Filmmaker Stella Meghie says it is a "privilege" to direct the Whitney Houston biopic, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody". The "Photograph" director said it was important for her to tell Whitney's story and "extend" the music icon's legacy. "Whitney Houston is the greatest singer of all time, so it's a privilege to be able to tell her story. I'm very lucky to have the support of Pat Houston (Whitney's sister-in-law) and Anthony McCarten (screenwriter) and Clive Davis (music producer) to direct the film. "It's amazing talking about her so much and it's just very important to all of us to kind of extend her legacy and to tell her story. It's the most exciting job I've ever been in a position to tell," Meghie told The Hollywood Reporter. Davis, who mentored the late singer, is producing the project along with the Whitney Houston estate and McCarten. Whitney died in 2012 aged 48, drowning in her bathtub after ingesting a large amount of cocaine. Despite a career marked by drug addiction, she ..

American rock band Foo Fighters has decided to shelve its upcoming album amid the coronavirus pandemic. Frontman Dave Grohl said while the group has completed the album, there are no plans to release it anytime soon, reported Contactmusic. "We've kind of shelved it for now to figure out exactly when it's going to happen," Grohl said. The musician is spending the lockdown with his family and is staying away from his guitar. "By the time we finish and I'm satisfied, it's such a release that I'm really not anxious to jump back into it," he added.

Taliban leaders searched their ranks, including the much-feared Haqqani network, and on Sunday said they are not holding Mark R Frerichs, a Navy veteran turned contractor who was disappeared in Afghanistan in late January. "We don't have any information about the missing American," Sohail Shaheen, Taliban's political spokesman, told the AP in a message on Sunday. A second Taliban official familiar with the talks with the United States said "formally and informally" the Taliban have notified US officials they are not holding Frerichs. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who negotiated a peace deal with the Taliban signed in February to allow America and NATO countries to withdraw their troops and end decades of war, asked for Frierchs' release during his meetings this week in the Middle Eastern State of Qatar where the Taliban maintain a political office. In a statement late Saturday by the ..

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has won bipartisan praise for rallying supplies for his ravaged hospitals and helping slow the coronavirus, is coming under increasing criticism for not bringing that same level of commitment to a problem that has so far stymied him: nursing homes. In part-lecture, part-cheerleading briefings that have made him a Democratic counter to President Donald Trump, Cuomo has often seemed dismissive and resigned to defeat when asked about his state leading the nation in nursing home deaths. We've tried everything to keep it out of a nursing home, but it's virtually impossible, Cuomo told reporters. Now is not the best time to put your mother in a nursing home. That is a fact. Residents' relatives, health care watchdogs and lawmakers from both parties cite problems with testing and transparency that have prevented officials and the public from grasping the full scale of the catastrophe. And they are second-guessing a state directive that requires nursing ..

Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg and Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House have joined hands to provide food to the city's healthcare workers and first responders. The Boston-based burger chain Wahlburgers - run by Wahlberg brothers, Mark, Donnie and Paul - has been shipping its patties to the steak house in Midtown to be cooked up, and the city's legendary firefighter themed sports bar Bravest have been helping deliver the meals. "They wanted to honour the hospital workers and first responders," Gerard Fitzgerald, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, told Page Six. The meal deliveries started in Manhattan last week and end in Staten Island on Monday. The 'Jason Bourne' star said it was nice to help champion for someone else and give them the credit they deserve. "Not being able (to have our restaurants) fully operational these past several weeks has been heartbreaking for our entire organization. But that hasn't stopped our commitment to supporting the communities we ...

A sheriff's deputy in North Carolina is facing criminal charges after authorities said he led a group of armed people to the wrong home in a search for a missing girl. New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David said Friday that Jordan Kita, who worked in the New Hanover Sheriff's Office, will be charged with trespassing and breaking and entering. Kita led an armed group May 3 to the home of Dameon Shepard, a senior at Laney High School in Wilmington, according to James W. Lea, a lawyer for Shepard's family who is preparing a civil lawsuit. The all-white group tried unsuccessfully to force its way into the home of Shepard, who is black, news outlets reported. Kita was looking for Lekayda Kempisty, a 15-year-old girl who was reported missing earlier that day. She was later found safe. In its effort to find Lekayda, Kita's group was searching for someone named Josiah who used to live next door. Shepard told news outlets that he repeatedly tried to point out to the group that they had

With many celebrities and even former president Barack Obama taking part in virtual graduation ceremonies in times of social distancing, actor Alec Baldwin's President Donald Trump turned keynote speaker for this year's class of seniors in the remotely filmed season finale of "Saturday Night Live". Kate McKinnon, who portrayed the principal of a fictitious school, mentioned that he was the class' eighth choice, behind such favourites as Obama, murder hornets and the "Elon Musk-Grimes baby". "Hello, everyone, I'm Principal O'Grady. Welcome to the St Mary Magdalene By The Expressway class of 2020 virtual graduation," she said in a video shared on "SNL" Twitter page. "I know this isn't how you expected your high school career to come to an end, but we're all making sacrifices. I have had to share my child's Adderall with him," McKinnon said to a zoom conference of the entire class playing students. Baldwin's Trump appeared wearing a red "Make America Great Again" cap in a call from ...

