JEDDAH: Fans of Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif have been offered a musical treat with the release of the Arabic version of a popular song in their latest movie “Tiger Zinda Hai.”
The movie — extensively filmed in Abu Dhabi — is scheduled for worldwide release on Dec. 22, but “Swag Se Swagat,” the first song of the spy thriller, is already a big hit on YouTube.
The song, featuring Khan and Kaif, has more than a million likes and 98 million views on the video-sharing site.
The theme of the song focuses on brotherhood and peace, with the Arabic version sung by Rabih Baroud and Brigitte Yaghi. The original is sung by Vishal Dadlani and Neha Bhasin.
“Tiger Zinda Hai” is a sequel to filmmaker Kabir Khan’s 2012 movie “Ek Tha Tiger.” The film, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, explores the story of Indian spy Tiger and Pakistani spy Zoya as a team.
In the first film, Tiger and Zoya worked against each other, only to fall in love during a mission and later elope to escape the wrath of their respective governments.
But in the sequel, Tiger and Zoya are a team who have one mission: Peace. The film is a fictionalized retelling of a real-life incident in which 25 Indian nurses were kidnapped in Iraq in 2015.
Having an Arabic version of the song “is a way to connect with audiences in the Middle East, as Hindi films have huge appeal there and Salman Khan is the biggest superstar in the region,” the director said.
Hit Bollywood song gets Arabic version
Hit Bollywood song gets Arabic version
US children fall further behind in reading, make little improvement in math on national exam
- The findings are yet another setback for US schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education
- The national exam results also show growing inequality
The findings are yet another setback for US schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education, from pandemic school closures to a youth mental health crisis and high rates of chronic absenteeism. The national exam results also show growing inequality: While the highest-performing students have started to regain lost ground, lower-performing students are falling further behind.
Given every two years to a sample of America’s children, the National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of the US school system. The most recent exam was administered in early 2024 in every state, testing fourth- and eighth-grade students on math and reading.
“The news is not good,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment. “We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic.”
Among the few bright spots was an improvement in fourth grade math, where the average score ticked up 2 points on a scale of 500. It’s still 3 points lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic average, yet some states and districts made significant strides, including in Washington, D.C., where the average score increased 10 points.
For the most part, however, American schools have not yet begun to make progress.
The average math score for eighth grade students was unchanged from 2022, while reading scores fell 2 points at both grade levels. One-third of eighth grade students scored below “basic” in reading, more than ever in the history of the assessment.
Students are considered below basic if they are missing fundamental skills. For example, eighth grade students who scored below basic in reading were typically unable to make a simple inference about a character’s motivation after reading a short story, and some were unable to identify that the word “industrious” means “to be hard working.”
Especially alarming to officials was the divide between higher- and lower-performing students, which has grown wider than ever. Students with the highest scores outperformed their peers from two years ago, making up some ground lost during the pandemic. But the lowest performers are scoring even lower, falling further behind.
It was most pronounced in eighth grade math: While the top 10 percent of students saw their scores increased by 3 points, the lowest 10 percent decreased by 6 points.
“We are deeply concerned about our low-performing students,” said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policies for the exam. “For a decade, these students have been on the decline. They need our urgent attention and our best effort.”
The latest setbacks follow a historic backslide in 2022. In that year’s exam, student achievement fell across both subjects and grade levels, in some cases by unprecedented levels.
But Carr said poor results can no longer be blamed solely on the pandemic, warning that the nation’s education system faces “complex challenges.”
A survey done alongside the exam found in 2022 that fewer young students were reading for enjoyment, which is linked to lower reading scores. And new survey results found that students who are often absent from class — a persistent problem nationwide — are struggling the most.
“The data are clear,” Carr said. “Students who don’t come to school are not improving.”
The results provide fresh fuel for a national debate over the impact of pandemic school closures, though they’re unlikely to add clarity. Some studies have found that longer closures led to bigger academic setbacks. Those slower to reopen were often in urban and Democratic-led areas, while more rural and Republican-led areas were quicker.
The new results don’t show a “direct link” on the topic, Carr said, though she said students clearly do better when they’re in school.
Among the states that saw reading scores fall in 2024 are Florida and Arizona, which were among the first to return to the classroom during the pandemic. Meanwhile, some big school systems that had longer closures made strides in fourth grade math, including Los Angeles and New York City.
