we wear white, for all our fallen people," Adan had said.

"You cannot kill all of us."

Demonstrators shared "Tupatane Thursday" ("we meet Thursday" in Swahili), alongside the hashtag #Rejectfinancebill2024 on social media.

Cost-of-living crisis

Ruto came to power in 2022 promising to champion the needs of impoverished Kenyans, but tax increases under his government have only made life tougher for those already struggling with high inflation.

The Kenyan leader had already rolled back some tax measures last week, prompting the treasury to warn of a gaping budget shortfall of 200 billion shillings.

Ruto said Wednesday that withdrawing the bill would mean a significant hole in funding for development programmes to help farmers and schoolteachers, among others.

The cash-strapped government had said previously that the increases were needed to service Kenya's massive debt of some 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), equal to roughly 70 percent of GDP.

Deadly day

Earlier on Wednesday, Roseline Odede, chairwoman of the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, said "we have recorded 22 deaths", 19 of them in Nairobi, adding that they would launch an investigation.

"This is the largest number of deaths (in) a single day protest," she said, adding that 300 people were injured across the country.

Simon Kigondu, president of the Kenya Medical Association, said he had never before seen "such level of violence against unarmed people."

An official at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi said Wednesday that medics were treating "160 people...some of them with soft tissue injuries, some of them with bullet wounds."

Rights watchdogs have also accused the authorities of kidnapping protesters.

The police have not responded to AFP requests for comment.

'Madness'

A heavy police presence was deployed around parliament early on Wednesday, according to an AFP reporter, the smell of tear gas still in the air and dried blood on the ground.

A policeman standing in front of the broken barricades to the complex told AFP he had watched the scenes unfold on TV.

"It was madness, we hope it will be calm today," he said.

In the central business district, where the protests have been concentrated, traders surveyed the damage.

"They didn't leave anything, just the boxes. I don't know how long it will take me to recover," James Ng'ang'a, whose electronics shop was looted, told AFP.

The unrest has alarmed the international community, with Washington calling on Kenya to respect the right to peaceful protest on Wednesday.

Ruto's administration is under pressure from the IMF, which has urged the country to implement fiscal reforms in order to access funding.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"She Is A Cheat Code": 7.3-Foot-Tall Chinese Girl Dominates At Basketball

For the Chinese National Team, 17-year-old centre Zhang Ziyu has quickly gained popularity at the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup. Zhang, who is 7 feet 3 inches tall, has outperformed the opposition and drawn parallels to the great Yao Ming.

Zhang, who made her debut for China last week, has greatly benefited from her remarkable height. Social media users have been flooded with videos showing her making points and getting rebounds with ease.

According to CNN, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) subsequently released a video of her game highlights, showing the youngster towering over opponents and barely needing to jump to dunk the ball.

Given her height advantage, she looked devastating on defence while demonstrating her shooting accuracy from a distance.

The basketball page NextGen Hoops has referred to her as a "cheat code."

Zhang Ziyu is a cheat code 🧩

The 7'3" (220cm) center hardly broke a sweat getting her first buckets for Team China 🇨🇳#U18AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/1Vy9iecmXh

— NextGen Hoops (@NextGenHoops) June 24, 2024

Zhang, who went by the moniker "Female Yao Ming" after the former star of the Houston Rockets, has been a major contributor to China's successful tournament debut.

While Zhang still has a journey ahead to reach Yao's career achievements, her performances this week are likely to capture the attention of WNBA teams.

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"Voice Of Unheard": Aaditya Thackeray On Rahul Gandhi As Opposition Leader

Rahul Gandhi's appointment as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha will provide a platform for the voices of the unheard, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said on Wednesday.

He said the INDIA alliance is already effectively serving its role as the opposition and expressed confidence that it will soon transition to forming the government.

"Best wishes to @RahulGandhi ji for taking up the role of the Leader of Opposition, in the Lok Sabha. The people of this country have voted against dictatorship and against divisive politics of hate, and this role becomes important as Rahul ji will be a voice for those unheard," Mr Thackeray stated in a post.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, also comprising the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Best wishes to @RahulGandhi ji for taking up the role of the Leader of Opposition, in the Lok Sabha.

The people of this country have voted against dictatorship and against divisive politics of hate, and this role becomes important as Rahul ji will be a voice for those unheard.…

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) June 26, 2024

Aaditya Thackeray reiterated the alliance's commitment to upholding democratic values and the Constitution.

"As the Opposition, to the regime, we promise to fulfil our duty to protect our democratic values, uphold the Constitution and more importantly, voice every last person in the Parliament. This duty, we will also fulfil as the Government, very soon, as the INDIA alliance," he added.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday recognised Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition, a day after the Congress communicated its decision to name him for the position to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

In a notification issued on Wednesday, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said Mr Gandhi, leader of the Indian National Congress, had officially been recognised as the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha with effect from June 9.

The decision on Mr Gandhi's appointment as the Leader of the Opposition was announced soon after a meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Tuesday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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2nd Case Of Sex Assault Registered Against Prajwal Revanna's Brother Suraj

A second case of sexually assaulting a man was registered against Janata Dal (Secular) MLC Suraj Revanna on Tuesday at Holenarasipura police station in Hassan district.

The case was registered based on a complaint by a close aide of Suraj Revanna.

Revanna's aide had earlier filed a complaint on behalf of the Member of the Legislative Council against a JDS worker, apparently to protect him.

The first case of sexual assault was registered against Revanna on Saturday night. The next day, he was arrested and remanded to 14 days' judicial custody. On Monday, the court remanded him to eight days' police custody.

"The process of registering the second FIR is on against Suraj Revanna," a senior police officer from Hassan told PTI.

Suraj, a doctor, is the grandson of former Prime Minister and JDS patriarch HD Deve Gowda and son of Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna.

He is the elder brother of former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is also in police custody for allegedly sexually assaulting several women in Hassan and filming them.

Suraj and Prajwal's parents, HD Revanna and Bhavani, are out on bail on charges of kidnapping a woman who had figured in one among the huge cache of explicit videos showing many women being sexually assaulted, allegedly by Prajwal.

Prajwal had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election as the NDA candidate as his party JDS formed an alliance with the BJP in September last year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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