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  • Grammy organisers eliminate ‘secret’ nominating committees after allegations of corruption

    The organisers of music’s Grammy Awards on Friday announced an end to the so-called “secret” committees that have led to allegations that the highest honours in the industry are open to rigging.

    The Recording Academy said that nominations for the next Grammy Awards in January 2022 will be selected by all of its more than 11,000 voting members, instead of by committees of 15 to 30 industry experts whose names were not revealed.

    The Academy was slammed last year when Canadian artist The Weeknd got zero Grammy nominations, even though his critically acclaimed album After Hours was one of the biggest sellers of 2020.

    The Weeknd, in a Twitter post last November, said “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.”

    The Recording Academy said in a statement on Friday that the changes were significant and were made “to ensure that the Grammy Awards rules and guidelines are transparent and equitable.”

    Allegations that the Grammy nominations process is tainted were made in a legal complaint filed in early 2019 by the former chief executive of the Recording Academy, Deborah Dugan.

    At the time, the Academy dismissed as “categorically false, misleading and wrong” Dugan’s claims that its members pushed artists they have relationships with. Dugan was later fired.

    American pop star Halsey, also shut out of the 2021 Grammys, last year called the nominations process “elusive” and said she was “hoping for more transparency or reform.”

    Former One Direction singer Zayn Malik called in March for an end to “secret committees.”

    “I’m keeping the pressure on and fighting for transparency and inclusion. We need to make sure we are honouring and celebrating ‘creative excellence’ of all,” Malik tweeted hours ahead of the 2021 Grammy Awards ceremony.

    Malik had also lashed out the awards saying: “Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionery.”

    The Recording Academy on Friday also said it was adding two new Grammy categories — for best global music performance, and best Latin urban music album — bringing to 86 the total number of Grammy Awards each year.

  • Celebrities cheer for little Musa who refused to wear glasses because of bullies

    Celebrities cheer for little Musa who refused to wear glasses because of bullies

    A six-year-old boy Musa refused to wear glasses because bullies at his school made fun of him. Musa’s father, Zeeshan shared a picture of his little boy on Twitter and asked netizens how his son looks in glasses. In a heartwarming turn of events, Twitter, including celebrities cheered on little Musa and told him that he looks super cute in glasses.

    Musa took the words of his school bullies to heart and was “very upset” when he was targeted for his glasses. He was hesitant to wear his glasses so his father decided to “ask the world” how his son looks in them.

    Musa’s tweet soon went viral and people from across the world, including celebrities like Pooja Bhatt, Zartaj Gul, Adnan Siddiqui, Imam ul Haq, Mohammad Amir and Feroze Khan sent him words of love and encouragement.

    Some users even reminded Musa of all the superheroes who wear glasses and look incredibly cool.

    https://twitter.com/GitaSKapoor_/status/1388156784506900481?s=19

    The tweet also caught Adnan Siddiqui’s attention, who said: “Musa you not only look great in glasses, but I can see a bright future ahead of you through the sparkle in your eyes!”

    The actor also made a collage of himself and Musa and said: “Specs are the cutest thing one can wear. They show that you are an avid reader, that you love books and also up your cool quotient.”

    “Hello Musa, [I] am a fan of ur glasses. You look so adorable in them. Wear ‘em to give me company too,” added the actor.

    Feroze Khan too encouraged the little boy, saying: “Man!!! Mooossssa! You vibing so hard kid! You look so Good!!!”

    Meanwhile, Zeeshan later updated that Musa read some of the comments and is very happy.

    “I showed him some of the comments before he left for school today. Can’t explain how happy he is. Thank you very much for overwhelming response,” said the happy father.

  • COVID likely to stay, will only get worse, warn experts

    COVID likely to stay, will only get worse, warn experts

    The novel coronavirus is morphing into a tougher variant over time, experts have warned. According to them, the mutations identified in the virus are worrisome, and as per the finds of the scientists, the virus will get more contagious and threatening.

    Experts are hesitant about making any predictions about when the pandemic will end and most scientists have accepted the truth that the virus will likely stay forever.

    There are some majors reasons why the virus will stay and not go anywhere. First, there are already four human coronaviruses endemic in our population. It means that they will circulate perpetually.

    “It’s safe to say we’re not going to eradicate it,” said Dr Becky Smith, an infectious disease specialist at Duke Health. “Too many people in the world have it. It’s too efficient at transmitting.”

