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India Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Won't allow Thug Life's release: Protests against Kamal Haasan intensify
After actor Kamal Haasan refused to apologise for his 'Kannada is born out of Tamil' statement, several pro-Kannada groups intensified their protest against the actor in Karnataka. Several videos and photos from the protest surfaced online, in which they were seen burning Haasan's effigies demanding a ban on his latest film 'Thug Life'.Members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike burnt Haasan's effigy and posters in different parts of the state to add to the anger against the Tamil superstar for his contentious statement. The situation escalated further when Haasan, at an event, refused to issue an apology for his statement, and said, "Love will never apologise. I will apologise only if I am wrong. If I am not, I will not (sic)."SDPI burned Kamal Hasan Effigy, for portraying the truth as the producer in the biography movie Amaran that Major Mukund was killed by an Islamic guys just hate us - PERIOD. Indu Makkal Katchi (off) (@Indumakalktchi) November 7, 2024advertisementOn Saturday, pro-Kannada organisations led by LR Shivarame Gowda, Lok Sabha MP, and activists visited several cinema halls across the city, urging them not to screen 'Thug Life'. "We won't allow the release of this movie," they declared, appealing to theatre owners and the public to join their protest. The groups have demanded a complete ban on the film's release in Karnataka after the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), on Friday, announced a complete ban on the film in the state. Kannada actor Shiva Rajkumar sided with Haasan in the matter, which created trouble for him as protestors also lined up outside his house. His statement in which he appreciated Haasan's body of work, and his 'contribution to Kannada cinema' angered many. Visuals of people throwing stones at his house went viral on social media by Mani Ratnam, the film is scheduled to hit the screens on June InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Kamal Haasan
Hamilton Spectator
28-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Ascom launches share buyback program
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Baar, Switzerland, May 28, 2025 Ascom Holding AG will start its previously announced share buyback program on 30 May 2025. Ascom mandated Zürcher Kantonalbank to repurchase up to a maximum of 3 million registered shares on the second trading line on SIX Swiss Exchange and up to a maximum buyback amount of CHF 15 million for the purpose of capital reduction. All regulatory approvals have been obtained. The program will start on 30 May 2025 and last until 30 November 2026 at the latest. Detailed information can be found in the advertisement regarding the share buyback program on . Attachment
El Chorouk
19-05-2025
- Politics
- El Chorouk
Bruno Retailleau, Leader of a Party That No Longer Makes Presidents in France
French Interior Minister Bruno Rotailleau has assumed the leadership of the right-wing Republicans (LR) party, with his sights set on winning the Élysée Palace in the 2027 presidential election. However, this party, which has produced several presidents in the past, is no longer capable of making presidents in France. This politician's rise to the leadership of the right-wing party coincided with a severe political and diplomatic crisis with Algeria. Many moderate politicians in Algeria and France view him as the cause of the deepening impasse in Algerian-French relations since last summer, which saw French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to distort his country's position on the Western Sahara issue by blatantly siding with the Moroccan regime. Many observers have discussed Bruno Rotailleau's political ambitions and their repercussions for relations with Algeria, pointing to the possibility of running for the French presidential election. However, this possibility remains highly unlikely, according to observers, given the weakness of his party, which came in fourth place in the last legislative elections, with only 46 seats in the French National Assembly (the lower house of parliament). This is compared to the left-wing movement, known as the 'New National Front,' which won 182 seats. The right-wing movement in France, both traditional and extreme, currently consists of four parties: the National Rally (RN), a descendant of the far-right National Front, founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, the third-largest political party based on the results of the recent legislative elections; the Republicans (LR); the Union of the Right for the Republic, founded by Éric Ciotti, the former president of the Republicans; and another small party, the Reconquest Party (Reconquéte), founded by the Jewish extremist Éric Zemmour. For the Algerian diplomat Mustapha Zeghlache, Bruno Retailleau's ascension to the Élysée Palace remains extremely difficult, given the fragmentation of the right-wing and far-right movements, as well as the decline of the 'Republicans' LR party in the French political scene due to the divisions it has experienced, the most recent of which occurred last summer, when its former president decided to split and form an alliance with the extremist 'National Front' party. Retailleau's first statement after his victory in the Republicans' presidential election was to emphasise that his primary focus would be on unifying the right-wing faction. However, the contradictions on the ground appear far greater than he imagined, making this task difficult, if not impossible. In a statement to Echorouk, Zeghlach explained, 'Even though it's too early, and the possibility of Retailleau running for the presidency and winning is disturbing to Algeria and its interests, it will be extremely difficult to achieve his dreams, because the political landscape in France has changed significantly, and his party is no longer as popular as it once was.' It is well known that the Republicans party, formerly known as the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) before changing its name in 2015, which embodies Gaullist values, of which only the name remains, has brought numerous presidents to the Élysée Palace, such as General de Gaulle, Jacques Chirac, and most recently Nicolas Sarkozy. However, today it has not even been able to secure second or third place in legislative or local elections, underscoring the difficulty Bruno Retailleau faces in relying on this party to achieve his dreams. The former diplomat spoke about the inevitability of alliances in winning the French presidency. He also noted that the presence of right-wing figures with significant political ambitions, such as Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally party, following Marine Le Pen's barring from running, would complicate Retailleau's task, as he will face a left-wing alliance with which he has considerable animosity and hostility.
