Shah Rukh Khan is not just a gifted actor but also a dedicated and loving father to his three children Suhana, Aryan and AbRam. The superstar has spoken up multiple times about how his children mean the world to him.
Recently, his daughter Suhana Khan followed in her father’s footsteps with a feature role in the upcoming Netflix film The Archies. Today on Instagram, she shared a present her dad had gifted her as she begins to forge her own acting career. It was a journal in which Shah Rukh Khan had written down acting tips he had learned in his 34 years in the Bollywood industry.
Shah Rukh Khan also left a wholesome comment on the post, saying that this was everything he hadn’t known about acting before and hoped that his daughter might teach him.
Previously, the actor had posted a congratulatory note to Suhana when the trailer of The Archies was released worldwide. In the post, Shah Rukh wished his daughter good luck and reminded her to always be kind and giving as an actor.
The United States (US) has offered its “resolute” support to Pakistan to counter terrorism while Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari spoke to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Antony Blinken tweeted, “I hope for a productive climate conference next month and give my condolences for the lives lost in recent terrorist attacks.”
Spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister @BBhuttoZardari to express our continued support for the people of Pakistan as they recover from devastating floods. I hope for a productive climate conference next month and give my condolences for the lives lost in recent terrorist attacks.
Bilawal Bhutto also tweeted about the conversation, writing, “Spoke with @SecBlinken & conveyed gratitude of GoP for USG’s flood assist. of $97 m. Will continue coop. for rebuilding resilient infrastructure in & to further enhance & diversify bilateral relations & to work together for regional peace & stability.”
Spoke with @SecBlinken & conveyed gratitude of GoP for USG’s flood assist. of $97 m. Will continue coop. for rebuilding resilient infrastructure in & to further enhance & diversify bilateral relations & to work together for regional peace & stability.
Earlier, the US offered to help Pakistan in dealing with threats posed by militant outfits.
“Well, first, we are aware of the ongoing situation in Pakistan. We’ve been closely following reports that militants have seized control of the counterterrorism centre in Bannu. We offer our deepest sympathies to those injured,” said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.
Amber Heard will pay Johnny Depp $1 million to settle their long-running legal battle, in which each accused the other of domestic violence.
The sum is a significant reduction from the $8.35 million she was ordered to pay after a six-week trial in Virginia earlier this year. The payment is expected to come from her insurance carrier.
In a statement, Depp’s attorneys said that he would donate the money to charity. His attorneys have previously said that the case was “never about the money” for Depp. In her own statement, Heard said she had “lost faith in the American legal system.” She also said that the settlement spares her the ordeal of further litigation and allows her to finally “emancipate” herself from their marriage.
Depp originally filed a $50 million defamation claim against Heard in March 2019 after she published an op-ed in the Washington Post in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
At the trial in Fairfax, Va., each actor testified for several days, revealing lurid details of drug abuse and screaming matches. Their testimony was streamed live on YouTube and remixed endlessly on TikTok and Facebook. Heard alleged that Depp repeatedly assaulted her, choked her and once raped her with a liquor bottle. She often broke down in sobs during her testimony.
Depp, meanwhile, alleged that Heard was the aggressor in the relationship, and that he would try to retreat whenever she became violent. The couple had made audio recordings of their arguments during their marriage, and each side played clips they had selected to try to corroborate their accounts.
The seven-person jury ruled in Depp’s favor on three separate claims of defamation, awarding him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The latter sum was knocked down to $350,000 to comply with a statutory cap.
In a small consolation to Heard, the jury also found in her favor on one of her three counterclaims, finding Depp liable for a statement made by his attorney in which Heard was accused of perpetrating a “hoax.” Depp was ordered to pay Heard $2 million, leaving a net judgment of $8.35 million in Depp’s favor.
The following month, Heard filed a notice of appeal, with her attorney citing “errors” made by the court. However, the “Aquaman” actor has now agreed to withdraw her appeal.
In a statement posted on Instagram announcing the decision, Heard made clear that “There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward” and blasted the U.S. legal system for turning her testimony into “entertainment and social media fodder.”
She also compared her experience of the U.S. legal system to the U.K., where Depp sued British tabloid The Sun in 2020 for calling him a “wife beater” in an article. Heard was a chief witness for The Sun. In that case, the judge called the allegations “substantially true” and found in favor of The Sun.
