Taking a dig at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former Rajasthan chief minister and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje on Monday said while the Congress makes many promises to the people before elections, there are no guarantees that they would be fulfilled if they win.

Speaking to ANI on Monday, the senior BJP leader said, “A few days ago, Priyanka Gandhi visited Rajasthan. She expressed concern over the state of women in Rajasthan, which is under Congress rule currently. If they (Rajasthan govt) had implemented the (Centre’s) ‘Nari Shakti’ scheme in earnest, it would have helped the women of Rajasthan. Whenever she and her brother (Rahul Gandhi) come visiting the state, they make plenty of promises to the people. However, with the Congress, there’s no guarantee that they would deliver on their promises if elected.”

Claiming that the Congress government did not waive off farmer loans despite being in power for five years, Ms Raje, who is seeking a fresh term in the Assembly from the Jhalrapatan constituency, added, “Owing to rising crimes against women in the state, families fear for the safety of their female members.”

Addressing an election rally in Jhunjhunu earlier, Priyanka Gandhi announced that the Congress would give Rs 10,000 annually to women as honorarium if elected in the state.

The polls for the 200-member assembly in Rajasthan will be held on November 25.

The counting of votes, along with those of four other poll-bound states, will take place on December 3.

Fans across the world are currently mourning the death of actor Mathew Perry, widely recognised as Chandler Bing from the popular TV series ‘Friends’. Tributes have been pouring in for the 54-year-old actor who was found unconscious in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles. 

Amid the outpouring of grief, Matthew Perry’s former co-star Ione Skye shared the last text she received from him before he died. Notably, the two starred alongside each other in 1988’s ‘A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon’, Mr Perry’s film debut.

In their text exchange, the actor had reached out to her, mentioning a song from her movie ‘Say Anything. He wrote, ” Hi! I hope all is well. I was meditating (I meditate now) and ‘In You [sic] Eyes’ started playing. I instantly thought of you and how beautiful you are.” 

In response, Ms Skye wrote, ”Awe. I love that,” to which he said, ”Hope you are healthy and happy.” ”Yes, I am both. I think! Good to hear from you. I only have nice memories with you,” Ms Skye replied. The actor concluded, ”Me too. That one afternoon, I was just sitting in my apartment, and there you were!”

Ms Skye shared the screenshots of the conversation on Instagram and wrote, ”My last exchange a week ago. I’m very very sad. Loved this guy,” along with a throwback photo of them where they both look teenagers. 

See the post here:

One fan commented: ”That’s really wild that he’d just reached out to you because he heard the song from your movie. That seems very meant to be. So sorry for the loss of your friend.” Another said, ”Very heartbroken. Thankfully he checked in on you.”

Prior to this, actress Selma Blair shared a picture featuring herself and Matthew Perry on Instagram and said, ”My oldest boy friend. All of us loved Matthew Perry, and I did especially. Every day. I loved him unconditionally. And he me me. And I’m broken. Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty. Sweet dreams.”

Actress Mira Sorvino, in her heartbreaking tribute to “troubled soul,” said, “Oh no!!! Matthew Perry!! You sweet, troubled soul!! May you find peace and happiness in Heaven, making everyone laugh with your singular wit.”

Mr Perry’s leading co-stars, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc, are yet to comment.

However, a Page Six report revealed that the cast of the sitcom TV series are ”reeling” from the death of their beloved ”brother” and are planning to release a joint statement. The report comes at a time when fans are waiting to hear from the cast, especially Jennifer Aniston. She and Mr Perry were extremely close. 

During the height of his success, Mr Perry battled for years with addiction to painkillers and alcohol and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions. He detailed his harrowing journey in his memoir ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’. 

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set to retake the witness stand on Monday in his trial on fraud charges tied to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, with prosecutors poised to challenge his assertion that he did not steal billions of dollars in customer funds.

Sam Bankman-Fried first is due to answer around two more hours worth of friendlier questions from his defense lawyer, Mark Cohen, who is expected to ask the 31-year-old former billionaire about his version of the dramatic events of November 2022, when FTX collapsed amid a wave of customer withdrawals.

Three of Sam Bankman-Fried’s former close confidantes, each of whom pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution, earlier told the jury that he posted or directed others to post misleading messages on social media to give customers false assurance about FTX’s health in a bid to stop a run on deposits.

During six hours of testimony on Friday about events earlier in 2022 and in prior years,Sam  Bankman-Fried sought to distance himself from specific actions he said the three cooperating witnesses took without his firsthand involvement. He also admitted to making “mistakes” that hurt FTX’s customers and employees, but said he never set out to take customers’ money.

Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy. Prosecutors have said he looted billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to prop up his hedge fund, Alameda Research, make speculative venture investments, and contribute to U.S. political campaigns. If convicted, he could face decades in prison.

His decision to testify in his own defense is risky, as it opens him up to probing cross-examination by prosecutors. But legal experts told Reuters he may have viewed taking the stand as his best shot at countering testimony from the three cooperating witnesses that he directed them to commit crimes.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan has said jury deliberations could begin by Thursday or Friday.