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Salman Khan Prepares To Play His Daringest Role To Date: The Untold Galwan Story

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has made a living playing larger-than-life roles, blood-pumping action, and mass appeal. But this time around, the actor ventures into new territory, one of real-life heroism and nationalistic pride. In what promises to be one of the most eagerly awaited movies in 2025, Salman Khan will star in a military drama inspired by the best-seller India’s Most Fearless, which chronicles the remarkable bravery of Indian soldiers facing danger. The movie, informally called the “Galwan Project,” is a departure from Salman’s usual commercial outings and will try to present a side of the actor hitherto unseen by his fans: disciplined, controlled, and realism-oriented. Sources from the production have made it known that Salman is now going through a dramatic body change to prepare for playing an Indian Army officer. Famous for his bulky physique and signature swagger, the star is now working towards getting into shape with a lean and athletic build to lend credibility to the character. This physical metamorphosis is not superficial; it is also a show of the discipline, stamina, and willpower of the soldiers that he will be playing on screen. Salman reportedly is on a rigid training regime, complete with long hours in the gym, a tightly managed diet, and movement drills that impersonate military-style discipline. Uncharacteristic of his usual prep work for a film role, this role requires both emotional intensity and physical control. It’s not about the brawn; it’s about the attitude. The movie is inspired by India’s Most Fearless, a book by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh that collates true stories of Indian troops in contemporary military history. Of the numerous gallant chapters in the book, the Galwan Valley encounter of 2020 is remarkable for its unadulterated bravery and historical importance. The movie is likely to revolve around this incident, presenting a dramatized but dignified tribute to the troops who held their ground against insurmountable odds. Where Bollywood has experimented with patriotic and war themes in the past, this movie is likely to touch a different chord—one that’s highly emotive, intensely patriotic, and rooted in actual sacrifice, not imagined heroism. According to an exclusive Pinkvilla report, the team behind the project has meticulously planned the shooting schedule. Salman Khan will undergo a look test in early July to finalize his on-screen persona. The film is set to begin principal photography by the end of July, kicking off with an intense 25-day schedule in the rugged terrains of Ladakh. The Ladakh shoot will concentrate on action sequences of high stakes, most of which will be shot at real locations where Indian troops have already been deployed. The idea is to capture the raw beauty and harsh strategic location of the area with maximum realism. After the outdoor schedule, the production will shift to Mumbai, where indoor sequences and set extensions will be filmed at a city-based studio. With Salman reportedly allotting bulk dates to the film, the makers are working on a tight schedule with the goal of wrapping up production by November 2025. For an actor who has played everything from a fearless cop in Dabangg to a spy in Tiger Zinda Hai, taking on the role of a real-life army officer might be Salman Khan’s most grounded and powerful performance yet. Industry observers feel that this film may represent a turning point in Salman’s career, a transition from the superstar image to a mature, character-driven actor. Since the Galwan Valley incident has such a sensitive nature and such deep national feeling, the producers are stated to be collaborating with military advisors at very close levels to provide correctness and dignity to the narrative. The intention is not only to entertain but also to inform, respect, and make eternal the valiance of the Indian Army. This film’s announcement comes when Indian audiences are going more and more towards content based on reality, patriotism, and untold tales of bravery. Already with Uri: The Surgical Strike and Shershaah, it has been shown that war dramas, if treated sensibly and realistically, can find a huge connection with the audience. With Salman Khan at the helm, the Galwan movie will be more likely to merge box office success with profound emotional connection. It promises action, yes, but also reflection, honor, and a salute to those who serve the nation in silence. As filming gears up to begin and the first look test awaits, anticipation around Salman Khan’s Galwan project continues to build. It’s more than a movie; it could be a cinematic tribute to actual heroes narrated by one of Bollywood’s largest stars but grounded in the courage of men who don’t ask for an audience. Come November 2025, this is not only a release of a movie; it may be a moment of national reckoning.

