Latest news with #VforVendetta
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
How a near perfect diamond heist was ‘foiled' 2 months later — due to old prison mates' betrayal
From creating a triple failsafe to hide his identity, to learning tradecraft from jailhouse 'experts', a first-time diamond thief nearly got away with stealing 11,655 precious stones in Gujarat. Described by an investigator as the case 'with the highest probability of not being solved,' the heist was executed by a highly skilled repeat offender who had previously been jailed for petty thefts and house break-ins. Last month, he allegedly stole 11,655 diamonds weighing 130.55 carats and worth Rs 60.83 lakh from a polishing unit in Rajkot. Then, he disappeared for nearly two months, with multiple investigative teams hitting dead ends — until an overlooked clue led to the capture of a suspect. On Friday, May 29, Rajkot City Police's Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) announced the arrest of 34-year-old Ajay Jagdish Lallu Nayka, a resident of Umarpada in Surat, for stealing the diamonds on the intervening night of April 10-11. In early April, police said, Nayka began surveying the Bhaktinagar area of Rajkot, known for its cluster of diamond polishing units. After identifying a vulnerable unit, he allegedly hid tools in a shed next door, ensuring they were out of sight. Nayka allegedly made two failed attempts on consecutive nights due to people being present at the site. On the third night, April 10, he 'succeeded'. Carrying a bag of clothes and masks, he allegedly broke into the vault using the specialized cutting tools and stole the diamonds. 'We were completely blind,' said Inspector Jadav. He said Nayka had employed three layers of identity protection: first, the accused wore a Guy Fawkes mask — popularised by the 1982 graphic novel V for Vendetta and its 2006 film adaptation. Second, Nayka allegedly disabled and removed the security control room's Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and hard disk. Third, he changed his clothes inside and walked on the road divider to evade surrounding CCTVs. 'Most CCTVs aren't angled to capture the divider or don't have sufficient range, especially at night,' said an investigator. After reviewing footage from over 100 cameras, police found no usable images of Nayka. The triple failsafe had worked, right until he failed to sell the diamonds. In May, Nayka travelled to Vapi and Surat to sell the diamonds on the black market. But the diamond industry, being tightly knit, had already been alerted statewide. Unable to enter the legitimate or even black market, he turned to the grey market. 'He had researched how to steal diamonds, but not how to sell them,' said ACP B B Basiya. Nayka didn't know the stones' value and received 'wildly different price quotes', which confused him. Fearing exposure, he decided to wait until the case went cold. He allegedly hid the diamonds in an abandoned factory and returned to Umarpada. 'With no CCTV and no phone usage by Nayka, we had to explore other tactics,' said an officer. Investigators began tracing sellers of the specialized cutting tools used in the heist. 'There are four firms selling the drill machines and six selling the variable spanners. Nayka bought both locally in Rajkot but paid in cash, without bills,' the officer said. This lack of documentation stalled progress once again. These no-bill purchases, often done to evade taxes, are now under scrutiny. Local police are investigating retailers who sold tools to Nayka without invoices. 'Stealing diamonds from reinforced safes requires expert-level precision using magnetic drills, cutters, and variable spanners,' said PI M R Gondaliya of the Crime Branch. Police questioned 15 suspects previously involved in diamond heists, including three jailed for a 2023 case in Mahudi Taluka. All three were in the same Rajkot Central Jail barracks as Nayka, during his 2024 imprisonment for a house break-in. 'These men told us Nayka had been very curious about their methods,' said PI Jadav. 'He asked detailed questions about tools and techniques. They unknowingly trained him.' Already familiar with fabrication tools, Nayka allegedly combined this jailhouse knowledge with YouTube tutorials to sharpen his skills. With Nayka's arrest and recovery of the hidden diamonds, the case has now been transferred to the Bhaktinagar police station for further investigation.
