Latest news with #Di
News18
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Alia Bhatt Received THIS Special Gift From Vaibhavi Merchant For Nailing Dhindhora Baje Re
Alia Bhatt shared a throwback of rehearsing Dhindhora Baje Re, where choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant gifted her Rs 100 for perfectly nailing the dance steps. Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt is on cloud nine as her film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani won a National Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Choreography for Dhindhora Baje Re. The much-loved song was choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant, and as the choreographer won big, a video of their practice session ahead of the big shoot has circulated on social media. In the now-viral video, Alia Bhatt can be seen bursting with joy as she receives a reward from her guruji, Vaibhavi Merchant. The clip featured Alia rigorously training and finally acing the performance, and impressed by her dedication and good work, Vaibhavi gave Alia a 100-rupee note as a present. This made the actress jump in excitement like a little baby. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alia Bhatt 💛 (@aliaabhatt) Throwback from Dhindhora Baje Re rehearsal After the big win, Alia Bhatt shared an unseen throwback video from the rehearsals of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani's energetic dance song Dhindhora Baje Re, giving fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her prep with choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant. Alia is seen acing the dance steps as Vaibhavi instructs and guides her. In her caption, the actress wrote, 'Reliving these memories and my heart is soooo full today. Dhindhora Baje Re is your brilliance @ She further added, 'Forever grateful for the unforgettable journey that was #RRKPK, and to every single member of this brilliant team, this win is yours. Big big love to this wholesome happy journey." Hrithik Roshan commented on Alia's post and wrote, 'Amazing. Well deserved!" Guneet Monga and Sophie Choudry dropped red heart emojis. Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani earned widespread praise for reviving the charm of classic Bollywood family dramas and featured a stellar cast including Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Churni Ganguly, Aamir Bashir, and Kshitee Jog. Alia Bhatt on the work front FYI, Alia Bhatt is currently busy working on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next film, Love & War. The romance drama will star Ranbir Kapoor alongside Alia, marking their first collaboration after the actor's 2007 debut, Saawariya. Alia Bhatt collaborated with Bhansali in the 2022 drama Gangubai Kathiawadi. Meanwhile, Vicky Kaushal, who joins the duo to play a key role, has never worked with the filmmaker. The film was officially announced in January 2024 with an announcement post on Instagram that read, 'We bring you Sanjay Leela Bhansali's epic saga Love & War. See you at the movies." According to reports, Love & War is believed to be set in the 60s and 70s and has been described as a love triangle. Ranbir and Vicky will reportedly play Air Force pilots in the film, slated to be released in March 2026. First Published: August 11, 2025, 17:04 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
03-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Anupam Kher once couldn't pay a dhaba bill and had to leave his brother with them
Long before he was a globally recognised actor, Anupam Kher experienced the kind of struggles that shaped not just his career but his outlook on life. Kher opened up about a moment from his early days in Mumbai that left a lasting impression on him—a moment that combined ambition, naivety, and a sharp reality check at a local dhaba. In a candid interview with News18 Showsha, Kher was accompanied by his brother and a friend to a dhaba in Hirad Nagar after a televised play of his had aired on Doordarshan. Riding high on the appreciation from the dhaba owner, who recognised him and predicted a successful future for the young actor, Kher let the praise influence his decisions. Initially planning to order modestly, he instead called for chicken and beer. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category MBA Degree PGDM Finance Project Management Cybersecurity MCA Leadership Product Management Operations Management Management Design Thinking Healthcare Public Policy Technology healthcare Data Science CXO Digital Marketing Data Analytics Others Data Science others Artificial Intelligence Skills you'll gain: Analytical Skills Financial Literacy Leadership and Management Skills Strategic Thinking Duration: 24 Months Vellore Institute of Technology VIT Online MBA Starts on Aug 14, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Financial Management Team Leadership & Collaboration Financial Reporting & Analysis Advocacy Strategies for Leadership Duration: 18 Months UMass Global Master of Business Administration (MBA) Starts on May 13, 2024 Get Details However, when the bill arrived—totalling Rs 97—Kher was faced with a harsh truth. He had only Rs 1 in his pocket. Despite his attempts to assure the dhaba owner that he would one day be a successful man, the owner remained firm, stating that appreciation and business are two separate matters and the bill had to be paid. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas In Dubai | Search Ads Get Rates Undo Turning Embarrassment Into a Life Lesson To resolve the situation, Kher left his brother and friend behind at the dhaba as assurance and rushed to a nearby friend's home to borrow Rs 100. Reflecting on the incident, he said he has always chosen to see the humour in hardship. Instead of viewing the moment with shame, he embraced it as a defining experience, noting that self-worth shouldn't be dictated by temporary financial struggles. Kher admitted that even without external judgment, there is often an internal sense of inadequacy during such tough times, especially in an industry that often equates success with wealth and glamour. But finding comedy in the struggle helped him survive emotionally and mentally. Embracing Imperfection Through Art and Life Kher's ability to accept imperfections—both his own and those around him—has also informed his recent creative work. Promoting his book Different, but No Less and his directorial film Tanvi The Great, he spoke about portraying autism not as a disability but as a unique strength. According to him, the constant pressure to appear perfect on social media platforms often creates a false standard of happiness, leading many to feel inadequate. His character Tanvi, he explained, represents purity and honesty, traits untainted by ambition or manipulation. Kher acknowledged that since the character originated from his own mind, it gave him hope that such qualities might reside within him as well.
