Liam Hemsworth has spoken for the first time about his split from wife Miley Cyrus, less than a year after they tied the knot.

Over the weekend, it was reported that Liam and Miley had decided to go their separate ways, with a representative for the singer saying the pair had “agreed to separate at this time”.

The Australian actor has now spoken about the split for the first time, in a post on his Instagram page.

He wrote: “Hi all. Just a quick note to say that Miley and I have recently separated and I wish her nothing but health and happiness going forward.”

Liam also pointed out that he would not be making “any comments to any journalists or media outlets” about the “private matter”, insisting: “Any reported quotes attributed to me are false.”

Miley previously alluded to the break-up in a string of posts on her own social media page, in which she discussed the need to embrace “inevitable change”.

Alongside photos of herself in the mountains, the Nothing Breaks Like A Heart star mused: “Don’t fight evolution, because you will never win. Like the mountain I am standing on top of, which was once under water, connected with Africa, change is inevitable.

“The Dolomites were not created over night, it was over millions of years that this magnificent beauty was formed.” 

Calling back to one of her early hits, she added: “Life’s a climb... but the view is great.”

Liam and Miley were married in an intimate ceremony towards the end of last year.

The two first met in 2009, while working together on the film The Last Song, and confirmed that they were an item a year later.

They briefly broke up around the time Miley’s infamous Bangerz album was released, but she confirmed in 2016 that the pair had reunited, and were engaged once again, with many of the songs on follow-up album Younger Now appearing to reference the reconciliation.

Earlier this year, Miley returned to the music scene with her latest EP, titled She Is Coming, as well as a starring role in the latest series of Black Mirror.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that India’s decisions on Jammu and Kashmir were the country’s “internal” matter.

Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to China, was responding to Wang who said China was “very closely” following the India-Pakistan tensions over Kashmir and its “ramifications”.

The Chinese media, however, has warned New Delhi of repercussions regarding the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.  

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of China’s state-run Global Times, said, “We don’t know how India dares to flatly scrap Kashmir’s autonomy.”

“India needs a friendly neighbourhood, but it is too reckless and arrogant. This will make the country suffer losses,” he added. 

 Another op-ed published in Global Times also warned that the “unilateral move will incur risks for India”. New Delhi, it said, is “too reckless” on border issues. 

India keeps taking unilateral actions and breaking the status quo with impact on the regional situation, the op-ed said. “Its actions challenge surrounding countries’ interests, but it wants these countries to swallow the provocation and accept the new facts made by India.”

The US and the West, it went on to add, also connive with India, which thinks that it is a good time to act on border issues because “China is busy at the trade war and the Belt and Road Initiative”. 

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However, this is not a proper strategy, Global Times op-ed said. “India needs a friendly neighbourhood to rise. Even if India succeeds with its geopolitical trickery and unilateralism, it will amass new hatreds.”

What China said

Jaishankar told Wang Yi on Monday that the decisions on Jammu and Kashmir would have no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the LAC with China

Beijing’s has objected to the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory.

Wang brought up developments pertaining to legislation passed on Jammu and Kashmir,  and asked New Delhi to play a “constructive role” for regional peace and stability.

During his visit, Jaishankar also called on Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, considered a confidant of President Xi Jinping.

China had objected to the formation of Ladakh as a Union Territory a day after a bill to that effect was passed by the Indian Parliament, saying it undermined its territorial sovereignty. China’s comment evoked sharp reaction from New Delhi, which asked Beijing to refrain from commenting on its “internal affairs”.

(With PTI inputs)

NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to pass any immediate directions to the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government on a plea seeking lifting of all restrictions imposed after the abrogation of Article 370.

The apex court said that it will wait for the return of normalcy and take up the matter after two weeks.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra was hearing the petition filed by Congress activist Tehseen Poonawalla on the Centre’s decision to impose restrictions and “other regressive measures” in Jammu and Kashmir following the revocation of the provisions of Article 370.

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CHANDIGARH: A list of ‘illegal’ travel agents, released by the Ministry of External Affairs last month, has left the Punjab government in a bind.

The list, which was published without any prior consultation with state governments or travel agent associations, has not mentioned any reason for terming these agents illegal. Punjab, which has long struggled with the problem of unscrupulous agents taking advantage of desperate people who want to migrate overseas, is third on the list with 76 names.  

But many of these ‘illegal’ agents have actually received licences from the government in Punjab, which has put in place The Punjab Travel Professionals’ Regulation Act (PTPRA) 2014 to clamp down on illegal migration.

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Many of these travel agents, who find place in both Punjab’s list of licensed agents as well as the MEA’s roll of ‘illegal’ ones, run travel agencies, IELTS coaching institutes and consultancies in the state. 

Their names along with their company’s title, addresses and contact numbers are displayed  on the website of every district even at the time of publishing this story. 

The PTPRA makes it mandatory for all travel agents or those running ticketing or consultancy business to register with the government. Those who have been in the trade for over five years have to pay a licence fee of Rs 1 lakh and those who have not completed five years have to pay Rs. 25,000. There are also provisions of fine/imprisonment if these agents are found violating the law.

The arbitrary publication of the list, therefore, has raised questions over two things: a.) how the MEA concluded that the over 503 agents on the list were ‘illegal’ and b.) the provisions of the PTPRA Act under which they were granted licence to work in Punjab. 

The worst affected will be the people who have given their hard-earned money to the dubious agents on the list after checking their credentials from the website.

Since the list of agents was not accompanied by any directions for the state governments, there is now an uneasy state of limbo—will the Punjab government ask the ‘illegal’ agents to whom it gave licences to refund the money they had taken from customers or write to the MEA for more evidence?

Mohali is No.1

Mohali district has topped the Punjab list, with 31 illegal travel agents out of 76 in the state, while Chandigarh’s figure is 22. Punjab is third overall after Maharashtra (86) and Delhi (85).

Mohali Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan said efforts are on to identify the ‘illegal’ travel agents mentioned in the MEA list and who were granted licence by the state government. He, however, added that the district administration has not received any further details from the central or state government.

“We have not received any  information by the state or the centre government pertaining to the offences committed by them or any directions to take any action against them. We are verifying the facts and if not found something substantial may write to MEA to seek evidence to take action against them, “ said Dayalan. 

Some of the agents, including Rudraksh Group Overseas Solutions, Heera Consultation and Services and Unicorn Overseas Solutions, are mentioned in both the MEA’s list as well as that of the licensed travel agents of Mohali.

More so, even though over 58 cases had been registered earlier against The World Key immigration firm (also on the MEA’s list), the authorities took months to strike its name off the list of licensed agents. Cheating cases have also been registered against Seabird and Unicorn Overseas, which continue to be among the licensed agencies listed on the website.

