Casting Couch

  Singapore:  A court here sent two Indian origin men to five-day jail in a case involving lying about the covid vaccination status to enter a bar. Utheyakumar Nallathamby, 65, had impersonated as Rughbir Singh, 37, to enter the bar. Singh told the court that his girlfriend and he had met Nallathamby on September 9 last year, The Straits Times reported. The trio later went to Sentosa, an island resort, for drinks and decided to go to Bikini Bar, as their first choice, Coastes bar, was crowded. But an assistant manager of Bikini Bar there did not allow Nallathamby enter as he was unvaccinated. Deputy Public Prosecutor Shen Wanqin said after leaving Bikini Bar, Singh suggested that Nallathamby enter the bar using Singh's TraceTogether application and vaccination status. He further suggested that Nallathamby falsely represent himself as Singh. Nallathamby agreed to the Singh's suggestions and took the man's mobile phone. He then went to Coastes bar with the woman while Singh w...

  Brussels:   The European Union has warned Russia it will not bend to "blackmail" over its support for Kyiv after the Kremlin cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland. The warning on Wednesday came ahead of UN chief Antonio Guterres arriving in Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Putin issued his own warning the same day, saying that if Western forces intervene in Ukraine, they will face a "lightning-fast" military response. "We have all the tools for this, that no one else can boast of having," the Russian leader told lawmakers, implicitly referring to Moscow's ballistic missiles and nuclear arsenal. "We won't boast about it: we'll use them, if needed. And I want everyone to know that," he said. "We have already taken all the decisions on this." The dire threats came as Moscow claimed to have carried out a missile strike in southern Ukraine t...

  Sotheby's announced that the world's largest blue diamond, The De Beers Blue, was sold for $57.5 million. The massive 15.10-carat step-cut gem was sold at Sotheby's in Hong Kong after an eight minute bidding war among four hopeful buyers. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) categorised the jewel as "fancy vivid blue" — the top color grading, which has been awarded to no more than 1% of blue diamonds submitted to the organization. Describing the diamond as "exceptionally rare," Sotheby's statement added that only five gems over 10 carats have ever appeared at auction. None have ever been over 15 carats, "making the appearance of this flawless gem a landmark event in itself." As per  CNN ,  with a final price of $57,471,960, The De Beers Cullinan Blue just narrowly missed setting the record for the most expensive blue diamond ever to sell at auction. Also read: Rare blue diamond expected to fetch $48 million at auction: All about thi...

  Paris , France:   Executions in Iran rose by 25 per cent in 2021, a report by two leading NGOs said Thursday, expressing alarm over a surge in the numbers executed for drug offences and also the hanging of at least 17 women. The rate of executions in Iran also accelerated after the June election of hardline former judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi to the presidency, said the report by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and France's Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). The report urged world powers negotiating with Iran on reviving the deal on its nuclear programme to put use of capital punishment in the Islamic republic — which executes more people annually then any nation other than China — at the centre of the talks. At least 333 people were executed in 2021, a 25-per cent increase compared to 267 in 2020, said the report, based on official media but also sources inside Iran. Meanwhile, at least 126 executions were for drug-related charges, five times higher than 2020'...