Fans throng theatres for ‘Kaala’
Superstar Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Kaala’ is out in theatres and fans are celebrating the release in their usual style queuing up for the early morning shows. Theatres in Chennai, however, witnessed a subdued first show. Though most screens ran housefull, the celebrations were missing, probably due to surprise unseasonal showers in the city.
Rally for a name
Under the brassy stare of Alexander the Great statue, 3,000 people gathered near the ancient Greek ruler’s birthplace Wednesday to demand that Greece takes a tough stance with Macedonia in talks over the neighbouring country’s name.
The statue of Alexander the Great is seen among Greek flags during a rally in Pella, northern Greece. Thousands of protesters gather near the birthplace of Alexander the Great in northern Greece to demand that the Greek government takes a tough stance with Macedonia over the latter country's name. | Photo Credit: AP
Macedonia and Greece launched negotiations this year to end their 27-year name dispute, which has hampered Macedonia’s efforts to join NATO and the European Union. While the Macedonia government in Skopje denies it has designs on the Greek province, Athens says the name Macedonia also represents the ancient Greek heritage typified by Alexander, who started from northern Greece to carve out an empire reaching India.
Palestine thanks Argentina
A woman lays down an Argentina shirt with a message reading in Spanish: "Thank you for being on the right side of the history" in Barcelona, Spain. Argentina has called off a World Cup warmup match against Israel following protests by pro-Palestinian groups. | Photo Credit: AP
Even as Israel demanded FIFA to investigate “threats against Argentinian players” that forced them to cancel a match in Jerusalem, Palestinian supporters have welcomed Argentina’s decision to pull out from a friendly match against Israel.
At the news conference in Ramallah, was a placard saying “From Palestine, thank you Messi” with Argentinian and Palestinian flags, under a big photo of Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub posing with the Barcelona ace.