Supreme Court refuses to stay the release of the film Ram Ki Janmabhoomi which is scheduled to hit screens on Friday.

The petitioner had sought a stay on the film’s release, saying it will vitiate the ongoing mediation process in the Ayodhya land dispute.

“There is no connection between mediation proceeding in Ayodhya case and release of film,” the Supreme Court said.

The court, however, said it will hear plea against the film after 2 weeks.

Hearing a similar petition filed before it, the Delhi High Court said Wednesday that people will have to be tolerant if the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Constitution has to survive.

The court’s observation came while hearing a plea filed by Prince Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy, who claimed to be a descendant of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, seeking to stop the release of the same film.

(With PTI inputs)

In a predawn swoop on Thursday, Income Tax officials along with CRPF personnel carried out raids at the residences of Karnataka Minor Irrigation Minister CS Puttaraju and his nephew.

Speaking to a private news channel, JD(S) leader Puttaraju said three teams of Income Tax officials and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel carried out raids at his Chinnakurli residence in Mandya and his nephew’s house in Mysuru.

The development came a day after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy raised fears about possible raids on Congress and JD(S) functionaries in the state.

He had claimed that CRPF personnel were brought from various parts of the country to carry out the raids. 

Raids on Congress and JD(S) leaders can take place early Thursday morning using CRPF jawans instead of taking the help of the Karnataka Police in order to maintain secrecy, Kumaraswamy had said on Wednesday.

“Three teams of I-T officials and CRPF soldiers comprising eight soldiers carried out raids at my Chinnakurli residence in Mandya and my nephew’s residence in Mysuru,” Puttaraju told the channel.

The minister said he was not afraid of the raids and instead, it had instilled confidence in him.

“I’m not deterred by the raids, which are election related. I would like to know which BJP leader’s house in Karnataka has been raided,” Puttaraju, who is in-charge minister of Mandya district, said.

Kumaraswamy accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing a “revenge game”. He said Modi’s “real surgical strike is out in the open through IT department raids”.

The chief minister had on Wednesday warned that he would follow what his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Bannerjee did to counter the ‘misuse’ of central agencies.

Banerjee had staged a “Save the Constitution” dharna from February 3 to 5 in Kolkata after the CBI’s failed bid to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with chit fund cases.

He had also accused Modi of misusing the Income Tax department to threaten the JD(S) and Congress leaders in Karnataka during election time. 

(With PTI inputs)

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan on Thursday said it has examined 22 “pin locations” shared by India but found no terror camps and claimed that there are no links to nail 54 people detained in connection with the Pulwama terror attack as it shared the “preliminary findings” with New Delhi.

Pakistan is willing to allow visits, on request, to these locations, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.

“While 54 detained individuals are being investigated, no details linking them to Pulwama have been found so far,” it said.

“Similarly, the 22 pin locations shared by India have been examined. No such camps exist. Pakistan is willing to allow visits, on request, to these locations,” the FO said.

It said that in consistent with its commitment to cooperate, Pakistan on Wednesday shared “preliminary findings” of its investigations with India along with a set of questions.

“Subsequently, the diplomatic corps in Islamabad was briefed as well,” the FO said.

India handed over the dossier to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan in New Delhi on February 27 with specific details of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)’s complicity in the Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel on February 14 and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan.

The FO said soon after receiving the dossier, Pakistan constituted an investigation team, detained a number of people for investigation and initiated work on the technical aspects of social media content, a main basis of the Indian documents.

The Indian dossier contains 91 pages and six parts, out of which only part two and three pertain to the Pulwama attack, it said.

“Other parts are generalised allegations. Pakistan is focusing on those parts which relate to Pulwama incident,” it said.

The FO claimed that during the course of investigations, all aspects of the information provided by India have been thoroughly examined including the “confessional” video of Adil Dar, “claim” of responsibility for the attack, WhatsApp and Telegram numbers used to share videos and messages in support of the Pulwama attack, list of 90 individuals suspected of belonging to a proscribed organisation and 22 pin locations of alleged training camps.

Service providers have been requested for data including relevant details of activities and contacts of the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) number provided by India, it said.

A request for assistance from WhatsApp has also been made to the US government, it said, adding that the said additional information and documents from India would be essential to continue the process of investigations.

“Pakistan remains committed to taking this process to its logical conclusion,” the FO added.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the suicide bomber of JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.

India launched a counter-terror operation against a JeM training camp in Balakot. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured its pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1.

Adam Lambert surprised fans this week by confirming a new relationship on Instagram. 

The pop star posted a series of photos late Tuesday that showed him canoodling with model Javi Costa Polo. 

“LUV U,” he wrote in the caption, along with a two-heart emoji. 

While the photos may have marked the first public acknowledgment of their relationship, the couple have been together for a while from the sounds of it.  

When a fan asked Lambert about “finally making it official” with Polo, who is based in Los Angeles, the singer quipped, “Honey we have been official for months. [Instagram] isn’t the gatekeeper of our truth!” 

It’s the first public romance Lambert has had since splitting with Sauli Koskinen, a winner of Finland’s “Big Brother,” in 2013. Though the “American Idol” veteran has endured speculation about his relationship with fellow crooner Sam Smith over the years, both men insist they’re just friends.  

In addition to heating things up on the romantic front, Lambert has been keeping busy on the music front, too. In February, he released “Feel Something,” his first new single in two years, as the lead-off to his fourth album due out later this year. 

That same month, he opened the 2019 Academy Awards alongside Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor with rollicking versions of “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions.” The performance was intended as a celebration of the smash Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which was nominated for five Oscars.  

MEERUT — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the BJP’s campaign in western Uttar Pradesh, saying his government had shown the courage to conduct a surgical strike in all spheres ― land, sky and space.

The contest is between a “a decisive government and an indecisive past”, Modi said in his address to a rally in this western Uttar Pradesh town a day after announcing that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite.

On the one side there is a strong ‘chowkidar’, on the other, a line of tainted people, the prime minister said.

“India has made up its mind who to vote for,” he told the rally.

“I will give an account of my work, but at the same time seek an account from my opponents... a ‘chowkidar’ does no injustice,” he said.

Modi began his speech by paying tribute to Choudhary Charan Singh, former prime minister and father of RLD leader Ajit Singh who has aligned with the BSP and the SP in this election.

JENJAROM, Malaysia — Pua Lay Peng first smelled trouble early last year. An acrid odor began waking her up in the middle of the night, and the sky often appeared unusually hazy.

Her neighbors in the quiet, agricultural town of Jenjarom began complaining of headaches, respiratory problems, skin allergies and other ailments. Children were falling sick more often than usual, and one local teacher said she was finding it hard to concentrate at school because of how disturbed her sleep had become.

Pua began feeling lethargic all the time, too, and it was starting to worry her. She also noticed fewer butterflies and insects on her walks around town.

The 46-year-old initially thought the problem was linked to haze wafting in from Indonesia, where agricultural fires are known to rage and cause thick smog in neighboring countries. But that kind of haze shouldn’t have been making locals sick, she said.

“You could tell that it was toxic,” Pua recalled of the smell, speaking from a restaurant in Jenjarom last month. 

A chemist by trade, Pua said the foul odor was familiar to her. It smelled like burning plastic.

But who in Jenjarom, a close-knit town of 30,000 known for its farms and palm oil plantations, could be setting fire to so much plastic all of a sudden? Pua was determined to find out. 

Together with a small band of other concerned neighbors, Pua embarked on a monthslong crusade to uncover the truth behind the toxic-smelling air. Along the way, they endured ridicule from local authorities and even death threats from mysterious sources. Their investigation helped expose an ugly side effect of a global recycling industry that activists and politicians in Malaysia have described as broken, inequitable and unjust, and that puts the health of ecosystems and local people at risk.

The group of residents Pua worked with — including a lawyer, a former village leader and a stay-at-home mom — spent their weekends and lunch hours scouring Jenjarom for evidence of burn piles. They soon discovered smoldering mounds of plastic hidden inside plantations and around quiet corners of residential neighborhoods, each releasing dangerous chemicals and heavy metals into the air.

They found suspicious facilities — brand-new, unmarked places apparently recycling plastic scraps — cropping up around town. The neighbors rented a drone to fly over the facilities and snap pictures. Pua collected water samples near the facilities to test them for toxic metals  — many returned positive.

