Ed Sheeran Sings in Punjabi For First Time in Performance With Indian Singer Diljit Dosanjh

English musician Ed Sheeran sang for the first time in Punjabi while sharing the stage with Indian singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh during a concert in Mumbai on Saturday, delighting fans of both superstars. 

Sheeran, who was playing a show at the Mahalaxmi Race Course, invited Dosanjh to join him on stage to sing the Indian star’s hit “Lover.” Dosanjh led the performance, with Sheeran singing along with the chorus and jamming on his guitar.

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Both posted videos of the collaboration on their Instagram accounts. Sheeran commented: “Got to bring out @diljitdosanjh tonight in Mumbai and sing in Punjabi for the first time. I’ve had such an incredible time in India, more to come!”

Dosanjh posted a similar video on his Instagram account, writing “Brother singing in PANJABI for the first time,” using an alternative spelling of the language.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos)

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A post shared by DILJIT DOSANJH (@diljitdosanjh)

The performance wasn’t the first time Sheeran has performed in a language other than English. He recorded a version of his hit “Thinking Out Loud” in Irish Gaelic. He also sang in Spanish on two songs released in collaboration with Colombian singer J Balvin, and wrote the song “Bibia Be Ye Ye,” with parts in Twi, a language spoken in Ghana, with Ghanaian-English singer-songwriter and rapper Fuse ODG and his friends in Ghana.

Dosanjh has also collaborated with other English-speaking artists, releasing the bilingual song “Hass Hass” with Sia last year.

Sheeran’s first foray into Punjabi was met with praise from fans on Instagram. Dosanjh’s account posted more footage of the pair practicing before the concert, the Indian superstar greeting the crowd, and interviews with fans after the surprise performance.

“The audience started dancing and cheering and enjoyed. ‘Lover’ was the best feeling ever,” one fan said in the video. Her friend added: “Big, big fan, I think he’s really sold the show, and I loved it.” 

“I’m never going to forget this night,” another said. 

source https://time.com/6957802/ed-sheeran-diljit-dosanjh-punjabi-performance-india/

Cockney Rebel Singer Steve Harley Dies Aged 73

LONDON — Steve Harley, a British musician whose glam-rock band Cockney Rebel had an enduring hit with the song “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me),” has died. He was 73.

Harley’s family said Sunday that he had “passed away peacefully at home, with his family by his side.” Harley said late last year he was being treated for “a nasty cancer.”

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Born in London in 1951, Harley spent almost four years of his childhood hospitalized after contracting polio, periods during which he began reading and writing poetry. He worked as a trainee accountant and as journalist on local newspapers, and began his performing career at London folk clubs.

He formed Cockney Rebel, which released a debut album, “The Human Menagerie,” in 1973 before foundering over creative differences. With a new lineup and rebranded as Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, the band released the 1975 album “The Best Years of Our Lives,” which contained Harley’s biggest hit.

With its barbed lyrics – aimed at Harley’s former bandmates — and infectiously catchy chorus, the Alan Parsons-produced “Make Me Smile” topped the U.K. singles chart. It went on to be covered scores of times and was used on countless soundtracks, including in the 1997 film “The Full Monty” and in ads for Carlsberg beer, department store Marks and Spencer and Viagra.

Harley also sang the title song of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “The Phantom of the Opera” alongside Sarah Brightman when it was released as a single in 1986. He was originally cast in the title role for the stage musical, but was replaced by Michael Crawford.

Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, who produced Harley’s 1982 track “I Can’t Even Touch You,” called him a “true ‘working musician.’”

“He toured until he could tour no more, playing his songs for fans old and new,” Ure wrote on social media. “My thoughts go out to Dorothy and his family at this very sad time. Our songs live on longer than we ever can.”

Harley is survived by his wife Dorothy, children Kerr and Greta and four grandchildren. The family said in a statement that they knew he would be “desperately missed by people all over the world.”

source https://time.com/6957789/steve-harley-dead-age-73-cockney-rebel-singer/

Tucker Carlson Pranked by YouTubers Pretending They Edited Kate Middleton Photo

Two YouTubers posted a video showing Tucker Carlson interviewing one of them posing as a fired Kensington Palace employee who edited a controversial manipulated U.K. Mother’s Day photo of Kate Middleton and her three children.

According to pranksters Josh Pieters and Archie Manners, who post videos under the YouTube account Josh & Archie, they duped former Fox News presenter Carlson into conducting the interview for his streaming service the Tucker Carlson Network.

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In the video posted on Pieters’ X (formerly Twitter) account and on the Josh & Archie YouTube channel on March 14, four days after the photo was released, the pair chronicle their ruse, including photoshopping a fake employment contract and the Princess of Wales’ photo into a supposed original, unedited version (which the palace has not released). At the time of publication, the video had 1.5 million views on X and 56,000 views on YouTube.

We Pranked Tucker Carlson… pic.twitter.com/pGceMRn26t

— Josh Pieters (@joshua_pieters) March 14, 2024

Manners told Deadline that the pair exposed their stunt before the interview aired in a bid to not spread further misinformation: “We didn’t want to cause any more rumors, that are not true, to go out to lots and lots of people.” 

