Latest news with #division
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Redevelopment project of Tatanagar railway station put on fast track: SER
1 2 3 Jamshedpur: Officials in South Eastern Railways and the Chakradharpur railway division are trying to fast-track the process of selecting an agency to carry out the redevelopment of Tatanagar railway station. "Technical evaluation of the documents is presently being done, and subsequently, financial evaluation will be done ahead of the finalisation of the agency," Aditya Chaudhary, public relations officer of Chakradharpur railway division, said. Ten agencies participated in the tendering process and submitted their documents, Chaudhary said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the project in February last year and the railways has sanctioned Rs 348 crore for the project. Notably, the 110-year-old Tatanagar station handles 100-plus trains daily, and it is the only A1 category station in the division. Senior officials at the division said the rebuilding work will begin in five months. The redevelopment plan involves adding new platforms, constructing a new model building, and removing encroachments from a wide area in the vicinity of the platform. "Besides that, the laying of the third and fourth lines between Tatanagar and Gamharia stations is also part of the redevelopment plan," Arun Huria, divisional railway manager of Chakradharpur, said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 오스템 임플란트 받아가세요 임플란터 더 알아보기 Undo The railway plans to add three more platforms to the existing five at Tatanagar and ensure all eight platforms are equipped with escalator and lift facilities to aid Divyang commuters in reaching the foot over bridge (FOB) for entering and exiting the station. The station will have a multiplex, centralised airconditioning with a 2,000-plus passenger sitting capacity, and a VIP lounge. Spread across 200 acres of land, the proposed model station will have a variety of commercial and entertainment facilities over 79 acres. while the remaining area will be used for core railway infrastructure, officials said. The new station complex will have a network of 130 advanced CCTV cameras in platforms, parking lots, entry and exit gates. Besides Tatanagar, Ranchi and Hatia railway stations are being developed under the station redevelopment scheme.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Michael Douglas on His Timely Doc ‘America's Burning' and His Own Political Ambitions: ‘In 'American President,' I Knew How the Script Ended'
David Smick was trying to decide on a title for his new documentary about the division taking place in America. 'I had a number of clever, abstract titles for the film,' he notes. He says it was executive producer Barry Levinson who told him: 'Dave, have you ever heard of the movie 'Dangerous Marine Animals on the Cape Cod Coast'? No, because they call it 'Jaws.' So, I went with 'America's Burning,' because I thought: you can picture that. And I had anticipated things were going to get worse.' Smick premiered 'America's Burning' a year ago at the Tribeca Film Festival. Narrated and executive produced by Michael Douglas, the film features interviews from such figures as James Carville and Leon Panetta as it details the discord between people on opposite sides of the political spectrum. It also preaches optimism in urging people and politicians to strive for unity. At the time of its premiere, notes Douglas, 'It might have been perceived as being over the top. Now it's almost underestimating what's happened since then.' But still, he says, 'The message is more important and stronger than ever.' More from Variety Martin Scorsese, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Douglas Among Star Guests at Taormina Film Festival Michael Douglas to Be Celebrated at Italy's Taormina Film Festival Where 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' Copy Will Screen (EXCLUSIVE) Michael Douglas Reminisces About Meeting Now-Wife Catherine Zeta-Jones During Career Tribute at Deauville Film Festival Smick, the chairman and CEO of the macroeconomic advisory firm Johnson Smick International as well as a bestselling author and filmmaker, is trying to maintain that positive outlook. 'I'm an optimist by nature, but there are a lot of challenges we didn't have a year ago,' he notes. 'We're discovering we're one recession away from a major social upheaval if we're not careful.' Smick points to 'so much underlying economic anger' over the distribution of wealth in the country despite our economic system being 'the envy of the world.' Smick adds, 'We're doing terrific, except we've got this underlying potential cancer that could spread, and all we need is a stiff recession, and then we're going to see the anger come out of the woodwork, and people are going to be shocked, I think.' Despite how much the world has changed since the film's premiere, Smick says he didn't see any need to add an epilogue or a coda for its streaming release. 'I didn't think it needed to be updated,' he notes. Though he is open to exploring the topic further, perhaps in a longer form. 'You go to these screenings, and I watch the audience. I wish I had two hours because there's so many issues you could get into, but you're limited. I'm thinking if we ever did expand it, it would be because someone came along and wanted to do a series.' Bringing on the man who intoned the famous 'greed is good' line in his Oscar-winning performance in 'Wall Street' was a stroke of genius, but Smick also got a welcome collaborator with Douglas. The actor came aboard when the director sent him an early cut of the film, in which Smick had provided his own narration. 'It had his excellent voiceover. They didn't need me,' he notes. Disagrees Smick, 'I have a very soft voice, not very distinctive. I said to my producer, Ian Michaels, 'We should see if there's a celebrity that can dominate this.'' He hired a casting director to work with. 