President Donald Trump’s decision that he announced in a tweet last month to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights territory marked a dramatic shift in decades of U.S. policy. And he revealed on Saturday that the controversial move was made quickly — after he’d received a “little history” lesson from his advisors.

Trump told a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition that he’d been speaking to his son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, as well as U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman and his Israel adviser, Jason Greenblatt, over the phone about an unrelated issue when he suddenly brought up the Golan Heights, The Times of Israel reported.

“I said, ‘Fellows, do me a favor. Give me a little history, quick. Want to go fast. I got a lot of things I’m working on: China, North Korea. Give me a quickie,’” Trump recalled of the conversation. 

After the advisers filled him in, Trump said he asked Friedman: “David, what do you think about me recognizing Israel and the Golan Heights?” 

Friedman, apparently surprised by the suggestion, reacted like a “wonderful, beautiful baby,” Trump said, and asked if he would “really ... do that.” 

“Yeah, I think I’m doing it right now. Let’s write something up,” Trump said he responded, prompting applause and cheers from his audience in Las Vegas. “We make fast decisions and we make good decisions.”

Trump did not reveal when the phone call with his advisers took place.

He tweeted about his Golan Heights decision on March 21, days before making it official with a proclamation signed during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House.

As NPR noted, the proclamation was a departure from more than 50 years of U.S. policy and a deviation from the position held by most in the international community, which views the Golan Heights ― captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War with several Arab nations and annexed more than a decade later ― as an occupied territory.

The policy shift has been characterized as the “most overt” step taken by Trump to support Netanyahu, who has been dogged by allegations of corruption and faces a closely contested election this week. 

On Saturday, Netanyahu vowed that if re-elected, he would annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which is home to almost three million Palestinians who consider the area the heartland of any Palestinian state.

Reacting to Netanyahu’s pledge, a senior Palestinian official blamed the Trump administration and others in the international community for emboldening Israel to “brazenly violate international law.” 

“Israel will continue to brazenly violate international law for as long as the international community will continue to reward Israel with impunity, particularly with the Trump administration’s support and endorsement of Israel’s violation of the national and human rights of the people of Palestine,” Saeb Erekat said in a statement, per Reuters. 

In his address to the Republican Jewish Coalition, Trump referred to Netanyahu as “your prime minister.” His choice of words was lambasted by the nonpartisan American Jewish Committee, which reminded the president that he was speaking to a group of Americans. 

The future of Brexit will be shaped this week as the UK enters a critical phase in its departure from the EU. 

You may have heard that one before but this time it really is true: hang on to your hats, it’s going to be a bumpy few days. 

Officially, Britain is due to leave the bloc with or without a deal on Friday.

Prime Minister Theresa May hopes, however, that the EU will grant Britain a flexible extension - or “flextension” - to June 30 as she and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attempt to thrash out a Brexit compromise. 

Here is how the week will play out.  

Will May and Corbyn do a deal? 

As last week drew to a close, negotiations between Labour and the government appeared to be on the brink of collapse. 

Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer fumed May was not “countenancing any change” to her thrice-rejected withdrawal agreement and Labour put out a statement deeming talks “disappointing”. 

In a video address on Sunday afternoon, however, the PM underlined she recognised that “as it stands” her deal did not command the support of a majority of MPs, signalling perhaps that she was ready for compromise. 

Corbyn wants the UK to stay in a customs union with the EU, as well as seeking a “strong single market deal”. 

Both are committed to ending free movement, protecting manufacturing jobs and avoiding a hard border in Ireland, and have said so publicly.

It is claimed, therefore, that little divides them on policy. What could throw a spanner in the works is the politics.

A majority of Tory MPs are vehemently opposed to a customs union and Corbyn is facing a Remainer rebellion, with his MPs bitterly divided over whether any deal the pair strike must include a “confirmatory public vote” - which is code for a second referendum.  

What happens if talks collapse? 

The PM has said that if the pair cannot agree on a unified deal, the Commons will be given a series of Brexit options to vote on, similar to the indicative votes process which has just concluded without any agreement.  

Could we crash out of the EU without a deal? 

In short: by accident, yes we could. 

On Monday, the House of Lords will continue considering a bill brought by Sir Oliver Letwin and Yvette Cooper, which is key. 

Introduced last week after MPs seized control of the parliamentary agenda, the bill could let the Commons decide the length of any extension offered to the UK by the EU.

If the bill is passed by the Lords on Monday it will go for Royal Assent. But if there are amendments, it will probably be considered again by the Commons on Monday night.

May could, at this juncture, outline her own plans to the Commons and lay a government motion about the extension to Article 50.

The Letwin-Cooper bill was somewhat overtaken by May’s letter to the European Council President Donald Tusk on Friday setting out the UK’s demand for a flexible extension to June 30, with the option to pull out whenever a deal is secured.  

But the real control over the UK’s departure date lies in the hands of the European Council, who meet on Wednesday. 

Will the EU let us delay Brexit if we need to? 

All 27 leaders who make up the council must agree an extension. May will travel to Brussels to make her case to them after PMQs on Wednesday. 

Tusk has recommended a long extension of a year, with a break clause for the UK to pull out at any time should a deal be done.  

There is some division among EU leaders on whether to offer an extension, heightening fears of no-deal. 

French President Emmanuel Macron is among those sceptical of offering any delay to Brexit at all without the UK having a “clear plan”, given the bitter divisions which have been on display in the Commons. 

Should the EU agree to an extension, however, May will bring what she has been offered straight back to the Commons on Thursday. 

It’s not clear what could happen if MPs reject it. 

Downing Street has warned the Cooper-Letwin bill could cause an “accidental no-deal Brexit” on Friday - Britain’s updated Brexit day after May’s deal was voted down - because MPs could reject the extension date on offer when May returns.

Given the strength of opposition to no-deal, however, it is likely MPs will band together to agree a long extension, though the political implications are hard to judge and the public reaction could be fierce. 

Does all this mean the UK holds European Parliament elections? 

This we do not yet know. 

Elections to the European Parliament are due to be held on Thursday May 23. 

If Brussels and Westminster agree on either a “flextension” to June 30 or for a year, it may be irrelevant if it is certain that Britain will not be an EU member state by then. 

Brussels may also insist Britain takes part in the poll as part of any extension. 

May has said she will make “responsible preparations” if there is no other option, though the move is strongly opposed by Brexiteers, and Labour has already begun searching for candidates, with deputy leader Tom Watson saying he regarded the poll as “inevitable”. 

Should the UK withdraw from the bloc shortly after candidates are elected, the poll will have cost the UK in excess of £100m.

Opposition parties have accused the ECI of being biased towards the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which they say is giving Modi an unfair advantage in the election. There is even a threat to jail commission officials if Modi is ousted.

The BJP denies getting any special treatment from the ECI.

The ECI - an autonomous constitutional body tasked with the smooth conduct of the world’s biggest democratic exercise with as many as 900 million eligible voters - said it was impartial and taking action against the guilty irrespective of party affiliation. 

But Tarun Kumar, a secretary for the main opposition Congress party, said the model code of conduct had became a joke because the recently launched NaMO TV that carries Modi’s rallies live and runs other promotional material for the ruling party was still on air despite several complaints against it.

“Everyday I think that the Election Commission has sunk to its lowest, only to be proved wrong next day!” said Yogendra Yadav, a political activist and former pollster.

“Modi’s soldiers”

Among the top complaints the ECI has ruled on or is examining are a speech by the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath of the BJP, in which he associated the armed forces with Modi by calling them “Modi’s soldiers”, according to the ECI’s website.

