Ukraine claims that after Russia launched more than 50 missiles at critical infrastructure, the country’s power and water systems were severely damaged nationwide. According to the most recent statement from the mayor, in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, 270,000 flats lack electricity, and 40% of people lack access to water.
The eastern city of Kharkiv also sustained damage to its energy facilities. There were thirteen injuries nationwide. Russia claimed that it had targeted Ukraine’s energy and military command networks.
All “specified objects” were struck by long-range, high-precision weapons, the nation’s defence ministry claimed. The military of Ukraine reported that 44 cruise missiles fired from the Caspian Sea and the Rostov region of Russia had been intercepted by its air defences.
Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in the annexation of Crimea, prompting the strikes. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, reported electricity and water shortages after the Russian attack damaged crucial infrastructure close to the city.
He initially said that 350,000 residences lacked electricity and that 80% of the city’s users lacked access to water; he later added that many people had been reconnected. Long lines were visible across the city as people waited impatiently to fill up on water from the pumps. The city authorities said that “no hits were reported” in Kyiv itself because to “the efficient operation of the air defence personnel.”
On Monday morning, reports of missile strikes were also made in Lviv in western Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia in the south-east, and the central Vinnytsia region.
There are also reports of damage to a facility at the Dnipro hydroelectric power plant in the Zaporizhzhia region.
According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, “hundreds of villages in seven regions” were left without electricity as a result of the damage to 18 facilities, the majority of which were energy-generating facilities, across ten different regions of Ukraine.
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Great Balls of Fire’s infamous singer Jerry Lee Lewis passed away at the age of 87, according to his agent. He was one of the last living representatives of the heyday of rock ‘n’ roll, yet his life was also marked by scandal and violence.
When he married his cousin Myra Gale Brown at the age of 22, his career was briefly put on hold. “Perhaps the last true, magnificent icon of the origin of rock’n’roll,” according to Lewis’ agency, was Lewis.
“He was there at the beginning, with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and the rest, and watched them fade away one by one until it was him alone to bear witness, and sing, of the birth of rock’n’roll,” said Lewis’ publicist Zach Farnum in a statement.
According to his publicist, Lewis passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, with his seventh wife, Judith, by his side.
Days before to the news of his death, the rumour website TMZ reported on a phoney death announcement.
Lewis received the most accolades, followed by Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, who tweeted: “R.I.P. JLL the KILLER – Such a dude.
“God bless Jerry lee Lewis, peace and love to all his family,” said Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.
Lewis, who was born in 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana, eventually relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, and found employment there as a studio musician for Sun Studios.
At the age of 14, he had his stage debut. Throughout his youth, he snuck into a Ferriday nightclub to listen to the best blues musicians of the time, where he first discovered his passion of boogie-woogie and the blues. Lewis’ cousin Myra Gale Brown, who was also the bass player’s daughter at the time, wed the singer in 1957 when she was just 13 years old. Lewis was imprisoned in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1976 after being discovered waving a gun and asking to be seen.
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Pegasus was established in the year 2000 in Kerala, India and is into organizing events. Pegasus had conducted nearly 2315 events under their name and Dr Ajit Ravi Pegasus is the brain behind all the renowned titles. The events organised by them are International Fashion Fest, Celebrity Cricket Tournament, Minnalai Film Media Business Award, MBA Award, VPN IBE Award & beauty pageants like Miss Tamil Nadu, Miss Queen Kerala, Miss South India, Mrs Tamil Nadu, Mrs Karnataka, Mrs South India, Mrs India Global, Miss Queen of India, Miss Asia, Miss Asia Global, Miss Glam World, Mrs Glam World from last 22 years & also owns the premium business lifestyle magazine named Unique Times. They have also produced movies in both Malayalam and Tamil languages.
One of their prestigious awards is the MBA (Multibillionaire Business Achiever) Award. The MBA Award is a sincere endeavour by Dr Ajit Ravi Pegasus to highlight the accomplishments and contributions of the business community, which are frequently overlooked. The award is handed over to entrepreneurs with entrepreneurship and social responsibility. Especially noteworthy is that the recipient of this prize will receive participation in the esteemed “Federal International Chamber Forum.”
