Areas of disengagement of forces and hardware in Zolote and Petrivske in eastern Ukraine turn into flash points.

The first teaser trailer of Aaron Sorkin’s Being The Ricardos was released on 19 October amid much anticipation but has prompted mixed reactions online. Starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as both on-screen and off-screen couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Being The Ricardos chronicles the tumultuous relationship of the stars of hit Fifties sitcom I Love Lucy. Ball and Arnaz eloped in 1940 and worked on the comedy show from 1951 till 1957, before divorcing each other in 1960. The new film follows the actors during one week of filming I Love Lucy — from a Monday table read to a Friday shoot — while the couple navigates crises and challenges that threaten their relationship and careers. It also reportedly deals with the theme of racism; Arnaz was discriminated against for being Cuban and Ball had defended his right to be on the show. Kidman had earlier said the show is “about Lucy and Desi and their relationship and their marriage”. “It’s very deep”, the actor had told Variety. However, online reactions to the trailer have been largely underwhelming. US entertainment journalist Scott Menzel tweeted: “We are all in agreement that BEING THE RICARDOS looks surprisingly unappealing right? Also, why is Nicole Kidman narrating a trailer about Lucille Ball? Yes, I know she’s playing Lucy but she sounds nothing like Lucy.” One user wrote: “The Being The Ricardos trailer gives me no hope that the movie will be worth watching.” Some on social media pointed out that Kidman’s face is barely visible in the one-minute trailer, making it difficult to appreciate her transformation into the I Love Lucy star. Another user said: “Being the Ricardos trailer trying to not show Nicole looking completely miscast”. Yet another said: “Between this Halloween store wig, this being the only shot of Nicole Kidman’s face in the trailer, and no attempt to sound like Lucille Ball or Desi Arnaz, Being the Ricardos sounds like a winner.” Speaking to Variety earlier this year, Kidman said she was focussed on getting Ball’s speech patterns absolutely right. At the time, she said: “I’ve had to put in an enormous amount of time on Lucille Ball right now, because she has a very particular way of speaking.” Defending Kidman’s acting chops and versatality, Australian film critic Jenny Cooney tweeted: “Can’t wait to see our favourite chameleon take on Lucille Ball!” Fans also questioned the casting of the Lucy/Desi biopic. However, the couple’s daughter, Lucy Arnaz, who is also the executive producer of Being The Ricardos, responded to these reactions in a Facebook video in January and reiterated that the Sorkin film is not trying to remake the hit sitcom. She said: “No one has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo [or do] any of the silly things. It’s the story of Lucille Ball, my actual mother—not Lucy Ricardo—and her husband, Desi Arnaz, my dad—not Ricky Ricardo.” There were, of course, some Twitter users that were “actually impressed” by the trailer for the film which releases in cinemas on 10 December 2021. Being The Ricardos will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 21 December 2021. Read More Alec Baldwin fired prop gun on set that killed a woman and injured others - latest Alec Baldwin ‘discharged’ gun that killed one and injured another on Rust movie set What we know about the victims of the Alec Baldwin Rust shooting Cara Delevingne’s dad reveals unlikely inspiration behind her name Jamie Lee Curtis and daughter Ruby praised for discussing transgender journey Kristen Stewart responds to fans casting her as the Joker opposite Robert Pattinson

Former cop dubs discovery of remains 'highly suspicious' after noting trained cadaver dogs searched the area and did not detect anything

By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Queen Elizabeth, 95, spent a night in hospital for the first time in years

When Rishi Sunak steps up to the Despatch Box next Wednesday to deliver the Budget, CEOs will be listening for any announcement of support to help them through one of the toughest periods for businesses in living memory. Businesses are facing spiralling raw material costs, staff shortages, and rising energy prices. The CBI said this week that manufacturing costs in the UK are rising at the fastest rate since 1980. Further financial support to navigate this environment is at the top of many business owner’s wish lists when it comes to the Budget. Todd Davison, managing director of Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance, said: “They need more forms of financial support to build their resilience, to get them through the year ahead.” Reports suggest Sunak could announce an extension to the Recovery Loan Scheme, which lets businesses borrow up to £10 million with an 80% guarantee from the government. The scheme is currently due to wind up at the end of December. Beyond sweeping support, sectors have their own specific budget requests. Retailers and property firms have been asking for reform of business rates — a tax on shops and properties — for years. Business tax experts Altus Group estimates that business rates bills will increase by £1.04 billion in England from April next year. Some £251 million of that will be shouldered by the retail sector. Helen Dickinson, who leads the British Retail Consortium, says: “It is vital that we see meaningful change to bring down the business rates burden”. It looks unlikely. Nimesh Shah, chief executive of tax advisory Blick Rothenberg, said governments have been ignoring business rates for years because it is “too difficult and too expensive” to reform. The retail industry also wants to see reform of the Apprenticeship Levy to ensure that firms are able to use it effectively to upskill their workforce. Tech firms want more funding for training too. Tony Lysak, CEO of the Software Institute, said the government’s digital skills camps have so far been “pointless and generic”. Investment in people, skills, and innovation is high on the agenda for the life sciences industry. The BioIndustry Association (BIA) wants more support in the form of a higher budget for Innovate UK and more support for growing businesses through the state-backed British Business Bank. In the City, banks and asset managers want the government to tweak rules to help keep British finance competitive outside of the UK. Elsewhere, brewers and spirit makers want alcohol duty to be cut to help them stay competitive as input costs like CO2 rise. The pub sector warned this week that 20,000 boozers could go under if beer duty rises. Publicans may have some joy. Reports suggest Sunak will overhaul alcohol duty to simplify the system, with some taxes tipped to fall. But for most sectors the budget is unlikely to offer much cheer. Economists are expecting a fiscally neutral budget with few surprises. With national debt standing at £2.2 trillion, there are unlikely to be any major giveaways. Sunak is focused on trying to turn the money taps off, rather than loosening them. Businesses and citizens are already facing the highest tax burden in 70 years. Changes to National Insurance have already been announced - slammed as a jobs tax by employers - and corporation tax is set to rise to 25% by 2023. The chancellor is tipped to reduce the surcharge on bank profits next week, which will help ease the pain in the City but not erase it. Business groups say the chancellor is at risk of undermining the already fragile Covid recovery and are calling for him to delay or reverse the planned tax hikes. “We cannot take the economic recovery for granted,” said Tony Danker, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). “There is a fundamental inconsistency where the Government wants to unlock business investment, but its tax policies do the opposite. “You cannot will the ends and ignore the means to turbocharge the economy. Every economist and business leader knows it.” Read More Marmite-maker Unilever raises prices by over 4% as bosses say cost inflation here to stay Inflation unexpectedly dips but City says it’s a temporary ‘blip’ and prices will keep rising Energy costs to remain high even after petrol crisis ends due to Net Zero

