Entertainment
China’s Xi slams ‘bullying’ behaviour in world order as SCO nations gather
- PM Shehbaz, Russia’s Putin, Indian PM Modi and other leaders attend session.
- Xi speaks about constructive participation in int’l affairs, opposes hegemonism.
- SCO has set a model for a new type of international relations: President Xi.
Chinese President Xi Jinping criticised on Monday “bullying behaviour” in the world order as he gathered regional leaders for a summit.
He called on the leaders — including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi — to “adhere to fairness and justice… oppose Cold War mentality, camp confrontation, and bullying behaviour”, in a speech in the northern city of Tianjin.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which is gathering for a two-day summit, comprises China, Pakistan, India, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.
China and Russia have sometimes touted the SCO as an alternative to the NATO military alliance.
“The current international situation is becoming chaotic and intertwined,” Xi told the leaders.
“The security and development tasks facing member states have become even more challenging,” he added.
“Looking back, despite tumultuous times, we have achieved success by practicing the Shanghai spirit,” he said, referring to the name of the group.
“Looking to the future, with the world undergoing turbulence and transformation, we must continue to follow the Shanghai spirit, keep our feet on the ground, forge ahead, and better perform the functions of the organisation.”
Xi said China will work with all parties in the SCO to take the regional security forum to a new level, as he unveiled his ambition for a new global security order that poses a challenge to the United States.
The SCO has set a model for a new type of international relations, Xi said in opening remarks at the summit, adding that the forum unequivocally opposed external interference.
Xi spoke also about constructive participation in international affairs, opposing hegemonism and power politics, as well as promoting multilateralism in his remarks.
The security-focused bloc, which began as a group of six Eurasian nations, has expanded to 10 permanent members and 16 dialogue and observer countries in recent years.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said China played a “fundamental” role in upholding global multilateralism on Sunday.
Analysts say China will use this year’s largest-ever summit to demonstrate an alternative vision of global governance to the American-led international order at a time of erratic policymaking, a U.S. retreat from multilateral organisations and geopolitical flux.
Beijing has also used the summit as an opportunity to mend ties with New Delhi.
Modi, who is in China on his first visit in seven years, and Xi both agreed on Sunday their countries are development partners, not rivals, and discussed ways to improve trade ties amid the global tariff uncertainty.
Entertainment
When We Were Young Festival announces 2026 hiatus: ‘See you in 2027’
When We Were Young Festival is hitting pause this year.
Organizers of the Las Vegas-based emo and pop-punk fest announced via Instagram on February 27 that the event will take 2026 off — but emphasised the break is only temporary.
“To our When We Were Young Family,” the statement began. “The songs, the memories, the moments – none of it exists without you. After an unforgettable run in Las Vegas, we’ve decided to take 2026 off to give this festival the care it deserves and to make sure what comes next feels just as special as what came before.”
While no specific reason was given for the hiatus, fans were reassured the festival isn’t going anywhere. “When We Were Young Festival will return to Las Vegas in October 2027… This isn’t goodbye – it’s just a pause. We’ll see you in 2027.”
Since launching in 2022, the Live Nation-produced event has become a nostalgic pilgrimage for millennial music lovers, taking over the Las Vegas Festival Grounds each October. Past headliners have included Green Day, Blink-182, My Chemical Romance and the Killers.
The 2025 edition featured Blink-182 and a reunited Panic! at the Disco, marking a rare return following the band’s 2023 split. In 2024, My Chemical Romance delivered a full performance of The Black Parade, alongside a stacked lineup of scene favourites.
Entertainment
NAACP Image Award host Deon Cole issues Tourette warning after BAFTAs
Deon Cole hosted the NAACP Image Award at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Saturday, February 28, and opened his monologue with a joke about the racial slur mishap at the BAFTAs recently.
The 54-year-old comedian and actor jokingly prayed to God, saying, “Lord, before we go, if there are any white men out here in the audience with Tourette’s, I advise you to tell them they better read the room tonight, Lord. It might not go the way they thinketh. Whatever medicine they’re on, they better double up on it, Lord.
Cole referred to the controversy about Tourette’s activist John Davidson shouting a racial slur while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presented an award on stage.
The Average Joe star also joked about Nicki Minaj and her recent political alliance with the MAGA movement, saying, “Lord, we want you to bless our sister Nicki Minaj. She’s been going through a lot lately and hasn’t been herself, Lord,” joking that her cosmetic injections have been “affecting her brain.”
NAACP Awards stand for National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People and celebrate the arts across different mediums including films, theatre, music, and literature, created every year.
Entertainment
Maggie Gyllenhaal details emotional reunion with brother Jake Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jake Gyllenhaal are one of the most famous Hollywood siblings, yet fans are still surprised to learn they’re related.
In a new interview with The New York Times published February 28, the Oscar-nominated actress opened up about reuniting with her younger brother on-screen for her upcoming second directorial project, The Bride — marking their first time sharing the screen in over two decades.
“I remember asking him and tearing up alone in this hotel room I was in, because it meant so much to me. It meant so much for me to interact with him,” Maggie, 48, recalled, noting that for years, she had been focused on carving her own path “separate” from her famous family.
“We’ve never been estranged,” Maggie said of the Marvel star, “but we’ve never been as close as we are now. We’re finally, maybe in the last five years, more and more and more, even each day, really interacting…”
Both siblings began acting as children in the early ’90s with supporting roles in their dad’s films, and the last time they worked together was on the 2001 thriller Donnie Darko. Jake, now 45, quickly landed leading roles in films like October Sky — something Maggie now admits evoked feelings of “envy” towards her brother.
Hence, reaching out to him after all these years felt “honest” and “vulnerable.” The Dark Knight actress told NYT, “I waited until I was absolutely sure that asking him to do this part was the right thing to do.”
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