Latest news with #SOS
UPI
a day ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Morgan Wallen's 'I'm the Problem' tops U.S. album chart for 5th week
Morgan Wallen's "I'm the Problem" has topped the Billboard 200 chart for a fifth week. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo June 28 (UPI) -- Country star Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem is the No. 1 album in the United States for a fifth week. Coming in at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Saturday is Ateez's Golden Hour: Part 3, followed by Lil Tecca's Dopamine at No. 3, SZA's SOS at No. 4 and Wallen's One Thing at a Time at No. 5. Rounding out the top tier are Sabrina Carpenter's Short n'Sweet at No. 6, Brandon Lake's King of Hearts at No. 7, Kendrick Lamar's GNX at No. 8, Wallen's Dangerous: The Double Album at No. 9 and PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake's $ome $exy $ongs 4 U at No. 10. Glastonbury Festival 2025 rolls on with big performances Alanis Morissette at the Glastonbury Festival in Glastonbury, England, on June 27, 2025. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
SABC Bill withdrawal crisis and South Africa's public broadcasting future
The six months of silence since Communications Minister Solly Malatsi withdrew the SABC Bill is unacceptable. The Speaker must urgently gazette that withdrawal, in line with the rules of the National Assembly. Silence is killing the SABC. For years, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has weathered waves of political noise, controversy, and intense public scrutiny — the kind of attention that once threatened its survival. But today, it is not the noise, but the silence that endangers its future. On 10 November 2024, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi withdrew the SABC Bill in terms of Rule 334 of the National Assembly Rules, following sustained pressure from civil society organisations, including the SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition (SOS), and various broadcasters. In line with Rule 277(3), the Speaker of the National Assembly was required to formally gazette this withdrawal. Six months later, this has yet to happen. Instead, the process has evolved into political infighting. On 21 December 2024, the Parliamentary committee on communications and digital technologies issued a statement rejecting outright Minister Malatsi's decision, describing the withdrawal as both unilateral and unconstitutional. Deputy communications minister (also former minister), Mondli Gungubele vented on X, opposing the withdrawal, while civil society organisations, including SOS, supported the withdrawal of the flawed SABC Bill. On 8 February 2025, News24 reported that Deputy President Paul Mashatile had convened a meeting with the Speaker and Minister Malatsi to understand the reasons behind the withdrawal. However, by 2 March, TimesLIVE reported that the deputy president, in his role as leader of Government Business, was on the receiving end of a backlash from ANC ministers after he presented and supported Malatsi's rationale for withdrawing the Bill. To date, the Speaker has not gazetted this withdrawal, the Cabinet and the parliamentary committee have gone quiet, and the public has been left in the dark. This silence goes beyond mere procedural oversight – it is symptomatic of a severe lack of political will to protect and reform the public broadcaster. The SABC Bill In October 2023, former Minister Gungubele introduced the SABC Bill in Parliament. The Bill seeks to repeal the outdated Broadcasting Act 4 of 1999 and should ideally pave the way for the SABC to address its persistent financial woes, at which it dismally fails. Civil society organisations, including SOS, raised myriad concerns about the Bill's implications on media freedom and sustainability, warning it would erode the SABC's editorial independence, entrench political interference and delay much-needed financial reform. The SOS Coalition, in a joint submission with Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF), highlighted the following concerning flaws: Policy vacuum: The Bill is being introduced in the absence of pre-requisite policy, the Audio and Audio-Visual Media Services, and online content safety; Policy U-turn: It proposes the establishment of a commercial board when it is clearly stated in the first iteration of the Audio and Audio-Visual policy that 'the idea of the commercial division cross-subsidising the public division has been a failure from inception'; Retrogressive: The Bill proposes that the group chief executive officer, a business-oriented executive who lacks journalistic experience, be the editor-in-chief, while overlooking the head of news, who has the appropriate journalistic background and is involved in daily editorial matters; No funding model: The Bill promises that the minister will develop a funding model framework, but only in three years, and not a funding model, while the SABC's financial challenges worsen; and Ministerial powers: The minister is granted powers that are contrary to prominent court judgments that specifically require protection of the independence of the public broadcaster from ministerial interference. One case in particular is the SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and Others v South African Broadcasting Corporation SOC Limited and Others; SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and Others v South African Broadcasting Corporation SOC Limited and Others (81056/14) [2017] ZA. In the Bill, the minister has powers to interfere with processes at the SABC and appoint board members of the commercial board, the interim board, and extend the board's term after the end of the second term by six months or until a new board is appointed. These concerns justify the withdrawal by Minister Malatsi, who agrees that the Bill is 'totally flawed'. The withdrawal of the Bill was within Minister Malatsi's purview, and he followed due process. The Cabinet has no formal role in this process and its subsequent involvement has caused further delays. Following the meeting between the deputy president, the Speaker, and the minister, and in particular the endorsement of Minister Malatsi's withdrawal by the deputy president, it remains unclear why Cabinet has not yet directed the Speaker to gazette the Bill. The sooner the withdrawal is formally gazetted, the sooner the department can begin the necessary consultations and revisions to address the flaws in the Bill. The continued silence is unacceptable. The Speaker must urgently gazette the Bill's withdrawal, in line with the rules of the National Assembly. Similarly, Cabinet and political parties must demonstrate the political will to support meaningful reform of the SABC rather than delay this reform through political infighting. The public broadcaster is a cornerstone of our democracy and provides millions of South Africans with critical information to make informed decisions about their lives – it needs to be safeguarded and supported to fulfil its public mandate. DM
Forbes
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
ABBA Nearly Charts A Brand New No. 1 Hit
ABBA earns four new top 10s on the Official Vinyl Singles chart, led by 'So Long' at No. 2 after the ... More band reissued several smashes on collectible vinyl. Studioaufnahme der schwedischen Popgruppe ABBA, Deutschland 1970er Jahre. (Photo by Siegfried Pilz/United Archives via Getty Images) ABBA has long been known as a singles act, with many of the group's tunes proving far more popular decades after their release than the band's traditional albums. Throughout the years the Swedish musicians were together, they produced dozens of popular cuts, some of which remain among the most successful in pop music history. Multiple ABBA tracks reappear on the charts in the United Kingdom this week after the group reissued them on vinyl. The superstars almost claim a new No. 1 as a decades-old composition surges on the charts. ABBA Misses No. 1 By One Space ABBA scores four new top 10 hits on the Official Vinyl Singles chart this week, and remarkably, the group's titles appear one after another in a hugely successful streak. The band nearly secures a new leader, but just misses the throne as "So Long" opens at No. 2. The Official Vinyl Singles tally is led instead by Biffy Clyro, whose "A Little Love" launches at No. 1. Three Additional New Top 10 Hits As "So Long" starts in the runner-up space, three other ABBA cuts follow closely behind in the next trio of positions. "Mamma Mia," "SOS," and "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" debut at Nos. 3, 4, and 5, respectively this week. ABBA's Dozens of Top 10 Smashes ABBA has now snagged an impressive 33 top 10 hits on the Official Vinyl Singles tally. That roundup includes six No. 1 smashes, including iconic releases like "Waterloo," "Ring Ring," "Lay All Your Love on Me," and the more recent release "I Still Have Faith in You," all of which have spent at least one frame at the summit. ABBA's Vinyl Reissues After ABBA issued "Mamma Mia," "So Long," "SOS," and "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" on collectible vinyl, those tracks also manage to debut inside the top 10 on the Official Physical Singles chart, though they rank in slightly different positions than on the vinyl list. Each composition also becomes an immediate top 40 bestseller on the all-format, all-genre Official Singles Sales tally. On that roster, "Mamma Mia" was the top performer, as it enters at No. 22. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" followed at No. 32, with "So Long" and "SOS" sandwiched between the two.