Concerned by their findings, the residents began raising the alarm with local and state authorities starting last February, but were initially brushed off. None among them had any experience with activism, but as the burning odor intensified and their cries for help went ignored, the group drummed up support from neighbors and spread their story, reaching out to nonprofit groups and journalists, both local and far-flung.

These grassroots activists, it turned out, had discovered a growing network of unlicensed recyclers who were illegally recycling imported plastic scraps from countries like the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. The illicit recyclers are apparently responsible for dumping and burning trash that is too contaminated or damaged to recycle. 

Burning plastic releases toxic chemicals like hydrochloric acid and dioxins, as well as heavy metals and particulates. It can cause damage to the nervous system and exacerbate heart and respiratory diseases, among other health risks. Not only that, but plastic rubbish doesn’t break down naturally, meaning that it can linger for decades after it’s dumped, infiltrating the food chain and clogging waterways before being swept out to sea. 

Southeast Asian nations have been flooded with plastic waste from the developed world in the past year. It’s cheaper for wealthy nations to ship low-grade recyclable trash overseas instead of dealing with it at home. Malaysia is now a top destination for this trash, despite having only a fledgling recycling industry and a shortage of watchdogs. 

Thanks in large part to the Jenjarom activists’ persistence, this pervasive problem soon began making headlines the world over.

Malaysia’s environment minister, Yeo Bee Yin, whose office has since taken action to crack down on illicit recyclers, credited community members for drawing the government’s attention to the problem. Speaking from her office in Putrajaya in January, Yeo did not specifically mention Pua or her group but said residents in the Jenjarom area had “played an important role” in spurring the government to act.  

“It was members of the public who first said, ‘There’s a problem. There’s this smell,’” the minister said.

Yeo and her ministry are now pushing for reform of the global recycling industry, which she says benefits wealthy countries like the U.S. but harms developing countries. It’s been a “wake-up call for the world,” she said of the changes that have rocked the industry in recent years.

Greenpeace Malaysia, which has been supporting the efforts of Pua and her fellow grassroots activists, said it’d be impossible to overstate the influence the residents of Jenjarom have had on this global conversation.

“If the local community hadn’t been united and organized, it would have been hard for outsiders to support them and for change to happen,” said campaigner Heng Kiah Chun.

The threats on her life and safety, Pua said, began last year.

“I received messages like, ‘Don’t act so aggressively or we will come after you,’” she recalled. “I was scared.”

Pua showed HuffPost screenshots of a Facebook conversation she’d had with someone who’d contacted her using a sham account. The person, who Pua believes was affiliated with the illegal recyclers in Jenjarom, suggested that there was a bounty on the local activists’ heads. More than $25,000 ― a considerable sum in this area ― had been offered as “revenge,” the threat read.

The person then quoted a Chinese saying, “Breaking someone’s rice bowl is like killing their parents,” a suggestion that Pua and her neighbors had robbed the unauthorized recyclers of their livelihood.  

C.K. Lee, a commercial lawyer who volunteered to join Pua’s crusade, remembered how a group of men physically stopped his car and then chased him in an area where illicit recycling was known to occur.

“We are vocal, so nobody likes us,” Lee, 56, quipped.

Lee said he lost clients because of his activism. Tan Ching Hin, a former village head, said he fell out with many friends. Pua and Lee said their regular jobs had been significantly disrupted because of the commitment required to carry out their investigations and to follow up on their findings.

“Some days, I had to sacrifice my work because I was drafting complaint letters [to authorities]. Many weekends have been spent meeting with journalists,” Pua said, an edge of fatigue in her voice. “It’s been a lot of time, a lot of effort.”  

But for all that, Pua said, inaction had never been an option.

“If we kept quiet, we’d turn into a cancer village,” she said. “These illegal factories would just keep doubling, doubling. And what will happen next? It’ll be a disaster for my country? So I balance that in my mind.”

Unlicensed plastic recyclers numbering in the hundreds began setting up shop in Malaysia and Southeast Asian neighbors like Thailand and Vietnam at the end of 2017. The deluge followed China’s announcement that it was closing its borders to 24 categories of recyclable waste, including several kinds of scrap plastic and mixed paper.

For decades, China had been the world’s largest importer of recyclables. The country’s ban, which came into force on Jan. 1, 2018, had a profound global impact. Recyclables began piling up at ports and recycling facilities in European countries, Japan, Hong Kong and elsewhere. In the U.S. — which has historically exported about one-third of its recyclables annually, mostly to China ― mountains of waste were being stockpiled or dumped in landfills.

But within a few months of the enforcement of China’s ban, Southeast Asia began groaning under the weight of the world’s recyclable waste as exporters changed tactics. Virtually overnight, Malaysia became theworld’s largest importer of plastic scrap, with places like the U.S. and Europe sending hundreds of millions of tons to the country. From January to November 2018, Malaysia imported about 435 million pounds of plastic scrap from the U.S. alone, according to data provided by trade publication Resource Recycling. That amount was almost double the plastic scrap that U.S. exporters sent to Malaysia over the same period in 2017.

According to Greenpeace activists and industry insiders, much of this waste is being imported by unauthorized recyclers from China who, lured by cheaper labor and less stringent environmental regulations, relocated their operations to Malaysia following the Chinese ban.

These illicit recyclers first appeared in the Jenjarom area ― located near the port city of Klang, where imported recyclables enter the country ― before steadily spreading northward across Peninsular Malaysia.

Officials told HuffPost in February that unlicensed recyclers had begun to pop up in Kedah, a northern state bordering Thailand.

The recyclers’ pattern of behavior has been similar wherever they’ve gone. They set up ad-hoc factories in quiet areas, contaminate groundwater as they process plastic waste and illegally dump or burn whatever they can’t recycle ― usually in the dead of night.

Tan, the former Jenjarom village head, said he remembers when the smell of burning plastic began invading his neighborhood.

“The smell was terrible,” he recalled. “In the 60 years I’ve lived here, I’ve never smelled such a smell. At 3 or 4 a.m., the smell would rise and it was hard to bear.”

The 63-year-old said activists found some unauthorized facilities “mere meters away from residential areas.”

“There [was no official signage] at these places. The workers there had no masks, took no safety precautions,” Tan added.

The community activists beseeched the local council and state government to do something about these plants. Pua said they were initially “pushed around like a ping-pong ball” as each agency attempted to pass the buck.

“Local council kept telling us it takes time,” she said. “We kept sending letters and at one point, they said to us, ‘Don’t you have anything better to do?’”

Finally, in July, after about five months of the residents’ activism, local authorities shuttered 34 illegal recycling facilities in Kuala Langat, the district where Jenjarom is located. They seized about 17,000 metric tons of waste, most of it too contaminated to be recycled, The Los Angeles Times reported.

That same month, Malaysia announced that it was temporarily banning the import of plastic scrap. (Thailand and Vietnam made similar announcements around that time.) Yeo’s office vowed to root out illicit recyclers from the country. In the intervening months, her ministry has shut down more than 130 illegal plastic waste recycling facilities, several of which have been charged in court and slapped with significant fines.

Yeo said the ban will eventually be lifted. New, permanent regulations are expected to roll out in the coming months. These are meant to include limitations to the amount of contaminated plastic scrap that will be allowed into the country, Yeo said, as well as more stringent rules regarding recycling permits.

The minister has also been advocating for an international treaty that would make the global movement of plastic scrap more transparent and equitable.

“The citizens of the developed world need to demand that their governments be transparent about the way they track their waste. Where exactly is your trash going? Where is your plastic going?” she said. “[What] irritates me is the injustice. The injustice seeing people in the developing world suffering from the rubbish [originating] in developed countries.”

Greenpeace’s Heng said he was heartened by the minister’s enthusiasm.

“We see this as a positive step forward,” he said. “The government is highlighting how broken the international recycling system is. [Since 1950], only 9 percent of all plastic waste has been recycled, 12 percent incinerated and the rest dumped into natural environments.”

“This is not just a Malaysian problem or a U.S. problem or a Chinese problem,” Heng continued. “This is a global problem.”

Residents in Jenjarom say they aren’t convinced by the minister’s lofty promises. Though dozens of illicit plants in their town have been shuttered since last year, they say their problems haven’t ceased. New facilities are still popping up and there continues to be evidence of illegal activity.

On a Saturday morning in February, the Jenjarom activists alerted HuffPost to an illegal dump site that someone had set alight in a palm oil plantation in town. Thick, white, toxic smoke billowed out of the burning piles of plastic scrap. Pua, briefly pulling off her respirator mask to speak, said she wished “the ministers could come here to see this for themselves.”

