LOS ANGELES: Eight people who currently work or were associated in American series 'House of Cards' have alleged that actor Kevin Spacey made the set a “toxic” work environment through a series of sexual harassment. A former production assistant in the crew has said that Spacey sexually assaulted him during one of the show's early seasons. His behaviour has been termed as “predatory” with many young male staff members saying it included non-consensual touching. The accusations came forward less than a week after actor Anthony Rapp said Spacey made sexual advances towards him in 1985, when he was 14 years old. Spacey issued an apology soon after, also choosing the time to come out of the closet. Production of the show's Season 6 has been shut down. Production company MRC released a statement saying they have implemented “an anonymous complaint hotline, crisis counsellors, and sexual harassment legal advisors for the crew.”
Be ready to fight, win wars: Jinping
BEIJING: President Xi Jinping has instructed Chinese armed forces to improve their combat capabilities and readiness for war. The remarks were made while inspecting the Central Military Commission joint battle command centre as its commander-in-chief. He was quoted as saying, “The CMC should lead the armed forces to be ready to fight and win wars, and to undertake the missions and tasks of the new era entrusted to them by the party and the people.” This is the second time Xi highlighted the role of the armed forces, since he began his second term. In his meeting with military top brass, he ordered them to be absolutely loyal to the party, focus on how to win wars, pioneer reforms and innovation, scientifically manage commanding a unit, lead troops in accordance with the strictest standards, and to be in the forefront in complying with laws.
Fake meat, speed cakes feed North Korea's stomach
NEW DELHI: North Korean defectors have often spoken about the endemic poverty and chronic hunger suffered by the isolationist country. Despite a Public Distribution System (PDS) that guarantees ration coupons to 70 per cent of the population, over 61 per cent North Koreans continue to depend on informal, private markets as their most importance source of food. A survey of defectors said that official channels like PDS only accounted for 23.5 per cent of people's food intake. Private markets have a robust street food culture, becoming staples of the country's diet. The items that are high protein and fibre content. Include injogogi, a fake meat made from pressing and rolling soy bean oil residue, to speed cakes- cornmeal sweets.
CIA files reveal Osama followed J&K news
WASHINGTON: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released 4,70,000 additional files seized in May 2011, when US Navy SEALs captured the Abbottabad compound and shot Osama bin Laden dead. Laden closely followed developments in Kashmir, and trial of Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley in the 2008 Mumbai attack case. The documents include his son's wedding video and diaries left by the militant. Also found was an Indian Express article titled 'Omar Sheikh's Pak handler Ilyas Kashmiri also handled Headley'. Also saved on his computer was an article titled, 'India to send magistrate to US to record Headley's statement'. Documents bring to light Laden's interest in news related to Kashmir and other terrorists.
Twitter steps up security after Trump’s account briefly deactivated
WASHINGTON: Twitter has boosted security measures after a rogue employee cut of President Donald Trump's account. The social network had initially maintained that the account had been “inadvertently deactivated due to human error” but later indicated it was done intentionally by a departing worker. Twitter said it has implemented “safeguards to prevent this from happening again.” A tweet from a senior employer said, “We won't be able to share all details about our internal investigation or updates to our security measures, but we take this seriously and our teams are on it.” The internet rejoiced during the 11 minutes of deactivation, with several users calling the unnamed employee a “hero”. Trump reacted 12 hours after the shutdown. He tweeted, “My Twitter account was down for 11 minutes by a rogue employee. I guess the word must finally be getting out-and having an impact.”
Pakistan PM rejects 'independent Kashmir'
LONDON: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has rejected the idea of an “independent Kashmir” saying it was not based on “reality”. Addressing a conference on 'Future of Pakistan 2017', held at the London School of Economics' South Asia Centre, he answered several questions, varying from topics on Afghanistan, civil-military ties, disqualification of his predecessor Nawaz Sharif, and relations with India. On a question about “independent Kashmir”, he said “the idea is often floated around but has no reality”. “There is no support for the demand for independent Kashmir.” Regarding Indo-Pak ties, he said relations between both the countries cannot improve till Kashmir issue is resolved. “Talks are the only way forward, without talks no quantum change is possible,” he said.
