Global Pulse

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  • ‘Very confused’: Australia’s Human rights boss grilled over trans pregnancy protection law

    ‘Very confused’: Australia’s Human rights boss grilled over trans pregnancy protection law

    A tense Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra has reignited fierce debate over Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act, after the country’s top human rights official defended existing protections that shield transgender women from workplace discrimination based on assumptions of potential pregnancy.

    Australian Human Rights Commissioner Anna Cody faced sustained grilling from conservative Senator Michaelia Cash over the scope of the anti-discrimination provision, which Cody confirmed applies to trans women rejected for roles because employers assume they may become pregnant. Cody emphasized that the core of the regulation targets unlawful employer conduct, rather than biological capacity: any unfair treatment rooted in assumptions of pregnancy or potential pregnancy, regardless of the individual’s actual ability to conceive, qualifies as unlawful discrimination under the current framework.

    When pressed by Cash on whether the same protection would extend to a cisgender man applying for a job who indicated he planned to have children, Cody acknowledged the provision does not apply to cisgender men. That admission triggered sharp pushback from the Senator, who argued the inconsistent application of the law exposes its inherent absurdity.

    Cash, who is calling for urgent amendments to the legislation, pointed to basic biological facts to back her criticism, noting that cisgender men cannot biologically become pregnant, making the current carve-out for trans women but not cis men logically inconsistent. She went further, arguing that the current framework is an insult to cisgender women who have faced actual pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, diverting attention from the systemic barriers that still disadvantage cisgender women seeking employment.

    Cody pushed back against the criticism, countering that discrimination occurs when an employer makes an assumption about a candidate’s potential pregnancy and bases their hiring decision on that biased assumption. For trans women, who may be incorrectly perceived as capable of becoming pregnant by employers, that biased hiring decision falls squarely into the category of unlawful conduct the Sex Discrimination Act was designed to prohibit, she said. The exchange is the latest in a series of heated parliamentary debates over gender and anti-discrimination protections in Australia, with lawmakers divided over how to balance inclusive protections for transgender people with consistent, clear legal language.

  • Spanish police search headquarters of PM Sánchez’s ruling Socialist party

    Spanish police search headquarters of PM Sánchez’s ruling Socialist party

    MADRID, Spain — In a significant development for Spain’s embattled governing party, Spain’s Civil Guard confirmed Wednesday that law enforcement officers have executed a search warrant at the central Madrid headquarters of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s ruling Socialist Party, as part of an active judicial investigation into alleged financial and institutional misconduct.

    The court-ordered raid marks the latest in a string of corruption scandals that have piled mounting political pressure on Sánchez and his Socialist administration, which has governed as a minority government since 2018. The operation is tied to a formal investigation being overseen by National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz, which centers on alleged efforts by senior Socialist figures to interfere with independent judicial proceedings. Per a statement from the National Court, Pedraz ordered officers to seize a range of physical documents and electronic records tied to probes of an alleged network working to undermine judicial processes that posed political risks to the ruling party.

    Investigators’ focus currently rests on Leire Díez, a former Socialist Party member whose alleged actions first triggered the case in 2025. That year, Spanish media published leaked audio recordings that appeared to capture Díez discussing plans to discredit a senior officer in the Civil Guard’s own anti-corruption division. Subsequent reporting further tied her to alleged attempts to manipulate the work of state prosecutors. Judge Pedraz is specifically examining whether Díez received formal or informal payments from the Socialist Party to carry out these actions. The party has asserted that any wrongdoing was solely the personal act of Díez, who has already left the party and issued a full denial of all allegations against her.

    Beyond Díez, the probe has expanded to include several other high-profile figures, including former Socialist Party heavyweight Santos Cerdán — who is already facing investigation in a separate, unrelated corruption case. Additional suspects include a former Andalusia regional government official, an active Civil Guard officer, a private business owner, and two practicing lawyers. All six individuals face a range of allegations, including bribery, false testimony, commercial document forgery, influence peddling, and systematic corruption.

    The raid is not an isolated controversy for the Socialists; the party has faced a cascade of judicial investigations in recent months that have shaken Sánchez’s government. Just one week before the Madrid headquarters search, a separate Spanish court confirmed it was probing former Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero over his alleged ties to a controversial state airline bailout program. Zapatero has denied all wrongdoing in that case. Separately, Sánchez’s own wife and brother are currently under investigation over influence peddling allegations, both of which they have also denied.