Plastic scrap is a lucrative business for unlicensed recyclers, so quashing them is no easy feat, explained Phee Boon Poh, a government official in the Malaysian state of Penang.

“It’s a long march,” said Phee, who chairs the state environment committee. “Every day, it’s a process.”

In Penang, authorities have shut down at least 200 unlicensed recyclers in recent months. But, Phee noted, “Whenever there’s a crackdown, they just go somewhere else.”

Many unauthorized recyclers have apparently managed to sidestep the temporary ban on imported scrap by smuggling. Phee said they classify the scrap as a different type of plastic to sneak the materials into the country. But not all of it gets through. More than 175 containers of plastic scrap, which Phee said were wrongly classified, have been stuck in Penang’s port since at least November.

“The fight is not finished,” Lee, the lawyer and activist, said of Jenjarom’s recycling crisis. “The problem is not solved, it’s just always relocating.”

Lee, who was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words, “Everyone has a responsibility to protect the environment” in Chinese, said he and his neighbors will continue to wage their battle against the illicit recyclers in their town. 

“The environment is everyone’s duty,” he said. “We all need fresh, clean air to breathe.”

This story is part of a series on plastic waste, funded by SC Johnson. All content is editorially independent, with no influence or input from the company.

Development economist Jean Dreze and two of his associates, who were held by the Garhwa district police in Jharkhand on Thursday, have been released. 

Dreze’s associate Professor Reetika Khera confirmed that they had been released. 

The police said that the three were brought in for questioning over a public meeting that they did not have permission for. Sources said, the meeting was a public hearing about pensions and right to food organised by a civil society group named DEHAN. 

Speaking with HuffPost India around noon, the Superintendent of Police for the district, Shiwani Tiwari had said, “It is not an arrest. They have been brought for questioning in Bishunpur police station and will be released afterwards. They held a public meeting without permission.”

However, in a text message Khera, Dreze had said, “They say they will charge us. Want someone to bail us out. They want us to sign a bond and say that we have no complaint against government.” Dreze said he refused to sign the bond and was writing a statement and expect to be released soon. 

Huffpost India also reached out to Deputy Commissioner Harsh Mangla, who did not respond to phone calls.

There’s an old joke: what’s the difference between broccoli and bogeys? It’s hard to get kids to eat broccoli. 

We’re more familiar with the sight of a kid plucking a clump of hideousness from their nose and shoving it into their gob than we’d like to be – and sometimes they make it worse by looking so pleased with themselves afterwards. It’s disgusting. The only places snot should be are in your nose, in a tissue, or subtly pressed onto the roof of your car while you think nobody is looking. 

(Okay, I’ve tried it. We’ve all tried it. It was a dry run for smoking – all my friends did it, so I gave it a go, and was delighted to find that it wasn’t for me.)

But, as luck would have it, it’s probably not bad for you, according to a scientist. It might even be good for you, raising the horrifying possibility that maybe we should be, *shudder*, encouraging the occasional mucus-munch.

Biochemist Professor Scott Napper, from the University of Saskatchewan, even posited that the reason for bogeys’ sweet taste is to encourage people to eat them. “I’ve got two beautiful daughters and they spend an amazing amount of time with their fingers up their nose,” he told CBC. “From an evolutionary perspective, we evolved under very dirty conditions and maybe this desire to keep our environment and our behaviours sterile isn’t actually working to our advantage.”

And Dr. Meg Lemon, a US dermatologist specialising in allergies and autoimmune disorders, recently added weight to Napper’s out-there hypothesis. Chatting to the New York Times this month, she said: “You should not only pick your nose, you should eat it. Our immune system needs a job, we evolved over millions of years to have our immune systems under constant assault. Now they don’t have anything to do.”

We all know that exposure to bacteria is obviously good for children’s immune systems, and re-exposure to the pathogens expelled by your mucus could, possibly, be a way of boosting immunity. 

A study published last year in the journal of the American Society for Microbiology (and co-authored by Napper, a man who digs his boogs) also concluded that snot can help prevent bacteria from sticking to teeth. It proposed creating a “mucus toothpaste”, which is possibly the nastiest combination of two words conceivable – but if it works, it works.

Let’s be honest, it’s hard to imagine a government health campaign based around encouraging people to chow down on the contents of their noses, or Colgate unveiling a new bogey-flavoured toothpaste. 

My niece is incredibly clever, but is currently going through a mining-for-morsels phase that is remarkably upsetting. I’m pretty sure the only reason my daughter doesn’t do it is that she hasn’t worked out how yet (she’s 20 months) – and any week now she’ll be beaming, filling her mouth with rubbery bloblets of snot, and I’ll start being sick in my mouth on a daily basis.  

But some parents are apparently on board: a colleague says his dad used to suck snot out of his nose when he was little – partly for those apparent health benefits but also, he says, because he enjoyed it. And sometimes, you may eat it against your will – a friend of mine was pushing his newborn through a shop, and when the baby sneezed and blasted snot everywhere, he – overwhelmed and frazzled – panicked and ate it.

What do I know? Maybe we should turn a blind eye next time our kids go digging for gold, and if nobody’s looking, and there’s a really good one in there... chow down. 

LAUSANNE — International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach admitted Wednesday that he’s a fan of breakdancing’s dizzy choreography as the street-wise discipline joined climbing, skateboarding and surfing in getting the provisional nod for the 2024 Paris Games.

“There’s a very authentic expression, you feel the performance and the personalities of the athletes,” said the 65-year-old after a meeting of the IOC’s executive committee.

“I must admit that I admire the movements.” The four sports will now be submitted to the IOC’s next session in June in the next step for inclusion on the Olympic programme.

Climbing, skateboarding and surfing will make their Olympic debut in Tokyo next year where they will be subject to a “programme of monitoring”.

Breakdancing, which is not on the Tokyo schedule, figured in the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires last October which is where Bach caught the bug.

Bach added at Wednesday’s press conference that the inclusion of the four sports will make the Paris Olympics “more gender balanced, more youthful and more urban”.

They will “offer the opportunity to connect with the young generation”. 

Meanwhile, the IOC also announced Wednesday that a working group will be created to to examine possible reforms to the bidding process for future Winter Olympics.

“We have decided to set up a working group composed of five people representing the five continents and presided over by Australia’s John Coates,” said Bach.

“We have a momentum with many cities and National Olympic Committees who are thinking of candidatures for the 2032 Olympics.

“Times are continuing to change and we have discussed further steps that make the candidature race even more flexible.”

Doping sanctions call

Although there are a number of nations interested in hosting the 2032 Summer Games, the bidding for the rights to the 2026 winter edition suffered a series of pullouts, notably Sion in Switzerland and Calgary in Canada due to the absence of popular support.

Only Stockholm and Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo are still in the race with the successful host to be named in June.

Coates, who presided over the working group appointed for the awarding of the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics in Paris and Los Angeles respectively, will be joined by China’s Li Lingwei, Lydia Nsekera of Burundi, Slovakia’s Danka Bartekova and Gerardo Werthein from Argentina.

Bach also appealed Wednesday for “severe” sanctions to be imposed against those athletes implicated in the doping scandal which blighted the recent world nordic skiing championships at Seefeld in Austria.

Police raids targeted a suspected doping network at the February event, with nine arrests made ― including five athletes.

Austrian and German police carried out a series of raids in both countries.

“We hope that all this will be clarified, that everything will be put on the table and that those responsible, the entourage of these athletes and the doctors will be punished severely and quickly,” said Bach.

“I hope it will not drag on, that justice will really set an example, that there will be heavy penalties that will act as a deterrent.”

The IOC was confronted with a vast doping scandal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, which led to the suspension of Russia at the 2018 Olympics.

Agriculture-related governance issues and clean drinking water feature predominantly in the Indian voter’s priorities for the coming elections, reveals a survey. Meanwhile, high levels of water and air pollution, which have been plaguing Indian cities over the past few years, are not a top priority nationally but are of importance to the urban voters.

The survey released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on 25 March revealed that the availability of water for agriculture, agriculture loan availability, higher price realisation for farm products and agriculture subsidy for seeds/fertilisers are among the top ten concerns for voters in India. Water and air pollution is a priority for only 11.95% of the voters in the survey (urban and rural) and ranked 17th in the list of 31 governance related priorities for all-India voters, though it featured in the top ten priorities in urban areas.

