Tag: FInance News

  • Sai Deodhar’s Maeri to make OTT premiere on December 6, makers drop trailer

    The makers of the thriller web series Maeri, have launched the trailer. Produced by Sachinn Darekkar’s Zenith Pictures, Maeri is a gripping emotional thriller that explores the complex relationships within a family; the show, to feature on ZEE5 Global, unveils a lot of hidden truths and personal secrets.

    Sai Deodhar plays the determined mother Tara Deshpande in Maeri. Photo courtesy: ZEE5 Global
    Sai Deodhar plays a determined mother, Tara Deshpande, in Maeri. Photo courtesy: ZEE5 Global

    Maeri brings together an ensemble cast, including Sai Deodhar as the determined mother Tara Deshpande, Sagar Deshmukh as her husband Hemant Deshpande, Tanvi Mundle as their spirited daughter Manasvi, and Chinmay Mandlekar as the gritty ACP Khandekar.

    The web series will stream on ZEE5 Global starting December 6.

    Plot

    Maeri revolves around the story of a mother, Tara Deshpande, who is pushed to the edge when her beloved daughter, Manasvi, is brutally assaulted by a group of influential young men. As the judicial system fails to deliver justice, Tara embarks on a dangerous, secret battle against the powerful perpetrators, using every resource and tactic at her disposal to obtain revenge.

    As the stakes grow higher, Tara must navigate her fractured family dynamics, face a relentless police officer, and confront her own moral boundaries. With each twist, the tension escalates, leading to a shocking final confrontation. Will Tara’s pursuit of vengeance cost her everything?

    As Tara and Hemant Deshpande navigate their tangled lives, the story unfolds a series of suspenseful events that force them to confront their deepest fears and choices.

    Sharing her experience, Sai Deodhar stated: “Playing Tara Deshpande has been an incredibly intense and emotional journey for me. Tara is a mother who is pushed to her limits by an unimaginable tragedy, and her quest for justice becomes both her strength and her burden.”

    “I’m thrilled to be a part of this powerful story and to bring Tara’s story to life. I can’t wait for audiences to watch the show and experience the thrilling twists and deep emotional layers it offers. ‘Maeri’ is a story that will resonate with everyone, and I am looking forward for its release on ZEE5 Global,” she shared.

    Tanvi Mundle said she was “immediately captivated” when she first heard the story of Maeri. “The story is so emotionally powerful. Manasvi’s journey is one of personal growth, where she learns to deal with the complex emotions of loss and discovery. What makes it even more special is the opportunity to share the screen with such versatile actors such as Sai Deodhar and Sagar Deshmukh. I’ve learned so much from them. I’m beyond excited for the audience to experience the emotional depth and thrills of ‘Maeri’ on ZEE5 Global!” she said.

    Producer and director Sachinn Darekkar commented: “Collaborating with ZEE5 Global has been an exciting opportunity, as it allows us to bring our narrative to a wider audience, highlighting the strength at a global scale. ‘Maeri’ is a revenge drama series that intertwines suspense, human relationships, and complex personal conflicts, focusing on the intricate bond between a mother, father, and daughter — each struggling with their own truths and the consequences of their choices.”

    “The story of ‘Maeri’ is not just about vengeance — it’s about the raw emotions that come with loss, love, and the determination to fight when everything seems to be against you. I am thrilled that the audience will experience the story’s twists and the powerful journey of its characters,” he said.

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Life is like paithani… an actor should learn to flow’, says Paithani actress Mrinal Kulkarni

    At the start of the millennia, she captivated the minds of young audiences with her portrayal of the benevolent fairy Son Pari in the eponymous TV serial, which ran from November 2000 to October 2004. Now, Mrinal Kulkarni is back as a master weaver who takes life’s hurdles head on in the ZEE5 Global series Paithani.

    Mrinal Kulkarni. Photo courtesy: www.instagram.com/mrinalmrinal2
    Mrinal Kulkarni. Photo courtesy: www.instagram.com/mrinalmrinal2

    The actress sat down for a virtual interview with Connected to India, where she spoke about her new show, her acting journey and her experiences of working on various mediums.