TIME reached out to the Tucker Carlson Network for comment, along with contacting Manners and Pieters via their YouTube and Instagram accounts and Manners’ representative Dana Malmstrom for more information. 

The botched photo editing, for which Kate took credit and apologized, furthered a media frenzy around the Princess of Wales’ whereabouts and her health after she was hospitalized for two weeks in January for a “planned abdominal surgery.” Kensington Palace said she would recover and return to the public eye after Easter, which is on March 31. The edited picture, which was presented on March 10 as the first look at Kate post-surgery other than a paparazzi photo, did not assuage the public’s concern, and instead heightened conspiracy theories about her. 

According to the video, the prank started with Pieters sending an email to Carlson’s team introducing Manners as “George,” a recently fired Kensington Palace digital content creator who wanted to “get my side of the story out,” saying: “They are not telling the truth about the Princess’ health, and are now willing to fire staff in order to conceal the truth.” 

Carlson’s team called to discuss and asked for “proof” of George’s employment and the original photo, according to a recording of the call in the video. Pieters then photoshopped the released photo to make it look as though it was taken in December by adding a Christmas tree in the background window. Pieters also created a fake “letter of engagement” with a Kensington Palace emblem that featured the words “Every Little Helps”—the slogan of British supermarket chain Tesco—in Latin. One section of the contract said that if the employee failed their probationary period “the company retains the right to amputate 1 (1) limb of their choosing.”

Carlson’s team then confirmed the interview at a TV studio in Westminster, London, according to a screenshot of a text, and Manners attended with his own camera. The camera filmed the interview taking place on a split screen, during which Carlson—seated in front of a TCN (Tucker Carlson Network) sign—said, per the subtitles provided by the Josh & Archie YouTube account: “We’ve done our best to verify that your identity is what you say it is. You’re not a fake [Alexei] Navalny or doing a prank or anything.”” 

Manners, posing as George, said the editing job was shoddy because it was “too big to do.” He said the photo, which the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media accounts said was taken by Prince William in 2024, was actually taken by Kate’s maternal uncle, Gary Goldsmith, at Christmastime. 

After the interview, but with the cameras still rolling, Carlson said: “That was great and it was really interesting too.” 

It’s not clear when the interview was filmed. In the video posted March 14, Manners, posing as George, said he worked at the palace until “yesterday morning.” After the interview, Carlson’s team told Manners in a text message that the interview would likely broadcast “early next week,” according to a screenshot in the footage. 

Before it could, though, the YouTubers exposed their prank to the world.

source https://time.com/6957764/tucker-carlson-prank-youtubers-kate-middleton-photo-editing/

Vaughan Gething Wins Welsh Labour Party Contest, Will Become Wales’ First Black Leader

LONDON — Vaughan Gething won the Welsh Labour Party leadership contest on Saturday, and is set to become the first Black leader of Wales’ semi-autonomous government.

Gething, the son of a Welsh father and a Zambian mother, will be the first Black leader of a government in the U.K. — and, according to him, of any European country.

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“Today, we turn a page in the book of our nation’s history. A history we write together,” Gething said in his victory speech. “Not just because I have the honor of becoming the first Black leader in any European country — but because the generational dial has jumped too.

“I want us to use this moment as a starting point, for a more confident march into the future,” he added.

Gething, who is currently Welsh economy minister, narrowly beat Education Minister Jeremy Miles in a race to replace First Minister Mark Drakeford. Drakeford, 69, announced late last year he would step down once a replacement was chosen.

Gething, 50, won 51.7% of the votes cast by members of the party and affiliated trade unions, and Miles 48.3%.

Once he is confirmed on Wednesday by the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, where Labour is the largest party, Gething will become the fifth first minister since Wales’ national legislature was established in 1999.

Once Gething is in the post, three of the U.K.’s four governments will have nonwhite leaders. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has Indian heritage, while Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf was born to a Pakistani family in Britain.

Northern Ireland is led jointly by Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly, meaning that for the first time there are no white male heads of government in the U.K.

Wales, which has a population of about 3 million, is one of four parts of the United Kingdom, along with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The British government in London is responsible for defense, foreign affairs and other U.K.-wide issues, while administrations in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast control areas such as education and health.

Gething was Wales’ health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as economy minister has had to deal with fallout from Tata Steel’s plan to close both blast furnaces at its plant in Port Talbot, eliminating 2,800 jobs at one of Wales’ biggest employers.

He’ll take over a government that is often at odds with Sunak’s Conservative administration in London. Wales has also seen a wave of protests over environmental rules by farmers, similar to those that have roiled France and other European countries.

Gething was the front-runner to win the contest, though his campaign was rattled by the revelation that he’d accepted 200,000 pounds ($255,000) in donations from a recycling company that was found guilty of environmental offenses and breaching health and safety regulations.

Gething said that the donations were properly declared under electoral rules.

Other party leaders offered congratulations to Gething, along with a dose of skepticism.