To analyse the voters’ priorities, a total of 273,487 people were interviewed across 534 Lok Sabha constituencies (at least 500 respondents in each constituency) during October-December 2018. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to take place in April-May 2019.

The survey found that Indian voters prioritise employment and basic amenities (like healthcare, drinking water and better roads) above all governance issues (including terrorism and strong defence/military).

Drinking water was ranked third (30.50% respondents), behind employment and healthcare, among the top 10 voter priorities in the country. In fact, the survey noted that the significance of drinking water as voters’ priority this year had increased by 150% from last year. However, in rural areas, drinking water was ranked seventh, after agricultural issues which are dominating the priorities of rural voters.

Better roads were ranked fourth (28.34%) and better public transport was fifth (27.35%) in the national rankings.

Other environment-related concerns that found a place in the list of top priorities for voters’ were sand and stone quarrying (ranked 15), traffic congestion (ranked 16), river/lake pollution (18) and noise pollution (19). The issue of facilities for cyclists and pedestrians and garbage clearance also figured in the list at rank 22 (7.6%) and 25 (6.61%) respectively.

In rural areas, better public transport, water, river and lake pollution, and garbage clearance were higher in the list of voters’ priorities, ranked ninth, 12th and 21st respectively. The majority of voters in India are from rural areas, with over 300 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha from rural India.

The survey also analysed the voters’ ratings of the government’s performance and found that “voters rated the performance of the government on all 31 listed governance issues as below average.” But, the worst performance of the government, as rated by the voters, was on the issues of encroachment of public lands and lakes.

Environmental issues among the top priorities for voters in the urban areas

In urban areas, environmental issues featured significantly in the priority list, after employment and healthcare. It is estimated that urban/semi-urban areas account for about 200 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats.

The issue of traffic congestion (3), drinking water (4), water and air pollution (6), better public transport (7) and noise pollution (8) were ranked among the top 10 priorities for voters. These were followed by facilities for cyclists and pedestrians on roads (11) and better garbage clearance (17).

As per the survey, traffic congestion was a priority for 37.17% of the voters surveyed in the urban areas, drinking water for 35.03%, better roads for 34.91%, and water and air pollution for 34.14% of the voters.

“Surprisingly, despite the scarcity of land in urban areas, encroachment of land, lakes etc. was not a priority for urban voters as it was ranked lowest at 1.26%,” said the survey. In rural areas as well, this issue was ranked lowest in the list of issues that concern voters.

Among the states, drinking water was the highest priority for voters in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The top states where better public transport was the highest voters’ priority were Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and where the availability of water for agriculture was the highest voters’ priority were Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Drinking water is an important issue for Indian voters

Drinking water came up as a significant priority for voters across the country. The survey emphasised that more than 163 million Indians do not have access to safe drinking water, as per a recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. Besides the National Rural Drinking Water Programme has also failed in achieving its targets despite spending 90% of Rs 890.95 billion (Rs 89,956 crores) budget over five years till 2017.

“All over India, 30.5% voters consider drinking water as the third most important governance issue. It is particularly higher for urban voters, voters from medium wealth group and for general category voters,” the survey said.

The survey emphasised that water is undeniably an essential resource for agriculture but it has not been well-managed in the Indian context, despite the country being an agricultural powerhouse.

“Problems of Indian agriculture are intricately linked to per-capita availability of water in a cost-effective manner since nearly 70% of the net sown area is rain-dependent. All over India, 26.40% voters consider availability of water for agriculture as the sixth most important governance issue,” said the survey.

The ADR analysis also revealed that agriculture-related issues like agricultural loan availability (ranked 3rd in 2017 and 7th in 2018), agriculture subsidy for seeds/fertilisers (ranked 6th in 2017 and 9th in 2018), electricity for agriculture (ranked 11th in 2017 and 5th in 2018), availability of water for agriculture (ranked 10th in 2017 and 6th in 2018) continue to be featured among the top most voters’ priorities across both, 2017 and 2018 surveys.

The survey was conducted in 534 constituencies with at least 500 respondents in each constituency. It found that water and air pollution, while not a national level priority, were among the top three voters’ priorities in at least 45 constituencies across the country. In the capital, Delhi, however, where pollution has been an important issue for years, four of the seven constituencies rated it in their top three priorities while traffic congestion was a priority issue for all the seven constituencies.

Similarly, drinking water was among the top three priorities for voters in 86 of the total 534 constituencies surveyed, traffic congestion in 88 constituencies while the issue of availability of water for agriculture was among the top three priorities in 154 constituencies.

The survey revealed interesting data from across India. Goa, for example, was the only state with constituencies opting for garbage clearance among their top three priorities. Additionally, noise pollution, which does not usually get as much attention as air or water pollution, was infact among the top three priorities in atleast 20 constituencies in the country.

This is the third such survey released by ADR. The first survey was conducted before the 2014 elections while the second one was done in 2016-17.

“In the series of surveys conducted by ADR, all point to the fact that voters’ priorities have remained unaddressed by the governments in power. A look at the key findings of the all-India survey 2018 highlights the fact that the voters’ expectations have clearly not been met,” the survey said.

This article was first published in Mongabay-India.

A song called Wannabe made the Spice Girls one of the biggest pop groups on the planet in November 1996. Here, for posterity, are the opening lines:

“Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want
I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want...”

A lot of people know how the rest of it goes [spoiler alert: more of the same]. The Englishwomen have a massive reunion tour this year, which will make them millionaires all over again. What I do not foresee at their merchandise stalls is a published collection of lyrics. 

The idea of people poring over a singer’s writings would have seemed preposterous a decade or so ago. Lyrics were published before the Internet, of course — in collections called Top Hits sold at stationery stores, or within the columns of long defunct music magazines with titles like Jet and Upbeat — but these were a mixed bag of popular songs that simply targeted an audience interested in singing along. The idea of lyrics as a literary art form didn’t exist. 

Two things happened over the past decade that helped us re-evaluate them in a significant manner. In 2016, 75-year-old Bob Dylan became the first musician to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” The radical decision prompted a New York Times writer to declare it a missed opportunity to honour a real writer. Two years later, 30-year-old rapper Kendrick Lamar’s Damn became the first non-classical and non-jazz album to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize in music, for “affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.” What Dylan and Lamar did, effectively, was drag lyrics away from the microphone and onto paper.

This isn’t to say there haven’t been decent attempts, from Van Morrison’s collection Lit Up Inside to Poguetry: The Lyrics of Shane MacGowan and Lou Reed’s Pass Thru Fire. Even Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine got in on the act with Useless Magic, a compendium of lyrics, art, and her poetry, released mid-2018. For me though, a highlight of last year was How To Be Invisible, the selected lyrics of English singer Kate Bush with an introduction by the novelist David Mitchell.

One of the obvious advantages of reading lyrics, divorced from their musical context, is how they transform into something new and evocative, forcing us to pay attention to nuances that don’t always jump out in song, and showing us how compelling a line can be when isolated from the thrum of an electric guitar. As Mitchell eloquently points out, Bush’s lyrics qualify as art because they are singular pieces that map the heart and psyche. He explains how, for instance, her lyric “Dropped from my black Spitfire to my funeral barge” from the song Oh England My Lionheart, effectively condenses 500 years of English history in a way a novel arguably cannot.

For 2019, the title to beat will probably be Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie, 1976-2016, by American journalist Chris O’Leary. Much more than a mere analysis of lyrics, this massive tome attempts to put into context every single song the iconic musician ever recorded, within and outside of a studio setting. It is admittedly not for anyone except hardcore fans, but given how influential Bowie was during his lifetime and how his shadow continues to loom large over us, that is still a significant number of potential readers.

O’Leary’s fascinating study began in 2009 as a blog called ‘Pushing Ahead of the Dame’ which aimed to analyse Bowie’s music, song by song. It led to the publication of Rebel Rebel: All the Songs of David Bowie from ’64 to ’76. Ashes to Ashes is probably the last word on the final four decades of that impressive career, and pushes aside the curtain to show what made Bowie such a powerful writer in addition to such a versatile composer. Every song is placed in a musical, sociological and historical milieu, revealing a surprising number of facts, influences, and insights. Combining the objectivity of an encyclopaedia with the informality of a TED talk lecture, it made me miss Bowie all over again.

