Fast fashion has almost become a dirty word. With people unable to afford high end fashion, let alone handcrafted sustainable fashion, fast fashion is what makes up the bulk of most peoples wardrobe…writes Sujata Assomull.
Last week when it was announced Topshop and Miss Selfridge had filed for bankruptcy- many took to social media to celebrate their demise, calling it “the end of fast fashion”. Yes, fast fashion does have many questions to answere from how they make their clothes to the way they have propelled consumerism culture to an unjustifiable level.
But there are always two sides to a coin; let us not forget that Topshop and Miss Selfridge were also considered great British brands at one time. Both labels were born before the term fast fashion became a phenomenon. (Fast Fashion is a phrase that was coined in the 1990s, Topshop has been around since the 1960s). They were amongst the first high street brands to make fashion democratic buy making the latest trends available at prices that normal people could afford and access at their local high street.
One of the major reasons they are going out of business, is not because everyone has woken up to how bad fast fashion is for the environment (which it is), but because of a new cheaper (yet more harmful) alternative– ultra fast fashion.
Of course one can argue that it was brands like Topshop that started this trend, but new labels have taken things to a whole new level. Millennial friendly labels like Pretty Little Things, Missguided and Shein fall under this bracket launching new collections on an almost weekly basis. This week a UK based newspaper reported that the “Made in China ” Shein sells over 30,000 items a day– it accused the brand of “piracy, profiteering and mass pollution.” With dresses costing around Rs. 450 one has to wonder how these products are made.
Pretty Little Things calls their e5 dresses “bargain beauties” on their website. The brand owned by one of the pioneers of ultra-fast fashion, Boohoo, has been accused of paying workers well under the minimum wage in substandard conditions and forcing employees to stay on their jobs even if they tested positive for the coronavirus. Everything about these brands is toxic, from the fabric they use, to their working conditions to their attitude to fashion’s throw away culture. (It is estimated that over 18 million tonnes of unwanted clothing will end up in a landfill this year.)
This scandal has not stopped consumers from buying these ultra-pocket friendly labels- Boohoo recently reported that its revenues were up by 44 per cent. Their success shows that price matters more than the “true cost” of clothes. Or perhaps there is a belief that all fast fashion brands are bad, so why not just buy the cheapest? Well this is not true some offenders are just not interested in acknowledging their crimes.
Get set for a fashion Extravaganza.
While fast fashion brands like H&M, Zara and Uniqlo are not perfect, they are all making noises and talking about the need to be more sustainable. Ultra-fast fashion just seems to be interested in making things cheaper and quicker, at any cost. They truly are in the business of “piracy, profiteering and mass pollution,” and the power to stop them is with the consumer. If there is one lesson we should have all learnt in 2020 is that we need to be kindere and the best way to make fashion kinder right now is to boycott the ULTRA fast fashion industry.
When it comes to Hollywood, 2021 is going to be a year of superheroes, reboots and follow-ups on the big screen — and, of course, James Bond.
The Hollywood calendar of the year comes packed with big blockbusters including Scarlett Johansson’s solo superhero outing “Black Widow”, the/-+ Dwayne Johnson adventure “Jungle Cruise”, Marvel’s latest superhero genre addition “Eternals”, Tom Cruise’s new “Top Gun” sequel and Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond, “No Time To Die”.
IANS lists the Hollywood releases lined up in 2021 that sure gets us excited:
NO TIME TO DIE
Certainly the most talked-about Hollywood film not to release in 2020, Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond is now scheduled to release on April 2 this year. The 25th instalment of the franchise also features Rami Malek as the new Bond villain Safin, and brings back Lea Seydoux as Dr. Madeleine Swann, Ben Whishaw as Q, Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Jeffrey Wright as CIA agent Felix Leiter. It is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga.
BLACK WIDOW
Marvel Studios will finally release their solo “Black Widow” film, which aims to give a new twist to women power in the superhero universe. The film will bring back Scarlett Johansson as of Natasha Romanoff and her superhero alter ego Black Widow, as she traces her past to solve the puzzle of her life. The film was slated to release in 2020, but got pushed due to the Covid crisis. Now, it is slated to release on May 7.
FAST & FURIOUS 9
Hollywood stars Vin Diesel and John Cena will give bromance a new spin in the upcoming “Fast & Furious” film, which will be fuelled by the emotion of vengeance. The saga sees the return of Justin Lin as director, who helmed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth chapters of the series. The film also stars Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron. It is expected to release in the first quarter of the year.