    Paithani, which started streaming mid-November, is directed by Gajendra Ahire and produced by Zee Studios and Aarambh Entertainment. It explores the themes of tradition, resilience, and the bond between mothers and daughters. Paithani tells the inspiring story of Godavari (Mrinal), a mother and master weaver of traditional Paithani sarees. As she confronts the impending end of her illustrious career due to tremors in her hands, her unwavering spirit is brought to life by her determined daughter, Kaveri (Eisha Singh). With a heartfelt mission to honour her mother’s legacy, Kaveri plans to gift her the final saree Godavari weaves.

    When asked about reason and significance of the title of the show, especially when the central theme is resilience, Mrinal tells CtoI: “I think my director has used it as metaphor. How we weave a paithani or anything on looms is one horizontal thread and one vertical. In paithani we use one silver thread, one gold thread and one resham (silk) thread. So, it’s a very intricate art, and such is life. Life is not always gold. At times it has silver borders, and at times it’s just resham… it is plain.”

    “So, I think he has used it as a metaphor. Every woman goes through many difficulties in life, many hurdles come her way, but she tries to make a beautiful saree out of it… paithani out of it, maybe… a beautiful design of these threads which come her way. That is what he wants to say. I believe it’s a very nice metaphor,” she adds.

    Asked if the show aims to look at growing the paithani business, Mrinal says she’ll be happy if it happens. Talking about her preparation for the role, Mrinal says she was keen to learn weaving to play the character convincingly on screen.

    “I have gone through their patience and perseverance and their problems while they work on looms. When the script came to me, I was very keen that I must learn to weave, at least a little. So, I did a crash course, and I came to know how tough and difficult it is. So, my heart goes to the weavers who weave on looms. it is not at all easy. it is testing, it tries your patience. It takes a lot of time, months… a few months to make one paithani,” she says.

    Asked, what’s her take on OTTs taking centre stage in the entertainment sector, while racing ahead of TV, Mrinal says change is the only constant and one should flow with it. “It goes in a circle and change in bound to happen. As an actor, I try to adjust with that. I try to cope with that and I also look forward (to it)… As an actor, we should learn just to flow, to go with the flow,” she adds.

  • Oxford University Press names ‘brain rot’ as its word of the year; know all about it

    Oxford University Press names 'brain rot' as its word of the year.
    OUP names its word of the year. Photo Courtesy: Pixabay

    Oxford University Press (OUP) has announced ‘brain rot’ as the word of the year 2024 following a public voting. But what is ‘brain rot’? 

    It is a term which sums up the widespread concerns over mindless social media habits and the consumption of low-value content, especially on social media.

    The word was selected after 37,000 people voted in favour of it.

    ‘Brian rot’ fought with six other terms to emerge as the winner.

    Why ‘brain rot’?

    ‘Brain rot’ is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration”.

    OUP said their experts noticed that ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term frequently used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media.

    The term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024.

    When was the word first used?

    The first recorded use of ‘brain rot’ was found in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, which reports his experiences of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world.

    As part of his conclusions, Thoreau criticizes society’s tendency to devalue complex ideas, or those that can be interpreted in multiple ways, in favour of simple ones, and sees this as indicative of a general decline in mental and intellectual effort: “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”

    However, the term has taken on new significance in the digital age, especially over the past 12 months.

    Initially gaining traction on social media platforms — particularly on TikTok among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities — ’brain rot’ is now seeing more widespread use, such as in mainstream journalism, amidst societal concerns about the negative impact of overconsuming online content.

    Speaking about this year’s selection process and the 2024 winner, Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, said: “It’s been insightful and deeply moving to see language lovers all over the world participate and help us select the Oxford Word of the Year 2024.”

  • Singapore-based PIO entrepreneur helps violence-hit Manipuri women crochet stuffed dolls, sell products

    A Singapore-based Manipuri entrepreneur is helping displaced people living in relief camps crochet stuffed dolls for the global market, aiming to provide the women of the violence-hit northeastern state with a sustainable livelihood and promote self-reliance.

