NEW DELHI — An Indian court’s call for a ban on the popular video app TikTok will hurt free speech rights, China’s Bytedance Technology Co has said in a request for the Supreme Court to quash the directive.

Bytedance is one of the world’s most valuable start-ups and its TikTok app lets users create and share short videos with special effects. It has become popular in rural India, where most of a population of 1.3 billion lives.

TikTok, whose video-only interface makes it easier to use than platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, has been downloaded more than 240 million times in India, says app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

A ban “amounts to curtailing of the rights of the citizens of India...who have been using the platform everyday to express themselves and create content,” the company said in a court filing reviewed by Reuters, asking for the order to be quashed.

The company’s Monday filing is not public and has not previously been reported. The Supreme Court has set next Monday for a hearing.

Bytedance did not respond to a request for comment. India’s information technology ministry also did not respond.

Last week, a court in Tamil Nadu asked the federal government to ban TikTok, saying it encouraged pornography and made child users vulnerable to sexual predators.

TikTok’s inappropriate content was a dangerous aspect of the app, it added.

Jokes, clips and footage related to India’s movie industry dominate the platform, along with videos in which young people, sometimes scantily clad, lip-sync and dance to music.

Bytedance said users flagged only a tiny proportion of TikTok videos, showing that a “very minuscule” proportion of its content was considered inappropriate or obscene. TikTok was primarily used to circulate amusing videos, it added.

It also argued that it could not be held liable for content posted by users.

Some of TikTok’s content was “unbearable”, M. Manikandan, the minister for information technology in Tamil Nadu told Reuters in February, and a Hindu nationalist group close to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also called for a ban.

In its filing, the company said TikTok had experienced immense success in India, which fuelled controversy. Bytedance employs more than 250 people in India and plans more investment as it expands the business, it added.

The BJP is tracking conversations on TikTok, the party’s information technology chief, Amit Malviya, has previously told Reuters, calling it a brilliant medium for creative expression.

NOIDA — Some policemen on election duty were served meals in packets labelled “Namo Foods”, following which officials clarified that those were procured from Namo Food Shop and not from any political party. 

The food packets, brought in the boot of a hatchback car, were distributed around 9.30 am among personnel deployed in Sector 15A here, the officials said.

Read election updates here.

“Misinformation is being spread that some policemen have been distributed food from a political party. This is absolutely wrong. At local level, some food packets were procured from Namo Food Shop and not from any political party,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Vaibhav Krishna said.

“Some people are spreading wrong and politically motivated rumour. There is no official order to procure food from any particular food outlet,” he said, and appealed to people not to pay heed to rumours being spread via social media.

The polling began at 7 am Thursday in Noida, under the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency, and will continue till 6 pm, poll officials said.

At 11 am, Noida assembly segment had a voter turnout of 20.8 per cent, while Dadri saw 22.4 per cent and Jewar 29.4 per cent polling, they said.

A total of 22.97 lakh voters are eligible to cast their vote in the seat which has 13 candidates, including two Independents are in the fray.

Julian Assange, the controversial founder of Wikileaks, was arrested Thursday in London on charges of breaching bail conditions in a Swedish rape case that’s no longer under investigation after he was expelled from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. 

The 47-year-old computer programmer was arrested at Ecuador’s London embassy, where he had been holed up in residence for more than six years amid growing upset from Ecuadorian and British leaders. The development also potentially exposes him to extradition to the U.S.

Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno traveled to London in July of last year to finalize an agreement to lift Assange’s asylum protection with the U.K. government, according to a report by the Intercept, citing a source within Ecuador’s foreign ministry.

In the past week, credible rumors began to circulate that Assange would be expelled, his asylum denied, and that he would face extradition to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified military documents.

“This information came from a credible source high in the Ecuadorian Government,” Assange’s lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said of his expulsion.

Last Friday, British police were seen stationed outside the embassy, though police said there had been no change in procedure. 

Assange first took refuge at the embassy in June 2012 after jumping bail while wanted for questioning in Sweden over allegations of sexual assault and rape.

Though that criminal investigation was dropped last year, Assange, who is Australian, remained behind the embassy’s walls out of concern that he could face extradition to the U.S. for leaking classified military and diplomatic documents through Wikileaks, with the help of former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in April, 2017 that the arrest of Assange would become a priority for the Justice Department.

In February, Assange asked a Westminster Magistrates’ Court to withdraw an outstanding warrant for his arrest stemming from the bail-skipping incident ― for which he could face a year in jail if convicted.

But on Feb. 6, Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot upheld the arrest warrant, saying legal precedents “underline the importance of a defendant attending court” when on bail. 

Last year, the British government rejected a request from Ecuador to grant diplomatic status to Assange. Ecuador’s foreign minister has said Assange’s long-term stay in her country’s London embassy is “untenable.”

“Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice,” the Foreign Office said in a statement at the time.

Although Tara Langdale-Schmidt, 34, began having sex at the age of 16, she didn’t start experiencing burning, stabbing pain with intercourse until she was 26, after multiple surgeries for endometriosis.

“The symptoms started out very slowly, so I thought they were surgically related,” she said.

In time, the pain caused Langdale-Schmidt’s body to seize up during sex. “I could not relax at all for intercourse, and it was absolutely excruciating,” she explained. “I would tense up, knowing the pain was coming; I kept telling my doctor about it, and he said to drink wine and take Advil for over four years.”

If you are having any pain with sex, you should be seen by a doctor, according to Tami Rowen, an OB-GYN at UCSF Health in San Francisco. If they’re not being helpful in diagnosing and treating your pain with intercourse, then you should definitely get a second opinion.

“Don’t let anyone tell you there’s nothing wrong, or that maybe you’re just not into your partner,” she said. “I’ve heard the craziest things.”