Adityanath has been warned against making such statements in future.

The Commission is also examining a representation against the planned release of a biopic titled PM Narendra Modi this month.

The ECI late last month said Modi did not violate the code of conduct when he addressed the nation to announce that an Indian anti-satellite missile had shot down an Indian satellite in space in a major breakthrough. Opposition parties had accused Modi of trying to gain political benefits through the televised address. 

To be sure, there are complaints against Congress President Rahul Gandhi too, mainly over his allegations of corruption over a warplane deal signed by the Modi government.

“In the world of social media and mobile phones, people get to know things immediately, which we take time to get to know and react on,” Sandeep Saxena, a deputy election commissioner, told Reuters.

“The Commission will only move when there is sufficient material. We normally ask our own field functionaries. It takes 12 hours or so to establish, only then we go for action on it.”

Saxena said since the code of conduct came into place on March 10, the ECI has received more than 40,000 references and complaints on its mobile app, 99% of which have been dealt with. He said 68% of the cases were found to be correct and action initiated. 

Another commission official, requesting anonymity, said that in the past three weeks they would have received more than 1 million complaints from regional parties, national parties, through social media and on the app.

“The volume of work is huge. The world has drastically changed because of social media and things like that, the policies sometimes are lagging behind and procedures, which have to be followed, make us slow,” said the official at the ECI, which has 300 people in its headquarters and others in states.

“People have the right to criticise. We are doing the best we can to conduct a fair election in the country. Some of our officers are working 16 to 17 hours a day.”

NEW DELHI — The BJP will release its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled to start from 11 April on Monday, with issues of development and national security set to be its key highlights.

Top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its chief Amit Shah, will be present at the launch of the manifesto, described by the BJP as its “sankalp patra”.

A party statement said members of its parliamentary board, the BJP’s apex body whose members include Modi, will be present on the occasion.

With the Congress manifesto putting major thrust on welfare measures, including a promise of giving Rs 72,000 to the poorest 20% households in India, the ruling party is likely to make a slew of promises to woo different sections of the society, especially farmers, youth and women, besides the downtrodden.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley Sunday unveiled campaign themes and other materials of the party’s election campaign, with “Phir ek baar, Modi sarkar (Modi government, once more)” as the tag line.

Every organization has a defined set of guidelines to hire people. These guidelines are laid down in order to ensure that the hiring process is just, neutral and unprejudiced. But it has been noticed that unconscious or unintended bias is an inescapable and inevitable part of any hiring process. Unintended bias refers to the idea that a person’s sociocultural experiences influence their behaviour, thinking, and decision-making without them realizing it. This subconscious attitude impacts how people approach various situations and other people. 

These biases are not necessarily always intentional and destructive. But when it comes to organizational processes like hiring and promotion, these can lead to negative outcomes for a certain set of people, mostly women and minorities. They can be a hindrance in an organization’s path to become truly diverse and inclusive. These biases, if not addressed on time, can shape a company or industry’s norms and culture.

Unfortunately, this problem is pervasive and is entrenched in every industry. In its report, ‘Walking the Tightrope’, Society of Women Engineers (SWE) talk about the bias that exists in the Indian engineering workplaces. SWE and the Center for WorkLife Law (WLL) surveyed 693 engineers in India (423 women, 270 men) to examine their working experiences. The objective was to know the types of biases that are playing out in engineering workplaces in India and to understand how they are impacting outcomes in those workplaces.

The survey revealed that almost 50% of the engineers reported bias in their companies’ hiring systems.  Surprisingly, more men than women reported hiring bias—54% of men versus 45% of women reported bias in their hiring processes.

These figures are comparable to the bias reported by women in the U.S. study (see graph). Data from the focus groups and survey points to two major explanations for bias: women are facing bias based on their gender, and men are facing bias based on their region of origin or the state they are from.

The hiring scale comprised questions about how respondents feel about the fairness of the hiring process at their company and what the company is looking for when they hire new employees. 

Given below is some additional data that shows the existence of bias in the hiring process in the Indian engineering workplaces. 

• In India, over 31% of engineering and technology degrees awarded were earned by women (Source: All India Survey on Higher Education 2017-2018), but, as per an article published in The Hindu, only 12.7% of working engineers in India are women.
• As per the article published in The Hindu, researchers indicate that the unemployment rate for women engineers in India is about 40%. In some regions of India, the unemployment rate for women with engineering degrees is about five times higher than that of men (Source: The persistence of traditional gender roles in the information technology sector: A study of female engineers in India, R. Patel & M.J.C. Parmentier (2005)).
• A recent survey by Belong, a recruitment company/a SaaS company in the talent acquisition and candidate experience space, on the gender gap in the tech industry in India found that women take longer to transition into managerial positions than men/progress to high-level management and leadership roles than men. The ratio is 8:6 years.
• With its report, SWE wants to highlight the bigger problem of women’s underrepresentation in the field of technology. The data clearly indicates that women are graduating with engineering degrees (though that trend also seems to be leveling off), but they are still not well represented in the profession. 

Recommendations to address bias in the hiring process

As diversity is part of the hiring initiative in several organizations, it is important to limit the effects of unconscious bias in order to make this a reality. As mentioned earlier, unconscious bias is an unavoidable part of any hiring process but there are ways to reduce its impact on the hiring decisions. SWE lists some easy actions to minimize the amount of bias affecting the decision-making in hiring processes.

1. Decide what is important for the position, and rate every resume on the same criteria.
2. Develop an interview protocol, and follow it for every candidate.  
3. Assemble a diverse candidate pool for available positions, and be clear that you are considering people from a variety of backgrounds. If you are not getting the candidates you are hoping for, try checking your job advertisements with a writing enhancement tool like Textio 9 to ensure that you are using inclusive language.
4. Appoint people in the hiring process to spot bias and make sure they are equipped with the tools to assess candidates fairly.

To sum up, stick to the job requirements. Every organization knows that biases do exist. Try to filter out personal information and non job-related factors. This will help in making decisions based on a candidate’s ability to perform the job.

New Delhi―Last week, when the Congress released its electionmanifesto, some unusually bold promises in the document received wide attention. While several sections praised the Congress’s overall emphasis on a set of liberal policy proposals, the BJP responded with strong criticism of the opposition party’s promise to scrap the sedition law and amend the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.

Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, Rajeev Gowda, the convener of the Congress’s Manifesto Committee, played an important role in preparing the much-discussed document. Speaking with HuffPost India for this interview, Gowda explained why the Congress party thinks it important to bring liberal ideas “to centrestage’ in today’s context when the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is pushing a strongly right-wing nationalist agenda in public discourse. He also believes that the Congress President’s pet NYAY programme will attract voters to the Grand Old Party in the forthcoming parliamentary election. Responding to the BJP’s criticism about proposing an amendment to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Gowda says that the ruling party is “trying to twist” the Congress’ promise and all that his party wants to do is “balance security with human rights.”

Edited excerpts from an interview:

What do you have to say to those who have been astonished by the extraordinary inclusion of liberal ideas in your manifesto at a time when public discourse is geared towards patriotism, nationalism and things like that?

One aspect of the manifesto is about paying attention to the disadvantaged. And we want to make sure that nobody is victimised unfairly and we have to take care of that. So, if we take the issue of sedition―our promise is very carefully worded. Basically we have been saying that sedition law has been misused a lot against journalists, victims of hate crime and university students by doctoring tapes; tapes are doctored but students are facing charges! Protestors on environmental issues face sedition charges. It has been misused and it’s crushing the right to dissent. So that doesn’t have any place any more. You don’t want to give a weapon that’s just going to be used against everyone.

