NEW DELHI — Former India opener and national selector VB Chandrasekhar passed away in Chennai on Thursday following a massive cardiac arrest.

The dashing Tamil Nadu right-hander of yesteryears, who was only six days short of his 58th birthday, is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Chandrasekhar played 7 ODIs between 1988 and 1990, scoring only 88 runs, but at the domestic level he was prolific for a few seasons, aggregating 4999 runs in 81 games with a highest score of 237 not out.

A qualified engineer, Chandrasekhar made his first-class debut at the age of 25 and played in a formidable Tamil Nadu team, which comprised WV Raman, Diwakar Vasu, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Bharath Arun.

Till a few seasons back, he held the record for the fastest hundred in the Ranji Trophy ― a 56-ball ton for Tamil Nadu against Rest of India in an Irani Cup game ― that brought him into national reckoning.

Unfortunately, his technique was found out during a tri-series in New Zealand in 1990, ensuring that he never played for India again.

An astute reader of the game, he was later a national selector when Greg Chappell was the coach and in his later years also did commentary in domestic cricket.

“I have done two years of commentary with him and I can vouch that I became better simply interacting with him. His game reading, grip on technical aspects was mind blowing and it is memory I would always cherish,” former India stumper Deep Dasgupta told PTI.

“His passion was unmatched and I know he used to spend a lot from his own pocket in a running a team in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) known as VB Kanchi Veerans. It will take some time for this tragic news to sink in,” said Dasgupta.

India and Chennai Super Kings player Suresh Raina condoled the death of Chandrasekhar.

India and CSK off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also expressed his sadness.

Habitual criticism can corrode the very foundation of a relationship — and that’s not an overstatement. In fact, criticism is so damaging that relationship researcher John Gottman identified it as one of the top predictors of divorce — though it could spell disaster for nonmarried couples too.

That said, no one expects you to just roll over and accept all of your partner’s less-than-desirable qualities or behaviors without ever saying a word. Inevitably, you’re going to have complaints from time to time. But how you choose to communicate these grievances to your partner is what matters. 

“Criticism is when a complaint is expressed as a character flaw,” Zach Brittle, a Seattle-based couples therapist and host of the podcast “Marriage Therapy Radio,” told HuffPost.

For example, a critical partner might say: “Ugh, you always leave your dirty dishes in the sink. You’re such an inconsiderate slob,” instead of saying, “Hey, I’m feeling overwhelmed by all the dishes piling up in the sink. Can you help me out by cleaning them before I start dinner?” 

People often resort to criticism as a form a self-protection, according to relationship coach Kyle Benson. Attacking or blaming our partner is a less vulnerable act than revealing what we really need from them.

“It’s much easier to poke our partner by telling them that they’re the one with the problems, than to drop our shield of criticism and say, ‘My needs are not being met, help me,’” Benson wrote in a blog post.

We asked therapists to explain why criticism can be so destructive to a relationship and how to communicate in a healthier, more productive way instead.

The difference between a complaint and criticism 

If you want to know if you’re constructively voicing a complaint or just criticizing your partner, consider the language you’re using. Criticism is frequently doled out in the form of “you always” or “you never” statements.

“Healthy feedback is about the behavior and not the person,” said Kurt Smith, a therapist in Roseville, California, who specializes in counseling men. “We can tell our partner what we think or how we feel without criticizing them as an individual.”

So if you’re speaking in absolutes, using harsh words or attacking your partner’s character, it’s probably criticism.

“When our comments include cursing or demeaning labels, it kills any value our message has and makes the feedback pointless,” Smith said. “Criticism is often ignored because of the manner in which the message is delivered.”

How criticism damages relationships 

Our critical side tends to rear its ugly head during heated moments of stress or frustration, making it a difficult habit to break. But knowing the effect it has on your partner and the bond you share may nudge you to reexamine your ways.

It chips away at your partner’s self-esteem.

As anyone who’s been on the receiving end of criticism knows, these words cut deep. Repeated criticism may shake your partner’s confidence and eventually make them doubt their ability to do things right.

“It can make us question our value and worth, especially when it’s coming from someone who’s supposed to love us,” Smith said. “We can begin to believe that since they care about us, then what they’re saying about us must be true.”

It erodes trust.

