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A Precursory Look at Community-wise Voting in Maharashtra and JharkhandThe Ken-Betwa rivers linking project, estimated to cost upwards of Rs 44,000 crores (around $5 billion), will be the first to be undertaken under India’s national river interlinking policy under the National River Linking Project (NRLP). It is intended to address water scarcity and irrigation needs, and generate hydropower in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region that spans Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Getting such a project off the ground is an enormous achievement, and this may have been facilitated by the fact that the states giving and receiving water are ruled by the national ruling party BJP. Considering the animosities in water sharing even among states ruled by allies, the initiative is to be proud of, though the politics surrounding issues big and small today did bring out some more of the prevailing animosities as the foundation stone for the project was laid. The river linking project has been a national dream of decades and the first person to put it down in writing was an Englishman, Sir Arthur Cotton, irrigation engineer of the East India Company, in 1858. Since then, river linking has had many votaries, including the main architect of the Constitution B.R. Ambedkar and former Prime Minister Vajpayee, generous praise for whom came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with several jabs at the Opposition party, the Congress. Principally, river linking can address the problem of flooding and droughts that occur in different parts of the country, and which may be solved to an extent by interlinking and sharing of water that could otherwise go out to sea. The perennial Indo-Gangetic rivers can feed the peninsular rivers which are mostly seasonal and the ambitious project can see equitable sharing of a resource that will get only more precious with population growth. The flip side, however, is as long as the list of benefits because big dams can impact ecosystems, need clearing and flooding of forests and invite deleterious effects on biodiversity and wildlife, besides displacement of a vast number of people that can lead to social and economic distress. The Congress points to a direct effect of the Ken-Betwa project to the Panna tiger reserve, which the Prime Minister rebuts with the assurance that the well-being of tigers will be kept in mind while routing the canals. On a more national level, inter-state as well as international disputes may arise, particularly with the Himalayan rivers, as has been the experience with China that has built mega dams to prove its engineering skills and yet controls water flow to such an extent that countries downstream are starved of water, with its 11 dams across the Mekong River. What an achievement it would be if India were to connect 14 Himalayan and 16 peninsular rivers with 30 canals and 3,000 reservoirs, never mind if the estimated cost is in the range of $200 billion now and expected to rise exponentially with time. Water distribution is, however, not new to India as irrigation canals have served their purpose well for long. Also, today, water of the Godavari does reach the Krishna and Chennai even gets its drinking water from the Krishna in a canal. The point is the consequences, intended and otherwise, are not yet fully projected or understood and the challenge of national river linking with upstream dams will remain, more so in an open and democratic society like India’s. Given the pace of decision making on such projects, the challenges may lie in the far future. But what the first project in the Ken-Betwa linking represents is that there is a way to attempt such equitable water sharing in the country, provided it comes without totally damaging river systems and inviting environmental mayhem.
For decades, power protected Alan Jones. Now he’s facing his own reckoning
I read widely and wildly; learning new things stimulates neural pathways. Temitope Lakisokun is a communications professional and a political consultant. She is the country chair of the Association of Political Consultants -Africa (APCA). APCA is the premier network of Political Consultants, Policy Experts, and Governance Specialists in Africa. Established in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2015, the association serves as a vital bridge between political leadership and expertise in governance, working to strengthen democratic institutions across the continent. The APCA is an affiliate of the International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC). What are you reading currently? I read widely and wildly. I usually have many books going on at once. Current reads include Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, How Tyrants Fall and Nations Survive by Marcel Dirsus, Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Providence and Power: Ten Portraits in Jewish Statesmanship by Meir Soloveichik, and The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen. I’ve also been dipping in and out of Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari. What informs your choice of a book to read? I’m generally sceptical of heavily promoted books and tend to return to them years later when the media frenzy subsided. That’s why I have only just read Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point. I shall, of course, keep my opinion (of the book) to myself. Sometimes, it’s the reviews. That was how I discovered Ayobami Adebayo’s stunning Stay with Me. It was Michiko Kakutani’s last piece as chief New York Times book critic, and the review was so good that I bought a copy the next day. Other times, it’s the design of the book jacket or a blurb on the back cover. There are some hotly anticipated books that I will drop everything to read, like the fifth and final volume of Robert Caro’s books on Lyndon Johnson. I’m a student of power and have yet to find a better book on the subject. (Spoiler alert: there are elements of psychopathy in people who actively seek power.) Mr. Caro is 89, and I’m praying for his long and healthy life so he can complete the pentalogy. Because I work in politics and love political literature and biographies, I wish more Nigerian leaders would write books beyond the we-built-roads-and-commissioned-streetlights variety. There’s a critical need to preserve institutional memory. Oh, and I also love History. Which books rate as the Top Ten in your reading experience? Making a list is challenging, as the next book I pick up might be the one that makes it to the top. Let me share a few that have stayed with me. Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. It’s interesting how one’s views can change over time. I was a know-it-all 20-something when I first read it, and my moral calculus was very black and white at that age – Anna messed around and got what was coming to her. I reread it last year and found myself somewhat sympathetic. Of course, life has since taught me that happiness and suffering aren’t always tied to our moral choices. His Death of Ivan Ilyich is another masterpiece about the human condition. It’s a novella, but it packs a punch that leaves me reeling every time. It’s essentially a story about dying, but it’s also a meditation on how to live. I love love, love, short stories by Vladimir Nabokov and Anton Chekhov. It is a wonder to me how they were able to distil complex philosophical and psychological insights into such intensely concentrated narratives. There must be something about the Russian language that lends itself to linguistic precision. I envy those who have only just started reading them. They are in for a treat! This isn’t a book, but I loved Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2017 Nobel lecture. The opening line from RN – The Memoirs of Richard Nixon has stayed with me for years. He begins with “I was born in a house my father built” – nine simple words that manage to convey so much about his origins and values. It’s a straightforward statement that humanises him and hints at the importance of family, legacy, and personal responsibility that would shape his life and presidency. Powerful stuff! Then, Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, Oh my word! A masterpiece of memoir writing. It’s heartbreaking and funny and uplifting in equal measure. Pachinko by Min Jing Lee . It is a book so majestic that I immediately started again upon finishing it. I once read Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris on a flight and laughed so hard I got concerned stares from a few people in the cabin who thought I was going loco. Emma Cline – The Girls. A book reviewer described it as being written in “sentences at times so finely wrought, they could almost be worn as jewellery”, and I agree. The road to the country by Chigozie Obioma Then, there are some writers whose books and essays I will eagerly read and love...regardless of the subject matter: Patrick Radden Keefe, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Ann Patchett, Isabel Wilkerson, Simon Schama, Bill Bryson, Jill Lepore, Christopher Hitchens, Amor Towles, Jay Rayner, Colson Whitehead, Andrew Sullivan, Tim Dowling, Zadie Smith—Sebastian Junger, etc., etc. Please suggest five essential books and five general interest books for young people. I have just one: The Devil’s Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce (1911), remains relevant despite being written over a century ago. It offers insights into human nature that never change, even with all of humanity’s technological advancements. It encourages questioning of established norms and critical thinking and also addresses universal themes like love, power, choices, values, morality, mortality, etc. Do you prefer hard copy or digital texts? I read digital books for convenience (travel) or quick access. I, however, like the smell and feel of paper. Coffee table books, in particular, are best enjoyed in hard copy. Any preference between fiction and non-fiction? I read across all genres, with the sole exception of self-help books. What is your view of the notion that Nigerians do not read? I won’t definitively say Nigerians do not read. People are reading more (on their devices) than ever before. What I do know is we are not doing enough books. I read somewhere recently that the Nigerian National Library had cumulatively issued just a million ISBNs in 50 years! When you compare this figure with that of the US, where 3.9 million ISBNs were registered in 2020 alone, it’s a stark and scandalous disparity. What are your general thoughts on the benefits and disadvantages of reading? The brain is similar to muscles in that it gets stronger with use. It has also been scientifically proven that learning new things stimulates neural pathways
Renuka Rayasam | (TNS) KFF Health News In April, just 12 weeks into her pregnancy, Kathleen Clark was standing at the receptionist window of her OB-GYN’s office when she was asked to pay $960, the total the office estimated she would owe after she delivered. Clark, 39, was shocked that she was asked to pay that amount during this second prenatal visit. Normally, patients receive the bill after insurance has paid its part, and for pregnant women that’s usually only when the pregnancy ends. It would be months before the office filed the claim with her health insurer. Clark said she felt stuck. The Cleveland, Tennessee, obstetrics practice was affiliated with a birthing center where she wanted to deliver. Plus, she and her husband had been wanting to have a baby for a long time. And Clark was emotional, because just weeks earlier her mother had died. “You’re standing there at the window, and there’s people all around, and you’re trying to be really nice,” recalled Clark, through tears. “So, I paid it.” On online baby message boards and other social media forums , pregnant women say they are being asked by their providers to pay out-of-pocket fees earlier than expected. The