Portrait News

This Padma awardee could barely see but his intricate artworks are a sight to behold As 84-year-old Manohar Devadoss draws you into a conversation, you can’t help but notice the sparkle in his eye. Eager to tell you stories from his very eventful life, he has a way with words — and with his hands. So much so that he has over 200 artworks to his name despite suffering from retinal degeneration, a condition that led him to lose sight first in one eye and then eventually in the other. Honoured recently with the Padma Shri, most of his works have...

Roger Kahn, Who Lifted Sportswriting With ‘Boys of Summer,’ Dies at 92 Roger Kahn, whose 1972 book about the Brooklyn Dodgers of the early 1950s, “The Boys of Summer,” melded reportage, sentiment and sociology in a way that stamped baseball as a subject fit for serious writers and serious readers, died on Thursday in Mamaroneck, N.Y. He was 92. His son Gordon Jacques Kahn confirmed the death, at a nursing home. Mr. Kahn had most recently resided in Stone Ridge, N.Y., in Ulster County, after living most of his life in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Source: The New York Times

Impeachment Witness Alexander Vindman Will Be Transferred From the White House The White House plans to transfer Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, whose testimony in the House impeachment hearings infuriated President Trump and his allies, out of the National Security Council staff as early as Friday, two senior administration officials said. Mr. Trump essentially confirmed the move in brief comments with reporters before leaving on a day trip to North Carolina. “I’m not happy with him,” the president said of Colonel Vindman. His senior officials, he added, would inform the colonel of his future soon. “They’ll make that decision.” Source: The New York...

How Pete Buttigieg Became the Surprise of the Iowa Caucuses OELWEIN, Iowa — Two days before the Iowa caucuses, Pete Buttigieg stopped for a town hall event at the Oelwein Coliseum, a 92-year-old music venue that in its heyday hosted the likes of Lawrence Welk and Sammy Kaye. Recent history suggested there weren’t many Democrats to win over in Oelwein: After President Barack Obama won surrounding Fayette County by 12 percentage points in 2012, Donald J. Trump carried it by 19 points four years later. During the event’s question period, one man described himself to Mr. Buttigieg as a fiscally responsible “lifelong Republican” and...

Anil Ambani is no longer a wealthy businessman: His lawyers tell UK court London: Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani was a wealthy businessman and now he is not as a result of a “disastrous turn of events” in the telecom market in India, his lawyers told a UK court on Friday as they fought a bid by top Chinese banks to recover $680 million from the Indian businessman. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, on behalf of itself, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China, had sought summary judgment against Ambani over an alleged breach of...

Publisher cancels Jeanine Cummins tour for American Dirt over safety fears The publisher of Jeanine Cummins’ controversial novel American Dirt has cancelled the remainder of her promotional tour, citing concerns for her safety. The novel about a Mexican mother and her young son fleeing to the US border had been praised widely before its 21 January release and was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club. But Mexican American writers have been among those criticizing American Dirt for stereotypical depictions of Mexicans and the large profit she stands to make from the story. Cummins is of Irish and Puerto Rican background....

Author Marian Keyes has confessed she only reads books written by women because she feels men’s lives are too limited Bestselling author Marian Keyes has revealed that she only reads books written by women because men’s lives are ‘so limited’. The 56-year-old writer, who has sold more than 33 million copies of her often female-focused novels worldwide, said that she gravitates towards literature written by women and is fed up with them being treated as second class. ‘I only read women. I know that men write books. But their lives are so limited. It’s such a small and narrow experience,’...

Activist Paul Singer builds close to $3 billion stake in SoftBank Legendary activist investor Paul Singer is taking on one of his most high-profile targets yet: Masayoshi Son. Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. has built a stake of close to $3 billion in SoftBank Group Corp., according to people familiar with the matter. The New York-based hedge fund believes SoftBank is one of the world’s most undervalued companies and could easily finance a share buyback of as much as $20 billion by trimming investments in companies like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Sprint Corp. and others. SoftBank’s shares jumped as much as...

The bhujia king: Haldiram’s’ Shiv Kishan Agarwal Despite my turning up at his office on time, it’s nearly 2 hours before Shiv Kishan Agarwal grants me an audience. It’s 4.30pm on a Saturday but the chairman of the Nagpur-based Haldiram’s is apparently in the thick of things, barely looking up as I walk in. His attention is on his assistant, who is peeling the many boxes of soan papdi lying on a broad wooden table between us. The mild scent of ghee and pistachios of the crisp, flaky confection is starting to take over. Shiv Kishan checks the papdi’s texture, occasionally pressing it with his...

‘Division Amongst Us’: Imran Khan Attacks OIC as Saudi Arabia Unwilling to Accept Kashmir Request New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has slammed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for failing to speak in one voice over Kashmir as Saudi Arabia continues to show reluctance to accept Islamabad’s request for an immediate meeting on the issue. Indirectly chiding Saudi Arabia and UAE for diluting Pakistan’s stand, Khan said: “The reason is that we have no voice and there is a total division amongst [us]. We can’t even come together as a whole on the OIC meeting on Kashmir.” Source: News 18