(Reuters) - Scottish movie legend Sean Connery, who shot to international stardom as the suave, sexy and sophisticated British agent James Bond and went on to grace the silver screen for four decades, has died aged 90.



The BBC and Sky News reported his death on Saturday.“I was heartbroken to learn this morning of the passing of Sir Sean Connery. Our nation today mourns one of her best loved sons,” said Scottish First Minster Nicola Sturgeon. “Sean was a global legend but, first and foremost, he was a patriotic and proud Scot.”



Connery was raised in near poverty in the slums of Edinburgh and worked as a coffin polisher, milkman and lifeguard before his bodybuilding hobby helped launch an acting career that made him one of the world’s biggest stars. Connery will be remembered first as British agent 007, the character created by novelist Ian Fleming and immortalized by Connery in films starting with “Dr. No” in 1962.



As Bond, his debonair manner and wry humour in foiling flamboyant villains and cavorting with beautiful women belied a darker, violent edge, and he crafted a depth of character that set the standard for those who followed him in the role.He would introduce himself in the movies with the signature line, “Bond - James Bond.” But Connery was unhappy being defined by the role and once said he “hated that damned James Bond”.



Tall and handsome, with a throaty voice to match a sometimes crusty personality, Connery played a series of noteworthy roles besides Bond and won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a tough Chicago cop in”The Untouchables” (1987).



He was 59 when People magazine declared him the “sexiest man alive” in 1989.Connery was an ardent supporter of Scotland’s independence and had the words “Scotland Forever” tattooed on his arm while serving in the Royal Navy. When he was knighted at the age of 69 by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in 2000 at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, he wore full Scottish dress including the green-and-black plaid kilt of his mother’s MacLeod clan.

Former James Bond actor Sean Connery dies aged 90

Kathmandu: Nepali short film Ice Cream will be screened at 'Africa Film for Impact Festival'. Directed by Sangeeta Shrestha, the film will be screened on the first day of the festival, which will be held virtually from November 3 to 7. The film, which deals with child sexual abuse, tells the story of a girl begging on the street. The film starring Yogisha Khatri in the lead role is 9 minutes long. Sangita is the director of the film 'Katha Kathmandu'. 'Ice Cream' has been selected as the 'Best of Latin America Short Film Festival' in the US, 'First Time Filmmaker Sessions' in the UK, 'Intimate Film Festival' in Italy and 'Human Rights Film Festival 2020' in Nepal.

Nepali short film 'Ice Cream' to screen the African Festival

Kathmandu (RSS): Nepal has been presented as a special guest nation theme country in the 10-day International Photo Exhibition starting today in Beijing, the capital of China. The Sino-Nepal Media Society, which represents Nepal, has included 50 photos of Nepal's Chitwan and Everest National Parks listed in the World Natural Heritage List. A special exhibition hall has been set up at the BRI World Natural Heritage International Photo Exhibition jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and the Beijing Metropolitan People's Government. Every picture in the exhibition and information about Nepal is given in Chinese and English. Professional photographers of natural resources Narayan Rijal, Komal Bhagat, Ashish Gurung, Angrita Sherpa, Ved Kumar Dhakal, Sagar Giri, Baburam Lamichhane and others are included in the exhibition. Dhruba Poudel, president of Signo Nepal Media Society, said that an agreement has been reached between the co-organizer China Art Photography Society and its organization to present Nepal as a theme country and provide free exhibition space without any financial burden on the government of Nepal. He informed that there is an understanding between the two societies to help in the promotion of tourism by including Nepal's pictures in the international photo exhibitions to be organized in different countries of the world including China in the coming days. The digital version of the photo required for the exhibition was provided free of cost by the Ministry of Forests and Environment. The participation and management of Nepal's participation was done by the Society with the support of the Nepalese Embassy in Beijing. Deputy Chief of the Nepali Embassy and Minister Sushil Kumar Lamsal, who participated in the inauguration of the exhibition, termed the exhibition as a window to understand Nepal and said that observers could learn a lot about Nepal. He expressed confidence that Chinese citizens would be encouraged to visit Nepal after the end of the coronavirus epidemic. The inauguration ceremony was attended by high-ranking government officials and media persons, including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, the Beijing Metropolitan City. The Society has already exhibited one-sided pictures of Nepal's art, culture and tourism in cities including Chhendu, Lashan, Huahai, Kanch and Beijing in Sichuan Province.

