Following a five-year freeze, State-backed China Eastern Airlines will resume flights between Shanghai and Delhi as of November 9 with direct air links between China and India. During this period, which has been largely triggered by aggressive US trade policies, the airline’s website has announced.
The airline’s online ticket sales platform announced on Saturday that the flights will run three times per week on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday.
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China Eastern Airlines did not respond to the Reuters news agency’s email request for comment right away.
Following a five-year freeze, India’s foreign ministry announced earlier this month that commercial flights between the two neighbors would resume.
The announcement came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China for a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s regional security bloc, which was held there. Modi expressed concern about India’s growing bilateral trade deficit while the two sides discussed ways to improve trade ties.
The foreign ministries of China and India did not respond to inquiries for comment on the flights between Shanghai and Delhi right away.
IndiGo, India’s largest airline, previously announced that flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou would begin every day without stopping.
At the time of the IndiGo announcement, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, which is supported by the state, announced that it would encourage airlines to launch more direct routes, such as those between Guangzhou and Delhi.
In 2020, the two nations suspended direct flights, which were suspended as a result of deadly clashes along their Himalayan border, which caused a protracted military stand-off.
In the worst neighbor-to-neighbour fighting in a decade, 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed.
The diplomatic easing between India and China comes as a result of Donald Trump’s growing trade resentment.
In response to the country continuing to purchase Russian oil, the US president increased the tariff rate to a sluggish 50% in September.
The most fatal single violation of the fragile ceasefire since it came into force eight days ago has been when Israeli forces have killed 11 Palestinians in Gaza.
According to Gaza’s civil defense, a tank shell was fired by Israeli forces at a civilian vehicle carrying the Abu Shaaban family on Friday evening.
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According to civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal, the Israeli military shot the car as the family attempted to inspect it, killing seven children and three women.
According to Basal, “they could have been warned or handled differently,” adding that “what happened confirms that the occupation is still thirsty for blood and insists on crimes against innocent civilians.”
Hamas called the “massacre” and claimed that the family had been unfairly targeted. The group demanded that mediators and US President Donald Trump repress Israel to abide by the ceasefire agreement.
In that attack, Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians who had violated the so-called “yellow line,” which was intended to be the Israeli military’s boundary under the ceasefire.
Many Palestinians, according to Al Jazeera’s reporter from Gaza, are unable to access the internet and are unaware of the location where Israeli forces are still stationed along the demarcation lines, putting families at risk.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has stated that soon the Gaza yellow lines will be marked out for clarity.
According to Khoudary, approximately 53 percent of Gaza is still under Israeli control.
At least 28 Palestinians have been killed by Israel as a result of the agreement’s continuing exchange of captives for Palestinian prisoners, severely restricting the flow of desperately needed aid, including food and medicine.
In the Shujayea neighborhood of Gaza City, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians last week.
Israel has remained closed, preventing large-scale aid deliveries into the enclave, and has continued to encircle the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
This week, the UN issued a warning that aid convoys are battling to get to famine-stricken areas, where less than six liters of drinking water are available. This is far below emergency standards.
Since the ceasefire’s conclusion, the World Food Programme has delivered an average of 560 tons of food each day to Gaza, which is far below what is required to stop widespread malnourishment and stop famine.
Hamas has stated that it will continue to support the ceasefire, including returning the remains of Israeli prisoners who are still buried beneath Gaza’s rubble.
On Friday night, the group handed back the body of another captive, bringing the total to ten since the truce started. Israel has obstructed their entry, but Hass said it will need heavy machinery and digging tools to find more remains.
Louis Tomlinson, a former member of One Direction, has made an announcement about the tragic passing of his bandmate Liam Payne, who tragically died from a balcony in Benous Aires, Argentina, a year ago.
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A year after the tragic fall of the star from a hotel balcony in Benous Aires, Argentina, Louis Tomlinson has tearfully admitted he will “never really accept” his friend Liam Payne.
The grief he feels around his late bandmate Liam’s passing, who was just 31 when he passed away, has been addressed openly by One Direction star Louis.
Not just Louis’s grief, though, is heartbreaking: his sister Félicité passed away from an accidental overdose in 2019 and Louis’ month Joanna Deakin passed away from leukaemia in 2016 and his sister Joanna Deakin passed away from leukaemia in 2019.
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Louis has now admitted in a candid interview that he believed his prior struggles with grief would almost equip him. He told The Independent, “I naively thought that I’d be a little bit more well-versed in grief than other people my age,” he said.
