Holly to bolly: Polish fans buy Tom Hanks iconic ‘toddler’ car, Ellen DeGeneres slam Trump’s immigration ban and more



Polish fans buy Tom Hanks iconic ‘toddler’ car

Residents of a city in southern Poland have bought American Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks an iconic communist era “toddler” car after he shared a photograph of himself with the automobile on social media last year.

It all started with a picture of Tom Hanks and the words which the actor posted on Twitter: “I got a new car! Hanx”.

The photo shows the film star with a smile on his face leaning on the tiny Fiat 126p car, known as the “toddler” in Poland.

While it seemed a joke, Monika Jaskolska, a resident of the city of Bielsko Biala, where the car was produced from the 1970s, decided to organise fundraising to send Hanks one of the cars.

She said Hanks had provoked her and she decided that she would like to acquaint him with the history of this car, stories of the people who manufactured it, and the town where it was produced.

Polish racing driver Rafal Sonik then offered to renovate the car for Hanks.

The Tiny Fiat 126p cars are rarely seen on Polish roads nowadays. Despite its name, some people say it is possible to fit up to 14 people inside the vehicle.

The car that is to be sent to Hanks is currently being renovated in Poland.- Reuters

Ellen DeGeneres uses ‘Finding Dory’ to slam Trump’s immigration ban

On Tuesday's episode of her daytime talk show, Ellen DeGeneres didn't dive into a conversation about President Trump's presidential order on immigration. Instead, she turned to her friends under the sea to coyly comment on the issue, according to USA Today. She explained to her audience that Trump signed an order suspending travel from several Muslim-majority countries, and that he also watched Finding Dory, the lead of which is voiced by DeGeneres.

“I don’t get political,” she shared, “but I will say that I am against one of those two things.”

DeGeneres then said to avoid talking politics she was going to speak about "the very non-political, family-friendly, People's Choice award-winning Finding Dory," which, as it turns out, is an incredibly timely film.

"Now, of course Finding Dory is about a fish named Dory," DeGeneres said in front of a monitor displaying stills from the film. "And, Dory lives in Australia, and these are her parents, and they live in America. And I don't know what religion they are, but her dad sounds a little Jewish -- doesn't matter." - The National Staff

Pharrell’s family doubles in size

Pharrell Williams and his wife, Helen Lasichanh, have welcomed triplets. The musician’s publicist said that “the family is happy and healthy.” She declined to say where the babies were born, their genders or their names, reports The Washington Post. Vanity Fair reported that they were born sometime in January. The new babies join 8-year-old big brother Rocket. The 43-year-old Williams married Lasichanh, a model, in October 2013. The couple announced that they were expecting in September, but had not revealed that Lasichanh was pregnant with triplets. - The National Staff

Oprah Winfrey joins CBS’ 60 Minutes as a special contributor

Oprah Winfrey is joining the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes as a special contributor.

The talk show host, actress, cable network owner and producer will appear in several segments a year on the program starting this fall, CBS News announced.

"I've been a big admirer of 60 Minutes since my days as a young reporter," Winfrey said in a statement. "I'm so excited and proud to join forces with this historic news program, which for me represents the bastion of journalistic storytelling." , reports Los Angeles Times.

It's the first time in the program's history that 60 Minutes has had a special contributor. Winfrey is not a working journalist, which also will be a first for the show.

Winfrey will add some marquee value to 60 Minutes, which has seen two of its signature correspondents — Bob Simon and Morley Safer — die in the past two years. In its 49th season, it remains the top-rated news program on television, averaging 14 million viewers a week.

60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager said his program will not run spots from Weight Watchers that feature Winfrey as a spokesperson, in the weeks that she appears. - The National Staff

Salim Khan refuses writing scripts for his superstar son Salman Khan

Salim Khan says he doesn’t want to write for his star son Salman Khan because he would be blamed if the movie failed at the box office. He added that if the movie was a hit, his son would be praised for it and not the screenwriter.

During TV channel Zee Classic's My Life My Story, which will start airing from February 4, Khan, credited for co-writing the iconic Bollywood films Sholay (1984) and Deewar (1975) with writer Javed Akhtar, revealed he did not want to get into the vicious cycle of blame that would come with creating a script for the Bajrangi Bhaijaan star. - IANS

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Name: Dukkantek 

Started: January 2021 

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

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Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).

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Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

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Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Cryopreservation: A timeline
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
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Number of employees: 4
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
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Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Biog:

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Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

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