The ruling BJP, including Union ministers, asserted that the Uttar Pradesh government is taking steps to ensure justice for the girl and her family and urged the Opposition on Tuesday not to politicise the matter.

Their comments came amid vociferous protests and sloganeering by Opposition parties, including the Congress, in the Lok Sabha over Sunday’s car accident involving the Unnao rape survivor. BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, an accused in the rape case, has also been charged with murder in connection with the accident.

What the govt said

— Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi urged protesting members not to politicise the matter and said the UP government was doing everything to ensure justice.

— Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti claimed the truck belonged to a worker of the Samajwadi Party.

— BJP leader Jagdambika Pal claimed the truck that hit the car ― in which the girl, her family members and lawyers were travelling ― belonged to a Samajwadi Party leader. He also alleged that the Congress was trying to tarnish the image of the BJP.

— Speaker Om Birla gave an opportunity for members to speak on the matter but told them that issues related to states should not be raised in the House as Opposition continued with their protests.

— BJP member Meenakshi Lekhi, who was in the Speaker’s Chair, asked the Opposition to be constructive and said that the CBI is already probing the case.

She told Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury that they were indulging in politics over the issue.

“Whatever is the truth, it will come out,” she said and urged protesting members to go back to their seats.

— Amid the protests, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Danve Raosaheb Dadarao spoke about the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019, from the fourth row.

— Before him, his senior Ram Vilas Paswan had begun talking about the bill from the first row but was not audible amid the ruckus.

Later, Joshi and Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy were seen talking to Paswan. Soon after, Dadarao walked to the fourth row and then began speaking about the bill.

Opposition protest

The protests, that began soon after the House convened for the day, was led by Congress members and joined by members from the Trinamool Congress, DMK and BSP, among others. 

— More than 30 members, mostly from the Congress were in the Well, for nearly 40 minutes and were heard shouting ‘we want justice’. Members of the parties also walked out of the House in protest. 

— Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said it was shameful and demanded that adequate security should be provided to the victim’s family. He made it clear that there was no intention to politicise the case.

— In Lucknow, Congress workers staged dharna, led by the leader of the Legislature Party Ajay Kumar Lallu, demanding Senghar’s expulsion from BJP.

“Government has become criminal-friendly. It should act impartially but it appears to be standing alongside the one who is committing one crime after the other. The government’s role is not impartial. We are demanding justice for the victims and they accuse us of doing politics,” senior party leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh said.

— BSP president Mayawati tweeted, “The meeting of BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj with the rape-accused BJP MLA in jail proved that the raped accused are continuously getting the patronage of the ruling BJP...The Supreme Court needs to take cognizance of it.” 

— Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who met the family members of the rape survivor at the hospital, held the government fully responsible for the accident. “Can the state government not ensure justice to this beti (daughter). What is the fault of the family members? If something happens to the two injured who will be responsible for it,” Yadav asked.

The car crash

On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh police filed a murder case against Sengar and nine others following a complaint by the Unnao rape survivor’s family, alleging “conspiracy” behind the Sunday’s car crash in which the victim was severely injured and two of her family members were killed.

Earlier on Tuesday, members of the rape survivor’s family sat on a dharna outside the KGMU Trauma Centre in Lucknow — where the survivor is under treatment — to demand parole for her uncle Mahesh Singh. Her uncle is lodged in the Rae Bareli jail and had asked for parole to perform the last rites of his wife and sister-in-law who had died in Sunday’s road accident.

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Binoy Kodiyeri, son of Kerala CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, on Tuesday, submitted his DNA sample for a paternity test in a rape case. 

Binoy, an accused in a rape case, was directed by the Bombay High Court on Monday to give his DNA sample to Mumbai police for a paternity test of the victim’s child.

He is accused of sexually abusing a 33-year-old woman under the false pretext of marriage.

The Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) leading to more than 150 deaths of poor children, within a span of a few weeks in the State of Bihar, should be fading as a bad memory by now.

In June, one watched images of overcrowded hospitals, parents’ helplessness and despair writ large in media coverage. 

What apparently has been missing is any sense of urgency and deep concern on the part of public administration and political executives. A group of experts, including members of AIIMS, New Delhi, after a visit to the affected area reported that most ‘children are killed by administrative failure and state’s apathy towards people.’

Most critical analyses have found serious faults with the State’s health system, which could normally have saved these innocent lives. It may be an appropriate opportunity to explore if the healthcare inadequacies could have been offset, even compensated by a wholesome, rapid administrative action. 

An affirmative answer to this hypothesis would seem to hold a major promise of handling such life threatening emergencies differently and more effectively in the future. 

As an aware citizen, experienced public administrator, I feel that instant situation like AES need not slip out of hands.

In comparatively localised situations of health emergencies, and other disasters (like instances of fire, building collapse, heavy rains, land erosion, mass uprooting of trees on motorways/residential areas, et al), my experience with municipal and urban administration suggests that a rapid and heavy-dose corrective action at the initial stage helps to curb and control the situation fast. 

I also ensured engaging a wide range of stakeholders in the administrative response to such a situation. This approach helps much needed confidence building amongst the affected people that public administration is by their side in that hour.

The situation in Bihar came more like a flash flood. This clubbed with the weak medical infrastructure, ignored preventive measures and other healthcare programs, worsened the AES outbreak scenario. 

Most critical analysis by Indian and foreign media, as well as expert investigations including by the AIIMS group found that most of such programs were grossly  ignored, and that there were serious shortages / non availability of essential equipment, medicines and manpower.

Some positive factors 

In this context certain positive factors also existed, though notionally. For example, the research finds AES treatable. Second, the Bihar government had already put in place robust and comprehensive healthcare programs. 

There are bright examples where states in India have taken the primary healthcare seriously and followed on the laid down preventive and health promotion programs comprehensively. 

Most of the state programs help addressing cases of undernourishment, which is seen at the root cause of the AES, and the like. These programs essentially comprise preventive measures, including specific public awareness advisories. In addition there are supporting nutrition programs, largely delivered to the children by the local agencies, including field workers. Their meticulous follow up could have effectively checked chances of any serious breakout in affected districts of Bihar.

Some programs are partly funded, and initiated by the central govt. Central agencies like Niti Ayog, and international bodies like WHO play a proactive role by handing out public policy instructions and guidelines in the matter. 

It is an opportunity for states like Bihar to learn from the past and make a fervent and committed foray in hitherto ignored child health policy programs. 

What could help then?

India is a long known place for ‘jugaad’, a term used for locally customised and tried successful solutions. This thinking has come to be called ‘innovation’ in the international market. 

In arguably one of the worst handled situations as in Bihar, we need to infuse fresh blood and think of fresh approaches, on utmost priority. 

A draft framework in the given context is suggested in the following part of this analysis.

First, and as a model for future, first step should be to declare a public health emergency within that region, and with immediate effect. This would more specifically mean: the state healthcare and other agencies concerned, including the district administration and disaster management authorities will pool in their wisdom and resources.