“Frequent criticism feels like betrayal,” said Steven Stosny, a psychologist in Washington, D.C. “It violates the implicit promise made in the formation of attachment bonds, that the person you love will care about how you feel and never intentionally hurt you.”

It destroys intimacy. 

Over time, criticism widens the emotional distance between you and your partner. The warm, positive feelings you once shared diminish and are replaced by resentment and hostility.

“Most of us don’t take criticism well,” Smith said. “Understandably it doesn’t make us feel good and thus makes us feel less loved and close to our partner.”

It belittles your partner while making you seem superior.

“Criticism tends to be devaluing, implying that the critical partner is smarter, more skilled, moral or superior in some way,” Stosny said.

It’s not actually effective in getting your partner to change their ways. 

Instead of encouraging your S.O. to modify their behavior, criticism triggers defensiveness. When your partner is feeling attacked, their guard goes up, and they’re not in a state to really hear what you’re saying.

Note that when criticism is constant, it may actually be a form of emotional abuse.

An emotionally abusive partner uses tactics like criticism (among a number of others) to exert control in the relationship; they put down their S.O. so that they can maintain the upper hand.

But not everyone who is critical of their partner is an emotional abuser. When you called your partner lazy because they decided to watch TV instead of cleaning the bathroom like they promised, it was probably a misguided attempt at asking for help with household chores — not an effort to demean your partner. We all get overwhelmed or frustrated and resort to criticism at times.

But if you frequently lash out and criticize your partner no matter what they do (for the way they dress, their sex drive, their job, their family and friends or an aspect of their personality like, their sensitivity, for example), then it could be a sign of emotional abuse.

So how should you communicate instead? 

Telling someone to “just stop being critical” is easier said than done. Here’s how you can more lovingly and effectively express yourself in a relationship, according to therapists.

Focus on what you want from your partner, instead of what you don’t want.

As they say: You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Be respectful with your requests. Rather than accusing your partner of being careless for not staying on top of the bills, Stosny offered this alternative: “Honey, I’m a little worried about the bills. Could we sit down and go over what we have coming in and how much has to go out? I know you’re busy, what’s a good time for you?”

Use a “soft startup.” 

With this Gottman-approved technique, you open up the discussion about what’s bothering you using the phrasing: “I feel _____ about ____, and I need ____.” 

“It’s important to put an actual feeling in the first blank. Avoid, ‘I feel like’ and ‘I feel like you’ — neither of which are helpful,” Brittle said.

Try an “I wish” statement.

Instead of saying, “You’re so unhelpful — you never pick the kids up from soccer,” try saying, “I wish you would help lighten my load by picking the kids up from practice a couple nights a week.”

“Your criticism is a wish disguised,” Brittle wrote in a blog post. “It’s a negative expression of a real need. What if you took responsibility for what you really desire for the relationship? What if you owned the wish and committed to articulating it as a positive hope?”

Advice for both partners

If you’re the criticizer in the relationship, know that most critical people are often self-critical too. You may not even realize how critical you seem to your partner because you’re so accustomed to talking to yourself that way.

“Do you automatically say something critical to yourself when you make a mistake or drop something like, ‘Idiot, there you go again, you always screw up’?” Stosny said.

Sound familiar? Try this exercise Stosny suggested: Write down a few of the critical statements you’ve made to your partner and read them into your phone. Then play back the recording and see how it sounds from another perspective — you might be surprised.

“And finally, think of how you would make a behavior request to someone you admire and respect,” Stosny added. “That’s how you should make behavior requests of your partner.”

If you’re the criticized, it’s understandable that your partner’s harsh words affect you. You don’t need to minimize your hurt feelings — you’re justified in being upset, Smith said.

When you feel attacked, it may be tempting to punch back by criticizing your partner for something they did. But try not to stoop to their level.

“Don’t react in kind or betray your nature by becoming critical yourself,” Stosny said. “Regard your partner’s criticism as his or her lack of self-regulation skill.”

Though this may not be easy in the heat of the moment, after you’ve been criticized, take a breath before that defensive wall goes up. You may be able to figure out what veiled request your partner is making with their criticism.

“If you can delay your defensive response, ask your partner what they’re asking for,” Brittle said. “The quicker you get to their ask, the quicker you can get to relationship repair.”

