KUALA LUMPUR: The controversy over an incident where Chinese flags were waved during the International Cultural Guan Gong celebration in Teluk Intan could have an impact on the tourism sector, says Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing. “Malaysia is proud to be a multi-ethnic country. However, the overreaction of some parties to this issue contradicts the…
Four Indians were killed when a Tesla car they were travelling in caught fire after crashing into a divider near Toronto in Canada on Thursday. However, it isn’t yet clear where the victims were heading or whether their Tesla was a self-driving model. All the deceased hailed from Gujarat. While the two siblings from Godhra in Panchmahal district and two others from Anand district died, another 25-year-old woman travelling with them escaped with burn injuries.Three of the deceased have been identified as Keta Gohil (29) and her brother Neel Gohil (25), and Jayrajsinh Sisodia (30). An eyewitness said that several cars stopped to help and were trying to break the windows of the car to help those involved in the crash.Also Read: US: Four Indians die in massive car crash in TexasAccording to a report by Toronto-based CTV news, two truck drivers had pulled over and tried to help the occupants of the car by smashing the windows as they heard the occupants yelling. The report further informed that the woman, who had been pulled out of the car, was able to walk and sit on the side of the road. “However, the woman did not give any further information about the crash,” the report stated.The parents of Gohil siblings are having a tough time coming to terms with the tragedy, one of their relatives told The Indian Express, pleading anonymity. “Their father, Sanjaysinh Gohil, is a retired bank employee. Keta had been residing in Toronto for the last five years, while Neel had moved in January this year to join his sister,” he said.According to him, the group was returning after a birthday party when the mishap occurred. “The family received a phone call on Thursday. The Canadian authorities have said that they would begin the DNA profiling of the charred bodies next week once the family gives its consent,” he added.
These films had so many tragic occurrences before, during, and sometimes after filming, some deem them cursed (Picture: NETFLIX / REX)Horror films are designed to terrify, but sometimes what happens behind the scenes can be so much scarier.
For decades, some of the most frightening flicks to hit the big screen have been labelled ‘cursed’ by fans due to terrible things that happened during filming – and sometimes before it had even begun.
Most recently, Glenn Close’s The Deliverance was hit by several strange instances one after the other that had fans scratching their heads and wondering if the set was haunted.
The cast and crew of the Netflix hit reportedly held ‘prayer circles’ after director Lee Daniels’ dog died, and actor Mo’Nique was rushed to hospital.
‘Mr. Daniels had me doing a scene, okay? And we’re outside. It was just, the demon was supposed to be on top of the building, so they kept blowing this… I mean, at one point I’m like, “Lee, do we have this shit because I can’t breathe,”‘ she told SiriusXM.
‘So when I got finished, right, my thyroid was a big… I mean, it was just sick.
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‘Oh, baby. I was like, “What kind of s**t is this?” It was a lot of things happening with The Deliverance.’
Daniels also revealed his sister had been diagnosed with lung cancer two days after filming the chemotherapy scene with Close.
It’s just the latest in a long line of horror films that have had stranger than fiction events surrounding the production…
The Exorcist
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The Exorcist is often cited as one of the scariest and greatest horror films ever made, but it was famously dogged with problems and freakish occurrences even before filming began.
Shortly before filming began on the 1973 possession horror, the set of Regan and Chris MacNeil’s home burned down unexpectedly.
Further delays occurred when Linda Blair and Max von Sydow, who played Regan and Father Merrin respectively, lost close family members.
Things didn’t get much better when filming began, with Linda and Ellen Burstyn, who starred as Chris, both sustaining injuries on set – Linda even fractured her spine during the iconic bed possession scene, an injury that had lifelong implications.
It has also been reported that one crew member lost a toe during filming, and another a thumb.
Across the production of The Exorcist, nine deaths occurred including that of Jack MacGowran, who played Burke Dennings.
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer, NOW TV, and Sky Go
The Omen
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Lucifer himself appeared to be trying to stop The Omen in its tracks back in 1976.
Two months before filming began, Robert Thorn actor Gregory Peck was struck by tragedy when his son took his own life.
Later, In October 1975, Peck was travelling to London to film The Omen when his aeroplane was struck by lightning – and bizarrely, this isn’t the only disruption lightning would cause.
A few weeks later, producer Mace Neufeld was travelling to set when his aeroplane was also struck by lightning, and screenwriter David Seltzer also experienced the same occurrence.
When filming began in Rome, producer Harvey Bernard narrowly avoided being hit by lightning – proving once, and for all, that lightning can strike twice…And more.