In Langdale-Schmidt’s case, she was eventually diagnosed with vaginismus along with vulvar vestibulitis (pain or irritation that occurs in the area of the vulva near the opening of the vagina). Vaginismus isn’t incredibly common, but it’s debilitating for women who experience it.

What exactly is vaginismus?

Although vaginismus and its root cause is not fully understood, the condition is when a woman experiences “painful, involuntary contractions of the vaginal muscles at penetration,” Rowen said. “She will often have a lot of tension around sexual activity.” The condition can also make gynecological exams and even tampon insertion difficult and painful.

The definition of vaginismus has changed a lot over the years, from the psychological realm to the physical. It now lies somewhere in between, according to Carrie Pagliano, a pelvic floor physical therapist and American Physical Therapy Association spokesperson.

“There’s a very specific cocktail of factors leading to vaginismus, but it is a muscular protective response,” she said. “Putting something near the vaginal opening can cause an increase in muscular activity. We just have to figure out why.” 

Pagliano added that sometimes the source of the muscle contractions is psychological; perhaps a woman was taught that her genitalia was dirty or sex was sinful.

“I often ask women about their backgrounds,” she said. “What was her first experience with tampons? What was her first experience with sex? I find out if there were ever any religious expectations around sex or relationships.”

Past traumas or physical conditions can also contribute to vaginismus, causing women to feel uneasy at the thought of penetrative sex or sexual contact at all. Sometimes, no cause can be found at all.

But beyond vaginismus, Rowen said, pelvic pain diagnoses are becoming more specific, as doctors highlight their unique complexities. Like Langdale-Schmidt, many patients have vaginismus coupled with another condition. Some may have other, similar issues — but with entirely different treatments. It’s important to diagnose carefully, both experts said.

Getting to the bottom of the other causes of pain

Doctors need to examine the type of pain closely to determine what it might be. “A lot of patients get sent straight to [physical therapy],” Rowen said. “But a burning pain near the vaginal entrance is different than a pulling or sharp pain that’s higher or deeper.” 

If there is burning pain around the entrance of the vagina, or there’s tearing, it could be vulvar vestibulitis ― what Langdale-Schmidt experienced ― and require a topical steroid. A drop in estrogen, like during menopause or after childbirth, can lead to irritation provoked by a lack of lubrication; this might require a topical hormone for treatment. If it’s more of a pulling, sharp pain with thrusting, there might be a muscle-related issue or prolapse. Deep-set pain could be a sign of endometriosis, especially if there are symptoms like heavy periods.

These issues may or may not require pelvic floor physical therapy, but rather a range of other treatments and some tactical guidance for sex. This can include exercises, topical medicine and coaching. “For some women, it might be as simple as getting more aroused, more relaxed and more lubricated,” Rowen said. “That means more foreplay.”

If, however, your doctor determines vaginismus is an issue, Rowen calls pelvic floor physical therapy “the mainstay” of treatment.

Treating vaginismus through physical therapy

Langdale-Schmidt tried a bunch of treatments for vaginismus, from lidocaine (numbing) injections to expensive creams. Nothing worked wonders for her until she tried pelvic floor physical therapy. 

Pagliano said the unique thing about therapy is how much more time the patients get with her than they do with a doctor during an appointment — 45 to 60 minutes per session, on an ongoing basis. “It is a collaborative approach to treatment,” she said. “We work with gynecologists and often psychologists or therapists. But as physical therapists, we really learn your story and go at your pace.”

Patients start slow. You may or may not even have an examination on the first visit; it’s usually up to the patient, according to Pagliano. She stresses the mind-body connection early and often.

“I also just want women to pay attention to their breath and the tension-holding patterns in their body,” she explained. “From there, you can see where you’re holding tension in your pelvis.”

Another piece of the puzzle, she said, is getting familiar with your own body. A physical therapist can teach about female sexual anatomy and help you learn different muscle groups. “I start by just getting a woman aware of muscles, like when she’s inserting a tampon,” Pagliano said.

Exercises can help a patient learn to relax and contract muscles, allowing “more control” of the pelvic region, Pagliano added. Manual therapy can help to massage and stretch the muscles of the pelvic floor. Therapy will also introduce dilators, which can help women learn proper muscle relaxation for easier intercourse.

The path to full recovery

Pagliano said some patients can expect to see reduced pain with intercourse in about four to six weeks with therapy. For others, it may take two or more years. Everyone’s condition and path to healing is different, so it’s important not to set too many expectations.

“Pelvic floor physical therapy is a great opportunity to listen and share,” Pagliano said. “Ultimately, we get to help you put together this complete picture for you. It’s a comprehensive understanding of how your system works.”

Dilators wound up being key to Langdale-Schmidt’s recovery, after completing tons of research on what might work best to treat her vaginismus and vulvar vestibulitis. “They looked like a safe, promising treatment, and I went for it,” she said.

You can check out the Women’s Health section of the APTA website and the Herman & Wallace website to find a pelvic floor physical therapist near you, Langdale-Schmidt said. It’s also vital to do tons of research as well as chat with your doctor to make sure whatever treatment path you take is the right one ― and to get your partner involved, so they understand your condition, too.

“Remember how important you are and your worth,” Langdale-Schmidt said. “You are not broken. You matter.”

The Congress has claimed “grave” security threat to party chief Rahul Gandhi and urged Home Minister Rajnath Singh to take immediate action to ensure full protection of its leader.

In a letter, three Congress leaders said that a laser was pointed at Gandhi during his interaction with journalists after filing nomination for the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday.

“A perusal of his media interaction will reflect that a laser (green) was pointed at his head, intermittently on at least 7 separate occasions in a short period; including twice at his temple on the right side of the head,” the letter, signed by Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Singh Surjewala, said.

The Congress requested the home minister investigate the matter and ensure full protection for Gandhi, a Special Protection Group (SPG) protectee.

