The production house T-Series has announced it will soon start work on a follow-up to the 2008 hit Bhootnath. The sequel, tentatively titled Bhootnath 2, will see Amitabh Bachchan reprising his role of a friendly ghost. "We are very excited to announce the sequel to Bhootnath. Amitabh and Boman Irani will be part of the film and it will appeal to all age groups," said Bhushan Kumar, chief of T-Series. The 2008 movie was produced by Ravi Chopra. His son, Abhay Chopra, will be creatively involved in the sequel. The film will be directed by Nitesh Tiwari, with shooting scheduled to begin in November. The film is scheduled to release next summer. – IANS
Jiah Khan’s boyfriend arrested over suicide
Sooraj Pancholi, the former boyfriend of the actress Jiah Khan, has been arrested by Mumbai police for allegedly being involved in her suicide. Police said Pancholi, who is the son of the actor Aditya Pancholi, was suspected of abetting her suicide. The arrest came a couple of days after Khan's family handed over to police what was thought to be Khan's suicide note, which was discovered three days after her death on June 3. According to the Indian Express, the letter stated that Pancholi had physically abused Khan and forced her to undergo an abortion. – IANS
Director predicts awards for Ameesha Patel
Ameesha Patel will scoop up a host of awards for her performance in Shortcut Romeo, predicts the film's director, Susi Ganeshan. Ganeshan is directing Patel in the crime thriller, a remake of his hit Tamil film Thiruttu Payale. Patel, who has starred in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha and Humraaz, plays a negative role in the movie. "Ameesha Patel is the centre of the film. She is a driving force in every sequence and has given a wonderful performance," Ganeshan said. "I think she will get a lot of awards for Best Supporting Actress," he added. The film is scheduled to release later this month. – IANS
Nandini Reddy denies Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani remake
The Telugu director Nandini Reddy has brushed off rumours that she is working on a remake of the Hindi blockbuster Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Instead, she announced that she is writing the script for a romantic comedy. "I don't know where these rumours come from. If there is a remake happening then we should wait for the official word and not spread rumours without verifying the facts first," she said. "I should be ready to announce my new project in a month's time. I haven't yet zeroed in on the cast, which I will do soon." Her last movie, Jabardasth, a Telugu remake of Band Baaja Baaraat, was panned by critics. She is best-known for her debut movie, the 2011 box-office smash Ala Modalaindi. – IANS
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
HWJN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Yasir%20Alyasiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Baraa%20Alem%2C%20Nour%20Alkhadra%2C%20Alanoud%20Saud%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 5 (Lenglet 2', Vidal 29', Messi 34', 75', Suarez 77')
Valladolid 1 (Kiko 15')
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