More shockingly, in the absence of any directions from MEA and the reluctance of the state government to take any action against these ‘licensed’ travel agents, the agents are openly running their businesses in the region. Their websites proclaiming that they are among the “best travel agents in the region” continue to attract hundreds of students everyday. 

When contacted by HuffPost India, Rudraksh Group refused to comment while the others could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Many of the contact numbers on the list were found to be out of use. 

Scenes of desperation

The plight of Punjabis trying to illegally make their way to foreign countries received international attention in June after a 6-year-old girl died of heat stroke while trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Last month, two video clips that did the rounds on social media showed two Punjabi families, including young children, crossing a border, probably between US and Mexico. 

A report in The Times of India pointed out that while Punjabi men have taken risks to cross shores for years, often landing up in jails, the inclusion of women and children in the groups is a relatively new phenomenon. 

Hundreds of Punjabis have also, over the years, died in incidents such as boats capsizing—in the most infamous incident, 283 people, mostly from Punjab lost their lives in 1996 when they were transferred from a ship to a small boat that capsized in the Mediterranean near Italy. A 2015 report in The Indian Express said that charges were yet to be framed against the 29 accused — all travel agents — in the case even after two decades.  

Factors such as poverty, low wages, rising unemployment, drug addiction, farmer suicides and incidents of violence and terrorism have led to many young students in Punjab desperately looking for ways to migrate overseas, often attracted by word-of-mouth success stories.  The number of institutes offering IELTS coaching has also shot up over the past five years.

It is all change on the third series of The Crown as the story of the British monarchy enters a new chapter, introducing a whole new cast in the royal roles originally made famous by Claire Foy, Matt Smith et al.  

With details of when we can expect the new episodes to start streaming on Netflix now finally announced, we’ve rounded up everything we know so far about the new series...

When does The Crown series three start?

Netflix announced that the high-anticipated third series of The Crown will hit the streaming service on 17 November 2019. 

They shared a special Royal Announcement on Twitter, wishing the public “the most splendid of viewing experiences”. 

But that was not all, as with the announcement came a (very small) peek at Olivia Colman in action as Queen Elizabeth II in a 20-second teaser. 

Who is in The Crown series three cast?

Towards the end of last year, it was revealed that Oscar winner Olivia Colman would succeed Claire Foy in the role of the Queen, portraying her as she enters middle age.

Outlander and Black Mirror star Tobias Menzies takes over from Matt Smith as Prince Phillip, while Helena Bonham Carter will play Princess Margaret, replacing Vanessa Kirby. 

God’s Own Country and The Durrells actor Josh O’Connor has been cast as a young Prince Charles, while Erin Doherty will play Princess Anne. 

Meanwhile, Cutting It and House Of Cards star Ben Daniels takes over from Matthew Goode as Tony Armstrong-Jones and Victoria Hamilton is succeeded as The Queen Mother by Marion Bailey. 

New characters will include Camilla Parker-Bowles, who will be played by Call The Midwife star Emerald Fennell and Prime Minister Harold Wilson, played by The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies star Jason Watkins. 

Showrunner Peter Morgan has also spoken of his intention to keep the cast the same for the next two series, before bringing in a whole new set of actors in for the planned fifth and sixth series.

Filming began on series three in July 2018, wrapping in February 2019, while work on the next series is believed to begin this month. 

What takes place in The Crown series three?

The show’s first and second seasons focused on the beginning of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign from 1947 to 1963. 

The action moves on to 1964 in series three, and will cover the years up to 1977, hence why older actors needed to be cast. 

While it is not yet clear what parts of royal history the series will cover, the casting of Camilla Parker-Bowles suggests Prince Charles’ early friendship with his now-wife will feature in the story. 

Similarly, with the casting Prime Minister Harold Wilson, it is thought the Queen’s close working relationship with him will be a central plot. 

Prince Philip actor Tobias Menzies recently revealed to Radio Times one episode will focus on the Apollo 11 moon landing, and how his character reacted to the event.

Other notable things that happened during this time period include the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean, the birth of Prince Edward and Prince Charles’ coronation as the Prince of Wales.

Will Princess Diana be in series three of The Crown?

With the announcement earlier this year that newcomer Emma Corrin will take on the role of Princess Diana in The Crown, fans had anticipated seeing her in the upcoming series. 

However, Diana does not enter the royal timeline until the end of 1977, meaning she will be introduced in series four. 

Emma previously had a minor part in ITV drama Grantchester, before landing a role in US Batman spin-off drama, Pennyworth. 

She said in a statement upon her casting: “Princess Diana was an icon and her effect on the world remains profound and inspiring. To explore her through Peter Morgan’s writing is the most exceptional opportunity and I will strive to do her justice.”

What else do we know about The Crown series four?

While it is yet to be confirmed, it is heavily rumoured Sex Education and X-Files star Gillian Anderson will join the cast as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which has provoked a lot of reaction online. 

The fourth series of The Crown is expected to hit Netflix in 2020. 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — A red alert has been issued for three districts on Tuesday as extremely heavy rains are expected in central Kerala as the flood-hit northern parts were slowly limping back to normalcy and the toll climbed to 88.

The red alert has been sounded in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Idukki on Tuesday and in northern districts of Malappuram and Kozhikode on Wednesday.

Due to the strengthening of low pressure in Bay of Bengal, extremely heavy rains are expected to lash the several parts of the state, Director of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Thiruvananthapuram, K Santosh said.

According to the government update at 9 AM Tuesday, 88 people have lost their lives in the state since August 8 and the toll is likely to go up further as 40 were still missing.

‘Orange alert’ has been issued in 6 districts-Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram- on Tuesday. 

Over 1300 relief camps across Kerala

Over 2.52 lakh people have taken shelter in 1,332 relief camps across the state. 

At least 808 houses have been fully damaged and 8,459 partially in rain-related incidents.

Over 35,000 people are in 196 relief camps in Wayanad district.

Twelve people have so far lost their lives and 7 are missing in Wayanad district, which also witnessed a landslide at Puthumala in Meppadi. 

Seventeen deaths have been reported from Kozhikode where over 43,000 people have shifted to 177 relief camps.

In Malappuram, which was rocked by a series of landslips triggered by downpour at Kavalappara and Kottakunnu, the toll has climbed to 29, with 32 people still missing.

Search operations continue in the area to retrieve remains of the dead.

In 185 camps in Malappuram, 45,377 people have been sheltered.

Vijayan tours Malappuram, Wayanad

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan toured the affected districts of Malappuram and Wayanad from where 41 deaths have been reported in a series of landslides on August 8.

