Friday, December 26

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`Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein` director Sidharth Sengupta: ‘I am an impatient viewer`
Entertainment, Movies

`Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein` director Sidharth Sengupta: ‘I am an impatient viewer`

Even after 20 years in the television industry, writer-director Sidharth Sengupta often feels like he doesn’t know enough about the craft. This feeling of humility, he says, pushes him to do better. The result? In 2021, he delivered a sleeper hit in Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein. Three years on, he has returned with the second season of the Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shweta Tripathi and Aanchal Singgh-led web series. In a chat with mid-day, Sengupta discusses why it took him three years to craft the next season, and how he maintains objectivity in his writing. Edited excerpts from the interview. Why did it take you three years to return with the second season of Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein?The second season was a little more difficult to write. I wrote various versions, but was not happy. I was ashamed tha...
Donald Trump threatens sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on first day in office | US News
Business

Donald Trump threatens sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on first day in office | US News

Donald Trump has threatened sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on his first day in office.The president-elect, who takes office on 20 January next year, said he would introduce a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico. Posting on his Truth Social platform he also threatened an additional 10% tariff on goods from China on top of any additional tariffs he might impose as one of his first executive orders.What Trump's tariffs could mean for UK, EU, China and the worldIf implemented, the tariffs could raise prices for ordinary American consumers on everything from petrol to cars and agricultural products. The US is the largest importer of goods worldwide and Mexico, China and Canada are its top three suppliers according to the country's own census dat...
Kate Moss recreates 2005 Glastonbury look for partywear Zara collection: first looks revealed ahead of Saturday launch
Life Style

Kate Moss recreates 2005 Glastonbury look for partywear Zara collection: first looks revealed ahead of Saturday launch

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Conor McGregor speaks after losing civil rape case as feminist march held in Dublin | World News
Business

Conor McGregor speaks after losing civil rape case as feminist march held in Dublin | World News

Conor McGregor has spoken out after losing a civil rape case as a feminist march was held in Dublin.The MMA fighter was accused of raping Nikita Hand, who was awarded €248,603 (£206,000) in damages on Friday after a jury at Dublin's High Court found McGregor assaulted her in a Dublin hotel in 2018. Image: Nikita Hand. Pic: PA Posting on social media, the 36-year-old said: "I know I made mistakes".It comes as hundreds of people in Dublin staged a demonstration in "utter solidarity" with Ms Hand.Posting on X, McGregor said: "People want to hear from me, I needed time. I know I made mistakes. Six years ago, I should have never responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. I should never have stepped out on th...
Kiwi man killed in South African robbery – reports
World News

Kiwi man killed in South African robbery – reports

The man is reported to have died on Mostert Street in Monte Vista, South Africa. Photo: Supplied / Google Maps A Kiwi man has reportedly been killed following a robbery in South Africa, media are reporting. According to local news media Daily Voice, the man was trying to stop a robbery in Monte Vista and shot dead. Police spokesman Malcolm Pojie confirmed to the Daily Voice the man was 49-years-old and died around 1.30pm on Friday on Mostert Street in Monte Vista. "We have reason to believe that it was a bank-following-robbery as the motive, even though the suspects fled the scene without any loot," the outlet reported Pojie as saying. "The vehicles of the suspects were traced and recovered in a parking lot in Parow." Daily Voice reported the dead man's parents were the intended victims...
Amateur sleuths hone in on backpacker hostel in Laos poisoning case
World News

Amateur sleuths hone in on backpacker hostel in Laos poisoning case

By Bill Birtles and Lauren Day for ABC The Nana backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos. Photo: ABC / Mitchell Woolnough Two weeks on from the first case of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos, fellow backpackers have been investigating the culprit in lieu of public information from police. It comes as Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs in a notable public statement urged authorities in Laos to be transparent. "We are clear with our Lao counterparts that Australians expect those investigations to be thorough and transparent," a DFAT spokesperson said. Police confirmed in recent days they had questioned the operators of the Nana backpacker hostel, where at least five of the six victims who died were staying. Among them were 19-year-old Australian friends Bianca Jones and Holly ...
Amateur sleuths hone in on backpacker hostel in Laos poisoning case
World News

Amateur sleuths hone in on backpacker hostel in Laos poisoning case

By Bill Birtles and Lauren Day for ABC The Nana backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos. Photo: ABC / Mitchell Woolnough Two weeks on from the first case of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos, fellow backpackers have been investigating the culprit in lieu of public information from police. It comes as Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs in a notable public statement urged authorities in Laos to be transparent. "We are clear with our Lao counterparts that Australians expect those investigations to be thorough and transparent," a DFAT spokesperson said. Police confirmed in recent days they had questioned the operators of the Nana backpacker hostel, where at least five of the six victims who died were staying. Among them were 19-year-old Australian friends Bianca Jones and Hol...
India’s ban on antibiotics in animal food products to help curb AMR: Report
Health

India’s ban on antibiotics in animal food products to help curb AMR: Report

The decision by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to ban the use of some antibiotics in animal food products will help curb the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to a new report.  In October, the FSSAI banned the use of some antibiotics used in the production of meat, meat products, milk, milk products, poultry, eggs, and aquaculture. The ban in usage of antibiotics will enhance the quality of livestock farming in India. This regulatory decision is a crucial move to safeguard public health and curb the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which renders certain bacterial infections increasingly difficult to treat with standard medications among consumers, said GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. “Being one of th...
Egypt: Two Britons believed to be among 16 missing as tourist boat sinks after being ‘hit by large wave’ | World News
Business

Egypt: Two Britons believed to be among 16 missing as tourist boat sinks after being ‘hit by large wave’ | World News

Two Britons are believed to be among more than a dozen people missing after a boat sank in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast.The yacht, called Sea Story, had 44 people on board, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 13 crew.Authorities are searching for 16 people, including 12 foreign nationals and four Egyptians, the governor of the Red Sea region said, adding that 28 other people had been rescued.Preliminary reports suggested a sudden large wave struck the vessel, capsizing it within about five minutes, governor Amr Hanafi said."Some passengers were in their cabins, which is why they were unable to escape," he added in a statement. Image: Survivors rescued from the Sea Story in Marsa Alam. Pic: STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock ...
Bestselling ‘Woman of Substance’ author Barbara Taylor Bradford dies aged 91
World News

Bestselling ‘Woman of Substance’ author Barbara Taylor Bradford dies aged 91

Barbara Taylor Bradford attends a theatre event in New York on 9 December, 2004. Photo: AFP Bestselling British-American writer Barbara Taylor Bradford, whose debut novel A Woman of Substance turned her into an overnight success and sold over 30 million copies, has died aged 91, a spokeswoman said on Monday. Taylor Bradford, who wrote 40 novels and notched up 91 million book sales worldwide during her career, died peacefully at her home on Sunday following a short illness. She "was surrounded by loved ones to the very end", the spokeswoman said, adding that a private funeral would be held in New York. A Woman of Substance tells the story of servant Emma Harte who overcomes a humble start in Taylor Bradford's native Yorkshire in northern England to head a business empire, navigating nume...