In a statement, representatives for Depp said they were pleased with the outcome, and emphasized that the jury’s verdicts still stands.
“We are pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter for Mr. Depp, who made clear throughout this process that his priority was about bringing the truth to light,” said Depp’s attorneys Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez. “The jury’s unanimous decision and the resulting judgement in Mr. Depp’s favor against Ms. Heard remain fully in place. The payment of $1 million – which Mr. Depp is pledging and will (actually) donate to charities – reinforces Ms. Heard’s acknowledgement of the conclusion of the legal system’s rigorous pursuit for justice.”
Heard first leveled her abuse allegations against Depp in 2016, in the course of her divorce from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star. She later received $7 million in a settlement and the couple agreed not to speak of the matter again, signing non-disparagement and non-disclosure agreements.
Read Heard’s full statement below:
“After a great deal of deliberation I have made a very difficult decision to settle the defamation case brought against me by my ex-husband in Virginia. It’s important for me to say that I never chose this. I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed. The vilification I have faced on social media is an amplified version of the ways in which women are re-victimized when they come forward. Now I finally have an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to. I have made no admission, this is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward. I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder. When I took before a judge in the U.K., I was vindicated by a robust, impartial and fair system, where I was protected from having to give the worst moments of my testimony in front of the worlds media, and where the court found that I was subjected to domestic and sexual violence. In the U.S., however, I exhausted almost all my resources in advance of and during a trial in which I was subject to a courtroom in which abundant, direct evidence that corroborated my testimony was excluded and in which popularity and power mattered more than reason and due process. In the interim I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live. Even if my U.S. appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a re-trial where a new jury would have to consider the evidence age. I simply cannot go through that for a third time.”
She added, “Time is precious, and I want to spend my time productively and purposefully. For too many years I have been caged in an arduous and expensive legal process, which has shown itself unable to protect me and my right to free speech. I cannot afford to risk an impossible bill – one that is not just financial but also psychological, physical and emotional. Women shouldn’t have to face abuse or bankruptcy for speaking her truth, but unfortunately it is not uncommon. In settling this case I’m also choosing the freedom to dedicate my time to the work that helped me heal after my divorce; work that exists in realms in which I feel seen, heard and believed and in which I know I can effect change. I will not be threatened, disheartened, or dissuaded by what happened from speaking the truth. No one can and no one will take that from me. My voice forever remains the most valuable asset I have.”
Amber concluded by saying, “I’d like to thank my outstanding appellate and original trial teams for their relentless hard work. I want to thank everyone who has supported me and I turn my attention to the growing support that I felt and seen publicly in the months since trial, and the efforts have been made to show solidarity with my story. Any survivor knows that the ability to tell their story often feels like the only relief. I cannot find enough words to tell you the hope your belief in me inspires. Not just for me, but for all of you.”
Restaurant owners and traders condemned the national energy conservation plan the government announced yesterday, warning that it will create more problems rather than solutions.
Under the National Energy Conservation Plan, the government has announced that all restaurants and markets shall be closed by 8 pm, while the timing for wedding halls will be limited to 10 pm.
President of the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran, Ajmal Baloch, urged the government to reconsider the decision, stating that it might bankrupt traders as they purchase the most expensive electricity during the timings 6pm to 8pm.
“The government, before defaulting the country, will bankrupt all traders.”
Rizwan Irfan, the President of the Karachi Electric Dealers Association, said while lamenting the policy. He pointed out that traders were facing problems due to electricity and gas load shedding, stressing that such a decision might cause merchants to start protesting in the streets.
The President of the All Pakistan Restaurants Association, Athar Chawla, has called the national energy conservation plan a “counterproductive” approach to ressolving the energy crisis in Pakistan. In a letter to the Minister of Defence Khwaja Asif, who had unveiled the plan at a press conference on Tuesday, he asked that the policy be reconsidered because of how much it could harm restaurants.
“All restaurants carry an inventory of perishable items, which is to be kept in cold storage 24 hours a day and seven days a week, another major electricity consuming machinery are air-conditioners which are already off due to winter season,” he said.
The letter also urged the minister to consider the losses restaurants suffered during Covid-19, and mentioned that almost 50% restaurants suffered losses due to the present economic situation:
“Any further restriction will aggravate the situation resulting in huge unemployment and loss of revenue for the government.”