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Worldnews

Trump Set To Announce 50 Percent Tariff On Copper

The US imports roughly half of its copper needs each year, which is used in construction, transportation and electronics. United States President Donald Trump has said he will announce a 50 percent tariff on copper, hoping to boost domestic production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods. Trump told reporters at a White House cabinet meeting that he planned to make the copper tariff announcement later in the day, but did not say when the tariff would take effect. “I believe the tariff on copper, we’re going to make 50 percent,” Trump said. US Comex copper futures jumped more than 12 percent to a record high after Trump announced the planned tariff, which came earlier than the industry had expected, with the rate steeper. After Trump spoke, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in an interview on CNBC that the tariff would likely be put in place by the end of July or August 1. He said Trump would post details on his Truth Social media account sometime on Tuesday. In February, the administration announced a so-called Section 232 investigation into US imports of the red metal. Such an investigation allows the US Department of Commerce to analyse the impact of an import on national security. The deadline for the investigation to conclude was November, but Lutnick said the review was already complete. “The idea is to bring copper home, bring copper production home, bring the ability to make copper, which is key to the industrial sector, back home to America,” Lutnick said. The National Mining Association declined to comment, saying it preferred to wait until details were released. The American Critical Minerals Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Copper is used in construction, transportation, electronics and many other industries. The US imports roughly half of its copper needs each year. Major copper mining projects across the US have faced strong opposition in recent years due to a variety of reasons, including Rio Tinto and BHP’s Resolution Copper project in Arizona and Northern Dynasty Minerals’s Pebble Mine project in Alaska. Shares of the world’s largest copper producer, Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan, shot up nearly 5 percent in Tuesday afternoon trading. The company, which produced 1.26 billion pounds of copper in the US last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Freeport, which would benefit from US copper tariffs but worries that the duties would hurt the global economy, has advised Trump to focus on boosting US copper production. Countries set to be most affected by any new US copper tariff would be Chile, Canada and Mexico, which were the top suppliers to the US of refined copper, copper alloys and copper products in 2024, according to US Census Bureau data. Chile, Canada and Peru, three of the largest copper suppliers to the US, have told the Trump administration that imports from their countries do not threaten US interests and should not face tariffs. All three have free trade deals with the US. Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy, Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Canada’s Department of Finance did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chile’s Mining Ministry and Codelco, the country’s leading copper miner, declined to comment. A 50 percent tariff on copper imports would affect US companies that use the metal because the country is years away from meeting its needs, said Ole Hansen, the head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. “The US has imported a whole year of demand over the past six months, so the local storage levels are ample,” Hansen said. “I see a correction in copper prices following the initial jump.” Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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News_Naija

Oyo Schools Begin Entrance Exam July 7

The Oyo State Government has announced scheduled dates for the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination and Common Entrance Examination across the state. The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Olayiwola Olusegun, in a statement on Saturday, informed the general public, especially parents, guardians, and students in Junior Secondary Schools across the state, that the ministry will conduct BECE between Monday, July 7, and Wednesday, July 16, 2025. He added that the examination would commence daily at 9:30 am at the respective schools of the candidates. Meanwhile, the 2025 screening/placement exercise, also known as the Common Entrance Examination into Junior Secondary Schools, will come up on Thursday, 17 July 2025. According to him, the exercise will commence by 7 am at the designated screening centers for the Screening/Placement Exercise. He enjoined students to go to the designated examination centres with their writing materials. The commissioner, therefore, directed principals to make proper and adequate arrangements for the monitoring of the examination throughout the period. He said, “Ministry officials and members of the Oyo State Examination Ethics committee will be moving round to monitor the exercise and ensure that the integrity of the examination is not compromised. “The students and pupils are enjoined in their own interest to avoid all forms of examination malpractices, and members of the public are strictly warned against loitering at these schools and designated screening centres.” He stressed that the entrance examination is strictly for the eligible candidates.

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Worldnews

As Deadly Storms Subside, Texas Flooding Puts Spotlight On Govt Response

Questions are mounting about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents. The hope of finding survivors of the catastrophic flooding in the US state of Texas continues to dim a day after the death toll surpassed 100, and crews kept up the search for people missing in the aftermath. As the storms that had battered the Hill Country for the past four days began to subside, more attention was being paid to the government’s response. Questions are mounting about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who were spending the July Fourth holiday weekend in the scenic area long known to locals as “flash flood alley”. At public briefings, officials in hard-hit Kerr County have deflected questions about what preparations and warnings were made as forecasters warned of life-threatening conditions. “We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said on Monday. “We’re looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete.” Some camps were aware of the dangers and monitoring the weather. At least one moved several hundred campers to higher ground before the floods. But many were caught by surprise. Debate has also intensified over how state and local officials reacted to weather alerts forecasting the possibility of a flash flood and the lack of an early warning siren system that might have mitigated the disaster. On Monday, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick promised that the state would “step up” to pay for installing a flash-flood warning system in Kerrville by next summer if local governments “can’t afford it”. “There should have been sirens,” Patrick said in a Fox News interview on Monday. “Had we had sirens here along this area … it’s possible that we would have saved some lives.” The Houston Chronicle and New York Times reported that Kerr County officials had considered installing a flood-warning system about eight years ago, but dropped the effort as too costly after failing to secure a $1m grant to fund the project. In San Antonio and in Washington, Democrats are questioning whether cuts at the National Weather Service (NWS) affected the forecasting agency’s response to catastrophic and deadly flooding in Central Texas. The White House and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have denied the allegations and accused them of “politicising” the disaster. The NWS’s San Antonio office is responsible for forecasting the area’s weather, collecting climate data and warning the public about dangerous conditions. Texas officials criticised the NWS over the weekend, arguing it failed to warn the public about impending danger. The office issued a stream of flash flood warnings on Thursday and Friday across its digital and radio services, which are used to communicate with public safety professionals, according to alert records. The messages grew increasingly urgent in the early hours of Friday morning. The team sent an emergency text message to area mobile phones at about 1:14 am, calling it a “dangerous and life-threatening situation”. Phones must have reception or be near a cell tower to receive that message, said Antwane Johnson, former director of the Public Alert Team for the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Mobile coverage is spotty in areas around the Guadalupe River, according to Federal Communications Commission records last updated in December. “Even though those messages were issued, it does not mean it got to the people who needed them,” said Erik Nielsen, who studies extreme rain at Texas A&M University. Here’s a closer look at the timeline of how the floods hit Texas and what warnings were sent when: Follow Al Jazeera English:...