Union MinisterNitin Gadkari on Saturday suggested retailers to learn the "art of living" with the coronavirus pandemic while assuring them to look into their demands for MSME status. The minister also assured the retailers to look into their demands of financial aid from the government, which he would put forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He also said that some proposals are under"serious consideration" by the government and asked the retail industry to have a positive outlook. We would have to develop a way forward to live with coronavirus, said Gadkari in a virtual meeting with the Retailers Association of India (RAI). He also assured RAI and Practicing Engineers, Architects and Town Planners Association (India) that their request for registering as MSMEs will be examined expeditiously. These people (retailers) also provide employment to some people and if they get recognition as MSME, then people working under them would get benefits ..

Air India crew members, who reside in Gautam Buddh Nagar and are involved in flight operations to evacuate Indian citizens stuck abroad due to lockdown, can return home from Delhi only after their COVID-19 test results are found negative, officials said on Saturday. The crew would be examined for COVID-19 through the real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction or the RT-PCR test, considered a gold standard but costly and time-consuming process as against the rapid anti-body tests, and put on duty again if found fit, the officials said. The Gautam Buddh Nagar police had requested the management of the national carrier to accommodate its crew members that reside in Noida and Greater Noida in Delhi for the duration of the Centre's Vande Bharat Mission. The request was made because Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh falls in the Red Zone' and the to and fro movement of the flight crew could increase the risk of COVID-19 infection, the officials said. "A letter from .

The concessions given by the UP government to traders will prove to be a pace setter for the revival of economic activity in the state at a time when the nation is going through a rough phase due to the COVID-19 outbreak, UP Vyapaari Kalyan Board chairman Ravi Kant Garg said. He said the exemption from labour laws for three years is bound to open gates for economic growth that was hit by the coronavirus lockdown. Such measures will spur economic activities and boost the investment climate in the state, Garg said while talking to a group of reporters on Saturday evening. He further said that exemption of 46 variety of fruits and vegetables from the clutches of Mandi Adhiniyam Suchana through Krashi Utapadan Mandi Adhiniyam (Sansodhan) ordinance 2020 would boost the trade. It is bound to help farmers as well as traders, he added. Now, the farmer would be free to sell his produce outside Mandi Parishad. Exemption of Mandi shulk (Mandi tax) from 46 variety of grains would provide maximum .

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday held a global video conference with the state's expatriates and enquired about their well-being amid the Covid-19 pandemic and assured them of the government's full help to their family members living in the country, if they need it. An official statement said Rajasthan natives living in more than 90 cities across 50 countries attended the video conference during which they appreciated the government's efforts to control the coronavirus spread and also offered their help. They proposed financial assistance to stranded migrant workers, arranging training for them to secure better employment abroad, besides cooperation with the state government in education and the developing villages, the release said. They also offered help in skill development for youths besides providing technical skills to new entrepreneurs, the release said. During the conference, many entrepreneurs also gave suggestions to bring the economy of the state back on ...

Security forces have launched a search operation in a forest area near the International Border in Samba district after three grenades and 54 rounds of AK ammunition were recovered from the area, police said on Sunday. The explosives and ammunition were noticed by some villagers in the forest area near Goran village in Kandi belt on Saturday following which the police were informed, a senior official said. He said a joint search operation was launched following the recovery as the area used to be an old route for infiltration from across the border. Security forces had conducted massive combing operations all along the IB in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts recently. However, nothing was found during these operations.

A fire broke out in a cardboard factory in outer Delhi's Bawana on Sunday morning, Delhi Fire Service officials said. However, no one is trapped or injured in the incident, they said. A call about the blaze was received around 7.25 am, following which 15 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire fighting operations are underway, the officials said.

He hops off a helicopter, whips off his shades and makes a dash through the grounds towards his home to give his mother a surprise, but there she is, waiting at the door with a pooja thali' in her hand. That admittedly cheesy scene between Shah Rukh Khan and Jaya Bachchan from the blockbuster Hindi film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was playing in Sonali Puri's mind when she was on a Mumbai-Jammu flight to give her mother a surprise last month. Her mother was at the door just as she had imagined but instead of a thali' was a hand sanitiser! Good hygiene is a blessing in times of coronavirus, my mother told me, laughed the 37-year-old. That was in mid-March, a few days before the coronavirus forced lockdown began on March 25. And home in Jammu is where Puri still is, the short vacation turning into extended mother-daughter downtime, both recalibrating their equations as they spend focused time with each other after years. This Mother's Day, the first time in years perhaps that Puri has been .

Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Chairman of the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC), Subash Chauhan died at a private hospital here on Sunday following a prolonged illness. He was 54. Chauhan, who was undergoing treatment for liver ailment was a bachelor and breathed his last in the morning, family sources said. Closely associated with the RSS and VHP for many years, the former national Convenor of the Bajrang Dal had quit the BJP and joined the Biju Janata Dal in the run-up to the 2019 general elections. Chauhan was subsequently appointed the chairman of WODC in September last year. A host of dignitaries including Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi condoled the demise of Chauhan describing it as a big loss for the state. Expressing deep grief, Patnaik said the contributions made by Chauhan for the welfare of the people will always be remembered by all in the state. Praying for peace for the ...

India's fuel consumption fell almost 46 per cent in April as all petroleum products, except LPG, saw massive demand erosion following the nationwide lockdown that halted economic activity and travel. The demand, which showed signs of pick up in the last 10 days of April after the government allowed resumption of economic activity beyond the urban municipal limit, is likely to rebound in second half of May as more areas are opened. India's fuel consumption fell 45.8 per cent to 9.929 million tonnes in April, down from 18.32 million tonnes fuel consumed in the same month a year back, according to official data released by the petroleum ministry. Fuel consumption during March, when travel restrictions began to be imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus, stood at 16.08 million tonnes. Petrol sales were down 60.43 per cent to 9,73,000 tonnes in April. The demand for the fuel had fallen 64 per cent in first half of the month, but there was some pick up in sales after reopening of some ...

Drug major Dr Reddy's Laboratories is recalling 1,752 bottles of generic heartburn medicine in the US after the American health regulator found quality issues with the product. As per the latest Enforcement Report by the the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), the Hyderabad-based drug firm is voluntarily recalling 1,752 bottles (1,000 count) of 40 mg Esomeprazole Magnesium delayed release capsules in the US. The ongoing Class III recall is on account of "Discolouration" and because the product contains brown pellets, USFDA said. As per the US health regulator, a class III recall is initiated in a situation "in which use of or exposure to a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences". The recalled product lot has been manufactured at Dr Reddy's Bachupally manufacturing facility in Telangana and is being recalled by the company's US-based arm. Esomeprazole Magnesium delayed release capsules are indicated to reduce the amount of acid in the stomach and ...

Mizoram's corona-free status can be attributed to the discipline of its people and the combined efforts of the church, NGOs and administration, says Chief Minister Pu Zoramthanga. While happy that his state has managed to contain the spread of COVID-19, the chief minister told PTI he was worried about the economic slump due to the lockdown and the threat posed by corona carriers from neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar. On Saturday, Mizoram became coronavirus-free with its lone COVID-19 patient being discharged from hospital, officials in the state capital Aizawl said. The credit, Zoramthanga said, goes to the discipline of the people who allowed the state to execute all the provisions suggested by a special task force constituted for the sole purpose to curb the spread of the virus. "Mizoram is a very disciplined state With the help of the church, NGOs and administration, we have so far survived this crisis and are determined to continue to do so in the future," he said in a phone ..

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac back about half of new mortgages in the U.S. Now, talks are heating up about reshaping or shrinking the two companies, a move that could impact millions of Americans. Photo: Heather Seidel/The Wall Street Journal

The dimensions of the open, continuous and unchecked textbooks publishing rackets have recently come to light following the defeat of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in the general election held last year. Srinidhi Raghavendra reports.

Numerous laws and rules at the Central as well as State levels are in place to assess the extent of child labour in the country, and to tackle it. Court directives too lend a hand. But CAG reports show that those responsible for carrying out this reform are indifferent to the vast tragedy. Himanshu Upadhyaya reports.

Children in 21st century India are having to deal with a rapidly gathering danger: a degrading environment from pesticides, air pollution and unsafe toys to contaminated rivers and more. Ramesh Menon surveys the troubling landscape.

Possibly, but perhaps not alone. There are plenty of obstacles within our unjust and deeply hierarchical civil society outside of the media. Still, an important connection exists between journalism and the strengthening of civil society: citizenship. The India Together editorial.

The anti-defection law disqualifies legislators who switch allegiances when a government's majority in legislature is threatened, and rightly so. But by stretching it to penalise lawmakers who vote against their party's stand on normal legislative matters, our Constitution has curtailed dissent itself. The India Together editorial.

Sometimes, caste matters only if one expects it to matter. New research suggests that affirmative policies based on caste identity may themselves be the obstacle to reform, rather than tools for achieving it. Tarun Jain reports on a study in UP that appears to confirm this thesis.

Schools are meant for making better citizens out of our children but in the Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh, they are forging and reinforcing caste-bondages instead. Inclusive education seems a far cry in the villages of Dewas, reports Shuriah Niazi.

