Afternoon briefing: TMC students' wing slammed for film promotion; ‘flash flood’ alert for Bihar, and more
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The Trinamool Congress (TMC) students' wing ‘Trinamool Chhatra Parishad’ on Friday suspended two senior members after they made a short film in the backdrop of the rape and murder case of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. According to the students' wing, the two members - Prantik Chakraborty and Rajanya Haldar - were removed for “anti-party activities”. This came after Rajanya Haldar uploaded the poster of the film ‘Agamani, Tilottomader Galpo’ (the tale of Tilottomas) on social media, with the tagline ‘in the backdrop of RG Kar incident’. The film, directed by Prantik Chakraborty, is slated for release in the first week of October. Trinamool Chhatra Parishad state president Trinankur Bhattacharya, in a notice, said the decision to suspend the two members will remain in force until the party's disciplinary committee makes a final decision on the issue, reported PTI. Dig deeper
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued a rainfall warning for several states, highlighting a risk of ‘flash floods’ for Bihar. The alert has prompted the Bihar disaster management department to remain vigilant and implement preventive measures in response to the forecast. The Bihar Water Resources Department has declared a flood alert for regions along the swollen Kosi and Gandak rivers. Officials said that water levels in multiple rivers across the state have been rising due to continuous rainfall over the past two to three days, news agency PTI reported. The weather department also predicted very heavy rainfall for Saturday in Saurashtra & Kutch, the Gujarat region, East Uttar Pradesh, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, and Bihar. Dig deeper
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Trending
A pro-Kannada activist has voiced his objections to Onam celebrations at the Infosys Bengaluru campus, calling it a “threat to Kannada demography.” The activist, who goes by Kari Subbayya on the social media platform X, shared a video of an Onam dance being performed at the Infosys office in the capital of Karnataka. “This is Infosys Bengaluru. How can this still be taken lightly?” he asked on the social media platform, taking issue with Onam festivities at the Bengaluru campus of IT giant Infosys. Onam is a major annual festival celebrated predominantly in the state of Kerala. In the last few months, as the pro-Kannada movement has seen renewed momentum, several Kannadigas have objected to Onam celebrations in Karnataka, calling it a threat to Kannada culture. Subbayya, one among such numbers, pointed to “especially high influx of migrants from Kerala” in his controversial post. Dig deeper
Business News
Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) summoned Ashish Hemrajani, the CEO of BookMyShow's parent company Big Tree Entertainment as part of an investigation into alleged black market sales of Coldplay concert tickets, ANI reported, adding that the company's technical head was also summoned along with Hemrajani. Both have been asked to appear before the investigating officer on Saturday, September 28, 2024 to provide statements. This comes after Advocate Amit Vyas filed a complaint, which accused BookMyShow of facilitating the black marketing of tickets for the highly anticipated concert of British band Coldplay scheduled to be held from January 19 to 21, 2025, at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Dig deeper
Global Matters
Word on rumour street is that President Joe Biden has already embarked on his post-White House house-hunting adventures. But, has he really? New gossip intersecting the worlds of showbiz and US politics attempted to sell the idea that the Commander-in-Chief was eyeing the late Grease actress Olivia Newton-John's California ranch. However, the British-Australian singer and actress' family has shut down the unfounded speculations. In June 2024, Newton-John's widower, John Easterling, prepared himself to officially bid their shared California residence adieu. The Santa Ynez estate, located outside Santa Barbara, eventually hit the market for $8.9 million, as per PEOPLE’s report. Just days ago, the outlet shared another exclusive as the naturopathic entrepreneur opened up about parting ways with the house where his wife, who lost her life to breast cancer in August 2022, spent her final days. Dig deeper
Entertainment Focus
Mrunal Thakur has defended Ranbir Kapoor, who portrayed an aggressive and ruthless character in the 2023 film Animal, helmed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Speaking with the media at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) Utsavam 2024 in Abu Dhabi, Mrunal Thakur reminded everyone that the same Ranbir also played the role of Barfi in the 2012 film. Mrunal said, “Let's not forget that Ranbir is also the actor who played Barfi. Why can't we celebrate the diversity in his films and the fact that he can play both Barfi and Animal so well.” Barfi is a romantic comedy film written and directed by Anurag Basu. The film stars Ranbir, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'Cruz, Saurabh Shukla, Ashish Vidyarthi, Jisshu Sengupta, Roopa Ganguly and Haradhan Bandopadhyay. Dig deeper
Lifestyle and Health
Bhumi Pednekar is in her ‘Naagin’ era! The actor attended the 2024 GQ Best Dressed Awards last night. On the red carpet, Bhumi wore a glass armour saree by Raw Mango featuring a unique snake breastplate. The ‘naagincore’ look got mixed reactions from netizens. Bhumi shared pictures of her custom snake breastplate saree look on Instagram with the caption, “Cinderella is ready in her armour #GQBestDressed2024.” Internet sensation Diet Sabya announced the look ‘naagincore’ as they shared the actor's video from the GQ event with the caption, “Are we ready for naagincore?” Let's decode the look. Dig deeper
Sports Goings
Mumbai batter and Sarfaraz Khan's younger brother, Musheer Khan, suffered a fracture in a road accident while travelling through Uttar Pradesh. The teenager, who was en route to Lucknow with his father and coach Naushad Khan for the upcoming Irani Cup, is now set to miss the match, Times of India has reported. The exact details on the accident are yet to be ascertained. Additionally, it is not known whether his father, Naushad, faced injuries in the accident. Musheer may also miss the opening stage of the Ranji Trophy. The youngster has had an exceptional run in domestic cricket this year, and also represented the India U-19 team in the 2024 World Cup. Musheer has scored 716 runs in just nine first-class matches for Mumbai, and also has eight wickets to his name. In the U19 World Cup, Musheer enjoyed a stellar run with the bat, ending the tournament as India's highest run-scorer and second-highest overall, with 360 runs to his name in seven matches. He averaged 60. Dig depeer