    The most serious allegations to date tie Cerdán and a former cabinet minister under Sánchez to a kickback scheme that allegedly operated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when public health spending was at an all-time high. Both figures have rejected all claims of misconduct. The string of scandals has already forced Sánchez to issue a public apology to the Spanish nation in 2025, and the prime minister has repeatedly described investigations targeting his family as a coordinated political “smear campaign” designed to undermine his government.

    Sánchez, who has gained international attention for his progressive policy agenda that drew public criticism from former U.S. President Donald Trump, has not been directly linked to any of the ongoing corruption investigations. His minority administration remains in power through a coalition agreement with a junior partner, who has so far retained their support for the government despite the ongoing judicial actions.

  • ‘Don’t have a fine-issuing button’: eSafety chief defends lack of fines for social media companies

    ‘Don’t have a fine-issuing button’: eSafety chief defends lack of fines for social media companies

    Six months after Australia’s groundbreaking ban on social media use for children under 16 came into force, the nation’s top online safety regulator has laid out the legal and procedural reasons no penalties have yet been issued to non-compliant platforms.

    During a Senate estimates hearing this week, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant pushed back against growing public and political pressure to issue immediate fines, emphasizing that the regulator does not have the authority to unilaterally impose penalties.

    The ban, enacted by the Albanese government, took effect on December 10, 2026, and since that date, eSafety has been conducting in-depth compliance reviews of 10 major global social media platforms, including Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, as well as Snapchat. Inman-Grant told the committee that the investigations into whether platforms are meeting the legal requirement of taking “reasonable steps” to block under-16 users remain ongoing, describing the process as inherently complex.

    While Inman-Grant confirmed that regulators raised serious concerns about industry compliance in a March 2026 regulatory update, she noted that targeted engagement with platforms has already delivered measurable incremental progress. As of March, data showed a 37% drop in the number of confirmed under-16 accounts across major platforms, and parents have reported more open, constructive discussions with their children about online safety risks and appropriate digital habits.

    Since the March update, Inman-Grant said additional corrective changes have been implemented by platforms. Some services have introduced new age verification checks for accounts that had adjusted their stated birth date to 16+ just before or after the ban took effect, catching additional underage users who slipped through initial checks. Others have removed unnecessary administrative barriers that made it harder for parents to report underage accounts, and several platforms have updated their age ratings in major app stores to align with the new national rules.

    Despite these encouraging early signs, Inman-Grant stressed that regulators have not yet reached a final ruling on whether any platform meets the full legal standard for compliance. Systemic non-compliance can only be punished after regulators build a solid evidence base and pursue formal legal proceedings through the court system, she explained, rejecting the idea that penalties could be handed down quickly. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a fine issuing button,” Inman-Grant told the committee. “Rather, systemic non-compliance needs to be proven in court with solid evidence and complex legal proceedings.”

    To support the ongoing investigation and any future enforcement actions, the regulator has now retained an external independent legal team, Inman-Grant confirmed. When pressed by Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson to name which specific platforms have made changes, eSafety General Manager for Regulatory Operations Heidi Snell said details shared by platforms under statutory compulsory notices cannot be disclosed at this stage. Snell explained that public release of platform-specific information would jeopardize ongoing investigations and any potential future enforcement action, as assessments of the effectiveness of corrective measures are not yet complete.

    Inman-Grant used the occasion to point to a recently concluded three-year enforcement action against X Corp, formerly Twitter, as a case study for how the regulator pursues non-compliance. The company was found non-compliant with a transparency mandate related to child sexual abuse material, ultimately admitted liability, and agreed to pay a AU$650,000 penalty plus covering regulatory court costs. Inman-Grant noted that this action is one of the few successful enforcement outcomes against a global tech platform by any regulator worldwide, proving that methodical, evidence-based enforcement delivers tangible results even against large companies. “Such outcomes are hard won, and they demonstrate that careful, methodical enforcement with a substantial evidence base is results,” she said.