LeMonde
19-05-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
French conservatives choose security
In the long road to France's 2027 presidential election, the vote held on Sunday, May 18, by the conservative Les Républicains (LR) party is merely a step. However, for one man, the result of this vote holds considerable significance. Since 2017, Laurent Wauquiez has presented himself as the savior of the right, the one who could deliver a rupture, much like former president Nicolas Sarkozy a decade earlier. He was soundly defeated by an opponent he did not see coming, receiving only 25.7% of the votes from LR members, versus 74.3% for Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. This punishing vote diminishes the former president of the central Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region's prospects for a 2027 presidential bid. The rebuke is all the more severe given that Wauquiez, who led LR between 2017 and 2019, was supposed to be more familiar with the inner workings of his party and the expectations of its members than Retailleau, who was defeated in the same election in 2022. Wauquiez's current role as president of the LR group in the Assemblée Nationale also gave him the advantage of claiming to members that he would have the power to make or break the current government of Prime Minister François Bayrou in the coming months. Despite these assets and his repeated references to former president Jacques Chirac as a model, he was clearly rejected. The choice of security On the substance, the campaign confirmed the worrying radicalization of the French right. Targeting a common enemy – the radical-left La France Insoumise party – Wauquiez and Retailleau ran on the same themes – security, opposition to immigration, the fight against communitarianism, praise of work, fiscal austerity and the challenge to the rule of law in migration matters – to try to win over the roughly 100,000 voters increasingly sensitive to the far right. What separated the two candidates wasn't policy, but personality. At 50, Wauquiez suffers from having made many enemies within his own party without having succeeded in forging strong ties with the public. Close to Christian Democrats at the start of his political career, this highly educated individual served multiple times as a minister during Sarkozy's five-year term, gradually radicalizing his discourse to the point of becoming a champion of the union of the right with far-right pundit Éric Zemmour. Wauquiez has opposed almost everything President Emmanuel Macron has done since 2017, including the raising of the retirement age, strongly defended by the right, but unable, to this day, to propose an alternative. He remains trapped by the two adjectives many of his adversaries associate with his name: "brutal" and "insincere." At a very low point for their party, the LR members have chosen security. At 64, Retailleau, who presided over the LR group in the Sénat for 10 years, embodies an identity-driven right, yet is not averse to compromising with the center. Freshly elected head of the party, the interior minister has adopted Wauquiez's call for "rupture" while proclaiming his intention to remain in the government for the time being. A way to balance competing interests in a particularly unstable political environment. Not glorious, but effective.
Local France
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
Anti-immigration minister becomes leader of French conservatives
Retailleau won 74 percent of the vote from party members against 25 percent for Laurent Wauquiez, the head of the party in the French national assembly. Although LR and its allies hold only 60 seats in France's 577-member national assembly and the party candidate barely registered in the 2022 presidential vote, experts predict a better run in 2027 when President Emmanuel Macron must step down. The party is the successor of the UMP, which traces its origins to postwar leader Charles de Gaulle and was the party of former presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy. These days, however, it is much diminished - in the 2022 presidential election its candidate Valérie Pecresse scored just 4.78 percent of the vote, below the threshold required to get state funding for election expenses. In the 2017 election its candidate François Fillon was felled by a last-minute expenses scandal and scored 20 percent, failing to make it through to the second round of voting. Advertisement Previously seen as a centre-right party, LR has moved sharply to the right as it struggles to find a place for itself within the current political landscape. Its previous leader Eric Ciotti quit the party last year after calling for an alliance with the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in the 2024 parliamentary election, leading to memorable scenes in which he barricaded himself in his office to avoid being removed by furious party members. It has wrangled ever since over its stance but has adopted a tougher line on issues such as immigration, with Retailleau echoing far-right talking points on immigration, integration and crime. National opinion polls currently suggest the RN would perform well in the 2027 election, despite being shaken by legal woes for its figurehead Marine Le Pen. Retailleau, previously the LR leader in the Senate, was brought into government as interior minister in 2024 by Michel Barnier. Current PM François Bayrou kept him in post when he formed his government, where he has emerged as one of the most high-profile ministers in the centrist-led coalition government. Following Sunday's result, he said he would stay in the government but he is likely to use his victory to press his case for the presidency. "Our political family is now able to carry our project forward for the presidential election," Retailleau told broadcaster TF1 after the results were announced. Some 80 percent of the 120,000 LR party members took part in the weekend vote for the leader. The LR membership had increased from 43,859 to 121,617 in the two months before the leadership election.
