India’s June Heat Wave Deaths Are a Harbinger of Worse to Come
At a cremation ground on the banks of the Ganges river in Ballia, a district in the northern
2023-06-27 14:54
Russia Latest: Prigozhin Jet in Belarus; Unclear Who Is on Board
President Vladimir Putin said organizers of an attempted mutiny sought to divide Russia and his government took all
2023-06-27 14:45
Pasoori: Bollywood remake of hit Pakistani song divides Indians
Indians are reacting sharply to Bollywood's remake of Pasoori, a popular Pakistani pop sing released last year.
2023-06-27 13:49
Law Change Makes Everyone a Year or Two Younger in South Korea
South Koreans will become at least a year younger tomorrow as the nation, which traditionally counts newborns as
2023-06-27 13:27
Umpire Mark Carlson Ends Mariners-Nationals Game on Horrific Strike Call
Mark Carlson with one of the worst strike three calls of the 2023 MLB season.
2023-06-27 13:15
Baidu Claims Its Ernie Bot Now Beats ChatGPT on Key Measures
Baidu Inc.’s ChatGPT-style service has outperformed OpenAI’s seminal product on several measures, China’s search leader said on Tuesday.
2023-06-27 12:56
Barbie cast dressed in ‘sad beige’ outfits sparks hilarious reactions: ‘Why is Margot the only one in pink?’
The Barbie cast’s recent photocall has sparked hilarious reactions after fans noticed Margot Robbie was the only one dressed in the doll’s iconic pink, while the rest of the cast seemingly missed the memo with their beige attire. On 25 June, the Barbie cast gathered together in Los Angeles to promote the highly-anticipated live-action film, which is set to be released on 21 July. Robbie, who’s worn a number of Barbie-themed outfits throughout the movie’s press tour, continued her fashion streak with a pink polka-dot Valentino minidress for the event. Robbie’s stylist Andrew Mukamel seemingly confirmed her custom-made Barbiecore dress was inspired by one of the Mattel toy’s own outfits, the “Pink & Fabulous” Barbie from 2015, on Instagram, where he shared side-by-side photos of the outfits. The Australian actor accessorised the look with a pair of white Manolo Blahnik pumps and a yellow quilted Valentino purse with studs. However, it was the “sad beige” outfits worn by Robbie’s fellow Barbie cast mates that captured everyone’s attention. The 32-year-old actor was photographed alongside Barbie director Greta Gerwig and co-stars Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, and Kate McKinnon. Gosling, who plays Barbie’s paramour Ken in the upcoming film, wore a cream-coloured cardigan over white T-shirt and black Levi’s jeans, while co-writer and director Gerwig opted for a beige pleated midi-skirt and taupe crewneck Prada sweater. Insecure alum Issa Rae also kept it neutral in a sand-coloured high-neck sleeveless top and matching trousers. America Ferrera, who plays a Mattel employee in the movie, wore an ivory lace Elie Saab tiered dress. Former Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon donned a grey, three-piece suit, while actor Michael Cera chose simple black pants, and black tee under a navy blue button-up shirt. Unsurprisingly, it was the Barbie cast’s neutral-themed outfits that had fans up in arms, with many taking to Twitter to criticise Robbie’s cast mates for the lack of dedication to the Barbie theme. “Only Margot knows her assignment,” tweeted one fan. “That’s why she’s Barbie.” “it should be illegal to wear any colour other than pink to a Barbie event,” another claimed, while someone else asked: “What’s going on with all the sad beige?” However, some fans believed that the drab fashion choice was actually intentional, like one person, who tweeted: “Everyone saying ‘why is Margot the only one in pink,’ bro she’s literally Barbie and I’m almost entirely certain everyone wearing beige but her is intentional”. “Actually maybe it was on purpose because what are the odds they’re all in neutrals lol. Helps her stand out as THE #Barbie,” someone else claimed. “I might be wrong but I feel like all the beige is intentional,” a third user wrote. “Margot is Barbie so they would want her to stand out. The hate is so unserious.” Despite the lacklustre photocall appearance, the Barbie cast’s fashion has remained on theme throughout much of the movie’s press tour. While attending CinemaCon in Las Vegas last April, Ryan Gosling arrived wearing a pink bomber jacket over a T-shirt with director Greta Gerwig’s name printed across it in the classic Barbie font. The 42-year-old actor also embraced his character’s famous look in the live-action film, in which he sports bleach-blonde highlights and a fake tan. During the