Nepal 'theme country' at Beijing International Photo Exhibition

Kathmandu: Netflix has released a four-episode documentary series 'Bad Boy Billionaires India'. Of which three episodes have been released so far while the remaining one episode is being prepared for release. A video has been made about four Indian billionaires who swindled tens of billions of rupees. A series of exploratory material has been prepared on how they cheated and what they are doing now. The first episode is about Vijay Mallya known as 'The King of Good Times' and the second episode is about diamond trader Nirav Modi. The third episode, titled 'The World's Biggest Family', is about Subrata Roy, the owner of the Sahara family. Ramalingam, which is yet to be released, is about Raju. Vijay Mallya is accused of defaulting on a loan of Rs 90 billion from various banks in India. He fled India to London in 2016 and was arrested by the police there. Mallya, who is currently suing in court, has been released on bail. Although the Indian government has been trying to bring Mallya to India, it has not been able to do so. The once famous billionaire businessman Mallya was famous for Kingfisher Beer and Kingfair Airlines. Besides, he was in the news all the time because of the expensive party and models. It would be a matter of pride for any model to have her photo printed on her annual calendar. Mallya had entered the business at the age of 28 due to her glamor. He left India for London after failing to repay a loan of Rs 90 billion from various banks for various companies. Currently, the Indian government has confiscated assets worth Rs 120 billion in India. Similarly, the second episode is about Nirav Modi. He has been accused of taking a loan of Rs 110 billion and running away without repaying it. Modi initially sold polished diamonds in the US and other markets. But later he decided to buy two companies in the United States. He also bought the first company for Rs 1.60 billion and the second company for Rs 3.20 billion. Then he started playing in a new field. He went to the Punjab National Bank and demanded money to buy goods in Hong Kong. He had asked for money to buy goods worth Rs 2.8 billion. At the time, he could not give the money to the bank officials but demanded a letter. After the bank official said that it is not possible to give a letter without taking money, Modi could not give money before but after saying that he needed the letter as before, he started looking for the previous record. Due to which Modi's fraud was exposed. Modi had already started the scam along with two employees of Punjab National Bank. Modi had fled to London before the fraud was exposed. He was then arrested in London. Similarly, the third episode is about Sahara Group owner Subrot Roy. It is also known as the largest family. It was also known as Sahara of 1.2 million families. Roy was accused of swindling public money. Sahara applied to SEBI in 2009 for an IPO. SEBI permission was required before going for IPO. A company called Sahara Prime City had applied to bring an IPO in SEBI. A study conducted before granting permission for an IPO at the time found that money had been misappropriated from the public. The company studied also received a complaint against Sahara. The study found that AIRECL and SHICL had taken Rs 240 billion from 2 to 25 million people over a two-year period. As soon as the disturbances became public, Sahara stopped issuing OFCDs. Sahar also ordered people to get their money back with 15 percent interest rate. Sahara did not approve of the order. The company filed a case in the Allahabad High Court. But four months later, the court rejected the company's demand. After the verdict, Sahara Company reached the Supreme Court. The same order was repeated there. Roy was arrested in 2014 and has been out on parole since 2016. The investor's money has not been returned yet. Roy is a resident of Bihar. He started the business with 2,000 rupees. He started a scheme to save people money. But he returned the money immediately after the ban was imposed in 1979-80. Then he started a housing finance company. For which there was no limit to withdraw money from the market. He succeeded in this work. Sahara Company was seen as the largest company in the country. In 2013, Time magazine mentioned that Sahara was the second largest employer in India after the railways. The company also sponsored the Indian cricket team. The company's investments in business finance, infrastructure and housing, media and entertainment, consumer retail ventures, manufacturing and IT were spread. The company also bought a hotel in New York, USA for Rs 440 billion. The company owns 764 acres of land in different parts of the country. The story of Raju Ramalingam's scam, which is yet to be released on Netflix, is similar. He committed a scam of Rs 70 billion and later added up the amount of fraud to Rs 140 billion. Raju, who won the Ernst &amp; Young Entrepreneur Award in 2007 and the Golden Peacock Award for Entrepreneur and Young Entrepreneur and Corporate Governance in 2008, resigned as chairman of the company in 2009 after the Satyam scandal. Raju had even admitted to the scam. He is lodged in Chanchalguda Central Jail. He was initially held as a general prisoner but was later remanded as a special prisoner by a court order. Born in Hyderabad in 1954, his father founded a company called Satyam. Raju graduated in 1975 with a degree in Commerce. He also did MBA from USA. After returning from the United States, he started working in the real estate sector under the name of Satyam Company. He later established his identity as an IT enterprise. Founded in 1992, the company soon gained a good reputation in the Indian market as an IT company.