The letter also reminded the assassination of former Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi, according to The Hindu.  

Meanwhile, NDTV reported that the home ministry has denied receiving any letter. The ministry, however, said the SPG chief, after going through the video clipping, remarked that the matter had “no security implication whatsoever’.

“The ‘green light’ shown in the clipping was found to be that of a mobile phone used by the AICC photographer, who was videographing the impromptu press interaction of Shri Rahul Gandhi near the collectorate at Amethi,” the ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

(With PTI inputs)

I’m just going to come right out and say it: I am what you might call scripted series-averse  ― a traitor to my own millennial kind.

I’m used to the groans and sighs of disbelief when my content-connoisseur peers hear that I never finished “Mad Men,” that I never started “The Sopranos” and that I “just couldn’t get into” “The Wire.”

I keep a cable subscription mainly so I can live tweet awards shows once a year and the Olympics every two, watch “CBS Sunday Morning” in tandem with my mother and grandmother and fall asleep to the same episode of “Friends” I’ve seen four trillion times. 

It’s not that I don’t think about expanding my television horizons, it’s the sheer volume of options available to me at any given moment that I find paralyzing. I am overwhelmed at the prospect of committing to one particular show, regardless of its relevance in pop culture or brilliant production quality. And so, I’d sooner opt to re-watch a John Mulaney Netflix comedy special than commit to something requiring more time and energy and that might ultimately end up disappointing me.

When it comes to “Game of Thrones” (ever heard of it?) my issues have to do with a different type of commitment entirely. 

“Game of Thrones” is what I’ve always regarded as relationship television. It’s the kind of show you watch with a partner, someone who will sit through the especially violent scenes and describe them in graphic detail so you can cover your eyes without really missing anything. It’s the kind of show you spend hours dissecting and debating with someone else. Most importantly, it’s the kind of show you get angry at your partner for watching without you: the truest benchmark of love in 2019. 

So, as a notoriously, mostly happily independent single person, my situation is a tricky one. Like getting an IUD and finally pleasing my grandmother, I, until recently, wrote off watching “Thrones” as something I’d only accomplish if ― and only if ― I ever found myself in a relationship. 

It turns out that my position on one (or all three) of those things is really stupid. Because once I decided to watch it, I realized ― and I don’t know if you know this ― “Game of Thrones” is So. Fucking. Good. 

I have my therapist to indirectly thank for encouraging me to march forth toward King’s Landing and my new television obsession all by myself. In the past year she has opened my eyes to a few things that ― and stay with me ― I now realize have been contributing to my television deficiency. 

I am highly skilled in the art of finding reasons not to stay home in order to keep myself distracted from myself ― a person I’ve only recently really started to get along with. Less time alone with my thoughts meant less time to process some of the heaviest personal shit I have had to deal with (or avoid having to deal with) over the years. These are the same things that have impacted my ability to get close to any romantic partner and have successfully allowed me to keep up a wall not even the most skilled man of the night’s watch could cross. 

I’ve begun paying down credit card debt I got myself into while attempting to be home as little as possible (which, as you can imagine in New York is an expensive endeavor), and I’ve learned to find joy of just sitting on my (new! vintage!) comfortable couch. So, now that I’ve scaled back on going out and frivolously spending money that I don’t need ― or even want ― to spend on overpriced sushi and $16 old fashioneds, I have suddenly and enthusiastically found myself with more time to ― you guessed it ― watch television. 

Not only did I find myself with more time, I also had the support to challenge myself into doing something I’d always believed was reserved for a relationship. Upending my notion that I needed a boyfriend to journey alongside kept me stationary ― and seeing as I’d made so much progress in other areas of my life where feeling confident and fulfilled is concerned ― I told myself I was ready to see what all the “GoT” fuss was about (and I was ready to do it alone). 

So why “Thrones” and not one of the other umpteen critically acclaimed scripted series out there? Well, besides wanting to dispel the notion that “GoT” is decidedly “boyfriend TV,” I was also sick of hearing all my friends rave about it. And with the final season coming up, I felt very much like this was a “now or never” scenario. Also, I really don’t do well with violence ― real or fictional ― and I’ve found that can sometimes hold me back from experiencing films and TV I want to experience. So I figured what better way to face my fears than to watch repeated, graphic sword fighting and beheading?

Really, in the end, venturing on a mostly solo (I was grateful to be with a friend for Season Three episode 9, most commonly referred to as The Red Wedding) seven-season binge was less about the show itself and more about the fact that I am ― in television endeavors and otherwise ― enough on my own. Or at least I wanted to believe I am. And this seemed like a good and enjoyable way to prove it. Because really, what good is having therapy-induced epiphanies if you never put them into practice?

So, I decided to just go for it, and threw myself right into the world of Westeros. 

I watched the first episode of the first season on Feb. 26, about eight years after it premiered. Some doubted my ability to make it through the entire show before its final season premieres on April 14. Others assured me if I was committed to my new cause, I had more than enough time to catch up. I knew that in order to achieve this feat, a few big binge sessions would be necessary and, to be honest, I was a bit worried about that. I’ve never been particularly good at binging anything. Who can sit for that long?

Well, apparently me. I watched all of Season Five in just one day. 

Otherwise, my viewing schedule varies. Some nights I watch three episodes, some nights none. My typically regimented sleep schedule has been completely turned on its head, and waking up every morning for the gym has gotten drastically harder. But it’s totally worth it. I watch every episode from its very beginning to its very end, drinking in everything from the opening credits to the supplemental “Inside the Episode” packages (super helpful, by the way!) I have gone through cases of seltzer and stress-eaten countless bags of pretzels. I’ve cried, I’ve laughed, I’ve gasped and I’ve talked out loud to myself. I even tried live tweeting, but I ― another realization! ― have found it’s more important and fulfilling to be present than it is to try to be funny on the internet (a lesson that applies to far more than just the way to watch “Game of Thrones,” by the way). 