Observer
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Observer
The forgotten bond between Liberia and America
When my brother asks me about what Netflix series I'm currently watching, I answer vaguely about being busy watching world news. My world news since November had been focusing on one person: President Trump. Being part of a very conventional Arabic culture, I always found the American Dream and becoming whatever you want hard to digest. You see, where I come from, you only treat people if you're a doctor and build things if you're an engineer. But become the president of a powerful country when you're a businessman with no political background - and still get elected - was fascinating and worth watching the consequence of during both terms. Everything about the first term was chaotic and my American friend Di kept sending apologetic messages on behalf of nice Americans that Trump doesn't represent. I still remember the month of November of 2020 - amidst the Covid-19 pandemic- when I received an ecstatic text from her declaring Biden's victory and how things will go back to normal. Four years later, the doubt crept in again while I joked that at least news will be fun to watch. For the past few months, I've been following news clips from different American news channels where topics were changing on daily bases: The Big Beautiful Bill, unexplainable administrative changes, mass deportation and mistreatment of immigrants and citizens alike and lately the Epstein files. But what surpasses all is the White House visits that seem like a bully trap for world leaders where some would fight back (Ukraine's Zelensky), tease back (Canada's Carney) or totally yield (Arab and African leaders). The recent bullying session was under the name of the African Summit that included leaders of five countries: Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal. The newsclips focused only on two: Mauritania's president Ghazouani who was nervously addressing an impatient Trump in French to finally be cut off and Liberian president Boakai who laughed incredulously when Trump complimented him for his good English, then looked baffled when he realised that Trump wasn't aware that English is Liberia's official language. To my shame, I didn't know much about Liberia either - other than it's mentioned in Michael Jackson's song Liberian Girl - and decided to find out more. Liberia is in the West coast of Africa with a capital called Monrovia (in honour of American President Monroe who supported it's establishment) and the currency of Liberian Dollar. In 1822, the American Colonisation Society sent African Americans - slaves and freeborn - to Africa, believing that they'd have a better life away from slavery and lack of civil rights (also fearing their uprise or rebellion). They settled in what was known to European traders as the Pepper Coast - later the Grain coast - and gave it the name Liberia which meant in Latin the 'Land of the Free'. The African American settlers didn't mix with the indigenous, instead they called themselves Americo-Liberians and practiced their American heritage including Protestant faith and republican values. They declared independence in 1847 that the US only recognised in 1862. Liberia is the first and the oldest republic in Africa that was never a European colony (along with Ethiopia). As the country was rich in rubber production, American company Firestone Tire invested in it at the start of the 20th century. Moreover, Liberia supported the US military in WWII which resulted in American investments in the country's infrastructure and economic development. However, it went through two civil wars in 1989-1997 and 1998-2003 between Americo-Liberians and the Indigenous. In general, American and Liberian historic ties are strong yet unknown to many of us, including President Trump. Hope you enjoyed this fascinating history lesson! The writer is author of The World according to Bahja
Daily Maverick
30-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Why we, as palliative care practitioners, cannot support the drive to legalise assisted dying
An open letter to Leigh Meinert in response to her article, 'Beyond the false choice – why SA needs both palliative care and assisted dying'. Dear Leigh, Thank you for opening this important conversation. We are grateful that Dignity SA is placing high-quality palliative care higher on their agenda but would like to present a more balanced argument as to why South Africa is not ready for assisted dying. We do also need to challenge some of the arguments put forward in your article. The reality that some people experience – what happened to Di First, our deepest sympathies go out to Yvette Andrews on the death of her friend Di. It was a brave account told with humour (the orange uniform), bravery and honesty. We acknowledge that our deliberations will not take away the pain of that moment, with Di asking Yvette to kill her. We only wish that she could have received the pain relief she needed at 3am that day. There definitely needs to be greater access to 24-hour prescriber (palliative care doctor) helplines so nurses like Yvette and patients like Di can receive the help they need at any time of day or night, especially if they want to remain at home. It is not uncommon for pain to escalate suddenly in the last week of life and often the dose and the way pain relief is given (such as by injection under the skin or into a vein) needs to change, so that pain relief can be brought about more quickly. Euthanasia