event, Gosling told fans that he had previously “doubted his Ken-ergy,” but he eventually channelled his “inner Ken” with the help of his co-stars. “If I’m being really honest, I doubted my Ken-ergy. I didn’t see it. Margot and Greta, I feel like they conjured this out of me somewhere,” he said. He explained that, one moment, he was living his life as usual until, “one day, I was bleaching my hair and shaving my legs and wearing bespoke neon outfits and rollerblading down Venice Beach”. “It came on like a fever, like a Scarlet fever,” he said. “Like: ‘Why is there fake tanner on my sheets? Why am I wearing jackets without shirts? What just happened.’” Fans also caught a glimpse at the movie’s life-size Barbie Dreamhouse, where Barbie lives in the fantastical Barbieland. In a video shared by Architectural Digest, Robbie gave a tour of her character’s all-pink kitchen and a water slide, which leads from Barbie’s bedroom to her pool. “The dreamhouse came straight out of a fairytale book,” one fan said. “It really is something Barbie would want to live in. As always, this channel is always the best at what they do.” “Watching the Architectural Digest tour of the Barbie Dreamhouse isn’t enough,” another tweeted. “I need to live there.” Barbie hits theatres on 21 July in the US. Read More Barbie fans love Margot Robbie’s Architectural Digest tour of Dreamhouse: ‘Came out of a fairytale book’ Barbie caused a ‘worldwide’ shortage of pink paint Barbie stars Margot Robbie, Issa Rae and Simu Liu react to their own doll replicas Outfit choices for Barbie cast photo sparks hilarious reactions Fans love Margot Robbie’s Architectural Digest tour of pink Barbie Dreamhouse Influencers called out after promoting Shein factory in China
2023-06-27 12:54
China’s Top Oil Traders Go Head-to-Head in Middle East Play
Two giants in China’s oil and refining sector have taken the biggest opposing positions in Middle East crude
2023-06-27 12:21
US cautious on Russian rebellion to avoid creating an opening for Putin
On the surface, the turmoil in Russia would seem like something for the U.S. to celebrate: a powerful mercenary group engaging in a short-lived clash with Russia’s military at the very moment that Ukraine is trying to gain momentum in a critical counteroffensive. But the public response by Washington has been decidedly cautious. Officials say the U.S. had no role in the conflict, insist this was an internal matter for Russia and decline to comment on whether it could affect the war in Ukraine. The reason: to avoid creating an opening for Russian President Vladimir Putin to seize on the rhetoric of American officials and rally Russians by blaming his Western adversaries. Even President Joe Biden, known for straying from talking points, has stayed on script. Biden told reporters Monday that the United States and NATO weren’t involved. Biden said he held a video call with allies over the weekend and they are all in sync in working to ensure that they give Putin “no excuse to blame this on the West” or NATO. “We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it,” Biden said. “This was part of a struggle within the Russian system.” Biden and administration officials declined to give an immediate assessment of what the 22-hour uprising by the Wagner Group might mean for Russia’s war in Ukraine, for mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin or for Russia itself. “We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and the implications from Russia and Ukraine,” Biden said. “But it’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going.” Putin, in his first public comments since the rebellion, said “Russia’s enemies” had hoped the mutiny would succeed in dividing and weakening Russia, “but they miscalculated.” He identified the enemies as “the neo-Nazis in Kyiv, their Western patrons and other national traitors.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia was investigating whether Western intelligence services were involved in Prigozhin’s rebellion. Over the course of a tumultuous weekend in Russia, U.S. diplomats were in contact with their counterparts in Moscow to underscore that the American government regarded the matter as a domestic affair for Russia, with the U.S. only a bystander, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said that Putin in the past has alleged clandestine U.S. involvement in events — including democratic uprisings in former Soviet countries, and campaigns by democracy activists inside and outside Russia — as a way to diminish public support among Russians for those challenges to the Russian system. The U.S. and