'I said, 'I'd like to have someone who's center, but left to center, who is troubled by the fact that the country is so divided. I think there's a part of the country we could never agree with, but someone who [people] could get behind a movie that may be represented about 70% of the country or 80% of the country.' And first was on the list was Michael.' Douglas was instantly taken. 'It resonated with me, with all the concerns that I had, which was the loss of our middle class was having, the tremendous amount of money that the Supreme Court allowed into our elections and our lack of bipartisanship. I thought it was a good message, if I could help support it.' And Smick wants everyone to know that Douglas' EP credit was earned – he didn't just read a script and do some promos. 'His contributions were enormous,' Smick says, adding that Douglas had suggestions about moving chapters around and rearranging some things. 'I would say, minimum, his changes injected 55% more energy into the film.' Douglas says he was happy to lend his name to the film to attract attention. 'But the interesting and frustrating point was how difficult it was to get distribution,' he reveals. 'There were a lot of companies that, when we initially showed this, I think were a little afraid of it. Even though the attempt was to really be bipartisan, not picking on one party or the other.' He adds, 'So kudos to Amazon, and I'm happy they came around. And kudos to David, in terms of [how] he foresaw what was coming.' Despite having portrayed one of cinema's greatest presidents in Rob Reiner's 1995 film 'The American President,' Douglas says he has no interest in aspiring to the White House in real life. 'No, no, I'm 80,' he demurs. 'That's the magic turn-off age.' Smick, for his part, says people constantly come up to Douglas to repeat the lines from the film. 'That must happen like 10 times a month,' he responds, 'In 'American President,' I knew how the script ended. That's the big difference.' Best of Variety 'Blue Velvet,' 'Chinatown' and 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' Arrive on 4K in June All the Godzilla Movies Ranked 'House of the Dragon': Every Character and What You Need to Know About the 'Game of Thrones' Prequel
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The UK risks falling apart. Keir Starmer can mend it now – but he doesn't have much time
A house divided against itself cannot stand, warned Abraham Lincoln. The United States' later descent into civil war over slavery would prove Lincoln right. But is 21st-century Britain now also becoming, in its different way, an unsustainably divided house too? And have Britain's economic divisions become so intractable that the UK state can no longer manage them? More than at any time in the postwar era, the answer to both questions looks increasingly like yes. History shows that Britain's capacity for pragmatic resilience in the face of internal and external threat is not to be underestimated. Wednesday's partial climbdown on winter fuel payments was an example of that instinct for self-preservation at work. Yet the U-turn will not have restored the public's lost trust in the ability of government to solve their problems. Keir Starmer has inherited this uneasy long-term decline, not created it. His 'island of strangers' remarks last week were one attempt to respond. But immigration is not the sole cause of division. Centrifugal forces have been making the United Kingdom a more fragmented country for much of the past half century. Public confidence in this country's system of government has reached record lows. There is little evidence of a cohesive or collaborative political economic purpose that might mark a nation more at ease with itself. The May local elections, which have now triggered the winter fuel rethink, were a powerful sign of how the divisions could easily deepen further. On Friday, Starmer will attempt to remedy another part of the problem he faces. To some, the Council of the Nations and Regions will sound merely like a politicians' talking shop. Let's be frank, there is a risk it could become just that. Nor will a Britain whose discontents are fundamentally economic and aspirational be transformed by a constitutional innovation. But this second meeting of the council, which was promised in Labour's election manifesto and which met first in October, is nevertheless a fundamental test. Put simply, Friday will show whether modern British governance is up to the job. The council is a distant cousin of a proposal that Gordon Brown devised when Starmer's Labour was still in opposition at Westminster. Under Brown's ambitious plans, the council would ultimately have formed the basis of a new upper house of the UK parliament, replacing the unelected House of Lords with a more federally conceived body. That project never reached the Labour manifesto in 2024, and there is zero sign that Starmer, let alone the Labour peers, want to revive it in any way. Instead, and according to the Cabinet Office website, the new council is 'designed to facilitate partnership working between the UK government, devolved governments, the mayor of London, and mayors of combined authorities and mayors of combined county authorities'. The wordiness of that language underlines that this is not the council's final form, since Labour's English devolution plans remain work in progress, and because much of the council's potential role is extremely ill-defined. All this reflects the continuing piecemeal way that devolution has taken root in a system of government that still insists the UK parliament's decisions are sovereign. From the 1990s on, UK governments have tended to turn to devolved solutions only at times of crisis in the non-English nations. One result is that some in Westminster and Whitehall still see devolution as something that happens somewhere else. Those instincts were given full rein under the anglocentric prime ministerships of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Both leaders had a tin ear for and a visceral dislike of devolution. Johnson called devolution