    PIO entrepreneur Monish Karam. Photo courtesy: www.linkedin.com/in/kmonish
    PIO entrepreneur Monish Karam. Photo courtesy: www.linkedin.com/in/kmonish

    Speaking to PTI over the phone, Monish Karam, who runs Sanarp, a tech firm in Singapore, said, “After conflict suddenly broke out in May last year, we saw thousands of people left homeless and cramped in relief camps with no source of income. This hit us hard, and we wanted to do something sustainable for the affected people. After a lot of brainstorming sessions, we decided that the initiation of a skill-oriented programme would be best for the displaced persons to help them earn a sustainable livelihood in the long run.”

    “I saw a palm-sized crocheted doll of my daughter and took inspiration from it to enable affected women make similar dolls, as Manipuri women are traditionally good in handicrafts and producing handloom items,” Karam, who is a computer science graduate from the National University of Singapore, said.

    “However, we wanted to focus on doll characters that are generic, relatable, and have a global appeal so that the dolls could be sold outside Manipur, and the money generated could be used to finance the displaced women and their families,” he added.

    Karam further said that his team had seen displaced women involved in making candles, incense, and washing powders, only to struggle with selling the finished products. He said they decided to make the doll-making project much simpler.

    “Many have seen inmates of relief camps making candles and incense, coming out to the streets to sell their products. In order to make the whole process simpler for the affected women, we decided to take care of the complexities involved in the process of selling the dolls, such as sales support, branding, marketing, collaboration, and simply let the women focus on making the dolls,” Karam said.

    “These dolls are not mere dolls. We believe they are the symbol of hope and vessels of storytelling,” he said.

    The whole project, titled ‘Project Stitching Hope’ is carried out under 1 Million Heroes (IMH), a subgroup of the tech firm owned by Karam.

    Karam also shared how touched he was when a Uttar Pradesh-based woman, the wife of a high-ranking Indian Army officer, purchased the dolls in bulk and later sold them in her circle, showcasing those as a unique item made by affected women of Manipur.

    “She later sent the sales money to us, which was again transferred to the displaced women back home. She did that only because she wanted to help,” Karam added.

    Project Manager Nomita Ningthoujam told PTI, “We engaged two local trainers and visited relief camps in Bishnupur and Kakching districts and imparted training to displaced women for a couple of months, beginning in October. Currently, some 40-plus women are regularly engaged in crocheting stuffed dolls.”

    Nomita Ningthoujam. Photo courtesy: www.linkedin.com/in/nomita-ningthoujam-63217a29
    Nomita Ningthoujam. Photo courtesy: www.linkedin.com/in/nomita-ningthoujam-63217a29

    “Purchases have been made both within and outside the country,” Ningthoujam added.

    “For stuffing the dolls, cotton polyester stuffing material is used,” she said.

    Seema Yumkhaibam, a mother of two who fled from Khuga Tampak in Churachandpur district, is one of the doll artisans who has received training under the project.

    The 38-year-old, who has been allotted a pre-fabricated home in Kwakta area in Bishnupur district, said, “We are assigned with making animal dolls, which include a dog, cat, tiger, and a bear. Dolls of Radha and Krishna are also made. Raw materials are being provided freely, and our only task is to handcraft the dolls. Logistics involved is taken care of by the 1MH team.”

  • “Not entitled passport holders”: Indian passengers stranded at Kuwait Airport for nearly 20 hours allege discrimination

    Indian passengers who were stuck at Kuwait airport for more than 19 hours while flying from Mumbai to Manchester, have alleged discrimination while sharing their plight. Passengers alleged that airport authorities told them Indians were not “entitled passport holders” and didn’t provide them either food or help.

    Passengers from India stranded at Kuwait Airport. Photo courtesy: x.com/indembkwt
    Passengers from India stranded at Kuwait Airport. Photo courtesy: x.com/indembkwt

    As per reports, a Gulf Air aircraft heading to the UK from India made a U-turn and landed at the Kuwait airport following an engine fire incident. While the said aircraft was carrying passengers from various nationalities, discrimination was alleged against those from India, Pakistan and Southeast Asia. Passengers alleged that they were not given access to lounge facilities, while those from the West were given preferential treatment.

    Indian media outlet NDTV quoted Arzoo Singh, a passenger, as saying that airport authorities did not respond to their request for lounge access. “I am saying this on live television. They said ‘if you’re entitled passport holders, and Indians and Pakistanis are not entitled passport holders’, they literally told us if you’re entitled for a transit visa, only then we can put you in a hotel outside,” Singh said.