My foray into The Narrow Sea hasn’t been totally seamless or completely without anxiety, especially where spoilers are concerned. Working on the internet for a living and just plain being a human being who has existed in the world for the past eight years means I have heard my fair share of “Game of Thrones” plot lines and surprises. How could I not? The show is arguably one of the most popular and discussed in history. But now that I’m on a mission to see every episode before the final season’s premiere, I have been and still am constantly dodging think pieces, tweets and even people in the desperate hope of not having anything (or at least as little as possible) spoiled for me. Even writing this article, which required me to find photos of characters and information about the show, was risky. 

Seeing as the show is full of dozens of characters and even more twists and turns, I’m often confused about what exactly is happening while watching. So I’ve turned to friends and family who, at this point, don’t even remember most of the things I’ve been freaking out about. 

Now, with less than a week to go before the new and final season premieres, I find myself looking forward to getting through the day so I can get home to my apartment, settle in on the couch and get lost in the complicated, messy, exciting and emotional ride “GoT” has been offering me for the past six weeks.  

I didn’t immediately feel that way about the series. Every time something in Season One confused me, I craved the insight and instant gratification of having another person to navigate the show with me. Luckily, thanks to technology (and the pause button) I never had to wait too long to hear from friends and family members with more episodes under their belt ― all of whom I realized are always willing and eager to talk about all things “Thrones” all the time. 

But now, halfway through Season Six, I’m not only more confident about grasping character development and plot points ― I’m more confident in my ability to do anything, even something as trivial as watching a television show, alone. It might sound silly, but this endeavor has only confirmed what I already knew to be true: I. Am. Enough. And ― not only am I capable of doing it, I actually enjoy myself and my time alone, which is something I never thought I’d type. 

This is not to say that I have given up my social life ― not in the least. Some people might say forgoing hanging out with other people to hang out with Jon Snow is unhealthy. But I realized my going-out habits were actually veering toward unhealthy. Making time for myself has only helped give me a bit more balance and made me realize that waiting for the right person to come alone to start living, to do anything ― even if that thing is watching a popular TV show ― is ridiculous.

Winter is coming ― and maybe so is my future boyfriend. But only one of those things really matter. And if he doesn’t show up anytime soon, I’ve learned something better: That I actually want to spend time with myself, which is one of the most epic battles just months ago I never thought I’d wage, much less win.

If you’re a “Game of Thrones” and music nerd, boy, do we have a Spotify playlist for you.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators of the hit HBO fantasy series, and the music streaming platform have collaborated on a playlist called “Game of Thrones: The End Is Coming.” The mix is not only supposed to encapsulate the essence of the show’s final season, but it also reveals the much-anticipated ending of the show.

 “We were looking for songs that made us feel the way the show made us feel,” Benioff and Weiss told For the Record, Spotify’s blog.

“The answer to the ending is one hundred percent hidden in the playlist choices. No one will believe us, but it’s true,” they added.

Although this could just be a rouse (like “Game of Thrones” actress Maisie Williams pulled in “The Tonight Show” clip above) and the most fitting song on this list may be “No One Knows” by Queens of the Stone Age, the 50-song playlist is pretty solid regardless of the whacky conspiracy theories it may produce.

Most of the curated tunes featured  — comprised mostly of rock (of the punk, metal, indie and classic variety) — have some kind of “Game of Thrones” theme, like TV On The Radio’s “Wolf Like Me,” Kanye West’s “POWER” and The Blue Stones’ “Be My Fire.” Plus, we’re not going to lie, it’s really fun for any GoT geek to try and decipher how certain songs relate to the final season of the show.

Now excuse us while we ponder whether the lyrics to Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Gold Lion” is referring to Tyrion Lannister saving the day or creating a mutiny.

In “Avengers: Infinity War,” Doctor Strange tells Tony Stark: “We’re in the endgame now.” At the time, we had no idea that, for Ant-Man, he perhaps meant it literally.

For more than a year, a theory has been brewing online about how Ant-Man’s “endgame” could be single-handedly taking out Thanos by shrinking down, going into his butt and then expanding into Giant-Man. 

We know what you’re thinking: It seems foolproof. And the internet has run with it.

Typing in “Ant Man” and “Thanos” on Twitter will give you an endless stream of memes and jokes. (Wednesday’s viral picture of the first photo of a black hole didn’t help, as you can see.) “Avengers: Endgame” directors Joe and Anthony Russo have commented on it, saying they didn’t even know if Doctor Strange ever got to that possibility in his 14 million visions of the future in “Infinity War.” Also, Paul Rudd, who’s been confronted with the theory before, recently joked on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Look, these lips are sealed.”

(Probably good to keep your lips closed regardless, Ant-Man.)

HuffPost spoke last year with Spiros Michalakis, a quantum physicist and science consultant for Marvel, who seemed to confirm it’d be possible for Ant-Man or Wasp to shrink down and destroy Thanos, referring to a comment Evangeline Lilly made about going tiny and punching Thanos’ brain.

In a phone interview with the “Avengers: Endgame” writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely over the weekend, the pair seemed to put the theory to rest, saying that Thanos’ Infinity Stones would likely prevent any Ant-Man shenanigans. We’ll note that Markus and McFeely got so animated talking about the theory that at times it was hard to tell their voices apart. But to the best of our knowledge, here’s what they said:

McFeely: I’m devastated that people have guessed Ant-Man is going to crawl up Thanos’ butt.

HuffPost: I actually interviewed quantum physicist and Marvel consultant Spiros Michalakis last year, who was all about Ant-Man going into Thanos.

McFeely: [Laugh] I’m not saying I’m not all about it!