a disaster, and tried to subvert it in his UK internal market act. Neither he nor Truss ever respected the devolution settlement or consulted the devolved governments on anything important, as Covid would exemplify. The hostility was roundly reciprocated. The council's first meeting came at a propitious moment for Starmer. He was not seen as hostile to devolution, as the defeated Tories had been, while Labour's UK general election success had made Scotland's Scottish National party government less openly combative. With the English mayors attending, it was an overwhelmingly Labour gathering, happy to embrace the new UK prime minister and the new era he promised. That seems like another country now. In Scotland, John Swinney's SNP has its confidence back, and is positioned to beat Labour in next year's Holyrood election. In England, Reform UK has captured coveted mayoralties in Hull and East Yorkshire, and in Greater Lincolnshire. Reform UK has its eyes on more mayoralties in 2026, as well as on winning the Welsh Senedd and on becoming at least the second party at Holyrood. The upshot is a much more challenging political environment for Starmer, making attempts at 'partnership working' more problematic. At the same time, it also puts pressure on Reform UK's mayors. Do they engage? Or grandstand? Or even turn up? Yet none of these new tensions weakens the case for collaboration between governments and with mayors. 'The key question is: what is the council for?' Prof Michael Kenny argued this week. Last week, Kenny and colleagues from Cambridge University's Bennett Institute published a report broadly supporting the thinking behind the council, but lamenting its repeated lack of clarity. 'It's not a decision-making body, but it ought to be more clearly structured,' Kenny told me. Another crucial issue, according to Glasgow University's Prof Nicola McEwen, is that attenders have such different powers. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there is clear legislative devolution. Almost nothing of that sort exists in England, where there is no national parliament and mayoral powers are strictly limited from the centre. The danger is that the council becomes all talk and no action. 'There are risks in stretching the concept of devolution to include both the intergovernmental relationship with the nations and the functional relationship with the mayors,' McEwen warns. This may all seem somewhat academic, but don't be deceived. This stuff really matters. Without collaboration between the different parts of the UK's increasingly devolved system of governance, no government – whether at the UK, the devolved national, or the English regional – is going to achieve its priorities. If Starmer wants his growth agenda or the reset with Europe to work, he needs the give and take that cooperation with the devolved bodies can give. Likewise, if Swinney's SNP wants to deliver on things such as the abolition of child poverty, it cannot do it without the UK's help. The collaborative political impulse is not widespread among Westminster parties. Luckily for Starmer, his Paisley-born colleague Pat McFadden, the cabinet minister responsible for making the council work, definitely gets the realities. It may not suit the tribalists in UK politics to admit it, but collaborative government is the way Britain has to be governed now. This week's council may seem a sideshow to some. Yet it could hold the key to whether public confidence in politics begins to grow again. Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Living in time of ‘division,' Boise mayor says city can ‘care for each other'
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said Thursday in her State of the City speech downtown that residents live in a time of 'division' and uncertainty. McLean said mayors are unsure how to work with fewer resources, business leaders are concerned about the economy, and everyday people are worried about national politics and their monthly bills. 'Despite that uncertainty, I also hear a belief that we will get through it,' said McLean, who sought to reassure the crowd that the city was in a strong economic position. 'Though we have to tighten our belts and look for ways to stretch a dollar this year, I'm proud of the investments that we've made in previous years that are now coming to life.' During the speech, McLean mentioned uncertainty in federal funding sources while discussing affordability in Boise. McLean also alluded to federal and state decisions that 'upend' the city's ability to serve its residents. A spokesperson for McLean, Emilee Ayers, did not respond to questions asking which federal and state efforts were impacting what services. Just this year, the Idaho Legislature passed at least two bills affecting the city of Boise directly. One banned public camping in the state's largest cities, including people who sleep in their cars, according to previous Statesman reporting. After Gov. Brad Little signed the homelessness bill into law, McLean criticized it for removing local police officers' discretion and flexibility. She has sought to distance herself from the legislation, calling it the 'Galloway bill,' after its sponsor, Sen. Codi Galloway, R-Boise. The Republican-dominated Legislature also targeted Pride flags as part of a new law preventing most flags from flying on government property. McLean kept the Pride flag up, prompting a warning letter from Attorney General Raul Labrador. The law has no enforcement mechanism. In response, McLean and the City Council made the Pride flag and an organ donor flag official flags of the city, which are allowed under the law. Before her speech, large screens played a video that included images of the Pride flag flying under the Boise flag at City Hall. The crowd applauded while watching the flags flap in the wind. 'In times like these, when there are so many who seek to divide, we have a choice,' McLean said. 'Succumb to division or do what we have always done: Come together to care for each other and for the city.'