The success of big urban districts — 14 of which saw notable improvement in fourth-grade math when the nation as a whole saw only minor gains — can be credited to academic recovery efforts funded by federal pandemic relief, said Ray Hart, executive director of the Council of Great City Schools. Investing in efforts like intensive tutoring programs and curriculum updates is “really proving to make a difference,” he said.
Republicans in Congress were quick to cast blame on Democrats and former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said the decline is “clearly a reflection of the education bureaucracy continuing to focus on woke policies rather than helping students learn and grow.”
“I’m thankful we have an administration that is looking to reverse course,” he said in a reference to President Donald Trump.
Compared with 2019 results, eighth grade reading scores are now down 8 points. Reading scores are down 5 points in both grades. And in fourth grade math, scores are down 3 points.
Yet officials say there’s reason to be optimistic. Carr highlighted improvement in Louisiana, where fourth grade reading is now back above pre-pandemic levels, and in Alabama, which accomplished that feat in fourth grade math.
Carr was especially laudatory of Louisiana, where a campaign to improve reading proficiency resulted in both higher- and lower-performing students exceeding 2019 scores.
“I would not say that hope is lost, and I would not say that we cannot turn this around,” Carr said. “It’s been demonstrated that we can.”
A$AP Rocky’s accuser set to testify about alleged shooting in the biggest moment at rapper’s trial
- A former friend of A$AP Rocky is set to testify about the moment the hip-hop star allegedly fired a gun at him on a Hollywood street in 2021
- The trial’s key witness, known by the name A$AP Relli, will provide what’s likely to be the trial’s most important piece of testimony when he gets back on the stand Wednesday
A former friend of A$AP Rocky is set to testify Wednesday about the moment the hip-hop star allegedly fired a gun at him on a Hollywood street in 2021.
The trial’s key witness, known by the name A$AP Relli, will provide what’s likely to be the trial’s most important piece of testimony when he gets back on the stand.
Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, has pleaded not guilty two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. His lawyer says the shots he fired were blanks from a starter pistol that he carried as a prop.
On Tuesday, Relli, born Terell Ephron, described the first part of the confrontation, and was on the verge of describing the alleged shooting itself when court ended for the day.
He said he and Rocky, members of A$AP, a crew of creators at a New York high school, had been close but their relationship eroded after fame came for Rocky.
He said their relationship had been strained for years and getting worse in the previous days, but he was still “furious” when Rocky pulled a gun on him after a scuffle that began the moment the two met up near the W Hotel.
“I told him to use it. Because mentally I couldn’t believe it,” Relli testified, with his old friend staring at him intently from the defense table. “I physically could not believe there was a gun in my face. That was the breaking point for me.”
He said he had expected to argue but reconcile with his old friend, and the last thing he wanted to do was get into a fight that could ruin the modest music management business he had built.
“He’s famous,” Relli said. “I’m nobody.”
The testimony will come on an abbreviated court day. The trial will only be in session for two hours in the morning because of a prosecutor’s previous commitment. Relli can expect to face fierce cross-examination from the defense that could begin Wednesday.
Raised in Harlem, Rocky’s rap songs became a phenomenon on the streets of New York in 2011. He had his mainstream breakthrough when his first studio album went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2013. The second one, in 2015, did the same.
He’s set to have his biggest career year as a multi-media star. This Sunday, he’s nominated for a Grammy Award for best music video for his song “Tailor Swif,” at the ceremony at Crypto.com Arena just two miles from the Los Angeles courthouse where his trial’s being held.
He’s also set to headline the Rolling Loud Music Festival, to star opposite Denzel Washington in a film directed by Spike Lee, and to co-chair the Met Gala in May.
But the prospect of a conviction and the possibility of a maximum of 24 years in prison casts a shadow over all of it.
Rocky is the longtime partner of Rihanna, with whom he has two toddler sons. She has yet to appear at his trial.
Starbucks reports better-than-expected quarterly sales as turnaround efforts begin
- Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol says Starbucks plans to cut its food and beverage offerings by 30% over the course of this year to simplify operations and speed service
Starbucks on Tuesday reported better-than-expected sales in its fiscal first quarter as some of its turnaround efforts start to deliver results.
The Seattle coffee giant said its revenue was flat at $9.4 billion for the 13-week period ending Dec. 29. That beat Wall Street’s forecast of $9.3 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in September, said customer-focused changes — such as a decision to stop charging extra for non-dairy milk and a streamlining of the menu — were helping to improve service and drive store traffic.