UNTITLED SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME SEQUEL
The Tom Holland-led film is expected to be a treat for franchise fans. Spider-Man’s new adventure will bring back Benedict Cumberbatch as the sorcerer superhero Doctor Strange and Alfred Molina as the evil Doctor Octopus. Jamie Foxx will reportedly appear as Electro. The upcoming adventure is expected to feature multiple generations of “Spider-Man” actors, with actors from past films in the series reprising their characters. The third “Spider-Man” film is scheduled for a theatrical release on December 17, 2021.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
At 58, Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise will be back in his popular avatar as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in “Top Gun: Maverick”, the much-anticipated sequel of the 1986 hit “Top Gun”. The Joseph Kosinski-directed film co-stars Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Miles Teller and Jay Ellis. The trailer shows Maverick going back to Naval Fighter Weapons School to teach to the younger generations. It is slated to release on July 2.
JUNGLE CRUISE
Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt go on an action packed ride in the film based on the Disneyland ride of the same name. The Jaume Collet-Serra-directed film is set in the early 20th century, and follows the journey of a riverboat captain (Johnson) and scientist (Blunt) as they go into the jungles to find the Tree of Life. It is slated to release on July 30.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7
Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in “Mission: Impossible 7”, which is helmed by filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie. It is slated to open on November 19, 2021. The spy action thriller also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Vanessa Kirby, Simon Pegg, and Hayley Atwell.
DUNE
Denis Villeneuve’s much-hyped sci-fi movie is slated to release on October 1. An official adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic of the same name, the film will explore themes like politics, religion, and war amid the backdrop of the planet Arrakis, known as Dune. It features Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.
A QUIET PLACE PART II
The John Krasinski and Emily Blunt-starrer was originally set to hit the big screen last March, but was among numerous Hollywood films delayed owing to Covid. It is now scheduled on April 23 this year. The horror film is a sequel of the 2018 winner “A Quiet Place”, which imagined a post-apocalyptic world where humans fall prey to fast-moving creatures who track their victims by sound.
VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE
Tom Hardy’s much-anticipated “Venom” sequel is also slated to open this year. Andy Serkis has directed the second part of the action fantasy franchise, which sees Hardy take on an alien symbiote again for another adventure. It is expected to release in June.
THE SUICIDE SQUAD
James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” is a reboot of the 2016 film “Suicide Squad”, helmed by David Ayer. Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis will reprise the roles they played in the first film. It stars Pete Davidson as Blackguard, John Cena as Peacemaker, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Alice Braga as Sul Soria among others. It is expected to release in August.
THE KING’S MAN
Slated to open on March 12, the Matthew Vaughn-directorial is a prequel in the “Kingsman” film series. It is loosely based on the comic book series “Kingsman”, created by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar. The film takes place decades before the first two instalments in the franchise so far — “Kingsman: The Secret Service” (2014) and “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” (2017). It features Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Daniel Bruhl and Djimon Hounsou.
MORBIUS
The “Spider-Man” spinoff is slated to release on March 19. It stars Jared Leto in the titular role as Michael Morbius, a scientist who turns into a vampire.
THE MATRIX 4
Priyanka Chopra will be joining Keanu Reeves in the next part of “The Matrix”, which is expected to release later this year. The film is produced, co-written and directed by Lana Wachowski, who co-directed and co-wrote three of the previous films with her sister Lilly.
TOM AND JERRY
The live-action/ CG-animated film features the iconic cartoon characters as they go on another fun-filled adventure. The film stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Michael Pena. It is expected to open in the first quarter of the year.
MONSTER HUNTER
Directed by Paul WS Anderson, the film is based on the video game series of the same name. The film stars Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, Tip “T. I.” Harris, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta, Josh Helman, Jin Au-Yeung and Ron Perlman. It is expected to release in the first quarter of the year.
FREE GUY
The Ryan Reynolds-led action comedy is about a non-player character in a video game. The Shawn Levy-directed film also stars Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Taika Waititi. It is slated to release on May 21.
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
Marvel’s first Asian origin superhero will be introduced this year, with the Destin Daniel Cretton directorial. In the film, Simu Liu stars as the title character with Awkwafina in an unspecified role and Tony Leung playing the iconic comicbook villain known as The Mandarin. It is slated to release on July 9.