isn't something that should be added in an emergency, especially if proper pain relief an or sedation could have provided comfort without having to kill the patient. It is, however, understandable that Di wanted her life to be ended in that moment. We do not seek to undermine the severity of Di and Yvette's suffering. Reality behind the rhetoric You are right, Leigh, that we live in one of the most unequal countries in the world and appreciate your concern that only the well resourced can fly to Switzerland to end their lives. Carol de Swart was one of South Africa's recent patients to travel to Switzerland (in early 2024) for assisted suicide. She might not have been able to go had she not been awarded R4-million in a legal malpractice suit against a Pietermaritzburg hospital for radiation damage to her leg necessitating an amputation. She would also not have been able to do it without the assistance of Sean Davison of Dignity SA who was her witness in Switzerland. According to quotes from journalists who interviewed her, Carol's main reason for wanting to end her life was that she felt she had lost her will to live when she lost her leg. She felt her quality of life was diminished because she was no longer able to lead the active life she had before (fishing and gardening). She was assisted to die because of a disability and not because she had a terminal illness. Although she says in an article that she does not see the value in holding grudges against the doctors who made a mistake, she does say she was upset by the fact that they lied. She fought this malpractice case for eight years, which must have made it difficult for her to move away from the feeling of being a victim. One wonders if things wouldn't have been better for her if she had had better pain control, rehabilitation and mental health support while adjusting to life as an amputee so that she could have continued enjoying some of the things she did before her leg was amputated. A palliative care approach could have made this possible. Friends, not foes I do hope, Leigh, that after these exchanges that we can carry on being friends as you have been 'one of us'. Sometimes, however, friends need to agree to disagree. While we are working towards the common goal of helping people to have dignified deaths, our approach to achieving this is fundamentally different. Palliative care and assisted suicide are not compatible. Palliative care is built on a foundation that views the person as being indescribably valuable as a person and is committed to doing everything possible to uphold the person's dignity and relieve their distress. To relieve suffering by mercifully killing the person, even if motivated by compassion, doesn't, in our view, speak to restoring their dignity if you're doing this by eliminating the person. Dignity, by definition, is the state or quality of being worthy of honour or respect, it is something that is inherent and shouldn't change if we regard all human life as sacred. Harvey Chochinov is a palliative psychiatrist and arguably the world leader in research around dignity in palliative care. Chochinov's research has pointed out that a 'wish to die' is usually motivated not by uncontrolled pain, but rather by a loss of a sense of dignity – and that foremost in what determines a person's sense of dignity is their perception of how they are seen by others: In a sense, 'dignity is in the eye of the beholder'. Agreeing with someone that they should die, answers a question that they are asking, and confirms what they were suspecting of themselves – that their life is no longer worthwhile. The South African context Our South African context does indeed make these discussions even more urgent. Our public healthcare system is falling apart, and our private healthcare sector is uncontrolled and driven by consumerism and silo-working, with insufficient access to psychosocial and spiritual care professionals. To ensure that safeguards are in place to protect the vulnerable from feeling coerced, or simply feeling that they are a burden on others, and thus opting for assisted dying, we need strong mental health and social service practitioners to be part of the process. In South Africa, these services are unfortunately totally overburdened and, in many places, nonexistent (both urban and rural, private and public). Assisted dying is currently only available in certain high-income countries. While strides have been made in low-middle-income countries in parts of Central and South America to legalise assisted dying (2022-2023), legislation in this regard has not been finalised yet. Although Cuba's healthcare system is better than ours, it is concerning that a country like Ecuador is jumping on the assisted dying bandwagon so early when their own research conducted in 2020 admits that they have significant gaps in the palliative training of healthcare professionals and still have problems (in 2021) with access and attitudes around liquid morphine. Assisted dying legislation in countries with underdeveloped palliative care services is going to make it easier for the desperate patient at 3am to be euthanised for manageable pain, rather than have this easily relieved with appropriate palliative care knowledge and medication. In addition, this is going to add to the moral distress of healthcare professionals. If you do a deep dive into the literature, you will find that it is not true that doctors do not ever regret their involvement in compassionate killings. As the old adage says, 'desperate times call for