Markus: Thanos’ colon is stronger than Ant-Man. Let me just say that, this is canon: Thanos can take a punch from Thor, and what’s to prevent Thanos from crawling up Ant-Man’s butt? He’s got the Infinity Stones. He can do whatever he wants.

The pair added that Thanos could target Ant-Man when he turns into Giant-Man, which could be the end for Ant-Man’s end.

Despite their thoughts on the “Thanus” theory, Markus seemed pretty impressed by some of the ideas out there posed by theorists.

“Sometimes you just go, ‘Oh that’s wrong.’ But there have been a couple, I can’t remember which ones, where I thought, ‘That is really clever. You might want to consider coming out here.’”

Time will tell if Ant-Man goes into Thanos’ rear. In the meantime, we’ll just leave this cheeky response from Thanos himself, Josh Brolin, right here:

"Avengers: Endgame" hits theaters April 26.

The battle against evil Thanos in “Avengers: Endgame” is serious business, but the promotional blitz for the film doesn’t have to be.

Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, was at his cheeky best when he scribbled on the movie’s posters on the press tour recently. “Just making some improvements,” he said in the Instagram video (below) as he sketched some additions on the faces of Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye.

“Helping out some fellow avengers with new fresh looks,” Hemsworth wrote.

You’re quite the artist, Son of Odin.

It looks like payback is coming. 

Film star-turned-politician Hema Malini is the only answer to all the election blues this poll season. Be it her photos from a farm or her forgetfulness about her own work, it’s a delight to follow her campaign on social media. 

On Thursday, Malini was asked about the monkey menace in Vrindavan. She said: “Coexistence hai na. Monkey kahan jaega? Problem kya hai, yahan aane waale yaatri Frooti dete hain, samosa de de ke unko kharab kar diya. Unko sirf phal dijiye (It’s a coexistence. Where will the monkey go? The problem is the tourists give Frooti and samosa to the monkeys, they should only give them fruits)”.

In 2014, Malini had said that her priorities would be to bring an end to the monkey menace in Vrindaban, according to PTI. 

The BJP MP was recently trolled when she shared pictures from a farm on her first day of campaign. 

Twitter users were quick to respond, some even asking “dream girl or drama girl?”

Defending the images, Malini told NDTV, “I am an actress, a celebrity. I don’t see this in Mumbai. When I go to the villages, I like that environment and I like it. Even if I acted, it was fun. What is wrong with it? Everybody was happy to see the picture back in Mumbai.”

While pointing out that she has “done a lot” for Mathura, Malini also said that she can’t recollect it now. “Don’t remember much.” 

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds keep winning at the banter.

Lively on Wednesday wrote a ribald comment about a reel of “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” characters posted by Reynolds on Instagram. “Footage of my ACTUAL audition,” Reynolds captioned the promo, which included a look at Detective Pikachu, whom he voices in the upcoming movie.

To which Lively responded: “Is it wrong to say I’d tap that?? 😬🥰.”

“This is easily the best fan-fiction I’ve ever read,” Reynolds answered.

Here’s the clip. It’s family friendly, but that’s not gonna stop those two from spicing up social media.

May their legendary trolling of one another go on forever.

KHARTOUM — President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan with an iron fist for 30 years, was on Thursday overthrown in a coup by the armed forces which announced a two-year period of military rule to be followed by elections.

In an address on state television, Defence Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf said Bashir, 75, was under arrest in a “safe place” and a military council was now running the country.

Seated on a gold-upholstered armchair, Auf announced a three-month state of emergency, a nationwide ceasefire and the suspension of the constitution. He also said Sudan’s air space would be closed for 24 hours and border crossings shut until further notice.

Sudanese sources told Reuters that Bashir was at the presidential residence under “heavy guard”. A son of Sadiq al-Mahdi, the head of the country’s main opposition Umma Party, told al-Hadath TV that Bashir was being held with “a number of leaders of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group”.

Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague and is facing an arrest warrant over allegations of genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region during an insurgency that began in 2003 and led to death of an estimated 300,000 people.

The downfall of Bashir follows the toppling this month of Algerian strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika, also following mass protests after three decades in power.

Military rule again?

Names of Bashir’s possible successors that have been circulating include the defense Minister, an ex-military intelligence chief, also an Islamist, and former army chief of staff Emad al-Din Adawi.

Adawi is said to be favored by regional neighbors at odds with Bashir over his Islamist leanings.

Thousands of people flocked to an anti-government protest outside the defense ministry on Thursday, while huge crowds took to the streets in central Khartoum, dancing and shouting anti-Bashir slogans. Protesters chanted: “It has fallen, we won.”

Demonstrators called for a civilian government and said they would not accept an administration led by military and security figures, or by Bashir’s aides.

Omar Saleh Sennar, a senior member of the Sudanese Professionals’ Association, one of the main protest groups, said it expected to negotiate with the military over a transfer of power.

“We will only accept a transitional civilian government,” Sennar told Reuters.

Kamal Omar, 38, another demonstrator, said: “We will continue our sit-in until we prevail.”

Some demonstrators, who have rallied against Bashir since Dec. 19, said they feared the delay would allow him to go into exile.

Troops deployed around the defense ministry and on major roads and bridges in the capital.

Soldiers stormed the headquarters of Bashir’s Islamic Movement, the main component of the ruling National Congress Party. Protesters also attacked the offices of Sudan’s intelligence and security service in the eastern cities of Port Sudan and Kassala on Thursday, witnesses said.

The security service earlier announced the release of all political prisoners.

Fate unclear

Bashir, a former paratrooper who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1989, has been a divisive figure who has managed his way through one internal crisis after another while withstanding attempts by the West to weaken him.

Sudan has suffered prolonged periods of isolation since 1993, when the United States added Bashir’s government to its list of terrorism sponsors for harboring Islamist militants. Washington followed up with sanctions four years later.

