Karan Johar's film with Salman Khan, 'The Bull', is set to start production in 2025 after rumors of it being shelved. It is based on the events of Operation Cactus. Karan Johar’s film with Salman Khan, titled ‘The Bull’ is all set to go on floors in 2025. Rumours had been doing the rounds that the film has been shelved. However, IndiaToday.In exclusively learnt that the film has not been shelved, and the writing is currently underway. Sources told India Today that ‘The Bull’ will most likely go on floors in 2025. The film has gone back to the writing room and the script is being worked up, which is why there is a delay. Earlier, it was supposed to go on floors this year and it was eyeing Eid 2025 release. ‘The Bull’ is based on the events of Operation Cactus, on November 3, 1988, where the Indian forces helped the Maldives government in regaining control after a coup attempt. Given the current status between India and Maldives, the film is being sensitised to political equations and written with a fresh perspective. Earlier, reports started circulating that ‘The Bull’ had hit the roadblock because Karan Johar and director Vishuvardhan were unable to commit a date for the film. ‘The Bull’ will mark Salman Khan and Karan Johar’s reunion after 25 years. It will be directed by Vishnuvardhan, who had earlier directed Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani-starrer ‘Shershaah’.   Source: India Toady  

Prime Minister’s Adviser for Private Industry and Investment, Salman F. Rahman, held a meeting with the US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya on Friday, October 27.  The meeting was held at the US Department of State in Washington DC.   In that meeting, Adviser Rahman and Under Secretary Zeya discussed a wide range of bilateral issues including further enhancing the existing excellent economic partnership between Bangladesh and the USA. They also discussed recent conflicts in the Middle East, Rohingya issue and Bangladesh’s election.   Uzra Zeya praised Bangladesh’s generosity for hosting over 1.2 million Rohingya population and assured continued US support for them.   On the election issue, both acknowledged that in democracy, the only means to changing the government is through elections. Adviser Rahman reiterated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's firm commitment to ensure that the upcoming elections are held in a free, fair and peaceful manner. Under Secretary Zeya reaffirmed that the US does not support any particular political party, instead is keen to see the continuation of democracy in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Mr. Muhammad Imran, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Ms. Afreen Akhter and senior officials of Bangladesh Embassy and US State Department were present at the meeting.

Salman Rushdie's agent has told a Spanish newspaper that the author has lost the use of an eye and movement in a hand as a result of him being stabbed multiple times at a literary event in New York state in August. Salman Rushdie's agent told Spanish newspaper El Pais that his client was severely wounded earlier this year in New York state when a man repeatedly stabbed him on stage.  "He's lost the sight of one eye... He had three serious wounds in his neck. One hand is incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut. And he has about 15 more wounds in his chest and torso," Andrew Wylie told El Pais, in an interview published on Saturday.  Wylie described the injuries as "profound," saying "it was a brutal attack."  He said he would give no information on the writer's whereabouts other than to say he was still in hospital, but added: "He's going to live ... That's the important thing."  Rushdie was attacked as he was being introduced on stage at the Chautauqua Institution, a rural center some 55 miles (roughly 90 kilometers) southwest of Buffalo near Lake Erie that is known for its summertime lecture series. Life under a fatwa The 75-year-old spent much of his life in hiding after Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death warrant, or "fatwa," against him in 1989 in response to Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses".  Khomeini seemingly considered parts the award-winning work of fiction to be blasphemous.  But after years of high-security seclusion, Rushdie had started to travel more freely again in the past two decades.  Rushdie had spoken in the past about how he never considered the danger to be passed. But his agent Wylie said the attack took precisely the shape of what he and his employer had feared, "a random person coming out of nowhere and attacking."  "So you can't protect against it because it's totally unexpected and illogical," he told El Pais.  The attack sparked outrage in the West and among free speech advocates but also some praise from extremists in Muslim countries like Iran and Pakistan.  Suspect awaiting trial for attempted murder The suspect arrested at the scene of the crime is a 24-year-old man from New Jersey with roots in Lebanon who has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. But he also gave a newspaper interview soon after in which he said he was "surprised" to hear the attack did not kill Rushdie. He praised Khomeini and said he did not like Rushdie or "The Satanic Verses," of which he said he had read "a few pages."  His lawyer has since warned in court that such publications could make it difficult to locate a viable jury that will not prejudge the case.  Iran's present-day Islamic regime, currently facing major protests against its supposedly religious laws, said after the stabbing that "no one has the right to accuse Iran" of complicity, saying of Rushdie: "we do not consider anyone other than himself and his supporters worthy of reproach, blame and condemnation." A foreign ministry spokesman accused Rushdie of "crossing the red lines of 1.5 billion Muslims." Rushdie has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times and won it once. He had continued writing even throughout his time in hiding. His fifteenth novel, "Victory City", is scheduled for publication next February.

