INDIA'S biggest private oil refiner Reliance Industries has resumed crude imports from crisis-hit Venezuela, using diesel exports to pay for them under a barter system that the company said Tuesday (15) complies with US sanctions.
The Mumbai-based company owned by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani was forced to cap crude oil imports from the South American country in March following pressure from the US.
It also stopped exporting diluents needed to process thick Venezuelan crude to the country.
But under the terms of the barter arrangement, the energy-to-telecoms conglomerate has resumed crude imports from the Latin American country, Reliance spokesperson Tushar Pania said.
The deal will help ease Venezuela's inventories after US sanctions left its state-owned oil company PDVSA with huge volumes of unsold crude.
"Reliance Industries is exporting diesel and importing crude oil from Venezuela in a barter arrangement," Pania said.
"This is in compliance with US sanctions and Reliance is confident of adhering to them," he added, declining to say when the company had resumed the shipments.
Venezuela- a once-rich oil-producing nation is in the grip of an economic crisis and a political standoff between president Nicolas Maduro's government and opposition leader Juan Guaido.
The situation has worsened with successive rounds of US sanctions against Maduro's government, including steps that have severely curbed its oil exports.
PetroWatch editor Madhu Nainan said the barter agreement was "a win-win situation for both as Venezuela is battered with crippling sanctions while Reliance aims to boost its profitability".
"With this barter deal, Reliance can procure cheap crude... which will help their refining margins."
Refining margins are a key profitability gauge for Reliance, which operates the world's biggest refining complex in Gujarat state.
India became the top importer of crude from Venezuela in February after US president Donald Trump issued a de facto ban on imports.
In addition to Reliance, Nayara Energy, a Mumbai-based company that is partly owned by Russia's Rosneft is also a buyer of Venezuelan crude.
Thousands of pupils will attempt the ‘Largest Air-Drumming Session’ and ‘Largest Body Percussion Lesson’.
The event on 11 November is a centrepiece of Bradford's UK City of Culture 2025 celebrations.
It partners Bradford Music & Arts Service with the BBC Radio Leeds choir, Bantam of the Opera.
The record attempt doubles as a fundraiser for the BBC Children in Need appeal.
Schools across Bradford are preparing for a monumental session with a purpose. On 11 November, thousands of children will converge at the Bradford Live venue to attempt two official Guinness World Records. The event, aiming for the largest air-drumming session and largest body percussion lesson, is a flagship project for the city's cultural programme. This ambitious endeavour also serves as a major fundraiser for BBC Children in Need, highlighting the Bradford City of Culture year's focus on youth and music.
The two records chosen are all about inclusive participation. The ‘Largest Air-Drumming Session’ requires participants to mimic drumming motions in unison for a sustained period. The ‘Largest Body Percussion Lesson’ involves a structured class where students use clapping, stomping, and thigh-slapping to create rhythm. Guinness World Records has strict guidelines, meaning every participant must be registered and the attempts closely monitored. It’s not just about making noise, but about precision and scale.
The Bantam of the Opera choir at King's Cross London BBC Screengrab
How is the event linked to BBC Children in Need?
The connection is fundamental. The annual BBC Children in Need appeal show airs on 14 November, and this record attempt on the 11th is designed to kickstart local fundraising efforts. Schools involved are encouraged to run their own sponsored activities around the theme "Challenge Yourself." Money raised will support the charity’s work with disadvantaged children across the UK. So, while the kids are focused on making history, their efforts will directly contribute to a well-known national cause.
Who is behind the organisation of the record attempts?
Pulling this off is a collaboration between the Bradford Music & Arts Service and the BBC Radio Leeds community choir, Bantam of the Opera. Adding expert credibility is Tim Brain, a world-record holder himself from 2023 for the largest recyclable instrument percussion ensemble. He’ll be leading the children on the day. Bradford Council sees this as a major event, showcasing the city's investment in youth arts. Councillor Sue Duffy called it a "joyful opportunity" for children to make history in the newly restored Bradford Live venue.
What is the long-term impact on music education in Bradford?