A Group comprising representatives from such organisations may be constituted, to be headed by a dedicated administrative officer of the requisite expertise and experience. 

This Group will come into operation not later than 24 hours, and will take full control and responsibility toward reaching prompt lifesaving medical services, including essential nutrition supplements.

The Group will be largely an autonomous body with defined administrative and financial powers. 

It will take necessary decisions, and coordinate mounting of all requisite efforts, including putting in place research work, and additional infrastructural support from within the state, and outside.

The Group’s mandate will be all inclusive, and will start with ensuring dissemination of information (by all means of media, and field health workers) on the disease, general awareness on government nutrition and hygiene programs available, precautionary measures, obtaining and sharing of diagnosis-treatment protocol, taking feedback on the treated patients, and not the last, disbursal of amount of compensation to the unfortunate victim’s entitled kith and kin, speedily.

A blueprint of the suggested administrative mechanism can be kept ready by each state, with various functionaries nominated and notified. This can be done in districts with bad public health record. 

The Group will conduct periodical mock drills in a professional manner, particularly in more vulnerable areas. 

This blueprint will be actually realised as and when a need arises. 

The Group’s resources can be unscaled suiting situational demands. It should be particularly expected of the Group to organise frequent field visits to see all arrangements work flawless, and take swift action on any bottlenecks.

Yet another significant and futuristic policy measure would be to reorganise working of the existing government hospitals, particularly at the primary and middle level. 

Private public partnerships 

As health centres across most states have adequate built up space and other infrastructure available, a part of the same can be leased out by the state to private  hospital chains. 

In normal times these privately run units will provide regular, on payment, healthcare to those who can afford.

Indeed, such private medical centres with their enhanced medical capacities in place, can be recognized and co-opted under the Ayushman Bharat Yojna (ABY). More particularly, in emergency situations, like the one under discussion here, these units can be commandeered to majorly attend to the newly arising emergency.

There are various models of  Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangements. 

I tried some of these, including leasing out to private agency part of the existing hospital building space, successfully. I had also worked out an arrangement with the then most reputed Escorts Heart Institute to set up and run their unit at an existing  hospital in Delhi Cantonment, on certain terms. 

PPP variants are being practised in large areas of public administration, as these bring in low cost effective solutions, and generate healthy  competition, and more service oriented attitude.

Not merely a medical battle

Long term plans to create and expand healthcare mechanism are much more time consuming and resource demanding. The proposed reorganisation of health centres beside substantially adding to the existing health services at literally no cost to the government kitty, will also help generate a healthier work culture.

Finally, it is of utmost importance that functioning of such reorganised health centres need to be more closely and professionally monitored, as also through local community and Panchayati Raj institutions. 

Indeed, the local community in a dire and largely helpless situation like these, should be actively engaged in assisting the timely undertaking of various health programs including mass awareness measures. 

Moreover, this would help, what is most needed, the advance, meticulous preparedness for effectively fighting any future threat.

Incidentally it would help create useful employment, and real time skill development opportunities in the society.

It may also be useful to urgently fill up perennially existing vacancies and thereby strengthen the existing health centres. This can be accomplished in most healthcare institutions, particularly in remote rural areas, through an easier and viable route - that is, through contractual appointment of doctors and para medical staff by engaging from amongst the retired personnel (both civil and military). 

Further, the existing large pool of those qualified and running their private clinics can also be tapped by engaging them on a part time basis.

These ideas and models are highly practical and tried by the author in Ambala, Bareilly, Agra, and Delhi.

India and its governance system cannot let people die, and must adopt fresh approaches and put the health system in any-time-ready mode. 

Crisis like the AES is not merely a medical battle; it is to be seen as an administrative mission which involves the challenge of dealing with serious community, indeed national, stakes.

I first encountered the word “mental” as a slur to describe my great-grandmother. A former midwife, her last months of being alive were explicitly painful. She was removed from her ancestral home and brought to live at my grandfather’s house as she grappled with the deterioration of her dementia.

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Visitors would collect in the veranda and offer my grandfather, her second son, their condolences as they tut-tutted about this shrinking “mental” woman as she alternated between bouts of screaming rage at every moving shadow, and a childlike pattern of repetitive inquiry about names and identities whenever we approached her.

I have little to recollect by way of memory alone; I was too little and too infrequent a presence at that house. I remember her green velour lihaaf and a small peacock shaped bottle of attar.

What I do have are sporadic entries from my mother’s diaries and journals. On those pages, is a portraiture of a formidable woman who was active during the Indian freedom struggle, survived an abusive marriage and ostracism from patriarchal messiahs of her time as she refused to participate in female feticide. That woman seemed impossible to trace in the dim outline holding the blood and bones of this wrinkled husk shaking on the cot. In her illness, my great-grandmother was no longer seen or heard for who she was but became a cracked mosaic of only what she was or wasn’t doing.

I don’t remember her death. What I do remember is that she would often speak of seeing a black cat hovering in the corridors. No such cat was spotted by anyone else in the house apart from her.

In Judgmentall Hai Kya, Kangana Ranaut’s character Bobby often spots a cockroach as an ominous prelude to her breakdowns. It is a trigger from childhood trauma that eventually mutates into a fateful aberration that follows her around as she fluctuates between the tangible world outside and the discarnate one on the inside. The movie begins with a promise to center mental illness in the plot line of a slapdash thriller, but the mental states of the lead characters often come off as merely ornamental, or worse, incidental to, a plot that is ironically in a state of perpetual disarray.

As a practicing psychologist, I am always a little cagey about films or popular media that aims to sentimentalise or fetishise mental health and illness as a plot device. I have sat through enough therapy sessions with my clients where ill-chosen metonymy from movies or TV shows has signaled some truly problematic beliefs about serious conditions.

The original name for this movie itself was Mental Hai Kya, which caught flak both from mental health and medical communities and those who live with mental health challenges. This was mostly for its abject rehashing of a precarious trope, by frequently describing Kangana’s character as “psycho” compared to other so-called “normal” people, and for displaying electroconvulsive therapy as a rather regressive contrivance to heighten the drama.

In the movie, Kangana’s character Bobby experiences an unspecified condition which seems to bring about acute psychoses, depersonalisation, and dissociative states. On some level, this is not far from present day psychiatric game of darts where often patients are unclear about what they are dealing with, but are immediately pumped with enough meds to keep them tethered to some realm of reality. It is a grey fact. Bobby’s loneliness and inability to trust is a gut-punch. 

As a survivor and a mental health practitioner, I actually found the pre-release teasers to be a tad offensive in that they seemed to be plugging this oft-repeated allegory of mental illness as some sort of an acquired “quirk”. 

A client of mine who in fact does have borderline personality disorder, or BPD, was the first to discuss this film with me while mentioning that one of her co-workers made a shoddy joke about whether she’s likely to electrocute people as shown in one of the posters. 