New York Post
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Natalie Portman reveals why she prefers living in Paris with her kids over Los Angeles: ‘Very good at privacy'
Natalie Portman prefers to raise her family in The City of Light as opposed to under the Hollywood stars. The 'Black Swan' actress, who moved to Paris in 2014, revealed she loves living in a European city that's bustling but has a culture that's polite and 'very good at privacy.' 'Even when it's cold and gray, there's always some incredible exhibit or concert or dinner party or writers in town; something fascinating and stimulating happening… and the frequent vacations are so clutch!' Portman told fashion outlet Net-a-Porter on Monday. 4 Natalie Portman and her family moved to Paris in 2014. WireImage Portman, 43, pushed back on a stereotype about how French residents are rude, pointing out the 'weird' social differences between the US and France. 'I find the people here are actually incredibly friendly – you just have to know how to interact, so that we're not the ones being rude,' Portman said. 'Now, when I go back to the US, I'm like, oh, I would go into a store and not say hello to everyone there? It's weird.' The 'V for Vendetta' star insisted that cultural differences do not equal rudeness. 'I think we have an assumption that Western cultures are all the same, and kind of evened out by all this pop culture that everyone consumes,' Portman claimed. 'It's not true: it's extremely specific here.' In 2014, Portman ditched Los Angeles and moved to Paris alongside her then-husband Benjamin Millepied, whom she met when he was a choreographer and dancer on the set of 'Black Swan.' The Oscar winner shares two children, Aleph,13, and Amalia, 8, with Millepied. 4 Portman loved how Parisians are 'very good at privacy.' Reynaud Julien/APS-Medias/ABACA/Shutterstock But the couple ended up calling it quits and finalized their divorce in March 2024 after Millepied had an alleged affair with a 25-year-old climate activist named Camille Étienne. The actress is now reportedly dating French musician Tanguy Destable. Portman stayed in France following the breakup with Millepied and praised how parents raise kids in France. 'All the kids that come to my house are, like, 'bonjour Madame' – and give me the bise [cheek-to-cheek kiss],' Portman told the outlet. 'And before they leave, they are, like, 'thank you for having me' – and if I'm not nearby, they'll come and find me to say it.' 4 Portman is reportedly dating a French musician after she finalized her divorce from Benjamin Millepied in March 2024. AFP via Getty Images Portman was born in Jerusalem, Israel, and rose to fame as a teenage star acting in films like 'Heat,' 'Mars Attacks' and 'Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.' She's not the only star who ditched the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles for a better family life. In 2014, Matthew McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves, planted their roots in Austin, Texas. 4 Stars like Millie Bobby Brown and Matthew McConaughey left Los Angeles for a different lifestyle. Instagram / Millie Bobby Brown The 'Interstellar' actor, who was born and raised in the Lone Star State, said he always planned to return and raise a family and to be closer to his mother and two older brothers, who also live in Texas. 'I wanted them to have what I grew up around… There's a solid… amount of common sense that runs through it, it's untalked about, but we understand it here,' McConaughey told 'Today' in 2014. 'Stranger Things' actress Millie Bobby Brown swapped Hollywood for farm life in rural Georgia with her husband Jake Bongiovi, the son of singer Jon Bon Jovi. The couple tied the knot in May 2024 and Brown insisted that she loved the lifestyle during a March 2025 interview with Vanity Fair, but added that the country life is not easy. 'If you're not picking up horse s–t or washing a cow with your bare hands, then that life is not made for you. At all,' she told the outlet.