We are absolutely concerned about national security and anti-terrorism and related issues also. What the sedition law says is that it is supposed to be about waging war against the state. There are other laws like the Defence of India Act, The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act―they cover (legal action against the same illegal activities) with safeguards.

Today, if you look at the discourse, it’s all about anti-nationals. By definition, anyone who is anti-national must be indulging in sedition? The latest addition may be Yogi Adityanath who General V K Singh said is a deshdrohi for having said, “Modiji ki sena”. If he is a deshdrohi, then sedition charges must be imposed on him. He shouldn’t be going around campaigning for the BJP.

There seems to be a clear ideological emphasis on liberalism. Is the Congress finally being unapologetically liberal in its economic and social outlook?

Yeah. That’s what we are, actually. Congress is the only liberal party in India.

Do you think in this political atmosphere, liberal ideas have currency among voters?  What kind of ideas do you believe must be promoted?

Over the last few years, we have seen the rise of intolerance. Filmmakers, media and others being crushed. That’s not what our democracy should be about. So it’s important to bring back liberal ideas to centre stage.

But the BJP has criticised your promise to amend AFSPA. How do you respond?

Liberalism is also about making sure that our armed forces, for example, are strong and fully capable of dealing with any challenges. At the same time, it is also about ensuring that our own citizens are not subject to any excesses like torture, rape and forced disappearances. That’s what the nuance is on AFSPA. They are trying to twist that. For AFSPA, we are trying to balance security with human rights.

To your mind, what is the key saleable aspect of this manifesto from a voters’ standpoint?

See, 20% of India’s poorest households will benefit from NYAY. They can either say, we will vote for someone who gives false promises or they can say this is a party that has delivered before and we should have faith in it. Then there are various other segments. We have various progressive things for women, for the middle class, trading communities.

What do you have for the middle class?

A range of things. When we talk about air pollution, public transport, accessible affordable, high quality healthcare and education, job creation―all of these are for the middle class also. That’s another significant chunk (of voters). Then we have something for old people, ex-servicemen, LGBTQIA+.

You have promised to scrap the Transgender Bill. What, to your mind, is the problem with that?

Transgender Bill has a lot of issues with it. We are opposing it already, that’s why it didn’t come to the upper house. You have to go and get a medical check and a board will determine whether you are a transgender (person) or not. I think matters of sexual identities are in people’s heads―not in people’s bodies necessarily. That’s the basic issue on that front.

The questions of jobs has been given first priority in your manifesto. One of your promises is to set up a new ministry named ministry of industry, services and employment. How does renaming existing ministries help?

We already have a ministry of labour and employment but sometimes you need to repurpose. This is not renaming. It’s about repurposing an organisation. Stop thinking in these terms, now think about how to unleash a jobs revolution. How do you support this? So we will have something called an Enterprise Support Agency that will be under this. It will work with you (an investor) if you want to set up a new online portal and you want some help, some guidance in this, we will give you that.

So it is about aiding entrepreneurs to set up businesses?

Yeah. So it is a much bigger initiative than you might think was the case earlier.

There is a mention of filling in four lakh vacancies in the government. You have even given a date, end of the current fiscal year, if your party was to be elected. Is it practically possible?How will you manage the books?

These are jobs that have already been sanctioned and budgeted. Now it is a question of hiring people through a formal process. Resources keep increasing every year and under us (Congress government), they will keep increasing at a rapid rate. If these positions were sanctioned with a particular purpose, then obviously the government is not fulfilling that purpose. We need to make sure that the positions are filled

What about reviving private investment?

We are going to be opening up to FDI 100% (in most sectors) and treat it as national capital. Meaning practically the same as Indian capital except one or two no go areas. Then the other thing is that we are going to find ways to make sure that the savings rate picks up. Because then investment will also pick up. Then we will also find ways, having learned lessons from its history, to improve public and private partnership (projects) as well.

How is ‘Make for the World’ different from ‘Make in India’? It just looks like rearranging words...

It’s an approach. You know, Hyundai, makes in India for the world. We are emphasising the second part. Come and make in India and put your own brand and don’t acknowledge it is of no use. It will make Brand India recognisable across the world.

How will ‘exclusive export-only zones’ be different from ‘Special Economic Zones’?

Special Economic Zones were partly export-oriented; not necessarily only. And were also subject to tax and other regulatory holidays. So here we will have something similar (tax holidays). That’s because exports have fallen dramatically under this government. We need to revive exports. Exports will create jobs, various other kinds of revenue. The chain behind it will also make a huge difference.

About NYAY, it says in the first year, it will cost 1% of the GDP and from second year onwards, it will be 2% of the GDP. Does that mean full implementation will happen second year onwards?
I would expect so. Because we want to do pilot testing. We are not going to just do a midnight session of Parliament to launch it. We are going to put in place the kind of testing, we need to work with data, do a bit of piloting, testing then the rollout.

Also about NYAY and subsidies. What kind of subsidies will go? What do you find are excessive?

When the Prime Minister promised that he is going to double farmers’ income, did you ask him the question about how he is going to do that? Essential subsidies will be retained, some others will be rationalised. So we may want to check how the fertiliser subsidy is doing? Is it achieving its intended goal? We may look into issues regarding revenue foregone. A lot of money is not coming in from industry, for example. There are ways of rationalising without essentially losing track of what we are doing.

One other thing that has not got the required attention is this promise about reviving the rural employment guarantee scheme, calling it MGNREGA 3.0. Increasing the number of days of maximum guaranteed employment from 100 to 150.  

What’s happened under this government is that even 100 days of payments there are not giving, They are busy delaying everything. They want to discourage people from using NREGA. How do they do that? You delay the payments. There are people desperate for some income and you delay the payments for three, six months.

They say that the amount of budgeted expenditure is growing year-on-year?

What is this logic? If the country is growing and the people have no options, then they won’t come and access NREGA. What you are seeing here is a clear indication that there’s tremendous distress.

But how will you ensure people get work for 150 days?

Only in some places it will ever reach that number. It is saying, go ahead (and demand work; you will get it).

NEW DELHI — Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday alleged that the government was planning Income Tax raids at his residence in a bid to cripple the Lok Sabha election campaign.

He said the people of the country were watching and would give a befitting reply in this election.

“I have been told that the I-T Department has plans to raid my residence in Sivaganga constituency and in Chennai. We will welcome the search party,” he said on Twitter.

“The I-T department knows that we have nothing to hide. They and other agencies have searched our residences before and found nothing. The intention is to cripple the election campaign,” he claimed.

The former finance minister said the people are watching the “excesses of this government and will deliver a fitting lesson in the elections”.

Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram is contesting the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu. He is facing charges of corruption and is out on bail.

The BJP on Monday released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled to start from April 11, with issues of nationalism, terror, Ram mandir, Citizenship Bill and simultaneous elections among its key promises.

BJP said it was making 75 pledges in its manifesto that can be fulfilled by 2022 when India celebrates 75 years of independence.

“Our ‘Sankalp Patra’ promises to fulfil all expectations of people,” party chief Amit Shah said at the launch.