desperate measures'. There is also increasing evidence to suggest that safeguards do not provide the protection we think they do in countries where assisted dying is legal. Practitioners who administer lethal doses of medications in situations where criteria are not met, or have not been worked though, are seldom prosecuted. One insurmountable problem with the legalisation of assisted dying is that there is no legal principle that can justify any restriction or 'strict safeguard' to remain in place. Any attempted restriction needs simply to be challenged in court, and the restriction can be overturned. If autonomy is the sole reason, there can be no justification for allowing one category of person such autonomy, while denying another – meaning in the end all requests for suicide, for any reason, must be upheld. This principle has been evident in the 'category creep' that has taken place in countries such as Canada. MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) in Canada is a runaway train – and this in a high-income country where the term 'palliative care' was coined (by a Canadian physician, Dr Balfour Mount) and where palliative care services are well developed. The Canadian case study shows that category creep is very real and the slope very slippery. MAID has gone from being offered to the terminally ill to those with chronic illnesses and mental health issues and is even being offered as a solution to war veterans with PTSD as well as to the homeless with social and financial stressors. The time from request for MAID to MAID being carried out is becoming shorter and shorter and soon MAID could be the leading cause of death in Canada (it currently shares fifth place with cardiovascular disease). It will become the rule rather than the exception. If assisted dying is already a runaway train in many high-income countries, how much more could it become a cheaper panacea (high-speed train) to the many issues we face in low-middle-income countries. It is cheaper (and more efficient), after all, than providing palliative care and or providing even basic medical and social services. Ubuntu and individual choice While we applaud the increasing use of Ubuntu as an African philosophy to apply to ethical dilemmas in our context, its application to the issue of assisted dying is incorrect and not what African authors write about in the literature. Enyimba and Ojong in their 2019 article 'A critique of euthanasia from the perspective of Ubuntu (Africa) notion of Mutual Care' write that the core of Ubuntu is the 'value of caring… integral to the flourishing of the individual and community'. Ubuntu fosters collaboration and solidarity, it does not set up one person against another. It encourages everyone to communally care about others, to work out solutions to our problems together, whether social or economic. In the African context, caring is an integral part of the African people when it comes to the sick. Africans care for the sick until the point of death. This is why they argue in their article that from the point of view of mutual care, euthanasia is not permissible within African traditional society. People who are sick are also perceived to be useful within African Society. Everything and everybody is important. The terminally ill have value because they give family members an opportunity to express love, care, concern and compassion. One might argue that a dying person who is in agony cannot relate to others and that their sense of moral worth becomes diminished and ultimately their dignity is infringed. This is the same argument advanced in the Stransham -Ford case in South Africa. However, with advances in palliative medicine, a dying person need not die while suffering and being in discomfort. The same court averred that the applicant who wanted a right to assisted suicide – Stransham-Ford – actually died with dignity, surpassing his own expectations and predictions of an undignified death. Yes, African traditional communities have rituals for when people are ready to return to their ancestors, but pushing them to an earlier end is not part of this. Likewise, as you quote Archbishop Desmond Tutu, compassion does lie at the heart of Christian values, and yes, Christians also want to see people die with dignity, but not by killing them, which goes against the very grain of most religions where killing is immoral. With good palliative care, including excellent pain control and terminal sedation where needed, it is not necessary to make the 'ultimate sacrifice' you speak of. A path forward We agree that we need the courage to acknowledge that we live in a country where people die differently depending on their bank balance – but we also need to acknowledge that we also live in a country where people live differently depending on their bank balance. These injustices need to be addressed first. Otherwise, assisted death by healthcare providers is going to be the easier choice, and the least burdensome for the family and for the health sector. One of the things that has driven modern man's desire for assisted dying is medicine's increasing capacity to reverse disease-related complications in patients who actually have underlying incurable diseases. This allows people to live longer, with more potential for suffering, because of increasing comorbidities. It is confusing to see patients pushing for experimental therapies that can cause immense suffering and put severe financial strain on families, who then, when they finally realise the battle is lost, want to