A stroke of luck saw the crew avoid death when the charter plane they were set to use for an aerial shot was used by a group of businessmen – with the plane crashing and killing everyone on board.
The hotel the director, Richard Donner, had been staying in was bombed by the IRA the day after filming, and a zookeeper at the safari park where they filmed the baboon scene was killed by a lion, also the day after those scenes were shot.
A serious accident could have occurred onset when dogs used in a scene turned on a stuntman and could not be called off by their handlers.
But the most infamous tragedy that happened that is attributed to The Omen is that of Liz Moore’s death.
She was the assistant and girlfriend of John Richardson, the film’s special effects expert. The duo were involved in a car accident in the Netherlands in 1976.
While Richardson escaped the wreck largely unscathed, Moore was decapitated.
What makes it even more terrifying? The accident happened on Friday the 13th and when John came to, he noticed a road sign that read ‘Ommen, 66.6km’.
Where to watch: Disney Plus
Poltergeist
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Film fans have long suspected that 1982 horror film Poltergeist was cursed after supposedly using real, human skeletons in the first film, though this has never been confirmed.
Before the third Poltergeist film was released in 1988, four cast members had died, including Heather O’Rourke who played Carol Anne in the original production.
O’Rourke was just 12 years old when she died of congenital stenosis of the intestine complicated by septic shock on February 1, 1988, before filming of the third film wrapped.
In the same year that the first film was released, Dominique Dunne, who starred as Dana, was strangled by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, in the driveway of her home.
She fell into a coma and died five days later on November 4, 1982.
Taylor actor Will Sampson died aged 53 from postoperative kidney failure in 1987, and Lou Perryman, who played Pugsley, was murdered by Seth Christopher Tatum in 2009 during a robbery.
Oliver Robins, who played Robbie Freeling, was also almost killed while filming a scene where a clown was attacking him, after the mechanical clown malfunctioned and the actor was being choked for real.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
The Crow
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Actor Brandon Lee – who was the son of Bruce Lee – was fatally shot on the set of The Crow, when a prop gun was accidentally loaded with a real bullet, which hit him in the abdomen and caused his death.
While that could easily be attributed to a freak accident, what makes it so much more creepy is the fact that he had apparently predicted his own death after having a premonition that he would die suddenly.
Brandon is said to have believed his family was cursed after his grandfather had angered a businessman who had put a curse on them.
His dad, Bruce Lee, also died at 32 after apparently having a premonition that he would only live half the time of his father, who died at age 64, due to the curse.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
Twilight Zone: The Movie
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Twilight Zone: The Movie, released in 1983, suffered a terrible, tragic accident on set when three cast members were killed when filming the Time Out segment.
Actor Victor Morrow, who played Bill Connor in the film, and two child actors, who had allegedly been illegally hired, were decapitated, crushed and killed on set when a low-flying helicopter spun out of control.
The three were killed while filming a scene featuring heavy explosions when debris from the explosions flew 100 feet in the air and damaged the helicopter’s rotor.
During the subsequent trial, director John Landis denied culpability for the accident, but admitted that the hiring of the child actors Myca Dinh Le, 7, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, 6, was ‘wrong.’
Landis, associate producer George Folsey Jr, production manager Dan Allingham, pilot Dorcey Wingo, and explosives specialist Paul Stewart were later acquitted on charges of manslaughter
Where to watch: Available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
The Ring Two
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The Ring Two, directed by Hideo Nakata, was released in 2005 and had some very strange phenomena take place that suspiciously mimicked the events of the film.
Nakata once revealed in an interview that water is used in the film to symbolize someone’s evil spirit, and during production, the production office began flooding.
The film’s set costumer Jeannine Bourdaghs witnessed a strange occurrence on the Universal lot in which a deer, reported to be six foot tall, ran at her.
She continued that if she had been ‘six feet ahead’, the deer would have ploughed into her at almost 100 miles-an-hour.
This is particularly spooky as in the film, there is a scene in which Samara (Daveigh Chase) attempts to kill Rachel (Naomi Watts) and Aidan (David Dorfman) with a deer.
Where to watch: NOW TV, Sky Go, and Paramount Plus
Annabelle
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For a film about a cursed doll, you would probably expect some eerie happenings on set – but maybe not this horrific.
Both the first Annabelle film and its sequel, Annabelle Comes Home, had some very freaky stuff happen during filming, including light fixtures reportedly falling and the film’s Annabelle doll moving on its own.