Beyond the single day, the project has a legacy component. The Bantam of the Opera choir is launching an outreach programme in partnership with the Priestley Academy Trust, which serves some of Bradford's most deprived areas. Tom Fay, a Learning Officer at the trust, noted that while children have a deep love for music, many have limited exposure at home, making school-based programmes vital for emotional well-being and community spirit.
By clicking the 'Subscribe’, you agree to receive our newsletter, marketing communications and industry
partners/sponsors sharing promotional product information via email and print communication from Garavi Gujarat
Publications Ltd and subsidiaries. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the
unsubscribe link in our emails. We will use your email address to personalize our communications and send you
relevant offers. Your data will be stored up to 30 days after unsubscribing.
Contact us at data@amg.biz to see how we manage and store your data.
AN ETHIOPIAN asylum seeker was jailed for a year on Tuesday (23) for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, in a case that ignited weeks of UK protests.
District Judge Christopher Williams told Hadush Kebatu that "it's evident to me that your shame and remorse isn't because of the offences you've committed but because of the impact they've had," as he passed sentence.
Williams had found Kebatu guilty of five offences, including two of sexual assault, following a three-day trial that ended on September 4.
Kebatu reportedly gave his age as 38 but court records suggest he is 41, according to police.
Police had arrested him on July 8 in Epping, northeast of London, after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.
He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.
Kebatu, who has been put on the sexual offenders register for 10 years, was staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, where around 130 other asylum seekers have been housed and which became the target of repeated protests following his arrest.
The demonstrations, fuelled by online anger, swiftly spread to other towns where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, and sparked counter-demonstrations.
The teenage victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said in a statement read out at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court, south east England, that "every time I go out with my friends, I'm checking over my shoulder."
The teenager said Kebatu had told her he wanted to have a baby with her after she offered him pizza because he looked hungry.
Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat across the Channel from northern France at the end of June, had denied the charges, insisting he was "not a wild animal".
On sentencing, Williams said he agreed with the author of a pre-sentence report that Kebatu was "manipulative" during interviews.
"You raised a lack of English and mental health difficulties as reasons why you either can't remember what happened or cannot talk about the offending.
"The probation officer didn't consider this was accurate and considered you were being manipulative. I agree with that assessment," he said.
Molly Dyas, representing Kebatu, said his "firm wish is to be deported as soon as possible".
The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases but that it was "longstanding policy" to seek to deport "foreign nationals who commit serious crimes in our country".
The Bell Hotel is embroiled in a legal battle pitting Epping Forest district council, which wants it emptied of asylum seekers, against its owner and the interior ministry, which are both fighting to keep using it as a shelter.
The High Court in London will hear the latest legal challenge on October 15.
A bitter national debate over immigration policy has been raging in the UK, as frustration grows over the continued arrival of small boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France.
Tens of thousands have made the dangerous crossing annually since 2018, with this year's numbers on course to be record-breaking.
The government, which has a legal duty to provide asylum seekers with housing, said just over 32,000 were in hotels at the end of June, with nearly 71,000 in "other accommodation".
It has pledged to stop using hotels for this purpose by the next election, due in 2029.
Last week, three people were flown back to France by the UK government, under a new "one in, one out" scheme with the French government.
(AFP)
Keep ReadingShow less
How Bollywood stars craft fake struggles to gain fan trust and social media clout
Stars post "ghar ka khana" and EMI moments to seem relatable.
Janhvi Kapoor's EMI line went viral for the wrong reasons.
Sara Ali Khan and Alia Bhatt also highlighted "middle-class" struggles.
Fans pick up on the inconsistencies between luxury and modesty in posts.
Let's get this straight. You’re scrolling through Instagram and there it is: a Bollywood star, sitting in what looks like a palace kitchen, holding up a roti. The caption? "Ghar ka khana hits different." You’re supposed to feel a connection, a thrill. She’s just like me! But is she?
