Matthew Perry, known for his iconic character Chandler Bing in the superhit sitcom Friends, died at the age of 54 on October 28. The actor was found unresponsive in a hot tub. The first responders found Mr Perry unconscious and were unable to revive him. Mr Perry, in an interview last year, spoke about how he wanted to be remembered after his death. The actor stated that he wanted to be remembered for something other than the fan-favourite sitcom.

“I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker. And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That’s what I want,” he said in the Q With Tom Power podcast in 2022. 

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’. 

Following a jet ski mishap in 1997, he developed a Vicodin addiction and underwent 15 days of rehabilitation in 2001. Later, he converted his old Malibu house into the Perry House, a sober living facility. Mr Perry informed that he was clean in 2021 and claimed that he had spent $9 million on the same.

He added, “The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it. When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.”

However, Mr Perry did acknowledge that he was aware that his legacy would probably not extend beyond the highly successful show. “When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I’m glad of that, happy I’ve done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web,” he wrote. 

“But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won’t happen but it would be nice,” ‘The Odd Couple’ star concluded. 

Mr Perry dedicated his memoir to “all of the sufferers out there,” and wrote in the prologue, “I should be dead”. He added, “People would be surprised to know that I have mostly been sober since 2001. Save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps over the years.”

The Congress, facing a cash crunch ahead of next year’s general elections, will soon kickstart a nationwide crowdfunding campaign, sources within the party have said.

Sources said that the party will launch the campaign after the assembly elections in five states next month. Polling will be held in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram in November, with results for all 5 states set to be declared on December 3.

The party has formed an alliance with 25 other parties to take on the BJP in next year’s general elections. For the polls, Congress plans to seek funds from people across the country, including party workers.

The Congress has assets worth Rs 805.68 crore, according to a recent report by advocacy group Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The Bharatiya Janata Party, in comparison, has Rs 6,046.81 crore.

Corporate donations too have steadily dried up for Congress in the last 7 years, while BJP has been consistently going up. In the last 7 years, the corporate donations declared by the BJP are at least three times more than the total donations of all other National Parties. In FY 2017-18, it was more than eighteen times that of all other national parties.

The move by Congress to seek public donations appears modelled on the lines of the Aam Aadmi Party which seeks contributions online. The party had gone down this route for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls too, after it ran out of funds to run some of its offices.

But the party could win only 52 of the 545 Lok Sabha seats in the ensuing general elections. The BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, registered a thumping win securing 303 seats.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar today met the families of eight former Indian Navy personnel who have been sentenced to death in Qatar. 

Mr Jaishankar said India will “continue to make all efforts to secure their release.”

“Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard,” he said on X – formerly known as Twitter. 

Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar.

Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families.

Underlined that Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release.…

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 30, 2023

The men, including decorated officers who once commanded major Indian warships, were working for Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm that provided training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces. 

Sources said some of them were working on a highly sensitive project — Italian technology-based midget submarines with stealth characteristics. 

Reports claim the eight Navy veterans have been accused of spying.

The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said it was shocked by the verdict and would take up the issue with Qatari authorities. “We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options,” the ministry had said.

Those sentenced are Capt Navtej Singh Gill, Capt Birendra Kumar Verma, Capt Saurabh Vasisht, Cdr Amit Nagpal, Cdr Purnendu Tiwari, Cdr Sugunakar Pakala, Cdr Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh.

Meetu Bhargava, sister of one the former officers detained, had sought help from the  government to bring her brother back in June this year. 

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on June 8, she had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene. “These Ex Navy officers are the pride of the nation & again I request our Hon’ble Prime Minister with folded hands that it is high time that they all are brought back to India immediately without any further delay,” read her post, tagged to PM Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.