The Advertiser
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Hendriks pitching up solid form in major leagues return
The phone keeps ringing and Liam Hendriks is very much at home in the Boston Red Sox bullpen. The Australian right-hander is enjoying a strong start to his Major League Baseball return, pitching a series of scoreless innings in his specialist role as a closer for the Red Sox. Hendriks, 36, missed all last season at Boston because of elbow surgery, having made a comeback from cancer the previous year while playing for the Chicago White Sox. He gave up a home run in his first outing for the Red Sox last month, but in his past seven appearances Hendriks has racked up all-star numbers: eight innings, four hits, two strikeouts and no runs. The Australian was still dealing with elbow problems in spring training and feels he is yet to hit top form. "It's exciting. Obvously I don't quite feel like I'm firing on all cylinders yet - it usually takes me about six weeks into the season to really get it going, and that's with a full, healthy spring," he told Boston radio station WEEI. "There's more in the tank, for sure, but I'm just happy to be out there and I'm happy the phone is ringing and my name is being called." Relief pitchers prepare in an area called the bullpen, and when one of them is needed in the game a phone call is made from the team dugout. Adding to the good news, his mum Debbie is about to visit from Australia and watch him pitch at Boston's famed Fenway Park home - although Hendriks said the travel plans have been "a hot mess". "We'll see how that goes ... it's a short trip," Hendriks deadpanned of the 17,000km journey. The Red Sox are second in the American League East division with a 22-20 record and this week are away to the Detroit Tigers. Detroit lead the Central division with a 26-15 record, the best in the AL. The Red Sox have been inconsistent so far this season, but Hendriks is encouraged. "When it rains, it pours and if we can continue keeping on this way, it will be good going," Hendriks said of their prospects. "Also, if you look at our record, we've done better against teams who have winning records, which is the next two series. "And for some, whatever, reason, the last few series we've decided if we lose the first game, we win the next two. "If we win the first game, we lose the next two, so I don't know how that's going." The phone keeps ringing and Liam Hendriks is very much at home in the Boston Red Sox bullpen. The Australian right-hander is enjoying a strong start to his Major League Baseball return, pitching a series of scoreless innings in his specialist role as a closer for the Red Sox. Hendriks, 36, missed all last season at Boston because of elbow surgery, having made a comeback from cancer the previous year while playing for the Chicago White Sox. He gave up a home run in his first outing for the Red Sox last month, but in his past seven appearances Hendriks has racked up all-star numbers: eight innings, four hits, two strikeouts and no runs. The Australian was still dealing with elbow problems in spring training and feels he is yet to hit top form. "It's exciting. Obvously I don't quite feel like I'm firing on all cylinders yet - it usually takes me about six weeks into the season to really get it going, and that's with a full, healthy spring," he told Boston radio station WEEI. "There's more in the tank, for sure, but I'm just happy to be out there and I'm happy the phone is ringing and my name is being called." Relief pitchers prepare in an area called the bullpen, and when one of them is needed in the game a phone call is made from the team dugout. Adding to the good news, his mum Debbie is about to visit from Australia and watch him pitch at Boston's famed Fenway Park home - although Hendriks said the travel plans have been "a hot mess". "We'll see how that goes ... it's a short trip," Hendriks deadpanned of the 17,000km journey. The Red Sox are second in the American League East division with a 22-20 record and this week are away to the Detroit Tigers. Detroit lead the Central division with a 26-15 record, the best in the AL. The Red Sox have been inconsistent so far this season, but Hendriks is encouraged. "When it rains, it pours and if we can continue keeping on this way, it will be good going," Hendriks said of their prospects. "Also, if you look at our record, we've done better against teams who have winning records, which is the next two series. "And for some, whatever, reason, the last few series we've decided if we lose the first game, we win the next two. "If we win the first