  • Penpa Tsering sworn in for a second term to lead Tibet’s government-in-exile

    Penpa Tsering sworn in for a second term to lead Tibet’s government-in-exile

    DHARAMSHALA, India – On Wednesday, Penpa Tsering formally took the oath of office for his second consecutive five-year term as the elected president of the Central Tibetan Administration, the body that functions as Tibet’s government-in-exile based in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala. The 58-year-old leader first assumed the top executive post in 2021, after securing an initial victory in exile community elections, and won re-election in February’s vote that was open to Tibetans residing across India and other countries around the globe. Tsering’s long career in Tibetan exile governance stretches back to 1996, when he won his first seat in the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, and he went on to serve as the body’s speaker from 2008 until his election to the presidency.

    Founded in 1959 after the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile, the Central Tibetan Administration – formerly known as the Tibetan government-in-exile – operates as a full decentralized governance structure with separate executive, judicial, and legislative branches to serve the global Tibetan exile community, which numbers roughly 150,000 people around the world. This year’s February election marked the fourth direct vote for the exile leadership, a milestone that comes 13 years after the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s revered spiritual leader, formally devolved all governing authority to the elected leadership and stepped back from any formal role in the administration.

    The swearing-in ceremony unfolded with traditional Tibetan Buddhist ritual, with the 89-year-old Dalai Lama escorted to the event venue by a procession of red-robed monks, accompanied by the sound of ceremonial drums and chanted prayers. In front of an audience of hundreds of monks, community leaders, and ordinary Tibetans, Yeshi Wangmo, Chief Justice Commissioner of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission, administered the oath of office to Tsering.

    In his first public remarks after taking office, Tsering reaffirmed the exile administration’s longstanding commitment to the Middle Way Policy, a framework first articulated by the Dalai Lama that seeks a negotiated resolution of the Tibet issue through nonviolent means and bilateral dialogue with Beijing, with the goal of achieving a lasting mutually beneficial outcome for all parties. “Until a resolution is achieved, we will continue the back-channel communications with caution and steadiness with the Chinese government,” Tsering stated in his address.

    The inauguration comes against a backdrop of long-running geopolitical and diplomatic tensions surrounding the status of Tibet. China maintains that Tibet has been an inalienable part of its sovereign territory since the mid-13th century, and that the Chinese Communist Party has administered the Himalayan region since 1951. However, a large share of the global Tibetan community rejects this claim, arguing that Tibet functioned as an effectively independent state for most of its modern history, and that Beijing has systematically exploited the region’s rich natural resources while eroding and suppressing its distinct cultural and religious identity.

    The Chinese government does not recognize the legitimacy of the Central Tibetan Administration, and has not held formal dialogue with envoys representing the Dalai Lama since 2010. While India officially recognizes Chinese sovereignty over Tibet, it has allowed the Tibetan exile administration to maintain its headquarters in Dharamshala since the 1950s. Beijing has long accused the Dalai Lama of pursuing a secret agenda to separate Tibet from China, a claim the spiritual leader has repeatedly denied, noting that the Middle Way Policy does not seek full independence but rather genuine autonomy for Tibet within the Chinese constitutional framework. Still, a growing number of radical Tibetan community groups have pushed for full independence in recent years, as the lack of progress in talks with Beijing has left many exiles frustrated with the existing policy framework.

    In the lead-up to this week’s inauguration, Yu Jing, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, issued a formal rejection of the exile body’s legitimacy, claiming that “it is not recognized by any sovereign country in the world” and has no authority to speak on behalf of the Tibetan people or oversee the future reincarnation process of the Dalai Lama. The question of the Dalai Lama’s succession has emerged as a major point of tension in recent years: on his 90th birthday last year, the spiritual leader publicly asserted that Chinese authorities would have no legitimate role in selecting his successor after his death, and that the centuries-old institution of the Dalai Lama would continue regardless of Beijing’s objections.

  • Hajj pilgrims stone the devil in final ritual

    Hajj pilgrims stone the devil in final ritual

    The largest Islamic religious gathering of the year reached its dramatic climax on Wednesday, as more than 1.7 million Muslim pilgrims gathered in Saudi Arabia’s Mina Valley to carry out the symbolic “stoning of the devil” — the final core ritual of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

    From the first light of dawn, throngs of faithful from across the globe moved through designated routes in the valley, located just southeast of Islam’s holiest city Mecca, to hurl small collected pebbles at large concrete pillars that stand in for Satan. This centuries-old practice reenacts a foundational moment in Islamic tradition: when the Prophet Abraham encountered Satan at three separate sites, where the devil attempted to tempt him into disobeying God’s command to sacrifice his son Ishmael. Abraham’s rejection of temptation, marked by driving the devil away with stones, is remembered and recreated by pilgrims each year.