Key takeaways

1. Ram mandir — Will evaluate all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and all necessary efforts to facilitate the expeditious construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
2. Farmers — Reiterate promise that by 2022, we will double farmers income. Rs 6000 income support promised in the PM Kisan Yojana extended to all farmers. Pension facility to small and marginal farmers over 60 years of age.
3. Rural India - Will invest Rs 25 lakh crore for development in rural areas
4. Zero tolerance policy towards terrorism
5. Will bring in Uniform Civil Code
6. Citizenship Amendment Bill will be passed in both houses of the Parliament and implemented. Will respect every state’s cultural value.
7. Will debate and build consensus on simultaneous elections across the country
8. Committed to annulling Article 35A of the Constitution of India as the provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents and women of Jammu and Kashmir.
9.  Will revise tax slabs and tax benefits to ensure more cash and greater purchasing power in the hands of middle income families. Will also simplify GST process
10. Resolve to realise Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj. In line with this, we promise- housing, drinking water, digital connectivity through Bharatnet, road connectivity and Swach Bharat vision.
11. 33% reservation in parliament and state assemblies through a constitutional amendment.
12. Expanding Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan scheme to cover all small shopkeepers.
13. All habitations to get Open-Defecation Free (ODF) status
14. India to be $5 trillion economy by 2022, $10 trillion economy by 2032
15. Rs 100 lakh crore investment in infrastructure sector

Top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi,  BJP chief Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj were present at the launch of the manifesto, described by the BJP as its “sankalp patra”.

BJP’s 13-member manifesto committee was headed by Rajnath Singh. Jaitley had on Sunday unveiled campaign themes and other materials of the party’s election campaign, with “Phir ek baar, Modi sarkar (Modi government, once more)” as the tag line. 

The Congress manifesto had put major thrust on welfare measures, including a promise of giving Rs 72,000 to the poorest 20% households in India.

BJP’s 2014-19 reign

“India’s development from 2014 to 2019 will be written in golden words in history,” Amit Shah said at the manifesto launch.

“Over 50 historic steps were taken in 5 years,” Shah said.

Before the launch of the manifesto, he said, “In 2014, the people of this great country had blessed us with a historic mandate. Despite majority, the BJP formed a government of the NDA under Narendra Modi ji.”

Shah said the government had fulfilled it promises in the areas of health, sanitation, electricity, gas and housing.

“Through surgical strikes, the Modi government sent out strong message that India cannot be taken lightly with strikes on terror” Shah said.

He also said India had emerged as a superpower in the world in the last 5 years.

In its manifesto for the 2019 polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “reiterated its stand” on the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya. All alternative options will be explored for the construction of Ram temple in a conducive manner, Union minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh said. 

The 2019 manifesto says: 

We reiterate our stand on Ram Mandir. We will explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and all necessary efforts to facilitate the expeditious construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

In 2014, the party had promised something quite similar. 

BJP reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The RSS and the VHP have demanded that the BJP deliver on its promise of temple construction.

In December 2018, RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi took a dig at the BJP saying, “Those in power who had promised to build the temple should listen to the people and fulfil the demand.”

Former VHP leader Praveen Togadia had said, before the elections were announced, that the Narendra Modi government should bring an ordinance to facilitate construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

(With PTI inputs)

NEW DELHI — BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Monday said the BJP’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections beginning this week has not been prepared with a ‘tukde tukde’ mindset but with a strong nationalist vision.

The document, ‘Sankalp Patra’ (document of resolve), is rooted in reality, Jaitley said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the manifesto.

“Our new policy, new doctrine of striking terror in its origin has received global recognition,” Jaitley told the gathering.

The Union finance minister said the party was committed to annulling Article 35 A of the Constitution, which provides special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

When India is at the cusp of history making most of all its lost opportunities, does it require a fragile government or a decisive one, he asked.

Jaitley added that previous governments only gave slogans, but the Modi-led administration gave resources to the poor.

He said the essence of the BJP manifesto is to deplete poverty over the next five years to single digit and then gradually eliminate it.

“Our fiscal prudence since 1947 has been best ever for any government,” the finance minister said.

NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission to increase random checking of VVPAT slips from one booth per assembly segment to five in Lok Sabha polls for better voter confidence and credibility of electoral process.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi however did not agree to the request of 21 opposition parties leaders that VVPAT slips of 50 percent EVMs be matched, on the ground that it will require huge manpower and not be feasible in view of infrastructural difficulties.

The bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, disposed of the petition filed by opposition parties including TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu on the issue.

NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court Monday said it cannot pass an order at this stage on a plea seeking stay on the release of a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Censor Board is yet to certify the film.

The apex court said it will hear the matter Tuesday and could possibly pass an order if the petitioner brings on record that what the film depicts is highly objectionable.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi refused the plea of the petitioner, Congress activist Aman Panwar, that the copy of the film should be given to him.

“Why should we direct that individual be given a copy of the film,” said the bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna.

“We fail to understand why such a direction be given,” the bench said.

At the outset, the CJI said the film is not yet certified and referred to April 4 statement by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairperson Prasoon Joshi given to PTI about it.

Joshi had told PTI that the film was undergoing due process of examination and certification.

“Since there are a lot of queries around the certification of the film, (I) would like to give a clear picture: the film is going through the due process of examination and certification according to the requisite guidelines and is yet to be certified as the process is not complete at this point,” Joshi had said.

Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the Congress activist, said the producer Sandip Ssingh had come out with a statement that the biopic would be released on 11 April.

Taking note of his submission, the bench said the producer may have come out with such a statement on release of the biopic on April 11 anticipating that the film would get the certification from the Censor Board.

The bench said as of now there is no cause of action for challenging release of the film.

When Singhvi repeated for further stay on the biopic, the bench said, “How can we stop the release of the film. It is not yet certified. There is only a statement from the producer for its release.”

Singhvi submitted that there was no level playing field and allowing the release of the film would be a direct assault on the structure of the Constitution.

However, the bench said it cannot decide on the grievances raised by the petitioner as it did not know what was there in the film.

Singhvi also submitted that the judges themselves can see the film in advance to decide and decide the matter.

He said the lead actor, Vivek Oberoi, has been named as the star campaigner for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

His father, who was also an actor, is a card holder of BJP.

“You have the power to call for the screening of the movie,” the senior advocate told the bench.

“The film has considerable ramifications as it would be screened for the coming 40 days across the country,” he said.

The plea has sought deferment of release of the biopic till the completion of upcoming Lok Sabha polls alleging that it was designed to “manipulate, influence and impress viewers and voters”.

Titled PM Narendra Modi, the biopic which was slated to be released on 5 April, has been postponed till further notice, Ssingh said on Thursday.

The plea has sought direction from the court declaring that advertisement and promotion of the movie during the operation of the Model Code of Conduct violates electoral laws.

It has sought directions to the Centre, CBFC and EC to delay its release till the completion of the General Elections next month.

The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier rejected a plea seeking ban on the release. The Bombay High Court had also disposed of a plea seeking deferment of the biopic’s release, saying the Election Commission will deal with the issue.

“The movie was driven by no artistic inspiration and was instead designed to manipulate, influence and impress viewers and voters in the upcoming elections,” the plea has said.

It said there were several facts which demonstrated that the movie was not an innocuous work of art, despite the repeated statements of the producers, the director and the lead actor to the contrary.

It said that Maharashtra Chief Minister released the first poster of the biopic and BJP president Amit Shah, was also scheduled to release other similar promotional materials.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Monday. Like the Congress, which released its poll pledge last week, the ruling party has dedicated an entire section to what it plans to do for Indian women if it comes to power.

Women now constitute around 48% of India’s 900 million voters, and this is underlined by the fact that the space dedicated by both parties to them in their manifestos has significantly increased since 2014.

The BJP manifesto mentions its pet Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Ujjwala cooking gas schemes to claim that it has “gone beyond tokenism to take substantive measures to ensure overall development of women and achieve gender equality”.

While the BJP says that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wish that India see “women-led” development, the Congress claims that it had always been at the forefront of women empowerment and that it was the only party that gave India a woman prime minister.

Here’s a comparison of what both the parties have promised women in the coming five years.