There are many reasons why Ashes to Ashes should be on many bookshelves. For a start, 710 pages make for an immersive learning experience without the distraction of a single picture. Secondly, it focuses on everything Bowie recorded from Sister Midnight to Blackstar, with all the lost tracks, hits and misses in between. The most important reason is Bowie’s extraordinary life, which saw him interact with some of the most iconic figures of our time, from Andy Warhol and Iggy Pop to Marc Bolan and Lou Reed. Reading about how these familiar songs came to life makes for a history lesson unlike any other you will receive for a long time.

I suppose one ought to give Dylan the last word.

“The words in Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be acted on the stage. Just as lyrics in songs are meant to be sung, not read on a page,” he said at his Nobel Lecture on 5 June 2017.

It is a valid point. If we could give Shakespeare a chance on paper, should we deny singer-songwriters the opportunity?

Sick of reading the same tired dating advice about there being plenty of fish in the sea and the merits of dating offline? 

1. Stop looking for “the one.” 

The sooner you disabuse yourself of the idea that you have one soul mate wandering this earth, the sooner you can date with clear eyes and focus. 

“It’s a myth that somehow karma, or God, or fate will deliver your soulmate,” said Zach Brittle, a therapist and founder of the online couples therapy series forBetter.

Ultimately, Brittle says, each relationship choice boils down to exactly that: choosing to be with this person after getting to know all sides of them, warts and all. 

“It’s fair, and actually prudent, to examine the core, perpetual issues you may have in the relationship without the soul-mate thinking,” he said. “Realists should use mature, thoughtful conversation to discern whether those issues are deal-breakers or not. If they’re not, then you’re simply negotiating.”

If you’re still hung up on the soul mate thing, rejig your belief system a bit: Tell yourself you have multiple soulmates out there whom you’ll have an amazing connection with if you put in the work. (We like those odds a lot better.)

2. Take a person-focused approach to dating. 

When you’re dating mostly on apps, it’s easy to get demoralized about the process. First, you read another cornball bio about someone’s dog, look at their photos and figure out if they’re cute enough for a swipe right. Then you send a message, wait for a reply and maybe schedule a date, which may or may not live up to your already-low expectations. 

When you start to feel fatigued by the swiping or wonder if you’re wasting your time, try to shift your thinking. Life and relationship coach Deb Besinger says you should remind yourself that, at its core, dating is just about getting to know someone outside your smartphone screen. Focus less on whether this person is your next great love and more on simply acquainting yourself with them as a person.

“You have to be invested in getting to know the person without being attached to the outcome,” she told HuffPost.

Show up authentically, be fully present and “know you will get out of the experience what you put into it, even it you never see that person again,” Besinger said.

3. Date sober.

Beer or pinot grigio goggles have a way of distorting or exaggerating the connection you have with dates. As writer Zara Barrie told HuffPost recently, “If I’ve had two glasses of Champagne, I can feel chemistry with anyone.”

If you relate to that, it might be time to cut back on drinking before or during a date, said Greg Cason, a psychologist based in Los Angeles.

“Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, and the same mechanism that takes away nervous anxiety also takes away your rational concerns,” he said. “As a result, you’re more likely to lower your standards.” 

4. If you’re not interested, end it tactfully like a grown-up.

We’re all about giving each person a chance, but sometimes, it’s painfully obvious that you’re not connecting. If you know during the date ― maybe they’ve said something completely un-PC or you’re clearly both unenthused about each other — consider the “one-drink bailout.” (In other words, leave a date after 30 minutes or so, but do so in a tactful way.)

Or, if it takes a few days to decide it’s not likely to lead anywhere, do each other a favor and pull the plug, said Meg Rector, a dating coach in Los Angeles.

“A clean ending to a relationship, no matter how short, is the considerate thing to do,” she said. “It simply makes it easier for everyone involved to move on. No one wants to be ghosted or strung along.”

Closing the loop doesn’t have to be long or excruciatingly drawn out. Be kind about it, but get to the point, Rector said. It’s as easy as sending a quick text: “It was so nice to get to know you, but I don’t think we’re quite right for each other. Best of luck!”

5. Stop dating potential. 

She’d be perfect ... if only she weren’t dismissive and didn’t talk over you. The two of you could really be something special ... if only he were motivated to get a job instead of living rent-free at his mom’s place. 

Say “no” to that train of thinking. If you think you’re going to change someone by virtue of your love for them, think again, said Jenny Block, a dating expert and author of O Wow: Discovering Your Ultimate Orgasm.

“Love is grand, but it doesn’t turn messy people into neat freaks or wallflowers into dancing queens or over-thinkers into seat-of-the-pants flyers,” she said. “Date the person in front of you, knowing that they will morph and grow but who they are at the core will probably forever remain the same.”

6. Don’t focus on finding the right partner; focus on being the right partner.

Don’t get too hung up on dismal dates or rejection. Try to think of each consecutive date as an exercise in getting to know what you want in a relationship and recognizing what an amazing catch you are, said Liz Higgins, a Dallas-based therapist who primarily works with millennials.

Higgins tells her single clients to “date from the inside out,” which essentially means focusing on the great personality, values and needs you already bring to the table, instead of what you think your date might want out of you. 

“The reality is that a relationship cannot be based on the external validation or factors you seek in a mate,” she said. “You will experience a much more fulfilling and intimate relationship, even in the dating stages, if you place more of a focus on how you want to be in the relationship.”

Disability advocates are criticizing Lupita Nyong’o for comments she made about her character in Jordan Peele’s “Us.”

Earlier this month, the Oscar-winning actress told The New York Times that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was the inspiration for the creepy voice she uses for her character, Red, who is portrayed as a villain in most of the film. Kennedy has spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary spasms of the larynx.

The article explains that Peele, who wrote and directed the film, wanted Red to have “a scratchy voice, as if withered from lack of use,” and when Nyong’o attended a fashion event where Kennedy was speaking, the seed was planted.

In a video published by Variety on Monday, the actress elaborated on her decision.

“I was inspired by the condition spasmodic dysphonia,” Nyong’o told Variety. “Which is a condition that comes about from a trauma, sometimes emotional, sometimes physical, and it creates this spasming in your vocal cords that leads to an irregular flow of air.”

Kim Kuman, the executive director of the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association, told IndieWire that making that creative decision because the character was struggling with trauma doesn’t really add up.

“For so long, people were told that it’s psychological — and it’s not. It’s neurological,” Kuman told the entertainment website of the condition.

The Variety video also features Nyong’o’s co-stars describing Red’s voice as “freaking” them out, “scary” and “out there.” Ian Cooper, a producer for “Us,” even noted that he’d avoid making small talk with Nyong’o on days she played the character because she would use that voice.

Nyong’o’s artistic choice carries real-life consequences for people with spasmodic dysphonia and other disabilities.

“One of the toughest parts of having a disability is that people make assumptions based on the way you walk, talk or act, sometimes with little understanding of what is causing it,” the NSDA said in a lengthy statement on its website. “We understand that hearing the unique sound caused by symptoms of spasmodic dysphonia was the spark of inspiration for the voice of this character. What is difficult for us, and for the thousands of people living with spasmodic dysphonia, is this association to their voice with what might be considered haunting.”

Nyong’o did not immediately reply to HuffPost’s request for comment.

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility, a nonprofit group that fights stigmas and advances opportunities for people with disabilities, echoed NSDA’s concerns.

“Connecting disabilities to characters who are evil further marginalizes people with disabilities who also have significant abilities and want to contribute to their communities just like anyone else,” Mizrahi said in a statement.

Kennedy himself didn’t seem upset that he was the inspiration for Nyong’o’s character and told Good Morning America that he was grateful that the actress put a “spotlight on an injury that’s been starved for attention.”

Yet, according to a tweet he sent out before speaking to GMA, he was somewhat confused by the whole ordeal.

Many responded that it wasn’t exactly an honor.

Other people with disabilities and advocates also expressed their dismay with Nyong’o on Twitter.

Using disabilities in film to signify that a character is evil is something the disability community has been trying to combat for years.

The “Road Map for Inclusion,” a new report funded by the Ford Foundation that details the media’s failure to represent people with disabilities and gives recommendations for better inclusion, also mentions hurtful and stereotypical portrayals of people with disabilities. The report cites examples like the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies, Dr. Poison in “Wonder Woman” and a whole bunch of bad guys in the James Bond franchise.

“This stereotype plays on people’s inherent discomfort with those who do not look the same as them, telling them that disfigurement—and disability, in general—makes characters revolting and morally wrong and reinforcing the notion that ‘we should be afraid of people whose faces and bodies are different from our own,’” the report states.