The Wire
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Legal Victories, Lived Defeats: Disability Justice After the ‘Courtroom Revolution'
Philosopher Slavoj Žižek asks for a sequel to the film V for Vendetta that depicts a successful revolution, saying, 'Now that people took power, what will they do? It is not enough to overthrow a tyranny; you have to replace it with a new structure.' Recently, we have seen several judgments from the Supreme Court enabling disability rights, valorising reasonable accommodation, and even using its powers under Article 142 to do 'complete justice' for persons with disabilities. The Supreme Court has called the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ( RPwD ) Act, 2016 a ' super statute ' containing the ingredients of a quasi-constitutional law. A Whiggish historian of disability justice might call this the 'golden age' of disability justice, marked by interventions of the courts. However, sincere teachers of historiography often warn against labels such as 'golden age', as supposed 'golden ages' usually mask several exclusions and debilitations. This might be one reason why Dianne Otto, while writing an endorsement for the book, Desire and its Discontents , warns: 'Too often, queer activists and scholars seeking emancipation through legal rights forget how much context matters, and how much law is committed to maintaining the very hierarchies that state power relies upon.' Dianne Otto's warning is significant for the disability justice movement, too. The sky is purple, or maybe not Liberal disability jurisprudence in India, exemplified by Vikas Kumar v. UPSC, marks a progressive shift by expanding reasonable accommodation to focus on individual needs instead of rigid benchmarks. However, this moment of progress exposes deeper contradictions. Similar to the ' Naz moment' in LGBTQ+ rights, the shift signals visible change, but beneath it lies an entrenched ableist scaffolding that continues to govern who is deserving of rights. The judgment's characterisation of disabled persons as a 'discrete and insular minority' reinforces the idea that disability is exceptional , not normative, reflecting a logic hard-wired into law . Borrowed from US constitutional jurisprudence, this framing isolates disability even as it claims to include it. The accompanying rhetoric of 'assets, not liabilities' might seem empowering, but the underlying dichotomies – abled/disabled, asset/liability – are not neutral. Ableism is hardwired into law not just by contrasting ability and disability, but by co-constituting them through a norm-deviation dyad, rendering disabled existence intelligible only through the spectacle of deficit. Disabled litigants often have to perform their deficiency to fit legal expectations. Even as liberal jurisprudence claims to promote inclusion, it reifies exclusion through modular forms of citizenship that favours able-bodiedness. This jurisprudence doesn't emerge in a vacuum. Courts operate within constitutional and statutory frameworks already shaped by ableist assumptions. To truly understand how disability justice becomes a performative act – how courts reinforce dominant norms through the politics of recrimination , construct the disabled litigant as a narrowly legible subject, and turn legal redress into a public enactment of worthiness – we must first examine the underlying script. Central to this script is the RPwD Act, 2016, which, despite being hailed as a progressive milestone, rests on assumptions that often reify exclusion under the guise of inclusion. The Act's principles of equality, non-discrimination, and participation in society are framed as protective, but they often obscure the lived realities of discrimination and humiliation faced by disabled persons. The emphasis on equality and non-discrimination can falsely imply that the work of dignity has already been achieved, leaving unchallenged the deeper vocabularies of humiliation that shape the experience of disability in legal and social life. Similarly, the idea of participation assumes a false neutrality in an ableist world, where ability and disability are framed as opposites. Ableism rests on the production of a naturalised ideal of the fully human, that depends on the erasure of bodily and cognitive differences. In everyday life, this manifests through the ethos of ' compulsory able-bodiedness ' – a cultural demand to perform able-bodied norms aligned with ideals of health, beauty, and productivity. Legal systems do not just mirror these norms; they embed them. Law often treats able-bodiedness as the default standard of personhood, casting disability as something to be managed or overcome. Participation, then, becomes a conditional offer – extended only to those who can approximate the very norms that excluded them. Legal recognition under this framework does not affirm difference; it masks it under the guise of neoliberal inclusion. If ableist norms already shape the parameters of participation, even the RPwD Act's most celebrated safeguard – reasonable accommodation – may inadvertently reinforce the exclusions it seeks to remedy. Framed as 'necessary and appropriate modifications and adjustments, without imposing a disproportionate or undue burden,' the principle appears to promise inclusion. But in practice, it acts as a strategy of containment, asking not how the law must transform to centre disabled experiences, but how far accommodation can be extended without disrupting able-bodied norms. This logic