The letter requested that the government allow restaurants to operate their dine-in function till 1 am, and food delivery to function 24/7.
Activist Shaniera Akram recently posted a screenshot of actor Feroze Khan driving with his child in his lap to reiterate how such an act can be life-threatening. The post instantly made rounds on social media, with many people chiming in on the discussion about road safety. Defending his action, Khan has now responded to Akram on the same.
Taking to Instagram, the actor shared a video of Khabib Nurmagomedov, a popular Russian MMA fighter wrestling with a brown bear. Referring to the fighter, Khan said, “World’s number one fighter! Glad he didn’t listen to you [Shaniera] or your father while being trained or would’ve wasted his talent.”
Khan then noted how he’s much more knowledgeable about cars and safety rules than Akram. “I’m part of the Pakistan Professional Racing Fraternity for the past two years. I understand the sensitivity a lot more than you can,” he shared.
Moving on, the Habs actor shrugged off Akram’s concerns, letting her know that he still has all the support. “Let me do me, and you do you. You’re heard and ignored. I’m back to business,” concluded Khan.
Upon seeing Khan’s reply, Akram also posted an Instagram Story requesting the actor to stop sending videos with ‘animal cruelty’. “I have no idea what this means, please refrain from sending me sick, cryptic animal cruelty videos.”
Once again taking a dig at the Money Back Guarantee actor, Khan then let Akram know that she would never truly understand his stance. “I have already requested Wasim bhai to translate. You wouldn’t get it, requires strength and understanding,” replied the Tich Button actor.
The Khaani star also addressed his followers to stop believing anyone on the internet. He said, “Don’t listen to just any Tom, Dick, and Neira [Shaniera]. You all know what I mean. Focus means focus.”
Farhan Saeed’s Alleged Jibe
Amidst Feroze-Shaniera’s feud, Khan’s Tich Button co-star Farhan Saeed posted a cryptic message, “Do not argue with Jahil (illiterate), he will bring you down to his level and then beat you with his experience.”
Many netizens believe that this post is directed toward Feroze.
Actor Affan Waheed recently answered on Hassan Chaudhry’s The Talk Talk Show if he is dating co-star Sidra Niazi. The Do Bol star also explained why they were spotted together.
Affan stated that he frequently visited London to see his little nephew, and it was purely coincidental that Sidra was also in town at the same time, and they both met and took pictures.
He also said that Sidra is an old family friend of theirs, and they both knew each other before they were famous.
Last year when Waheed appeared on theThe Big Pick show, he revealed that because of his marriage rumours with Shehnai co-star Ramsha Khan, many people in his circle and even neighbourhood believed it.
“Women in my neighborhood visited my home and gave “Salami” (wedding token) of 5000 to my mother, fans are highly convinced about the marriage of Ramsha and me.”
Manupal Hansal, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Uttar Pradesh, has placed a Rs 2 crore bounty on the head of Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, stating that Indian people are angry at the minister’s remarks about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Mai ailaan karta hoon ke jo uss mantri Bilawal Bhutto ka dhar se sar alag karega, 2 crore ka inaam mai doonga” [I declare that I will give a reward of ₹2 crore to anyone who will behead Minister Bilawal Bhutto], Hansal had said.
The BJP also held protests across India and in front of the Pakistan Embassy in New Delhi, burning effigies of the Pakistani foreign minister.
Minister of Climate Change Sherry Rehman has condemned Hansal’s remarks in a tweet, saying that this was a testament of “the shocking impunity that extremism enjoys for doing only what terrorists do in Modi’s RSS-defined India”.
Strongly condemn this local BJP leader for announcing a bounty on Pakistan Foreign Minister @BBhuttoZardari’s head. This is clear testament of the shocking impunity that extremism enjoys for doing only what terrorists do in Modi’s RSS-defined India https://t.co/lHjgWxItaO
In an interview with “Bloomberg“, Bilawal Bhutto stood by his statement about Modi by pointing out that what he had said was “a historical fact”. He also pointed out that the term “butcher of Gujarat” had not been coined by him, but by the people of Gujarat after the 2002 Godhra incident. He further added that he was aware of the bounty a BJP leader had placed on his head.