While Mayawati's projects to build parks and statues have drawn derision in the drawing rooms of the stately homes in the country, the people at her rallies are in awe of her. Her work is Dalit power, they feel and will make her immortal. Kulsum Mustafa has more.

Lalitha Sridhar presents excerpts from an audience interaction with Naomi Ackerman after a performance of Flowers aren't enough, an acclaimed solo play on domestic violence, at Chennai.

Some of the hits of the last few years (post-liberalisation) show a decided nostalgia for a traditional way of life where women are the homemakers, says Shahla Raza.

March 8 remains a valuable vantage point, a time to take stock and look ahead. In fact, significant events over the past year-and-a-half invite fresh thinking on women's issues. We saw "empowered" women, but also saw new victims, notes Mary E John.

Qurratulain Hyder did tremendous justice to her craft by giving a powerful expression to the psychological, emotional and social concerns of women. Humayun Zafar Zaidi writes about the Jnanpith award-winning writer who recently passed away.

The Census thinks that prostitutes are not workers, not because they don't work, but because of traditional views that what they do simply should not be counted as work, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Why is the struggle for women representatives so much harder at the national level? Is every effort merely a pretense, a concession to the few highly educated and aware women voters that ultimately means nothing to the great majority of others? Vaijayanti Gupta notes yet another opportunity thwarted.

Baba Rampal is the most recent in a long line of Indian religious gurus who have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Revathi Siva Kumar looks at a long list of Indian ‘godmen’ over the ages and tries to explain the influence they exert on a mesmerised flock.

For seven-year-old Sandhya and her siblings, totally dependant on their mother who ekes out a living by making beedis, the state government's relief package, announced nearly 18 months ago, is simply not enough. Many more suffer the same fate. P N Venugopal reports.

Over 1400 families who had started living on the rubber plantation of Harrisons & Crossfields -- the Chengara struggle -- will now get land in a deal brokered by the Chief Minister in the presence of the Leader of the Opposition. P N Venugopal takes stock.

Dr Ilina Sen, well-known social activist and feminist scholar, who currently heads the Department of Women’s Studies in Mahatma Gandhi University, Wardha, Maharashtra speaks in detail to M Suchitra about her husband's trial and her appeal to the Chhatisgarh High Court.

Once a medical approach is accepted, its use tends to spread across the population and income groups. We therefore need to start preparing for the advance of personalised medicine, writes Sujatha Byravan

In a society where children are never consulted, parents in an Andhra Pradesh district are looking at their children with new respect. Village children, determined to transform their communities, are writing and producing a Telugu community radio programme, 'Allari Muchchatlu'. Komilla Raote reports.

The Draft Capital Master Plan of Andhra Pradesh, which proposes development of the new capital for the state of Andhra, is of a deep concern. Debadityo Sinha analyses the plan to show what it lacks and why the plan doesn't augur well for the state.

Are quotas the way to redress inequities? A majority of the members of the National Knowledge Commission did not agree, but the UPA government is pressing ahead with its focus on quotas. Two of the NKC's members, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Andre Beteille, have resigned from the commission.

In India, other states look at Kerala's record of firsts with envy. Dr Amartya Sen, the Nobel laureate, has hailed it as a model. But Kerala, caught in a web of paradoxes, is not what it seems, writes Ramesh Menon.

Instead of bothering itself with luxury pens, a truly egalitarian society would focus its attention on the emancipatory possiblities inherent in wielding a pen, write Venu Madhav Govindu and Deepak Malghan.

An ongoing study of school textbooks in four states has found stereotypes and biases in Gujarat's textbooks. The Social Studies textbook for standard five has nine stories on mythology masquerading as history. Deepa A reports.

Following his earlier acclaimed films, Rakesh Sharma has released two new Gujarati documentaries earlier this month. The films -- Sharma has even used RTI to collect government data -- expose unsavoury truths about farmers suicides as well as lower-caste rioters now in prison. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Labour contractors and large landowners continue to employ children, often exposing them to vulnerable situations. Extreme poverty in Rajasthan's tribal districts fuels the practice. Pradeep Baisakh reports.

The famed textile industry of Surat is one of the pillars of Gujarat's industrial success story. What is less known about it is the unfortunate reality of rampant child employment and exploitation that prevails there. Shirish Khare reports.

Less than 50 per cent of girl child births are being registered by parents because of gender bias, says former Census Commissioner Jayant Banthia, speaking at a Panchayats and Child Rights convention recently at New Delhi. Nitin Jugran Bahuguna reports.

An INASAF investigation finds the state grossly indifferent to the health, medical needs, and humane treatment of its prisoners, some of whom haven't even received trials.

The most flexible information dissemination medium ever invented can still be used for the betterment of all, says Subramaniam Vincent.