    Secondly, the virus is zoonotic; it can jump from animal to humans or vice versa. Moreover, the SARS-CoV-2 has also emerged. So, even if we manage to eradicate SARS-CoV-2; the human and animals would likely produce a deadlier variant.

    Scientists have also predicted that the SARS-CoV-2 would turn into endemic; the intensity will reduce to the only flue and common cold. It’s a sign of hope, but it would likely happen over a period of five to ten years.

    Vaccination will not be available to everyone said Mike Osterholm, a leading infectious disease expert, adding it would be nearly impossible to make a yearly coronavirus vaccine available to every person on Earth.

    “It is going to be with us forever,” said Osterholm, who directs of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said of the virus. “It is something we can’t eradicate from humans.”

    As far as the new variants are concerned, the new South African (carrying B.1.351) virus shows resistance to Moderna’s vaccine. The new variant carries ten mutations in the virus’ spike protein, and it has forced vaccine makers to change their strategies. The P.1 variant of Brazil also have the same potency.

    Earlier, companies that produced Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Novavax have also raised concerns that vaccines won’t work well against B.1.351 or other variants with similar mutations.

    It is also possible that more powerful variants could drown out old versions of the virus, making the pandemic harder to combat. Virus experts in the US are already predicting that the fast-spreading B.1.1.7 variant, first discovered in the UK, will become the dominant variant in America by this May.

    But it’s impossible to predict what changes the virus might undergo next, or what they’ll mean for us because not all mutations make viruses more dangerous.

  • Biden returns billions Trump approved for US-Mexico border wall

    Biden returns billions Trump approved for US-Mexico border wall

    President of the United States (US) Joe Biden has decided to hold back funds of Pentagon that were directed by former President Donald Trump to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.

    The funds will be now used to fix the damages that were caused while the wall was under construction.

    According to reports, an official from the US government said that the Pentagon will begin cancelling all wall projects using the diverted funds, and the administration will take steps to return remaining unobligated military construction forms their appropriated purpose.

    The decision came when Joe Biden took over the office and signed a “proclamation” that directed the Pentagon to halt the flow of money to build the border wall, which was already ruled illegal by the federal court of US in June 2020.

    The Department of Homeland Security also announced plans to repair holes in flood levees at the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and fix soil erosion in San Diego created by border wall construction, neither of which will involve creating more barriers.

    The amount of money that the Trump administration allocated to build the wall was as high as $14 billion, says the official.

    According to the background details, the lawmakers of bipartisan put pressure on the government to make repairments against the damage caused due to the holes that drilled for wall construction.

    On this occasion, an influential American politician and attorney Ted Cruz commented that “I am pleased President Biden and the Department of Homeland Security are listening and now moving to shore up the levee wall system that had been unthoughtful. The repairs are necessary, crucial, and urgently needed.”

    In response, the chief critic senator Rick Scott uttered that “How can Biden possibly justify stopping wall construction?”, calling on Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to “immediately explain President Biden’s ridiculous order, how it is compliant with federal law and the awful consequences it will have on the current crisis.”

  • Imran Khan named ‘Personality of the Week’ for ‘efforts against Islamophobia’

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has been voted the ‘Personality of the Week’ by Al-Jazeera’s weekly program Sibaq-ul-Akhbar (News Competition), Radio Pakistan has reported. The primer was selected for his views and efforts to address the issue of Islamophobia.

    PM Imran Khan had recently shared his views on Islamophobia in a series of tweets in which he sent out a message to “extremists abroad” who indulge in Islamophobia, and racist slurs to hurt and cause pain to the Muslims across the globe.

    “We Muslims have the greatest love and respect for our Prophet PBUH who lives in our hearts. We cannot tolerate any such disrespect and abuse,” the permier had said.

    Read more – ‘TLP’s way is not the answer’: PM Khan addresses the nation

    Sibaq-ul-Akhbar is an interactive and live one hour weekly program in Arabic on Al Jazeera TV. It is very popular in Arab countries. During the show, the channel selects three to four top news of the week and subsequently viewers are asked to vote which is the top news story and personality associated with the story. Imran Khan secured 56 percent votes from the viewers.

    Al-Jazeera’s viewers on the Sibaq-ul-Akhbar program held on April 24 voted for PM Khan as Personality of the Week for his candid views on the issue of Islamophobia.  