The latest crisis has escalated since the weekend, when thousands of demonstrators began camping out outside the defense ministry compound, where Bashir’s residence is located.

Clashes erupted on Tuesday between soldiers trying to protect the protesters and intelligence and security personnel trying to disperse them. At least 11 people died, including six members of the armed forces, the information minister said, citing a police report.

Since December, Sudan has been rocked by persistent protests sparked by the government’s attempt to raise the price of bread, and an economic crisis that has led to fuel and cash shortages

Pamela Anderson has branded the UK “America’s bitch” for arresting Julian Assange and removing him from the Ecuadorian embassy.

The actor added Britain “needed a diversion from your idiotic Brexit bullshit” as a reason for the move. 

She also accused Ecuador, in whose embassy the WikiLeaks founder had been living since 2012, of allowing the arrest to happen because he had “exposed” them.

He is being held in custody at a London police station after being arrested and removed from the Ecuadorian embassy on Thursday morning. 

He was arrested on behalf of the US authorities, as well as for breaching his bail conditions, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

A second tweet from Anderson accused Donald Trump of being a “toxic coward” and said he needed to rally his base. 

She also shared a link to the WikiLeaks defence fund, which is asking for donations to help Assange pay for legal fees.

Anderson and Assange struck up an unlikely friendship and have grown close over the last few years. 

The actor and model, who lives in France with her soccer player boyfriend Adil Rami, said she first decided to meet with Assange to learn how to become a “more effective” activist.

She began visiting him frequently, always bringing him vegan food.

Anderson once hinted the pair had a ‘romantic’ connection however last year she said they didn’t have a romantic relationship but said she felt “very close to him”.

When asked if she would consider dating him when he left the embassy, she joked that he was “a little pale for me”.

After almost seven years, a beleaguered and heavily bearded Julian Assange has been removed from the Ecuadorian embassy.

The WikiLeaks founder was arrested on Thursday for failing to surrender to the court, the Metropolitan Police said.

It comes after nearly a decade of legal wrangling for the 47-year-old, after an arrest warrant was issued in August 2010 following allegations of rape and molestation after he returned from a speaking trip in Sweden, which he denied.

The case was later dropped.

He has since fought extradition to the Scandinavian country, and took up inside the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012.

His journey to the Knightsbridge flat came after a luxury “mansion arrest” while on conditional bail, as one of his lawyers jokingly called it.

Assange spent one year from December 2010 holed up inside the grand Ellingham Hall in Norfolk, a country house owned by ex-British Army Officer Vaughan Smith.

Smith granted him refuge first at the Frontline Club, an organisation owned by Smith which champions independent and conflict reporting.

Assange then moved to the mansion.

Smith told The Independent in 2010: “It wasn’t any more about whether WikiLeaks was right or wrong, for good or bad.

“It was about standing up to the bully and the question of whether our country, in these historic times really was the tolerant, independent and open place I had been brought up to believe it was and feel that it needs to be.”

From vegan meal deliveries to visits from Nigel Farage and Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, here are some of the wildest plot twists in the saga.

2012

June 19: Assange enters the Ecuadorian embassy in London, requesting political asylum, which Ecuador grants in August.

August 19: He makes his first public appearance in two months on the Ecuadorian embassy’s balcony and calls for the US government to “renounce its witch-hunt” against WikiLeaks.

November: Ecuador’s ambassador to the UK, Ana Alban, says Assange is suffering a chronic lung condition after spending months inside a one-room office at the embassy.

The Ecuadorian government later plays down the health fears and says Assange “does not have an urgent medical condition”.

2014

August: After Assange loses a legal bid to have an arrest warrant issued in Sweden against him cancelled, he tells a press conference he will be leaving the embassy soon following speculation that he is seeking hospital treatment for heart and lung problems.

That December, Assange appears on the embassy’s balcony to greet Noam Chomsky, the US philosopher and activist. Hollywood actor John Cusack also visits the WikiLeaks founder later in the month.

2015

October 12: Metropolitan Police end their 24-hour guard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy. It breaks a three-year police operation which is estimated to have cost more than £12 million.

2016

This was a turbulent year as far as this already turbulent case goes. In February, The UN Working Group on Arbitrary detention called on authorities to end Assange’s “deprivation of liberty”, a report branded “frankly ridiculous” by then foreign secretary Philip Hammond.

He is eventually interviewed by Swedish prosecutors in November. An investigation into a sex allegation is dropped in May 2017.

2017

March 9: Nigel Farage is spotted leaving the embassy where Assange is being held. However the former Ukip leader said he “could not remember” what he was doing in the building.

2018

January 11: The UK Foreign Office turns down a request from the Ecuadorian government to grant Assange diplomatic status. Ecuador confirms it has granted him citizenship in December after he made a request in September.

February 7: An unlikely friendship blooms as Pamela Anderson visits Assange at the embassy, as does Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, it is reported.

Anderson reportedly brought him a vegan meal.

March 28: The Ecuadorian Embassy suspends Assange’s internet access.

The Ecuador Government says: “The measure was adopted due to Assange not complying with a written promise which he made with the government in late 2017, by which he was obliged not to send messages which entailed interference in relation to other states.”

Supporters, including actress Pamela Anderson, musician Brian Eno, fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood and former Greek minister Yanis Varoufakis, urge Ecuador to reverse the ban.

June 19: Vigils in several countries mark six years since Assange entered the Ecuadorian Embassy.

July 30: Dame Vivienne Westwood designs a new T-shirt in support of the WikiLeaks founder, with a slogan which reads: “I fought the law”.

August 9: The United States Senate committee asks to interview Assange as part of their investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. The next month, Assange steps down as editor of WikiLeaks.