Before he spoke of Liam’s death, Louis said, “I thought that might mean something, but it didn’t at all,” adding that I’ll never really understand. I don’t believe anything.
Elsewhere in the interview, Louis gushed over his late friend, revealing how he and his fellow bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan would look up to Liam after Louis described him as a “vital” part of the band in a tribute to him. He added: “In between him playing that role and also doing a huge chunk of the songwriting… it’s not even up for debate.”
Louis also looked back on his fondest memories of Liam, revealed he would “always entertain me”, while he would also always show up to support him, too – for example when Liam turned up to the premiere for his 2023 documentary, All of Those Voices, or appeared as Louis’ guest on The X Factor during his judging stint.
Louis remarked, “Whenever he had the chance to be there for me, wherever he might have been, even if he had been struggling, he would always, always be there for me.” And that is how Liam would appear in front of his friends, which Louis believes is “a proof of who he was as a person””.
The singer’s most recent open interview comes after he revealed the tragic death of his pal.
Louis Tomlinson revealed Niall Horan informed him about the death of the pair’s former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, saying “we all looked up to him”.
Tomlinson claimed to be in Los Angeles when he first learned of Payne’s passing while speaking with Steven Bartlett of The Diary of a CEO podcast.
In LA, in the car. I learned this through Niall, he said, adding that his statement to Bartlett evoked a similar sentiment to his sister Felicite’s 2019 accidental drug overdose death.
My 150 percent wasn’t nearly enough, which is the same feeling I had with Felicite, and I think anyone who is struggling might have this feeling.
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“And that’s when I realize I could have actually helped, because it was so much deeper than what I could have done for him,” I think. At the time in his life, he was undoubtedly struggling.
A Russian model and actress came to prominence in a controversial way when her mother was accused of “sexualizing” her daughter through social media posts.
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As a child star, Kristina worked with Armani, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana(Image: Daily Record)
Kristina Pimenova was dubbed the ‘most beautiful girl in the world’ when she was just nine years old.
The young girl’s blue eyes and long blonde hair had catapulted her to worldwide fame but the photos of the schoolgirl were branded ‘disturbing’ by some.
The Russian youngster had been a model since she was just three years old when she went viral thanks to pictures posted on social media by her mother Glikeriya Pimenova.
However, Glikeriya was criticized for “sexualizing” her child through the images, but she maintained that her daughter’s “poses” were genuine, even in those taken at the beach.
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She told Mail Online in 2004: “I am certain in my mind all her photographs are absolutely innocent. I have never asked her to take this or that pose, and in fact I must say she does not especially like it when I am photographing her, so I do it quickly and when she doesn’t notice.”
Kristina continued to collaborate with fashion juggernauts like Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Burberry, and Vogue.
The 19-year-old, who was born in Moscow, is currently a student at a drama school and has appeared in movies like The Russian Bride, Secret Neighbour, and Creators: The Past.
The child star speaks positively about finding fame so young and is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying: “Modeling happened naturally for me when I was younger, I was just like: ‘Let’s try this’, I didn’t even know what it was.
It felt like a game because I was just playing. It was a significant period of my early life for me. It eventually led to friends traveling, so it was only natural.
Kristina continues to model but acting is her main focus. Her Instagram biography reads: “Remember, beauty is inside”.
Thylane Blondeau, the most beautiful young woman in the world, was crowned the “most beautiful young girl in the world” at the age of six when she modelled for Jean Paul Gaultier. She began working for Versace, Ralph Lauren, L’Oreal, Chanel, and Dolce and Gabbana.
Thylane’s Vogue Enfant feature received criticism for having “a lot of sexualized styling and positioning,” which attracted widespread condemnation. However, her mother, Veronica Loubry, defended the provocative shoot, saying, “The necklace that she’s wearing is the only thing that shocks me about the picture.”
Claire Sweeney, an actress and singer from Coronation Street and Brookside, reflects on the groundbreaking soap’s heyday and tells her tales on screen and on the air.
Tabish Ali and Mitya Underwood
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Claire has been a familiar face on television since in the early ’90s, when she played Lindsey Corkhill on Brookside(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Claire Sweeney is one of Britain’s most multi-talented stars — actress, singer and TV personality — whose rise from Liverpudlian butcher’s daughter to West End leading lady and soap favourite has made her a household name. She first appeared in Brookside as Lindsey Corkhill before conquering reality TV (Celebrity Big Brother, Dancing on Ice ) and musical theatre (including Chicago).