  • Victoria Beckham would ‘rather die’ than wear crocs sent by Justin Bieber

    Victoria Beckham would ‘rather die’ than wear crocs sent by Justin Bieber

    It is not uncommon for celebrities to send each other products to promote. But when Justin Bieber decided to send Queen of Fashion Victoria Beckham a pair of crocs from his new collaboration, he probably never expected the reaction he got.

    Sharing a picture of the crocs she received with her 28.9 million followers, Victoria Beckham said: “A lot of people have been asking me what I’m planning on wearing after lockdown, what do we think about this suggestion from Justin Bieber?”

    Read more – Questlove actually had to the guts to wear golden crocs to the Oscars red carpet

    While thanking Justin by saying that “it is very kind of him” to send her these, she moved the camera closer to display the features of the crocs before going on to say: “Never worn a pair of crocs. This did make me laugh”.

    The former Spice Girls star also posted a poll asking her followers if they think she will ever wear these crocs or not. 57% of the voters voted ‘no’ bringing a sigh of relief to Posh, who said: “Well, that was close! I think I’d rather die but thank you anyway, Justin Bieber.”

    While Victoria may have come across as sarcastic and mean, her act sure did bring Bieber’s new collection to light.

  • Prince Harry ‘regretful and embarrassed’ over interview with Oprah Winfrey

    Prince Harry ‘regretful and embarrassed’ over interview with Oprah Winfrey

    Prince Harry is reportedly “embarrassed and regretful” over his and wife Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. The interview plunged the monarchy into its biggest crisis since Princess Diana’s death in 1997.

    Read more – Prince Harry’s exit had been a long time plan of another member of the royal fam

    Duncan Larcombe, author of Prince Harry: The Inside Story, told the UK’s Closer Magazine that Harry is probably feeling “regretful and embarrassed” after disclosing his family issues in front of the whole world. The biographer believes while Meghan seemed “in her element”, Harry “clearly looked numb and torn” upon leaving back for Los Angeles after attending late Prince Philip’s funeral ceremony.

    Larcombe is convinced that the 36-year-old Duke of Sussex and his wife may have a problematic marriage in the future because Harry will remain nostalgic about the royal life which he has given up while Meghan will keep enjoying her life in LA which had been her longtime dream.

    Duncan justifies Harry’s anger towards the Royal family as his “hot-headedness”.

    “Harry was clearly hurt and angry about Meghan’s experience with the royals — and used the interview to get it out,” said Duncan. “But after returning home, I’ve no doubt he’s been feeling embarrassed, regretful and awkward. He’s now facing the consequences. I believe he’ll regret that interview — and maybe his decision to leave the royal family.”

    “Coming home has reminded him of everything he’s sacrificed in recent years — and of the recent damage done,” added the author.

    When asked what his predictions are about Harry’s future equation with his family, the expert said: “I can’t see how Harry can live this new life and keep things harmonious with his family,” adding that it will be a “lose-lose situation.”

    “I just don’t think that Harry will be able to live harmoniously as a part of these two worlds — the royals and the LA showbiz world.”

    Duncan warns Harry of embarking on a “very difficult” journey due to his decision of marrying Markle and bidding farewell to his Royal roots.

  • Robber raids McDonald’s with fake gun, demands chicken nuggets

    Robber raids McDonald’s with fake gun, demands chicken nuggets

    A robber broke into a McDonalds branch in England and demanded chicken nuggets at gunpoint using a fake gun.

    CCTV cameras caught the entire incident and the video shows 22-year-old Rudi Batten entering the food outlet with a fake gun. The incident took place in Gloucestershire county of England.

    According to reports, Batten claimed to have a gun and forced a manager to give him access to the store’s safe.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNvKaMx2y6U&t=69s

    On his way out, Batten demanded staff present to give him some of the fast-food franchise’s famous chicken nuggets but the restaurant was only serving items from its breakfast menu as it was too early in the morning.

    Since he could not wait for the nuggets to be cooked, Batten took a double sausage McMuffin instead.

    Batten stole more than $600 from the restaurant. He was identified by CCTV cameras and he later turned himself in to authorities. It was discovered that instead of an actual gun, Batten had been threatening his victims with an unloaded .177air pistol.

    Read more – Man arrested for dating 35 women at once to get multiple birthday gifts

    While a judge recently sentenced him to six years in prison, Batten said that he had committed the robbery to pay back a debt. His lawyer said that he was ashamed and embarrassed by his actions.