The Indian-born novelist, who has lived under death threats due to his writing, was stabbed on stage during a literary event. He was airlifted to hospital for emergency surgery and remains in serious condition. Award-winning author Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed multiple times Friday while on stage at a literary event in rural New York, is on a ventilator and could lose an eye, his agent said. The news is not good, agent Andrew Wylie said in a statement obtained by The New York Times. Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged. Wylie added that Rushdie could not speak. Rushdie spent years in hiding after an Iranian fatwa ordered his killing following the publication of his book The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims considered to be disrespectful of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. Years after the 1989 fatwa, reactions to the stabbing were split across Iran, with some hailing the attack and others worried about what it means for the country. The government has been muted over the attack. How did the attack unfold? The stabbing took place at the Chautauqua Institution, about 55 miles (88 kilometers) southwest of Buffalo in New York state, where Rushdie was due to deliver a lecture on how the United States offers asylum for artists in exile. Witnesses said a man ran to the stage as Rushdie was about to deliver a lecture, before attacking him. A man jumped up on the stage from I don’t know where and started what looked like beating him on the chest, repeated fist strokes into his chest and neck, said Bradley Fisher, who was in the audience. People were screaming and crying out and gasping. A doctor who was in the audience and offered assistance after the attack told the New York Times that he appeared to have multiple stab wounds including one to the right side of his neck, but that he had a pulse and did not require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Images shared by attendees appeared to show Rushdie being treated on stage. He was later airlifted to a local hospital for emergency surgery. Attacker in custody The alleged attacker was immediately arrested. Police later identified the suspect as a 24-year-old man from New Jersey. Police said he was tackled by audience members before being taken into custody. Police also said there were no indications of previous threats, but confirmed the attacker had a pass to attend the event. I felt like we needed to have more protection there because Salman Rushdie is not a usual writer, said Anouar Rahmani, an Algerian writer and human rights activist who was also in the audience. He’s a writer with a fatwa against him. A state trooper and a county sheriff’s deputy had been assigned to watch over the lecture. Haunted by death threats Rushdie, 75, has spent years living under a death threat from Iran over his novel The Satanic Verses. In 1989, Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death over allegations of blasphemy. Iran’s government has since distanced itself from the edict, but in 2012, 15 Khordad Foundation a semi-official Iranian religious foundation offered a $3.3 million (euro;3.2 million) reward for anyone who kills Rushdie. In 2016, a group of Iranian state-run media outlets added $600,000 more to that bounty. Rushdie has received worldwide accolades for his work, including winning the Booker Prize in 1981 for his book Midnight’s Children. He was knighted in 2007 for his services to literature. Rushdie was born into an Indian Muslim family and identifies as an atheist. After the fatwa was issued, Rushdie went into hiding but has lived openly in recent years. He obtained US citizenship in 2016 and lives in New York City. Western leaders condemn attack Freedom of expression advocacy group PEN America, of which Rushdie is a former president, said it was reeling from shock and horror after the attack. Salman Rushdie has been targeted for his words for decades but has never flinched nor faltered, Suzanne Nossel, PEN’s chief executive, said in the statement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement that he was appalled that Rushdie, who is a British citizen, was stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said that hate and barbarism have just struck Rushdie. His fight is ours, universal, Macron added. Today, more than ever, we are at his side. Mixed feelings in Iran More than 30 years after former supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Rushdie, reactions were split across Iran. Some aired worries about what it could mean for the country. It will make Iran more isolated, warned former Iranian diplomat Mashallah Sefatzadeh told AP in reaction to the attack. But ultra-conservative newspaper Kayhan hailed Rushdie’s assailant. Bravo to this courageous and duty-conscious man who attacked the apostate and depraved Salman Rushdie in New York, wrote the paper, whose chief is appointed by the current supreme leader. Let us kiss the hands of the one who tore the neck of the enemy of God with a knife. The 15th Khordad Foundation, an organization that had put over $3 million bounty on Rushdies life, remained silent, with staffers declining to immediately comment to the AP.