    For able-bodied Muslims with the financial means to travel, completing the Hajj at least once in a lifetime is one of the five central pillars of Islam. This year’s gathering, which brings together believers from every corner of the world, has unfolded against a challenging backdrop of dual pressures: extreme seasonal heat and simmering regional conflict.

    For the third consecutive year, the holiest festival in Islam has been overshadowed by geopolitical unrest across the Middle East. This year, the shadow comes from the ongoing US-Israeli standoff with Iran that has drawn in Gulf nations. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8, largely halting active hostilities, but diplomatic efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the conflict have yet to produce a conclusive breakthrough.

    Compounding the security and diplomatic uncertainty, pilgrims have had to endure extreme high temperatures through the sequence of mostly outdoor rituals that make up the week-long pilgrimage. On Tuesday, one day before the stoning ritual, pilgrims climbed and prayed atop Mount Arafat — the site where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his final sermon — where mercury hit 45 degrees Celsius. Following the day of prayer, the faithful spent the night camped under open skies at Muzdalifah, a stretch of desert between Mount Arafat and Mina, where they collected the smooth pebbles they would use for the next day’s stoning.

    After completing the climactic stoning ritual on Wednesday, pilgrims will make their return to Mecca to carry out a final circumambulation of the Kaaba, the sacred cuboid structure at the center of the Grand Mosque that is the qibla — the direction all Muslims face when performing daily prayers.

    The final day of the Hajj coincides with Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s major religious holidays that honors Abraham’s willingness to obey God’s command. According to tradition, before Abraham carried out the sacrifice of his son, the angel Gabriel intervened, allowing Abraham to sacrifice a ram in Ishmael’s place. The holiday is traditionally marked by the ritual slaughter of sheep, with a portion of the meat distributed to low-income and needy communities around the world.

  • Pete Waterman: ‘We had no concept of how big Kylie was’

    Pete Waterman: ‘We had no concept of how big Kylie was’

    As one of the architects of Kylie Minogue’s decades-spanning global pop career, hitmaking producer Pete Waterman has opened up about the unassuming start of his working relationship with the star, admitting he had never heard of her when he first signed on to produce her debut three studio albums.

    Waterman’s recollections feature in the new Netflix documentary simply titled *Kylie*, which charts the Australian singer’s extraordinary trajectory from a small-screen soap opera actor on *Neighbours* to one of pop music’s most enduring international icons. The project marks a reflective full-circle moment for Waterman, who, alongside production partners Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, formed the legendary Stock Aitken & Waterman team that shaped Minogue’s early sound in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

    Speaking in the documentary, Waterman explained the collaboration first came about at the request of the Australian distributor for Stock Aitken & Waterman’s record label, which reached out for support to launch Minogue’s first foray into music back in the late 1980s. This was months before her breakout role as Charlene Mitchell on *Neighbours* turned her into a household name across the United Kingdom.

    “She turns up at the studio, we knocked together *I Should Be So Lucky*, and she was at the airport by 4 o’clock, to fly back to Australia for *Neighbours*,” Waterman recalled.

    The partnership would go on to spawn a record-breaking string of chart hits for Minogue. *The Loco-Motion*, which became the first of her 54 UK Top 40 hits when Minogue was still just a teenager, was actually a remixed version of a track that had already claimed the number one spot on Australian charts, produced by the Stock Aitken & Waterman team. *I Should Be So Lucky* followed as the trio’s second hit for the rising star. Between 1988 and 1992 alone, the production collective delivered 19 Top 20 hits for Minogue, and ultimately produced four full studio albums for the singer between 1988 and 1991.

    Waterman shared that his first impression of the young artist was that she was soft-spoken but unwaveringly driven. He recalled his partner Matt Aitken telling him, “this kid’s got an amazing voice and is a great learner of a song. We taught her the song once, she’d remembered it straight away. Because she’s an actress, of course.”

    Despite *Neighbours*’ rapidly growing popularity in the UK that was turning Minogue into a national sensation, Waterman said the production team had no time to anticipate how that fame would translate to massive record sales. “This sounds ridiculous [but] we had no concept of how big Kylie was,” he said.