In November, he reportedly frees his cat, aptly named Embassy Cat, as its isolation was becoming unbearable, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported.

December 20: Assange’s father calls for the end to his son’s “torment”, following a visit to the embassy.

2019

April 11: Assange is arrested and removed from the embassy.

The National Conference and the PDP on Thursday alleged that armed forces  “coerced” people to vote for the BJP and that EVMs malfunctioned in some places with the Congress button not working in Jammu’s Poonch area.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted a video showing voters in Jammu raising anti-BJP slogans after they were allegedly “roughed up” by BSF jawans for not voting for the saffron party. 

In Jammu and Baramulla constituencies there were protests over defective EVMs in some areas, officials told PTI.

National Conference chief Omar Abdullah tweeted a video of people saying the Congress button on EVMs was not working.

Former minister and senior Congress leader Shabir Khan told reporters in Rajouri that the defective EVMs had been sent to remote and rural areas of Rajouri and Poonch and people held protests. But nothing had been done to repair the machines, he alleged.

Congress candidate from Jammu, Raman Bhalla, who cast his vote in Jammu, alleged large scale EVM malfunction in Poonch and Mendhar belt of the constituency. 

Poonch’s district election officer said that while there had been problem with EVMs at certain polling stations, they had been replaced. “There was an issue with Congress button in Shahpur, our staff replaced the machine. At another polling station BJP button wasn’t working, we changed that also,” ANI quoted him as saying. 

(With PTI inputs)

WASHINGTON — US prosecutors said on Thursday they had charged Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, with conspiracy in trying to access a classified US government computer with former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.

Assange, arrested by British police in London and carried out of the Ecuadorean embassy there, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the American charges, the US Justice Department said in a statement.

His London arrest paved the way for his possible extradition to the United States.

The Justice Department said Assange, 47, was arrested pursuant to the US/UK Extradition Treaty, and accused him of involvement in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States.

The indictment said that Assange in March 2010 engaged in a conspiracy to assist Manning in cracking a password stored on US Department of Defense computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a US government network used for classified documents and communications.

He was charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

1. The EVM Smashing

The day began with Jana Sena party candidate Madhusudan Gupta smashing an EVM in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntakal, alleging that party symbols were not properly printed on the ballot unit. He was arrested.

2. Allegations Of Fake Votes 

BJP MP Sanjeev Balyan decided there was “fake voting” going in Muzaffarnagar because officials were not checking faces of women wearing burqas while voting. The EC had to fact-check him on that.

3. The ‘Coincidental’ Food Packets 

‘Namo Foods’ packets showed up for personnel working at a polling booth in Noida’s Sector 15A, which had absolutely nothing to with any political party and was completely “a matter of coincidence”, the Noida SSP said.

4. Congress-Hating EVMs 

Congress voters in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch they were not able to vote for the party. Omar Abdullah tweeted about it, but the district’s EC official claimed the glitchy EVMs had been quickly replaced.

 5. Disappearing Ink

Several voters tweeted that indelible ink, meant to stay on your finger for weeks as proof of having voted, was washing off quickly.

6. Andhra Candidate Who Locked Himself Up

Andhra really couldn’t catch a break. TDP candidate Kodela Sivaprasad Rao reportedly locked himself up in a polling booth and had to be dragged out by the police. We don’t know why yet. Will we ever? 

I now you didn’t ask for more, but BONUS!

7. Amit Shah’s Speech

While people voted or attempted to in the world’s largest democratic exercise, BJP chief Amit Shah held a rally in West Bengal’s Darjeeling where he said, “We will ensure implementation of NRC in the entire country. We will remove every single infiltrator from the country, except Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs.” 

What a day! Only six more to go before we get to the counting.

Huddle up, folks.

RAIGANJ — Referring to illegal migrants from Bangladesh as “termites”, BJP president Amit Shah Thursday said his party will throw them out after coming to power at the Centre for a second consecutive term.

Addressing a rally, he alleged that the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal was only interested in appeasing minorities.

The BJP chief claimed that TMC stood for Tushtikaran, (appeasement), Mafia and Chit Funds.

“The illegal immigrants are like termites. They are eating the grain that should go to the poor, they are taking our jobs. The T of TMC stands for Tushtikaran, (appeasement), M for Mafia and C for Chitfunds,” Shah said.

After coming to power, the BJP would find these termites and throw them out, he asserted, adding that citizenship would, however, be granted to every Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh.

Maintaining that the countdown to “corrupt” TMC government’s downfall will begin on May 23, when the BJP bags 23 Lok Sabha seats from Bengal, Shah appealed to the voters to give the saffron party an opportunity to serve them.

NEW DELHI — The Election Commission Thursday said since NaMo TV is sponsored by the BJP all recorded programmes displayed on the platform should be pre-certified by media certification and monitoring committee of Delhi and all political publicity contents being displayed without pre-certification be removed immediately.

The poll panel said any political content has to be permitted by the local media certification committee “strictly in accordance with the EC’s instructions in this regard”.

After the Congress filed a complaint with the poll panel about the channel disturbing the level playing field, the EC had asked the CEO Delhi to file a report on the issue. 

In Kerala’s Kozhikode Lok Sabha constituency, BJP candidate KP Prakash Babu’s campaign stood out for one simple reason: he was nowhere to be found. Instead, his party members and other well-wishers would set out to exhort people to vote for the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP’s youth wing.

This was because Babu was in jail after a Pathanamthitta judicial magistrate court remanded him to 14 days of custody for allegedly attacking a woman devotee at the Sabarimala temple in November last year.

Babu, said the prosecution, was among the men who defied a Supreme Court order by abusing, intimidating and turning back women who had come to enter the temple. The charges against him include attempt to murder, rioting and destruction of public property. He filed his nomination from the Kottarakkara sub jail after getting special permission from the court. The Kerala high court granted him conditional bail on Thursday.