NATO “don’t want to be blamed for the appearance of trying to destabilize Putin,” McFaul said. A feud between the Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and Russia’s military brass that has festered throughout the war erupted into the mutiny that saw the mercenaries leave Ukraine to seize a military headquarters in a southern Russian city. They rolled for hundreds of kilometers toward Moscow, before turning around on Saturday, in a deal whose terms remain uncertain. Biden’s national security team briefed him hourly as Prigozhin’s forces were on the move, the president said. He said he had directed them to “prepare for a range of scenarios” as Russia’s crisis unfolded. Biden did not elaborate on the scenarios. But national security spokesman John Kirby addressed one concern raised frequently as the world watched the cracks opening in Putin’s hold on power — worries that the Russian leader might take extreme action to reassert his command. Putin and his lieutenants have made repeated references to Russia’s nuclear weapons since invading Ukraine 16 months ago, aiming to discourage NATO countries from increasing their support to Ukraine. “One thing that we have always talked about, unabashedly so, is that it’s in nobody’s interest for this war to escalate beyond the level of violence that is already visited upon the Ukrainian people,” Kirby said at a White House news briefing. “It’s not good for, certainly, Ukraine and not good for our allies and partners in Europe. Quite frankly, it’s not good for the Russian people.” Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the weekend, telling him, ”’No matter what happened in Russia, let me say again, no matter what happened in Russia, we in the United States would continue to support Ukraine’s defense and sovereignty and its territorial integrity.” Biden said. The Pentagon is expected to announce Tuesday that it is sending up to $500 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including more than 50 heavily armored vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defense systems, U.S. officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid had not yet been publicly announced. Biden, in the first weeks after Putin sent tens of thousands of Russian forces into Ukraine in February 2022, had issued a passionate statement against the Russian leader’s continuing in command. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” he said then, as reports emerged of Russian atrocities against civilians in Ukraine. On Monday, U.S. officials were careful not to be seen as backing either Putin or his former longtime protege, Prigozhin, in public comments. “We believe it’s up to the Russian people to determine who their leadership is,” Kirby said. White House officials were also trying to understand how Beijing was digesting the Wagner revolt and what it might mean for the China-Russia relationship going forward. China and Russia are each other’s closest major partner. The White House says Beijing has considered — but not followed through on — sending Russia weaponry for use in Ukraine. “I think it’d be fair to say that recent developments in Russia had been unsettling to the Chinese leadership,” said Kurt Campbell, coordinator for the Indo-Pacific at the White House National Security Council, speaking at a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “I think I’ll just leave it at that.” China values Russia as a friend in part to keep from standing alone against the U.S. and its allies in disputes. With Russia’s invasion and resulting international sanctions sapping Russian resources and now sparking a rebellion, McFaul said, Ukraine and its allies could make the case: ”’Xi Jinping, you know, if you want your buddy to stay in power, maybe this is the time to put some pressure on him to wrap up this war.‴ ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Putin issues desperate message to Russian public after Wagner mutiny US to send $500 million in weapons, military aid to Ukraine, officials say What the papers say – June 27
2023-06-27 12:21
Billionaire Cheng Family to Buy Out NWS in $4.5 Billion Deal
Hong Kong’s billionaire Cheng family is offering to buy the NWS Holdings Ltd. shares it doesn’t own in
2023-06-27 11:53
Japan Reinstates South Korea as a Preferred Trading Partner
Japan decided to restore South Korea to its list of preferred trading partners, adding to signs of improving
2023-06-27 11:46
Imran Khan: Pakistan army sacks three officers over May protests
In a rare public announcement, the Pakistan army says the officers failed to protect military assets.
2023-06-27 11:45