    That explosive growth quickly became clear as the team negotiated for Minogue’s third album. Waterman noted, “So here we are, Kylie’s selling 2.5 million albums every time we put an album out and suddenly we’re negotiating for a third album. And you’re dealing with lawyers who are basically Madonna’s lawyers. So you’ve gone from a little girl in *Neighbours* to the hottest lawyer on the planet who’s looking for millions of pounds in his pocket.”

    When Minogue reached out to Waterman to ask him to appear in the new documentary chronicling her life and decades-long career, he said the decision to participate was immediate. “It wasn’t a thought, it was – yeah, where do you want me to be?” he said. “This is Kylie from the four men in her life. What an amazing honour that is, from [being a boy from] Stoke Heath to world domination! My God, what a place to be!”

  • Australian sharemarket surges after inflation news slashes interest rate hike odds

    Australian sharemarket surges after inflation news slashes interest rate hike odds

    After starting Wednesday’s trading session in negative territory, Australia’s domestic sharemarket staged a sharp midday turnaround, driven by unexpectedly soft headline inflation data that immediately cut market expectations of another Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate hike in June.

    The country’s benchmark ASX 200 closed up 59.90 points, or 0.69%, at 8717.70, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 62.60 points, or 0.70%, to settle at 8945.20. The Australian dollar weakened against the U.S. dollar following the data release, dipping to 71.62 US cents by market close.

    Ten of the 11 measured industry sectors finished the trading day in positive territory, with information technology and consumer discretionary stocks leading the upward charge. Among tech shares, logistics software firm WiseTech Global rose 1.43% to $36.93, data center operator NEXTDC climbed 3.75% to $15.20, and enterprise tech provider Technology One added 0.60% to $30.17. In the consumer discretionary space, retail conglomerate Wesfarmers gained 1.41% to $77.56, electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi rose 1.18% to $73.95, and furniture retailer Harvey Norman jumped 2.47% to $4.56.

    Clive Maguchu, senior strategist at State Street Investment Management, explained that the inflation print was the core catalyst for the market’s sudden reversal. “The headline inflation number came in at 4.2% for the 12 months to April, which is a bit lower than the market consensus expectation of 4.4%,” Maguchu noted. He added that lower fuel price gains, partially driven by fuel excise discounts, were a key factor pulling down the headline figure. However, Maguchu also pointed out that not all inflation signals were positive: the RBA’s closely watched trimmed mean inflation, which strips out volatile price movements to track underlying price pressures, ticked up to 3.4% year-on-year in April, leaving residual hawkish pressure on the central bank.

    Even with the uptick in core trimmed mean inflation, money markets quickly re-priced the probability of a June rate hike, slashing those odds sharply. The shift in rate expectations dragged three of Australia’s four largest banks into negative territory by close: Westpac fell 0.60% to $36.39, National Australia Bank dropped 0.63% to $37.75, and ANZ slipped 0.25% to $35.57. Only the Commonwealth Bank bucked the trend, gaining 0.31% to $164.81.

    Other notable individual stock movements marked the session. Alcohol and retail group Endeavour Group slumped 4.87% to $2.93 after releasing a strategic update that included a restructuring of its wine operations, designed to cut $300 million in costs by fiscal year 2029. The firm also announced it would reduce dividend payouts, targeting a new payout ratio of 50 to 75% of group underlying net profit after tax.

    Online travel firm Web Travel outperformed market expectations, gaining 2.1% to $2.43 after updating the market on a stronger-than-projected 2026 financial result, even amid ongoing tourism headwinds stemming from US-Iran tensions. The firm’s underlying net profit after tax rose 8% to $85.9 million. Market operator ASX Ltd extended its recent sell-off, plummeting 9.73% to a decade-low of $46.06 a day after the company lifted its capital expenditure guidance to a range of $180 million to $200 million, up from the prior forecast of $160 million to $180 million. Finally, defence shipbuilder Austal gained 7.59% to $4.25 despite no new corporate announcements accompanying the rally.

  • Major film union in India calls for boycott of superstar Ranveer Singh

    Major film union in India calls for boycott of superstar Ranveer Singh

    One of Bollywood’s biggest leading men, Ranveer Singh, is at the center of a growing industry controversy after a major Indian film workers’ union ordered its thousands of members to halt all work with him, following his alleged sudden withdrawal from the highly anticipated franchise installment Don 3 just three weeks before a planned international shoot.

