The 2022 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) has announced the award winners for its 20th annual edition which featured a celebratory return to in-theater screenings and presentations. Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Calcutta’ won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film, with the jury citing it for “its sprawling, operatic depiction of broken people desperate to connect and its poetic mastery of cinematic craft.” Anmol Sidhu’s ‘Jaggi’ was the recipient of the inaugural Uma da Cunha Award for Best Feature Film Debut, as well as the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature. An honorable mention went to ‘Shankar’s Fairies,’ Irfana Majumdar’s restrained and lyrical portrait of the unconditional bond between a young girl and the gentleman who cares for her family.
Afghan flood leaves 8 dead, 13 injured
Eight people were killed and 13 others injured as floods swept parts of Afghanistan's Baghlan and Badghis provinces. In Baghlan’s Dahna-e-Ghori district, four people lost their lives and eight others were injured due to heavy downpours and flash floods that swept through several villages. The floods have also badly damaged or washed away some 900 houses. About 9,000 acres of farmlands were damaged due to the flooding. Similarly, flash floods also claimed four lives, including two children, and injured five others in the Qadis and Ghormach districts of the Badghis, another provincial administration official said.
China-backed John Lee is new HK leader
Hong Kong formally confirmed John Lee as its next top leader after an uncontested election, solidifying an era of more direct Chinese political control over the once-freewheeling financial hub.
Lee, 64, won 1,416 votes from some 1,460 electors, according to the returning officer at the election venue. That is more than the simple majority needed to confirm his appointment. He will start his five-year term as Chief Executive on July 1, succeeding Carrie Lam, who last month announced her decision not to run. Lee, who earlier served as chief secretary for administration, the city’s No. 2 position, was the only candidate put forward to an election committee reformed by Beijing in 2021 to stack more pro-establishment members.
New White House press secretary
The Biden administration has named Karine Jean-Pierre as the new White House press secretary as Jen Psaki is stepping down from the post. In a statement, US President Joe Biden said Jean-Pierre would step into the press secretary role when Psaki is leaving the post on May 13. She will also act as his assistant. Jean-Pierre is currently the White House’s deputy press secretary and deputy assistant to Biden. She previously held senior communication and political roles in Biden’s presidential campaign team and when he served as vice-president during the Obama administration, the White House statement said.
EU seeking to sanction Putin’s alleged GF
The EU has proposed sanctioning former Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva for her role in Kremlin propaganda and close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a document. The list of sanctions, which include a ban on Russian oil imports, were submitted by the EU executive to member states for approval, which requires unanimity among the 27 countries. If passed, Kabaeva would be hit by a ban on entry into the EU and an asset freeze. The proposal identifies Kabaeva as the chairwoman of the board of directors of the National Media Group, a holding company that holds significant shares in almost all major Russian state media. Kabaeva is rumoured to be Putin's girlfriend and mother to some of his children.
25 killed in Cuba hotel blast
Rescuers in Cuba’s capital Havana searched to find survivors of an explosion that killed at least 25 people and devastated a luxury hotel that once hosted dignitaries and celebrities. A natural gas leak was the apparent cause of blast at Havana’s 96-room Hotel Saratoga. The 19th century structure in the city’s Old Havana neighbourhood did not have any guests at the time because it was undergoing renovations ahead of a planned reopening after being closed. Of the dead, 22 had been identified, 18 residents of the capital and four from elsewhere in Cuba. Although no tourists were reported injured, the explosion is another blow to the country’s crucial tourism industry.
Taiwan says can’t afford US’ new anti-sub choppers
Taiwan signalled that it had abandoned a plan to buy advanced new anti-submarine warfare helicopters from the US, saying they were too expensive. Taiwan had earlier said it was planning to buy 12 MH-60R anti-submarine helicopters, made by Lockheed Martin Corp unit Sikorsky, but domestic media said the US had rejected the sale as not being in line with the island’s needs. Asked in parliament about recent changes to Taiwan’s purchases of US weapons, defence minister Chiu Kuo-cheng mentioned the helicopter case first. “The price is too high, beyond the scope of our country’s ability,” he said. Two other arms purchases have also been delayed - M109A6 Medium Self-Propelled Howitzer artillery systems, and mobile Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
Survivor found 6 days after building collapse
Rescuers in central China have pulled a woman alive from the rubble of a building that partially collapsed almost six days earlier, state media reported. The unidentified woman is the 10th survivor of the disaster in the city of Changsha, in which at least five people have died and an unknown number, possibly dozens, are still missing. She was rescued about 132 hours after the rear of the six-storey building suddenly caved in on April 29. The woman was conscious and advised rescuers on how to pull her out without causing further injury.
100-year-old sets world record
Hundred year old Walter Orthmann has set a world record by working in the same company for 84 long years. The Guinness World Records that the Brazilian sales manager holds the official record for the “longest career in the same company” after verifying that he’d been with the same textile firm for more than 80 years. The centenarian began working as a shipping assistant at Industrias Renaux SA, now named RenauxView, a year before the outbreak of WWII, when he was just 15 years old. He was quickly promoted to a position in sales, an area where he remains to this day. So what’s the secret of Orthmann’s exceptional career? “I don’t do much planning, nor care much about tomorrow. All I care about is that tomorrow will be another day in which I will wake up, get up, exercise and go to work,” Guinness quoted him as saying.