Reservations

Both the parties promised 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies through a constitution amendment bill.

While both the Congress and BJP have openly expressed support for the Women’s Reservation Bill multiple times, neither party pushed it through while they were in power. It has been more than 22 years since the bill was first introduced in the Lok Sabha.

Apart from this, the Congress has also promised it will amend the Service Rules to “reserve for women 33% of appointments to posts in the Central Government”.

Jobs

While the Congress has promised that the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, will be enforced effectively to ensure that women get equal pay for equal work, the BJP would not get into specific promises, saying, “We are committed to make women equal partners in and equal beneficiaries of the progress and prosperity of the nation and will formulate a comprehensive ‘Women in Workforce’ roadmap focussed on dramatically increasing the female workforce participation rate over the next five years”.

The question of unemployment has been a serious challenge for the Modi government—in January, a leaked jobs report the government did not want published showed that India’s unemployment rate stood at a whopping 45-year high of 6.1% in 2017-18. Declining participation of women in the workforce is an especial concern.

Ensuring Women Continue To Be In The Workforce

*Creches — Both the parties have promised creches and childcare facilities in every Anganwadi. The BJP also promised that it will “ensure that the number of childcare facilities is increased three-fold by 2022”.

*Night shifts — The Congress promised that “it will repeal any provision of law that prohibits night shifts for women.”

*Working women’s hostels — The Congress also promised to set up working women’s hostels and safe transport facilities in every Special Economic Zone.

Crimes against women

The Congress manifesto promised a review of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplaces Act, 2013, and said it would institute measures to address all forms of harassment of women at the work place. It also promised a separate investigative agency to probe heinous crimes against women and children. The party also said it would appoint an ‘Adhikar Maitri’ in every panchayat to educate women about their rights.

BJP’s promise in terms of women’s security was vague in comparison. Here’s what it said:

“Women’s security will be given more priority. We have constituted the Women’s Security Division in the Home Ministry, and have made strict provisions for transferring the laws in order to commit crimes against women, in particular in a time-bound investigation and trail for rape. In such cases, forensic facilities and fast track courts will be expanded to bring convicts to justice.”

However, the BJP did promise gender sensitisation for educational institutions and public offices to “create a positive atmosphere for women”.

Toilets and menstrual health

The Congress has promised “safe and hygienic public toilets” across towns and cities and sanitary napkin vending machines in public places, schools and colleges.

The BJP’s promise on health and sanitation was also a bit ambiguous. While they promised that they will “ensure that all reproductive and menstrual health services are easily available to all women across India”, they did not specify in what way this would be carried out. The BJP also said that it would provide affordable sanitary pads to women at Re 1 with the extension of its Suvidha scheme.

HuffPost India had reported in January that the Modi government’s much-hyped Stree Swabhiman scheme, meant to simultaneously boost women’s incomes and improve their menstrual health by training them to set up small-scale sanitary napkin manufacturing units, has failed on both fronts.

Widows and destitute

While the Congress promised it would “work with State Governments to implement a programme to provide single, widowed, divorced, abandoned or destitute women a dignified and secure life”, the BJP only mentioned welfare of “widows of defence personnel killed in action”.   

Anganwadis and SHGs

The Congress boasted that it was the pioneer of the ‘self-help group movement’ and said that it will also launch the National Rural Livelihoods Mission-2 if it came to power to ensure economic benefits for women. The BJP said it will “significantly increase” the honorarium of ASHA and Anganwadi workers as well as the coverage of Ayushman Bharat to include all Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on Monday, prioritising national security related issues and committing itself to the implementation of the controversial National Register of Citizens across India in phases. The enactment of Citizenship Amendment Bill, by clarifying the apprehensions of the people in the North Eastern states, is also one of the key promises. The document also reiterates the party’s position on the Article 370 and Article 35 (A).

Some of the other key proposals include expansion of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana to all farmers, providing pension to all small and medium farmers, making an investment of Rs 25 lakh crores in the “agri-rural” sector, setting up a new ministry for water, launching a new fisheries wealth scheme with an investment of Rs. 10,000 crore to make available infrastructure for small and traditional fishermen, launch of feed and fodder mission to eliminate the shortage of fodder.

On the economic front, the BJP’s manifesto makes a commitment to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and $10 trillion economy by 2032. The BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ also promises to make capital investment of Rs 100 lakh crore by 2024 in the infrastructure sector, in a bid to make India part of the top 50 nations in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index. A few other key promises include new industrial policy for increasing competitiveness of manufacturing and services, MSMEs to be given loans worth Rs 1 lakh crore by 2024 and establishment of a National Traders’ Welfare Board and National Policy for Retail Trade. Interestingly, the manifesto also promises to put an Indian in space in an Indian spacecraft as part of the ‘Gaganyaan mission’.  

Here are the five key takeaways from the BJP’s manifesto:

National Security

• Expeditious completion of the National Register of Citizens process in some areas, which have witnessed a huge change in the cultural and linguistic identity due to illegal immigration.
• Committed to implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Bill across the country. The party said it will make all efforts to clarify the issues to the section of population from the north eastern states who have expressed apprehensions.
• Committed to annulling Article 35A and abrogation of Article 370.
• Implementing a coastal security scheme under which modern equipment and funds will be given to the states for establishing coastal police stations.
• Establishment of National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security, Island Information System and National Academy of Coastal Policing.

Farmers

• Expansion of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme to all farmers.
• Launch of a pension scheme for all small and medium farmers upon reaching the age of 60 years.
• Investment of Rs 25 lakh crore in the “agri-rural” sector.
• Enrolment in the crop insurance scheme to become voluntary.
• Launch a National Bee-keeping and Honey Mission for additional income for the farmers.
• Launch Fisheries Wealth scheme with an initial allocation of Rs 10000 crore for small and traditional fishermen.

Economy and business

• Increase the size of India’s economy by making it a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and $10 trillion economy by 2032.
• By 2024, making capital investment of Rs100 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector.
• Work towards taking the country in the top 50 of the Ease of Doing Business Index. 
• A new Industrial Policy to improve competitiveness of manufacturing and services with an eye on Industry 4.0 in order to gear up for technologies like artificial intelligence and electric mobility.
• Establishment of the National Traders’ Welfare Board and creation of a National Policy for Retail Trade for the growth of retail businesses.
• A new scheme to provide collateral-free credit up to 50 lakh for young entrepreneurs.
• Guaranteeing 50 percent of the loan amount for female entrepreneurs.

Governance

• A new Ministry of Water to unify the water management functions holistically and ensure beer coordination of efforts.This ministry will implement the river interlinking schemes and other drinking water schemes initiated by the central government.
• Launch ’Jal Jivan Mission under which we will introduce a special programme, ‘Nal se Jal’ to ensure piped water for every household by 2024.
• Double the length of National Highways by 2022
• Completion of the Dedicated Freight Corridor project by 2022.
• A committee for Easing Citizens’ Interactions with Government (CECIG) to work with experts in reforming citizen’s interface with Government across domains such as taxes, business compliance, rules and regulations for greater simplicity and ease.
• Formulation of a ‘National Policy for Reskilling and Upskilling’ to evolve a flexible and industry responsive workforce which is capable of accessing new opportunities and to insulate it from technological shocks.
• Further revision of the tax slabs and the tax benefits to ensure more cash and greater purchasing power in the hands of middle income families.
• Empowerment and ‘development with dignity’ of all minorities (Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis etc).
• Bring transgenders to the “mainstream” through adequate socio-economic and policy initiatives.
• Every effort to be undertaken to ensure that the subject of faith, tradition and worship rituals related to Sabarimala are presented in a comprehensive manner before the Supreme Court. Endeavour to secure constitutional protection on issues related to faith and belief.