NEW DELHI — The CPI(M) on Thursday proposed stoppage of mass surveillance, statutory minimum wage of not less than Rs 18,000 per month and curbing monopolies over telecom and internet service platforms in its manifesto for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

In the declaration, the party has proposed alternative policy platform under which it called for protection of the secular principle and democratic rights enshrined in the Constitution and enforcement of farmers’ right to sell their produce at minimum support price.

It also proposed statutory minimum wage of not less than Rs 18,000 per month, universal Public Distribution System with 35 kg of food grains per family, rise in taxes of rich, restoration of inheritance tax and old age pension of Rs 6,000 per month.

Pastel and candy-colored hair has been trending for a while now. And thanks to stars like Cardi B, who recently showed off rainbow-hued tresses on Instagram, and Lady Gaga, who walked the 2018 Golden Globes red carpet with an icy blue ’do, it seems to be experiencing a renaissance 

We’re here for it. (Seriously, we could spend hours scrolling through Pinterest boards and Instagram feeds dedicated to colorful hair.) But for those looking to take the leap into a world of whimsical hair colors, there are a few things to know. For instance, it’s not as easy to achieve as you might think. And while it can be done in one sitting (sometimes), it’s often a very long process. Oh, and it’s definitely not low maintenance or cheap.

In order to help you decide whether the pastel and candy-colored hair trend is for you, we spoke to three experienced stylists to find out everything you need to know about elevating your natural hair (or wigs, as the case may be) to “My Little Pony” status.

1. The process tends to work best on virgin hair

Before you even head to the salon, you should know that the steps you need to take to get to a pastel or candy-colored hue will work best on virgin hair (meaning it hasn’t been colored at all). 

In many cases, you need to bleach the hair before adding those light pinks, purples, blues and greens, and as Caitlin Ford, a hair color specialist based in St. Louis, told HuffPost, “It’s a lot harder to bleach through artificial color than it is through virgin hair.” 

“For darker hair especially, that can get a bit tricky because it’s already harder to bleach darker hair,” she added. “But if it’s layered with color already, that presents a whole other challenge.” 

2. All hair types and textures can achieve some type of rainbow-hued hair, but curly is hardest

The stylists we spoke to agreed that all hair types and textures can be dyed some type of pastel or candy color. However, Ford said those with very curly hair might want to err on the side of caution before trying to go too blond, as overbleaching could affect the curl pattern and lead to more dryness. 

“Sometimes I try to encourage people to do more strategic placements, rather than bleaching out their whole head,” Ford said. 

3. You’re most likely going to need to lighten your hair to start

In order to achieve a pastel hair color, Emaly Baum, a hair color specialist based in New York City, said hair has to be “a very pale yellow” or else you won’t be able to achieve the tone you want. Getting to that pale blond “is basically about setting yourself up for success.”

However, If you’re looking for a more creative fashion color ― something that’s a little brighter, deeper and more jewel tone ― you don’t need to be as blond to start, she said.

Ford said she encourages clients with darker hair to opt for those brighter colors because it won’t require as much bleach and therefore won’t cause as much damage to the hair. For those with naturally lighter hair, going platinum isn’t as difficult, which makes pastels a little more attainable, she said. 

4. The initial process could take all day

Results vary from person to person, but according to the stylists we spoke to, it’s possible to get pastel or candy-colored hair in one salon session. However, the process is bound to be long, especially if (you guessed it) you have darker hair. 

The longest process involved is bleaching the hair, Ford said, noting that it could take anywhere from two to six hours, depending on hair density, length and color. She added that she has done bleaching sessions that took even longer. 

When it comes time to apply the color, Erin Hriczak, a hair colorist based in New Jersey, said for the more complicated, multitonal looks, it can take a couple of hours. But for most people, she said it probably takes about an hour to apply color and about 30 minutes for it to set before it gets washed out. 

5. But don’t be surprised if it takes more than one session... 

...especially if you’ve got darker hair or hair that was previously dyed. 

Those with really dark hair could need a couple of rounds of lightening to get their hair light enough to add pastel color, according to Hriczak. That means they might need to make more than one salon appointment before they reach their pastel goals. (Again, keep in mind if you’re going for a darker jewel tone, you don’t need to bleach to platinum blond.)

She cautioned that if you’ve got dark hair and it has been colored, “it can get a little trickier.” 

“Somebody like that, it’s almost hard to tell exactly how many sessions of lightening their hair’s going to need,” she said. “It’s going to be more like, we’re going to do a round of lightening on your hair, see how light it will get and then choose colors from there.” 

6. These colors fade quickly

That rings especially true for the pastel tones.

As Hriczak said, “Pastels in nature are just lighter versions of jewel-tone colors, so the lighter the color is to start with, the quicker it’s going to wash out.” 

Baum said pastel colors can start fading noticeably as soon as the first wash.

For most people, pastel colors will last about six to eight weeks, depending on how much you wash your hair (more on that later), Ford said. Sometimes, she added, she and her clients will decide to start off with a color that’s darker than the goal to get a few extra weeks out of it. 

“As they wash their hair, it’s going to turn pastel anyway, and they’ll have more of an anchor of that pastel in there, so it will last a little bit longer if we make it darker initially,” she said. “If we do that, it might last two to three weeks more. So instead of six to eight weeks, it would last more like eight to 10.” 

7. Some colors last longer than others

Of all the colors of the hair rainbow, the three stylists agreed that blue tends to linger a little longer than the rest. 

“A color like pink fades away very quickly, but blue has a funny transition period, where it can go from blue to green to yellow,” Baum said. “Blue is a little tougher to get out of the hair.” 

For clients who might be nervous to try candy-colored hues, Ford said she steers them toward pinks and purples, which tend to fade back to blond and are easier to remove from the hair. 

8. It can get really expensive

Prices for color services will obviously vary, depending on the salon and the stylist. Some cities, like New York City and Los Angeles, are known to be more expensive than places like St. Louis and Denver. 

That said, you’re still going to be looking at spending a couple hundred bucks to achieve your pastel hair dreams. 

Just to give you an idea: Hriczak and Ford said they charge for their color services by the hour, and Hriczak charges $90 per hour, and Ford charges $80.

As noted earlier, the process can take anywhere from two to six hours for bleaching and an additional hour and a half to two hours for color application. Ford said her average appointments for fashion colors are typically four to six hours, and at her hourly rate, that would put the base price at $280 to $640. 

Baum, on the other hand, charges per service, with a double process costing $300, full highlights costing $340 and a gloss costing $100. 

Add to that the price of regular touch-ups, special shampoos and conditioners, and you’re looking at a pretty hefty expense for a year. 

9. There’s a lot of maintenance involved

If you’re taking the candy-colored plunge, be prepared for a lot of maintenance. (This formerly purple-haired writer can attest.) 

Since the color fades quickly, regular touch-ups become necessary if you want to maintain your color.

“I would say usually, if it’s somebody who likes to keep it really fresh, you could come in and just get the color refreshed at eight weeks, but I usually tell people maybe only do the lightening every other appointment,” Hriczak said, adding that spreading out the lightening process prevents “stressing out the hair every single time.” 

Baum, who recommended going for touch-ups every four to six weeks, said one way to maintain color between appointments is to ask your colorist to make you an at-home colored conditioner using the same color from your appointment; you can apply the conditioner as a leave-in treatment between salon visits. 

There are also products on the market like OverTone and Viral Colorwash that are tinted and can help with at-home maintenance. 

“You spend a lot of money to get that hair in the first place. It’s definitely worth it to go with a professionally recommended product,” Hriczak said. 

10. You’ll want to avoid hot water and heat tools

Baum, Hriczak and Ford suggested washing your hair with cool water to help extend the shade’s life. Ford said the cold water is especially helpful for multihued styles, as it will keep the colors from bleeding into each other. 

In terms of frequency, Hriczak suggested washing no more than twice a week and using a sulfate-free shampoo. 

11. Going back to your natural color is a whole other process

Again, this one is particularly true for those who are naturally dark-haired and want to return to their natural color. 

If you want to go from light to dark, your stylist will need to replace all the pigment that was taken out during the bleaching process, Ford said. 

“Basically, when you’re bleaching your hair, you go from red, orange, all the way to pale yellow in a slow process,” she said. To reverse that, “you go in and replace the red and the orange that came out while you were bleaching.”

Ford referred to the process as “filler” and noted it’s a multistep process, but “it’s a lot faster than bleaching the hair out.” 