Visual imagery can be persuasive and this not-so-subliminal projection of two supposedly mentally unwell people indulging in destructive acts was unsettling. The other character, that of Rajkummar Rao, is tinged with sociopathy assembled from the reruns of Criminal Minds. 

The line between creative interpretation and faithful representation blurs rather quickly when it comes to this specific subject. Mental health in India continues to be taboo and widely misunderstood. 

We still equate psychosis with psychopathy without realising how detrimental that false equivalence is for people. We are still chaining folks to mattress-bereft steel beds and banyan trees. We are still woefully unequipped in terms of funding for relevant structural help. I still have to plead with family members and even clients and patients to seek help on a regular basis without feeling ashamed about what they are experiencing. 

In a country where films play an outsized role in influencing public conversation, I am always a little worried about how the on-screen treatment of a subject as delicate and yet piercing as mental illness will impact common conversations. This is truer for women who experience mental illness. 

This is why one of the rarer moments of illumination in the movie is the two leads sitting in the police station and Rajkummar’s character openly declares he will kill Bobby if her allegations continue. She is petrified  but the cops barely bat an eyelid and ask, “But he hasn’t done it yet no?” 

I understand that the filmmakers didn’t actively want to label what Kangana’s character goes through, but I found this to be the choppier part of the story. Diagnostic criteria aside, they have unloaded a host of symptomatology and signs onto this single individual. Is she experiencing paranoid schizophrenia, bouts of bipolar ideation or a dissociative identity disorder? 

As a shrink, it makes me question the research that went into understanding what these signs entail. I dislike harping on accuracy of depiction because clearly this is a film not an academic paper but some of the commingling seems like a really amateurish cocktail. This matters simply because mental illness is a scale or a spectrum and one can’t eschew the significance of choosing specificity when it is such an integral part of the storyline. We constantly speak of mental illness in binaries and that is not useful.

The movie overreaches and underwhelms because it can’t seem to make up its mind whether it desires to be a thriller embowered in the arc of a story about mental illness, or an investigation of how mental illness affects an individual occurring parallel to an untidy mystery. Both leads make concerted efforts to surmount and even manage to shine through a gradient roster of improbabilities but the story doesn’t always rise up to meet their efforts. 

Ranaut is known for her penchant for portraying people who eschew moral or ethical classifications. Her journey in the film is a briar patch between what is schismatic and what is cathartic. Her affect for a woman splintering as the voices in her head get more pervasive and impossible to ignore, is actually more realistic and veritable when she makes an off-color joke at the dinner table or when she is struggling to navigate physical and existential roads in a fog of dissociation, than when she summons the hyperbolic replication of psychosis in her go-to mode of short-haired-wide-eyed-marionette styled explosions.

There are scenes from the movie that I recognize instantly from my own experiences with clients and patients — a pill bottle flung into a trash can, Kangana’s character’s immersion and escapism in the cheap romance of b-grade films till she can’t differentiate fact from fiction, her eviscerating a mattress in the throes of deep psychosis, or even the moments of hesitant abrasiveness that have an implicit honesty. 

A moment that made me sit up in my seat was when she is desperately trying to convince a cop that she is being followed by other people. Only she can see them because they are the personification of the voices in her head. They are very real to her and in that instant, you recognize that for people who deal with a dissociative personality or are on the schizophreniform spectrum, there is no “lying” or “making up” of things. They are fully present in a version of reality that is only alive and graspable to them. The alone-ness of that separation can puncture a heart. As a viewer, we are both a witness and a voyeur for the decline in her mental wellness and this is the truest ache of people who striving to survive mental illness; the lack of empathetic witnesses.   

In RD Laing’s controversial but seminal work The Divided Self, a case study explores the ideas of Embodied and Unembodied selves. Kangana’s Bobby is unembodied and unwitnessed by the world except when she is breaking apart. She inserts herself in dubious circumstance, sometimes with the aid of photoshopped imagination, because she has been forced to disappear behind her “madness”. This is a social fault-line not merely an individual one. As much as there are psychological and neurological markers, so much of mental and emotional health is dependent on socio-cultural factors also. This is the focal point of suffering—the world’s invisibility of a bodied self that is more than illness or breakdown. As poet Anne Carson wrote – “Why are you full of rage? Because you are so full of grief.” It is this grief of never having access to a compass for your several directions that are tugging at you with shattering force. 

Focusing on the experience of schizophrenia, Laing noted – “To be understood correctly is to be engulfed, to be enclosed, swallowed up, drowned, eaten up, smothered, stifled in or by another person’s supposed all-embraced comprehension.” It is the knot at the cusp of the resistance and subtle gentleness of the bond she forms with Jimmy Shiergill’s character — a receptive and all-embracing theater director who does not attempt to prod or change or even understand her from his vantage. He believes her and let’s her be. This message needs to be played out loud for anyone who has someone in their life fighting a mental illness. 

The movie could have paused and dived deeper into these moments to show how unconditional acceptance is a form of nurture and empowerment. She refuses to fall towards him so he falls towards her, risking the possibility of hitting the ground. When she finally catches him in his fall is when she is open and without fear; embodied. 

This is more empowering than the mythological exaggerations attributed to her. This exploration would have been a more tender summation than the hastily cobbled ending which despite its best intentions doesn’t quite invoke tenable engagement. What I felt when I stepped out of the theater was ambivalence about what I’d seen. What I heard from others around me as we walked through the exit were more references about the spots of humor or violence in the film than Bobby’s pain. 

At the end, I am reminded of Laing’s direct and unflinching report – “He is objecting to being measured and tested. He wants to be heard.”

Perhaps if Bobby was heard more and tested less in the film, we’d have a more resonant outcome and even a more interesting mystery.  

Scherezade Siobhan is a psychologist and therapist.

D3 Publisher’s Earth Defense Force franchise is a very interesting one for how it has evolved over console generations. The third-person shooter franchise has slowly become a cult classic that consistently gets ignored by the mainstream.

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The PC port isn’t perfect though. When it comes to graphics options and display options, don’t expect anything above the bare minimum. You can play windowed or fullscreen and select the resolution. While playing in fullscreen, the game sometimes ran flawlessly but replaying the same mission, later on, had very erratic performance.

This wasn’t an issue while playing windowed at all. For graphics, you can set anisotropic filtering, shadows, and anti-aliasing. One area the PS4 and PS4 Pro versions suffered was with aliasing.

Thankfully, the PC version allows for much better image quality even with the barebones options menu. I had no trouble running at basically the same performance as the PS4 Pro version (which isn’t perfect) with the AA turned on and decent anisotropic filtering on a laptop that has an Intel i7-4750HQ at 2.00 GHz, 8GB RAM, and a GTX 950M with 4GB VRAM. I also had no screen tearing which was another problem with the PS4 version.

