Cybercriminals will exploit reliance on mobile devices

Accountability hawk: BJP President J.P. Nadda’s insistence on accountability has meant that the vice presidents, general secretaries and national spokespersons of the saffron party will now have to spend hours filling out forms regarding their monthly activities. They have to provide details like the number of persons contacted, places visited and actions that have been taken to popularise government programmes. The party spokespersons have to give a list of news conferences and TV debates they attended, the number of journalists they met, and subjects they articulated. Nadda will regularly share the digitally powered activity dashboard with the offices of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Gone are the days when office-bearers could leisurely narrate their activities over a cup of tea at the BJP headquarters | Illustrations by Job P.K.

Free tea fortress: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is a regular at “Joshi Café”. Don’t bother to Google, because it is the official residence of Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi. The nickname was coined by the staff at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi. The state government-owned property has an entire floor for the CM, but Bommai prefers to network through his close friend Joshi—both hail from Hubli. An added bonus is the north Karnataka-style tea Joshi’s wife makes. Another advantage is that “Joshi Café” is well-guarded, and is less accessible for journalists speculating on Bommai’s survival chances.

Wrong target: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is holding early morning meetings regularly—that would start at 6.30am—with district officials. In a recent meeting, the CM expressed strong dismay at the Burhanpur district “collector” for not paying attention. The video of the CM scolding the officer went viral. However, soon it became clear that the CM had hit the wrong target as the district collector in question was on leave, and instead, a sub-district magistrate had attended the meeting. The opposition grabbed the chance to hurl jibes at Chouhan.

Stealing Thor’s thunder: Two years after it was revealed that Natalie Portman would be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans finally got a proper look at her portrayal of Mighty Thor/Jane Foster. The official trailer of Thor: Love and Thunder released on May 24. One noteworthy moment shows Chris Hemsworth’s Thor reaching for a reforged Mjolnir. But, the magical hammer ignores him and whizzes into Jane’s hand. This, plus other reveals, has led to speculation that (the now jacked-up) Portman would be the MCU’s new Thor, replacing Hemsworth. While we have to wait for the movie’s release in July to find out, one thing is clear—Portman has stolen Hemsworth’s thunder | Getty Images

Bowled over: Anushka Sharma is getting a taste of perhaps what her husband, cricketer Virat Kohli, goes through on field. She is prepping for her role in Chakda Xpress, where she plays former India captain Jhulan Goswami. Recently, she shared a selfie from her practice session, and wrote, “Kaash bachpan mein kuch toh cricket khela hota toh aaj haalat aise na hoti (I wish I had played cricket in my childhood, perhaps then I would not have suffered like this today).” Earlier, she had shared another selfie with the caption “Tan on ten” | Getty Images

Kill Mill!: If Millie Bobby Brown had her way, she would want Stranger Things to have a Game of Thrones kind of ending—a bloodbath where almost all the characters you like get killed. Brown, who plays Eleven in the Netflix series, trusts the Duffer brothers and their creative process, but thinks they are “two sensitive Sallys that don’t want to kill anyone off”. “We need to have the mindset of Game of Thrones… kill me off,” she said in an interview. To be fair, she was just having a fun conversation with co-star Noah Schnapp (Will Byers). Season 4 volume 1 will start streaming on May 27 | Getty Images

All that sparkles: In the heart of the walled city of Old Delhi, lies one of Asia’s oldest and largest jewellery markets—Dariba Kalan, where the sparkling Shri Ram Hari Ram (SRHR) jewellers have their iconic store. Established in 1789, SRHR hail from a time when their forefathers were treasurers to Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. Now Umang Gupta, the seventh generation owner of SRHR, has brought his treasured learnings from the Gemologist Institute of America-New York to Old Delhi. This reserved and refined jeweller is the driving force that connects the legacy and tradition of SRHR with the thriving collector of the present. The 29-year-old is now trying to get the brand into making everyday jewellery for men and is intent on establishing diamonds as a man’s best friend.

Popping in: ‘Beliebers’ cannot keep calm, as the Bieber boy will be in town this October. Justin Bieber will perform at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on October 18 as part of his Justice World Tour. The ‘Peaches’ singer will sing his way through more than 30 countries from May 2022 to March 2023. He last visited India in 2017 for his Purpose World Tour | Shutterstock