  • Ramzan dramas: On-screen couples with killer chemistry

    Ramzan dramas: On-screen couples with killer chemistry

    Take a flashback to the past few years, we have been observing the trend of airing sitcoms or romantic-comedy dramas on different channels during the month of Ramzan. Although this trend initially received much criticism. However, with the passage of time, people have started to enjoy watching these entertainment packages. Chupke Chupke and Tanaa Banaa of HUM TV are giving us laughter dose after every Iftaar, while Geo TV has given Ishq Jalebi. 

    These dramas are offering comedy, controversies and family politics but they’ve also given us four delightful on-screen couples. Zain and Zoya from Tanaa Banaa, Hadi and Mishi, Meenu and Faazi/Ustaad Jee from Chupke Chupke and Basim and Bela from Ishq Tamasha.

    Zain and Zoya

    Zain (Danyal Zafar) is a young boy who fell in love with Zoya (Alizeh Shah) at first sight. The couple has interesting chemistry with Zain expressing all his love for Zoya and Zoya just starting to realise that how much Zain loves her. While Zoya is stubborn, Zain is a loving and caring husband. The two are poles apart and this keeps the drama interesting.

    Hadi and Mishi

    Arslan Naseer is playing the role of Hadi while Aymen Saleem is acting as Mishi in Chupke Chupke. There is a unique hidden chemistry between this couple that was initially growing in the form of one-sided love. But now that Hadi has also fallen in love with Mishi, this love story has taken a new turn and one of the reasons why you tune into Chupke Chupke every night.

    Meenu and Faazi /Ustaad Jee

    Ayeza Khan is playing as Meenu and Osman Khalid Butt is playing as Faaz aka Meenu’s Ustaad Jee. Faaz used to teach Meenu so she calls him Ustaad Jee. However, in a strange turn of event the two ended up getting married and while they were initially embarrassed by this development, they are now slowly beginning to catch feelings.

    Faaz, who didn’t like Meenu for her carelessness and ignorance towards studies, is now falling for her innocence. Meenu too has started to like him and their cute ways of showing affection is making the drama more interesting. With many twists and turns, their wedding is at stake and everyone is eager to see what will happen next and what new problem will arise for the newly weds.

    Basim and Bela

    Ishq Jalebi stars the Madiha Imam and Wahaj Ali in leading roles. Basim who is on the lookout for a shortcut to go abroad is in cahoots with Bela (Madiha Imam). She is his sidekick, best friend, and partner in crime in all that he does and also his maternal cousin who was orphaned as a child and lives with them. While Basim may not have realised how much Bela truly loves him, we the audiences can definitely see it and are absolutely loving the chemistry the two have with each other. With scenes that will make your heart have a happy dance, these two stars are a treat to watch and we’re anxious to see what Ishq Jalebi has in store for them next.

    While each couple has its own charm, my favourite has to be Meenu and Faazi. Both Osman and Ayeza have brought Meenu and Faazi to life brilliantly. Very much like Faaz, I used to detest Meenu and didn’t want him to marry her. But as the story progressed, I am also enjoying their naivety, blamelessness and non-romantic fondness. Looking forward to seeing how they will cross all obstacles among them and finally become husband and wife.

  • Indian man turns rickshaw into oxygen-equipped ambulance, serves people for free

    Indian man turns rickshaw into oxygen-equipped ambulance, serves people for free

    An Indian auto-rickshaw driver in Bhopal has converted his vehicle into an ambulance to help take people to the hospital for free. 

    According to reports, Javed’s rickshaw turned ambulance has been equipped with an oxygen cylinder, sanitizers, and other medicines to help COVID-19 patients.

    India has reported the maximum number of deaths in the past few days amid a surging second wave as people are helpless in saving the lives of their loved ones infected with the virus.

    34-year-old Javed Khan explained how he was traumatized by the plight of the people, who were not even able to get ambulances on their way to the hospital. 

     “I saw on social media and news channels how people were being carried to hospitals due to the shortage of ambulance. So I thought of doing this,” said Javed, while speaking to ANI.  

    He said he discussed the situation with his family who suggested him to convert his auto into an ambulance.

    Read more – Bollywood stars step in to support India’s battle against COVID

    However, due to the lack of resources, he had to sell his wife’s jewelry to finance the additions to his auto. 

    “I sold my wife’s jewelry for this. I queue up outside a refill center and get oxygen,” said Javed. “My contact number is available on social media. People can call me up if there’s no ambulance. I’ve been doing this for 15-20 days now and have taken nine serious patients to the hospital.”