The visuals themselves aren’t amazing by any means. Instead of using whatever horsepower was available in the PS4 and PS4 Pro to push visuals like the spin-off Earth Defense Force game that followed this one, D3 Publisher and developer Sandlot opted to just go completely crazy with the number of enemies and amount of destruction possible in a single level.

In terms of controls, Earth Defense Force 5 is best played with a controller overall but the keyboard and mouse setup is very good. The only area this falters is when you need to use vehicles as a controller provides a much better experience. 

When D3 Publisher decided to self-publish and handle the localisation of Earth Defense Force 5, I was a bit concerned because Xseed Games did a fantastic job with the PS4 and PS Vita games in the past. Thankfully, the game sounds and feels exactly like an Earth Defense Force game complete with an English voice acting option.

When it comes to the online mode itself, it works very well. I had almost no trouble playing with a friend for a few hours. There was no lag and no performance penalty for me. The only problem is the invite system isn’t well thought out. I’d recommend just setting up a room and asking your friends to search for it rather than getting into the invite system that isn’t reliable.

“Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner and singer-songwriter husband Joe Jonas have gotten matching tattoos of their dog Waldo Picasso after their pet was fatally struck by a vehicle.

“R.I.P. my little angel,” Jonas captioned an Instagram photo of his inking of the couple’s Alaskan Klee Kai, reportedly hit last week in New York City:

Turner shared a photograph of her tattoo as an Instagram story.

She captioned it: “I miss you, Waldo. Rest In Peace my little baby.”

New York-based tattooist DRAGON shared a selfie with the couple, and images of the artwork he inked on the pair’s arms, to Instagram:

Waldo got spooked, escaped his leash and was hit by a vehicle while being walked by a dog walker on Wednesday, TMZ reported.

Turner and Jonas welcomed the pup, the brother of their other dog Porky Basquiat, into the family in April 2018.

The couple tied the knot in Las Vegas in May before holding a second ceremony in France last month.

Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the triple talaq bill by 99 votes in favour and 84 against it. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last week.

While BJD supported the legislation, JD(U) and AIADMK walked out.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had moved the triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha, saying it has been brought to ensure justice for Muslim women and should not be seen through a political prism.

Urging members to approve ‘The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019’, he said the practice of triple talaq is continuing despite the Supreme Court banning the same through its judgement.

Moving the bill, Prasad said the proposed legislation should be not seen through a political prism or vote bank politics, as it aims to ensure gender dignity and equality.

The Opposition, meanwhile, demanded that the proposed legislation be sent to select committee for further scrutiny.

The Rajya Sabha, however, rejected the opposition sponsored motion to send the bill to a Select Committee with 100 votes against it as compared to 84 in favour.

(With PTI inputs)

Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, will sail across the Atlantic Ocean aboard a zero-emissions racing boat to take part in two United Nations climate summits and several environmental protests later this year, she said on Monday.

Thunberg, who has become a leading figure in the youth movement for climate action, will travel aboard a 60-foot yacht called Malizia II. The boat is fitted with solar panels and underwater turbines that produce its own electricity. The journey will take about two weeks, and she’ll be joined by her father, a filmmaker and the boat’s crew.

“During the past year, millions of young people have raised their voice to make world leaders wake up to the climate and ecological emergency. Over the next months, the events in New York and Santiago de Chile will show if they have listened,” Thunberg said in a statement published by Reuters. “Together with many other young people across the Americas and the world, I will be there, even if the journey will be long and challenging. We will make our voices heard. It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it.”

Thunberg in August began skipping school on Fridays to protest worldwide inaction on climate change. Her move sparked an international effort called Fridays for Future that has seen tens of thousands of young people do the same, and she has since spoken to world leaders and policymakers at the World Economic Forum and another U.N. climate conference. She’s also met Pope Francis.

During her visit, Thunberg will take part in two U.N. climate summits, one in New York, and the other in Santiago, Chile, saying the events will be “where our future will be decided.” She’ll also visit Canada and countries in Latin America.

After she reaches the U.S., Thunberg plans to take low-carbon transportation, including trains and buses, to Chile for the U.N.’s annual climate summit.

Thunberg has faced fierce opposition from climate deniers, and it’s unclear how her message will play in the U.S. She told The Associated Press she usually “just ignores” such people and that she didn’t care about “hate and threats from climate crisis deniers.”

“I will just try to go on as I have before,” she said. “Just always refer to the science and we’ll just see what happens.”

Thunberg doesn’t fly, citing the high carbon emissions associated with air travel, and said earlier that she wanted to go to the U.N., but wasn’t sure how she’d get there. She told AP she spent months trying to figure out how to cross the ocean in an environmentally friendly way.

“It’s on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean,” she wrote on Facebook at the time. “And there are no trains going there. And since I don’t fly, because of the enormous climate impact of aviation, it’s going to be a challenge.”

Melissa McCarthy had a bad date story to tell on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Monday. Like really, really bad and oddly kinky. (Watch the video below.)

“I wish this was a bit, but it’s not,” “The Kitchen” actress said.

After discussing “The Bachelorette,” host Kimmel asked McCarthy about the worst date she’d been on. Turns out it was her final date before she met her future husband, Ben Falcone.

The two-time Oscar nominee explained that she met the man at a wrap party, had drinks with him, and “thought he was wonderful.”

But Mr. Wonderful turned Mr. Cheap at a bar during happy hour the next day. He obsessed on how he could make the $6 chicken sandwich he ordered for $1.75 at home. He then carried on about he could mix the drinks for way less at his house as well. An irritated McCarthy said she told him: “If you stop talking about it, I’ll pick up the check!”

And that was still the high point of the date, she said.

As he walked her back to her apartment, he mentioned he had a ring in his backpack that he got from a guy at work. “It’s not a ring for your finger or toes,” McCarthy clarified.

Fast forward to the 3:20 mark below to watch her full, funny recap of what happened.

Flóra Borsi, a freelance artist, based out of Hungary, has accused the makers of Judgementall Hai Kya of plagiarising her artwork and using it as a reference for the poster of their movie. 

On Monday evening, she took to her Facebook and Twitter pages to call out the makers of the Kangana Ranaut-starrer for stealing her idea.

You can check out Borsi’s entire body of work here.

Borsi tweeted on Tuesday that this wasn’t just restricted to her or to one poster. 

While the producers of Judgmentall Hai Kya are yet to respond to the accusations, HuffPost India found that Balaji had outsourced the publicity designs to an agency called, well, Brain On Rent.

HuffPost India reached out to Swapnil Rane, the creative director of the firm, but an associate answered the call and said, “Sir is busy right now.”

Subsequent calls to Rane went unanswered.

HuffPost India also wrote to Flora Borsi, who’s yet to respond.

However, whether it’s entire films or mere film posters, this isn’t the first instance of Bollywood being accused of stealing ideas and refurbishing them for their film.

Here are 9 other instances where Bollywood blatantly copied posters from movies around the world. 

