Malala steals show at star-packed Glamour awards

November 13, 2013

MalalaAwardsNew York, Nov 12: Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yusufzai stole the show at a star-studded awards night here as she was honoured in the presence of flamboyant pop icon Lady Gaga and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2013 were presented to Gaga, Malala and nine other women who have through their works and life been an inspiration to people across the globe.

Malala, 16, was honoured for her "unstoppable drive to change the world" with 'The Girls' Hero' award which included a gift to help The Malala Fund.

Malala Fund helps girls around the world to get the education they deserve. The money raised would go to projects she is most passionate about.

The Fund recently made its first grant, supporting the education of 40 girls in the Swat Valley, an achievement that thrilled Malala who wants to expand to other regions and countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

"We love you, Malala!" people shouted from a balcony in Carnegie Hall, where the annual event was held.

The young Pakistani activist, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in October last year for campaigning for girls' education in Swat Valley in Pakistan, drew the loudest cheers as she went on stage to receive her award.

Accepting her award, she said the pen is much mightier than the gun. "I believe the gun has no power because a gun can only kill," she said.

"But a pen can give life," said Malala who has become a global icon for right to education.

"Nothing can happen when half the population is in the Stone Age," Malala said.

"I believe that when women are educated, then you will see this world change. One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world," she said.

Pop icon Lady Gaga showered praises on the young Pakistani girl, saying the young activist deserves more than anyone else to be on the cover of Glamour magazine.

"If I could forfeit my Glamour cover I would give it to Malala," she said.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to renowned singer-songwriter Barbra Streisand who said it was her voice that allowed her to speak out and "have my opinions heard".

As she accepted her award, Streisand, 71, said it is time the US has a woman as the country's President, referring to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was present at the award show.

"There's never been a woman president," Streisand said, "but I hope that will change very soon...hint, hint! And we really need her now."

Clinton appeared on stage to present the "Couple of the Year" award to former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who have has founded a gun safety organisation, Americans for Responsible Solutions after Giffords was shot in 2011 while she was meeting constituents in a supermarket parking lot.

Giffords has since been recovering but suffers from speech impairment.

"It's been a hard, long time but I'm getting better," she said told the crowd, "I am doing speech therapy, physical therapy, and yoga too. I'm still fighting to make the world a better place, and you can, too," she said.

In another emotional moment during the star-studded awards night, first-grade teacher at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis spoke about the tragic day in 2012 when a gunman shot and injured several kindergarten students.

Roig-DeBellis saved her pupils by making them hide in a small bathroom. "I have lived my life so as not to let that day define myself or my students," said Roig-DeBellis.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Los Angeles, Apr 8: American folk legend John Prine has passed away due to the coronavirus complications. He was 73.

Prine, whose coronavirus diagnosis was revealed on March 17, died on Tuesday, his publicist told Variety.

His wife and manager, Fiona, had on April 3 posted on Twitter that Prine was severely ill after being admitted into intensive care unit of a hospital.

In a career spanning over half a century, Prine churned out heartfelt and unforgettable songs like Angel From Montgomery, Sweet Revenge and In Spite of Ourselves .

He was regarded as one of the greatest by many of his peers including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler and many other music legends.

Born on October 10, 1946 in Maywood, Illinois, the singer-songwritter emerged on the Chicago folk scene in the late 1960s, when he was discovered by country star Kris Kristofferson.

He is still remembered for his 1971 anti-war track Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore , which came at the height of the Vietnam War and is still relevant to many till date.

In recent years, he had taken a step back from music but came back in 2018 with the album The Tree of Forgiveness . It was his first LP in 13 years.

Prine was a winner of two Grammy award for best contemporary folk albums -- The Missing Years (1991) and Fair & Square (2005). He was an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and also bestowed with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

The news of his demise sent shockwaves across the music industry, with stars like Bruce Springsteen, Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler and others paying their tributes to the legend.

Over here on E Street, we are crushed by the loss of John Prine. John and I were "New Dylans" together in the early 70s and he was never anything but the lovliest guy in the world. A true national treasure and a songwriter for the ages. We send our love and prayers to his family, Springsteen wrote in a post on Twitter.

While Musgraves posted, Heartbroken.

Raitt, who recorded Angel from Montgomery in the 1970s, said he is feeling crushed after learning about Prine's demise.