    “We asked them what about us, people who are not ‘entitled’ as you say? They said we will get back to you. We ran behind them for nearly two hours, only after that we got lounge access. We asked for blankets, we asked for food. They didn’t give. No one even gave us water for the first four hours,” Singh added. As per her account, around 60 passengers suffered the same issue.

    The Indian embassy in Kuwait in a post on X on Sunday said they immediately took up the matter with Gulf Air in Kuwait. “Efforts are being made to accommodate passengers in the airport hotel which is currently unavailable due to ongoing GCC Summit. It may be noted that Indian nationals do not fall under visa on arrival facility in Kuwait. All government offices are closed today due to GCC Summit being hosted by Kuwait,” it said.

    In a post on Monday morning, the embassy said the flight to Manchester had “finally” departed at 4:34 am. “Embassy team was on the ground till the flight departed,” it said.

    Gulf Air has not given a statement on the matter yet.

  • Pakistan Cricket Board agrees to adopt hybrid model for Champions Trophy: Reports

    PCB accepts hybrid model for Champions Trophy
    Virat Kohli during an India-Pakistan match in 2019 | Photo courtesy: BCCI X handle. Photo Courtesy: BCCI X page

    The Indian and Pakistani cricket boards have agreed to play future ICC tournaments in a hybrid model, a decision that may end the deadlock over hosting Champions Trophy next year.

    Pakistan is set to host the ICC event in 2025.

    The future of the tournament remained uncertain after India decided not to send its team to Pakistan citing security reasons.

    The two boards held dialogue on Saturday after the International Cricket Council had convened a meeting on Friday and came to a consensus on a hybrid model for the Feb 19-March 9 Champions Trophy after the Indian government refused to allow its team to travel to Pakistan but the PCB has stressed that it will also like the same model to be applied for its team when tournaments are held on the other side of the border in the next three years, reported BCCI.

    India is scheduled to host several ICC events in the upcoming years including the 50-over World Cup in 2031.

    The final approval on the hybrid model will be given by ICC.

    Pakistan had travelled to India for the 50-over World Cup last year.

    India, however, did not travel to the neighbouring nation and opted to play their matches in Sri Lanka during Asia Cup.

    This is the first major ICC event Pakistan is hosting since it co-hosted the World Cup in 1996.

    “Yes the past experience is bitter for Pakistan and the ICC has to give a solid guarantee that the hybrid model will be implemented in letter and spirit in future and no Pakistan team will go to India to play any matches of the ICC events and on the same pattern the Indian team will not come to Pakistan” a source in the PCB told Dawn.

  • SM Lee goes #jalanjalan during China visit; says Singapore needs to be “friends with all sides”

    Lee Hsien Loong in China
    Singapore Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife Madam Ho Ching doing “#jalanjalan along Qianmen Street to take in the lively atmosphere” of this part of Beijing. Photo courtesy: X/@leehsienloong

    Singapore’s senior statesman, former prime minister and current Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong explored culture in China as much as he connected with Chinese politics and business on his recent official visit, which was timed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Singapore-China flagship government project, Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP).

    Posting a series of images on his X account, signed “LHL”, at the end of his six-day visit, SM Lee wrote: “Took a #jalanjalan at the lively Yuyuan Old Street in the evening. Every corner is captivating as the traditional Chinese buildings are illuminated with beautiful lights.” The phrase “jalan jalan” is Singlish — that is, Singapore English — for “taking a stroll”.

    Traditional Chinese buildings
    Traditional Chinese buildings at Yuyuan Old Street. Photo courtesy: X/@leehsienloong

    Cultural similarities abound between Singapore and China, but the push and pull of global diplomacy and the global economy mean that Singapore will have to work extra-hard to maintain its ties with China, especially after the result of the recent presidential election in the United States of America.

    Speaking in Shanghai, on the last leg of his China trip, SM Lee told the media, as reported by The Straits Times, that Singapore would have to wait and watch what happened between China and the United States once the new Donald Trump administration took office.

    “We know what their basic attitudes are, and the basic contradictions between the US and China remain… Therefore, in this troubled environment, we want to be friends with all sides and to have mutually beneficial relations with all sides,” he said in Shanghai, as quoted by ST.