Addressing the flood-affected at a relief camp in Meppadi in Wayanad, Vijayan said, “the government is with you.. we need to overcome all difficulties and hardships together.” 

The government is now giving priority to the rescue measures, he said adding after which it would focus on the rehabilitation initiatives.

“There are several people who have completely lost their houses and properties and suffered crop loss. Some more people, who have gone missing, are yet to be traced and efforts are on to find them,” he said.

Accompanied by Revenue Minister, E Chandrasekharan and Chief Secretary, Tom Jose, the Chief Minister would also be visiting relief centres in Malappuram and hold discussions with people’s representatives and officials.

Rahul in Wayanad

Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi had toured the affected areas and relief camps in Wayanad, promising all help to the people.

“It is a tragedy not only for Wayanad, but for Kerala and also some southern states. This is not only a Wayanad issue, this is a Kerala issue, this is a Karnataka issue. The Central government needs to pay attention and aggressively support the people of these states,” he told reporters at Kalpetta after attending a review meeting with government officials on the flood situation on Monday.

A city on the “path of no return”, streets consumed by “terrorism” and an “existential threat” posed to law-abiding citizens – this is the Hong Kong protests according to the people in the sights of those protesting. 

The demonstrations have rocked the city for months and the latest signs all point to escalation, rather than dying down. 

In the clearest sign yet of how China views the turmoil, paramilitary police are assembling across the border in the city of Shenzhen for exercises in what some saw as a threat to increase force brought against the mostly young protesters who have turned out in their thousands over the past 10 weeks.

Why are people demonstrating?

Protestors have been demanding that Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam step down and entirely scrap legislation that could have seen criminal suspects sent to mainland China to face torture and unfair or politically charged trials.

Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement enshrining some autonomy for Hong Kong when China took it back from Britain in 1997.

They want Lam to resign. She has said she will stay.

What are the protestors doing?

For weeks now the demonstrations have been on the streets of Hong Kong where protestors have squared up against police in surreal scenes choked by tear gas an illuminated by lasers, deployed in a bid to confuse and distract security services.

On Monday the protests escalated dramatically when thousands of people closed down Hong Kong airport, one of the busiest in the world.

The feat was repeated on Tuesday and a video posted to social media by freelance journalist Laurel Chor, captured the cheers as the announcement was made over the airport’s tannoy.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, we are fighting for the future of our home,” read a banner held by some of the hundreds of protesters who had returned to the arrivals hall.

While the protest at the airport was peaceful, out on the streets the incidents of violence have become more frequent.

During the weekend protests, website Hong Kong Free Press showed footage of one arrest that appeared to include officers in plain clothes pinning a demonstrator pressed to the ground.

The young man, who said his name was Chow Ka-lok and asked for a lawyer, was shown with a bleeding head wound and said he had a broken tooth, the Press Association reports.

Police have also reported injuries among their ranks, including eye irritation from laser pointers, burns from petrol bombs and bruises and cuts from flying.

Protesters hurled bricks at officers and ignored warnings to leave before tear gas was deployed in the Sham Shui Po area, police said, calling a march there an “unauthorised assembly”.

Tear gas was also deployed in central Hong Kong on both sides of Victoria Harbour, in the Tsim Sha Tsui area on the Kowloon side and in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island.

How has the Hong Kong authorities responded?

Lam held a press conference on Monday – at a government headquarters complex fortified with six-foot high water-filled barricades.

Despite calls for her to step down, Lam was defiant. “My responsibility goes beyond this particular range of protest,” she said, adding that violence had pushed the territory into a state of “panic and chaos”.

“Take a minute to look at our city, our home. Can we bear to push it into the abyss and see it smashed to pieces?”

More ominously, Hong Kong authorities have publicly demonstrated water cannon.

What role is China playing in all this?

The legislation Lam is being pilloried over stems from the Chinese communist government and questions have been raised over whether she even has the power to rescind the bill.

During yesterday’s press conference, a reporter from Reuters repeatedly asked her if she was in fact in control. An obviously irate Lam refused to answer and said repeatedly she had already addressed the issue, despite no record of her doing so.

In China, authorities appear to be preparing for an escalation of the clampdown on the protestors.

A senior Chinese official said “sprouts of terrorism” were emerging in Hong Kong, given instances of violent attacks against police officers and legal experts say Beijing might be paving the way to use anti-terror laws to restrain the protesters.

Beijing tends to define terrorism broadly, including nonviolent movements opposing government policies on the environment or Tibet.

And on Monday, footage obtained by the state-run People’s Daily newspaper broadcast footage of a huge build-up of armoured vehicles massing for a purported drill in Shenzen, just over the border from Hong Kong.

The move is seen as a barely concealed threat to increase force brought against the mostly young protesters who have turned out in their thousands over the past 10 weeks.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has asked his countrymen not to live in a “fool’s paradise” as he said that it will not be easy for Islamabad to get the support of the UN Security Council as well as from the Muslim world against India’s decision to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

Qureshi asked Pakistanis to “wage a new struggle” to get the support of the UNSC members.

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“You (people) should not live in fool’s paradise. Nobody will be standing there (in the UNSC) with garlands in hands...Nobody will be there waiting for you,” he said.

After India revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, Pakistan announced that it will approach the UN Security Council against New Delhi’s decision.

India has categorically told the international community that its move to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution, removing the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, is an internal matter and has also advised Pakistan to “accept the reality”.

Without naming any Muslim country, Qureshi also said the “guardians of Ummah (Islamic community)” might also not back Pakistan on the Kashmir issue due to their economic interest.

“Different people in the world have their own interests. India is a market of (over) a billion people...A lot of people have invested there (India). We often talk about Ummah and Islam but the guardians of Ummah have also made investments there (India) and they have their own interests,” he said.

Qureshi’s statement came two days after Russia became the first UNSC member to back India’s move on Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the changes in the status are within the framework of the Indian Constitution.

“We proceed from fact that the changes associated with the change in the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and its division into two union territories are carried out within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of India,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said in a response to questions on last Friday.

The US has also maintained a neutral stand on the issue, saying that there is no change in its policy on Kashmir as it called on India and Pakistan to maintain restraint and hold direct dialogue to resolve their differences.

China, the all-weather ally of Pakistan, has objected to the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory by India. However, at the same time, Beijing has told Qureshi that it regarded both India and Pakistan as “friendly neighbours” and wants them to resolve the Kashmir issue through UN resolutions and the Shimla agreement.

Though “Sex and the City 3” may never come to fruition, reports of the never-produced film’s demise continue to generate buzz almost a decade after Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw last sashayed across the big screen. 