of containment is compounded by Section 3(3), which legitimises discrimination if it is a 'proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.' Vague and flexible, this clause allows exclusions to be framed as neutral – justified by cost, efficiency, or convenience. Reasonable accommodation becomes limited to what the system can tolerate, while exclusion is permitted whenever inclusion feels too unsettling. Both provisions reflect the culture doing the asking , where the law expects disabled people to adapt to institutional norms, rather than changing to reflect their realities. This re-centres the state's interests over disabled rights, flipping the burden: the disabled person must prove injustice; the state merely invokes abstract legitimacy. Disability then is not treated as a legitimate form of human variation, but as an ontological aberration – something to be corrected, tolerated, or eliminated. Within such normative frameworks, courts do not disrupt the underlying structures of exclusions; they merely manage them. Inclusion becomes conditional; calibrated to what able-bodied structures can absorb, offering tolerance rather than affirming dignity. What is needed, then, is a shift in focus – from the disabled litigant who must conform, to the legal system that must transform. This shift is especially urgent in a time when the judiciary's role is becoming increasingly precarious and democratic commitments are under strain. Also read: How We Marginalise Disabled Experiences When We Speak of the Blindfold of Lady Justice Final concern: Disability rights in Schmittian times German philosopher Carl Schmitt , who supported authoritarianism, developed the concept of the 'total state,' where the political space is shaped by the 'friend-enemy' distinction. Schmitt was sceptical of bourgeois political norms, embracing instead a vision of racial homogeneity. In a total state, where the state intervenes in all spheres of life and liberal democratic protocols are suspended, court judgments lose their significance. While India has not yet descended into a Schmittian dystopia, we cannot ignore the fact that the Supreme Court's use of Article 142 to do complete justice, as seen in the In Re: Recruitment of Visually Impaired in Judicial Services and Rekha Sharma cases, coincided with vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar's attack on Article 142, calling it ' a nuclear missile against democratic forces available to judiciary 24×7. ' This attack highlights the precarious nature of disability justice achieved through court rulings when executive power leans towards a 'total state'. Moreover, the Supreme Court's own conduct of disregarding precedents whenever it is convenient, and its polyvocal nature , make the possibility of a rollback on disability justice very real. In a polity increasingly defined by the 'friend-enemy' distinction, where a vast segment is debilitated, we need a cautious celebration of courtroom revolution. Vijay K. Tiwari is an assistant professor of law at West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, who teaches jurisprudence and is a disabled academician. Aditi Thakur is a Research Assistant – Legal at the Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, and is currently part of the Right to Food team.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Breakdown of rookie Dan Jackson's injury history with rundown of Lions safeties health
Safety was a moderate need for the Lions entering the draft due to an absence of proven depth behind elite starters Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. The Lions did not address this position in the draft until Dan Jackson from Georgia was taken in the 7th-round. Typically, late-rounders don't make much of an impact in their rookie year, but the dearth of depth creates an opportunity for Jackson to become an exception. For a 7th-round pick, "There is no certainty, only opportunity" - V for Vendetta. Here is Jackson's medical history along with a review of the rest of the safety crew heading into the 2025 season. Advertisement (Age at start of 2025 season) Credit for games played data. Dan Jackson (24) - signed through 2028 2024 Played all 14 games. 2023 Knee "burst bursa" caused 3 missed games. Played 11 of 14 games. 2022 Foot stress fracture surgery ended his season after 7 games. 2021 Played all 15 games. Regarding the bursa, the knee has multiple bursas (fluid-filled sacs) with the prepatellar bursa being the most commonly injured. As seen last year with Maxx Crosby, sometimes a bursa can become infected and turn into a serious situation. Fortunately, Jackson's wasn't as serious. Regarding the foot fracture, Jackson described it as a "bone that didn't get much blood supply". This raises suspicion for a Jones fracture which is notorious for having a poor blood supply. It's a great sign that he has two years of proof of recovery since the surgery, but there is still some risk of refracture going forward. Kerby Joseph (24) - signed through 2029 Just two weeks ago, Joseph signed a 4-year, $86 million extension becoming the highest paid safety in NFL history. It's a remarkable turnaround from last offseason when he had unspecified hip surgery. The hip is something to monitor long-term but the early returns - zero missed games, nine interceptions, 1st-team All-Pro - are astounding. Brian Branch (23) - signed through 2026 Like Joseph, Branch had surgery last offseason on his left foot or ankle. Also like Joseph, Branch had a remarkable