In a conference call with investors Tuesday, Niccol said Starbucks is planning to cut its food and beverage offerings by 30 percent over the course of this year to simplify operations and speed service. Starbucks will also add digital menus to all of its company-owned US stores over the next 18 months to make ordering options clearer and make it easier to shift its offerings depending on the time of day.
Niccol said the company is also adding staff to some stores and experimenting with ordering algorithms that prioritize in-store customers and better pace mobile orders.
“The place where we run into problems, frankly, is the fact that there is just no gating on the mobile orders,” Niccol said. “All these orders come flooding in faster than even our customer can get there. So all these drinks are sitting on the counter, and it’s at the expense of providing any other experience for a customer that’s right in the store.”
Starbucks is trying to reestablish itself as a gathering place, and this week announced that it will start using ceramic mugs and offering in-store customers free refills of coffee or tea. The company is also trying to appeal to customers with a new rule that requires people to buy something if they want to hang out or use the restroom.
“This is back to the core of what makes Starbucks a unique experience,” Niccol said.
Starbucks’ same-store sales — or sales at locations open at least a year — fell 4 percent compared to the same period last year. The decline was less than the 5.5 percent analysts anticipated, according to FactSet. It was also better than the previous quarter, when global same-store sales were down 7 percent.
US same-store sales also fell 4 percent in the first quarter. Starbucks said transactions were down 8 percent but customers spent more per visit. Starbucks also pulled back on discounts during the quarter, Niccol said.
Niccol said he recently visited China, Starbucks’ second-largest market, where sales have been hampered by lower-cost competitors. China’s same-store sales fell 6 percent in the fiscal first quarter.
Niccol said Starbucks is continuing to explore a strategic partnership that would help it continue to grow in China.
Niccol has also been reshaping Starbucks’ corporate staff. Earlier Tuesday, he announced the departure of two senior executives and a reshuffling of their job responsibilities.
Mike Grams, who most recently served as president of Taco Bell, will become Starbucks’ chief stores officer for North America. Meredith Sandland, the CEO of Empower Delivery and the former chief development officer at Taco Bell, will become Starbucks’ chief store development officer. Niccol led Taco Bell until 2018, when he left to run Chipotle.
Niccol also announced earlier this month that Starbucks plans an unspecified number of corporate layoffs by early March.
Starbucks’ shares rose less than 1 percent in after-hours trading Tuesday.
‘Mona Lisa’ will get its own room under a major renovation of the Louvre
- The renovation project, branded “Louvre New Renaissance,” will include a wide new entrance near the Seine River, to be opened by 2031, Macron said
- Macron said the expansion of the museum will allow the “Mona Lisa” to be moved to a new, dedicated room accessible to visitors through a special ticket
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that the “Mona Lisa” will get its own dedicated room inside the Louvre Museum under a major renovation and expansion of the Paris landmark that will take up to a decade.
The renovation project, branded “Louvre New Renaissance,” will include a wide new entrance near the Seine River, to be opened by 2031, Macron said in a speech from the room where Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece is displayed.
Macron didn’t disclose an exact amount budgeted for the project to modernize the world’s most visited museum, which is plagued with overcrowding and outdated facilities. But it’s estimated to reach up to 800 million euros ($834 million).
The Louvre’s last overhaul dates back to the 1980s, when the iconic glass pyramid was unveiled.
Move designed to make Louvre experience easier
Macron said the expansion of the museum will allow the “Mona Lisa” to be moved to a new, dedicated room accessible to visitors through a special ticket. That will make the visit simpler for those who want to see the painting and ease the experience of other visitors in the rest of the museum, he said.
“Conditions of display, explanation and presentation will be up to what the ‘Mona Lisa’ deserves,” he said.
Leonardo’s masterpiece is now being shown behind protective glass in the museum’s largest room, overcrowded with long, noisy lines of visitors eager to take a selfie with the groundbreaking portrait of the woman with the enigmatic smile. That makes some other paintings in the room by Venetian painters like Titian and Veronese go unnoticed by many.
The museum’s big renovation in the 1980s was designed to receive 4 million annual visitors.
Last year, the Louvre received 8.7 million visitors, more than 75 percent being foreigners mostly from the United States, China and neighboring countries Italy, the UK, Germany and Spain.