US President Joe Biden has talked by phone with King Salman of Saudi Arabia as he seeks to put relations with America's old ally on a new footing. He "affirmed the importance" the US "places on universal human rights and the rule of law", the White House said. Biden made the call after reading a forthcoming US report into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The report is expected to implicate the king's son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He denies involvement. Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, pursued closer ties with Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration had rejected a legal requirement to release the report in declassified form, focusing instead on improved co-operation with the Saudis. The White House says Biden will "recalibrate" the relationship with Saudi Arabia. Khashoggi, a US-based journalist and critic of Saudi Arabia's government, was murdered in 2018 inside the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul, and his body dismembered. Saudi authorities blamed his death on a "rogue operation" by a team of agents sent to return him to the kingdom, and a Saudi court tried and sentenced five individuals to 20 years in prison last September, after initially sentencing them to death. What happened in Biden-Salman phone call? There was no mention of Khashoggi by name in the White House statement. During the call, the White House said Biden "affirmed the importance the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law". He also "noted positively" the recent release of several Saudi-American activists and prominent Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul. Hathloul was released this month after almost three years in detention but remained subject to a travel ban and was forbidden from speaking to the media. The two leaders also discussed "the longstanding partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia", and the threat posed to Saudi Arabia by pro-Iranian groups. Biden told King Salman "he would work to make the bilateral relationship as strong and transparent as possible", the statement said. How was Khashoggi killed? The 59-year-old journalist, known for his criticism of the Saudi authorities, went to the consulate in October 2018 in order to obtain papers allowing him to marry his Turkish fiancée. He had allegedly received assurances from the crown prince's brother, Prince Khalid bin Salman, who was ambassador to the US at the time, that it would be safe to visit the consulate. Prince Khalid has denied any communication with the journalist. According to Saudi prosecutors, Khashoggi was forcibly restrained after a struggle and injected with a large amount of a drug, resulting in an overdose that led to his death. His body was then dismembered and handed over to a local "collaborator" outside the consulate, prosecutors said. The remains were never found. Grim details were revealed in transcripts of purported audio recordings of the killing obtained by Turkish intelligence. Khashoggi had once been an adviser to the Saudi government and close to the royal family but he fell out of favour and went into self-imposed exile in the US in 2017. From there, he wrote a monthly column in the Washington Post in which he criticised the policies of Prince Mohammed. In his first column for the newspaper, Khashoggi said he feared being arrested in an apparent crackdown on dissent overseen by the prince. In his last column, he criticised Saudi involvement in the conflict in Yemen. Source: BBC AH

Popular actor of bangla film industry Salman Shah was not murdered. Investigation agency Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has informed that he committed suicide due to family feud. PBI chief Banaj Kumar Majumder said this at a press conference held at its Dhanmondi head quarters in the capital on Monday. He said, the investigation report of the mysterious death case of Salman Shah has been finalized. There was no proof found in the investigation that he was murdered. We have taken speech of Samira, the then wife of Salman and other accused. After all it was proved that Salman Shah committed suicide after being unable to bear the mental sufferings and family feud. Mentionable, Salman Shah was one of the most popular actors of bangla cinema in the last decade of the last century. Then 23 years have gone. But the mystery behind the cause of his death was unearthed. Earlier, in some previous investigation report suicide was mentioned as the cause behind his death but it was not well accepted by his family, well wishers and fans. At last at the end of 2016 PBI was given the charge of investigation. Following that task PBI organized the press conference on Monday. AH       

Prime Minister’s Private Industries Development and Investment Affairs Advisor Salman F Rahman has proposed for establishing ‘Joy Bangla’ slogan as the national slogan. He proposed for implementing that by amending the constitution. His proposal came in while taking part in the thanks giving discussion on the President’s speech in the ongoing parliament session on Sunday. The day’s activities began in the afternoon with Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury in the chair. In his speech Salman F Rahman said, after completion of our speech we, the politicians say ‘Joy Bangla’. But the government officials do not say that. I have asked one government officer, why you do not say ‘Joy Bangla’? He answered- we do government service, we are neutral. Based on that slogan the country became independent, for that they (government officers and employees) are in their posts- how that ‘Joy Bangla’ slogan becomes party slogan? He said, the President is for all, even he also says ‘Joy Bangla’ after completing his speech. I propose – in which way we declared Bangabandhu as father of the nation through amending the constitution, like that way ‘Joy Bangla’ has to be declared as national slogan. Salman Rahman said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is doing all for the country. She is doing nothing for her. She is doing all for the country, for the people of the country. He said, if somebody would have told me 10 years earlier that the country would emerged in this position after 10 years then I would not believe that. But it is possible due to Sheikh Hasina’s honesty and efficient leadership. She has taken the country in this position. AH  

Bollywood actor Salman Khan has been jailed for five years in the blackbuck shooting case. On behalf of the Jodhpur court, Salman Khan was convicted on Thursday in the case of Wildlife Preservation Act 9. The court has acquitted four other accused Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Nilam. Meanwhile, Salman's lawyer has appealed to the court to reduce the sentence. A news report from the Indian news media, G-News, said that Salman could be sent to Rajasthan Central Jail. The verdict of the case has been given on Thursday after over 19 years. In 2015, the Bombay High Court overturned his conviction in a hit-and-run case in which he was accused of running over a group of people sleeping on a city sidewalk, killing one and injuring four. Khan has churned out a series of blockbuster hits in the last few years. Some of his releases in 2017 were big-ticket films that pulled in billions of rupees at the box-office. FU