Lady Gaga shares first image as Harley Quinn for Joker sequel

Feb 15 2023

To celebrate Valentine’s Day in all its twisted forms, Lady Gaga, along with director Todd Philips, shared the first promo image of the singer-actress as the Batman villain Harley Quinn as she stares into the eyes of her lover.

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A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga)

Gaga can be seen completely mesmerised by an in costume Joaquin as Batman’s worst nightmare, the Joker, as the second film in the franchise builds up hype towards release.

Philips knew what he was doing when releasing the promo image on Valentine’s Day, alluding to the manipulative relationship between the two clown based characters.

The 2019 film Joker was a box office success with over $1 billion at the global box office, with Phoenix receiving an Oscar for his portrayal of Arthur Fleck, a.k.a the Joker.

It was also revealed that the highly anticipated sequel is set to be a musical – news which fans greeted with a mixed bag of reactions. It remains to be seen what approach Philips will take for the second instalment which is set to be released in 2024.

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A post shared by Todd Phillips (@toddphillips)

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Majority votes to ban new sales of diesel and petrol by 2035 by EU parliament

Majority votes to ban new sales of diesel and petrol by 2023 by EU parliament

Feb 14 2023

The European Parliament has voted to ban new sales of carbon-emitting petrol and diesel cars by 2035, with the legislation already approved by EU member states.

Despite facing opposition from conservative MEPs, the law was passed by a vote of 340 to 279, with 21 abstentions.

This follows a European Commission plan unveiled last year to end the sale of combustion engine vehicles in Europe by 2035, leading to a complete shift to electric engines in the EU.

The measure was first proposed back in July 2021, and will also see a halting to light commercial vehicles and a complete shift to electric engines in the European Union.

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LESA officers could soon don body cams announces Minister

Feb 14 2023

The Minister for Home Affairs, Byron Camilleri, has announced that LESA wardens will soon be equipped with bodycams to assist in them investigations.

The Local Enforcement Agency is currently working on the implementation of these sealed bodycams, which are designed to prevent tampering with their footage.

The use of bodycams has already helped the police in recent high-profile cases such as the Bernice Cassar and Pelin Kaya murders.

In addition, a parliamentary question by MP Ivan Bartolo revealed that almost 900,000 traffic citations were issued by local enforcement agencies to Maltese drivers since 2020, with over 35,000 citations remaining unpaid after successful contests.

The number of citations issued peaked in 2021, followed by 2022 and 2020.

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Here is why Rihanna won’t get paid for her Super Bowl show

Feb 14 2023

Rihanna just performed at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show for free. Yes, that’s right – not that this will be much of a problem for the billionaire, but the amazing performance by the artist was done for free.

Despite the famed halftime show attracting the biggest names in music, there is no pay check for the headlining act, with an NFL spokesperson telling Forbes in 2016 that they simply cover expenses and production costs.

Artists, despite not being awarded an appearance fee, they are paid union scale, which is a minimum wage guaranteed by a union contract.

However, the chance to perform before the ever increasing large crowd is deemed very much worth it. 2022’s Super Bowl was watched by 112.3 million viewers, with this year’s match poised to have attract even higher ratings.

Artists also see boosts in sales after the show, with Rihanna’s makeup brand Fenty Beauty experiencing a whopping 833% boost after she took the opportunity to apply some of it mid-show.

The show was also highly memorable for Rihanna as she used the opportunity to reveal that she is officially pregnant with her second child with A$AP Rocky, making her the first pregnant woman to headline the show.

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