Speaking to The Guardian in an interview published Saturday, Kim Cattrall opened up briefly about opting out of a third film based on the smash HBO franchise. The actress, who has repeatedlystated her disinterest in reprising her role as Samantha Jones, said she experienced “bullying” as a result of her decision. 

“I went past the finish line playing Samantha Jones because I loved ‘Sex and the City,’” the Golden Globe winner, whose refusal to sign on for SATC 3 effectively killed the film before it got off the ground, said. “It was a blessing in so many ways but after the second movie I’d had enough.”

In 2017, Cattrall told Piers Morgan that the character of Samantha should be recast with an actress of color in a third film. She told The Guardian this week that she was surprised the team behind SATC didn’t opt to pursue that option. 

“I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying,” she said. “No means no.” 

And though the 62-year-old actress didn’t call out SATC by name, she said her choice of acting projects had been shaped by the 2012 death of her father, Dennis. 

“Now I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself,” she said. “I want to choose who I spend time with personally and professionally. It’s my life. ... I’ve become aware there’s only so much time left.” 

Cattrall will return to the small screen as the wife of a Christian evangelical preacher with a few secrets to hide in Fox’s “Filthy Rich,” due out next year.  Still, she can’t seem to shake the ghost of Samantha, whom she played in all six seasons of the HBO series and two successful, if criticallyuneven, films. 

Her comments to The Guardian come weeks after she told the Daily Mail she would “never” return to SATC in any capacity. 

Rumors of an on-set feud plagued Cattrall and Parker for years. In 2017, Cattrall appeared to acknowledge a frosty relationship between the two when she told Morgan that Parker “could have been nicer” and later blasted her co-star on Instagram. 

Still, Parker has repeatedly dismissed the reports, and told People in 2018, “I never talked about it, except [to say] that some of us were disappointed [about the movie not happening]. But I never responded to the conversation Kim had with Piers Morgan, where she said things that were really hurtful about me.”

“We had this experience and it was amazing, and nothing will ever be like it,” Parker added. 

From two young girls who left the world together to a little boy who was discovered holding on his mother as they died, there has been no shortage of gut-wrenching sights from the floods in Kerala. 

While the intensity of rains has reduced in many parts, life is still out of gear in the state, especially in the hills and mid-ranges. A red alert has been issued for three districts in central Kerala, and the numbers remain alarming: the death toll has risen to 92, more than 2.5 lakh people have been displaced and around 58 remain missing, mainly from the landslide sites of Kavalappara in Malappuram district and Puthumala in Wayanad, where adverse weather conditions have impeded rescue work. 

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Central forces and experts from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) say that people are still stuck inside the debris and mud. While landslides and flash floods are still spreading misery in the hill areas, reports from coastal regions indicate that the turbulent sea is eating into the human settlements on the shores. In short, the impression that Kerala was, in general, a “safe zone” seems to have been shattered now.

John Mathai, a scientist and senior consultant with the National Centre for Earth Sciences Studies, points out that 4.5% of the state is highly prone to landslides. The entire state, he said, has found its place in Zone 3 of the Hazard map prepared by the union government. The rampant reclamation of paddy fields and wetlands, along with the large-scale operation of granite quarries in environmentally fragile areas, have contributed to the deadly deluge which hit Kerala again almost exactly a year after the 2018 floods, which killed more than 400 people.

While the state government has ordered the closure of 850 quarries and mines in the state and warned against any illegal construction in environmentally fragile lands, many experts say that these can only be short-term measures. The larger issue, they say, is climate change and the state must address this threat as the first priority. 

“The repeat of last year’s fury, and that too on the exact first anniversary, reiterates that climate change is clearly in action. It’s high time to think strategically on measures for future preparedness and mitigation. Future monsoons may be more devastating,” said Ajit Kottayil, scientist with Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, Cochin University of Science and Technology.

A pattern is forming

Like last year, 2019’s south-west monsoon also began on a disappointing note in June. The state received scanty rainfall until the end of July, so much so that there were doubts whether there would be enough water for drinking and agricultural activities. August, however, put paid to all these doubts as continuous rains and flash floods burst the banks of major rivers and caused large-scale soil erosion. 

Climate experts say the mood, character and form of rains have changed drastically in the past two years. Eight districts in the state witnessed 80 landslides in the three days between Friday and Sunday alone. The state is now feeling the lack of a scientific flood and disaster management system. The steps taken since the last flood to avert further calamities also don’t seem to have caused much of a change. While the people in relief camps are staring at an uncertain future, the rest of the climate victims are struggling to rebuild their lost livelihoods by staying in rented accommodations and houses of relatives.

According to Dr Gopakumar Cholayil, consultant climatologist and research officer with the Academy of Climate Change Education and Research at Kerala Agriculture University, the deluge this time was quite unexpected.  

“A meteorological unpredictability is now emerging across the country and Kerala is feeling its after effects severely. The monsoon in Kerala has lost its character,” he said. Topographical changes caused by frequent changes in land use patterns are a contributing factor,  said Gopakumar, who has been researching on the changing rain patterns in the region for the last 20 years. 

According to S. Faizi, a member of the Biodiversity Convention’s Expert Group on Poverty and Biodiversity and president of the Ethological Society of India, the problem with Kerala society is its refusal to accept the complete reality. 

“There is a wide segment of experts and opinion makers who believe deforestation and change in land-use patterns are the reasons for the devastating floods, which have now turned into an annual affair. They cite ecologist Madhav Gadgil’s study on Western Ghats to validate their point. In my opinion, these are just contributing factors. Those who are focusing too much on the contributing factors are ignoring the real villain. We lack climate literacy and there is an urgent need to study on the impact of global warming and climate change on Kerala,” he said.

The Gadgil committee report, submitted in 2011, had invited stiff opposition from all major political parties in the state, who said that if implemented, it would adversely affect the interests of farmers and the rural poor. Successive governments led by both the Congress and CPI(M) chose to ignore the report and refused to implement any of its recommendations. Though another committee led by scientist Kasthurirangan was set up to look into the merits of the Gadgil Committee recommendations, its suggestions were also rejected. 

After the deluge last year, which was termed a once-in-a-century phenomenon, the Kerala government and its research agencies had promised that there would not be any repeat of the disaster in another 100 years. The issue of climate change was barely raised in any of the debates that followed the floods last year. In fact, last year, the blame was apportioned to different parties: the meteorological department for allegedly not informing the state government in advance about the quantum of rainfall and the government for delaying opening the shutters of different dams as a result. 

This time, most of the dams are half-empty while flash floods have caused landslides in areas away from dams and rivers. 

“Kerala’s monsoon calendar has changed. It now seems to be beginning in August,” said Gopakumar. 

