Thursday, February 5

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Dolly Singh: Best Worst Date allows me to write my own story
Entertainment, Movies

Dolly Singh: Best Worst Date allows me to write my own story

Telling stories is content creator Dolly Singh’s first love. It has taken on a new form with Best Worst Date, an Instagram sketch series that is written by and stars her. As the second season dropped on the photo-sharing app on December 16, Singh says she has enjoyed creating the five-minute episodes. “My love for writing has grown over the years. I like telling my own stories. My voice is more long-form oriented. I wanted to do that on an app where short form is being pushed. This idea allows me to write my own story and use it in bits,” says Singh, who was recently seen in Thank You for Coming (2023). The seven-episode series, directed by Anurag Baruah, chronicles the protagonist’s experiences on blind dates.  Singh is enjoying juggling acting, writing and content creation. Having put ...
Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown – National
Politics

Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown – National

Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day’s outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”The House approved Johnson’s new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just after the deadline. At midnight, the White...
Kolkata doctor saves passenger’s life mid-air on Kolkata-Delhi flight
Health

Kolkata doctor saves passenger’s life mid-air on Kolkata-Delhi flight

Envision being thousands of feet above ground seated inside a crowded aircraft when suddenly an in-flight medical emergency occurs. A passenger seated in the aircraft was having trouble breathing and her skin turned pale and strained. Other passengers looked on in concern but did not know how to intervene, Dr. Smita Moitra, consultant and in-charge, Emergency Department, Manipal Hospitals, Broadway in Kolkata took charge of the situation. The incident occurred on a Kolkata-to-Delhi flight on December 6, when a 45-year-old woman from Bikaner started experiencing severe hypertensive heart failure due to a long history of high blood pressure. With the aircraft being mid-air, every second was critical. What followed was a reminder of how fragile life can be, and how human instinct and compass...
Paul Smith’s guide to London: ‘Keep your phone inside your pocket’
Life Style

Paul Smith’s guide to London: ‘Keep your phone inside your pocket’

Holland Park and it has been since the Eighties. Our home is something that is very important to me. It’s a home, not just a house.Where do you stay in London?Claridge’s of course — it’s an overused word, but it is truly iconic. Even before visiting I’d heard so much about its history, that as soon as I stepped into the polished revolving doors I knew I was entering somewhere very special. I first stayed about 25 years ago but had been going there for drinks or dinner for some time before that. I’m not a big drinker but tea in the Reading Room is a great treat for anyone visiting London. My wife Pauline and I have been together since I was 21 but we still like to go on dates. Claridge’s is somewhere we love to go, particularly if we’re celebrating.Claridge'sWhere was your first flat in Lon...
Hundreds told to flee out-of-control bushfires in Australia
World News

Hundreds told to flee out-of-control bushfires in Australia

About 400 firefighters are fighting bushfires in the Australian state of Victoria, and some residents have been told to leave immediately. (File photo). Photo: AFP/ James Ross Bushfires in Australia's Victoria state burnt out of control on Saturday, with authorities issuing an evacuation order at the highest danger rating for hundreds of residents in the state's west. The alert was for an area near the Grampians National Park, about 241km west of state capital Melbourne, and included rural towns such as Halls Gap, population 495. "Leaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous," Victoria's emergency services agency said on its website. One of the blazes, sparked on Tuesday by lightning strikes, spread overnight and had now burnt through more than 28,000...
US House approves bill to avert govt shutdown, sends to Senate
World News

US House approves bill to avert govt shutdown, sends to Senate

By Richard Cowan, Bo Erickson, Andy Sullivan and Katharine Jackson, Reuters The US Capitol Hill Christmas Tree, in Washington DC, on 3 December. Photo: AFP/ Getty - Kevin Dietsch The US House of Representatives has approved a government funding bill on a bipartisan basis The bill now goes to the Democratic-majority Senate The measure does not include Trumps' demand to lift the country's debt ceiling The bill includes funding for storm-hit states and for farmers The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday that would avert a midnight government shutdown, defying President-elect Donald Trump's demand to also greenlight trillions of dollars in new debt. Next, the Democratic-controlled Senate would need to pass the bill to ensure the government w...
Vanuatu earthquake: Last repatriation from Port Vila, water in short supply
World News

Vanuatu earthquake: Last repatriation from Port Vila, water in short supply

New Zealand support has arrived in Vanuatu after this week's earthquake. Photo: RNZ / Koroi Hawkins Boarding has started for New Zealand's last repatriation flight from Port Vila after Tuesday's magnitude 7.3 earthquake. Passengers heading home on the RNZAF Boeing 757 on Saturday afternoon include stranded tourists of various nationalities, returning disaster response officials and media. Staff at the Port Vila's Bauerfield International Airport International Airport said repairs to the quake-damaged international terminal were ongoing. The intention was to resume commercial airline services on Monday, but for now flights remained suspended. Fiji Airways, Qantas, Jetstar and Solomon Airlines were all interested in resuming flights, Jason Rakau, CEO of Airports Vanuatu, told RNZ. Aid ...
How Luigi Mangione’s notebook helped federal prosecutors build their case and what’s next as he faces mounting charges
World News

How Luigi Mangione’s notebook helped federal prosecutors build their case and what’s next as he faces mounting charges

By Emma Tucker, CNN Luigi Mangione, suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, arrives at a heliport in New York City with NYPD officers. Photo: SPENCER PLATT / Getty Images via AFP It was writings laid bare in a notebook found in Luigi Mangione's possession, authorities say, that would help investigators build the federal case against him - a well-planned homicide that involved stalking the movements of his alleged victim, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. An entry dated 15 August, reads: "the details are finally coming together," according to a federal complaint unsealed Thursday. "I'm glad - in a way - that I've procrastinated," Mangione allegedly wrote, saying it gave him time to learn more about the company he was targeting, whose name was redacted by pros...
Quake-shocked New Caledonian children repatriated from Vanuatu
World News

Quake-shocked New Caledonian children repatriated from Vanuatu

A group of schoolchildren boarding a military aircraft to be repatriated to New Caledonia after the Vanuatu earthquake. Photo: Supplied / French Embassy in Vanuatu Twenty New Caledonian children who suffered the shock of Port Vila's 7.3 magnitude earthquake have been repatriated from Vanuatu onboard a French military CASA aircraft. The special operation was conducted on Thursday, as part of relief operations conducted by the Nouméa-based French Armed Forces in New Caledonia in response to the destructive quake that shook the Vanuatu capital, where several buildings have collapsed. The group of children, from Northern New Caledonia (Népoui, Koné, Pouembout, and Poia), are aged between 8 and 14. They were visiting Vanuatu as part of a holiday camp organised by their sports association. Th...
Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini acquitted of migrant kidnapping charges
World News

Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini acquitted of migrant kidnapping charges

By Wladimir Pantaleone and Angelo Amante, Reuters Matteo Salvini. Photo: AFP Protecting borders is not a crime, League party chief says PM Meloni vows to continue fight against illegal immigration Anti-immigrant parties, Musk, supported Salvini A court on Friday acquitted Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini of charges of kidnapping over 100 migrants aboard a boat he had blocked at sea for nearly three weeks in 2019, as part of a policy to curb irregular arrivals. After a three-year trial, judges rejected a prosecutor's request to hand a six-year jail term to Salvini, the leader of the far-right League party, who is serving as transport minister in Giorgia Meloni's government. "I'm happy. After three years, common sense won, the League won, Italy won," Salvini told repor...