‘Batman Begins’ (2005) and ‘Ra.One’ (2011)

‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ (2011) and ‘Lords of Dogtown’ (2005)

‘Anjaana Anjaani’ (2010) and ‘An Education’ (2009)

‘The Graduate’ (1967) and ‘Aitraaz’ (2004)

‘Antichrist’ (2009) and ‘Murder 2’ (2011)

‘Chaser’ (2008) and ‘Phoonk 2’ (2010)

‘License to Wed’ (2007) and ‘Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge’ (2010)

‘The Best of Me’ (2014) and ‘Dilwale’ (2015)

A poster of ‘PK’ and Quim Barreiros’s album cover

NEW DELHI—The announcement that India’s tiger population has increased 33% since 2014 has prompted understandable celebrations, but a review of official data also indicates a worryingly high number of “unnatural” tiger deaths.

“Unnatural deaths” tallied by HuffPost India include tiger deaths during accidents, conflicts with humans, killings by poachers for illegal trade, as well as seizure of body parts traded illegally. 

175 tigers died “unnatural” deaths in the five years up to 2018 according to data compiled from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) database, with the reasons for 87 more deaths still under investigation. 

Another 239 tigers died of natural causes like illness and old-age, the data show — adding up to a total of 501 tiger deaths since 2014. For comparison, it is worth noting that as per the latest tiger census, there was an increase of 761 tigers since the estimates declared in 2014.

High tiger mortality due to “unnatural” causes and the human-tiger conflict—which grabbed headlines most recently just two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the tiger census numbers—are the two serious challenges affecting the big cat’s long term survival that have been ignored in the current celebratory mood, wildlife expert Tito Joseph said. 

Huge Demand For Tiger Body parts

2016 was a particularly bad year for tigers. As per official data, 111 tigers died, making it the worst year for tigers in the seven years since 2012.  51 of these deaths were ‘unnatural’ while 60 were declared ‘natural’ deaths. 

“There is a high illegal demand for tiger’s body parts that is why they are killed in high numbers,” said Tito Joseph, Programme Coordinator for the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). “We can’t alone stop this because orders are not coming from India. Orders are coming from outside the country and huge money is involved.”

“Several organised gangs are working on it. It needs a thorough intelligence-led enforcement to stop this,” Joseph continued, adding that the problem is serious enough for India to cooperate with neighbouring countries to stop illegal trafficking of tiger body parts. 

When asked what countries India needs to cooperate with, he said, “We believe that demand is coming from China and other South-East Asian countries and Nepal and India are the victims of this. If demand is coming from those countries, we have to work with them to reduce demand in their own countries. Otherwise, there is no solution for it. Killings will continue.” 

Notably, Joseph also confirmed that WPSI’s tiger mortality database shows higher numbers of deaths of tigers caused by poaching as compared to the government’s numbers. For instance, while the government put the figure of tiger deaths due to poaching and seizures of body parts for 2018 at 21, WPSI put the figure at 34.  

According to the figures for 2019 as well, this pattern is visible. While the WPSI database puts the number of tiger deaths due to poaching and seizure of body parts at 31 till last week, a recent written response by the government to a parliament question about tiger deaths due to poaching and seizures put the figure for 2019 at 12 deaths till 19 June. 

Joseph said WPSI considers seizures the same as poaching deaths since both involve murder of tigers for illegal trade in the animal’s body parts. 

The difference only lies, in a majority of cases, in the fact that seizures mostly happen in cities where the body parts are traded and poaching may be caught in the protected area itself or in nearby areas.

He pointed out that, since there are five more months left in 2019, there is a high probability that there may be more deaths of tigers due to poaching this year as compared to the last which saw 34 deaths. 

The NTCA database differentiates between deaths due to poaching and other unnatural deaths as well as seizures.

To a query about the discrepancy in databases maintained by the WPSI and NTCA about tiger mortality, Joseph said, “Maybe the government is taking time to verify the records. If a tiger died in old age, we can understand that but if a tiger died in 3-4 years of age, it should be treated as suspected death. In case of seizure of body parts, it’s easy to say that it’s come from a poached animal.”

NTCA chief Dr Anup Kumar Nayak was unreachable for comment. His office staff said he was busy in meetings concerning the International Tiger Day. 

Human-Tiger Conflict

The human-tiger conflict is another major issue facing the big cat. When villagers in Pilibhit killed a tiger last week, its video was shared widely, serving as a reminder for what many believe is a problem that could only aggravate in the forthcoming years. 

Experts say well-known protected areas like the Jim Corbett National Park and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve have also witnessed high number of instances of human-animal conflict, predominantly between tigers and humans.

Joseph said, “there is a risk of human-tiger conflict increasing due to rise in tiger population”. He explained that “Protected areas need to be connected through corridors for animals to move from one area to another because protected areas are like islands. Right now all corridors are encroached upon so animals are stuck in between and that increases the chances of conflict.” 

The issue came to the attention of parliamentarians and some of them recently asked the government questions about the impact of the human-animal conflict on humans residing near protected areas like national parks and sanctuaries. 

According to a written response given by the environment ministry, 224 people died due to the tiger-human conflict from 2014 till 2018. A large number of these deaths were concentrated in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. 

Deepak Baij, Congress Member of Parliament from Chhattisgarh, who asked a question about attacks by wild animals in the Lok Sabha spoke with HuffPost India. 

“Tigers are India’s heritage so their protection is the government’s duty,” he said. “But tigers are not being looked after well enough in the protected areas, that is why they venture out in search of prey or water into residential areas and attack humans. This creates risk for the safety of both tigers and humans.” 

Environment Ministry schemes to minimise the human-animal conflict, Baij said, have largely failed. 

“Their schemes are not effective,” Baij said. “The government should plan effective schemes to address the problem.”  

Given the seriousness of the two issues described above, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion at the launch event for the Status of Tigers in India-2018 report that “with almost 3000 tigers, India is among the biggest and most secure habitats” seems at best a partial description of reality.

Cafe Coffee Day owner VG Siddhartha’s body has reportedly been found by the police on the banks of the Netravati river two days after he went missing.

A body has been found which appears to be of Cafe Coffee Day owner V G Siddhartha, Sasikanth Senthil, Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, told PTI on Wednesday.

Police, along with the Coast Guard and the NDRF, had launched a statewide search in Karnataka after his disappearance was reported.

He was last seen by his driver near a bridge on Netravati river in Dakshina Kannada district on Monday night.

Kottayam, KERALA—“Four plus six,” is how the watchman puts it when asked how many nuns are inside the St Francis Mission Home, the local congregation of the Missionaries of Jesus, housed on a five-acre campus a few miles away from Kuravilangad in Kottayam. 

The differentiation is deliberate—the six nuns, whom he considers rebels, were responsible for bringing a top clergyman before the Indian judicial system for the first time over allegations of sexual assault and rape. This group includes the 46-year-old nun who accused then Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal of forcibly entering her room in this building and raping her multiple times over two years, setting off a protest that divided India’s Catholic community and forced the powerful global institution to take note.