Faizi is concerned that while the agitations to protect the forests, hills and wetlands of Kerala are important, many experts and opinion makers are becoming part of the climate change denial lobby.

“Several climate experts have already predicted that floods would recur in a five-year-interval instead of the historical 100 years. In Kerala, it is  for the second consecutive year. We will have a more disastrous one in 2022 or 2023. Those who try to shift attention from the devastation caused by global warming and its causative agents by blaming imagined forest loss seem to be pushing a corporate agenda. When the rains that you usually get in two months of monsoon happen in one or two days, what occurs is flood, deluge—the extreme climatic events,″ he said.

BENGALURU —  India’s second moon mission ‘Chandrayaan-2’ left the earth’s orbit early on Wednesday, 23 days after being launched, and is moving towards the moon following the successful completion of a crucial manoeuvre by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The Bengaluru-headquartered space agency said it has carried out a manoeuvre called ‘Trans Lunar Insertion’ (TLI) at 2:21 am on Wednesday, following which the spacecraft has successfully entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory.

The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft is expected to reach the moon’s orbit on August 20 and land on lunar surface on September 7.

“Today (August 14, 2019) after the Trans Lunar Insertion (TLI) maneuver operation, #Chandrayaan2 will depart from Earth’s orbit and move towards the Moon (sic),” the ISRO tweeted.

“During the final orbit raising of the spacecraft around the earth, the liquid engine was fired for about 1203 seconds. With this, Chandrayaan-2 entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory,” the space agency said.

NEW DELHI — Observing that the possibility of the CBI being used as a “political instrument” remains ever present, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi posed a question on Tuesday “why is that whenever there is no political overtone to a case, the agency does a good job”.

Gogoi said that efforts should be made to “delink crucial aspects” of the CBI from the overall administrative control of the government. 

He also suggested for putting ‘public order’ in the concurrent list, for the limited purposes of investigating interstate crimes.

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Director Greta Gerwig would like to reintroduce you to the March sisters ― Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy ― in the first trailer for “Little Women.” 

The first look at the eighth film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved 1869 novel of the same name about a group of women coming of age in post-Civil War America was released on Tuesday, marking the arrival of a major contender come awards season. 

The film reunites the “Lady Bird” director with actors Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet, who play the strong-willed Jo March ― a personal hero for Gerwig ― and boy next door Theodore “Laurie” Laurence. 

“Sharp Objects” breakout Eliza Scanlan (Beth), “Midsommar” star Florence Pugh (Amy) and Emma Watson (Meg) play the remaining March sisters, with Meryl Streep, Laura Dern and Bob Odenkirk rounding out the supporting cast. 

Like many young women, the classic text was formative for Gerwig, who’s approached the adaptation with a faithful eye, filming scenes on-location in Massachusetts where Alcott and her sisters were raised, while also infusing the age-old story with some fresh touches.  

“This feels like autobiography,” Gerwig, who also penned the screen adaptation, told Vanity Fair about her connection to the novel. “When you live through a book, it almost becomes the landscape of your inner life. … It becomes part of you, in a profound way.”

“Little Women” hits theaters December 25, 2019.

Game Of Thrones delivered a massive shock in its final series when Arya Stark was the one who bumped off The Night King, but it turns out her path to get there nearly took a different route. 

Director Miguel Sapochnik has revealed there was a whole “elaborate plan” for scenes building up to her sticking the knife into the baddie in The Long Night that eventually got changed. 

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Miguel said: “At one point there was an elaborate plan to have her fight her way into the Weirwood forest, but as we progressed we realised she’d already done that earlier in the episode, so it felt like a repeat.

“In the end we felt it didn’t matter how she got there – what mattered was setting up that moment when the Night King catches her mid-leap and we think she’s done for, then she pulls her knife switch and takes him out.”

He continued: “I questioned everything and we worked long and hard to find the right balance of credibility versus wish fulfilment. Then we shot it and reshot it and found that what was really important was rhythm.”

Many fans had expected Jon Snow to be on the one who ended the battle with the White Walkers, with it coming as a complete surprise that Maisie Williams’ character was ultimately responsible.

However, the episode in question drew criticism when it aired earlier this year, as some viewers claimed certain parts of the battle were too dark to view properly. 

Responding to the complaints, Miguel stood by the episode, stating: “I think [cinematographer] Fabian Wagner did an outstanding job.”

Fabian previously hit back at the claims, telling TMZ: “We tried to give the viewers and fans a cool episode to watch. I know it wasn’t too dark because I shot it.”

According to the US site, Fabian advised fans to avoid watching the episode on their phones, claiming that streaming services often have poorer visual quality because the episodes are compressed.

The Long Night also broke records upon its debut, largely thanks to the 78 minute-long main battle scene, which is officially the longest in TV and film history – smashing the record previously set by the Battle Of Helm’s Deep in Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers. 

It also became the most-tweeted about episode of a scripted show in TV history.

It’s been three days since the death of Jeffrey Epstein. 

His apparent suicide cut short a criminal case that was billed to shed a light on the world of the high-flying financier accused of sex trafficking, who had connections to celebrities, presidents and royalty.

But prosecutors have vowed to continue investigating, while details of how the 66-year-old died in a New York prison cell have raised more questions than answers.

Here’s everything we know so far...

The Prison Guard

On Tuesday morning it was reported one of the guards assigned to the unit housing Epstein was not a prison officer but a “fill in”.

Serene Gregg, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3148, told The Washington Post that they had been pressed into service because of staffing shortfalls.

It was not clear what the substitute’s regular job was, but federal prisons facing shortages of fully trained guards have resorted to having other types of support staff fill in for correctional officers, including clerical workers and teachers, reports the Press Association. 

The Suicide Watch 

Epstein had been placed on suicide watch after he was found a little over two weeks ago with bruising on his neck, according to a person familiar with the matter. But he was taken off the watch at the end of July.

New York City’s chief medical examiner has said they are confident Epstein died by hanging himself in the jail cell.

The President

Donald Trump’s reaction to the apparent suicide was to retweet a post on Twitter that suggested Bill and Hillary Clinton played a role in the death.

 Democratic presidential contenders Beto O’Rourke and Cory Booker slammed the president for promoting the baseless claim from conservative comedian Terrence K Williams.

“This is another example of our president using this position of public trust to attack his political enemies with unfounded conspiracy theories,” O’Rourke, a former congressman from Texas, said on CNN’s State of the Union.

O’Rourke said Trump was trying to shift the public’s focus away from last weekend’s two deadly mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, which have led to new calls for gun restrictions and criticism of Trump’s divisive anti-immigrant and racially charged rhetoric.