advocate for assisted dying. Our desire for control and the challenges involved in managing total suffering and talking about death and dying earlier in a person's serious illness, are what have fuelled the request for MAID. Through advancements in modern medicine, often in pursuit of increasingly futile therapies, we are not allowing people to die the natural deaths they could have had. We applaud Dignity SA's initiative in promoting advance directives to allow people the right to refuse life-sustaining treatments and to choose instead to die a natural death, but as palliative care practitioners we cannot support the drive to legalise assisted dying. Indeed it would be dangerous to do so in the South African context. We remain as palliative care practitioners committed to the promise made by our founder, Dame Cicely Saunders: 'You matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life. We will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.' In this context, helping people to die peacefully is about allowing them to die naturally with the assistance of all the knowledge and skills of palliative care (a medical discipline which was recognised as a speciality in South Africa in December 2024) so that we don't have to resort to killing them. We would like to end our letter with a case study from one of our practitioners illustrating the capacity of palliative care to relieve suffering (even with remote assistance). 'A patient was recently diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer and discharged home from hospital with minimal symptom control. Twelve hours after removal of all intravenous pain control in the hospital this patient was suffering greatly. After careful titration of morphine syrup, with the kind assistance of a remote doctor who guided my actions, this same patient had the best last three weeks of her life, according to her partner. She had been in pain for five months, finally diagnosed four months ago and was in a better place emotionally, spiritually and physically in these last three weeks of life. She was in the comfort of her own home among the people who loved her most, guided and supported by a palliative care team. She and the family were well prepared for the end which was inevitable with the advanced diagnosis she had received.' Sincerely, Dr Michelle Meiring, Palliative Care Paediatrician, Paedspal and University of Cape Town; Associate Professor Liz Gwyther, Professor of Palliative Care, University of Cape Town; Dr Andrea Mendelsohn, Palliative Care Physician, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town; Dr Martin Bac, Family Physician, Pretoria; Dr Colleen Cox, Oncologist and Palliative Care Physician, Private practice, Durban and Cape Town; Dr Raksha Balbadhur, Palliative Care Physician, Private practice, Durban and Cape Town; Sr Heidi Thom, Palliative Care Nurse, Private Practice; and Dr Louis Jenkins, Family Physician and Palliative Care Physician, George. DM
Scottish Sun
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Treasure trove of Princess Diana's iconic outfits set to sell for MILLIONS at auction in LA
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TREASURE trove of Princess Diana's clothing went under the hammer tonight — set to net a million dollars. More than 140 of Di's garments sparked a bidding frenzy as fans splashed out. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Princess Diana's clothing went under the hammer last night Credit: Getty 7 A flurry of interest surrounded the floral Bellville Sassoon dress Diana wore alongside Charles in Seville Credit: Splash Before the Princess Diana's Style & A Royal Collection auction in Beverly Hills last night, hundreds of thousands of dollars in bids had already been placed. A flurry of interest surrounded the floral Bellville Sassoon dress Diana wore alongside Charles in Seville in 1992 — with one punter meeting the $300,000 asking price. The silk outfit was known as Diana's 'caring dress', which she often wore on visits to hospitals to meet patients, including The Lighthouse Project for AIDS in London in the same year. A custom cream Catherine Walker evening gown worn during her 1986 Gulf Tour of Saudi Arabia and UAE, had already attracted a $150,000 bid — half of the £300,000 estimate. Early bids also met the $100,000 reserve price by Julien's Auctions on a yellow Bruce Oldfield outfit Di wore to Ascot in 1987. Her favourite red ski suit, which she wore on the slopes in Klosters, Switzerland, in 1986, was expected to fetch at least $50,000. A blue cap was estimated at $4,000, while her 1997 British Lung Foundation sweatshirt was set to fetch $20,000. The collection was curated with items from multiple owners across the globe — with a portion of the proceeds going to Muscular Dystrophy UK. Handwritten letters and a birthday card signed by William, Harry and Diana were also for sale. Julien's Auctions executive director Martin Nolan said: 'This celebrates Diana's elegance and enduring cultural impact.' Diana 'would be furious that Harry left William to pursue her legacy alone', Phil Dampier says 7 Princess Diana's favourite red ski suit, which she wore on the slopes in Klosters Credit: Getty 7 The suit is expected to be at least $50,000 7 Diana's Catherine Walker Evening Gown, worn during a Gulf trip, had already attracted a $150,000 bid — half of the £300,000 estimate Credit: Splash 7 Diana in a yellow Bruce Oldfield outfit at Ascot in 1987 Credit: Getty 7 Bids met the $100,000 reserve price by Julien's Auctions Credit: Splash