Today, Claire – who recently paid moving tribute to boxer Ricky Hatton following his death, after the pair briefly dated following their stint on Dancing On Ice, brings her wit, drama and charm to new audiences — and in this exclusive interview with OK!, reveals the defining moments behind her journey to fame – and the sliding doors moment that changed everything….
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Claire, growing up in Liverpool, balancing theatre school with working in your father’s butcher shop, what initially drew you to a career in entertainment?
I was obsessed with Fame, the TV show, like most 1980s kids at the time, but that’s just me. My mother was a barmaid, and my father was a butcher, and I started dancing before enrolling in stage school in Liverpool. There’s a teacher there — if you watch Benidorm, she was Johnny Vegas’s mum – who singled me out and said, “You can sing” and said, “Now, you need a thing called an equity card. You visit social clubs, sing in old people’s homes, or whatever else, gain knowledge and a credit card. And my father responded, “I can sort that out.”
Your dad was instrumental, wasn’t he?
Yes, he had a van and he’d go around all the pubs, open the back doors, flog meat out the back, right? So he decided to bribe the concert secretary of the Montro Social Club with a leg of lamb to let me sing. So that was my very first gig. He gave him a leg of lamb, let me sing, and I carried on from there. It was quite funny because every Christmas I got very, very busy, but there were lots of turkeys going in the back of clubs! God bless me dad. The only way he knew how to give me a step up was to give us meat.
How did Brookside and Coronation Street compare to reality television programs like Dancing on Ice and Big Brother?
Starting out — I started on cruise ships first as a singer, on summer seasons, pantos… And then got into Brookside, which was great for me. It’s so inconvenient in our business. Our travels are constant. You’re never in one place. I literally learned the art of acting on the job in order for me to be able to compete in my favorite TV show and to master the art of acting, which I had never done before. Then, to be working in one place every day and working alongside my idols, Barry Grant and Jimmy Corkill, was beyond joyous.
How did it come to be that you lived with your partner on the first season of Celebrity Big Brother in 2001?
I can recall being invited to the BAFTA Awards along with Brookside, and there was a Big Brother-style television program at the time. I never watched it. Reality TV didn’t exist at the time. There was nothing like that in the jungle or Strictly.
I was chatting to a guy at the next table and at the end of the night, a spotlight came on him. Everyone stood up and gave him a standing ovation and I thought it was me – it turned out it was director, Richard Curtis. He was in charge of Comic Relief and they were doing a Celebrity Big Brother for Comic Relief – Mel B had just dropped out. He phoned Brookside and said, “I met Claire at the BAFTAs. Would you like to do it?”
You did, and that chance meeting did, didn’t it open many doors? !
I did, and it changed everything. Given that it was all very kind at the time, I decided to leave Brookside and go to a house for two weeks. There was no one trying to stitch you up or get a headline. So I did that, then I left, and then my dream jobs arrived.
I thought, “This is simple,” after years of schlepping around clubs, summer months, and pantos, to suddenly spend two weeks in a house, drink tea, and then obtain all your dream jobs. It was such a great chance encounter.
You’ve starred in Britain’s most beloved TV dramas. What role stands out?
I grew up watching Coronation Street. So to be part of an iconic show — even this morning, I was filming a scene with Dame Maureen Lipman and walking on the cobbles – I still pinch myself every day.
Brookside, however, was revolutionary. Only four channels were present. Millions of people watched the soaps at the time. Additionally, producer Phil Redmond was cautious with his actions. With edgy plots, he was always ahead of the pack. So, the joy of both is very different. I count my blessings every day.
You also have well-known musical theater credits and are a well-known singer. What does music and the stage mean to you?
I enjoy performing musical theater. I’ll never get over my disappointment with Southport Youth Theatre, having to audition for the Hair, and not getting the part at all! I think Martha, whose mother made the teas, got the part. It’s been let go by me. But that was always my dream. Even when I was in Brookside, every year we’d do a Christmas concert and I’d get up and do all my Lloyd Webber stuff, all my show songs.
You left Brookside because of it, isn’t it?
Yes . I’d just turned 30 and I went to Phil Redmond and said, “Phil, I’m 30. I recently ended a six-year relationship. I need to go see a musical to fulfill my dream. And I auditioned for Chicago. I auditioned for Chicago for the role in Celebrity Big Brother shortly after leaving Brookside, and my career just exploded.