The Princess

Princess Diana has been named in court documents relating to the Epstein case.

Epstein’s former handyman claimed the financier met with “Princess Diana’s secretary with her children”. There is no indication she met Epstein herself.

Diana’s former secretary, Patrick Jephson, told The Sun: “I can’t think of any occasion when Mr Epstein would have any claim to say he had given hospitality to the Princess of Wales.

“To my knowledge Princess Diana only ever went to Florida once and that was to Disney World (in 1993).”

The Probe

US federal investigators have launched a probe into Epstein’s death which raises questions about how the Bureau of Prisons ensures the welfare of such high-profile inmates.

In October, Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger was killed in a federal prison in West Virginia where had just been transferred.

Attorney General William Barr, calling for an investigation by the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office, said he was “appalled” to learn of Epstein’s death while in federal custody.

“Mr Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered,” he said in a statement.

Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote in a scathing letter to Barr that “heads must roll” after the incident.

“Every single person in the Justice Department – from your Main Justice headquarters staff all the way to the night-shift jailer – knew that this man was a suicide risk, and that his dark secrets couldn’t be allowed to die with him,” Sasse wrote.

The Raid

Epstein’s death has not put a stop to the investigation into his life and on Tuesday US federal agents raided Epstein’s private island.

The lavish property in the US Virgin Islands was sometimes referred to as “Orgy Island” or the “Island of Sin” due the the parties held there.

The Victims 

Lawyers for several women who say they were sexually abused by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein plan to file lawsuits this week against his estate following his apparent suicide in a New York jail cell.

Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents two women, told Reuters “we intend to promptly file those civil claims” having held off suing while federal prosecutors pursued sex trafficking charges against Epstein.

New York lawyer Roberta Kaplan said she hopes to file on Wednesday on behalf of a client to take advantage of a new New York State law which makes it possible to pursue decades-old claims of abuse.

The “Child Victims Act,” which takes effect on August 14, gives people a year to sue over allegations of sexual abuse, regardless of when the alleged acts occurred.

Kaplan will sue on behalf of a woman described in the indictment against Epstein as a minor victim.

The unidentified woman was recruited to engage in sex acts with Epstein around 2002 and paid hundreds of dollars for each encounter with the financier, according to the indictment.

She was 14 when it happened, Kaplan said.

The Prince 

On the same day Epstein died, unsealed court documents revealed Prince Andrew was accused of touching the breast of a young woman at Epstein’s home.

The allegation surfaced in a cache of legal papers unsealed by a US judge in a defamation case involving a British socialite alleged to have supplied Epstein with underage girls.

Virginia Giuffre, an alleged victim of Epstein who also claimed she was forced into a sexual encounter with Andrew, sued Ghislaine Maxwell, youngest daughter of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, in 2015.

In the legal documents, released on Friday, Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, said Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the billionaire’s Manhattan apartment in 2001.

Buckingham Palace said the allegations are “categorically untrue”.

Despite pressure from lawmakers and women’s rights advocates, accounting giant Ernst & Young is refusing to let Karen Ward, a former partner, take her sexual harassment case to a public courtroom. 

In a letter to Ward’s attorneys last week, EY’s general counsel Ronald Hauben said the firm is a “great place for women to work.” He insisted that bringing cases to private arbitration ― a private courtroom outside the public justice system without juries ― is “fair, efficient and cost-effective.” And he emphasized that Ward “voluntarily” agreed to the process.

But so far Ward has spent an eye-popping $185,000 to arbitrate her claims against the firm, because of a provision in her employment contract that requires her to split the costs of dispute resolution. If she were able to bring the case to a public court, the cost would only be $450 in court fees.  

Ward told HuffPost she had no idea what she was getting into when she agreed to submit to arbitration as part of her employment contract. She certainly didn’t know how much money it would cost. 

“It is financially a train wreck to be staring at these bills,” Ward told HuffPost Tuesday, speaking from her home in North Carolina. EYs response is discouraging and disappointing, she said. The notion that the firm is a good place for women to work is insulting: Ward complained of mistreatment, discrimination and harassment when she was working at EY throughout her time there, she said.

Ward filed her case against EY last October, detailing how her boss harassed her ― commenting on her “boobs” and “ass” and relegating her to the back of the room with the “gals” at a major conference. She says she was retaliated against and ultimately fired for speaking up about mistreatment. A subsequent HuffPost investigation uncovered emails and other evidence detailing the volume of complaints Ward lodged when she was at the company ― and her growing frustration with the firm’s response.

EY says Ward was fired for her performance.

Still, Ward had hoped EY would back down about arbitration in the face of mounting pressure over her case. After HuffPost reported on Ward’s mounting legal costs in arbitration, a bipartisan group of New York state legislators slammed the company for hypocrisy in an open letter last month. They urged EY to release Ward from her arbitration agreement. 

“It is disturbing that Ernst & Young is unwilling to recognize the negative impact arbitration requirements have on the ability of workers to get a fair hearing,” said the letter, signed by 67 legislators. “Ernst & Young cannot be a leader on gender equality while it is so far behind the curve in addressing workplace harassment.”

Ward’s case also drew support and attention from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the National Women’s Law Center, former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, and former Fox anchor and women’s rights advocate Gretchen Carlson.

Reached by email on Tuesday, Rep. Maloney chastised EY.

“I am deeply disappointed that Ernst & Young does not recognize how their forced arbitration policies undermine the fight against sexual harassment and gender equality,” she said. “Its decision to inflict financial and emotional distress upon Karen Ward, whom I applaud for her courage and determination, is wrongheaded and must stop. Ernst & Young should immediately free Karen Ward from these harmful policies that promote discrimination and protect abusers.”

Ward penned an open letter to EY’s new global chairman and CEO, Carmine Di Sibio, pleading to be released from the arbitration agreement after the legislators spoke up.

“What kind of message do you think EY is sending about its values when it requires female employees to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue claims of sexual harassment behind closed doors in arbitration?” Ward wrote.  

The 49-year-old Ward had worked for years in finance and said that nothing had prepared her for the boys club culture of EY. “The frat culture I experienced at EY was beyond anything I ever read that Wall Street could be like,” said Ward on Tuesday.

She said she received little to no support from women who worked there, because very few women were leaders in the company. “No woman ever came to me,” said Ward, who worked in a group with almost no senior women. “I would’ve gone to a woman in my chain of command if there were any.”  

Ward’s case was the second harassment charge filed against the firm in 2018 ― another former female partner settled claims that EY did nothing after she was groped by a male colleague.

The letter from Hauben last week was a response to Ward’s recent missive ― and did not mention the state legislators’ response.