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SRINAGAR — India tightened security on Thursday in Kashmir, sealing off many roads with barbed wire in the main city of Srinagar, as government officials and security forces held an Independence Day parade attended by only a few local people.

Streets were empty outside the Sher-i-Kashmir cricket stadium, where the event was held, with most residents of the city keeping indoors as a travel and communications blockade in Kashmir entered its 11th day.

India’s crackdown followed a decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of the right to set some of its own laws, a move that has prompted sporadic protests in the past week.

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A dance troupe of about 50 young men and women in colourful traditional attire was called into Srinagar from Jammu, said Archana Sharma, the group’s leader, adding that she was a television anchor.

“We will perform the cultural dances of Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir,” said Sharma. “We will return to Jammu this evening because communication is a big problem here.”

Surrounded by television cameras, Sharma’s group performed to patriotic songs with lyrics about making India a stronger nation. Similar performances were also held by the cultural units of the police and border security forces.

During Thursday’s parade, there were fewer than 500 spectators in the stadium, most of them from the security forces or government officials.

The stadium was sealed at least a week in advance for security reasons. It has a capacity of at least 2,000, a local police official said.

Surveillance helicopters and drones with cameras hovered overhead.

PELLET WOUNDS

While a crowd of journalists from New Delhi attended, there were only a few from Kashmir, as most of Srinagar’s more than 150 newspapers have been unable to publish, hit by the travel curbs and telecoms blackout.

“Long Live Mother India,” chanted a group of about two dozen men from outside Kashmir, carrying large Indian flags made of cloth, as they clustered in one corner of the stadium.

Satya Pal Malik, appointed governor by New Delhi to run Jammu and Kashmir, praised India’s decision to revoke the state’s special status and hive off Ladakh as a separately administered area.

Speaking from a carpeted podium, he said the moves would bring prosperity and development to the region, adding that he believed Jammu and Kashmir would become a big hub for tourism and industrial employment.

“The changes brought about by the union government are not just historic, but have opened a new vista of development,” Malik said.

“Recruitment of new militants has witnessed a downward trend, while stone-pelting incidents after the Friday prayers have all but ended.”

Witnesses from several parts of Srinagar have reported stone-peltings each evening, and Reuters witnessed at least two of them in the past few days.

On Wednesday, Reuters reporters met four men who displayed injuries they said were caused by pellets that security forces fired in the city’s northern neighbourhood of Soura.

‘BLACK DAY’

Many Kashmiris said India’s Independence Day was a bleak time for them.

“It is a black day for us. Indians are free but we Kashmiris are yet to get freedom,” said Srinagar resident Bilal Ahmad, 38. “If we had been independent, we would not have been caged like this.”

On an empty street a short walk from the stadium, Gulam Ahmed, a white-bearded 70-year-old Kashmiri man sat alone on a pavement outside a shuttered shopfront, where the faint sound of the stadium dances could still be heard.

“I’m tired of sitting at home, so I am sitting outside,” he said, pointing to the end of the street, where he used to work as a cobbler, repairing and polishing footwear, until the restrictions were imposed.

“I haven’t worked in 10 days,” he said. “I am sick but have no money to buy medicines.”

He looked up suddenly as a helicopter whirred in the air, keeping watch on deserted streets.

Noah Centine-oh-my-god, Netflix has announced the release date for the “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” sequel.

The streaming service revealed that the follow-up to the hit teen romance film “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before: P. S. I Still Love You,” based on the book of the same name by Jenny Han, will arrive just on February 12, 2020 ― just in time for Valentine’s Day. 

Stars and professional Instagram flirters Lana Condor and Noah Centineo revealed the news in a fittingly adorable video where they did their best “Love Actually” cosplay with some cue cards. 

The duo also announced that the third film “To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean” is currently in production.

The first film in the series, which debuted on Netflix in August 2018, made stars out of its two leads and was one of Netflix’s “most viewed original films ever with strong repeat viewing,” according to the streaming service.

The sequel will reportedly explore the ongoing romantic adventures of Laura Jean (Condor). Past love John Ambrose McClaren, played by Broadway star Jordan Knight, enters the picture, possibly threatening her relationship with Peter Kavinsky (Centineo). 

“There’s so many things in the second book that I would love to see in a sequel,” author Jenny Han told Indiewire after the first film’s release. “The whole reason why I wrote a second book was for the character of John Ambrose McClaren, who is a fan favorite, and he’s a favorite of mine too. I would love to see that explored, and also there’s a character called Stormy that I love to write. I would love to see that.”