An AP investigation done at the time had found that sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops was commonplace, and carried out under a cloak of secrecy from all quarters.  

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Almost a year later, as the case against Mulakkal drags on, the six nuns say they feel isolated from the world and their community. The other nuns in the house give them the silent treatment and they are kept in the dark about the congregation’s activities.    

The uneasiness is obvious from the gate itself—the watchman warns this reporter not to use a camera or mobile phone, and only reluctantly allows entry—and once inside the building, which sits between an old age home and a working women’s hostel, the atmosphere is palpably uneasy.      

The rape survivor looked exhausted and, when asked about her work and future, motioned to Sister Anupama, who had stood solidly behind her as senior church members questioned her character and tried to expel her from the congregation.  

“We six people faced everything together and still remain united in the face of extreme adversities and uncertainties. In a way, we shared the sufferings. They are facing trouble only because of me. So they are more competent to talk,’’ she said.

Sister Anupama was surrounded by fellow nuns Alphy, Ancitta, Neena Rose and Josephine, who together shot to international limelight last year when they held a sit-in protest in Kochi, demanding Mulakkal’s arrest.

The influential bishop was arrested in September last year, and released on bail around three weeks later. It took seven months after that for the Kerala police to file a chargesheet against him. 

According to the officials who investigated the case, Mulakkal was charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including for rape, criminal intimidation, unnatural sex and wrongful confinement.

The trial hasn’t begun yet because, said Sister Anupama, the bishop’s lawyer was citing “one technical reason after another”.

 “The date for commencement of the trial has been changed for three consecutive times in the last one month because of (this),’’ she said. 

The nuns claim the charge sheet had been ready since last December, but that the police had delayed filing it due to extreme political pressure. Finally, the investigators filed it in the court only after the nuns complained to top police officials in the state. They also told the authorities that they were living in extreme fear.

“It was our huge struggle that resulted in the charge sheet of the bishop. We are still hopeful that we will get justice. But the delay in initiating trial has started affecting our morale. We are highly insecure and left with no motivation to go forward in life,” said Anupama, as tears welled up in her eyes.

Earlier this week, Sister Anupama alleged that there were efforts to tamper the cyber-forensic evidence in the case as well. 

Advocate Sujesh Menon of Kochi-based Raman Pillai Associates, who appears on behalf of the bishop, denied the allegation that his party was wilfully delaying trial in the case. “We sought copies of the statements of 43 witnesses cited by the prosecution. It is the right of the defendant to get copies of all of them. So we sought time till they get served to the bishop. In this case, there are a total of 83 witnesses. We also told the court that 31 of the documents were either not served or were not legible,” he said. Menon added that his party is not averse to an independent and impartial trial.

K Subhash, investigating officer in the case, said there was no wilful delay on the part of police. “As it was a highly sensitive case, we had to look into all aspects. An elaborate chargesheet with more than 1500 pages was filed and it needed a lot of time and efforts. We were never under pressure and filed the chargesheet purely based on facts and evidence,’’ he said.

‘Nothing to do’

The nuns say they have been under immense pressure over the last few months, with the church attempting to separate them from the complainant nun and even serving warning notices in an alleged attempt to dilute the case. The institution was forced to drop its earlier plan of transferring them to different locations outside Kerala, including Jharkhand, Punjab and Delhi, after the five nuns declared they would not leave the survivor alone in Kuravilangad. 

“The four other nuns in the house are acting at the behest of the rape-accused bishop and other vested interests. They stopped talking to us one year ago. They are treating us as enemies and even avoid accidental meetings with us in the same building. Nobody is informing us about anything related to the congregation, the church or the administrative actions. They are keeping us in the dark,’’ alleged Anupama.

Each of the six nuns, said sister Ancita, gets Rs 500 every month to meet their personal expenses. They also get free food from the canteen and free medical facilities from a church-affiliated hospital nearby. They are not entitled to any other privilege.  

Their duties at the working women’s hostel and old age home have been taken away. Even at the local church and the chapel attached to the house, the six nuns are not allowed to engage in any kind of gospel propagation or charity work. 

“We have nothing to do here. In a way, it’s the worst kind of punishment. We all are facing a bleak future with nothing to do. We have no duty and our path is unclear. Nobody is asking anything of us. We the six have turned into an island,’’ said Josephine. 

“The charge sheet was filed only because of the strong solidarity the people of Kerala extended to the agitating nuns. Now, the church is standing with the oppressor and punishing the nuns who stood for justice,” said Father Augustine Vattoli, a Kochi-based priest, one of the few to openly support the nuns’ fight.

Vicar general of Jalandhar diocese refused to comment when contacted.

The case

According to the charge sheet, which extends more than 100 pages, Mulakkal raped the nun on 14 occasions over a two-year period from 2014 to 2016. 

The accused was served a copy of the chargesheet on 10 May. There are a total of 83 witnesses in the case, and Mulakkal can be sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment of not less than 10 years if proven guilty.

The case has taken many twists and turns after the allegations were first made public. Father Kuriakose Kattuthara, a key witness and priest with the Jalandhar diocese who gave a statement to the police against Mulakkal, was found dead at a church in Hoshiarpur’s Dasuya in October. His family had alleged foul play in the death, and when the protesting nuns went to attend his funeral, they were heckled and forced to leave in tears. 

Interestingly, the current head of the Missionaries of Jesus is Superior General Regina Kadamthottu, a former head of the Kuravilangad convent. Though she had made a futile attempt earlier to transfer the agitating nuns, the latest transfer order prepared by her does not mention any of them. “Our names are not part of any of the records of the congregation now. Slowly, they are excommunicating us and that too in a clever way, without inviting public attention,’’ said Sister Anupama.

The case hasn’t left public memory in Kerala yet.

Last month, the church had demanded the withdrawal of an award announced by the Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi Award to an artist for a cartoon featuring Mulakkal. On intense pressure from the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, the state government made some noise about making amends, but the Akademi tried to stand its ground. With the state government yet to make its stand public, the impasse continues. The cartoon by KK Subhash depicted Mulakkal as a brightly coloured rooster holding a ceremonial bishop’s staff, from which a woman’s undergarment is dangling. The rooster is standing on a police cap held up by two politicians, even as a bunch of distressed nuns flee from the scene.

The Bishops’ Council then alleged that the cartoonist had insulted Christianity in the guise of condemning Mulakkal. 

When the bishop was arrested last year, it became a huge risk for the police to approach him because of the high political influence he had in Punjab. Private security guards at the bishop’s house assaulted journalists who had gathered to cover the arrest, and police officials who went to Jalandhar had to wait until the bishop found it convenient to meet them. When he got bail, he was given a hero’s welcome by the members of the Jalandhar diocese.

MUMBAI — Axis Bank said the Cafe Coffee Day group, whose founder chairman VG Siddhartha was found dead on Wednesday, had repaid some of the loans after he sold his over 20 percent stake in software firm Mindtree to Larsen & Toubro recently.