game, we lose the next two, so I don't know how that's going." The phone keeps ringing and Liam Hendriks is very much at home in the Boston Red Sox bullpen. The Australian right-hander is enjoying a strong start to his Major League Baseball return, pitching a series of scoreless innings in his specialist role as a closer for the Red Sox. Hendriks, 36, missed all last season at Boston because of elbow surgery, having made a comeback from cancer the previous year while playing for the Chicago White Sox. He gave up a home run in his first outing for the Red Sox last month, but in his past seven appearances Hendriks has racked up all-star numbers: eight innings, four hits, two strikeouts and no runs. The Australian was still dealing with elbow problems in spring training and feels he is yet to hit top form. "It's exciting. Obvously I don't quite feel like I'm firing on all cylinders yet - it usually takes me about six weeks into the season to really get it going, and that's with a full, healthy spring," he told Boston radio station WEEI. "There's more in the tank, for sure, but I'm just happy to be out there and I'm happy the phone is ringing and my name is being called." Relief pitchers prepare in an area called the bullpen, and when one of them is needed in the game a phone call is made from the team dugout. Adding to the good news, his mum Debbie is about to visit from Australia and watch him pitch at Boston's famed Fenway Park home - although Hendriks said the travel plans have been "a hot mess". "We'll see how that goes ... it's a short trip," Hendriks deadpanned of the 17,000km journey. The Red Sox are second in the American League East division with a 22-20 record and this week are away to the Detroit Tigers. Detroit lead the Central division with a 26-15 record, the best in the AL. The Red Sox have been inconsistent so far this season, but Hendriks is encouraged. "When it rains, it pours and if we can continue keeping on this way, it will be good going," Hendriks said of their prospects. "Also, if you look at our record, we've done better against teams who have winning records, which is the next two series. "And for some, whatever, reason, the last few series we've decided if we lose the first game, we win the next two. "If we win the first game, we lose the next two, so I don't know how that's going." The phone keeps ringing and Liam Hendriks is very much at home in the Boston Red Sox bullpen. The Australian right-hander is enjoying a strong start to his Major League Baseball return, pitching a series of scoreless innings in his specialist role as a closer for the Red Sox. Hendriks, 36, missed all last season at Boston because of elbow surgery, having made a comeback from cancer the previous year while playing for the Chicago White Sox. He gave up a home run in his first outing for the Red Sox last month, but in his past seven appearances Hendriks has racked up all-star numbers: eight innings, four hits, two strikeouts and no runs. The Australian was still dealing with elbow problems in spring training and feels he is yet to hit top form. "It's exciting. Obvously I don't quite feel like I'm firing on all cylinders yet - it usually takes me about six weeks into the season to really get it going, and that's with a full, healthy spring," he told Boston radio station WEEI. "There's more in the tank, for sure, but I'm just happy to be out there and I'm happy the phone is ringing and my name is being called." Relief pitchers prepare in an area called the bullpen, and when one of them is needed in the game a phone call is made from the team dugout. Adding to the good news, his mum Debbie is about to visit from Australia and watch him pitch at Boston's famed Fenway Park home - although Hendriks said the travel plans have been "a hot mess". "We'll see how that goes ... it's a short trip," Hendriks deadpanned of the 17,000km journey. The Red Sox are second in the American League East division with a 22-20 record and this week are away to the Detroit Tigers. Detroit lead the Central division with a 26-15 record, the best in the AL. The Red Sox have been inconsistent so far this season, but Hendriks is encouraged. "When it rains, it pours and if we can continue keeping on this way, it will be good going," Hendriks said of their prospects. "Also, if you look at our record, we've done better against teams who have winning records, which is the next two series. "And for some, whatever, reason, the last few series we've decided if we lose the first game, we win the next two. "If we win the first game, we lose the next two, so I don't know how that's going."