John Corbett, Janel Parrish and Anna Cathcart are all set to return in “P. S. I Still Love You,” alongside newcomers Holland Taylor and “13 Reasons Why” star Ross Butler. 

After writing a letter to home minister Amit Shah, Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti has released a voice message saying she has been detained at her home, NDTV reported.

“I am being treated like a criminal and I am under constant surveillance. I fear for my life along with those Kashmiris who have spoken up,” she said, according to NDTV.

Iltija’s letter to Shah was made public on Thursday after she managed to send it out through an aide to The Wire.

In her letter, she says she has been “threatened with dire consequences” if she spoke to the media again.  

“It’s a tragic irony that I am being treated like a war criminal for stating the inconvenient truth,” she writes.

Iltija asks which laws she has been detained under and for how long. 

“We are not even told when visitors are turned away from the gate and I am not allowed to step out either. Odd, since I am not affiliated to any political party and have always been a law-abiding citizen.

However, the security personnel have cited my interviews to various media portals and newspapers as the reason for my detention. In fact, I’ve been threatened with dire consequences if I speak up again,” she writes.

Iltija had written for The Telegraph on Kashmir on August 9. She also spoke to the Hindustan Times last week, via voice messages.

Friday is the 12th day of the communication shutdown in Kashmir. At least 300 political leaders and workers have been arrested, but the government hasn’t confirmed any numbers. 

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were detained on the night of August 4, hours before the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and announced that the state would be bifurcated into the territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The Jammu and Kashmir authorities last week airlifted a fresh batch of 20 “potential troublemakers” from Srinagar to Agra as a precautionary measure in the wake of constitutional changes made by the government, PTI reported. Among those airlifted include president of Kashmir High Court Bar Association Mian Qayoom.

Former IAS officer Shah Faesal, who is also under detention, has been taken to a makeshift detention centre at the Centaur Hotel in Srinagar, officials told PTI on Thursday. Faesal had been stopped from taking a flight to Istanbul at the Delhi airport during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday and was flown back to Srinagar where he was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA), they said. 

Here is the full text of Iltija Mufti’s letter to Amit Shah:

Dear sir,

I am left with no other option but to write to you since I’ve made several unsuccessful attempts to get a degree of clarity on my detention. Hope and pray that I am not punished/penalised or arrested for raising questions about my fundamental rights.

Kashmir is engulfed in clouds of darkness and I fear for the safety of its people including those who spoke up. We Kashmiris are reeling in despair since the unilateral abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. My mother, Ms. Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir was detained along with scores of other elected representatives the very same day.

It’s now been over ten long agonising days since this crippling curfew was imposed. The valley is gripped with fear because all forms of communications have been snapped thereby debilitating an entire population. Today while the rest of the country celebrates India’s Independence Day, Kashmiris have been caged like animals and deprived of basic human rights.

Unfortunately, for reasons best known to you, I also have been placed under detention at my residence. We are not even told when visitors are turned away from the gate and I am not allowed to step out either. Odd, since I am not affiliated to any political party and have always been a law abiding citizen.

However, the security personnel have cited my interviews to various media portals and newspapers as the reason for my detention. In fact, I’ve been threatened with dire consequences if I speak up again.

Pertinent to mention that the recurrent theme of these interviews was unconstitutional abrogation of the Article 370 followed by an unprecedented curfew. I also expressed concern for my mother’s safety, who along with hundreds of political detainees have been jailed since August 5, 2019.

With due respect, I fail to understand why I am being punished for speaking on behalf on Kashmiris whose voices have been smothered. Is it a crime to articulate the pain, torment and indignity we’ve been subjected to?

Does it warrant a detention to describe our plight? I’d be most obliged If you could kindly throw light on the laws under which I’ve been detained and for how long? Do I need to seek legal recourse?

It’s suffocating and humiliating to be treated in this manner. I have to grovel for permission to allow my aged grandmother to visit her son. Is she also a potential threat?

For the world’s largest democracy, doesn’t a citizen not have a right to speak up in the face of unimaginable repression? Satyamev jayate i.e. truth only triumphs has defined the spirit of our country and it’s constitution. It’s a tragic irony that I am being treated like a war criminal for stating the inconvenient truth.

