Author: Rahul M

A crucial resolution is coming up in the Rajya Sabha, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah moving a resolution that the “House approves the continuance in force of the Proclamation dated the 13th February, 2025 in respect of Manipur, issued under article 356 of the Constitution by the President, for a further period of six months with effect from 13th August, 2025.”Article 356 refers to the imposition of President’s Rule and effectively transfers all the functions of the state government to the Centre and the function of the state legislature to Parliament during the period when it is in force.…

The historic Kennington Oval is set to host a tantalizing series finale as India and England gear up for the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy from July 31 to August 4, 2025. With England leading 2-1, the stakes couldn’t be higher. For India, it’s about squaring the series and salvaging pride; for England, it’s about sealing a home triumph in what has already been a riveting contest. And if the surface at The Oval is any indication, cricket fans are in for a classic English Test match—green, gritty, and gripping. Green Top at The Oval: Pacers Set…

AS THE two Kerala nuns arrested on charges of forced conversion and human trafficking in Chhattisgarh remain behind bars, a powerful body of Catholic bishops in Kerala Wednesday indicated that any prospective “friendship” with the BJP rests on the issue. Addressing reporters, Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis expressed unhappiness over the denial of bail to the two nuns, and said: “If no justice is done, then what friendship can there be? How can we speak of perfect brotherhood?” On Wednesday, the Catholic Church also took out a march to the Raj Bhavan, with bishops, priests and…

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors that the newly formed Meta Superintelligence Labs is focused on building AI models that can self-improve—meaning they can learn from themselves without as much human input. The remarks came during a second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.“At some level, [it’s] not just going to be learning from people, because you want to build something that is fundamentally smarter than people,” Zuckerberg said. “So…you’re going to develop a way for it to improve itself. That is a very fundamental thing that’s going to have broad implications for how we build products and how we run the…

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Pamela Anderson’s comeback continues in 2025 with a major role in the Liam Neeson-led reboot of the “Naked Gun” franchise. That’s not long after a Netflix documentary, “Pamela: A Love Story,” dropped some major bombshells, while 2024’s “The Last Showgirl” earned Anderson a Golden Globe nomination for best actress. Anderson and Neeson are also reportedly now a couple, having begun dating while filming “The Naked Gun.”  Of course, it’s a long way from the mid-1990s, when Anderson was bouncing around in a skimpy bathing suit as lifeguard Casey on “Baywatch”…

From JD Vance’s dinnertime Bieber to Sam Altman’s Shazaming of incredibly popular hit songs, a website claiming to have published the Spotify listening habits of members of the Trump administration, tech leaders, and journalists is making the rounds.“We’ve been scraping their accounts since summer 2024. Playlists, live listening feed, everything. We know what songs they played, when, and how many times,” the Panama Playlists site reads, alleging, “With a little sleuthing, I could say with near-certainty: Yep, this is them.”Are all of the accounts real? At this point, it’s hard to tell. The accounts listed have not been independently verified…

US President Donald Trump just dealt another blow to the embattled ecommerce industry, which is still reeling from sweeping tariffs Trump announced in the spring. On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order widening the impact of those tariffs and making it more expensive for Americans to buy foreign products on sites like eBay, Etsy, and Amazon.The order eliminates the so-called “de minimis” provision, a longstanding policy that allowed people in the US to import packages valued at less than $800 from anywhere in the world duty-free. Those packages will now be subject to the same country-specific tariffs as larger shipments,…

TORONTO (AP) — Canada will recognize a Palestinian state in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday, the latest in a series of symbolic announcements that are part of a broader global shift against Israel’s policies in Gaza.Carney convened a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in the battered Palestinian territory. He said it came after he discussed the crisis with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer who announced a similar move on Tuesday. Leaders are under mounting pressure over the issue as scenes of hunger in Gaza have horrified so many across the world. “The level of human suffering…

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” blew everyone away at the box office during its opening weekend, but that comes with a heavy asterisk. For a more detailed explanation of how the superhero film’s box office performance can be both good and bad, check out Looper’s video above about the financial situation concerning “First Steps” and what it could mean for the future of superhero movies’ ability to make money.  Despite great reviews for “First Steps,” including our own, the film points to a worrying trend. Overall, it earned $117 million domestically and a global haul of…

Marvel Studios After making Marvel Cinematic Universe fans wait for years, the Fantastic Four have finally arrived in this franchise (albeit on a parallel Earth). “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” provides an unabashedly outlandish reintroduction (including setting everything in a retro-futuristic world) of Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/The Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). The story chronicles Sue Storm gearing up for the birth of her first child, as well as the impending arrival of planet-gobbler Galactus (Ralph Ineson).…