ETERNALS
Directed by Chloe Zhao, the film stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Gemma Chan, Salma Hayek and Kumail Nanjiani. It is about the super-powered beings, The Celestials, and their villainous adversaries, The Deviants, in a war set millions of years ago. Nanjiani had revealed that his character will have the secret identity of a Bollywood star. It is expected to open on November 5, 2021.
WEST SIDE STORY
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg has reimagined the musical “West Side Story” for the big screen. The classic New York tale tells the story of two lovers — Maria, a Puerto Rican, whose brother Bernardo is the leader of the “Sharks” street gang, and Tony, a former leader of the “Jets”, who battled the Sharks. The film is at the same time a romance and a crime story. It is a story of street gangs, racism, and violence in the shadows of rising skyscrapers. It will open on December 10.
GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE
Jason Reitman’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is a direct sequel set 30 years after “Ghostbusters II”. It follows two children (Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard) and their mother (Carrie Coon) who discover their link to the original gang. It also stars Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Paul Rudd. It is slated to release on June 11.
DEATH ON THE NILE
Director Kenneth Branagh returns with a new Agatha Christie adaptation, after the commercially successful and star-studded 2017 release, “Murder On The Orient Express”. It is about a murder of passion aboard a cruise ship on the Nile. The film casts Gal Gadot, Branagh, Letitia Wright, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Sophie Okonedo, Tom Bateman, Emma Mackey, Dawn French, Rose Leslie, Jennifer Saunders, and Russell Brand, along with Indian actor Ali Fazal. It is slated to release on September 17.
Senior doctor Prof Andrew Goddard said the virus’s highly infectious new variant was spreading nationwide…reports Asian Lite News
Hospitals across the UK are being told to prepare to face the same Covid pressures as the NHS in London and south-east England.
Senior doctor Prof Andrew Goddard said the virus’s highly infectious new variant was spreading nationwide.
Case numbers were “mild” compared with where he expected them to be next week, he said, with doctors “really worried”, the BBC reported.
It comes as a further 57,725 people have tested positive for Covid – a new daily high.
This is the fifth day in a row new daily cases have been over 50,000 and brings the total number of cases to 2,599,789.
Another 445 deaths, of people who had tested positive within the previous 28 days, were reported on Saturday – bringing the total number of deaths to 74,570, according to government figures.
The UK-wide total for people in hospital with Covid has already passed the spring peak.
Half of the major hospital trusts in England are said to be dealing with more Covid-19 patients than at the worst point of the first wave in April, with the NHS facing its “busiest winter ever”.
Prof Goddard, of the Royal College of Physicians, told BBC Breakfast: “There’s no doubt that Christmas is going to have a big impact, the new variant is also going to have a big impact, we know that is more infectious, more transmissible, so I think the large numbers that we’re seeing in the South East, in London, in south Wales, is now going to be reflected over the next month, two months even, over the rest of the country.”
He said: “It seems very likely that we are going to see more and more cases, wherever people work in the UK, and we need to be prepared for that.”
Pressure has been so great on hospitals in London and south-east England that some patients have been moved out of the area.
London’s weekly rate of coronavirus cases is 858 per 100,000 people, double the UK figure.
Dominic Harrison, director of public health for Blackburn and Darwen, said a decision on a new lockdown had to be decided “in the next week” – instead of waiting for the North to get to the same rates as the capital “and ‘call it late’ which has been our pattern of response too often”.
The most recent UK-wide statistics, from December 28, showed there were 23,823 people in hospital with Covid. That was already significantly higher than the spring peak, which saw 21,683 in hospital on April 12.
Only English hospitals have released figures for the final three days of December – and these show that a further 2,302 Covid patients were occupying hospital beds on 31 December.
London’s Nightingale emergency hospital is ready to admit patients, the NHS has said, while other sites currently not in use are being readied.
Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Irrigation of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia are expected to participate in the talks…reports Asian Lite News
Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia will hold a new round of talks on Sunday over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile river under the patronage of African Union (AU).
“This meeting will discuss Sudan’s proposal aimed at reactivating the negotiations via giving a greater role for the AU experts to reach a binding legal agreement on the GERD according to Sudan’s previous request and then look into the draft of understanding prepared by the AU experts to reach a satisfactory deal for the three parties,” Xinhua news agency quoted Sudanese state media as saying in a report on Saturday.
Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Irrigation of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia are expected to participate in the talks.
Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have been negotiating under the AU over technical and legal issues related to the filling and operation of the GERD.
Ethiopia, which started building the GERD in 2011, expects to produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity from the project.
But Egypt and Sudan, downstream Nile Basin countries that rely on the river for its fresh water, are concerned that the dam might affect their water resources.
A group of Republican senators have said that they will object to the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results later this week, but the move will not change President-elect Joe Biden’s victory against sitting President Donald Trump, according to media reports and poll pundits.
However, Ted Cruz of Texas and 10 other Senate Republicans said in a statement on Saturday that they will vote against accepting the election results unless Congress appoints an Electoral Commission for “an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states”, reports Xinhua news agency
They intend to vote on Wednesday, when Congress convenes in a joint session to formally count the electoral votes, to reject the electors from what they called “disputed states”, unless and until that audit is completed, according to the statement.
The announcement came days after Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, a Trump ally, said that he will join a group of House Republicans to force a debate and vote on the Electoral College results.
Joe Biden
Electors gathered in 50 states and the District of Columbia on December 14, 2020 to formally vote for the next President based on the popular ballots in their states.
Former Vice President Biden won 306 of the 538 electoral votes to Trump’s 232.
To clinch the White House, a candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes.
Trump hasn’t conceded and is still pushing for claims of massive fraud, despite that dozens of attempts by his legal team and allies to challenge the results in some key states had been defeated, rejected, or tossed out.
Former Attorney General William Barr has said the Department of Justice had not seen evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the November 3, 2020, presidential election.
Actress Urvashi Rautela has shared a note for her mother on her birthday, saying she is thankful to her for guidance and support.
“I wish my mother a very happy Birthday, Meera Rautela. I would want my mum to know that I am nothing without her but I would achieve the world with her by my side, I love you Mum. With each passing day I am thankful to you, as you have provided me the warmth, guidance, love and your heart,” she shared, adding: “You are someone who would love me unconditionally, whether I am right or wrong in the path of life, no one can replace you. I love you so much mum, wherever I go you will always be there for me. Thank you Maa.”
The actress also took to Instagram to share some moments from the birthday celebrations.
“Every day I wake up, I always have you to thank. I have your guidance, your warmth, your love, and your heart: someone who loves me unconditionally. Right or wrong, you are always my Mom. No one can ever take your place in my heart. I love you forever and ever. No matter where I go or whom I meet, you will always be Number One to me,” she wrote with the pictures.
Urvashi has been working on her first bilingual movie, Mohan Bhardwaj’s “Black Rose”, based on Shakespeare’s “The Merchant Of Venice”. Urvashi plays a pivotal role based on Shylock in the film.
WhatsApp users the world over made more than 1.4 billion voice and video calls on New Year’s Eve, the most ever calls in a single day on the platform, Facebook said.
As Covid-19 made meeting with friends and family tough, WhatsApp calling on New Year’s Eve 2020 increased over 50 per cent compared to the same day last year, the company said on Friday.
Video calling became arguably the most in-demand feature in 2020 as people turned to technology to stay in touch and get things done in the face of social distancing and stay-at-home mandates.
“Before Covid-19, New Year’s Eve generated Facebook’s biggest spikes in messaging, photo uploads and social sharing at midnight across the world. However, in March 2020, the early days of the pandemic produced traffic spikes that would dwarf New Year’s Eve several times over — and it lasted for months,” Caitlin Banford, Technical Programme Manager at Facebook, said in a statement.
“This year, New Year’s Eve looked a lot different, and we had engineering teams across Facebook’s apps, ready to support any issue, so the world could ring in 2021.”
People celebrated with effects in Messenger, and the top AR (augmented reality) effect in the US was “2020 Fireworks.”
Facebook said that New Year’s Eve 2020 was the biggest day ever for Messenger group video calls (3+ people) in the US, with nearly 2X more group video calls on the day compared to the average day.
There were more than 55 million live broadcasts across Facebook and Instagram globally on New Year’s Eve, the company said.
The authorities in NSW, of which Sydney is the capital city, said that face masks will be mandatory in indoor settings such as shopping centres, public or shared transport, indoor entertainment, places of worship, and hair and beauty premises…reports Asian Lite News
Wearing face masks will now be mandatory in Australia’s biggest city of Sydney as locally acquired coronavirus cases have continued to increase, New South Wales (NSW)health authorities said on Saturday.