Costly and complex overhaul
Macron said that a new entrance for the Louvre will be created near the Seine by 2031, to be financed by ticket sales, patronage and licensing money from the museum’s Abu Dhabi branch.
A design competition will be staged in the coming months, he said. In addition, some new underground rooms will be created to expand the museum.
A French top official said that the cost of the renovation is estimated at 700 to 800 million euros ($730 to 834 million) over the next decade, including half for the creation of the new entrance. The official couldn’t be named in line with the French presidency’s customary practices.
Macron said that ticket prices would be raised for foreign visitors from outside the European Union, up from 22 euros ($23) now. He promised the museum would be safer and more comfortable for both the public and employees.
Comparing the project to Notre Dame’s recent reopening, Macron said that “the redesigned Louvre, restored and expanded, will become the epicenter of art history for our country and beyond.”
Half the Louvre’s budget is being financed by the French government, including the wages of the 2,200 employees.
The other half is provided by private funds including ticket sales, earnings from restaurants, shops and bookings for special events, as well as patrons and other partners.
Water leaks and other damage
The renovation announcement came after Louvre Director Laurence des Cars expressed her concerns in a note to Culture Minister Rachida Dati earlier this month saying that the museum is threatened by “obsolescence.”
According to the document first released by French newspaper Le Parisien, she warned about the gradual degradation of the building because of water leaks, temperature variations and other issues “endangering the preservation of artworks.”
The pyramid that serves at the museum’s entrance, unveiled in 1989 as part of late President François Mitterrand’s project, now appears outdated. The place isn’t properly insulated from the cold and the heat, and it tends to amplify noise, making the space uncomfortable for both the public and the staff, des Cars said.
In addition, the museum suffers from a lack of food options and restroom facilities, she said.
Cold snap chills New York City’s rats, and heats up the fight against them
- The United States’ most populous city has been spared the Upper Midwest’s extreme wind chills, not to mention the shock of record-breaking snow in the deep South
NEW YORK: This week’s frigid weather has many New York City residents shivering, scurrying into cozy spots and feeling sapped. Including the rats.
The United States’ most populous city has been spared the Upper Midwest’s extreme wind chills, not to mention the shock of record-breaking snow in the deep South, in this week’s Arctic blast. But temperatures peaked Monday around 26 degrees Fahrenheit (-3 Celsius) and roughly 20 degrees (-7 Celsius) Tuesday and Wednesday, well below average.
Such cold has, yes, a chilling effect on the Big Apple’s notorious rodents. But it boosts efforts to get rid of them, says city “rat czar” Kathleen Corradi.
“It’s stressing out rats. It’s putting them in their burrows,” she says. “So we kind of get to double down now while the rats are ‘feeling the heat’ from this cold snap.”
New York City’s wild rat species — Rattus norvegicus, also called the Norway rat or brown rat — doesn’t hibernate in winter but does become less active when the weather is freezing for prolonged periods. At the same time, the rodent’s food source tends to shrivel because people are out less and therefore discarding few food wrappers and other rat snacks on the streets, Corradi said.
All that makes for stressed rats and suppresses breeding, which “is really their superpower,” Corradi said. Norway rats can reproduce many times a year, essentially any time conditions are suitable, though they tend to be most prolific from spring through fall.
Jason Munshi-South, a Drexel University ecology professor who has researched New York City’s rats, said those that are already holed up in subway tunnels, sewers, crawlspaces or other nooks can weather the cold fairly well.
Rats that haven’t secured a hideaway might venture to unusual places, such as car engine blocks. Or a tempting basement? Perhaps, if building owners haven’t diligently blocked them out.
But Munshi-South said some of the animals likely will freeze to death, especially if they’re already sick, malnourished or otherwise weakened.
“Harsh winters like we are having so far will keep the rat population at a lower level if we have sustained cold, freezing periods,” he said in an email.
All of that, Corradi said, allows the city’s rat-fighters to make headway ahead of the warmer months.
There’s no official count of New York City’s rats, but no one disputes that they have long been legion. Successive city administrations have tried various approaches to eliminating or at least reducing them.
Current Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who has battled the critters at his own Brooklyn home, created Corradi’s position — officially, the director of rodent mitigation — about two years ago. Adams’ administration also has focused on requiring trash “containerization,” otherwise known as putting household and business garbage into enclosed bins instead of piling refuse-filled plastic bags on the curb.