How Bollywood stars craft fake struggles to gain fan trust and social media clout Getty Images/ Instagram Screengrab/Viral Bhayani
The "people's princess" playbook
This isn’t an accident; it’s a strategy. A tired, transparent, and increasingly backfiring PR strategy that we might as well call the “People’s Princess” playbook. But what’s the goal? To bridge the cavernous gap between insane, generational wealth and the average fan’s reality. And the method? A curated performance of relatable poverty, or as critics smartly call it, “aesthetic poverty”.
Bollywood iStock
EMIs as entertainment?
Remember Janhvi Kapoor’s EMI line? “If five extra people like my pictures, I’ll get another brand and I’ll be able to pay for my EMIs with more ease.”
EMIs..!
The word just hangs there. For the vast majority of Indians, an EMI (Equated Monthly Instalment) is a crushing monthly reality for a home loan or a modest car. It’s not a cute, relatable flex. However, the backlash was immediate and brutal. Memes and discussions erupted online, with audiences pointing out the disconnect between her luxury life and the “relatable” struggles she described.
But Janhvi’s not alone. This is a whole genre.
Jhanvi's commentReddit Screengrab
Small moments, big optics
Sara Ali Khan, daughter of Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh, calls herself a "kanjoos" (a cheapskate). She talks about a “very middle-class” upbringing. One anecdote that fans can’t stop talking about: during the promotions of Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Vicky Kaushal revealed that Sara once yelled at her mother for buying towels worth £16.00 (₹1,600), saying, “Who buys towels for £16.00?”
It’s a tiny domestic moment, but it feeds directly into the image she projects: conscious of money, even amid obvious privilege.
Alia Bhatt’s mother, Soni Razdan, once highlighted their “middle-class” upbringing by saying they flew economy to Dubai. Netizens, including social media influencer Uorfi Javed, have poked fun at these “middle-class” claims. As Uorfi put it, “Humne plane nahi dekha tha yaar. Tum kaisi baatein kar rahi ho?” (We’d never even seen a plane, mate. What are you talking about?).
Ranveer Singh, a ball of energy who grew up in a well-off family, once said they “didn’t have a lot of money.” Then he described his childhood holidays to Indonesia, Singapore, Italy, and the US. That’s his definition of “not a lot of money.”
Well it’s a different planet.
— (@)
Not all relatability is fake, but wording is everything
And, nuance alert! Let’s not flatten this into “all celebrities lie.” Plenty of stars do come from mixed backgrounds. Some faced real early struggles. Some have debts. Others have family pressures, mental health issues, and career insecurity. “We had it hard” can mean emotional strain, parental pressure, or being judged in public, not just bank balances.
It particularly stings because Bollywood has a real, ugly history of precarity: actors who fell ill and couldn’t afford care, and careers that ended without safety nets. Those stories are not PR-friendly anecdotes; they’re tragedies. So casual comparisons feel tone deaf, sometimes performative, sometimes just sloppy messaging.
AK Hangal, known as the perennially troubled father of Bollywood passed away at the age of 97 in a hospital without money to pay for his treatment.Getty Images
Relatability as currency
Why do they do this? Because relatability is currency. In the age of social media, fans want access. They want to feel like the person on screen is someone they could know. PR teams know this. So the playbook says: downplay the privilege. Emphasise the struggle, even if you have to invent it. Talk about ghar ka khana, local trains, and being careful with money. It’s a calculated risk and the payoff is likeability. The risk? The whole thing blows up in your face when the audience feels patronised.
Reddit platforms and forums are filled with fans dissecting this stuff with the precision of forensic accountants. They see the cracks: the luxury villa in the background of the “simple life” video, the designer socks paired with the “humble” chappals. And they’re not buying it anymore.
The question isn’t really whether these stars are lying. Maybe they genuinely love their mum's food. Who doesn’t? The question is why this specific narrative is being sold so hard. The answer is simple. It’s easier to pretend to be poor than to actually explain what it’s like to be that rich. It’s a shortcut to connection, and the audience is starting to see it for the dead end it is.
The curtain is pulling back and the PR strategy is unmasked. So, the most relatable thing a Bollywood star could do right now might just be to admit, “Yeah, I’m privileged. I didn’t grow up poor. Here’s what else I deal with.” Now that would be a plot twist.
