The Rolling Stones land in Cuba for their free concert

The Rolling Stones have landed in Havana, the capital of Cuba, on the eve of the rock band's historic free concert in a country where its music was once silenced. All members including Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards and Ron Wood have landed. Mick Jagger briefly greeted fans in Spanish and said he was happy to be on the island.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 25 March 2016.

The concert is scheduled to be held in The concert will be at Havana's Ciudad Deportivo on Friday night and it would be three days after President Barack Obama wrapped up a visit to the communist-run island. During his visit, he declared an end to the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.
The Rolling Stones arrived in their private plane and flew into Jose Marti airport - the team has the four British rockers and nearly 60 technical workers and family members.
It may be recalled that in the heat of Cuba's revolution from the 1960s to the 1980s, foreign bands like The Rolling Stones were considered subversive and blocked from the radio. Interestingly, the Cubans listened to their music in secret, and passed on records from hand to hand. The band has now come to Cuba after doing concerts in Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina and Mexico.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Lord Shiva wants to be the King of good times (satire)

Moody gets a call from Uncle Sam and takes a trip to Mars (satire)

Narad queers the pitch for Didi & Co (satire)


Budget airline from Dubai crashes during landing in Russia - 62 killed

A 1939 Japanese Lilliput robot and Flash Gordon spaceship up for auction

Gujarat Police learn the finer points of crime from hardened criminals


Star Wars Episode VIII to get delayed till December 2017

Antonio Banderas gifted a pair of monkeys to Salma Hayek on her birthday

Frieda Pinto talks about 'Jungle Book - Origins'


Clash between people of a Roma settlement of Tula and Russian riot police

President Obama imposes tough sanctions on North Korea

Terror attack in Ankara kills at least 37 - one suicide bomber was a 22-year-old woman

The Rolling Stones to perform in an open air concert in Cuba

The Rolling Stones are set to perform in Havana this month and that would make them to be the first British band to play an open air concert in Cuba. The free performance is scheduled to be held at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana on 25 March, just three days after President Obama wraps up his own visit to Cuba.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 1 March 2016.

It will be a big break for them because their music had once been banned on the Caribbean island for being an "ideological deviation". The band is promising to present a "set packed full of classic Stones hits as well as special gems from their million selling albums". Their gig will be held in a 64-acre sports complex after President Obama concludes his own visit to Cuba. It would have been a historic trip as he becomes the first sitting US President to go to Havana since 1928 - this is seen as a crucial step for thawing of relations between the former Cold War foes. Incidentally, many big musical names of the 1960s, like Elvis Presley and The Beatles, were banned after the island's communist revolution in 1959. Of course, the country's figurehead, Fidel Castro, had later admitted that he regretted the move. He even unveiled a statue to John Lennon in a Havana park in 2000. The Rolling Stones are at present on tour in South America, with dates this month in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. Other British musicians who have held shows in Cuba in the past are The Manic Street Preachers - they played an indoor show in Havana in 2001 that was watched by Fidel Castro himself.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Didi knows that ghosts have their uses (satire)

‘Make in India’ concept to market Ganga water (satire)

Moody throws light on conversion and smartness (satire)


Loss of bees and butterflies is disturbing the ecological balance

Madhya Pradesh to promote tiger tourism

China wants to fight terrorism in Xinjiang with entertainment, singing and dancing


Quantum jump for Priyanka Chopra from Quantico to Baywatch

Kissing scenes in movies – why this fad has never caught on in Bollywood

British actor Tom Hardy could become the new face of James Bond after Daniel Craig


Airstrikes in Syria target schools and hospitals - nearly 50 children killed

F-22 Stealth Bombers of the US fly low over South Korea skies

North Korea plans to carry out terror attacks on South Korea

Singer Cher to donate 180,000 bottles of drinking water to Flint in Michigan

The residents of the city of Flint in Michigan are struggling for drinking water since 2014 because available water is contaminated with lead pollution. Hence, singer and actress Cher has decided to send 180,000 bottles of fresh water for its 100,000 residents.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 17 January 2016.

Cher is an Oscar winner and has said that this is a tragedy of staggering proportion.
It seems Flint's 100,000 residents have not had access to safe drinking water ever since 2014, when officials had begun to draw water from the Flint River as a temporary cost-cutting measure while a pipeline was built from Lake Huron. Unfortunately, the corrosive water was not treated properly, which led to the problem.
The foul-smelling water is making people vomit, break out in rashes and lose their hair. The state officials had initially downplayed concerns over levels of lead, but then committed to rectify the situation by sanctioning $10.6m to reconnect the city with Detroit and to install filters, testing and other services.
Flint has returned to using Detroit water in October.
President Barack Obama has signed an emergency declaration paving the way for federal aid to deal with the crisis. As such, Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide water, water filters, water filter cartridges and water test kits among other supplies, for up to three months.
The 181,440 bottles that Cher is donating are expected to reach the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan from Wednesday.


(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Abhi Shake for industries to boost Bengal’s image (satire)

Rum Mudda reminds Moody about temples (satire)

Lord Shiva’s solution for global warming – go under water (satire)


Beautiful diners get tables near windows or high visibility areas in restaurants

Ahmedabad hosts 13th edition of 'Sattvik' - the pan-India food festival

53-year-old British woman flew 13000-mile in 1942 bi-plane from Farnborough to Sydney


Shah Rukh Khan’s fond wish - to see Ethan Hunt and James Bond in one movie

'Avatar 2', sequel to 'Avatar' of 2009 expected to release in Dcember 2017

Aamir Khan no longer the face of Incredible India


Motorcycle riding gunmen open fire upon tourists as they boarded bus in Cairo

Woman with fake passport in a British Airways flight from Ibiza leads to panic

German police hunting for seven suicide bombers who planned to blow up Munich railway stations

Ice Cube would love to have dinner with Barack Obama once he leaves White House

The ways of celebrities are steeped in mysteries and strange and, the latest in this list could be Ice Cube wanting to have dinner with Barack Obama. Strange because Ice Cube had, earlier, mocking rapper Eazy-E for having lunch with George Bush Sr in the 1990s!!
Ice Cube now admits he would accept a White House invite but permeably after Obama leaves – that way, the conversation would be "juicier".
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 21 August 2015.

He was speaking on the occasion of promoting his NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton, which charts the rise of gangsta rap music. The film includes references to LAPD brutality against young black men and the riots after Rodney King was beaten in 1991. Incidentally, the theme is relevant even today following the death of Michael Brown in August last year and the subsequent protests in Ferguson, Missouri.
Straight Outta Compton has a scene where Ice Cube, played by his real life son O'Shea Jackson Jr, mocks fellow rapper Eazy-E for having lunch with George Bush Sr at the White House.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Britain battered by heavy rains - parts of England saw 40mm rain in an hour

Sri Lanka get the better of a star studded India – Rangana Herath wreaks havoc

Controversy around Maggi, the 2-minute noodle: Bombay HC lifts ban, orders fresh tests


60-years of Pather Panchali – the Bengali movie of Satyajit Ray that was a pathbreaker

Spider-Man will be seen in his traditional costume in ‘Captain America: Civil War’

Big-B and Deepika Padukone’s ‘Piku’ gets best movie award at Indian Film Festival, Melbourne


ISIS planned to carry out ‘lone wolf’ terror attacks, target the Queen and the Royal family

Terrorism a family affair in London – 5 of a family arrested by counter-terror police

At least 60 killed in truck bomb explosion by ISIS in a Baghdad food market


Independence Day as I have seen it

The days of mughlai parathas

Khichudi – the favorite monsoon recipe for Bengalis