The case against Babu didn’t prevent the BJP from giving Babu a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha election.

And he’s not alone. The party’s Pathanamthitta candidate, K Surendran, has 242 criminal cases against him, all of them related to preventing the entry of women into Sabarimala.

The Supreme Court’s September order allowing women of all ages to enter the hill shrine had led to a period of unrest in Kerala, especially during the auspicious Mandalakaalam over November and December, as mobs of angry men physically prevented women from entering the temple. The BJP used this opportunity to expand its flock in a state where it had been unable to make much headway till now. While the RSS has a large base in Kerala, this has not translated into electoral gains for the BJP—it has not won a single Lok Sabha seat from the state till now, and its lone Assembly seat win was only in 2016.

This time, thanks to the furore over Sabarimala, it hopes that things will be different. While the party was hoping to wrest votes away from the Congress, party president Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from Wayanad may have made this difficult. Both the Congress-led United Democratic Front and CPM-led Left Democratic Front have tried not to let the issue dominate the campaign so that the BJP doesn’t get a chance at polarisation.   

As best as it can, the BJP tries to communicate to voters that the Left government “bruised Hindu sentiment” by allowing women to enter Sabarimala in January.  

“No government that disrespects the faith will survive,” proclaim Babu’s campaign posters in Kozhikode.

It’s a difficult task though, as Kerala’s Chief Election Officer Teeka Ram Meena has made it clear that the Sabarimala issue cannot be used to appeal for votes.

“Sabarimala is a religious place. If somebody is using the name of a temple or a mosque for soliciting votes, it is a clear violation of the model code of conduct,” he said.

Actor and Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Gopi, the BJP’s Thrissur candidate, has already got a notice from the district collector and returning officer TV Anupama for asking people to vote for him “to safeguard Lord Ayyappa’s interests”.

He remains defiant, terming it unfortunate that a bhaktan (devotee) can’t even use the word ‘Sabarimala’ in public now.

“Ayyappa is my emotion. The brutal government will get a befitting reply in this election for inviting Ayyappa’s wrath. The Ayyappa devotees across India will turn it into a wave,” Gopi said at subsequent campaign meetings.

Meanwhile, a social media  spear campaign has been unleashed against the collector.  

So, does the BJP have a chance anywhere?

The rightwing party is pulling out all stops in two constituencies out of 20 in Kerala—one is Pathanamthitta, where Sabarimala is located. Surendran, who spent about 20 days in jail at the height of the protests, has been portraying himself as a kind of “living martyr” of the movement to protect the Hindu faith. The politician, who is from North Kerala, has been fielded from Pathanamthitta to cash in on the alleged Hindu anger towards the LDF government.  

Hindus constitute 56.93% of the constituency, while Christians account for 38.12%. Muslims constitute the remaining 5%, according to the 2011 Census data.

Speaking to HuffPost India, Surendran said the BJP’s inclusion of Sabarimala in its election manifesto is a sign of its commitment to the issue.

“Our national manifesto promises attempts to enlighten the apex court on prevailing faith and tradition at Sabarimala. We are also committed to promote Sabarimala as a world-famous pilgrim centre,” he said.

The Pathanamthitta constituency, spread over five Assembly segments in Pathanamthitta district and two in Kottayam, has been sending Congress leader Anto Antony to the Lok Sabha since its formation in 2009. However, Antony’s victory margin fell to 56,000 votes in 2004 from 1.16 lakh after the LDF fielded a Congress rebel against him.

While Antony is aiming for a hat-trick victory, the CPM’s sitting Aranmula MLA and former TV journalist, Veena George says there has been no communal realignment post Sabarimala.

“Huge crowds are attending my election campaign meetings in which we speak of plurality and coexistence. Our Sabarimala policy never hurt any believer,’’ she said.

The other high-profile constituency in Kerala where BJP is pinning its hopes is Thiruvananthapuram, where diplomat-turned-politician Shashi Tharoor is taking on former Mizoram governor Kummanam Rajasekharan.

The BJP had tried its best to convince superstar Mohanlal to contest from its platform, but failed. Tharoor is popular among voters, but had faced a tough fight from senior BJP leader O Rajagopal in 2014.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the decisive votes are that of Nadar and Nair communities. While Nair votes may get divided between Tharoor and Rajasekharan, Congress is anticipating an almost complete backing from the Nadar community, especially the sizeable Christian converts among them. Nadars living in Parassala, Neyyattinkara and Kovalam assembly constituency areas and their political preference would decide the winner this time, according to political analyst J Prabhash. In the Left’s case, leaders are accepting there is an erosion of their mass base among Nairs and Nadars in the recent years.

A Mathrubhumi-Nielsen poll published earlier this week has also given the BJP an edge in Thiruvananthapuram, saying that Rajasekharan is likely to get 40% of votes. The Manorama poll says the constituency will witness a tight contest with a slight advantage to BJP, though it was conducted before Rajasekharan was declared the candidate.

In the meantime, what could upset BJP’s hopes is the the Nair Service Society, the organisation representing the powerful Nair community. While it had been at the forefront of the Sabarimala protests, it issued a circular last week, emphasising that that it will continue to maintain a distance from the UDF, LDF and NDA.

The Pandalam royal family, associated with the Sabarimala temple and active in the agitation, has also said that it will not campaign for the BJP in the polls.

Now, the state BJP unit is trying to ensure that either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or BJP president Amit Shah visits Sabarimala before the elections to polarise voters further, even if the leaders will not be able to make any political appeal from the temple.

Dalit writer Sunny Kapikkad, however, says the Sangh Parivar will not make any electoral gains in either constituency.

“Only a minuscule section of Kerala society has objected women’s entry to the hill shrine. After all, the Lok Sabha election is for discussing matters of national importance,’’ he said.