Keep ReadingShow less
FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737-31S Kam Air passenger plane with people evacuated from Afghanistan on board, lands at Boryspil International Airport outside Kiev, on August 23, 2021. (Photo by SERGEI GAPON/AFP via Getty Images)
A 13-year-old Afghan boy made a dangerous journey from Kabul to Delhi by hiding in the landing gear compartment of a Kam Air passenger aircraft, officials confirmed.
The boy, from Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, sneaked into Kabul airport on Sunday (21) and stowed away in the rear central wheel well of flight RQ-4401. The plane, a Kam Airlines service, landed in Delhi after a journey of about two hours.
Airport staff were alerted when the teenager was seen wandering near the aircraft shortly after it touched down at Indira Gandhi International Airport around 11am. He was detained by airline personnel and handed over to India’s Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
During questioning, the boy said he had entered the compartment out of “curiosity”. He reportedly told officials he had wanted to travel to Iran and did not know that the flight was bound for Delhi.
After being held for several hours, the boy was repatriated to Kabul on the same aircraft, which departed around 12.30 pm on Sunday.
Security checks were immediately carried out on the aircraft. A small red-coloured speaker, believed to belong to the boy, was found inside the landing gear area. The plane was later declared safe following thorough inspection and anti-sabotage checks.
Aviation experts say surviving such journeys is extremely rare. The wheel well of an aircraft is not pressurised or heated, exposing stowaways to extreme cold, lack of oxygen, and the risk of falling when the landing gear is deployed.
While there have been several reported cases of people attempting to flee their countries by hiding inside aircraft, many do not survive the journey. In 2022, a 22-year-old Kenyan man was discovered alive in the wheel well of a cargo plane in Amsterdam, but such instances remain exceptional.
Officials described the Delhi case as “extraordinary” given the risks involved. “It is almost impossible for someone to survive in that part of the plane,” one security officer said.
The incident has once again raised questions about airport security in Kabul. Reports suggest the boy managed to trail behind a group of passengers before slipping into the aircraft unnoticed.
Though his journey ended without tragedy, experts warn that most stowaways attempting to hide in wheel wells die either in mid-air or shortly before landing.
(with inputs from PTI)
Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz (L) and Hussain Talat run between the wickets during the Asia Cup 2025 Super Four Twenty20 international cricket match against Sri Lanka at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on September 23, 2025. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)
PAKISTAN kept their Asia Cup campaign alive with a hard-fought five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a Super Four clash in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (23).
With both teams having lost their opening fixtures of the second round, defeat wasn't an option and Pakistan's bowlers rose to the occasion tying Sri Lanka down to 133-8 on a featherbed of a pitch.
Chasing what looked a modest target, Pakistan made heavy weather of it. After a brisk opening stand of 45, their innings went into free fall at 80-5.
But a cool-headed 58-run partnership off 41 balls for the sixth wicket between Mohammad Nawaz and Hussain Talat steadied the ship and saw them home with 12 deliveries in hand.
Nawaz struck a breezy 38 off 24 balls, while Talat anchored the innings with an unbeaten 32 off 30.
Earlier, Shaheen Shah Afridi set the tone with the new ball, nipping out Sri Lanka's in-form openers inside his first two overs.
The left-arm quick returned at the death to dismiss top-scorer Kamindu Mendis and closed with figures of three for 28 -- a spell that put Pakistan on the front foot.
Talat and Haris Rauf chipped in with two wickets apiece, while leggie Abrar Ahmed bowled with miserly precision, giving away just eight runs in his four overs and dismissing fellow leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
Sri Lanka, unbeaten in the first round with three wins on the trot, have hit a brick wall in the Super Four, losing to Bangladesh on Saturday (21) and now to Pakistan.
With only India left to play, their chances of making the final are hanging by a thread.
Put in to bat, Sri Lanka slumped to 58-5 and looked set to be bundled out inside 20 overs.
But Kamindu Mendis dug in, compiling a fighting 50 off 44 balls with three fours and two sixes, his third half-century in T20Is.
He stitched together a 43-run stand with Chamika Karunaratne for the seventh wicket, but the former champions were still left high and dry.