The authorities in NSW, of which Sydney is the capital city, said that face masks will be mandatory in indoor settings such as shopping centres, public or shared transport, indoor entertainment, places of worship, and hair and beauty premises, reports Xinhua news agency.
Staff in hospitality venues must also wear face masks.
The compliance will start from January 4 and violators will face an on-the-spot fine of A$200 ($153).
Children under 12 are exempt but are encouraged to wear masks where practicable, a joint statement from NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.
Some other restrictions were also put into effect for Greater Sydney from midnight Saturday, such as 30-people cap for gym classes, places of worship and religious services limited to 1 person per 4 square metres up to a maximum of 100 people per separate area, 500-people cap for outdoor performances and protests and no nightclubs.
These new restrictions came after NSW recorded seven locally acquired cases in the last 24 hourst, with an additional 12 infections in hotel quarantine.
Among the seven local cases, five were from western and southwestern Sydney, where a new cluster of cases was growing.
The NSW health department urged people live or work in the area to get tested if they have even the mildest of symptoms.
At the same time, the neighbouring state of Victoria, which experienced months of strict lockdown in 2020 due to a second wave of pandemic, recorded 10 locally acquired cases and two in quarantine.
All the 10 local cases were connected to a cluster detected in a restaurant in southeast Melbourne, increasing the total cases to 18.
Victoria Health Minister Martin Foley said genomic sequencing confirmed the state’s outbreak was linked to Sydney’s cluster.
“It is up to both Victoria and NSW to work together to get on top of it,” he said.
Victoria had already announced closure of borders to the whole NSW from midnight Friday.
Foley said the “deteriorating situation” in NSW was a “significant concern” and public health advice was likely to change very quickly.
The island state of Tasmania announced on Saturday border closure to nine sites in Victoria and a number of premises in NSW.
Travellers who have been to these listed high-risk areas cannot enter Tasmania unless being exempted.
“We will not hesitate to take further action if we need to keep Tasmanians safe,” the state’s Health Minister Sarah Courtney said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has welcomed a letter by the Islamic Hamas movement on ending internal division and holding general elections in the territories.
Palestine’s official news agency WAFA said in an official statement on Saturday that Abbas welcomes what came in Hamas’s letter about ending division, building partnership, and accomplishing national unity.
The report added that Abbas decided to invite Hana Nasser, Chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, to discuss the procedures for issuing the decrees related to holding the elections, Xinhua news agency reported.
Hamas’s politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh addressed Abbas an official letter through Jibril Rajoub, the Fatah Movement’s Central Committee member, said the WAFA report.
“After reading the letter, President Abbas gave his directives to Rajoub to inform Hamas of his welcome of what was stated in the letter regarding ending division, building partnership, and achieving national unity,” the report said.
The report also said that Abbas told Rajoub to inform Hamas leadership that Fatah Movement is committed to the path of building Palestinian partnership and national unity.
The report said that Hamas’s letter was the outcome of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, and Russia’s efforts to bring the points of view closer to reaching an agreement.
The new figure increased California’s overall death toll to 25,971…reports Asian Lite News
California reported its highest increase in single-day coronavirus fatalities on New Year’s Day since the onset of the pandemic.
A total of 585 new coronavirus deaths were reported on Friday, shattering Thursday’s record of 428 deaths by a significant amount, Xinhua news agency quoted the latest data released by the state government on Friday as saying.
The new figure increased California’s overall death toll to 25,971.
Los Angeles County, the most populous in the US, has witnessed a majority of the deaths in the state.
On Friday, the county’s Department of Public Health reported 207 new fatalities.
The state also reported 47,189 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, of which the Los Angeles County accounted for 20,414.
California’s total caseload currently stood at 2,292,568.
The CBSLA news channel reported that hospitals across the Los Angeles and other counties in Southern California had been stretched to their limits, as the county’s seven-day daily positivity rate increased from 18.2 per cent on Christmas Day to 21.5 per cent on New Year’s Day.
Cathy Chidester, director of the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency, told CBSLA that there were reports of hospitals being so overwhelmed that ambulances were being forced to wait up to eight hours in emergency bays to unload passengers.
“We’re running out of ambulances, and our response to 911 calls is getting longer and longer,” she said.
