'' RAMADAN AMERICA '' FILMING : HIGHLIGHTS HONOURS

' Ramadan America ' highlights holy events for Muslims. This production stands out as the first of its kind.

Rifelion Media, the award-winning podcasting and media company, is proud to announce the premiere of Ramadan  America, a first-of-its-kind short film anthology written, directed and starring American Muslims, will be making its debut at SXSW 2024 at The Muslim House.

The timing of the premiere also coincides with the Muslim holiday Ramadan, which starts on March 11.

The Muslim House, established by the MPAC Hollywood Bureau in 2021, stands as a dedicated space elevating American Muslim voices at prestigious events such as the Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, and Tribeca, in partnership with the Doris Duke Foundation.

It serves as a platform for vital discussions that hold significance for American Muslim communities.

The film is a groundbreaking production that stands out as the first of its kind. It is written, directed, and features American Muslims.

The series comprises five films that explore various genres, themes, and cultural nuances, aiming to highlight the diverse meanings of Ramadan and Eid for different Muslims. Together, these films celebrate stories of love, family and tradition.

Ramadan America comprises five narrative short films written by American Muslim writers featuring Ramadan and Eid holiday stories. Rifelion originally acquired the script as part of a writing competition it conducted in conjunction with the Islamic Scholarship Fund [ISF].

The Five scripts were selected from over 50 submissions from American Muslim writers.

'' Rifelion could not be more proud and excited for the premiere of Ramadan America this week at The Muslim House at SXSW,'' said Asad Butt, the founder of Rifelion.

'' This premiere is a testament to all of the hard work all five of the production teams put in to make this anthology happen. We are thrilled to share these short films with the world and spotlight all of the amazing American Muslim talent.

Happy Ramadan!''

'' As a Muslim being able to participate in this kind of intimate and special cultural storytelling where every piece of the project was being touched by Muslims was truly a gift,'' said Rizwan Manji, who is part of  Ramadan America's cast for Nani's Biryani along with his son Aariq Manji.

Rizwan is known to audiences for his work in Schitt's Creek, The Magicians, and Transformers, among others.

'' Working with my son early in his career on a script written by my friend Faroukh Virani and to share the possibilities and importance of this kind of project is something I will remember for the rest of my life.''

The World Students Society thanks News Desk, The Express Tribune.

NETFLIX -HEAVYWEIGHT- NECTARS : STEAMING HONORS

'' A heavyweight spectacle on Netflix '' : Mike Tyson boxing match is apart of a big push into live 'sports adjacent' events.

At age 58, Mike Tyson will be getting back in the boxing ring. Mr. Tyson, the former world heavyweight champion, whose career was marred by issues in and out of the ring, will take on the social media influencer turned boxer Jake Paul on July 20 in a match that will be streamed live on Netflix, the company announced on Thursday.

The bout, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will be the first fight for Mr. Tyson since 2020, when he and Roy Jones Jr, also a former world boxing champion, fought to a draw in an exhibition match.

The event will be another step in Netflix's aggressive push into live ''sports-adjacent programming,'' which has the potential to draw large audiences without the kind of investment that streaming games from professional sports leagues requires.

The company recently reached a multibillion-dollar, 10-year deal for the exclusive rights to stream World Wrestling Entertainment's flagship weekly wrestling show, '' Raw.''

The made-for streaming boxing spectacle was brought about through a partnership between Netflix and Mr.Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, the company he established in 2021 with Nakisa Bidarian to disrupt combat sports.

He and Mr. Tyson will be paid about the same for the fight.

Netflix's first foray into a live sports related event was an exhibition golf match in November that involved athletes from its '' Formula 1 : Drive to Survive '' series and golfers featured on its series ''Full Swing''.

Last weekend, it streamed an exhibition tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

The company is also familiar with Mr. Paul. Last year, an episode of its ''Untold''  documentary series centered on his transformation from YouTube celebrity to professional boxer.

The episode, Untold : Jake Paul the Problem Child,'' spent one week in Netflix's top 10 in 20 countries, including Britain.

The World Students Society thanks Nicole Sperling.

HOME -''SCHOOLING HONOURS''- HOPE : MOTHERS' GLOBAL ESSAY

CONVENTIONAL SCHOOLING has been failing to meet the aspirations of most parenting who are perplexed at the thought of leaving their kids in an environment which not only kills the curiosity of children.

BUT also shapes them into a person that does not have any skill to build relationships, communicate confidently or even secure a job.

A recent meeting with parents of primary schoolers this week was an eye-opener to the pain these parents go through in the process of selecting schools for their kids.

Most of these parents were American graduates so they were in an uneasy position to compare American school education with education at home.

For many the local schools, even the ones catering to the elite in Pakistan, fail to serve their commitment to the students in particular and education in general.

The emphasis is majorly on maximising profits and making themselves into a status symbol where the children are given no real training for their upcoming lives.

'' MY DAUGHTER'S behaviour changed totally when she started going to a local school in Lahore. Previously in Bangkok, Thailand, she was not used to even taking a bag to school and was not subjected to any exams.

However, when she arrived here, she was under constant pressure to do homework and appear in exams,'' said Noreen, a mother of three working as an assistant registrar in a university.

Continuous competition in school and pressure from parents and teachers are making many students buckle under the immense performance pressure forcing the students to focus on cramming their subjects rather than developing the concepts.

Under too much burden in the name of education, these students are left with no time to self-reflect about their life course, socialise or read books outside their syllabus.

''MY CHILDREN have hardly learnt anything from school this year. We have to get them extra coaching for their exams.

The school charges so much fees but still the learning for the kids is not satisfactory at all,'' added Amir who does two jobs to be able to afford the education of his two sons at an upscale schooling chain.

The Publishing of this Master Global Essay continues. The World Students Society thanks Muhammad Ali Falak. He is the author of the book '' My Fulbright and UGRAD.''

WORLD FOOD INDEX : GLOBAL PRECIS

London : World Food Index falls for 7th month in a row. Lower cereal prices offset higher rates of sugar and meat.

The United Nation's food agency's world price index fell in February for a seventh consecutive month as lower prices for all major cereals more offset the rising price of sugar and meat.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation's price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 117.3 points in February, down from a revised 118.2 points the previous month, the agency said on Friday.

The February reading was the lowest since February 2021.

The cereal index fell 5% month-on-month in February to stand 22.3% below its level a year ago thanks to expectations of large maize harvests in South America and competitive prices offered by Ukraine.

Vegetable oil prices fell 1.3% in February from January to stand 11% below year ago levels amid prospects for abundant South America supplies. Rapeseed and sunflower oil prices also fell, thanks to ample exports.

The UN agency's sugar index, by contrast rose 3.2% month-on-month in February, reflecting persistent concerns over top producer Brazil's upcoming output and forecast production declines in Thailand and India.

In a separate report on cereal supply and demand, the agency raised its estimate for 2023 cereal output by 1.1% from the previous year to 2,480 million metric tons thanks to increased maize supplies in Brazil, China and the United States.

Looking ahead to 2024, the UN agency pegged wheat output up 1% from a year earlier at 757 million tons because of favourable weather in North America and top exporter Russia, as well as in China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. [ Reuters]