He seems to argue that because Ward was well-compensated as a partner at the firm, sharing the costs of dispute resolution was justified. “Having accepted the benefits of being an EY partner,” he wrote, “she is also bound by these ... provisions.”

Hauben insists that Ward’s claims are without merit, a claim EY reiterated in statements to HuffPost and publicly since she filed her charges. 

“EY is aggressively defending itself against these baseless claims,” the firm said.

He also noted that they have a female leader. “We are proud that our US Chair and Managing Partner is a woman,” he wrote in the letter dated Aug. 9. “EY has a longstanding commitment to diversity, fairness and equity and a strong and recognized track record of being a great place to work for women.”

A supportive professional environment for women would not force female employees to sign away their rights to go to court when they’re sexually harassed, force them to take their grievances to a private, confidential forum and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to have their case heard, said David Gottlieb, a partner at Wigdor, the New York law firm representing Ward.

“It is completely self-serving and inaccurate for a company to say they’re a great place to work for women without acknowledging this is an unjust practice,” he said.

Arbitration is widely believed to benefit companies at the expense of employees, who are less likely to win cases before these secretive courts. Even when they do win, research has found monetary judgments are typically smaller than they’d be in public courtrooms.

There are a few bills before Congress that would eradicate forced arbitration in cases of sexual harassment, including the FAIR Act. New York state recently banned the practice ― though it’s expected that the provision will be overturned in court. And a few major companies voluntarily gave it up, including Facebook, Microsoft and Uber.

Ward said that she’s heard from dozens of women bound by arbitration agreements, including some EY workers. 

“They see that the cost can cause financial ruin and they choose to live with injustice,” Ward said, emphasizing how inspiring and gut-wrenching it’s been to hear all their stories from people at all kinds of levels. “Some of the assault that’s occurred is shocking,” she said. “I’m left reeling.” 

It’s for these women and others that Ward said she’ll continue to fight this case with EY. 

“We’ll do whatever it takes to be heard,” she said. “It’s not about me and my costs, although that’s incredibly difficult to bear. Enough is enough.”

Happy Women in Translation Month! Started by book blogger Meytal Radzinski in 2014, the initiative aims to address gender disparity in translated literature. Radzinki noticed that only about 30% of books published in translation were by women, and began WIT Month with just two simple goals — increase the dialogue and discussion about women writers in translation and read more books by women in translation.

In its sixth year now, Radzinski’s project has become hugely popular, with people tweeting their suggestions and reading lists using #WITMonth (see here, here and here).

For the latest news and more, follow HuffPost India on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our newsletter.

To mark this month, HuffPost India has also compiled a list of 11 books, across several languages – from Urdu to Indonesian. These books feature stories of young and lost love, horror and humour, taboos and tragedies.

1. The Collection by Nina Leger, translated from French by Laura Francis (Granta Books)

Fair warning: expect a lot of sassiness, strangeness and sexiness in this Le Prix Anaïs Nin-winning novel, where Jeanne moves from room to room, lover to lover, and kink to kink. The heroine reminded me of Ottessa Moshfegh’s “unlikeable” female protagonists and of Anne Serre’s The Governesses. A study (and journey) of women’s sexualities, desires, obsessions, traumas — old and new — the book was a wondrous and wild ride. If you like your female protagonists bold, defiant, cheeky and unashamedly unapologetic, Jeanne is your woman. And for those of you smitten by Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women, this is the perfect – highly preferred – fictional companion. 

2.  Desires Become Demons: Four Tamil Poets edited and translated from Tamil by Meena Kandasamy (Tilted Axis Press)

It’s a truth (universally) acknowledged that everything Meena Kandasamy touches turns to gold—and so it goes with her latest, part of Tilted Axis Press’s ‘Translating Feminisms’ project, foregrounding collaborations and conversations between some of Asia’s most exciting women writers and emerging-star translators. Co-translated with Lakshmi Holmström, it covers works by four Tamil poets: Malathi Maithri, Salma, Kutti Revathi and Sukirtharani. The introductory essay tackles “how, where and by whom feminist writing and female bodies are translated”, before it introduces English-language readers to poetry beyond age-old oppressions and towards intersectional feminisms. I recommend that you keep this limited-edition chapbook by your bedside, to browse from time to time – and also gift it to everyone you know. 

3. Crimson by Niviaq Korneliussen, translated from Danish by Anna Halager (Virago Books)

I picked this up from my bookshelf on a Saturday night—and suffice it to say I sacrificed my sleep to finish it. It was originally written and published in Greenlandic, which Korneliussen first translated into Danish herself. The journey Crimson – a story of Greenlandic youth culture – took me on was something to write home about. The novella explores and entwines modern and millenial concerns – restlessness, homesickness, loneliness – and love, queer and trans identities and experiences. Following five friends, formally inventive, and featuring SMS and Facebook posts – a style I’d slot under ‘epistolary novel 2.0’ – this cool, cool book is a single-sitting read if there ever was one. 

4. The Mystic and the Lyric: Four Women Poets from Kashmir, translated from Kashmiri, and edited by Neerja Mattoo (Zubaan Books)

Lal Ded, Habba Khatun, Rupa Bhavani, Arnimal — four classic women poets, dating from different periods in Kashmir’s lifetime, who are household names in the Valley, regardless of religious and ethnic groups. They also figure at the forefront of the land’s living oral traditions. This volume introduces and invites them together – and into more households, more languages, more lands – this time in one book and two traditions: the mystic and the lyric. Their works – from quatrains to complaints to meditations – have travelled into wedding songs and annual celebrations. It goes without saying that this is required and recommended reading for our life and times – for what else but poetry can soothe the soul in the contemporary political climate – and I have been dipping in and out of it all week. What’s more, each time I place it down, I know it’s not just the lovely cover that adds beauty to my coffee table. 

5. A Promised Land by Khadija Mastur, translated from Urdu by Daisy Rockwell (Penguin India)

Through Rockwell’s translation, we are gifted with the award-winning Urdu writer’s – well remembered for her novel Aangan (The Women’s Courtyard) – refugee story (Walton refugee camp) set in the newly formed nation of Pakistan. In the book, Sajidah longs to be reunited with her beloved, Salahuddin. Featuring formidable, spirited women in the face of the powerful forces of partition and patriarchy in their works – the Mastur sisters were referred to as “the Brontes of Urdu literature”. A Promised Land is a story of trials, tribulations and tragedy, but with hope on the horizon. And as borders are being carved, walls being built and migrants being cast out world over, the book takes on renewed significance and relevance—touching on where it hurts most: humanity. 

6. Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin, translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell (Oneworld Publications)

If you too were a fan of Fever Dream – Schweblin’s nightmarish novella – brace yourself for this similarly surreal score of short stories, featuring abandoned brides, couple-kidnappers, teenage girls who eat live birds, unborn babies who are spat out, and more such bizarre (and beautiful) things. Each story is told with an inimitable tension and tempo – whether through the course of three pages or twenty – and the opening and title stories are the standout stars. The overall mood and vibe, for me, was close to collections by Carmen Maria Machado and Lesley Nneka Arimah. As I said in this Scroll piece, “To read Samanta Schweblin is to expect these symptoms: a dry mouth, loss of words”. If you’re still unconvinced, take JM Coetzee’s word for it: “The Grimm Brothers and Franz Kafka pay a visit to Argentina”.  

7. Apple and Knife by Intan Paramaditha, translated from Indonesian by Stephen J. Epstein (Harvill Secker)

Paramaditha has fun with fairytales, the macabre, and myths – Western and Indonesian – foregrounds fierce female characters and bodies, feminist arcs, and slips into supernatural spheres. Set in the Indonesian quotidian – from corporate offices to shanty-towns – this heady, funny, atmospheric, slim collection cuts like a knife. Readers can take delight in sharp, subversive, suspenseful, taboo-shattering stories—with horrors under the surface, and happily-ever-afters out of the door. This is one for fans of Shirley Jackson and Angela Carter, and more recently, Daisy Johnson’s Fen. Read before bedtime at your own risk. Oh and, Apple and Knife is best gulped down with a gin and tonic. 

8. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi, translated from Arabic by Marilyn Booth (Sandstone Press; Simon and Schuster India)

‘What more can I say about the 2019 Man Booker International Prize-winning novel that hasn’t already been said?’ was the first thought that crossed my mind when I finished this book. Hype preceded my reading of it—and the female duo did not disappoint. Its inventive structure, subtlety, and shifting points-of-view make it a ‘celestial body’ in itself—full of iridescence. It shines light on women’s ways of being—anchored as it is by the quotidian lives, loves, and losses of three sisters. A family saga, moving between a village and Muscat in a country undergoing rapid socio-political change, like in Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, you’ll find yourself often flipping back to the family tree at the beginning. A small country comes of age as Alharthi’s – the first female novelist from Oman to be translated into English – sentences soar on the page and stay with you. 

9. The Yogini by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha (Tilted Axis Press; Penguin India)

Following the twin successes of Panty and Abandon – first in India, and then internationally – the Bengali writer is back with an English PEN Translates Award-winning new novel. It straddles the spaces between Kolkata and the banks of the Ganga, and fantasy and reality to ask: “How do you imagine your place in the universe?” Arunava Sinha has described his experience translating this surrealist, sensual and philosophical book – about obsession, sex, and fate – as “like being in the middle of an extended hallucination”. Her previous erotic and enigmatic works were also preoccupied with the city of Kolkata, with the portrait of woman-as-artist – confronting patriarchy and whole-heartedly embracing women’s sexuality. The Yogini follows a familiar vein. It’s a hat-trick for the duo—and a huge win for readers worldwide. 

10. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

The writer of last year’s Man Booker International Prize-winning Flights (translated by Jennifer Croft) – an essayistic, fragmentary novel that you only fully experience when read in shifts – returns with another work shimmering with subversive brilliance. Set in a remote Polish village, and surrounding the disappearance of reclusive, eccentric Janina Duszejko’s two dogs, this is not your conventional crime story—for Tokarczuk is not your conventional writer.Through her extraordinary talent and intellect, and her “thinking novels”, she ponders and tackles larger ecological and political issues. The stakes are always high; Tokarczuk repeatedly rises to the occasion and raises a call to arms. 

11. The White Book by Han Kang, translated from Korean by Deborah Smith (Portobello Books, Granta Books)

I think I speak for many readers in saying that when the South Korean writer and her translator co-won the inaugural Man Booker International Prize for The Vegetarian – a disturbing, daring three-part novella drenched in desire and defiance – they added to a literary diet we didn’t know we had the appetite for. This then took readers to her backlist, the haunting, moving, wrecking, Human Acts – and forward towards The White Book, which is by far my favourite. The autobiographical, experimental meditation on love lost – place-based, poetic, full of performance-photographs – captures grief like I’ve never read before. (“I wanted to reach the core of us, the part which cannot be harmed or destroyed,” says Han Kang.) Best read alongside Maggie Nelson’s Bluets.

After it was discovered that Amazon India was allowing its third-party merchants to sell PSN accounts which held games like GT Sport and Red Dead Redemption 2, it turns out that the e-commerce giant may have a counterfeit problem as well. According to Redditors on the r/IndianGaming subreddit, certain Nintendo Switch Pro controllers sold on Amazon India are fake. What’s more is, it’s tough to distinguish the genuine Nintendo Switch Pro Controller from the fakes. Though the post states that fakes have a different texture and sports a shell that’s less transparent than the original in addition to having packaging of lower quality.

“Most clear indicator was that you cannot charge orignal Controller with dash cable of OnePlus, since Nintendo only allows certain cables to charge Pro Controller and Switch. This one was charging without any problem. Same trick can be used to identify original Dualshock 3 controllers which do not charge through wall chargers,” the post claims. “So be careful while buying for Pro Controller, buy it from Amazon.com or get someone to buy one for you if they’re visiting US.”

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The post singles out seller Micromini for selling these units during the recently concluded Amazon Freedom Sale, warning that there may be other sellers too. We’ve reached out to Amazon for comment and will update this story if we hear from the company.

Previously we reported that Amazon India allows third-party sellers to sell PlayStation Network (PSN) accounts for use on PS4 consoles. What this means is, you can play a host of games ranging from Sekiro, Jump Force, and Gran Turismo Sport for a fraction of the cost of a digital copy via the PS Store or a disc variant. How this works is, the seller would give you the PSN credentials of an account that has the game you want to buy which you can then add to your PS4. On downloading it, you can play it on your own PSN ID.

“Providing you a digital content with a global PSN ID which will be logged in and your purchase will be downloaded/linked with your own PSN ID,” reads the description for these listings.

While that may be enough for some, it comes with a massive caveat: the sale of PSN accounts is against Sony’s terms of service. This could result in your console being banned from PSN.

It’s also crucial to note that multiple reports indicate that these accounts are usually acquired by means that are not entirely legal. All of this makes it a situation where if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

For what it’s worth, Amazon India hasn’t removed these bad actors from their platform yet, making us skeptical of the company taking any action taken against what could be the latest offenders on the marketplace.

The Mako Reactor is your one-stop destination for everything Japanese gaming in India.