News18
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
‘Not Typical Officer': Sanjay Narvekar On His Role In CID 2
Last Updated: Daya is portrayed as an antagonist in the upcoming show who is working secretly with Shreya to hide some evidence. The second season of CID is getting more intense with each passing day, thanks to its unexpected twists and turns, gripping storyline and return of beloved characters. Featuring Shivaji Satam, Dayanand Shetty, Ajay Nagrath, Shraddha Musale, Aditya Srivastava, Ansha Sayed, and Hrishikesh Pandey, the makers are going all out to make the second season a fan favourite. The upcoming episodes are no different. In the promo shared on Instagram, the team is investigating the murders of some police officers. But Daya appears to have turned into an antagonist working secretly with Shreya to hide some evidence. As the murder mystery intensifies, the high commission sends a new officer to uncover the truth behind the murders of police officers and Daya's real intentions. The role of this new officer will be played by actor Sanjay Narvekar. He will be the SOS officer, aka Superintendent Omkar Sawant. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sony Entertainment Television (@sonytvofficial) Reflecting on his new role in CID 2, Sanjay told Bollywood Life, 'The SOS officer has come from Delhi to investigate in the CID office after a series of murders. Five officers are killed, and the blame probably falls on the CID team. The investigation officers from Delhi think that there is someone in CID who is committing these murders.)" Elaborating further, he said, 'That is why SOS officer Superintendent Omkar Sawant has been sent from Delhi. He is not a typical police officer. He likes tea, and whatever incidents happen, he relates them to tea. If there is too much sugar in tea, it gets too sweet. Similarly, if this accused runs away from here, then he casts suspicion here, and running away means a mess. So that's how he relates." 'He connects everything with examples of tea, so it adds a little comedy to it. So the dialogue of CID, 'Kuch toh gadbad hai,' he doesn't treat cases like that, he treats the case lightly. But while solving the case, he is a dangerous police guy. That's why his character gets affected," he added. Sanjay Narvekar has earlier impressed audiences with his stint in shows like Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin and Udne Ki Aasha. He is also a loved personality in the Marathi film industry. First Published:
News18
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Neeru Bajwa To Mark Her Bollywood Comeback With Ajay Devgn In Son Of Sardaar 2
Last Updated: Neeru Bajwa returns to Bollywood in Son of Sardaar 2, starring opposite Ajay Devgn. The film, directed by Vijay Kumar Arora, also features Mrunal Thakur and releases on July 25. We've got exciting news for Son of Sardaar fans! The queen of Punjabi cinema, Neeru Bajwa, is all set to make a grand comeback to Bollywood after years of reigning in the regional film industry. From Jatt & Juliet to Sardaar Ji, the actress has headlined a string of record-breaking Punjabi blockbusters. But did you know—before becoming the most charming Pollywood diva, Neeru had already made her mark in several Hindi films early in her career? And now, after almost a decade, she's returning to the Bollywood screen with a significant role in Ajay Devgn's much-anticipated sequel, Son of Sardaar 2. As per multiple reports, Neeru will be seen opposite Ajay Devgn, playing his on-screen wife. It marks the first-ever collaboration between the two superstars—Ajay, known for captivating audiences with his signature style and powerful performances, and Neeru, celebrated as one of the most skilled and beloved actresses in Punjabi cinema. Naturally, fans are thrilled to see this fresh pairing steal the spotlight in a film packed with action, humour, and cultural flair. Earlier, news of Mrunal Thakur joining the cast had already created a buzz online. In an Instagram post, Mrunal revealed that on July 25 last year, the film began shooting. Sharing a picture from the first day on set, she wrote, 'Last year, the same day we started shooting for Son of Sardaar 2 and this year, the same day it's releasing. 25th July it is." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mrunal Thakur (@mrunalthakur) The official posters, featuring Ajay Devgn in the iconic role of Jaggi, have already struck a chord with fans. A new poster featuring both Neeru Bajwa and Mrunal Thakur is expected to drop soon. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) Son of Sardaar 2 is the sequel to the 2012 hit action-comedy Son of Sardaar, which starred Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, and Sonakshi Sinha. While Ajay and Sanjay are returning to the franchise, the storyline and female leads will be fresh this time around. With Neeru Bajwa and Mrunal Thakur stepping into the SOS universe, expectations are high to see these new faces shine in the film's comedy- and action-packed, Punjabi-flavoured world. Directed by Vijay Kumar Arora and written by Jagdeep Singh Sidhu, the film is co-produced by Devgn Films and Jio Studios. Son of Sardaar 2 will hit theatres on July 25. First Published:
