Latest news with #BarclaysBank
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Chandra Barot, director of Amitabh Bachchan's iconic film ‘Don,' passes away at 86
Veteran filmmaker Chandra Barot, best known for helming Amitabh Bachchan's 1978 cult classic Don, passed away at a hospital in Mumbai on Sunday (July 20). He was 86. Chandra was battling 'Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis' (IPF-fibrosis of lungs) for the past 11 years and had been receiving treatment at the Guru Nanak Hospital, as per his family. 'Chandra passed away at the Guru Nanak Hospital this morning at 6.30 due to cardiac arrest caused by a chest infection. He had IPF, which is fibrosis of the lungs, for the past 11 years,' his wife, Deepa Barot told PTI. Farhan Akhtar, who is directing the third film in the renewed Don franchise, paid tribute to Chandra on Instagram, writing, 'Saddened to learn that the director of the OG Don is no more. RIP Chandra Barot-ji. Deepest condolences to the family.' Born and raised in Tanzania, Chandra worked at the Barclays Bank in Dara-es-Salam, before racial turmoil forced him to leave the country in 1967. In India, he pursued his passion in filmmaking and joined late veteran actor-director Manoj Kumar as an assistant director, working in films such as Purab Aur Pachhim, Yaadgaar, Shor andRoti Kapada Aur Makaan. In 1978, he made a film he would forever be remembered for: the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer, Don, which had a script written by Salim–Javed. However, pundits would fondly remember him for the reason he directed the film in the first place. Chandra wanted to help his friend, cinematographer-producer Nariman Irani, who had suffered terrible financial losses reportedly due to the failure of 1972's Zindagi Zindagi. After Don, Chandra helmed the Bengali film Aashrita in 1989, and returned to Hindi cinema with 1991's Pyar Bhara Dil. Chandra's subsequent projects, Hong Kong Wali Script and Neil Ko never saw the light of the day. However, Don lived on. In 2006, the film was rebooted in a new franchise by director Farhan Akhtar and lead star Shah Rukh Khan. They reunited again for a sequel, the 2011's Don 2: The King Is Back. Farhan is now making a third Don film with actor Ranveer Singh in the lead. The legacy of Don stretches far and beyond Bollywood, paving way for renditions headlined by the likes of Rajinikanth, Ajith Kumar, Prabhas and Mohanlal. Chandra Barot is survived by his wife and a son. The news about Chandra's death has shocked the film industry. Fans, well-wishers and colleagues from the film fraternity have been expressing their condolences. (with inputs from PTI)
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Woman who withheld council tax in climate protest faces losing home
A woman who withheld council tax payments for three years in protest at her local authority's continued investment in fossil fuels fears losing her home. Jane McCarthy, 74, said she made the decision after becoming increasingly fearful about the impact of climate breakdown on future generations, particularly when she learned about climate tipping points at a local meeting. 'I think that was the point at which I realised, oh my goodness, this is really urgent, really serious.' McCarthy, who has terminal cancer, said she did not take the decision to withhold the money from Buckinghamshire council lightly but said it was a matter of principle as the council continued to invest in fossil fuels through its pension fund and by using Barclays Bank. 'I really object having to hand money over knowing that it's going to be used in ways that are reckless, that are damaging my children's chances of a livable future, let alone my grandchildren,' she said McCarthy appeared at Reading county court earlier this month, resulting in a final charge order on her home, leading to fears the council could force her to sell up to repay the debt. 'It has been very stressful but for me it was a matter of conscience and also as a matter of conscientious objection, because fossil fuels are the cause of so much war as well as driving the climate crisis.' UK pensions invest about £88bn in fossil fuels, which campaigners warn is helping drive the climate breakdown. Experts also warn such investments put pension savings at risk because those investments will either become stranded if countries meet their emissions targets, or runaway climate breakdown will wreak havoc with the global economy and wipe out any potential returns. Campaigners are hoping that the pension schemes bill currently going through parliament will change the way pension funds are managed, ensuring pension trustees take relevant system level risks, including climate change into account, when deciding where to invest. Claire Brinn, senior UK policy manager at the ShareAction campaign, said there was a 'lack of clarity' over trustees' legal and moral obligations when investing funds at the moment. 'This creates uncertainty for trustees over the legal scope for taking into account systemic considerations, whether macroeconomic or environmental, or even their members' living standards and views.' She said clarifying this 'fiduciary duty' would be a 'a simple legislative change that will empower pension funds to consider people and planet and secure our future prosperity and security.' McCarthy says her debt to the council now stands at about £5,000 including costs. She said she would be more than happy to pay the withheld tax to local charities or good causes. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion 'I do want to pay it … I would love to just talk to the council about what charities I could support in Buckinghamshire but I am sure that is very unlikely, a fantasy.' She added: 'For them to apply for the sale when it's only a debt of about £5,000 feels so disproportionate but that is what could happen.' Robert Carington, Buckinghamshire council's cabinet member for resources, said it was 'duty bound' to collect tax to pay for essential public services. 'While the council acknowledges the personal views held in this case, they do not constitute a valid reason for not paying council tax. Payment of council tax, like any other tax, is not a personal choice. People are legally bound to pay it and the council has a legal duty to recover council tax. We are therefore pleased that the court has found in the council's favour and that this matter has been brought to a conclusion.' He added that the council was committed to a 'greener future' and its pension fund investments were only in projects or corporations that had set a target 'to be net zero by 2050 at the latest'. The council declined to say what it planned to do next in its efforts to recover the withheld tax.
Business Wire
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Barclays and FICO Win Credit Award for Excellence in Fraud Prevention
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Barclays Bank's fraud team and global analytics software leader FICO have won a prestigious Credit Award for Excellence in Fraud Prevention. The award, presented in a gala event in Wales, recognizes Barclays' use of an innovative solution from FICO and Jersey Telecom (JT) called Scam Signal to reduce card fraud losses & protect customers from the harm caused by social engineering scams. Barclays forecast a 6% reduction in card fraud as a result of the deployment, which identified 9 social engineering victims on its first day. 'In addition to the fraud loss reduction, Scam Signal is also having a positive impact on our customers, who have told us they feel grateful for the increased protection we can provide to help keep them safe.' - Nicola Winter, Barclays Bank Share More information: UK Finance reported losses of £450 million in the UK last year from Authorised Push Payment Fraud, where consumers are tricked into authorising payments to scammers. 'Barclays recognises how impactful this type of fraud is to our customers and have supplemented our existing fraud defences with the latest technology when we suspect customers are being socially engineered,' said Nicola Winter, director of plastic fraud at Barclays Bank. 'We will then intervene to 'break the spell' the fraudster casts. Whilst fraudsters target all segments of society it can be particularly harmful for vulnerable customers.' Scam Signal, developed by FICO and Jersey Telecom in collaboration with the GSMA and UK Finance, uses real-time telephony data to detect potential scam activity. Scam Signal marks the first use of real-time telco data within Barclays' analytical decisioning solutions. Scam Signal is accessed in real time by Barclays within FICO ® Customer Communication Services, integrated via an API to the respective networks via JT. If intervention is warranted, FICO's customer communications rules and decisioning capabilities are used to present customers with personalised, highly contextualised messages, delivered in the channel of customer choice, to break the spell. 'In addition to the fraud loss reduction, Scam Signal is also having a positive impact on our customers, who have told us they feel grateful for the increased protection we can provide to help keep them safe,' said Winter. 'One of our front-line colleagues wrote, 'The new control is great. It allowed me to talk the customer out of a crypto currency scam and provide some education around investment and crypto scams.'' 'We are immensely proud of this award and our work with Barclays,' said Nikhil Behl, president, Software at FICO. 'Barclays wed customer commitment with innovation and our partnership with them is producing fantastic results. In the fight against fraud and scams, the criminals are using the most advanced technology — banks must do the same to keep their customers safe.' Scam Signal won the Best Anti-Fraud Solution award at the Credit & Collections Technology Awards in 2024, as well as a Silver Medal for Best Scam and APP Fraud Prevention Solution from Datos Insights in the 2024 Fraud Impact Awards. The Credit Awards, presented by Credit Strategy, are judged by an independent panel. The full list of Credit Award winners for 2025 can be found here. About Barclays Bank Our vision is to be the UK-centred leader in global finance. We are a diversified bank with comprehensive UK consumer, corporate and wealth and private banking franchises, a leading investment bank and a strong, specialist US consumer bank. Through these five divisions, we are working together for a better financial future for our customers, clients and communities. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website About FICO FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 80 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score, used by 90% of top US lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency. Learn more at FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
The Sun
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Ex-EastEnders star's firm being shut down owing taxman £82k
A FIRM run by former EastEnders actor Cliff Parisi is being shut down owing the taxman £82,764. The star, who played Minty Peterson in the soap for eight years, put Pleasant Productions into liquidation owing a total of £119,552 to creditors. That includes £35,787 to Barclays Bank and £1,000 to an accountancy firm. Liquidators investigating his firm found it had assets of just £7,200 — and have taken professional fees of £6,000. With just £1,200 left for the taxman, bankers and accountants, the company is looking into whether it can recover more cash but said that is uncertain. The report said: 'It is dependent on the recoveries that we are able to make in respect of claims resulting from our investigation.' Parisi, 65, a regular in Call The Midwife, also faced tax issues in 2019 — going on I'm A Celeb to help pay £31,000 owed. Asked why he was taking part, he said: 'The taxman. 'Yeah, I've got a bill I need to pay.' He played Minty in the soap for eight years and has been a regular in Call the Midwife since 2012. Cliff was born in London to parents George and Irene on May 24, 1960. He began his career in entertainment in 1982, touring the UK as a stand-up comedian. Cliff then became interested in becoming an actor, and after a series of bit-part roles he landed his first major character called Lunchbox in the TV series Chancer. The much-loved TV star is married to BBC producer Tara Wyer and and has five children - two with Tara and three from previous relationships.
India.com
05-07-2025
- Business
- India.com
Who invented world's first ATM machine? When did ATM come in India? the first ATM machine was set up outside...
Exactly 58 years ago, on June 27, 1967, the world saw its first ATM (Automated Teller Machine) installed in Enfield, a town in London. The machine was set up outside a branch of Barclays Bank and was named 'Barclaycash.' The opening ceremony was done by Reg Varney, a popular British actor at the time from the hit TV show On the Buses . At first, the ATM allowed people to withdraw only up to £10 at a time. Still, it was a big deal because it gave people the freedom to take out cash even when banks were closed, and slowly, it started changing the way the world used banking services. Who invented the ATM machine? The ATM was invented by John Shepherd-Barron, who was born in 1925 in Shillong, a city Meghalaya. His idea came from a very ordinary problem i.e. he once needed cash but couldn't get it because the bank was closed. That's when he thought: 'If vending machines can give out chocolates, why can't we have one that gives out money?' Inspired by this thought, he shared the idea with officials at Barclays Bank. They liked it, and two years later, the first ATM became a reality. How ATMs have evolved over time ATMs in India have come a long way. They no longer just give out cash. Modern machines also offer: Bill payments Cheque deposits Mini statements Balance checks Cardless transactions Contactless services These upgrades have made banking even easier and faster for people. What started as a simple cash machine has now become a powerful tool for everyday banking in India.