Reaching 75 Milestones for India by 2022 (75th year of independence). A selection:

• Achieving the target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022.
• Enabling the creation of 10,000 new Farmer Producer Organisations
• Ensuring that maximum farmers get income support under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.
• Enable investment of ₹ 1 lakh crore in higher education through Revitalising of Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE).
• Establish at least one Atal Tinkering Lab in every block.
• Under a new ‘Entrepreneurial Northeast’ scheme, provide financial support to MSMEs and for employment generation in northeastern states.
• Complete Phase-1 of Bharatmala Project expeditiously.
• Aim to increase the number of operational airports to 150 for better air connectivity.
• Start developing smart railway stations across India.
• Complete the dedicated freight corridor project by 2022.
• Establish 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres under Ayushman Bharat.
• Ensure the availability of banking services within 5 kms of every individual.
• Achieve the goal of Clean Ganga by 2022.
• Work towards digitisation of collections in all national museums.
• Put an Indian in space in an Indian spacecraft as part of ‘Gaganyaan’ mission

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)released its manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on Monday. From party chief Amit Shah to Prime Minister Narendra Modi — leaders of the ruling party patted themselves on their back for their “achievements” in the last give years. 

Shah said that under Modi’s rule India had become a superpower. The BJP said it was was making 75 pledges in its manifesto to be fulfilled by 2022 when India celebrates 75 years of independence.

Ram Mandir, Citizenship Amendment Bill and Uniform Civil Code were among the key things the BJP has promised in its manifesto. 

Of course, as soon as the manifesto was released, it began trending on Twitter, with many users calling it out as the same as its 2014 manifesto. 

Some users also highlighted BJP’s unfulfilled poll promises from 2014 that also found mention in the 2019 manifesto. 

Here’s what Twitter users said: 

However, other users praised it saying: 

Over 100 visual artists released a statement on Monday calling the upcoming general election a “make or break” one and asked citizens to vote against the BJP.

The first phase of the election is on 11 April. In the past 10 days, writers, filmmakers, theatre artistes, and scientists and researchers have released statements calling on people to vote against the ruling party.

In their statement on Monday, the visual artists said:

“In the last few years we have seen concerted attacks on freedom of expression, imposition of a theocratic state, unchecked mob-lynchings, state-sanctioned terror against the most vulnerable sections of society, and corporatisation of India’s national assets. The BJP-led government has created a pervasive atmosphere of fear and all-consuming hatred, which has infiltrated our homes. ”

The statement also commented on the prime minister’s ’Hindu terror’ remark.

“When Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently claimed that not a single instance of ‘Hindu terror’ could be found in the history of our country, he in a way admitted that the Bharatiya Janata Party considers itself to be an exclusive party for Hindus and their brand of Hindutva.”

State-owned institutions like HAL, ONGC and BSNL had suffered due to the government’s “bad policies and undue interference”, the statement said.

The government had also interfered in the functioning of autonomous institutions and constitutional bodies like the RBI, CBI and ED, it added.

“The BJP has been quite vocal about its practices of misogyny, bigotry and Islamophobia and communal polarization is at an all-time peak,” they said.

“This is the only chance we have. Use it wisely,” the statement urged. 

You can read the full statement here.

Like lots of women, Sarah*, 27, often talks to her girlfriends about sex – how much they’re getting, the surprises, the let-downs, the tips. But, also like lots of women, she’s lost count of the number of stories shared about sex that has left them uncomfortable.

Aged 15, a friend told her about a boyfriend who repeatedly called her a “dirty slut” because he’d heard men doing it online. Sarah’s own boyfriend at the time tried to pressure her into having anal sex on several occasions – she refused, broke up with him, and hoped her sex life would improve as she got older.

Truthfully, there’s been little improvement. During a recent one night stand, a man forced Sarah’s head down and pulled her hair during oral sex, making her gag. When she questioned his behaviour, he said he thought women enjoyed physical force. At least the women in the porn he watched did.

“There is a total lack of regard for me reaching orgasm,” Sarah says of other men she has met who either don’t understand – or don’t care, she suggests – about mutual pleasure. “I had a couple who just rolled over and switched the light off when they were done. It made me feel like I was just the same as their laptop screen.”

It’s not that women don’t use porn. The website xHamster has reported a massive rise in their viewership, with women making up 30% of its customers worldwide in 2019. But a new survey by relationship charity Relate found 47% of therapists report an increase in the number of clients of all genders (and none) who say pornography is causing problems in their sex lives.

For some, it’s triggering anxiety about body image; for many others, it’s creating a disconnect over what is reasonable to expect someone else to want to do in the bedroom. Passion between partners is being replaced by pressure: whether that’s a pressure to perform or to enjoy something that just doesn’t feel right.

Counsellor Peter Saddington tells HuffPost UK he’s seen this increase first hand, in his own caseload and in the clients of therapists he supervises at a centre in the Midlands. “A couple of years ago very few people came to us to talk about porn,” says Saddington, who estimates that 40% of clients arriving at his door now raise pornography as an issue in their relationship or sex life. “It is coming up again and again and causing real distress.”

He’s not the only one noticing the impact. Broadcaster and psychotherapist Lucy Beresford tells me via email that she is also seeing more and more clients whose issues fall into this category. There was the young woman who was made to feel inadequate for not removing her pubic hair before getting naked, and for having size 34B breasts. Her boyfriend had become accustomed to watching women in porn who had larger chests and Brazilian waxes. 

Another client came to Beresford after her boyfriend insisted the couple use prostitutes because she was unwilling, or unable, to do positions he’d seen on the internet and wanted to replicate. “She had therapy with me for several months and ended the relationship because he kept calling her frigid.”

For older generations, access to pornography – either online, on screen or in magazines – may have influenced their sexual experiences in adulthood, but today’s young adults have lived their entire sex lives in an age of internet porn. Those going through puberty right now are likely to have seen an encyclopedia of sex acts years before they can legally consent to any of them.

“Your sexual template – what you like in bed, what turns you on – is formed early in your teens,” says Peter Saddington. “If you’re watching porn online from the very beginning, aged 10 or 11, you can only imagine the consequences.”  

Therapist Miranda Christophers says clients in their twenties and thirties are telling her their sex lives began with porn. Many were exposed to sites from as young as eight. As a result, she says, this age group has a different perspective of what is deemed ‘normal’ sex versus ‘extreme’ sex, leading to an expectation that they – or others – should be game for anything. 

Emily*, 35, was recently sleeping with a man who spat on her vulva during sex to try and lubricate her. “I didn’t like it and didn’t ask for it, I can only imagine he had seen it during porn. I was so taken aback by the behaviour.” It wasn’t the first time she’d felt this way. A former partner had a fantasy about a threesome with Emily and her twin sister because of a porn storyline he’d watched. 

“I have to emphasise that these aren’t neanderthals. They’re intelligent, well-educated men who appear sensitive until you get them in the bedroom,” Emily says. “There is a real mismatch between what men think they are giving us and what they are actually doing.”

People under 30 are having to work harder to recognise porn is not real. Sex and dating expert Annabelle Knight says: “Individuals need to be aware that it has little or no bearing on real life sexual scenarios for the majority of people.” Similarly to other online windows into people’s lives – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – just because internet porn plays out a certain way doesn’t mean sex is like that in reality. 

This disconnect can mean someone’s behaviour might not have the consequences they intended. Sarah says several men she has slept with thought force was the only way to get her to orgasm. It also means that elements often missing from much porn – intimacy, emotion, female pleasure – get left out of sex in real life, too.