“I was referring to a historical reality. The remarks I used weren’t my own. I did not invent the term ‘butcher of Gujarat’ for Mr Modi. The Muslims of India following the Gujarat riots used that term for Mr Modi. I believe I was referring to a historical fact and they believe that repeating history is a personal insult. If I was incorrect then … So what has happened today… it’s been two days since my remark, a member of Mr Modi’s party has announced 20 million rupee bounty on my head. So I don’t think the best way to disapprove the fact that Mr Modi is the butcher of Gujarat is to adopt such extreme steps,” he said in the interview.
When the interviewer had further questioned Bilawal on whether these comments might further sour relations with India and even the possibility of nuclear war, the FM pointed out that Indian citizens had the right to protest, but the threat to his life was very problematic:
“As far as my remarks concerned they resulted in protests all over India and that’s their right. I think you cross the line when you officially announce head money for your neighboring country’s foreign minister’s assassination. I think that’s a line we’re normalizing in crossing and the fact that we get to move on from that question is troubling for me when I’m engaging with Bloomberg which is an important international forum. As far as nuclear war no one has threatened nuclear war. A minister did say that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear country and should be treated as such.”
At a press conference in New York on December 16, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had responded to accusations that Pakistan had sheltered Osama bin Laden by pointing out that Modi, who is regarded as ‘butcher of Gujarat’ is still the Prime Minister of India:
“I would like to remind Mr Jaishankar that Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives, and he is the prime minister (of India).”
The New York magazine published a cover story today titled “The Year of the Nepo Baby” which shed light on the various ways nepo babies had utilized connections to make their name in the Hollywood entertainment industry.
A nepo baby is someone who is born to famous parents, and later these connections benefit them in establishing their own career in Hollywood, or to create a large following on their social media accounts.
The article broke down how different popular actors benefited from their parents connections in cementing their own mark in Hollywood. For instance singer/actor Miley Cyrus is the daughter of famous country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and actor Dakota Johnson the daughter of established actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith.
The article shed light on how children of celebrities are able to get roles in movies of their choice without auditioning since they name drop their parents, which grants them access that many people are unable to achieve.
The United States (US) has offered to help Pakistan in dealing with the threats posed by militant outfits.
“Well, first, we are aware of the ongoing situation in Pakistan. We’ve been closely following reports that militants have seized control of the counterterrorism centre in Bannu. We offer our deepest sympathies to those injured,” said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.
Last week at least four police personnel were martyred and as many others wounded in an overnight terrorist attack on the Bargai police station of Lakki Marwat. Terrorists launched an armed assault on the police station from two sides. A fierce exchange of fire took place between the police and the outlaws, leaving four police officers dead and as many injured.
On Sunday, militants detained at a facility run by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Bannu took over the department, held interrogators hostage, demanding a safe evacuation to Afghanistan. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have claimed responsibility for the incident.
“The government of Pakistan is a partner when it comes to these shared concerns, including the challenge of terrorist groups inside Afghanistan… terrorist groups along the Afghan-Pakistan border… we stand ready to assist, whether with this unfolding situation or other situations,” said Price.
“We offer our deepest sympathies to those injured. We urge those responsible to cease all acts of violence, release the hostages and end the seizure of the counterterrorism centre,” he said.
US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price made these remarks at a news briefing, hours after Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari reached Washington for talks with US officials.
Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma on Monday took to her Instagram stories to slam sportswear brand Puma for using her images without her permission. In the picture, she is seen flaunting her toned abs in a neon yellow sports bra by Puma styled with a pair of cropped leggings.
In an Instagram story, she reposted the picture shared by the brand and wrote, ”Hey, @PumaIndia? I’m sure you know that you have to take permission before you can use my imagery for publicity since I am not your ambassador.”
The actress demanded the brand to take the post and wrote, “Please take it down,” along with angry emojis to express her displeasure.
See the post here:
Her stern response comes after Puma India shared a picture of the actress on Instagram, with a caption that says, ”Hey #PropahLady, end the year in style with the PUMA End Of Season Sale!”
In India, Puma’s roster of ambassadors, includes Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Yuvraj Singh, MC Mary Kom, Avani Lekhara, and Dutee Chand.
In the past, the Bollywood actress Anushka has slammed many publications for clicking pictures of her and her husband, cricketer Virat Kohli without their consent.