Producer Peter Sarfan told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘We shot in this amazing, old apartment building near Koreatown, and we had some funky stuff go down.
‘In particular, the first day that the demon was shooting in full makeup, we brought him up in the elevator. He walks out and walks around to the green room to where we’re holding the talent, and just as he walks under, the entire glass light fixture falls down on his head. And in the script, the demon kills the janitor in that hallway. It was totally freaky.’
The doll itself is based on a ‘real’ haunted doll investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are fictionalised in these films as well as The Conjuring franchise.
In the sequel, Madison Iseman said that when she would enter the Warrens’ bedroom set, she would find the Annabelle doll in different positions each time despite no one entering or exiting the room.
Star Mckenna Grace also reported experiencing a sudden nosebleed during rehearsals, and that one trailer had a strange power outage that the crew could not find the source of.
Where to watch: NOW TV and Sky Go
Rosemary’s Baby
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Rosemary’s Baby centres on a pregnant woman who believes an evil cult wants to take her baby to use in their dark rituals.
But the stories that surround the making of the 1968 movie are enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
The most famous being the death of Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, who was brutally murdered by Charles Manson’s followers a year after the film was released.
Producer William Castle also suffered sudden kidney failure after receiving hate mail about the film and apparently screamed ‘Rosemary, for God’s sake, drop the knife!’ as he was being admitted to the hospital. He later died of a heart attack.
The composer, Krzysztof Komeda, also died of a brain clot a year after the film was released in a weirdly similar way to how Rosemary’s friend, Hutch dies in the movie.
In another bizarre coincidence, Beatles star John Lennon was shot and killed outside the building in which Rosemary’s apartment scenes were shot.
Where to watch: NOW TV and Sky Go
The Amityville Horror
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The ninth installment of the Amityville series, 2005’s The Amityville Horror, focuses on the reported experiences of the Lutz family after they moved into a house in Long Island where Ronald DeFeo Jr murdered six members of his family in 1974, before they moved out just 28 days later after apparently being terrorised by the paranormal.
All six of the victims were found face down in their beds with no signs of a struggle, despite police finding that the rifle used to kill them had not been fitted with a sound suppressor and they hadn’t been drugged with sedatives before their deaths.
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Read More StoriesNone of the family’s neighbours reported hearing any gunshots, and those who were awake at the time of the murders say they only heard the family’s sheepdog, Shaggy, barking.
Ryan Reynolds, who plays George Lutz in the film, reported that he and members of the crew kept waking up at 3.15am every day, which was the time Ronald DeFeo Jr was said to have murdered his parents and four siblings.
Before filming began, a dead body of a fisherman also washed up on shore by the film set and the real Kathy Lutz also died during filming.
Where to watch: Prime Video and Freevee
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Chatty, happy and forthcoming. It was easy to start a conversation with Sharon Ireeta Kasigwa because much as we had never met, I had heard about and followed her exploits in mountaineering. She had read some of my writings and seen my photography.
So, during this year’s Magical Kenya Travel Expo at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi, a mutual friend, Emmanuel Kintu, a Ugandan-born video content creator based in Kenya, introduced us.
It was a pleasure meeting Kasigwa, a banker whose love to see new places, scale hills and mountains and meet new people led her on paths that kept drawing her away from the banking halls.
But until she gave in, albeit unintentionally, the 13 years in three banks contributed to the building blocks that were later to fortify her foundation in the travel and hospitality sector. She was excellent at customer service from the point of entry into banking and as she rose to senior ranks of management.
Kasigwa confesses she did not plan to end up in tourism, but destiny was calling. She would board a bus or matatu, plan trips with or for friends.
“It was adventurous and exciting. Well, if Bob Marley thought that the beauty of music is that when it hits you, you feel no pain, travel infects you with therapy so good that you just want to keep opening new pages in the big exploration book,” She recounts.
She opened the first travel pages thanks to her mother who worked at Coffee Marketing Board (CMB) and was transferred to Kasese. Her mother’s friend took Kasigwa to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
At the time, the youngster had only heard about the park in the Social Studies (SST) classes. Her other intriguing experience was sitting by the window of the train to see rivers, papyrus and nature on her way to the village in Kamwenge, Ibanda.
At 10, she might not have envisioned a dream of starting a tourism enterprise that would take people for leisure trips to explore and learn about places. Looking back, Kasigwa perhaps appreciates that seed of affinity for travel was sowed and only kept blossoming as she grew from a child into a teenager, and adult.
Diving into tourism
She started Nkwanzi Travel in August 2021, when Covid-19 had broken out and many people were cautious about their movement.