Saddington says men will come to him saying they want to “make love” with a partner and build a sexual relationship that centres around intimacy, but thanks to their self-taught sex education through porn, they’re at a loss about how to achieve this. “The behaviour goes against their values,” he says. “They don’t want to have forceful or violent non-consensual sex. They want intimacy and emotion.”

Erika Lust, a self-described feminist porn maker, says instead of blaming porn as a whole, we should look to the explosion in free hardcore content, no longer behind a paywall and found within seconds of a Google search, as the problem.

“It has completely ravaged the industry and changed how we, as a society, view porn,” she says. “This is a problem with certain acts being portrayed as the only way to have sex in porn. Face slapping, choking, spitting, etc are niche acts but they are presented by a lot of mainstream sites as a standard way to have sex. A lot of these films are made by, and for, a specific demographic of heterosexual men. This type of porn is often misogynistic and sexist, showing sex as a thing that men do to women, or that women do for men.”

Yet, the audience for porn is larger and more diverse than it’s ever been. Franki*, who is polyamorous, says she and her partners of both sexes enjoy porn as a mutually-fulfilling experience: “I’ve discovered lots of things through porn and am generally pretty sanguine about the notion of getting ideas from it too,” she says.

Viewed this way, porn can be a useful tool to expand your sexual horizons, to experience new things, to push the boundaries of your sexuality in a safe space. Porn that is inclusive, diverse, acknowledges female pleasure and emotion, can help not hinder, say its producers and fans.

The problem arguably lies in the gap between porn and reality. “The thing that pornography shows is sex without the everyday hiccups and normality that happen, body hair, cramp, funny noises, an awkward position, the phone ringing and interrupting, the baby waking up,” says psychosexual therapist Kate Moyle. “This can be challenging particularly for people in the earlier stages of their sex lives as it can create expectations of perfection.”

And this expectation isn’t just affecting women. Peter Saddington tells HuffPost UK that his male counselling clients are increasingly suffering anxiety around body image and performance, fuelled by the men they see naked on the internet.

Not only do some feel embarrassed by the size or shape of their bodies and genitals, or by not having the endurance of porn stars; they are also worried about not getting turned on by what they see as ‘normal’ sexual acts because of the behaviour and treatment of women they have witnessed online. Relate say almost a quarter (24%) of its therapists are seeing male clients experiencing erectile dysfunction, a number that has grown directly with their access to porn.

Pornography is not going anywhere, so instead of ignoring it, say the experts, we need to learn to work with it. Beresford believes that communication is key. She suggests a ‘We Watch’ policy, where partners bring it into their joint sex life, instead of watching it alone or pretending the other person doesn’t watch it. Coupled with an honest and frank discussion, this tactic can bring some couples closer together through the shared experience, she says. 

[READ MORE: How To Talk About Porn With Your Partner]

And that same honesty should be applied to sex education, experts tell HuffPost UK, especially given that young people are susceptible to unrealistic imagery, which can go on to shape the sexual habits of a lifetime. Moyle argues that currently sex ed in the UK is insufficient. “When we don’t educate about the gap between pornography and real life sex,” she says, “we can transpose ideas of one onto the other, often without really realising it.”

* Some names have been changed.

Eating disorders have traditionally been seen as a female-centred issue, but it’s estimated up to a quarter of people who suffer are male – and this could be an underrepresentation. The stigma around eating disorders, particularly among men, means many go undiagnosed.

30-year-old Samuel Pollen developed anorexia when he was 12 years old – a fraught time, he says, made even more difficult due to the lack of awareness that men could have eating disorders. He has since written a book, ‘The Year I Didn’t Eat’, which follows the story of 14-year-old Max navigating the complexities of growing up with an eating disorder.

A lot may have changed in the 15 years since Pollen had anorexia, but some boys are still facing similar challenges today. We spoke to the author about his debut book, and the things he wants other people to know about growing up with an eating disorder as a man.

[Read More: Young, alone and miles away from mum: life in a mental health unit four hours from home]

The experience can be different for boys and girls. That’s not to say it’s better or worse, it’s just the pressures on men are different, says Pollen. “I wasn’t reading magazines that were full of people Photoshopped to look thin or things like that,” he explains. One of the biggest differences, he says, is that people don’t tend to look out for eating disorder symptoms in young men. “A lot of people around me said they didn’t have a clue I had an eating disorder. To me that’s bonkers because I was very visibly thin. If you’re a boy, there’s less emphasis on that – people aren’t talking about weight day-to-day.”

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what causes eating disorders. “I was quite an anxious kid,” Pollen explains. “I did well academically and pushed myself hard.” He believes he fitted the “traditional model” of someone with an eating disorder, who invents “pressures that don’t really exist” around them – then looks for a way to control them. Beat acknowledges that eating disorders are complex and there is no single reason why someone might develop one. However, factors that could contribute include genetic, psychological, environmental, social and biological influences.

Stereotypes around eating disorders are being broken down... slowly. Some people didn’t even believe men could get eating disorders when Pollen was growing up. “We’ve been through a bit of a process as a society over the past 10 years – there’s been destigmatisation but also recognition that this is even a thing,” he explains. “Our view of eating disorders is so gendered and stereotyped. We characterise eating disorders as something that happens to girls of a particular age, but actually that’s a pretty small minority. There are pensioners with eating disorders, too.”

Recognition is important because it leads to early intervention. “Eating disorders fit in this weird space within mental health problems as the actual physical thing you’re going through can kill you, because you’re not eating enough,” Pollen says. Awareness around eating disorders can help save lives, and is the reason why early intervention is important. It was only when Pollen developed flu that his family recognised something was wrong. “I think they probably hadn’t clocked how much weight I’d lost and how ill I was,” he says. “I wasn’t well enough to walk upstairs to bed and I wasn’t well enough to be taken to hospital.” Pollen’s parents called a doctor out, who referred him to CAMHS – they said if he was to have fallen down in the street, be would’ve been admitted to hospital for malnutrition. 

Male banter can be damaging for those who suffer. Terms that are harmlessly thrown around the school or gym locker room can have damaging repercussions for those with a mental illness – yet people aren’t necessarily aware of this. “Something I remember very vividly is the word ‘fat’, like being called a ‘fat bastard’ when you’re getting changed at lunch,” Pollen explains. “It was an insult that was thrown around without any particular meaning. I remember I was called ‘fat’ when I was very thin. Given the way I was and that I had this mental health problem, it had a huge impact on me. But it was a term that people had casually tossed about.”

Maintaining a sense of normality can be important on the road to recovery. Pollen didn’t explicitly speak to his friends about his eating disorder diagnosis, but they were there for him when he returned to school after taking time off. They would invite him to their homes to play video games, and he’d sit with them at lunch. He recognises that this, in addition to having a doctor – “an authority figure” – telling him he was not well, played an important part in him recognising there was a problem and focusing on getting better.

Recovery is possible. After Pollen was diagnosed with anorexia aged 12, he underwent outpatient treatment for a year before being discharged. The one thing he wants people to take away during Eating Disorders Awareness Week, which runs from 25 February to 3 March, is that people can recover fully from them.

“It’s a tricky thing,” he acknowledges, as lots of people struggle for years and even decades. “But I remember when I was in treatment my psychologist said to me that I could recover, and I just thought that was unimaginable. But I did. I think believing it’s possible is an important thing when you’re going through it.”

The Year I Didn’t Eat is available to buy for £7.99 from 1 March 2019.