practice is legal, but patient advocacy groups call it unethical. Medical providers argue that asking for payment up front ensures they get compensated for their services. How frequently this happens is hard to track because it is considered a private transaction between the provider and the patient. Therefore, the payments are not recorded in insurance claims data and are not studied by researchers. Patients, medical billing experts, and patient advocates say the billing practice causes unexpected anxiety at a time of already heightened stress and financial pressure. Estimates can sometimes be higher than what a patient might ultimately owe and force people to fight for refunds if they miscarry or the amount paid was higher than the final bill. Up-front payments also create hurdles for women who may want to switch providers if they are unhappy with their care. In some cases, they may cause women to forgo prenatal care altogether, especially in places where few other maternity care options exist. It’s “holding their treatment hostage,” said Caitlin Donovan, a senior director at the Patient Advocate Foundation . Medical billing and women’s health experts believe OB-GYN offices adopted the practice to manage the high cost of maternity care and the way it is billed for in the U.S. When a pregnancy ends, OB-GYNs typically file a single insurance claim for routine prenatal care, labor, delivery, and, often, postpartum care. That practice of bundling all maternity care into one billing code began three decades ago, said Lisa Satterfield, senior director of health and payment policy at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists . But such bundled billing has become outdated, she said. Previously, pregnant patients had been subject to copayments for each prenatal visit, which might lead them to skip crucial appointments to save money. But the Affordable Care Act now requires all commercial insurers to fully cover certain prenatal services. Plus, it’s become more common for pregnant women to switch providers, or have different providers handle prenatal care, labor, and delivery — especially in rural areas where patient transfers are common. Some providers say prepayments allow them to spread out one-time payments over the course of the pregnancy to ensure that they are compensated for the care they do provide, even if they don’t ultimately deliver the baby. “You have people who, unfortunately, are not getting paid for the work that they do,” said Pamela Boatner, who works as a midwife in a Georgia hospital. While she believes women should receive pregnancy care regardless of their ability to pay, she also understands that some providers want to make sure their bill isn’t ignored after the baby is delivered. New parents might be overloaded with hospital bills and the costs of caring for a new child, and they may lack income if a parent isn’t working, Boatner said. In the U.S., having a baby can be expensive. People who obtain health insurance through large employers pay an average of nearly $3,000 out-of-pocket for pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker . In addition, many people are opting for high-deductible health insurance plans, leaving them to shoulder a larger share of the costs. Of the 100 million U.S. people with health care debt, 12% attribute at least some of it to maternity care, according to a 2022 KFF poll . Families need time to save money for the high costs of pregnancy, childbirth, and child care, especially if they lack paid maternity leave, said Joy Burkhard , CEO of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, a Los Angeles-based policy think tank. Asking them to prepay “is another gut punch,” she said. “What if you don’t have the money? Do you put it on credit cards and hope your credit card goes through?” Calculating the final costs of childbirth depends on multiple factors, such as the timing of the pregnancy , plan benefits, and health complications, said Erin Duffy , a health policy researcher at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. The final bill for the patient is unclear until a health plan decides how much of the claim it will cover, she said. But sometimes the option to wait for the insurer is taken away. During Jamie Daw’s first pregnancy in 2020, her OB-GYN accepted her refusal to pay in advance because Daw wanted to see the final bill. But in 2023, during her second pregnancy, a private midwifery practice in New York told her that since she had a high-deductible plan, it was mandatory to pay $2,000 spread out with monthly payments. Daw, a health policy researcher at Columbia University, delivered in September 2023 and got a refund check that November for $640 to cover the difference between the estimate and the final bill. “I study health insurance,” she said. “But, as most of us know, it’s so complicated when you’re really living it.” While the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover some prenatal services, it doesn’t prohibit providers from sending their final bill to patients early. It would be a challenge politically and practically for state and federal governments to attempt to regulate the timing of the payment request, said Sabrina Corlette , a co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University. Medical lobbying groups are powerful and contracts between insurers and medical providers are proprietary. Because of the legal gray area, Lacy Marshall , an insurance broker at Rapha Health and Life in Texas, advises clients to ask their insurer if they can refuse to prepay their deductible. Some insurance plans prohibit providers in their network from requiring payment up front. If the insurer says they can refuse to pay up front, Marshall said, she tells clients to get established with a practice before declining to pay, so that the provider can’t refuse treatment. Related Articles Health | Which health insurance plan may be right for you? Health | Former Walmart truck driver falsely accused of fraud awarded $34.7 million by California jury Health | 23andMe, tech companies disclose hundreds of Bay Area job cuts Health | Bay Area health officials plan for RSV, flu, COVID and Trump administration Health | Bay FC’s Beattie wins NWSL honor for breast cancer awareness advocacy Clark said she met her insurance deductible after paying for genetic testing, extra ultrasounds, and other services out of her health care flexible spending account. Then she called her OB-GYN’s office and asked for a refund. “I got my spine back,” said Clark, who had previously worked at a health insurer and a medical office. She got an initial check for about half the $960 she originally paid. In August, Clark was sent to the hospital after her blood pressure spiked. A high-risk pregnancy specialist — not her original OB-GYN practice — delivered her son, Peter, prematurely via emergency cesarean section at 30 weeks. It was only after she resolved most of the bills from the delivery that she received the rest of her refund from the other OB-GYN practice. This final check came in October, just days after Clark brought Peter home from the hospital, and after multiple calls to the office. She said it all added stress to an already stressful period. “Why am I having to pay the price as a patient?” she said. “I’m just trying to have a baby.” ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria's prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers were back at work after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad, but some state workers failed to return to their jobs, and a United Nations official said the country's public sector came "to a complete and abrupt halt." Meanwhile, streams of refugees crossed back into Syria from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future and looking for relatives who disappeared during Assad's brutal rule. The rebel alliance now in control of much of the country is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant who severed ties with the extremist group years ago and promises representative government and religious tolerance. The rebel command said Monday they would not tell women how to dress. Syrian citizens stand on a government forces tank that was left on a street Monday as they celebrate in Damascus, Syria. "It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women's dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty," the command said on social media. Nearly two days after rebels entered the capital, some key government services shut down after state workers ignored calls to go back to their jobs, the U.N. official said, causing issues at airports and borders and slowing the flow of humanitarian aid. Rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was long known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, also met for the first time with Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali, who stayed in Syria when Assad fled. Israel said it carried out airstrikes on suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets to keep them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel also seized a buffer zone inside Syria after Syrian troops withdrew. Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Turkey on Monday at the Oncupinar border gate near the town of Kilis, southern Turkey. In northern Syria, Turkey said allied opposition forces seized the town of Manbij from Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States, a reminder that even after Assad's departure, the country remains split among armed groups that have fought in the past. The Kremlin said Russia granted political asylum to Assad, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Assad's specific whereabouts and said Putin did not plan to meet with him. Damascus was quiet Monday, with life slowly returning to normal, though most shops and public institutions were closed. In public squares, some people still celebrated. Civilian traffic resumed, but there was no public transport. Long lines formed in front of bakeries and other food stores. There was little sign of any security presence, though in some areas small groups of armed men were stationed in the streets. Syrian citizens celebrate Monday during the second day of the takeover of the city by the insurgents in Damascus, Syria. Across swathes of Syria, families are now waiting outside prisons, security offices and courts, hoping for news of loved ones who were imprisoned or who disappeared. Just north of Damascus in the feared Saydnaya military prison, women detainees, some with their children, screamed as rebels broke locks off their cell doors. Amnesty International and other groups say dozens of people were secretly executed every week in Saydnaya, and they estimate that up to 13,000 Syrians were killed between 2011 and 2016. "Don't be afraid," one rebel said as he ushered women from packed cells. "Bashar Assad has fallen!" In southern Turkey, Mustafa Sultan was among hundreds of Syrian refugees waiting at border crossings to head home. He was searching for his older brother, who was imprisoned under Assad. "I haven't seen him for 13 years," he said. "I am going to go see whether he's alive." Jalali, the prime minister, sought to project normalcy since Assad fled. "We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth," he told Sky News Arabia TV on Monday, saying the security situation already improved from the day before. Israeli soldiers sit on top of a tank Monday along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams. At the court of Justice in Damascus, which was stormed by the rebels to free detainees, Judge Khitam Haddad, an aide to the justice minister in the outgoing government, said Sunday that judges were ready to resume work quickly. "We want to give everyone their rights," Haddad said outside the courthouse. "We want to build a new Syria and to keep the work, but with new methods." But a U.N. official said some government services were paralyzed as worried state employees stayed home. The