“I daresay it will be business as usual, because he’s been cut of the same cloth as Mark Drakeford,” Welsh Conservative leader Andrew R.T. Davies said.

source https://time.com/6957717/vaughan-gething-wins-welsh-labour-party-contest/

Residents of Philadelphia Suburb Ordered to Shelter-in-Place After ‘Confirmed Shootings’

FAIRLESS HILLS, Pa. — Several people were shot after gunfire erupted early Saturday in a suburban Philadelphia township, forcing cancellation of a St. Patrick’s Day parade and shutting down a children’s theme park, authorities said.

Middletown Township police said Saturday morning that there were “confirmed shootings” in neighboring Falls Township in Eastern Pennsylvania that resulted in “several gunshot victims.” Authorities in Bucks County issued a shelter-in-place order for the area, warning residents to stay in their homes and lock their doors.

Police said it wasn’t known yet if the shootings were “targeted or random.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro said in social media posts that he has asked the Pennsylvania State Police to assist local law enforcement agencies.

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican who represents Bucks County, said in social media posts that there had been “a carjacking and a shooting in two sections of Falls Township.”

He said he was “in touch with law enforcement officials as they pursue the suspect.”

Police said Oxford Valley Mall and Sesame Place had been told to close until further notice. The area’s Target store and other businesses chose to close as well. Further details about the shootings and suspect or suspects weren’t immediately released.

source https://time.com/6957673/philadelphia-suburb-falls-township-pennsylvania-shooting-victims/

India Announces 6-Week General Elections Starting April 19, Modi’s BJP Tops Surveys

NEW DELHI — India on Saturday announced its 6-week-long general elections will start on April 19, with most surveys predicting a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Voting in the world’s largest democracy will stretch over seven phases, with different states voting at different times and results will be announced on June 4. Over 970 million voters — more than 10% of the world’s population — will elect 543 members for the lower house of Parliament for a term of five years.

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Modi, who is seeking a third consecutive term, faces little challenge as the main opposition alliance of over two dozen regional parties led by the Indian National Congress party appears to be cracking, riven by rivalries, political defections and ideological clashes.

Analysts say the elections are likely to cement Modi as one of India’s most enduring most consequential leaders who has sought to transform the country from a secular democracy into an avowedly Hindu nation.

Each election phase will last one day and several constituencies — spread across multiple states, densely populated cities and far-flung villages — will vote that day. The staggered polling allows the government to deploy tens of thousands of troops to prevent violence and transport electoral officials and voting machines.

India has a first-past-the-post multiparty electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins.

Ahead of the polls, Modi has been travelling across the country inaugurating new projects, making speeches and engaging with voters. Support for the leader surged after he opened a Hindu temple in northern Ayodhya city in January, which many saw as the unofficial start of his election campaign because it fulfilled his party’s long-held Hindu nationalist pledge.

The 73-year-old Modi first swept to power in 2014 on promises of economic development, presenting himself as an outsider cracking down on the political elite. Since then, he has grown increasingly popular and mixed religion with politics in a formula that has resonated deeply with the country’s majority Hindu population even if it undermines India’s secular roots.

The elections come as India’s clout on the global stage has risen under Modi, thanks to its large economy and partly because it is seen as a counterweight to a rising China.

Critics say that nearly a decade of Modi’s rule has been marked by rising unemployment even as its economy swells, attacks by Hindu nationalists against the country’s minorities, particularly Muslims, and a shrinking space for dissent and free media. The opposition says a win by Modi’s party could threaten India’s status as a secular, democratic nation.

A victory for Modi’s BJP would follow a 2019 electoral triumph, when it secured an absolute majority with 303 parliamentary seats against 52 held by the Congress party.

source https://time.com/6957662/india-general-elections-april-modi-bjp/

Fans Have a Theory About the Date Meghan Markle Chose to Launch Her New Venture

The internet is abuzz with theories about Meghan Markle’s brand new lifestyle company, American Riviera Orchard, which she announced the launch of on Thursday, Mar. 14. Per the company’s trademark application, it will sell tableware, cookbooks, dinnerware, jellies, jams, and more. Elsewhere, fans have been trying to piece together clues based on the limited information out now.

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One theory that has been making the rounds on social media is that the company was announced on Mar. 14 because that date marks four years since Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, took a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles to begin their new lives in Meghan’s native California. In their Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan, the Prince referred to it as their “freedom flight.”

I adore the fact that #MeghanMarkle launched her IG/Brand on the #FreedomFlight anniversary! We see you, sis! 🥹😍😘😉😉😉 https://t.co/dklv7O3SOK

— Portia D. Cook, M.Ed (@ProsperPortia) March 14, 2024

Harry and Meghan moved to Los Angeles after they chose to step down from their roles as “senior members” of the British Royal Family. In the Netflix documentary, footage is shown of a video filmed on a plane during which Harry says: “It’s 6 a.m. on the 14th of March and we are on the ‘Freedom Flight.’ We are leaving Canada and we are headed to Los Angeles.”

TIME has reached out to Archewell, Meghan’s organization co-founded with Harry, for further information on the launch of American Riviera Orchard.

source https://time.com/6957342/meghan-markle-american-riviera-orchard-launch-date-theory/