Baum warned that the first step of the process of going from light to dark “is always the most awful because you end up having really ugly looking orange hair before it gets beautiful again.” 

The whole point of adding those layers of color, she said, is so that the dark color has something to hold onto. 

For those who already have light hair or want to keep their hair blond, you can essentially just let the color fade before asking your stylist for a toner to make it look a little more natural, she said. 

12. Leave it to the pros

While Baum advised that a leave-in tinted conditioner is a great way to maintain color at home, the consensus among the stylists was to keep the major parts of the process ― particularly the bleaching ― to the pros. 

“Anything that involves bleaching your hair at home is a bad idea,” Ford said. “Just go on YouTube and look at all the bleach fail videos. It’s really, really difficult. It’s hard enough for hairstylists to do it correctly. I would never do anything that involves bleaching your hair at home.”

Big data metaphors are overused clichés of the 21st century. Big data is either new gold, new oil or some valuable asset which is limited to the tangible nature of the metaphors and the industry seeking to define it. However,  do you always receive tangible value from the data left behind for companies based on your active or passive digital footprint?

By 2025, the average data consumer will have at least one digital data engagement every 18 seconds, which translates into almost 4,900 interactions per day. In the course of these  interactions, the data consumer also grants additional ‘free’ access to their digital footprint, which is further analyzed, by companies, to supply the consumer with personalized experiences.

It is therefore, crucial for the consumer to understand and reap the full value of their contribution. There are two ways of gaining value from big data—non-financial incentives, and financial incentives. The latter is almost untapped in India.

Big data analyses correlations which means that it mostly delves into ‘what’ rather than ‘why’. For instance, can your clothes monitor your health? Yes. Could this data on health thereafter be used by insurance companies to provide better policies? Maybe.

These secondary uses and correlations are the valuable non-financial incentives offered. Additionally, these correlations and secondary uses are the long-term impacts of big data use, which may or may not be determinable ahead of time. This is evidenced in the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 which does not aid in digital transformation in a big data world. One example is the requirement of ‘purpose specification’ while collecting data, which nullifies the impact of secondary uses and correlations between data points. The primary concern is that the requirements and liabilities of big data varies from the concerns surrounding personal data.

According to a Cisco report, Internet of Things (IoT) connections will represent more than half (14.6 billion) of all global connected devices (28.5 billion) by 2022. This increase in connected devices is directly proportional to the increase in data collected and analysed by companies. An increase in volume of big data fuels technological innovations for various purposes including healthcare and education.

For example, YouCode Intelligence Solutions—the brainchild of Suriya Prabha K.—creates consumable interactive Artificial Intelligence (AI) content for educating children in rural India. Her focus is to convert the complexity of the technology into an opportunity to solve the technology skill gap through an ‘AI4Kids’ campaign. “Our AI learning system works on reinforced learning, so we collect the responses from kids, which is further used for enhancing the deep learning model” says Suriya.

Startups like YouCode aim to make a difference by freely utilising accessible data which could spiral the growth of AI, with a keen eye on securing privacy by-design. Also, improved algorithmic predictions and trend spotting only occurs with large data sets. Therefore, ideally access to big data should be expanded across sectors on a worldwide basis and not be polarised or restricted with few companies.

Data exchanges, and getting your cut

Don Gossen, Co-Founder of Ocean Protocol—a decentralized data exchange protocol, agrees that “Because data is consolidated and largely locked up within large enterprises, startups struggle to access the data they need to flourish.”

“Ocean Protocol aims at changing the paradigm by giving access to more data to all, especially AI and machine learning startups; thus creating a more equitable ecosystem to sustain the new data economy.”

Ocean is currently working with Next Billion in rural India to create a data sharing model to increase sustainable livelihoods for local stakeholders.

Data exchanges—with traditional or non-traditional financial incentives as confirmed by the Government of India, will assist in identifying larger correlations between data points and permit data sharing across the IoT between various stakeholders worldwide.

Ocean Protocol, is a Singapore based non-profit foundation, which unlocks data for AI by connecting providers and consumers of valuable data, while providing open access for developers to build services. “Ocean Tokens will function as utility tokens, acting as a proxy for the underlying assets like data, that can be exchanged only within the Ocean ecosystem.” says Gossen.  

However, at present several aspects in the Indian regulatory system hinder the process of digitalisation through data exchanges.

For instance, it would be difficult for data exchanges which connect with several marketplaces for ’… proactively identifying and removing or disabling public access to unlawful information or content”, as required under the draft Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2018.

In traditional data exchanges enabling tracing of the originator of information, in a borderless data ecosystem, may be difficult due to the fluid nature and malleability of big data. However, as confirmed by Gossen, Ocean tackles this issue by focussing on provenance and attribution, thereby coupling accountability to traceability. “By recording transactional information on a blockchain, Ocean can create an immutable ‘virtual paper trail’” says Gossen.

New technologies and the growing applications of big data can be effectively managed through cross-sectoral coordination between technologists, policy makers and the Government. In the meantime, subjecting data exchanges to the same guidelines without a variation, is problematic. Additionally, the draft guidelines also require monthly compliance notifications to be sent out by the intermediary to the data user. With the inversely proportional speed of technological innovations vis-à-vis judicial actions, it would be prudent to lay down the requirements and regulations for ‘proactive’ actions of data intermediaries in India.

This does not mean that concerns over privacy and accountability are ill-founded. It simply requires the big data infrastructure to be revamped with a focus on improved regulatory and legislative measures. Knowledge on the growing value of big data and the incentives to be gained from it, will over time assist in creation of guidelines to regulate the use, analysis and reliance on big data.

NEW DELHI — Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who is all set to quit the BJP, met Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday and is likely to join the Congress on 6 April.

Sinha met Gandhi at his residence here and Congress’s Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Madan Mohan Jha, working president Akhilesh Singh and the Congress’s legislature party leader in Bihar Sadanand Singh were among those present during the meeting.

On joining the Congress and fighting the polls against the BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sinha said whatever be the situation, he will fight the polls from Patna Sahib.

He said the announcement would be made on the auspicious occasion of ‘Navratra’.

According to sources, Sinha is expected to join the Congress on 6 April.

Sinha also wants that at the time of his joining, Congress and RJD leaders are present as a show of unity for the grand alliance, the sources said.

The Patna Sahib seat is currently held by dissident Sinha, who has often openly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

Weeks after a gunman broadcast live footage of his attack on a New Zealand mosque on Facebook, the social media giant says it’s banning all content praising, supporting and representing white nationalism and white separatism.

The policy change has been applauded by politicians and civil rights groups. Some, however, have questioned why it took Facebook so long to take this step. 

Facebook has long restricted expressions of white supremacy on its platform but content related to white nationalism and white separatism had been allowed because “we were thinking about broader concepts of nationalism and separatism — things like American pride and Basque separatism, which are an important part of people’s identity,” the company explained in a Wednesday statement.

Facebook said, however, that its thinking on this issue had fundamentally shifted following three months of conversations with civil society groups and experts on race relations. This dialogue, the company said, had “confirmed that white nationalism and white separatism cannot be meaningfully separated from white supremacy and organized hate groups.” As such, they “have no place on our services,” Facebook said.

The company added that any Facebook user searching for terms associated with white supremacy will now be directed to Life After Hate, a Chicago-based organization founded by former extremists that provides support to people who leave hate groups.

It’s unclear how effective the policy change will be. People expressing white nationalist views often don’t use explicit language, Becca Lews, affiliate researcher at Data & Society, told Wired. It can be difficult for AI to detect hate speech like implied white nationalism, too. 

Facebook said it was “deeply committed” to combatting hate on its platform and said it would continue to work to “improve our technologies, evolve our policies and work with experts who can bolster our own efforts” in this area.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was “pleased” by Facebook’s policy change, though she suggested more needed to be done.

“I’m pleased to see that they are including it, and that they have taken that step, but I still think that there is a conversation to be had with the international community about whether or not enough has been done,” she told reporters at a news conference, according to Reuters.  

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, said he was also heartened by Facebook’s announcement, though he criticized the company for not acting soon enough.

“This should have happened long ago. For too long, Facebook has allowed hate speech ― and the violence that it can inspire ― to propagate on its platform,” he told Reuters. “Since billions use its service, we must demand more from them.”

Kristen Clarke, president of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, celebrated Facebook’s policy shift as an “important victory” against hate. The legal advocacy group had spent months lobbying Facebook on this issue.