Useful websites and helplines:

Beat, Adult Helpline: 0808 801 0677 and Youthline: 0808 801 0711 or email help@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (adults) fyp@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (youth support) 

Samaritans, open 24 hours a day, on 08457 90 90 90

Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393 

A lot of patience and a mobile phone – that’s what’s required to arrange an interview with Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition politician who set the country alight after declaring himself interim president in January.

It wasn’t easy: it took 13 days, 12 phone calls and 40 text messages before he agreed to speak to me. And even then, the 35-year-old only agreed to answer questions sent by e-mail.

But for a chance speak to one of the world’s most sought-after politicians? I couldn’t miss the opportunity. 

Because this is a man who is fighting an unprecedented political battle in Venezuela. Guaidó wants to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, claiming his government is illegitimate. He is on a mission to fix the “tragic” conditions plaguing the country, including hyperinflation, unemployment and urgent food and medicine shortages. 

He is fighting historic Chavismo – the left-wing ideology based on the ideas of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. And apparently, he does not fear for his own life – despite living in a country where “blood has already been shed” for change. 

In turn, Maduro’s government accuses Guaidó and the United States of attempting to stage a coup. But the opposition leader denies this – saying that whoever believes it “either do[es] not know what has happened in Venezuela, or say[s] it in bad faith.” But he has continually refused to sit down for dialogue with Maduro.

According Guaidó, his aspirations are much bigger than removing a single person from power. “We do not seek to put an end to Chavismo or to any politician. We want democracy.”

What is your opinion on those who defend the idea that you are part of a coup d’état?

They either do not know what has happened in Venezuela, or say it in bad faith. Nicolás Maduro is the one who has not listened to the will of the voters as expressed at the 2015 parliamentary elections.

It is him who has staged a coup by violating the constitution in force through the illegal call to a corporate  Constituent Assembly in 2017, only composed of his acolytes.

And it is him who has been usurping the office of president of my country since January 10. I have no other intention than to restore democracy and the rule of law, both of which have been violated in Venezuela.  

And what about those who say that you are a CIA agent – and even a puppet of the US establishment?

I am the president of the only democratically legitimate institution that is left in Venezuela (the National Assembly of Venezuela).

The representatives who make it up were elected in December 2015 under the framework of my country’s constitution. We haven’t been appointed by Mr Trump, who was not even president at that time. We have been elected by the Venezuelan people, and that must be respected.

Will see bloodshed in Venezuela?

Over the last 15 years, more than 250,000 Venezuelans have died in this country due to violence. Furthermore, the repressive forces which still respond to Maduro have remained active, committing numerous human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions.

Between 2015 and 2017, the number of extrajudicial executions carried out by this repressive machine has risen above 8,200, more than three times the number of missing persons in Chile during Pinochet’s military dictatorship.

There has already been a bloodshed in our country.

Do you fear for your life?

The responsibility I have taken on has involved risks to my family, my collaborators and myself.

However, that is not my greatest fear.

My greatest fear is that the Venezuelans go on without being able to get medications for their children. I fear that our senior citizens continue to die of malnutrition and preventable diseases. I fear the continuation of this dictatorship, which is the cause of the troubles and hunger experienced by the Venezuelans.

Why haven’t you received the armed forces’ support?

There is great repression inside this military institution, with many officials under arrest, being subject to torture, or even persecution by counterintelligence organisations which receive advice from the Cuban dictatorship to carry out their work.

They also want a change. My appeal to them as an institution is that of respect. We are not asking them to change their political stance or opinions; we are reminding them that they have taken an oath of honour towards the people and the constitution, which they must observe and enforce.

Donald Trump is one of your strongest allies. What is your political opinion on this?

In our fight to restore freedom in Venezuela, we have been supported by most of the democracies from the Americas and Europe.

The majority of Latin American countries with which we share historical and cultural ties constituted the Lima Group in August 2017, for the purpose of backing the efforts to re-democratise Venezuela. We are very grateful to all of them.

And what about the support you have received from Spain? Do you consider it sufficient?

We are very thankful for the support we have received by the different Spanish political groups for several years, from the Congress of Deputies as well as from their current government. Spain and Europe’s support is a great encouragement for us.

Do you believe greater involvement from the EU is needed?

If European governments want to contribute to a positive change in Venezuela, they must act all together so that the forces which still support Maduro feel the full weight of Europe’s diplomatic and political pressure. This has great significance for Venezuela’s re-democratisation.

In Europe’s eyes, there is a sense that after you initial rise, you’ve become stagnant.

The path we have set ourselves is not an easy one. We are confronting a dictatorship which relies on other dictatorships from around the world and which has no scruples about murdering or letting Venezuelans die.

We do not seek to “put an end to Chavismo” or to any politician. We want democracy, and we want Venezuelans to be able to have the right to freely choose our own destiny.

Do you fear being part of just another attempt to end to Chavismo?

I can only assure you that the Venezuelans are not giving in. We are not surrendering. Neither are we giving up.

Would you be willing to negotiate with Maduro?

The Venezuelan democratic forces have already taken part in efforts at dialogue, negotiations and agreements with Maduro’s regime on several occasions. We have done this both within and outside Venezuela, both privately and publicly, both by ourselves and through international representation.

The last time we have done this was in December 2017 and January 2018, in the Dominican Republic, supported by this country’s president, Danilo Medina, as well as by the chancellors from Mexico and Chile.

These processes have invariably had the same consequence – at the end of each dialogue, there were more political prisoners and fewer rights for the citizens.

It is a situation where not only Maduro and the leadership surrounding him never give in, but also, they take advantage of that circumstance to further safeguard this dictatorship. As you may understand, we cannot offer to take part in a new manoeuvre.

If Maduro had intended to facilitate dialogue, he could have released the political prisoners. He has not done that.

On the contrary, Deputy Juan Requessens is still being deprived of his liberty without trial, thus violating his parliamentary immunity.

Julio Borges, former National Assembly president, has been forced to go into exile due to persecution. Another Deputy, Gilbert Caro, a fellow party member at “Voluntad Popular”, has been detained for several months. And Leopoldo López continues to be under house arrest.

There are other cases of political prisoners with more than 15 years behind bars.

We do not refuse to participate in dialogue, but our position is that any agreement which does not stop this shall be considered as delaying tactics to keep Maduro in power.

Paraphrasing the beginning of Conversation in the Cathedral by Mario Vargas Llosa and his phrase, “At what precise moment had Peru fucked itself up?”... At what point and why had Venezuela fucked itself up?

It was when all the power was given to only one individual.

From that moment, the Venezuelan democracy started to die.

Democracy does not guarantee a good administration; it guarantees that people can get out of a bad administration. I joined political activism by participating in the student movement of 2007, precisely when we realised about the authoritarian drift under way.

Veteran Leader of Kerala Congress (M) and former state finance minister KM Mani is undergoing treatment for chest infection at Kochi’s Lakeshore hospital.

The 86-year-old is under close medical supervision, a bulletin from a private hospital said on Monday. 

“Hon. KM Mani is under treatment in our hospital under Dr Hari Lakshmanan, chief pulmonologist, Dept of Pulmonology for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) with chest infection. He is being treated as per the existing standards of care,” a press release by the hospital said.

He has been suffering from COPD for several years and has frequently been hospitalised for chest infection, it said.

Mani was admitted on 4 April, a hospital spokesperson told The NewsMinute. 

The veteran politician has been an MLA of Pala assembly constituency for 50 consecutive years.

Kerala Congress (M) is a key ally of the Congress-led UDF in the state.

Mani, who was declared the party candidate for Kottayam seat for the 23 April Lok Sabha polls, was not seen on the election campaign trail due to frequent hospitalisation.

(With inputs from PTI)