Dr Ajit Ravi Pegasus
The Federal International Chamber Forum, according to Pegasus chairman Ajit Ravi, will be the most prosperous forum for Multibillionaire businessmen from around the world. Businessmen having an asset of 1000 crore will get an opportunity to be a part Federal International Chamber Forum each year and will also be a guild of MBA Awardees. The forum will reaffirm the significance of this Award. The forum will be extremely exclusive because it will be a group for Awardees. It will be a gathering place for these brilliant business brains and their ideas, which may then be applied for the benefit of society.
The richest club in the Business Fraternity will be FICF, a premier forum of the Multibillionaire Business Achievers. Given the affluence of the members, the forum will also be a first-of-its-kind and among the richest in India. Former winners of the MBA Awards were Mr. V P Nandakumar, Mr. Joy Alukas, Mr. M.A. Yusuf Ali, Mr. TS Kalyanaraman, Mr. P. N. C. Menon, Mr. Gokulam Gopalan, Dr. Ravi Pillai, Mr. M. P. Ramachandran, Mr. Kochouseph Chittilappilly, Mr. Sabu. M. Jacob Dr. Viju Jacob and Dr A V Anoop.
Mr. V P Nandakumar Businessman V. P. Nandakumar is from Valapad in the Thrissur District of Kerala. He serves as Manappuram Finance Limited’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. One of India’s top 20 non-banking finance organisations, Manappuram Finance Ltd. is a well-known gold loan provider. Additionally, he serves as chairman of Asirvad Microfinance, India’s fourth-largest MFI with about 5,000 crores in AUM. His perspective includes a strong emphasis on the greater good of society as well as business. In order to advance the corporate social responsibility (CSR) purpose of the Manappuram group, he founded the Manappuram Foundation at Valapad in 2009.
Mr. Joy Alukkas Indian entrepreneur Joy Alukkas is from Kerala. He serves as the company’s chairman and managing director. Alukkas established Joy Alukkas Jewelry in 2001. The group has offices in Dubai and Thrissur, both in Kerala. Joyalukkas has 45 shops worldwide and 85 showrooms in India. Joy Alukkas also runs the Mall of Joy, a retail shopping centre, Jolly Silks, a silk clothing line, Joyalukkas Exchange, a platform for money exchange, and Joyalukkas Lifestyle Developers, a developer of real estate. A number of programs, including the Joy 4 Earth program, carry out various environmental projects, while organisations like the Blood Donor’s Forum organise donation campaigns for staff members in collaboration with top hospitals.
Mr. M.A. Yusuf Ali Indian businessman and millionaire Yusuff Ali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader, also known as Yusuff Ali M. A, resides in the United Arab Emirates. He serves as the chairman and managing director of LuLu Group International, which also controls the LuLu International Shopping Mall and the global LuLu Hypermarket chain. Yusuff Ali was named first among the top 100 Indian businesspeople in the Arab World for 2018 by Forbes Middle East. Yusuff Ali is heavily involved in a variety of social, charitable, and humanitarian endeavours in both India and the Arab Gulf states. He has engaged in numerous charitable endeavours throughout the world.
Mr. TS Kalyanaraman Indian businessman T. S. Kalyanaraman Iyer is best known for serving as the chairman and managing director of Kalyan Developers and Jewellers. The controlling entity for Kalyan Jewellers is the Kalyan Group. With a capital of $50,000, he opened his first jewellery store, Kalyan Jewellers, in Thrissur City in 1993. Later, he increased the size of the company to 32 showrooms across South India. Kalyan has contributed to CSR through programmes that fall into four key areas, including infrastructure and housing, disaster relief, health, and education. This is in keeping with its heritage of giving back to the communities in which it operates.
Mr. P. N. C. Menon An Indian-born Omani billionaire businessman from Kerala’s Palakkad region, PNC Menon was born in Oman. He is Sobha Ltd. and Sobha LLC’s founder and chairman. He moved to Oman at the age of 26, where over the years he built his interior decoration firm into a successful enterprise. He founded Sobha Ltd. in Bangalore in 1995 and named it after his wife. The Sri Kurumba Educational & Charitable Trust was founded in 1994 by P.N.C. Menon.
Mr. Gokulam Gopalan Gokulam Gopalan is a Kerala-born businessman, actor, and distributor who works in the entertainment industry. He owns the Sree Gokulam Group of Companies. Gokulam Chit Funds and Finance Private Limited has been in business for around fifty years. There are 460 branches of this Chennai-based enterprise, which has been around for five decades. Gokulam Group, a very promising corporate organisation, is not just in this line of work. It is involved in the hospitality industry as well as healthcare, education, logistics, food production, entertainment in the media and movies, retail, and even real estate.