When the effects of the pandemic eased and travel restrictions were eased too, people needed to go out and refresh their minds. That is when friends reached out to Kasigwa seeking advice on where to go and what to do.
Her social media platforms were active, and she would post about her experiences at different places so her friends were confident to trust her to organise their trips.
“My friends had lost a paternal uncle. Both their parents are in their 70s. The family of six children who are married and all together have 14 children. It was a group of 28. My friend proposed that they needed to have a family get-together. So, they asked me to recommend four places for them to choose from,” Kasigwa recollects.
Going commercial
She prepared various itineraries, and they chose Fort Portal and Queen Elizabeth. She named it the Tooro-Kazinga Adventure and inserted pictures. When they saw it, they called Kasigwa asking for the account number to make their initial deposit.
She had been doing such itineraries on a pro-bono basis, but not this time. Her friend wanted her to turn her passion into a business venture. Her friends did not want to drive and asked her to find a vehicle for them and a driver, and book places where they would reside.
That is when it dawned on Kasigwa that she had a database of contacts.
“I started fidgeting. I went to the website of URSB and registered a company, but most names were taken. I ended up with Nkwanzi which was confirmed in September 2021. I opened bank accounts and went to register with Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) and by the time their trip came in December, we had done two trips to Mount Elgon, three trips to Jinja, islands, Kampala city tours that included the Hindu Temple, St Balikuddembe Shrine, Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine and Namirembe Cathedral,” she narrates.
Uganda is rich
Nkwanzi was officially born. Nkwanzi are beads in western Uganda, so enkwanzi are pearls as Uganda is the Pearl of Africa.
“It is well-represented in our logo together with rivers and water plants. Our forefathers used to give out beads and gifts in appreciation for beauty. That is why they used to wear them around the neck, ankles, waist, head and some tribes would use the beads to identify the bride in the marriage rites,” the Nkwanzi founder explains.
She adds that Nkwanzi Travel handles inbound tours in Uganda, East Africa and beyond. Their main focus is three aspects, adventure mountaineering, primate safaris, and cultural heritage.
“We have many mountains which are not even talked about in social studies. We are gifted with gorillas, blue monkeys and above all we have a unique culture and heritage which we proudly sell because it is not found anywhere,” says Kasigwa.
I ask her how many mountains she knows and lists the mountains of Karamoja; Moroto, Kadam, Napak and Morungole which have existing trails.
“In Northern Uganda, there is a mountain above Pader and Kitgum. In the West Nile, there are Nyeri and Oche, there are mountains in Zombo. When you go to the South western, people call it Mufumbiro but actually, they are the Virunga volcanic mountains whose dominant range is Mount Muhabura of the eight. We share them with DR Congo and Rwanda.”
Her adventure
She has scaled all the mountains aforementioned and currently has Nyeri on her to-do list, along with Mountain Slayers, a hiking club with which she would like to take a break from work. Kasigwa wants to switch and go as a tourist and not a tour operator.
Like that, she occasionally chooses to still enjoy travel as a passion and hobby and experiences what it is like being on the receiving end of a tourism service. It was partly for the same reason that she attended the Magical Kenya Travel expo.
Kasigwa wanted to find like-minded tour operators to share values in terms of customer experience, passion, empathy, integrity and creativity.
“So, companies from Mombasa, Nairobi, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa, Rwanda that have such values are the ones that we are looking to partner with in business so that we can share Africa before the world,” she says in an interview. And in creating synergetic partnerships, Kasigwa believes that there is always an opportunity to learn and improve.
For example, breaking the norm that you can safely drive tourists to a destination such as Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, but miss the opportunity to sell the other attractions along the way or during the journey which could give a tourist a reason or more to extend their stay in Uganda or recommend it to their circle of friends, family or associates.