It was nice to go into Chicago and leave. When I do my cabaret, I talk all about that. I discuss my experiences with Patrick Swayze in Guys and Dolls and all the other shows over the years. Isn’t it nice, is it not? I feel very lucky.
You’ve always made a charitable contribution from your platform. Can you tell us about some of the charities you support?
Since I was a teenager, I’ve been a Claire House employee. I contributed to their teenage ward’s million-dollar fundraising effort. And recently, I’ve got involved with another charity which I hold very dear to my heart actually — Brinsworth House for the Royal Variety. I went there and sang there while contemplating, “I’m getting my name down here,” for all the old-timers performing. I’ll be staying here. This looks lovely”. singing Ladies Who Lunch while leaning on the piano.
I’ve lost a lot of my friends to AIDS, so I’ve always been a part of causes like the Terrence Higgins Trust. And I’ve been to Africa several times for Save the Children and Comic Relief. And that was a fantastic opportunity to see the real impact of the home-based money raised.
What is a memory from those African trips that you find most moving?
I remember going to Sierra Leone and it was all the kids who were affected — the gun soldiers. It’s amazing to be able to actually see the money that you can make when you’re at home and making a phone call to Comic Relief, which I’ve done myself many, many times over the years, and to actually go to Africa and see where the money is going.
Brinsworth means a lot to me, but I’m also a firm believer that charity can start at home as well. And I think there’s sometimes that disconnect between the money that we give and actually seeing the benefit of it to people.
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Tabish Ali from the Champions Speakers organization conducted this exclusive interview with Claire Sweeney. For more information, visit champions-speakers. . uk
Prince Harry has made some important choices both during his royal life and in the decades that have followed, but one of them riled a significant royal into disbelief.
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Prince Harry returned to the UK for his grandfather’s funeral(Image: Amy Katz/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)
It’s been over half a decade since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the nation by announcing their intention to step back from their roles as full-time working royals. The couple felt that their situation within the monarchy had become unbearable and change was necessary. However, their public declaration of wanting a ‘half-in, half-out’ approach to royal duties posed significant challenges for the rest of the Royal Family.
The Sussexes had been living in Canada prior to their shocking announcement, which led Meghan to move there with Archie. The details of their departure were clarified at the now-infamous Sandringham Summit, where Harry was able to attend alone.
Megxit: Inside the Sandringham Summit, a Channel Five documentary, explored the events that took place behind closed doors at this crucial meeting and its implications for the monarchy over the long term.
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One expert disclosed that a senior member of the House of Windsor was reportedly “horrified” by Harry’s decision to step back: his grandfather, Prince Philip. In the documentary, royal author Andrew Morton stated, “Prince Philip is someone who doesn’t take fools gladly, and he was horrified that they had come to a situation where the Royal Family were deciding whether to split up or not.”
The late Duke of Edinburgh chose to leave Sandringham rather than confront him because of how deeply he felt about his grandson Harry. According to journalist Emily Andrews, “Philip was so enraged that he wouldn’t even go there.” He claimed to have been unable to bring himself to see his grandson because he thought it was a grave dereliction of duty.
Prince Philip was allegedly “very much the head of the family” when it came to private affairs, despite always relying on his wife, the late Queen Elizabeth II, for decisions regarding matters of the crown.
Prince Philip shared a close bond with both Prince Harry and his elder brother Prince William, as well as his six other grandchildren. He was praised as being “brilliantly effective” in supporting the two brothers following the tragic loss of their mother in 1997.
The boys were on the Balmoral staff when they learned Diana had passed away, according to author Tina Brown, who noted that Prince Philip, who had effectively lost his own mother at the age of 10 when she was imprisoned for three years in Switzerland, was brilliantly effective with his grandsons, offering them gruff tenderness and outdoor activities like stalking and hiking.
The Independent has reported that during the planning of Princess Diana’s funeral, Prince Philip reminded those involved in organising the day that “It’s about the boys, they’ve lost their mother.”
On the day of the funeral, he also pledged his support, telling William and Harry, “I’ll walk if you walk.”
Prince Philip passed away in the year following the Sandringham Summit and Harry’s decision to step down from his royal duties, just one month after the Sussexes’ explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they explained their reasons for leaving.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Prince Harry was able to attend his grandfather’s funeral in the UK again.
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He wrote of his grandfather in a moving tribute, “He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke.” But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent due to the agony of the past year, he was my grandpa: the master of barbecue, the legend of banter, and the cheeky “right ’til the end””.
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