Dr. Ravi Pillai Indian billionaire businessman B. Ravi Pillai resides in Dubai. He is the RP Group’s founder and chairman. With holdings in the building, hotel, steel, cement, oil and gas industries, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain, Pillai has expanded his business into these nations. Through the 300-bed multispecialty Upasana Hospital and Research Centre in Kollam, he is interested in healthcare.
Mr. M. P. Ramachandran Indian entrepreneur Moothedath Panjan Ramachandran hails from Thrissur in Kerala. He is the founder and former chairman of Jyothi Labs. He had an idea when he read that “purple-colored dyes are helping textile designers attain the most vivid colours of white.” For a year, Ramachandran conducted experiments in his kitchen, boiling, dilution, and testing until he was satisfied with the outcomes and thus it gave birth to ‘Ujala’.
Mr. Kochouseph Chittilappilly Kochouseph Chittilappilly is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of V-Guard Industries and a chain of amusement parks called Wonderla. K. Chittilappilly Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by him, engages in charitable and philanthropic activities. The Government of India awarded Chittilappilly the Rashtriya Samman prize for being one of the top taxpayers. In 2011, Chittilapilly began an organ donor chain by giving one of his kidneys to a truck driver who was a complete stranger.
Mr. Sabu. M. Jacob Sabu M. Jacob is a businessman from Kerala, India. He oversees Kitex Garments Limited as managing director. In order to effectively contribute to the social and economic development of the Kizhakkambalam Panchayath where the company operates, he serves as the chief coordinator and mentor of Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam, a non-profit organisation. The organization’s goal was to make Kizhakkambalam the most developed village in India by the year 2020.
Dr. Viju Jacob The managing director of Synthite Industries Pvt Ltd is Dr. Viju Jacob. Since its founding in 1972, Synthite has successfully grown by introducing a growing number of goods and services. More than 500 different product varieties are available for customers to select from at Synthite. Kerala’s retail industry saw the introduction of spice powders under the “Kitchen Treasures” brand in 2012. Under Viju’s leadership, Synthite has developed into one of Kerala’s leading business organisations.
Dr A V Anoop With 39 years of expertise and a range of interests in offering high-quality products and services to customers worldwide, Dr. A. V. Anoop is a renowned industrialist. He is the owner of brands such as Medimix, Kaytra, Melam, and a few others. In addition to being a businessman and an artist, Dr. A.V. Anoop is a philanthropist who takes part in numerous social initiatives. His job includes promoting the benefits of Ayurveda, performing different deeds of kindness, and being actively involved in the World Malayalee Council.
By fusing their global influence with their specialisation in lobbying, standard-setting work, and global services, they all strive to advance global trade, ethical corporate practises, and a global regulatory approach. Dr Ajit Ravi dreams to spread India’s richest club Federal International Chamber forum worldwide and he is in the way to achieve it.
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Russia has said that it will no longer take part in the international agreement, which permits Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports. The accusation that Ukraine had launched a “massive” drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea, came hours earlier.
The foreign minister of Ukraine claimed that Russia was “using a false pretext.” Russia also accused British troops of taking part in the attack on Saturday and the blowing up of gas pipelines last month without offering any supporting evidence. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) responded by claiming that Russia was “peddling false accusations of an epic scale.”
Drones deployed in the attack on Saturday, according to the Russian defence ministry, targeted ships involved in the grain exchange. One vessel, according to the report, experienced minimal damage.
The Russian side is unable to guarantee the safety of civilian dry cargo ships taking part in the “Black Sea Initiative” and suspends its execution as of today for an extended period, according to a statement released by the Russian foreign ministry hours later.
The move, according to the statement, was “related to operations by the Ukrainian military forces, which were led by British specialists,” and these actions “were intended… against Russian ships that ensured the running of the abovementioned humanitarian corridor.”
However, Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, claimed that Russia was obstructing the grain corridor under “a bogus pretext.” He claimed that Ukraine had “warned of Russian’s attempts to destroy” the agreement. The UN, which mediated the agreement with Turkey, was in contact with Moscow, according to a UN spokeswoman.
It went on to say that it was “essential that all parties refrain from any action that would threaten the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” which it described as a crucial humanitarian initiative aimed at enhancing access to food for millions of people worldwide.
The accord made it possible for Ukraine to resume grain exports to the Black Sea, which had been halted after Russia invaded the nation.
The UN secretary general personally negotiated it, and it was hailed as a significant diplomatic triumph that lessened a severe world food crisis.
But Russia has protested that the arrangement may not be renewed because its own exports are still being hampered.
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According to an art historian, a Piet Mondrian abstract painting has been hanging upside down in different galleries for 75 years. Despite the recent discovery, the painting, titled New York City I, will still be exhibited backwards to protect it from damage.
The 1941 image was first displayed in 1945 at the MoMA in New York. Since 1980, it has hung in Düsseldorf at the North Rhine-Westphalia state art collection. The long-standing mistake was discovered by curator Susanne Meyer-Büser early this year when researching the museum’s new exhibition on the artist, but she cautioned that if it were placed the correct way at this time, it might fall apart.
New York City I is an adhesive-tape version of the similarly named New York City painting by the same artist.
The similarly called New York City, which is on exhibit at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, shows a thickening of lines towards the top rather than the bottom, which appears to support this notion.
Furthermore, the identical painting is visible hanging on an easel the wrong way up in a picture of the prominent Dutchman’s workshop that was shot a few days after his passing. In June 1944, the picture appeared in the American lifestyle publication Town and Country.
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The contentious Russian ban on disseminating alleged “homosexual propaganda” appears to be expanding to include all adults. With this change, a 2013 regulation that made it illegal to tell minors about being LGBT has been made much stricter.
For encouraging what Russia refers to as “non-traditional sexual interactions,” those found guilty face significant fines. The Russian State Duma passed the extension’s initial approval with a unanimous majority.
Officials had earlier this week lobbied members of Russia’s lower house of parliament to approve the extension, framing it as a component of a larger conflict with the West over civilizational norms and connecting it to the decision to invade Ukraine.
Information about “non-traditional lifestyles” or “the rejection of family values” would be viewed legally on par with pornography, the encouragement of violence, or igniting racial, ethnic, or religious tensions under the plan.
Additionally, it outlaws “promotion of paedophilia,” which the Russian government frequently equates with homosexuality.
The additions also forbid any information that could “lead minors to desire to change their sex,” a reference to transgender individuals.
Infractions of the ban are punishable by fines ranging from 50,000 roubles (£705; $815) to 400,000 roubles, and non-Russians who do so risk being expelled from the nation.
Although the proposal has widespread support, it must first be approved by the Federation Council, the Russian parliament’s upper house, before Vladimir Putin can sign it into law.
One of the law’s leading supporters claimed on Monday that the sharing of information about LGBT individuals with Russians was a part of a “hybrid war” being fought by the West against the nation. Politicians in the Duma heard this argument.
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Mercedes is the most recent foreign corporation to leave Russia in the wake of the February invasion of Ukraine. Early in March, the German company halted producing in and importing from the nation.
However, it has now announced that it will leave the Russian market and sell stock in its subsidiaries to a regional investor. Nissan, a Japanese company, left Russia earlier this month after Toyota and Renault did the same.
Nissan handed over its business to a state-owned organisation for a small amount, reportedly less than £1, at a loss of $700 million (£600 million).
Mercedes’ departure from Russia, according to Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm, is not anticipated to have a materially negative impact on the company’s earnings.
The choice was made after major Western businesses, including Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola, left Russia earlier this year. In the early stages of the war, deliveries from other automakers, such as Jaguar Land Rover, General Motors, Aston Martin, and Rolls-Royce, were all stopped.
Mercedes was in line with other businesses when it stopped exports and suspended operations in Russia earlier this year, but many other automakers subsequently swiftly withdrew from the nation entirely, according to James Baggott, editor-in-chief of the industry website Car Dealer Magazine.
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Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new far-right leader, emphasised her goal to stop migrant boats from crossing the Mediterranean in her first speech to MPs. She reiterated her campaign promise to stop boats leaving North Africa for Italy, saying, “We must end illicit departures and human trafficking.”
Italy has always served as a hub for unauthorised immigrants travelling to Europe. This year, more than 77,000 people have attempted the extremely risky crossing into Italy, placing stress on nearby communities. The Brothers of Italy party is led by Ms. Meloni, 45, who was elected as leader of a right-wing alliance.
She addressed the lower house of parliament, “We do not seek in any way to dispute the right to asylum for individuals escaping wars and persecutions. In terms of immigration, what we want to accomplish is make it impossible for people traffickers to choose who gets into Italy.
She referred to herself as a “underdog” and acknowledged the responsibility of becoming the first female leader of her nation while paying thanks to the many Italian women who had come before her in “breaking this ultimate glass ceiling.”
She was greeted with a standing ovation and cries of “Giorgia, Giorgia”.
Even though the Meloni government was only sworn in on Saturday, it has already reverted to a stance taken in 2018–19 by one of its parties, the far-right League.
Matteo Piantedosi, the new interior minister, threatened to restrict ports to two rescue boats carrying hundreds of migrants just before the prime minister spoke, claiming that the Ocean Viking and Humanity1 were breaking the law.
Mr. Piantedosi was instrumental in the prior policy that forbade migrant-carrying rescue boats from arriving in Italian ports. That ultimately led to the League’s leader, Matteo Salvini, facing charges of kidnapping and obstructing the arrival of the rescue vessel Open Arms transporting 147 migrants in Sicily in 2019.
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After Anton Krasovsky called for the burning and drowning of Ukrainian children, the Russian state channel RT suspended and denounced him. He has since apologised after his comments on television sparked outrage on social media.
Krasovsky was addressing science fiction author Sergei Lukyanenko, who claimed that in 1980, he had overheard children in western Ukraine saying, “Ukraine is invaded by Muscovites.” RT News has a strong pro-Kremlin stance.
Just drown those kids, Krasovsky said in the interview while grinning. He added that they could also be burned after being forced into shelters.
He also made light of the rape of Ukrainian grandparents by Russian soldiers.
Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT, referred to Krasovsky’s remarks as “wild and disgusting.”
The station has been charged with encouraging a genocide by Ukraine. Pundits and presenters who vehemently support the conflict against Ukraine and push for additional military aggression have received a lot of airtime on Russian state television. They frequently reject proof of Russian atrocities by asserting that it is “fabricated” Ukrainian evidence, following the Kremlin’s stance.
The investigation into Krasovsky’s remarks is currently being conducted by Russia’s Investigative Committee, which deals with major offences; however, it is not yet known which laws, if any, he may have broken.
“Well, it happens: you’re on air, you get carried away, and you can’t stop,” Krasovsky said in his Monday apology. “I’m terribly humiliated,” he remarked.
When he advocated LGBT rights and denounced Russia’s statute prohibiting gay awareness campaigns that target kids, Krasovsky rose to fame on a global scale. Supporters of the measure assert that it is a response to “homosexual propaganda.”
Krasovsky has been in charge of RT’s Russian-language programming for the previous two years. Because of his ardent support for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, he is subject to EU sanctions.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a well-known anti-Kremlin activist in London, voiced contempt for RT’s position. As he tweeted: “Margarita Simonyan refuses to work with Anton Krasovsky, who advocates for the murder of Ukrainian children. Margarita Simonyan, however, is unwilling to work with Putin since he murders Ukrainian children “.
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Dietrich Mateschitz, a co-owner of Red Bull and a prominent figure in the energy drink industry, passed away at the age of 78. Mateschitz was the impetus behind the creation of the energy drink that rose to the top of the global market.
He established a Formula 1 team that has grown to be one of the sport’s dominant forces using the riches that resulted from that. Red Bull’s team manager Christian Horner expressed his sadness, saying, “What a terrific man. “What he accomplished and what he did for so many people, all across the world, in many sports, is unparalleled.”
Moments after Mateschitz’s passing was reported, Horner told Sky Sports that his squad was committed to “give our best for him” in qualifying and Sunday’s race at the US Grand Prix.
“So many of us owe him a debt of gratitude for the chances he gave us, his vision, his courage, and his example of never giving up on your aspirations. “He demonstrated that you can make a difference by doing it here in Formula 1. Simply said, we are deeply appreciative.
When Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago, Horner noted that Mateschitz was “luckily” able to witness the Dutch driver secure his second consecutive world championship.
It is not believed that Mateschitz’s passing poses a threat to Red Bull or its affiliated squad Alpha Tauri’s future.
Stefano Domenicali, the CEO of Formula 1, expressed his “deep sadness” and described Mateschitz as “a widely regarded and much-loved member of the Formula 1 family.”
The Italian said, “He was a man who helped alter our sport and developed the Red Bull brand, which is renowned all over the globe. He was an extraordinary visionary entrepreneur.”While travelling in Thailand, Austrian Mateschitz, a salesman for Procter & Gamble, came upon Krating Daeng, the beverage that would eventually become Red Bull.
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