    Agibot, a startup based in Shanghai
    Lee Hsien Loong visits Agibot, a startup based in Shanghai. Photo courtesy: X/@leehsienloong

    During his China trip, SM Lee met Chinese President Xi Jinping, and he expressed optimism on X that the “4G team” in Singapore — meaning the government led by Lawrence Wong, the fourth prime minister of Singapore — would “continue to work well with the Chinese leaders to expand bilateral cooperation”.

    The ST report said that Lee Hsien Loong, who was the Prime Minister of Singapore for 20 years, had “visited China 14 times, making him one of the most frequent visiting foreign leaders”.

    Lee Hsien Loong also met Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining as well as Singaporean business leaders in China. He visited Agibot, a startup based in Shanghai.

    Xiaomi Electric Vehicle factory
    Lee Hsien Loong visits Xiaomi’s Electric Vehicle (EV) factory in Beijing. Photo courtesy: X/@leehsienloong

    Towards the end of his official trip, SM Lee met overseas Singaporeans. He posted on X: “Delighted to catch up with overseas Singaporeans based in the Yangtze River Delta region yesterday! I was happy to hear about their experiences living in China, and hope they will continue to thrive and fly our flag high!”

    Overseas Singaporeans in China
    Lee Hsien Loong with overseas Singaporeans. Photo courtesy: X/@leehsienloong

    30 years of the first Singapore-China G2G project

    Suzhou Industrial Park is one of the major outcomes of the close ties between Singapore and China. This mixed-use development spans industries, leisure, education, culture, and more.

    Suzhou Industrial Park
    Panoramic view of Suzhou Industrial Park. Photo courtesy: X/@leehsienloong

    In his speech at the Suzhou Industrial Park 30th Anniversary Commemorative Event on 25 November 2024, SM Lee recalled how, in 1994, Singapore and China established SIP with a “meeting of minds and shared political will”. This venture was the first Government-to-Government (G2G) project between the two countries.

    Lee Hsien Loong at Suzhou Industrial Park. Photo courtesy: X/@leehsienloong

    Looking back at the decades that led to this project, SM Lee said, “The story of [Suzhou Industrial Park] traces back to 1978, when [China’s national leader] Mr Deng Xiaoping visited Singapore. After seeing what Singapore had done, Mr Deng felt that China could adapt elements of Singapore’s development experience to its own reform and development journey. Years later, during his 1992 Southern Tour, Mr Deng reiterated this message.

    “On Singapore’s part, [Singapore’s first prime minister] Mr Lee Kuan Yew was likewise keen to see how we could support China’s development. Mr Lee happened to visit Suzhou in 1992 and saw its potential role in China’s reform and development. With this meeting of minds and shared political will, China and Singapore established the SIP in 1994. The aim was to develop a high-quality industrial township in China, to be a vehicle to adapt Singapore’s experience of economic development, investment promotion, and urban planning to China’s national circumstances.”

    Suzhou Industrial Park 30th Anniversary Commemorative Event
    Lee Hsien Loong delivers his speech at the Suzhou Industrial Park 30th Anniversary Commemorative Event on 25 November 2024. Photo courtesy: X/@leehsienloong

    During his current official visit, Lee Hsien Loong reiterated the message of Singapore and China working together. The ST report quoted him as saying in Shanghai, “If we want to make a success of Singapore, we should be able to work with [China], certainly not to neglect them, and least of all to be at odds with them, if at all possible.”

  • Bangladesh: Woman TV journalist Munni Saha heckled by mob in Dhaka, released after detention 

    Journalist Munni Saha mobbed in Dhaka.
    Woman journalist faces harassment in Bangladesh. Photo Courtesy: Video grab from X

    Bangladeshi woman TV journalist  Munni Saha was mobbed and briefly detained by a mob in the country’s capital city Dhaka on Saturday who accused her of spreading misinformation and doing everything to ‘make the nation a part of India’.

    A police team later reached the spot and took her into custody.

    According to Bangladeshi media reports, Saha is an accused in a July mass uprising case.

    The mass protest over a job quota row in the country led to the toppling of former PM Sheikh Hasina’s regime on August 5.

    Saha was released conditionally in the wee hours on Sunday after being taken to Tejgaon Police Station during the night for security reasons.