JAKARTA, Oct 27 — Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry has announced that iPhone 16 units may be brought into the country for personal use by travellers, flight crews, or through courier services.The popular smartphone by Apple is currently prohibited from sale in Indonesia due to issues with local component requirements.“iPhone 16 units brought by passengers, subject to taxes, are personal belongings and cannot be sold,” said the ministry’s spokesman, Febri Hendri Antoni Arif, in a statement to The Jakarta Globe yesterday.The ministry estimates that approximately 9,000 iPhone 16 units have entered Indonesia between August and October 2024 via personal baggage, with the necessary taxes paid. While these phones are legally in the country, they would be considered illegal if sold.According to The Jakarta Globe, Febri also said that as a postal and telecommunications product, the iPhone 16 is permitted entry through the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, which allows each passenger to bring in a maximum of two units.Personal items sent through postal services for non-commercial use are exempt from local technical standards, including the 35 percent local content (TKDN) requirement. The registration of the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) for these items is managed by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise.Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita previously indicated that iPhone 16 units imported by registered importers remain unsellable in Indonesia until Apple meets its investment commitments to obtain the necessary TKDN certification through an innovation scheme.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 27 – The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) says at least 263 travel agencies are under investigation for conning job seekers of more than Sh1 billion. A special team based at Nairobi Regional DCI is handling the cases so far involving 600 victims. According to Regional Criminal Investigations Officer Benson Kasyoki, the…
27 Oct-2024 14:23 PM
By: FirstIndia
Agra: The iconic Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh was engulfed in a thick layer of haze on Sunday as pollution levels continued to rise.Manoharpur area in Agra recorded its Air Quality Index (AQI) at 190, categorized as ‘moderate’. Whereas Shahjahan garden area recorded an AQI of 113 as of 9 AM. The average AQI recorded of Agra for October 26 was 106, categorized as ‘moderate’ too.An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401-500 is severe.According to a visitor at the Taj Mahal, the situation in the area has worsened over the years due to the industrial areas traffic increasing.”I am here on a trip, I wanted to see the sunrise. 14 years ago, I was here and the sky was clear back then. Industrial areas are increasing towards Agra side and vehicle load is also increasing here, I think these are the reasons behind the rise in pollution..,” he told ANI.Another visitor to the iconic site said that due to all the smog it has become difficult to see the monument properly.He told ANI, “It feels good to see the Taj Mahal early in the morning, but it’s been hazy, which creates problems in view, in the morning due to the pollution.”Moreover, Aligarh city was engulfed in a thick haze too.The Yamuna river also had its thick toxic sludge persisting in the Kalindi kunj area in Delhi.Taj Mahal is one of the UNESCO world heritage site, standing majestically on the river banks of the Yamuna.A popular tourist attraction, many state guests and dignitaries are often taken to the Taj Mahal to have them experience the beauty of the mausoleum of white marble.Recently on October 8, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu accompanied by wife First Lady Sajidha Mohamed paid a visit to Taj Mahal, while the president was on an inaugural bilateral visit to India from October 6-10.Earlier on Friday, the Health ministry also urged states and union territories to curb stubble burning amid the rising pollution levels across the country. Additionally, the ministry also urged people to use public transport and ‘minimise exposure.’
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(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) Dulquer Salmaan’s much-anticipated ‘
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565Visit Shots! nowJustice Minister Naomi Long marked Book Week NI in a visit to the library at Hydebank Wood Secure College and Female Prison.Book Week NI encourages adults across Northern Ireland to join in a reading experience. Naomi Long said: “Prison libraries are an important hub of learning for people in custody. They are a calming space for anyone and everyone; from people just learning to read, right through to those who read multiple books every week. “For many prisoners, reading has become a form of escapism, offering relief from the confines of their cells while expanding their minds.”Justice Minister Naomi Long marked Book Week NI in a visit to the library at Hydebank Wood Secure College and Female Prison where she is pictured with Prison Librarian Deborah Martin and Hydebank College Governor Richard Taylor. Picture: Michael CooperHydebank Wood College Governor Richard Taylor said: “Book Week is an opportunity to highlight the importance of making reading accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or current reading ability. “In prison, reading can be a useful tool for learning, passing time, and managing stress.”By incorporating a variety of reading experiences, from audiobooks to subtitles, and even reading through touch, learners are encouraged to explore new ways to interact with literature, emphasising that reading is personal and can be adapted to everyone’s needs.” Read MoreAssembly Justice Committee visits Maghaberry prison regarding mental healthHydebank College librarian Deborah Martin said: “Throughout Book Week, the young men and women here at Hydebank took part in activities designed to make reading more engaging.”They were involved in book folding, which is very popular especially among the females, participated in creative art classes and some even recorded a storybook for their children.“Prison librarians have an important role creating a welcoming and safe space where people can experience something different, whether it’s renting a DVD, playing a game of chess, browsing magazines or checking out books.”Continue Reading
NFL legend Terry Bradshaw has opened up about the naked film scene he shot during the movie ‘Failure to Launch’. The four-time Super Bowl winner bared all in the blockbuster film in 2006 where he starred alongside Hollywood A-lister Bradley Cooper, Matthew McConaughey, and Sarah Jessica Parker in the rom-com flick. Bradshaw spoke about the…