Entertainment
Key upgrader ablaze for second time in weeks
A massive explosion and blaze hit the Petrocedeño crude upgrader in eastern Venezuela on Wednesday, November 19, marking the second major incident at the critical facility this month and underscoring the perilous state of the country’s oil infrastructure.
The incident occurred in the afternoon at the José Antonio Anzoátegui Petrochemical Complex, located in the heart of Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt.
As per sources cited by Reuters and local media, the explosion ignited near the facility’s distillation tower.
The fire was reported to have potentially spread to a nearby naphtha plant, raising concerns of a cascading emergency.
Responding to the situation, the emergency teams from state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), which operates the project, swiftly started a large-scale evacuation of personnel from the site.
Ambulances were seen rushing to the complex, though officials have not yet confirmed any injuries or fatalities.
PDVSA crews managed to contain the blaze by late evening.
The incident strikes at a core component of Venezuela’s petroleum dependent economy.
Crude upgraders such as Petrocedeño are crucial for converting the country’s vast reserves of extra-heavy crude into exportable grades.
The repeated blazes at such a key facility signifies the severe vulnerabilities caused by years of underinvestment, insufficient maintenance, and the crippling effect of international sanctions.
This is the second fire to hit the Petrocedeño upgrader in June alone, highlighting a major ongoing operational and safety challenges plaguing PDVSA as it struggles to revive its oil industry.
Entertainment
Golden Globes 2026 shines with emotional wins, bold jokes and surprise reunions
The 83rd Golden Globe Awards took place on January 11, 2026 and delivered a night with full of emotions laughter and buzz all over the Hollywood.
The glamorous and star-studded ceremony honoured big films like One Battle After Another and Hamnet. It was mainly welcomed by viewers as a strong moment in awards season.
However, not every part of the night worked as smoothly as everyone hoped.
Comedian Nikki Glaser returned as the host and instantly set the mood early with her confident monologue.
She joked about Hollywood culture, the media and famous faces including Leonardo DiCaprio Timothée Chalamet and George Clooney.

Many viewers praised her for bringing energy and honesty back to the stage.
One of the most talked about moments came when Teyana Taylor won best supporting actress for One Battle After Another, surprising many but her speech struck emotional chord.
The 35-year-old actress thanked director Paul Thomas Anderson and talked proudly about “little Brown girls.”

Julia Roberts also sparked buzz when she received a standing ovation during her comeback to the Globes.
Nominated for After the Hunt, the star used her moment to praise filmmaker Eva Victor.
There were lighter moments too as Rose Byrne made the audience laugh when she shared that her husband Bobby Cannavale missed the ceremony because he was attending a reptile expo.
Moreover, not everything worked as some felt that the show was too long and found the music breaks distracting.
Entertainment
Seth Rogen makes major ‘The Studio’ announcement after Globes win
Seth Rogen nabbed the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy during the ceremony held on Sunday, January 11.
Backstage, The Studio star told press that the show is all set to return for a second season, which begins filming next week.
“We’ve literally written some things that happened leading up to this award show into episodes as we’ve been writing the show. We start shooting in a week,” he revealed.
“So yes, several things have happened, both today and leading up to this event that we have written directly into the show, and you’ll probably know what they are when you see them,” the actor and comedian further shared.
While spilling the beans about which celebrity cameos fans can expect from the meta-comedy’s next release, the newly minted Best Actor Gold Globe winner added that he was approached by “a lot of people” at the latest ceremony, expressing the urge to appear in the series.
“A lot of people literally just came up to us and were like, ‘Put me on your show. I’ll do anything. I’ll walk by!’” he claimed.
While mentioning Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group’s CEO Tom Rothman, the 43-year-old series creator revealed that “real studio heads” are also among those who “want to be on the show.”
The Studio, created by and starring Rogen, won two Golden Globe awards in total. The series took home Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy alongside Rogen’s win.
Entertainment
Who got what: Fresh Toshakhana records emerge
- Top office-holders and ministers feature among gift recipients.
- All recipients deposit gifts in Toshakhana, documents say.
- Valuation of gifts remains under assessment, procedures ongoing.
More Toshakhana records have surfaced, with the Cabinet Division issuing details for the October–December 2025 quarter that list President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi among recipients of valuable gifts, The News reported on Monday.
All listed personalities deposited the gifts in Toshakhana, according to the record.
The recipients for the quarter also include the First Lady, IT Minister Shaza Fatima, Power Minister Awais Leghari, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema, Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, it added.
Similarly, Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi, President’s Military Secretary, President’s Spokesperson Murtaza Solangi, Auditor General of Pakistan, Minister of State for Railways and Finance, Musarrat Zaidi, DG Minerals Dr Nawaz Ahmed Virk, Secretary Economic Affairs, Secretary IT, President’s ADC and others also received gifts.
According to the Cabinet Division data, gifts received during October-December quarter included models of Roza-e-Rasool, Khana Kaaba and Makkah Mukarramah, paintings, perfumes, shields, carpets, tea sets, swords, daggers, vases, watches, decorative pieces, Saudi coffee, books, royal caps, souvenirs, table clocks, a Metro Bus model, coffee pots, shirts, musical instruments, blankets, scarves, ties and other items.
As per Cabinet Division documents, all recipients deposited their gifts in Toshakhana during October-December 2025. The Cabinet Division is in the process of assessing the value of received gifts and related procedures are ongoing. The Cabinet Division’s list does not include names of gift-givers, whereas the list for last half of previous financial year (January-June 2025) did include names of foreign and local personalities who gave the gifts.
The Shehbaz government had gradually made public Toshakhana record from 2002 to September 2025, while record from 1997 to 2001 has also already been released.
Details of gifts received:
President Asif Ali Zardari: A wooden box; a pair of floral porcelain bowls; two ties; a pair of bowls; oud wood incense; perfume pack; mug; vase; decorative plate; two cups; helmet; frame; watch; wristwatch; perfume pack; wool scarf; model of Nimrud; decorative piece; book; a box containing a robe, boat, prayer beads, etc.
First Lady: Rolex watch; Kashmiri shawl; perfume pack.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif: Three mufflers; silver vase; tea set; Metro Bus model; two shields; four decorative pieces; one cup; one book; egg device; one portrait; two shirts; blanket; model of Makkah Mukarramah; a box containing silver bowl, spoon, plate, etc.; a box containing attar; a box containing perfumes.
(Models of Khana Kaaba, vase, clock, crystal vase, horse model, sword, carpet and table clock have been displayed at Prime Minister’s House.)
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar: Russian traditional frame; Moscow landmark; two coffee sets; Kyrgyz traditional kumis mixing set with two bowls; Egyptian statue; Bahraini perfume; carriage clock.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq: Souvenir snow leopard.
IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja: Model of Selvy Palace; cones; two multi-colour scarves; white pearl.
Energy Minister Awais Leghari: Book.
Minister of state for finance and railways: Attar (perfume).
Chief of protocol: Perfume and oud incense; silver shield; mat.
Secretary IT: Souvenir.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar: Perfume with oud incense; scarf.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi: Perfume with oud incense. Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi: Perfume with oud incense.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari: Shawl; Rolex watch; perfume pack; Loro Piana fabric.
President’s military secretary: Rolex watch.
President’s spokesperson Murtaza Solangi: Rolex watch.
Auditor general: Framed shield; necktie; crystal shield; cup; coin.
Secretary Hameer Karim: Vase.
Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema: A Glass and cup set as a gift.
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