    The police, however, claimed its forces did not detain her.

    “Police did not detain her. People detained her and then handed her over to the police,” Rezaul Karim Mallick, additional commissioner (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star.

    “The Tejgaon police first took her to the police station. She was moved to the DB police compound for security reasons,” he said.

    “Munni Saha had a panic attack and fell ill. Considering her condition and that she is a female journalist, we released her under section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” Mallick said.

    She was handed over to her family on bond and she must appear in court to seek bail and comply with future police summons, he said.

    The Section 497 of the CrPC of the South Asian country allows the release on bail of any person under the age of 16 years or any woman or any sick or infirm person accused of an offence punishable with death.

    Saha mainly worked at ATN News.

    She was the news head of ATN News, a news broadcasting TV channel in Bangladesh.

    Saha faced heckling amid rising atrocities against Hindu community in the country after the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led government.

    It is suspected that foreign hands were at play in orchestrating the unrest and planning Hasina’s ouster.

    Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus-led government took charge of the country just three days after Hasina exited the country.

     Yunus, known for his closeness to the US Democrats, also accepted later in an event in America that there was “design and conspiracy” involved in the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.

    Bangladesh has been witnessing intense protests by minority community members after Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested last week on sedition charges.

  • Indian-origin student from Telangana shot dead in Chicago shopping mall

    Sai Teja Nukarapu shot dead by robbers in US
    Sai Teja Nukarapu came to the US 3 months ago and worked part-time at the shopping mall. Photo Courtesy: Video grab

    Sai Teja Nukarapu, a 22-year-old student from Telangana, was shot dead by armed robbers at a shopping mall in Chicago, USA, on Friday, media reports said.

    Teja, a resident of Khammam district, was working part-time at the mall’s cash counter when the attackers opened fire and looted cash.

    He died on the spot, reported India Today.

    Teja had moved to the US three months ago to pursue an MBA after completing his BBA in India, according to the report.

    The Consulate General of India’s office in Chicago described the incident as “shocking” and demanded immediate action against the culprits.

    This incident comes just days after another Indian student from Telangana, 23-year-old Aryan Reddy, accidentally fatally shot himself on his birthday in Atlanta, Georgia.

    In related news, US consular data revealed that India has overtaken China as the top source of international students in the US for the 2023-24 academic year. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh contributed 56% of these students, with Telangana alone accounting for 34% and Andhra Pradesh 22%.

    According to US Consular Chief Rebekah Drame, over 47,000 student visa interviews were conducted in Hyderabad during the summer of 2024, a significant increase from 35,000 the previous year.

    Public Affairs Officer Alexander McLaren noted that nearly 3.3 lakh Indian students traveled to the US last year, with most opting for master’s programs.

  • Rebel forces take control over ‘majority’ of Aleppo, claim observers

    Observers claim Rebel forces take control over 'majority' of Aleppo
    Young boys displaced by conflict in Syria stand in front of a shelter.  Photo Courtesy: WFP

    Rebel forces have taken control of the ‘majority’ of Syria’s Aleppo city, as per UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

    The governor of Aleppo and the leadership of police and security branches withdrew from the centre of the city, and regime forces and reinforcement escaped from the city to Al-Safirah area, read the SOHR website.

    Triggering conflict, a rebel alliance launched a surprise attack this week.

    It is the first time Syrian rebels have entered Aleppo city since the government forces regained control over the region during the 2016 Civil War.

    By Saturday morning, rebel fighters had taken control of large swathes of the city, according to footage geolocated by American news channel CNN.

    The rebels reportedly faced limited resistance from Syrian forces.

    Several residents inside Aleppo told CNN that there has been minimal fighting in the city’s urban areas.

    Kurdish forces have also expanded their control of some neighbourhoods of Aleppo, residents told the news channel.

    As per Syrian Observatory for Human Rights website, a Russian fighter jet launched an airstrike with three missiles on military headquarters that included a group of members of the “Joint Forces” of the Turkish-backed “National Army”, on the outskirts of Marae’ City in northern Aleppo countryside.

    The website claimed over 300 people died since the offensive started on Wednesday.

    Armed conflicts have been going on in Syria since 2011.

    Separate terror groups have been operating in various parts of the nation ever since the army liberated most parts of the country.