    The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), a prominent union that represents crew members across India’s film and television sectors, confirmed that producers had already poured roughly 450 million Indian rupees ($4.7 million) into pre-production for the project when Singh reportedly walked away from the lead role. Union leaders say they reached out to Singh multiple times to request he address the situation and clarify his exit, but the actor has declined to meet with representatives to date.

    To date, Singh has not issued any official public comment directly addressing the dispute. Industry reports indicate that Singh’s team has openly questioned whether FWICE holds the legal authority to compel the actor to appear before its disciplinary committee. Representatives from the BBC have contacted Singh’s team for comment on the controversy, but have not yet received a response. A statement attributed to a Singh spokesperson, circulated widely by Indian media outlets, noted that the actor holds the highest professional respect for the Indian film industry and the iconic Don franchise, and had made a deliberate choice to remain silent on the ongoing row.

    FWICE president BN Tiwari confirmed the union’s decision to implement the non-cooperation directive, explaining that the move is intended to send a clear message across the Indian film sector: “We’ve decided to send a message to the industry that a superstar is not bigger than the rules.” Though the directive is not classified as a formal full industry ban, it has still generated massive public and industry attention, driven by Singh’s global stardom and the decades-long cultural legacy of the Don franchise, one of Bollywood’s most beloved and commercially successful action series.

    The Don franchise first rose to iconic status in 1978, when Amitabh Bachchan led the original film as a charming, untraceable underworld kingpin building an international criminal network. Filmmaker Farhan Akhtar rebooted the franchise for a new generation in 2006, casting global superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role. Don 3 was officially announced in 2023, and was set to carry the franchise forward with Singh stepping into the title role as the new lead.

    According to senior FWICE official Ashoke Pandit, the controversy was triggered when Akhtar, who is attached to the new Don 3 as producer, formally filed a complaint against Singh with the union. Pandit confirmed the timeline of Singh’s exit, placing the withdrawal just three weeks before the production was set to begin its overseas shooting block, after producers had finalized costly travel, set, and scheduling arrangements for the international leg of filming.

    This is not the first time FWICE has issued a non-cooperation directive against a high-profile industry figure, though such action against A-list stars remains relatively rare. In recent years, the union called for Indian artists to boycott work with Pakistani performers during periods of heightened cross-border military tension. As recently as 2025, FWICE issued an identical non-cooperation order against popular actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh, after he starred opposite Pakistani actor Hania Aamir in a hit Punjabi comedy film.

    Public reaction to the current controversy has been deeply divided across social media platforms. Some users have argued that Singh is being unfairly targeted, noting that last-minute actor exits from major productions are not an uncommon occurrence in Bollywood, and that many other stars have walked away from projects without facing similar industry action. Other commentators have sided with the producers and the union, arguing that large-budget tentpole productions carry massive financial obligations that are thrown into chaos by unplanned last-minute exits, and that Singh is facing consequences for unprofessional behavior.

    This is also not the first time Singh has found himself at the center of widespread public controversy. In 2025, Singh faced widespread public backlash after he performed an imitation of a ritual scene from the blockbuster Kannada film *Kantara* during a public film festival event. Critics accused the actor of disrespecting the deep cultural significance of the sequence, and Singh ultimately issued a public apology for the incident. Earlier in his career, in 2015, Singh was among a group of celebrities caught up in national debate after a controversial comedy roast event sparked police complaints and wider discussion about obscenity and limits of free speech in Indian entertainment.

    Singh, who is known for his larger-than-life on-screen performances and flamboyant public persona, has built a reputation as one of Bollywood’s most bankable leading men, with a string of critical and commercial hits including *Padmaavat* and *Gully Boy*. His most recent release, the two-part spy thriller *Dhurandhar*, ranks among the highest-grossing Indian box office successes of recent years.

  • AFL 2026: Carlton is poised to regain a star defender ahead of its clash with Geelong

    AFL 2026: Carlton is poised to regain a star defender ahead of its clash with Geelong

    As the Carlton Blues prepare for one of the most challenging matches of their Australian Football League season, the club is holding out hope that star key defender Jacob Weitering will make a timely return from injury ahead of Friday night’s high-stakes clash against Geelong at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

    Weitering has been sidelined for weeks with a calf injury, but interim head coach Josh Fraser confirmed on Wednesday that the veteran backline leader is on track to prove his fitness for the blockbuster matchup. The 2024 Blues’ season has seen a sudden shift in momentum over the past fortnight: two consecutive wins have followed the abrupt departure of former senior coach Michael Voss, and the team is now gearing up to test its improved form against a powerhouse Geelong side armed with one of the league’s most dangerous forward groups.