Words can't even come close. I'm crushed by the loss of my dear friend, John. My heart and love go out to Fiona and all the family. For all of us whose hearts are breaking, we will keep singing his songs and holding him near, he wrote.

Midler shared a news link about Prine, saying, He's gone.

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News Network
March 26,2020

Washington, Mar 26: American media personality Kylie Jenner has donated 1 million USD to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
Dr Thais Aliabadi shared the same in an Instagram post on Wednesday, "One of my patients, a beautiful Living Angel just donated $1,000,000 to help us buy hundreds of thousands of masks, face shields, and other protective gear which we will have delivered directly to our first responders, as too many masks at hospitals are disappearing before making their way onto the faces of our front line heroes."

According to Page Six, a representative for Jenner confirmed that the 22-year-old star has made the contribution, and said, "I can confirm that she did make the donation."
Now, thanks to Jenner's generosity, Aliabadi will be able to disperse the hundreds of thousands of various necessary essentials needed to combat the dissemination of COVID-19.
The doctor issued huge gratitude and thanks to the Kylie Cosmetics founder and said that she has "never felt more blessed to be a doctor."
Dr Aliabadi was on-hand to deliver Jenner's daughter, Stormi, according to TMZ.
Kylie reciprocated the doctor's kind words by replying to Dr Aliabadi's thank-you post, she wrote, "I love you! and thank YOU for all the love and care you put into everything that you do! You're an angel on earth."
Last Week, Jenner pleaded in an Instagram post, "The coronavirus is a real thing, "I listened to the Surgeon General this morning... he definitely encouraged me to come on here and talk to you guys."

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News Network
June 19,2020

New Delhi, Jun 19: After the recent sudden demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, actor Kangana Ranaut who went public slamming nepotism in the Hindi film industry, has now revealed that she faced similar struggles like that of Sushant.

In a new statement, the "Queen" actor alleged that she was asked to apologise to Hrithik Roshan's family in order to survive. Both Kangana and Hrithik had been in the public spotlight in the year 2016 over their alleged former relationship and legal battle.

The 'Queen' actor said: "Once Javed Akhtar had called me to his house and told me that Rakesh Roshan and his family are very big people. If you don't apologise to them, you will have nowhere to go. They will put you in jail, and eventually, the only path would be that of destruction...you will commit suicide. These were his words. Why did he think if I don't apologise to you will have nowhere to go. They will put you in jail, and eventually, the only path would be that of destruction...you will commit suicide. These were his words. Why did he think if I don't apologise to Hrithik Roshan, I would have to commit suicide? He shouted and yelled at me. I was shaking in his house,"

She further continued, "Were there people calling Sushant? Were there people putting such thoughts into his mind? I have no idea, but obviously, he was in a similar situation. In his interviews, he had said that nepotism cannot co-exist with talent because they don't allow the right talent to come up. I can relate to it, and hence I am raising questions. I want to know who played the catalyst in this situation?"

Kangana adds, "I know Sushant had a big fallout with Aditya Chopra also. When I refused Sultan, he had threatened he would never work with me. Ever since our industry ganged up on me. I remember so many times feeling really lonely and feeling what will happen to me..."

The 'Manikarnika' star also revealed that all this not only happened to her professionally but personally as well it hampered her relationships. "They are very insecure about things. Despite what they did to me, there was a guy who wanted to get married to me. But he distanced himself, they made sure he ran away. With no surety about my career, my love-life completely has gone awry, with six court-cases against me, they're still trying to put me in jail."

Kangana also talked about herself: "I'm a different person; I'm very expressive. I went out there, and I just vented it out. Sushant was not a person like that at all. He just bottled it up. Media too has played a considerable part in this--the kind of monster image that was given to him. Everybody who knew him closely agrees that he was a soft and emotional person. I think that after a point it really got to him. I can understand it because even I have been portrayed as a witch and as a stalker."

Sharing that the bullying and outbursts had a psychological impact on her life situations, Kangana says, "I remember initially when people used to come to my home, I felt so embarrassed to even offer them water. Forget having a relationship or going on a date post the disaster of a relationship I had. I can only imagine that even during Manikarnika what they did to me."

Talking about the 'Kai Po Che' star, she added, "But perhaps he was just not able to vent. In fact, all these constant jibes on these petty show that he should be killed and which rated him as the least efficient... his films have done more business than your Gully Boy. People like Salman Khan said who Sushant Singh Rajput? It was after M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, everybody knew who Sushant was. We need to stop these."

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