Apologies for not posting this letter but as you’re aware postal services in Jammu and Kashmir have been suspended.

May truth prevail.

Regards,
Iltija Mufti

The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is improving day by day and curbs are being lifted gradually, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Friday. 

The restrictions will be lifted in the “next few days,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court, Reuters quoted.

Mehta said the situation was being reviewed daily and added, “Let the security agencies be trusted.”

A special bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and justices SA Bobde and SA Nazeer was hearing a petition filed by advocate ML Sharma challenging the presidential order on Article 370 and a plea by Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor, Kashmir Times seeking the removal of all the restrictions on the working of media. 

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Bhasin’s plea was adjourned after the CJI Gogoi said he would like to give the government a little more time, LiveLaw reported.

“If the press identities are respected and permitted to travel, it will help,” said senior advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for Bhasin.

“We would like to give little more time on the issue of lifting the restriction on media in Jammu and Kashmir,” the court said, according to PTI.

“We will take up this matter on media restrictions along with other connected matters,” it said, without fixing any particular date. 

“We have read landline connections are being restored and also got a call today from Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court,” the court added.

Attorney General KK Venugopal told the Court that there were no curbs on any publication, Indian Express said.

While hearing ML Sharma’s plea, Chief Justice Gogoi pulled the advocate up during the hearing on his plea and said, “I tried to read the petition for half an hour, I could not understand it. We should dismiss this, but we don’t want to because of the effect it will have on others,” according to LiveLaw.

“You are not praying for setting aside the Presidential order. What is the prayer, it is not clear. It can be dismissed on technical grounds,” the bench said.

Gogoi said that all the other five petitions on Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir were also defective. 

The top court asked lawyers to cure defects in their six petitions on Article 370 and adjourned the hearing.

The bench also noted that it was hearing the petition on Article 370 by breaking the combination of judges hearing the sensitive Ayodhya matter.

BENGALURU — The chances of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka being able to take on the newly formed Yediyurappa government anytime soon looks unlikely, after allegations that former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had ordered the tapping of telephones of senior politicians, police officers and journalists during his tenure.

The cracks in the alliance aren’t new—they had widened after the recent Lok Sabha polls, where the coalition won just two of the state’s 28 Lok Sabha seats and came to a head with the fall of the Kumaraswamy government in July—but what threatens to blow it wide open are the allegations that even the phone conversations of former CM and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and his media staff were tapped. That Siddaramaiah was not happy with the alliance, which was formed after the May 2018 state assembly polls with Kumaraswamy at the helm, was no secret. Aware of Siddaramaiah’s animosity towards him, Kumaraswamy used to frequently state from public platforms that the continuation of the coalition government was in the hands of the former chief minister. 

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The audio-gate (telephone tapping) controversy, which had initially disclosed the lobbying by senior IPS officers for the prestigious Bengaluru city police commissioner’s post, now seems to have engulfed politicians across party lines. Yediyurappa has now ordered an enquiry into the matter. 

The alleged eavesdropping on conversations of senior politicians has enraged the Congress. 

In a tweet on Thursday, Siddaramaiah said: 

Dinesh Gundurao, Karnataka Congress president, also echoed him: “Phone tapping is a very sensitive subject. If it has been done illegally, then action should be taken.”  

While former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda slammed the BJP for what he called “baseless allegations”, Kumaraswamy told the media: “I have always asserted that the CM’s post is not permanent. To retain such a seat, I had no need to opt for phone tapping. The allegations made against me, by some in this regard, is far from truth.”  

According to Congress sources, the coalition’s performance in the Lok Sabha results had reinforced the belief that the parties can never work together. 

“The latest development that our coalition partner had allegedly tapped phones has breached trust between us,” they added.

Senior Congress MLA and former home minister Ramalinga Reddy said he had formally lodged a complaint against the Modi government for the same issue during his party’s regime. 

“It is wrong whichever government does it. What is telephone tapping? You are stealthily hearing into the conversation of somebody, which amounts to theft,″ he told HuffPost India.

