Entertainment
Nepal’s former rapper to run for PM in key vote after Gen Z protests
Two popular leaders have formed an alliance ahead of March parliamentary elections in Nepal that will challenge the older parties, which have dominated the Himalayan nation’s politics for over three decades, party officials and analysts said on Monday.
Rapper turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a popular elected official, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) or national independent party, led by a former TV host-turned politician Rabi Lamichhane on Sunday, party officials said.
They said under the agreement with RSP, 35-year-old Balen will become the prime minister if the RSP wins the March 5 elections, while Lamichhane will remain the party chief.
Both have vowed to address the demands raised during the “Gen Z” or youth-led protests against widespread corruption in September, in which 77 people were killed and leading to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s resignation.
“It is a very smart and strategic move by the RSP to bring in Balen and his young supporters into its fold,” analyst Bipin Adhikari said.
“Traditional political parties are in pain for fear of losing their young voters to RSP,” he said.
The election commission says nearly 19 million of Nepal’s 30 million people are eligible to vote in the elections. Nearly one million voters – mostly youths – were added after the protests.
Balen was in the spotlight after the protests and was an undeclared leader of the youngsters who led the September protests.
He also helped form the interim government of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to oversee the vote.
Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) or UML and the centrist Nepali Congress party have shared power between them for most of the past three decades and are most likely to be challenged by Balen.
Olivia Rodrigo gave fans the first glimpse into her Saturday Night Live appearance in the teaser for her double duty episode.
The 23-year-old pop superstar appeared in a Devil Wears Prada-esque sketch with the SNL cast members where she appeared to be caught up in a “glorified secretary” position like Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs.
SNL star James Austin Johnson took on Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly role as he lectured Rodrigo on her mistakenly calling SNL “skits” instead of “sketches.”
The drivers license hitmaker will be taking on the role of host for the first time and musical guest for the third time this Saturday, May 2.
Rodrigo will appear on the weekend show to promote her upcoming album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, which will be released on June 12.
The Vampire songstress is believed to perform her latest release, Drop Dead, from the album, while some fans also speculate that she might debut an unreleased song during the episode.
While the SNL episode has sparked a lot of buzz, Rodrigo’s fans are also excited for the Unravel Tour ever since she made the announcement on social media.
Meryl Streep has shared new details about how she ended up joining The Devil Wears Prada, after an unusual start to the whole process.
While talking about the second movie during a recent interview with Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley, Streep said she liked the script right away and knew the film got some strong potential.
Still, the actress went on to add that she did not accept the role of Miranda Priestly at first and actually turned it down.
She shared, “I knew it was going to be a hit. I read the script, the script was great. They called me up, and they made an offer, and I said no. I’m not going to do it.”
Streep explained that she then decided to test things by asking for a higher salary and the studio agreed quickly.
However, that changed everything and led her to take the role.
The Mamma Mia star added that this moment made her realise she could speak up more about her value, something she had not fully done earlier in her career.
She also said she was thinking about stepping away from acting at the time and would have walked away if it had not felt right.
The role of Miranda Priestly later became one of her most iconic performances, bringing her award nominations and a major boost in her career.
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Olivia Rodrigo teases exciting ‘SNL’ double duty episode with one twist
Stock market holiday on May 1: Are NSE, BSE, MCX open on Maharashtra Day? – The Times of India
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