season, missing only one game (concussion/illness) while finishing with four interceptions and a Pro-Bowl nod. Brian Branch foot Despite missing just that one game, Branch appeared to be hampered by minor right leg issues at multiple points late last season. I don't suspect anything too worrisome, but it's something to watch in the coming season. Morice Norris (24) - signed through 2025 Despite not playing in the first 15 games of the season, Norris was the next man up after Ifeatu Melifonwu strained his hamstring in the playoff game. The fact that an inexperienced, undrafted rookie was getting critical playing time (22 defensive snaps) in a playoff game tells you all you need to know about the Lions safety depth. Loren Strickland (25) - signed through 2025 Last year, this undrafted rookie had a thumb injury causing him to miss week one. He then played in seven games sporadically throughout the year. His last appearance was in week 15 when he was supplanted by Norris. OUTLOOK Jackson has some mild medical concerns in his past but should enter the 2025 season healthy and ready to seize the opportunity to win the backup safety role. With all members of the safety group healthy and young, the Lions will be very strong at the position if quality backups can be developed. Besides the two starters, Jackson is the only one signed beyond 2025 which means it would be ideal if he can become the #3 safety. This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Dan Jackson injury history with Lions safeties health statuses
USA Today
08-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Breakdown of rookie Dan Jackson's injury history with rundown of Lions safeties health
Breakdown of rookie Dan Jackson's injury history with rundown of Lions safeties health Breaking down the injury history of Lions seventh-round safety Dan Jackson and how Detroit's current safety room looks health-wise Safety was a moderate need for the Lions entering the draft due to an absence of proven depth behind elite starters Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. The Lions did not address this position in the draft until Dan Jackson from Georgia was taken in the 7th-round. Typically, late-rounders don't make much of an impact in their rookie year, but the dearth of depth creates an opportunity for Jackson to become an exception. For a 7th-round pick, "There is no certainty, only opportunity" - V for Vendetta. Here is Jackson's medical history along with a review of the rest of the safety crew heading into the 2025 season. (Age at start of 2025 season) Credit for games played data. Dan Jackson (24) - signed through 2028 2024 Played all 14 games. Played all 14 games. 2023 Knee "burst bursa" caused 3 missed games. Played 11 of 14 games. Knee "burst bursa" caused 3 missed games. Played 11 of 14 games. 2022 Foot stress fracture surgery ended his season after 7 games. Foot stress fracture surgery ended his season after 7 games. 2021 Played all 15 games. Regarding the bursa, the knee has multiple bursas (fluid-filled sacs) with the prepatellar bursa being the most commonly injured. As seen last year with Maxx Crosby, sometimes a bursa can become infected and turn into a serious situation. Fortunately, Jackson's wasn't as serious. Regarding the foot fracture, Jackson described it as a "bone that didn't get much blood supply". This raises suspicion for a Jones fracture which is notorious for having a poor blood supply. It's a great sign that he has two years of proof of recovery since the surgery, but there is still some risk of refracture going forward. Kerby Joseph (24) - signed through 2029 Just two weeks ago, Joseph signed a 4-year, $86 million extension becoming the highest paid safety in NFL history. It's a remarkable turnaround from last offseason when he had unspecified hip surgery. The hip is something to monitor long-term but the early returns - zero missed games, nine interceptions, 1st-team All-Pro - are astounding. Brian Branch (23) - signed through 2026 Like Joseph, Branch had surgery last offseason on his left foot or ankle. Also like Joseph, Branch had a remarkable season, missing only one game (concussion/illness) while finishing with four interceptions and a Pro-Bowl nod. Despite missing just that one game, Branch appeared to be hampered by minor right leg issues at multiple points late last season. I don't suspect anything too worrisome, but it's something to watch in the coming season. Morice Norris (24) - signed through 2025 Despite not playing in the first 15 games of the season, Norris was the next man up after Ifeatu Melifonwu strained his hamstring in the playoff game. The fact that an inexperienced, undrafted rookie was getting critical playing time (22 defensive snaps) in a playoff game tells you all you need to know about the Lions safety depth. Loren Strickland (25) - signed through 2025 Last year, this undrafted rookie had a thumb injury causing him to miss week one. He then played in seven games sporadically throughout the year. His last appearance was in week 15 when he was supplanted by Norris. OUTLOOK Jackson has some mild medical concerns in his past but should enter the 2025 season healthy and ready to seize the opportunity to win the backup safety role. With all members of the safety group healthy and young, the Lions will be very strong at the position if quality backups can be developed. Besides the two starters, Jackson is the only one signed beyond 2025 which means it would be ideal if he can become the #3 safety.