Top bank officials, however, declined to specify what is the exposure that third largest private sector lender has to the account.

“We had an exposure which has gone down after Siddhartha sold his stake (in Mindtree to L&T for over Rs 3,000 crore recently)” executive director Rajiv Anand told reporters during the earnings announcement on Tuesday.

He said the residual exposure is “standard” and has sufficient securities against it.

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NEW DELHI —The Income Tax Department on Tuesday denied charges of harassment during its probe against Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) promoter VG Siddhartha as it pointed out that his signature available with it was different from that on a letter being widely circulated on social media.

It said the businessman had admitted holding stash income after raids were conducted against him and his concerns.

In the unverified letter, Siddhartha, who was found dead on Wednesday two days after he went missing on his way to Mangaluru in Karnataka, said there was a lot of harassment from the previous DG of the Income Tax Department in the form of attaching “our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taking position of our Coffee Day shares, although revised returns have been filed by us (sic)”.

“This was very unfair and has led to a serious liquidity crunch,” the letter, bearing a purported signature of Siddhartha, said.

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Refuting the charges, the department said in a statement issued in Bengaluru that the provisional attachment of shares was made by the department to protect the “interests of revenue”, a norm in cases of large tax evasion, and the action was based on “credible evidence” gathered in the search action that was undertaken against the Bengaluru-based group in 2017.

“The department has acted as per provisions of the Income Tax Act,” it said.

The authenticity of the note circulating on social media cannot be vouched for as Siddhartha’s signature “does not tally” with what is available with the department in the form of annual reports of the company, it said.

The statement said Siddhartha fetched Rs 3,200 crore from the sale of Mindtree shares, but has paid only Rs 46 crore out of the total Rs 300 crore minimum alternate tax (MAT) payable on the deal.

“As against the balance MAT liability of Rs 250 crore and tax liability based on search findings to the tune of about Rs 400 crore, the attachment made by the department is less than 40 per cent of the likely tax liability,” it said.

The raids against the group were carried out as a result of a similar action against a prominent Karnataka politician and Siddhartha, in a sworn statement, “admitted” unaccounted income of Rs 362.11 crore and Rs 118.02 crore in his hands and that of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd respectively, it said.

A Singaporean citizen was searched in this case and he was found with unaccounted cash of Rs 1.2 crore and the person told tax officials that it belonged to Siddhartha, the department claimed.

It alleged that the CCD promoter filed his IT returns but “did not” mention the undisclosed income, as admitted in the sworn statement, in both the cases except an amount of around Rs 35 crore in his individual case.

“Even on this admitted sum, Coffee DAY Global Ltd has not paid the self-assessment tax of Rs 14.5 crore on the returned income. Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd did not offer the admitted income in its part,” it said.

It said the department got to know through media reports in January that Siddhartha was planning to sell the equity shares of Mindtree Ltd, held by him and his company, on an immediate basis.

Tax officials found that Siddhartha and Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd together held nearly 21 per cent of shareholding in Mindtree Ltd and that the deal for sale of shares was set to be finalised within that month.

As the tax revenue ramification, in this case, was worth crores and the assessee had not taken permission from the I-T authorities for selling these shares, they were attached as per the norm, it said.

Mindtree Ltd’s 74,90,000 shares were attached and such an action is a normal requirement to protect the interests of revenue in big cases of tax evasion, the department said.

It said Siddhartha then filed a request to release these shares and offered other shares of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd as security against the expected demand.

The department accepted this request and the attachment of Mindtree shares was revoked on February 13, it said.

However, a specific condition was put by the department that the sale proceeds will be utilised only for repayment of loans availed against the Mindtree Ltd shares by opening escrow account and the remaining balance will be provided for attachment to the department against the tax liability to arise.

“The alternate attachment of 46,01,869 unencumbered shares and 2,04,43,055 encumbered shares of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd was made on February 13-14,” the department said.

The CCD promoter, the son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader SM Krishna, was found dead on the banks of the Netravati river in Dakshina Kannada district on Wednesday.

In case you thought all that was standing in the way of a Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper romance was an Irina Shayk-sized obstacle, just stop reading now and always remember them singing “Shallow” at the Oscars, their faces just centimeters apart.

Gaga has thrown the internet off the deep end and straight into despair after photos surfaced online of her kissing a man who is unfortunately not her “A Star Is Born” director and co-star, but monitor engineer Dan Horton.

In exclusive photos obtained by People, the “Shallow” singer is seen cozying up to and kissing Horton, who’s currently working on her Las Vegas residency “Enigma,” at a restaurant in Studio City, California on Sunday.

Onlookers told the outlet that the pair were seen kissing “multiple times” and were in “deep conversation” during the brunch date, which reportedly lasted around an hour. 

In one photo, Gaga, who kept it casual in a black bodysuit and cutoff shorts with her name emblazoned on the back pocket, bends over to kiss Horton, while placing her hand on his chest. 

“They were kissing as they spoke really close up. Ironically, she had a table in the front near the sidewalk, so she was clearly okay with being seen,” an unnamed source told People, adding that “she seemed very happy when interacting with the guy she was with.” 

Horton apparently started working with Gaga in November 2018, a month before the debut of her concert residency, according to his LinkedIn profile, and has worked on tours for artists like Camila Cabello, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z.

The Nashville-based technician, who was previously married to theater actress Autumn Guzzardi, is also the owner of Audio Engineering Consulting Group.

And despite the unchecked internet thirst, Gaga and Cooper have seemingly kept it strictly platonic, as the Grammy winner was engaged to talent agent Christian Carino until the two broke up in February after two years of dating. 

In June, Cooper split from supermodel Shayk after four years together, fueling speculation that the he and Gaga might make their rumored romance official. 

But the singer has consistently denied reports that her relationship with Cooper is anything but professional, joking that the two of them “fooled” everybody with their onscreen chemistry. 

NEW DELHI — The Centre on Tuesday handed over to the CBI the probe into the truck-car collision that left the Unnao rape victim critically injured, even as the Opposition stepped up its attack on the ruling BJP.

An order from the Department of Personnel and Training, accessed by PTI, said the case is being handed over to the agency to probe “abetment and conspiracies” in the accident.

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Earlier in the day, the BJP faced flak from the Congress, the SP and the BSP as they accused it of giving political protection to MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was arrested last year for allegedly raping the woman when she was a minor in 2017.

In Parliament, there were walkouts and members walked into the Well of the House.

For God’s sake, Mr. Prime Minister, divest this criminal and his brother of the political power your party is giving them. It’s still not too late,” Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted.

Sengar, already in jail, and nine others were booked for murder on Monday, a day after a speeding truck hit the car in which the Unnao rape victim was travelling in Rae Bareli, killing two relatives and leaving her and a lawyer critically injured.

A letter written to the Chief Justice of India by the victim and two family members just days before the car crash, expressing a threat to their lives, has also surfaced.

