Author: Rahul M

IT’S election time, and from the dais of Patna’s large Gandhi Maidan, Bihar expects to soon hear parties repeat their tall promises of jobs. It’s an irony that rings loudest in the ground surrounding the platform.Every morning, thousands turn up here for “training”, to clear the “physical test” that is an essential component of a range of government job exams. But now, the only open expanse around for miles is officially barred for public use “in view of elections”. A notice issued by the district administration says all public activities on the ground are barred from October 24 till November 3 for…

THE DEFEAT of National Conference candidate Imran Nabi Dar in the Rajya Sabha polls marked the ruling party coming full circle after 14 years, when in 2011 it stood on the winning side with the support of seven BJP MLAs who defied party whip during election to the now defunct Legislative Council. Dar, who polled 22 votes for the fourth vacant Rajya Sabha seat on Friday, remained seven short of the 29 votes needed to win the contest.BJP’s J&K unit president Sat Sharma, a chartered accountant by profession, clinched the fourth seat by polling 32 votes against his party’s total…

(Bloomberg) — In the global portfolio of political ads that changed history, a handful stand out.In the U.K., the famed “Labour Isn’t Working” poster of 1978 has long been credited for helping Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government sweep to power the following year. Before that, the “Daisy” political ad, created for U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s campaign against Barry Goldwater, was pulled from the air for fear-mongering in 1964 — but also deemed tremendously effective.And late Thursday night, a 60-second spot from Ontario, Canada, based on excerpts from a 1987 radio address by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, caused President Donald…

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images Audiences primarily know Sofia Vergara for her role as the brunette bombshell Gloria on “Modern Family,” where she starred for all 11 seasons of the show’s run. The series turned Vergara, an immigrant from Colombia, into a major celebrity, and she’s since gone on to star in hits like “Entourage” and “Dirty Sexy Money.” In 2020, she became a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” and more recently, she headlined the Netflix crime drama “Griselda,” where she played the notorious real-life Colombian drug lord, Griselda Blanco. One of the…

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10% because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.The ad used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize U.S. tariffs, angering Trump who said he would end trade talks with Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend, and it ran Friday night during the first game of the World Series.“Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it…

Walt Disney Pictures In 2018 and 2019, Walt Disney Pictures reached an astonishing $3+ billion grosses domestically in each year. 2019 specifically brought in $3.74 billion, a haul reflecting Disney’s various brands (Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Disney Animation, etc.) at the peak of their prowess. Six years later, though, Disney’s in a more precarious place. While the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” remake is currently the biggest American release of the year, the studio’s current domestic cume stands at $1.6 billion.  While end-of-the-year sequels “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash”…

LONDON (AP) — Left-wing independent Catherine Connolly, who secured the backing of Ireland’s left-leaning parties including Sinn Féin, has won the country’s presidential election in a landslide victory against her center-right rival.Official results showed strong voter support for Connolly as president, a largely ceremonial role in Ireland. She won 63% first-preference votes once spoiled votes were excluded, compared to 29% of her rival Heather Humphreys, of the center-right party Fine Gael.Connolly, 68, said Saturday evening at Dublin Castle that she would champion diversity and be a voice for peace and one that “builds on our policy of neutrality.” “I would…

Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock Stephen King is often involved with the adaptations of his work, and isn’t afraid to comment if he doesn’t like something — just as he did for a ’90s adaptation of one of his early short stories, which also earned 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. He’s particularly vocal when it comes to his opinion of Stanley Kubrick’s version of “The Shining,” and that may be part of why he hand-picked director Mick Garris’ female lead for the second attempt to adapt the novel, choosing Rebecca De Mornay to play Wendy…

Patna, Oct 25 (IANS) Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son and chief of the Janshakti Janata Dal, Tej Pratap Yadav, on Saturday launched a sharp attack on his younger brother Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, saying he cannot be a Jan Nayak and owes his position entirely to their father Lalu Prasad Yadav. While speaking to media persons in Patna, Tej Pratap said, “Tejashwi can never be a Jan Nayak. Whatever he is today is because of my father, Lalu Prasad Yadav. When Tejashwi achieves something on his own merit, I will be the first to praise him and call him a Jan…

(Bloomberg) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Trump administration will not abandon long-standing US support for Taiwan in negotiations with China to reach a trade agreement.“If what people are worried about is we’re going to get some trade deal where we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan — no one is contemplating that,” Rubio told reporters on his plane Saturday en route from Israel to join President Donald Trump at a regional meeting in Asia.Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week on the sidelines of…