PARIS (Reuters) - The hard-right political talk-show star Eric Zemmour was forecast to reach the second round of the French

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group on Friday confounded market expectations that it would formally default this weekend, supplying funds

It’s 2021 and we all hope we’d be done with people body-shaming women in the public eye, but unfortunately, that’s not the case and we were reminded of that this week.

(Reuters) - Greece's Maria Sakkari will make her debut at the WTA Finals after the 26-year-old qualified for the season-ending

The reason behind this big change in the Twitter profile photo of PM Narendra Modi was that India had just recorded a major achievement - it has administered over 100 crore COVID-19 vaccinations so far. The changed PM Modi Twitter profile photo could be seen on Friday.

WhatsApp is testing a new design for the Picture-in-Picture video mode with well-designed controls and a larger viewing screen. Now, watching WhatsApp videos from YouTube, Facebook and Instagram will become easier for users.

Oklahoma State will learn much about where its men’s basketball program stands now that Cade Cunningham is in Detroit after being the top pick in the 2021 NBA draft

New coach Chris Beard leads No. 5 Texas into his first season with a lineup built through the transfer portal

Baylor's roster has changed drastically since the team won the national championship in April

No. 3 Kansas rebuilt just about its entire roster after an embarrassing loss to Southern California in the second round of the NCAA Tournament

TCU has eight transfers this season

T

So much has changed with the Oklahoma program

Kansas State won 25 games and reached its third straight NCAA Tournament a few years ago, but graduations left the Wildcats rebuilding

During his stay in Kashmir for the shoot of a web project, actor Rajniesh Duggal says he made the most of the surroundings while maintaining all protocols.

On the personal front, Sonu Sood has been tagged as the messiah who helped millions across the country, and Indians stuck abroad, amid the pandemic

Akshay Kumar has shared a video of him performing the Bala step with Ranveer Singh. It also has a warning attached.

Anushka Sharma dropped a new picture from the UAE. Check it out here.

Kendrick Lamar fans are convinced that new music is coming after spotting a clue on the rapper’s Spotify page. In August, the “Humble” rapper announced that he was working on his final album with Top Dawg Entertainment, which will be a follow up to the critically acclaimed 2017 record Damn. After his performance at the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show was revealed earlier this month, fans had speculated that new music must be imminent. On Thursday (21 October), eagle-eyed fans noticed that the musician had updated his artist image on Spotify, leading them to believe that a new era was incoming more than four years after Damn. “Kendrick has changed his spotify PFP,” one fan noticed, with the new black and white image showing Lamar wearing a hoodie and touching his lip. “Kendrick Lamar changed his profile picture for the first time since 2017 on Spotify. New album might be dropping tomorrow (22 October),” another Twitter user theorised. Friday marks the nine-year anniversary Lamar’s album good kid, m.A.A.d city. “Wait holy s*** they weren’t lying about Kendrick Spotify layout changing…..” one tweet read. The Independent has contacted Lamar’s representatives for comment. Some social media users also said that they had seen unverified “leaked” tracks circulating online, although these are not confirmed. Lamar will perform at the Super Bowl next year alongside Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J Blige as the sporting event comes to Los Angeles. Read More ABBA Voyage: How to get tickets Adele reveals her prized possession is a piece of Celine Dion’s chewing gum Noel Gallagher shares origin of feud with Liam that led to Oasis split Ye spotted in prosthetic mask at JFK Adele clears up tea controversy sparked by Hello music video UK Music calls for government action as report says pandemic cost one in three jobs