Held captive

The Berlinale has a certain number of established rituals. Braving the normally bitter end-of-February weather — when the international film festival usually takes place — there's always a crowd of die-hard autograph collectors flocking at the corner of the street where actors and filmmakers are dropped off from limousines ahead of their movie's press conference. And before the premiere of a film, fans spend hours waiting to see their favorite stars walk up the red carpet, hoping to get a selfie or simply to soak up the exciting atmosphere of the festival , even if it's freezing outside. Meanwhile, journalists usually run around from one press screening to the other, scrambling to fit in press conferences and interviews into their packed schedule, all while quickly filing stories on deadline. All that won't be happening this year — at least not during the part of the festival kicking off next week. The winner of the Golden Bear will be announced at the end of the week but … [Read more...] about 2021 Berlinale will focus on industry first, then fans

The Queen uses the royal social media accounts to publicly wish her loved ones happy birthday on their special day. The family's official Twitter and Instagram accounts share lovely photos of the birthday girl or boy alongside a sweet message, usually with a few emojis. But the Queen decided to change her message to her third oldest child, Prince Andrew, when he turned 61 last week. She only shared the message on Twitter, not on Instagram, and she scrapped the use of his official title, the Duke of York. It also wasn't actually a happy birthday message, but instead a On This Day style message. It read: " #OnThisDay in 1960 The Queen was safely delivered of a son, the first child born to a reigning Monarch since 1857. "Her Majesty is pictured holding Prince Andrew in 1961 on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, alongside The Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and The Queen Mother." As well as the Buckingham Palace photo, there was a photo of Andrew's official birth … [Read more...] about Queen’s birthday snub to Prince Andrew after Jeffrey Epstein scandal

THE family of a 28-year-old teaching assistant and mum who died of Covid are paying tribute after she was found lifeless in bed. Noleen Thompson, from West Belfast, died days after testing positive for coronavirus, leaving her two children behind. Noleen’s partner Martin found her unresponsive in bed on Wednesday, Belfast Live reported. She leaves behind her two sons, five-year-old Jacob and eight-year-old Reece, as well as her mum and dad, Noreen and Paul, and her three siblings. Her family is reportedly devastated, with Noleen’s death leaving a "huge hole" in their lives. Noleen’s uncle Sean said her partner Martin had called the paramedics on Wednesday after finding his partner in bed, not breathing. “Tragically, she passed away,” he said. "It was a shock to everybody, she is only 28 with the most beautiful personality you ever come across in your life. “Her young partner Martin, he is only 26 and he is left with Reece, eight, and Jacob, five, it is just … [Read more...] about Mum-of-two teaching assistant, 28, dies of Covid after being found lifeless in bed as family pay tribute

CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak will announce tax rises in his Budget on Wednesday. Tobacco tax is expected to increase, pushing up the price of a packet of cigarettes. This tax increase would bring in £30million, according to estimates published by HMRC. Mr Sunak will be looking for ways to cover the cost of coronavirus support schemes which are expected to be extended in his Budget. Will the price of cigarettes go up? Tobacco tax and other so-called 'sin' taxes are usually increased every year, though Mr Sunak froze alcohol duty for only the second time in 20 years in last year's budget . Smokers were not so lucky and during the Budget in March 2020, the Chancellor pushed the price of cigarettes up by 27p for a pack of 20 fags. Mr Sunak hiked the price by an extra 2% above the current inflation rate of 1.8%. The change pushed the average pack of the most expensive cigarettes from £12.46 to £12.73. The average pack of the cheapest 20-pack of fags rose from … [Read more...] about Budget 2021: Price of cigarettes to rise as Rishi Sunak mulls tobacco tax hike

A jewellery store owner's video has gone viral after his husky 'guard dog' continued to nap when a fake armed robbery training exercise was held at the shop. Police visited Worawut Lomwanawong's store in Thailand to train staff on how to react if they were held at gunpoint and forced to give up the jewels. CCTV footage shows Lucky the dog sleeping in front of the shop counter as a fake armed robber enters, pointing a gun at staff and making demands. Despite the commotion and threats being made to her owner, Lucky the dog doesn't move a single muscle and continues to sleep as her owner is forced to hand over a bag of 'cash' before the criminal walks out of the store unchallenged. The owner can be seen glancing at the dog in the hope she might attack the bandit or bark to raise the alarm, but gets nothing in return. It's fair to say Lucky failed the test and the hilarious video was uploaded to Facebook where it has racked up more than one million views. But Lucky may … [Read more...] about CCTV captures ‘guard dog’ hilariously failing test by napping during fake armed raid