“Today’s action by Facebook is an important victory in our fight against the rise in hateful activity and violent white supremacy that often are incited online,” Clarke said on Wednesday. 

The American Civil Liberties Union struck a more cautious note, however.

Vera Eidelman, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, told NPR that while Facebook is “well within its rights” to choose to remove “repugnant” white supremacist, nationalist and separatist content from its platform, people should be careful when encouraging private companies to silence speech.

“In its attempts to police the speech of over 2 billion people, Facebook runs the risk of censoring those that attack white nationalism, too,” Eidelman said. “Further, every time Facebook makes the choice to remove content, a single company is exercising an unchecked power to silence individuals and remove them from what has become an indispensable platform.”

“For the same reason that the Constitution prevents the government from exercising such power, we should be wary of encouraging its exercise by corporations that are answerable to their private shareholders rather than the broader public interest,” she added.

It’s an instance of life imitating art, but it’s also a matter of life and death. 

Inspired by the 2017 film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jenny Carrieri has been renting billboards since October 2018 in the hopes of finding the person responsible for killing her twin sister, Jody LeCornu, in Baltimore in 1996.

Carrieri told HuffPost the Oscar-winning film had a profound impact on her. In it, a grieving woman, played by Frances McDormand, rents billboards to shame her local police department into working harder to find the person responsible for her daughter’s killing. 

Carrieri could relate; like McDormand’s character, she has had less than stellar experiences working with ― or rather not working with ― Baltimore police.

“Over the years, we’ve really wondered if they messed something up or if they’re hiding something, and I kind of wanted to push that theory to the side and just be positive, but I can’t tell you how many people come up to me ― reporters, random people ― just like, ‘Something’s not right about the way she died,’” Carrieri said. “Anything can happen anywhere, but it was such a shock where she was killed. Just like, ‘What? This doesn’t happen here.’”

It’s a mystery she has been grappling with for 23 years, since the night LeCornu was shot in her car while sitting in a parking lot. The killing and the resulting journey for justice have left Carrieri with spells of depression and put a strain on her family life. Still, she said she is unable ― and unwilling ― to give up. 

“Trying to balance [my search] with my family and my husband, trying to be healthy and not to go overboard is the hardest part,” she said. “I feel like it’s taken up a lot of my time over the years with the lawsuit and interviews. My oldest will be a senior next year — am I spending enough time with him? Am I going to regret this later on? But how can I let go of it? If people call me and want to do an interview, I’m not going to say no, because what if this is it?” 

Since renting the first billboard, Carrieri has rented others. The first was up for six weeks, and the others are will be up through the end of March, though she hopes to extend them. She said she has plans to put up another, which will call out Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. 

Carrieri, a mother of three, said she hopes public attention from the billboards will help put her in a position to aid others going through the same thing that she and her family have had to endure all these years. Beyond elevating her sister’s case and hopefully opening the door for others like it to be solved, Carrieri said, the experience has helped her grieve in a way she hadn’t before.

“I didn’t really deal with her death, and I don’t think I’ve ever truly dealt with it, so I think in doing all this, I feel really good when I’m doing something toward her case,” she said. “I just reached out to another newspaper here today, and I really feel like it’s a healing process.” 

Carrieri has appeared on television, on the radio and in countless newspapers discussing her unorthodox way of appealing to the powers that be in the case. She said some tips have come in as a result of her efforts, but she doesn’t have much information about them. “The detectives don’t tell me much,” she said. 

In a phone call with HuffPost, Shawn Vinson, a spokesman for the Baltimore County Police Department, said the department has been in continual contact with the family. “As of right now, we have not received any credible tips or information that have been successful in leading to identification or a suspect or any additional witnesses, but we continue to hope that the billboards will lead to a break in the case,” he said.  

Of course, the goal of the billboard is to make headway on ― and hopefully solve ― her sister’s killing. “I feel like I’m completely unsettled. I describe it like a wound that hasn’t healed,” she said. “It would mean everything. It would just be unbelievable if this ended up helping with the case.”   

To learn more about Carrieri’s efforts and the case, head to the Justice for Jody website. 

Sometimes, love just stinks.

If you’ve dated someone with bad breath, strong body odor or stinky feet, then you know that these scents can be off-putting and get in the way of intimacy —even when the rest of the relationship is wonderful. Yet you may hesitate to bring it up with your partner because you don’t want to embarrass them or hurt their feelings. 

We asked a dentist, a dermatologist and a couples therapist for their advice on how to effectively handle a smelly situation without coming off like a jerk. 

First, what’s causing those bad smells?

When it comes to bad breath, a number of causes could be at play, said New York City dentist Dr. Nicole Khalife, including gingivitis (gum inflammation often caused by poor oral hygiene), cavities, certain diets, sinusitis or gastroesophageal reflux disease, among others. 

“When gingivitis progresses, it eats away at the gums and bone that support the teeth. This results in a bad and very distinct smell; I can tell right away if a patient’s halitosis is caused by gum disease or by something else,” Khalife told HuffPost. “Unfortunately, when patients see that their gums are bleeding and painful, it discourages them from brushing and flossing, and the cycle continues.”

Body odor is often caused by sweat mixing with and breaking down bacteria on the skin, particularly in areas such as the armpits or groin. And while it may not smell great, it’s usually not cause for concern. However, if you’ve noticed that the odor has changed or strengthened, it could point to a more serious health issue and should be checked out by a doctor. 

“The apocrine glands produce sweat that has a high protein content, which bacteria readily breaks down,” New York City dermatologist Dr. Michelle Henry explained. “Other causes for body odor include underlying medical conditions and diet. One common diet-related cause for body odor is garlic, which produces sulfur that accumulates in the sweat, causing an odor.” 

So how should you bring it up?

Telling your partner that they’re giving off a foul odor may sting them a bit ― even if you try to break the news in a gentle yet direct way. But it’s better that your partner hears this from you (someone they love and trust) than an acquaintance or a co-worker — or worse, that people talk about it behind their back. And if the stench is making you less inclined to kiss, cuddle or have sex with your partner, then it’s likely getting in the way of your relationship. So it’s worth bringing up, however uncomfortable it may be. 

For starters, broaching the subject with kindness and care is essential, said therapist Zach Brittle. He recommends employing a technique from relationships researcher John Gottman called “soft start-up,” in which you begin the conversation by focusing on a particular behavior (rather than making sweeping statements) and expressing what you need, rather than attacking, criticizing or blaming your partner. The phrasing that’s often used follows a structure like: ”I feel ____ about ____, and I need ____.”

“In this case, you may consider: ‘I feel concerned about your breath, especially when it keeps me from being close to you, and I need us to explore ways to make sure it doesn’t keep us apart,’” said Brittle, founder of the online couples therapy series “forBetter.” “You’re focusing on the connection you desire rather than the issue you don’t.”

If you’re dealing with a bad breath issue and you think it might be tied to your partner’s less-than-stellar hygiene habits, consider scheduling a dentist appointment for the both of you, Khalife recommended.

“A lot of patients come into my office with their partners. Many patients tell me, ‘If it weren’t for my husband or wife, I would never have actually come in,’” she said. “You could also bring home new dental products and try them out. Pick out some rinses, flossers or toothbrushes that you really like and encourage your partner to try them, too.”

It might also help to frame the conversation as a potential concern about your partner’s health, Henry suggested. And be sure to discuss this in a one-on-one setting, not when you’re around other people. 

“Do not ridicule them for having a strong odor, but mention that there are some health conditions that may lead to a stronger scent,” Henry said. “From that standpoint, you can peel back the layers and discover the cause without insult or emotional injury.”

When the odor in question is tied to a health condition — like chronic sinus infections or a medication that causes dry mouth — you may want to be extra sensitive in your delivery. Your partner likely has less control over the situation than they would if the condition was just about stepping up their flossing game or showering after spin class. 

“Just remember to be kind and choose your words carefully,” Khalife said. “Make sure it comes from a place of concern and not a place of disgust. The last thing you want to do is make your partner feel ashamed to get treatment.”

If you and your S.O. share a jokey rapport, telling them in a lighthearted or playful way (for example. “Oh, your breath sure is kickin’ today!”) might be appropriate. But if you’re not sure how your partner is going to take it, try to avoid making a wisecrack.  

“Avoid name-calling or negative humor,” Brittle said. “And don’t focus on the problem more than the person. Again, they likely already know they have an issue.”