The anger is not confined to Congress circles — JD(S) former president and disqualified MLA AH Vishwanath, said: “If you can tap the phone of JD(S) state president, what kind of politics is that?″ 

This isn’t the first time

Karnataka’s dubious history of phone-tapping of politicians dates back to 1988, when Ramakrishna Hegde, the first non-Congress CM of the state, had to step down after he was accused of the same. The irony is that the Congress government at the Centre used the issue of telephone-tapping, raised by opposition MPs, to force him to step down. Janata Party’s Madhu Dandavate and Telugu Desam Party’s MP C Madhava Reddy had asked a question in the Lok Sabha on the tapping of politicians’ telephones.

The Union government had done its homework by collecting information on the tapping of politicians’ telephones in Karnataka. It tabled evidence of orders signed by a senior police officer to tap the phones of 51 Janata Party dissidents and Congressmen in Karnataka—topping the list was Deve Gowda, who was at loggerheads with Hegde. On 8 August 1988, Hegde, who had reached New Delhi following the developments, resigned.

Siddaramaiah doesn’t have a clean record either. In 2017, former home minister and BJP MLA R Ashoka had written to governor Vajubhai R Vala that the Siddaramaiah government was monitoring the conversations of his political opponents through a retired IPS officer. 

MUMBAI — The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), led by former captain Kapil Dev, began the process to choose India’s next men’s coach on Friday with former all-rounder Robin Singh appearing first for the interview.

Singh, a former Mumbai Indians coach, appeared before the three-member panel, which also comprises Anshuman Gaikwad and Shantha Rangaswamy.

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The CAC will announce the selected candidate later this evening.

Six names — incumbent Ravi Shastri, Singh, Lalchand Rajput, Mike Hesson, Tom Moody, Phil Simmons — have been shortlisted for the high-profile position.

Singh was followed by Rajput, who was the team’s manager when it won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.

The CAC members, on arrival, side-stepped questions on whether Shastri is a clear favourite to retain the job.

Shastri, who got a 45-day extension after the end of his tenure following the World Cup in England, has been publicly backed by captain Virat Kohli.

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistan government has launched a crackdown on the sale of CDs of Indian movies after New Delhi revoked the special status to Jammu and Kashmir, according to a media report on Friday.

The crackdown is the latest in series of measures announced by Pakistan in reaction to revocation of special status of Kashmir by India.

It also comes after Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) banned the airing of advertisements featuring Indian artists and India-made products.

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“We have banned Indian advertisements and launched a crackdown on CD shops to confiscate Indian movies,” Dawn newspaper quoted Firdous Ashiq Awan, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information, as saying.

She said the Interior Ministry had already started a crackdown on Indian movies in the federal capital and it would be expanded to other parts of the country soon in collaboration with the provincial governments.

“Today the interior ministry raided some compact disc shops in Islamabad and confiscated Indian movies.”

Pemra on Wednesday circulated a letter dated August 14 on Wednesday announcing the ban.

Pemra said that it already withdrew the permission for airing Indian channels and content on the directions of the Pakistan Supreme Court in October last year. 

“However, it has been observed that advertisements of various products of multinationals which are either produced in India or carrying Indian characters/talent [are] being aired on electronic media,” according to the Pemra letter.

It said that currently ads of products like Dettol soap, Surf Excel powder, Pantene shampoo, Head & Shoulders shampoo, Lifebuoy shampoo, Fogg body spray, Sunsilk shampoo, Knorr noodles, Fair & Lovely face wash, and Safeguard soap were being banned.

India has categorically told the international community that its decision on Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and has also asked Pakistan to accept it.

US President Donald Trump is reportedly interested in buying Greenland, an ice-covered island melting before the world’s eyes.

That’s according to a report Thursday in The Wall Street Journal, which spoke to sources familiar with Trump’s conversations on the matter. According to them, the president has repeatedly said he’s interested in acquiring the autonomous Danish territory situated between the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans.

Though Trump spoke with “varying degrees of seriousness” about the possible acquisition, the Journal reported, the president is at least serious enough about it to have asked White House counsel to look into it for him.

Trump may have gotten the idea in his head last spring at a dinner with associates when one of them mentioned that Denmark, which funnels $591 million in subsidies to the 56,000-person territory every year, was struggling to provide that financial assistance and that the U.S. should seek ownership.

“What do you guys think about that? Do you think it would work?” Trump asked the room, the Journal reported. The source present viewed the remark as more of a boastful joke than a serious question.

Denmark, meanwhile, has made no indication that it wants to sell off the island.