public sector "has just come to a complete and abrupt halt," said U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula, noting, for example, that an aid flight carrying urgently needed medical supplies was put on hold after aviation employees abandoned their jobs. "This is a country that has had one government for 53 years and then suddenly all of those who have been demonized by the public media are now in charge in the nation's capital," Abdelmoula told The Associated Press. "I think it will take a couple of days and a lot of assurance on the part of the armed groups for these people to return to work again." People wave Syrian opposition flags at City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) People attend a rally celebrating the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, at central Syntagma square, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) People wave Syrian opposition flags at City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) People gather to react following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government, in Trafalgar Square, in London, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) People wave Syrian opposition flags at City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) People gather to react following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government, in Trafalgar Square, in London, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) People attend a rally celebrating the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, at central Syntagma square, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) Members of the Syrian community in Finland wave a Syrian flag and celebrate in Helsinki, Finland, Dec. 8, 2024. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP) People attend a rally celebrating the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, at central Syntagma square, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) Syrians wave opposition flags and give out sweets during a spontaneous rally in Wuppertal, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa/dpa via AP) Syrians celebrate the fall of the Assad regime in Syria at a demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Jonas Ekstroemer/TT News Agency via AP) A Syrian man waves a flag during a spontaneous demonstration celebrating the fall of the Assad regime, in Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government fall at Faith mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) Syrians wave Syrian opposition flags at a rally in Wuppertal, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa/dpa via AP) People wave Syrian opposition flags at City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) Syrians living in France gather on Republique square after the Syrian government fell early today in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government fall at Faith mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government fall at Faith mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government's fall, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) Syrians living in France hug during a rally on Republique square after the Syrian government fell early today in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) People gather to react following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government, in Trafalgar Square, in London, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government fall at Faith mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) People attend a rally celebrating the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, at central Syntagma square, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) A Syrian man waves a flag during a spontaneous demonstration celebrating the fall of the Assad regime in Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) Get local news delivered to your inbox!Brad Pitt captivated onlookers during the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday when he staged a collapse for a scene in his upcoming Formula One movie. The dramatic moment unfolded as Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes, staggered away from a simulated car crash before collapsing. The scene was carefully choreographed, with crew members ensuring safety by positioning a crash mat to prevent injuries. The highly anticipated movie, directed by *Top Gun: Maverick* filmmaker Joseph Kosinski, is set to debut in June 2025. To heighten realism, the film’s team has embedded itself into live Formula One events, including the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Silverstone, and the Mexican Grand Prix. The fictional racing team, APX GP, even released a tongue-in-cheek statement on social media, describing Sonny Hayes’ “significant impact” during qualifying. “Sonny’s health remains our top priority,” the statement read, adding that the character will not participate in the next day’s race. The film follows Sonny Hayes, a former racing star sidelined by a tragic crash in the 1990s, as he makes an unexpected return to the sport after being recruited by APX GP owner Javier Bardem. Pitt, 60, has been preparing extensively for his role, attending race days and filming alongside real-life Formula One drivers like Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon, who appear as themselves in the film. The project is being co-produced by F1 legend Lewis Hamilton, who shared his excitement at the 2023 British Grand Prix. “We want everyone to love it and feel the essence of this sport,” Hamilton said. “I hope we make the F1 community proud.” Kosinski praised the unique intensity of filming on live race tracks during narrow time windows, emphasizing how the real-life backdrop adds authenticity and adrenaline to the movie. With its star-studded cast, dynamic racing scenes, and insider authenticity, the upcoming F1 movie promises to deliver an exhilarating cinematic experience. 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