    Fraser shared that Weitering completed a full training session while the team was in Adelaide over the weekend, and the club will make a final call on his availability following a Thursday main training session. “He’s important to us – not only through his on-field performances but also his leadership,” Fraser told reporters, noting that Weitering’s presence would be critical to shutting down Geelong’s premiership-caliber attacking line, headlined by star forward Jeremy Cameron.

    Alongside the anticipated return of Weitering, Fraser has highlighted the impressive early contributions of first-year defender Harry Dean, while arguing that the young talent has not received enough external recognition for his impact this season. Dean has featured in nine senior matches in his debut campaign, already taking on defensive assignments that most first-year players rarely handle. The 19-year-old has stepped up in high-pressure matchups week after week, and Fraser said his mature approach to the game has been a revelation for the club.

    “I’m not sure Harry is getting enough credit externally, I think he’s been outstanding,” Fraser said. “He had a big job last week, he’s had a big job most weeks, and he’s doing a terrific amount of work for us. He plays with a maturity above his age, he brings a competitive edge to what we’re doing on-field. I’ve loved the start to his career, I think Carlton supporters should be pretty excited about the way his career is going to unfold.”

    When asked about the team’s recent two-game winning streak – a better result than the club notched in its first nine rounds under Voss – Fraser pushed back on the narrative that a complete systemic overhaul has driven the turnaround. Instead, he framed the improvement as a gradual evolution of the club’s existing game plan and off-field structures, rather than a full reset.

    “I like to think we’ve evolved more than we’ve changed,” he explained. “When you evolve, there are natural changes with what you do, but there’s been a strong foundation built. We’ve been able to consider what that looks like moving forward: some of the changes have been on game day, some of it has happened Monday to Friday with where we’re putting our energy and where we’re educating. It’s evolving. We’ve got a lot more steps in front of us, but there have been encouraging signs so far.”

    Friday’s clash at the MCG will be the clearest test yet of whether Carlton’s recent improvement is sustainable, with a win over the top-tier Cats cementing the club’s rising status in the 2024 AFL competition.

  • Packers’ Jacobs arrested on domestic abuse charges

    Packers’ Jacobs arrested on domestic abuse charges

    One of the NFL’s most prominent running backs, Josh Jacobs of the Green Bay Packers, is at the center of a growing legal storm after being taken into custody on five felony and misdemeanor domestic abuse-related charges.

    The case traces back to a disturbance call responded to by officers from Wisconsin’s Hobart-Lawrence Police Department on a Saturday morning. Three days after the initial complaint, the 28-year-old Pro Bowl running back was booked into the Brown County Jail. The charges against Jacobs span five distinct offenses: battery, criminal property damage, disorderly conduct, victim intimidation, and strangulation and suffocation.

    Hobart-Lawrence Police Chief Michael Renkas confirmed the investigation remains active in an official statement, noting that no additional details would be disclosed to the public at this stage of the process.

    Through his legal team, Jacobs has issued a categorical denial of all allegations against him. In a formal statement released by attorneys David Chesnoff, Richard Schonfeld and Clarence Duchac, the running back “vehemently denies” the claims, emphasizing that the case remains in its early investigative stages, with key evidence still not available to the public. The legal team has asked the public and media to allow the judicial process to proceed without premature judgment, calling for fairness and restraint in commentary on the case.

    Both the Green Bay Packers organization and the National Football League have acknowledged the arrest, but have declined to issue substantive comment while the legal process unfolds. The Packers said they are aware of the matter but will not comment on an ongoing legal situation. The NFL confirmed that league officials have been in contact with the Packers organization regarding the arrest.

    Jacobs joined the Packers in 2024 as a high-profile free agent, signing a four-year contract worth $48 million. A veteran of seven NFL seasons, he originally entered the league with the Las Vegas Raiders (formerly the Oakland Raiders) before making the move to Green Bay. Over his career, Jacobs has earned three Pro Bowl selections, in 2020, 2022, and 2024, and led the entire NFL in rushing yards during his tenure with the Raiders. Across his seven seasons, he has compiled 7,803 rushing yards on 1,840 carries and scored 74 total touchdowns. He is currently preparing for his third season with the Green Bay franchise.