It’s not clear what about Greenland has supposedly sparked Trump’s curiosity. The island may be a rich source of rare mineral and energy sources, including iron ore, lead, zinc, diamonds, gold, uranium and oil, though experts say more research needs to be done to know the island’s full potential. 

The U.S. has some defense stakes there, too, including its northernmost military holding, Thule Air Base.

And of course, buying Greenland would give Trump the glory of adding an 811,000-square-mile island to the U.S., giving him a legacy that neither President Harry Truman’s nor President Andrew Johnson’s administrations could claim after their failed attempts to buy Greenland from the Danes. 

Trump is scheduled to visit Denmark next month, though the White House has only said the trip is to “participate in a series of bilateral meetings and meet with business leaders.”

Greenland’s fate with climate change, however, hangs in the balance. Though Trump has repeatedly expressed disbelief in the realities of soaring global temperatures, scientists say the island could eventually be plunged underwater as a result of its rapidly melting ice sheet. Industries there have already started to take a hit. 

The island saw staggering melting last month when Europe’s record-high temperatures moved northward and formed a heat dome over Greenland. In July, it lost 197 billion metric tons of ice; that’s about three times the 60-70 billion metric tons scientists normally expect to see melt there.

US President Donald Trump has reportedly asked his advisers to research the United States purchasing Greenland from Denmark. 

Both The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press reported on the plan, with the Journal saying the discussions had “varying degrees of seriousness” and an AP source calling it “not serious.”  

Former Denmark Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen wondered if the idea was an out-of-season April Fool’s Day joke. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow cracked that Trump would turn Greenland into a golf course once the glaciers melted due to climate change. And the reports caused #Greenland to trend on Twitter, where the plan received given a frosty reception from Trump’s critics: 

India has been following the doctrine of no first use of nuclear weapons.

“India attaining the status of a responsible nuclear nation became a matter of national pride for every citizen of this country. The nation will remain indebted to the greatness of Atal Ji,” he said in a tweet.

Offices of the Jammu and Kashmir government were functioning normally in the Valley on Friday and schools will reopen next week, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said in a press briefing.

Subrahmanyam said there had been no loss of life or major injury since restrictions were imposed on August 5, when the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated and the state was bifurcated into two Union Territories.

“After credible inputs that terror groups were planning strikes in J&K in the immediate future, the government put in place certain preventive steps,” he said.

The chief secretary said 12 districts in Jammu and Kashmir were functioning normally while there were limited restrictions only in five districts.

“Telecom connectivity will gradually be restored in a phased manner. Exchange by exchange, phone lines will become operational,” he added.

“Schools will be opened after the weekend area by area,” Subrahmanyam said.

“Relaxations were made on Eid for people to go out and meet their friends and relatives,” he said.

 On the detentions in the region, he said, “A few preventive detentions of individuals have been made in accordance with the law. These are being reviewed. Appropriate decisions will be taken based on law and order assessment.”

“The government’s focus is on the earliest return to normalcy while ensuring that terrorist forces are given no opportunity to wreak havoc as in the past,” he added.

The story will be updated with more details.

Success! Courteney Cox’s quest to pass on her “Friends” catchphrase “I know!” to the youngest generation just yielded the cutest results.

Watch her young subject finally master the famous words of Cox’s character Monica Geller after previous lessons that yielded only “no.” “He knows,” Cox captioned the latest Instagram post.

Congratulations to Cox for helping to preserve the rich history of “Must See” television.

Her lessons are the next best thing to syndication.

Those who’d like to see how far her little friend came from the previous two sessions can check them out here:

New Jersey is a metaphor. It exists defiantly, sandwiched between two rebelliously distinct metropolises (New York City and Philadelphia). It welcomes mostly anyone — the bad, the good, the very good. It boasts a smattering of ecosystems, too, from beaches to cities to cranberry bogs to mountains. Its identity is strong but ever-changing. You’ll always move around there — a vessel of highways and boulevards in which New Jerseyans are free to always go. There’s a reason so many natives ask new Garden State friends “What exit do you live off of?” 

But what happens when New Jersey becomes a state of mind? You get a damn good Bruce Springsteen song — and the film “Blinded by the Light.”