Netflix releases 'Bad Boy Billionaires'

Kathmandu: No film from Nepal will be participating in the 93rd edition of the Oscar Awards to be held in the United States next year. Nepal's International Feature Film Selection Committee has decided not to send any film for this year. 



A statement issued by the committee said, "While reviewing the two films received by the committee on Thursday, it was decided not to send any film from Nepal for participation this year as it did not meet the criteria set by the Oscars." Nepal's International Feature Film Selection Committee had requested the filmmakers interested in joining the Oscars to submit their films by September 15. 



According to the same information, 'Aama' directed by Dipendra K Khanal and 'Sarita' directed by Sergio Baso had applied for participation from Nepal. The award, previously held in February, has been postponed for two months due to the Corona epidemic. According to the new date, the Oscar Awards will be held on Sunday, April 25 next year at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Due to the epidemic, Oscar had changed some rules for participation. 



In the changed rules, there was a flexible provision that even a film that could not be released due to an epidemic could participate. In previous years, it was a rule that any movie should be released in a hall and run for a week. However, this year, the film that could not be released in the hall was also allowed to participate in the Oscar competition. For this, the film concerned had to submit a letter to the Oscar Committee of Nepal suspending the release of the film from a government-recognized cinema hall. 



Nepal had been sending movies to the Oscars since 1999. Nepal, which had been sending films year after year till 2006, could not send films for the next few years. Since the release of 'Sungava' in 2013, Nepal has been continuously recommending films.Nepal has an eight-member International Feature Film Executive Committee chaired by Bimal Poudel. 



The members of the committee are Laxminath Sharma, Pradip Upadhyay, Rajendra Shalabh, Raju Vikram Thapa, Lokendra Parajuli, Samipyaraj Timalsena and Chiranjeevi Guragain.

Nepal will not  participate in Oscars next year

NEW YORK/SEOUL (Reuters) - A zombie drama, a TV series about a supernatural nurse and one about an antisocial children’s book author helped turn South Korea into one of Netflix’s biggest sources of growth in the international markets, a source familiar with the matter said. Netflix said 46 percent of its net new global paid customers in the third quarter came from the Asia Pacific region, where revenue rose 66 percent from last year, primarily Japan and South Korea, the company reported in a letter to investors on Tuesday. The source cited data that could be disclosed later this week when a Netflix representative is expected to appear for South Korea’s annual parliamentary audit during which the company’s investment is likely to come up. It was not immediately clear exactly what will be discussed at the meeting. The company is eager to demonstrate its big investments in the region as well as its role in making Korean pop culture popular more accessible outside of Korea. Netflix’s South Korean business has played a major role in third-quarter growth. The world’s largest paid streaming video service now serves 3.3 million paid members in the region as of September 30, the source said. As reported on Retuers, Netflix now serves more than 195 million paid subscribers. The company has helped fuel and is fueled by the global popularity of the pop culture machine of South Korea. Since 2015, the world’s largest subscription streaming video platform has invested nearly $700 million financing partnerships and co-productions, the source said. Since late 2019, it has ramped up investments and landed multi-year content partnerships with Korea’s major studios including CJ ENM/Studio Dragon and JTBC for access to their Korean shows. More than 70 Korean-made shows from local creators have been released as Netflix-branded originals around the world and are available in 31 subtitled languages and more than 20 dubbed languages. In October, Netflix released the original documentary “Black Pink: Light Up the Sky” about the highest charted female Korean act on the Billboard 100. The group’s recent music video for “How You Like That” broke an all-time YouTube record as the most watched video in a 24-hour period with 86.3 million views.



‘NETFLIX LAW’ South Korea in May passed the revision to the country’s telecommunications business act, dubbed as “Netflix law,” to require all content providers including foreign companies to share network cost burden with local internet service providers. The revision came after Netflix in April sued South Korea's internet network operator SK Broadband, an affiliate of the country's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co Ltd 017670.KS. The two companies failed to reach an agreement on the U.S. streaming giant’s use of SK Broadband’s internet service without sharing network cost despite SK Broadband’s expansion of network infrastructure to support Netflix’s increasing traffic. Netflix asked the Seoul Central District Court to rule that it is not obligated to pay additional fee.

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