The CJI has asked the Secretary General to go through the letter written in Hindi for preparing a note of it for his perusal,” a Supreme Court official told PTI.

Doctors at the KGMU Trauma Centre in Lucknow said the 19-year-old woman is still on ventilator. On Tuesday night, her condition was described as “stable”. The lawyer was also on ventilator.

A National Commission for Women (NCW) team visited the victim’s mother at the hospital.

Her family members sat on a dharna outside the hospital, demanding parole to her uncle Mahesh Singh from jail for the last rites of his wife. Later in a court also granted him short-term bail to attend the cremation on Wednesday.

Opposition hits out at Modi govt

Congress workers led by Leader of the Legislature Party Ajay Kumar Lallu too sat on dharna and then courted arrest, demanding the expulsion of the BJP lawmaker from the party.

Uttar Pradesh BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh, however, said the MLA was suspended from the party long back following the rape accusation, and his status remains the same.

The party, however, has not given the date when this suspension took place.

Priyanka Gandhi, who is in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh for her party, tweeted, Why do we give people like Kuldeep Sengar the strength and protection of political power and abandon their victims to battle for their lives alone?”

On Tuesday, the state government announced a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the car crash. It had earlier recommended an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

“The government has become criminal-friendly, senior party leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh charged, referring to the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government.

It should act impartially but it appears to be standing alongside the one who is committing one crime after the other. The government’s role is not impartial, he said.

In a tweet, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati said, “The meeting of BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj with the rape-accused BJP MLA in jail proved that the raped accused are continuously getting the patronage of the ruling BJP.

The Supreme Court needs to take cognisance of it,” she said.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who met the family members of the rape survivor at the hospital, held the Uttar Pradesh government responsible for the car crash.

It has shocked the women of the country. Her father was beaten by the police on the instructions of BJP leaders. The FIR was registered after she tried to immolate herself, he alleged, referring to the history of the rape case.

It is natural that people are questioning the government and the BJP MLA,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister added.

The Lok Sabha witnessed vociferous protests and sloganeering by Opposition members over the incident.

Members of the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the BSP and the DMK walked out of the House. The TMC members walked out twice.

More than 30 members, mostly from the Congress, were in the Well for nearly 40 minutes and were heard shouting, “We want justice”.

Urging the protesting members not to politicise the matter, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the Uttar Pradesh government was doing everything to ensure justice.

The rape survivor’s mother had alleged that Sengar, a four-time MLA who represents Bangermau in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, raped her teenage daughter at his residence in 2017.

Sengar was arrested on April 13 last year.

The Evolution Championship Series or Evo has its 2019 event this weekend from August 2 to August 4 in Las Vegas. As with every Evo, all digital storefronts will have sales on fighting games and the Xbox Evo 2019 sale has just begun. Before getting into the best deals, it is worth noting that one of the better fighting games that has a good discount isn’t available in India digitally.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is not available in India digitally on Xbox One. I’ve reached out to Bandai Namco Entertainment’s India distributor about this. SNK’s Samurai Shodown (2019) is also not available digitally in India and will not be mentioned in the list below. The Xbox 360 games mentioned below are all playable on Xbox One.

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Prince Harry has addressed the topic of racism in an exclusive British Vogue interview.  

The royal interviewed activist and chimpanzee expert Dr Jane Goodall for the latest edition of British Vogue after being commissioned by his wife Meghan Markle, who is guest-editing the fashion bible.

When the duke asked Goodall how her study of primates had impacted upon how she felt about people, the discussion turned to the issue of violence and racism.

Goodall, a childhood hero of the duke and his wife, said it was “obvious” mankind had “inherited aggressive tendencies” but human brains were able to control anger.

She added: ”[Children] don’t notice, ‘My skin’s white, mine’s black,’ until somebody tells them.”

The duke said the same applied to “unconscious bias”, where someone’s words or actions could be perceived as racist, but if confronted the person would deny it.

He added: “I’m not saying that you’re a racist, I’m just saying that your unconscious bias is proving that, because of the way that you’ve been brought up, the environment you’ve been brought up in, suggests that you have this point of view.”

Meghan, who is mixed race, has been the target of repeated racist abuse from online trolls and some British tabloids since the pair’s relationship came to light.

This prompted the prince to issue a rare statement via Kensington Palace in November 2016 about the harassment being experienced by the duchess and her relatives. 

Called for her privacy, the statement condemned the “wave of abuse and harassment” aimed at Markle, calling out “the racial undertones of comment pieces and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments”.

US recording artist Pharrell Williams told the royal couple at the Lion King premiere that their interracial relationship is “significant for many of us” in “today’s climate”, Harpers Baazer reported.

The duke and duchess reportedly nodded at Williams’ warm comments.

“Thank you so much. That’s so nice of you to say. [...] They don’t make it easy,” Markle replied.

On Monday, the duchess’ Vogue editorship was announced.

She has brought together 15 women for the cover, including actress Jane Fonda and climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg, for what is considered to be the publication’s most important edition of the year.

Markle does not grace the cover as she felt it would be a “boastful” thing for her to do, according to the magazine’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful.

The duchess, who has been working on the project for the past seven months, said she hopes readers feel as inspired by the magazine as she does, with its cover featuring a mix of campaigning actors, models, a dancer, an author and a prime minister.

An antique sex toy with Anglo-Irish origins has been bought from an international buyer and will “return to Ireland”, the woman who ran a public campaign to acquire it has said. 

The 19th century ivory dildo was sold in 2017 to a wealthy private collector from the United States for £2,900 (€3,200).

If confirmed as authentic, the sex toy is around 130 years old and was owned by a wealthy Anglo-Irish household. It received more than 100 bids from nearly 40 different countries when it was auctioned in April 2017, the Irish Times reported.

At the time, Matthews Fine Art Auction Rooms advertised the sale of this “antique carved ivory ladies’ companion in scarlet lined leather upholstered carry box with inset bevelled glass panel”.

Speaking to The Times just before the item was sold auctioneer Damien Matthews explained that the original owner was fighting a battle in China, the 1899 Boxer Rebellion, where he decided to have it made and sent back to Ireland for his wife. 

“It is beautifully romantic,” he said.

“You can talk about it as a smutty thing, but this was very much an object of love and desire. It goes beyond erotica, it screams love and devotion. It is very, very rare, I have never come across anything like it in 25 years of traipsing around the country. It is a rarity, and it is Irish.”

Scott posted regular updates about the progress of her crowdfund on Twitter between 4.28pm and by around 8pm, informed her followers that they had “won the dildo for Ireland!”. The businesswoman was accepting donations via her Paypal account. 

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Scott described her excitement. “I’ve already gotten a tonne of support and interest from local historians and museum staff who want to help me with this project,” she said.

“This has truly been a massive group effort from people all over Ireland to save an important piece of Irish sexual history and I can’t believe that I get to be part of it”.