Directed by Gurinder Chadha (“Bend It Like Beckham,” “Bride and Prejudice”) and based on the 2007 memoir “Greetings From Bury Park” by Sarfraz Manzoor, the coming-of-age film tells the story of a British Pakistani Muslim teen named Javed growing up in the late 1980s who discovers himself through the songs and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen. Through Springsteen’s music, Javed explores identity, romance and his relationship to his parents — all while white supremacy and economic stress infiltrate his town.

The soundtrack, of course, delivers the hits and everything in between that any Springsteen fan would want, including a beautiful reimagining of “Jungleland” — Chadha told HuffPost his music is very important to her and like an “old friend.” Beyond the film’s heart, “Blinded By The Light” shows characters oft not prioritized in Hollywood. Seeing their stories unfold feels as euphoric as a saxophone hitting a high note. 

Javed, played by brilliant newcomer Viveik Kalra, longs to escape the industrial working-class town of Luton, which sits less than 50 miles outside of London. He writes poems about such dreams. As Springsteen’s stomping grounds in Asbury Park, New Jersey, are “in the shadow of Manhattan,” Chadha told HuffPost, “Luton is always in the shadow of London.” 

While Luton and Asbury Park could be kindred spirits of sorts, “Blinded by the Light” really succeeds in outlining the blistering underbelly of white supremacy in the U.K. during the time. The film shows several instances in which members of the the National Front, a fascist British political party, terrorize immigrant families. Javed is followed by a skinhead at one point. The audience also sees townspeople defile a local mosque with a pig’s head. There’s a chilling scene in which young white children urinate on the door of a Pakistani immigrant’s home. It happens so frequently, the occupant admits to Javed and his father, that they had to put plastic down by the entryway inside. 

The grips of white supremacy come to a frightening crescendo in a scene in which the National Front march through Luton, causing chaos and violence.

Chadha admits that it was the most emotionally challenging scene to film. When the extras walked around set donning Nazi apparel and brandishing signs with swastikas, the director said, it felt “really, terribly sad.”

“It brought all of that terror back that you somehow pocketed, put away, from the ’80s,” Chadha said. “When we did the first take, everybody who was over 35 sort of just stopped in their tracks because it was so harrowing. It brought it all back.”

Even the extras felt disturbed by their roles. At one point Chadha told HuffPost that an assistant director ushered her to the actors, who were upset after several takes of the NF march. Chadha spoke with them to assure them and ultimately rile them up to finish production of the scene. 

Chadha, who says she’s been listening to Springsteen all of her life, also revealed that she was given special permission from The Boss to use his 1975 song “Jungleland” during the NF march scene. 

“I just heard Clarence’s saxophone playing over those marches as a way of subverting the hate. I couldn’t do it without asking Bruce. So I came to New York and after [his] Broadway show, I met him.”

After she asked for his permission –– just to use Clarence Clemons’ crooning saxophone from the song –– Bruce agreed it was a good idea.

“He said, ‘I think Clarence would really love that.’ That whole scene is even more special to me because of the way he said that Clarence would love that. I personally thought it was very spiritual,” Chadha said. 

Beyond the Springsteen adoration, the film serves as a refreshing and necessary source of representation. Through Manzoor’s storytelling and Chadha’s lens, viewers witness real obstacles South Asian immigrants faced when coming to a country then led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. There are several highs, too. Every character in “Blinded by the Light” gets loving character development, from Javed’s parents played by the scene-stealing actors Kulvinder Ghir and Meera Ganatra, to Roops, portrayed by the charming Aaron Phagura, Javed’s Sikh friend who hands him his first Springsteen cassette tapes. You’ll laugh with them, cry with them and root for them.

At the end of the film, Javed recites his piece “My American Dream in Luton” to his class. He declares that Springsteen represents “not only American values, but the best of human values.” He recognizes that his desire to leave Luton does not mean he should or will reject the life his family worked tirelessly to cultivate.

“I know that having dreams doesn’t make me a bad son,” he says. “I also know that everything I am is because of the sacrifices my mom and dad made.” 

Bruce and Javed have different backgrounds, sure, but they cling to hope tirelessly and fiercely. Whether it’s walking down the streets of Luton or hopping on a New Jersey Transit bus to Asbury Park, “Blinded by the Light” encapsulates everything you might feel while wearing a proper jean jacket, cranking “Dancing in the Dark” in your headphones and running into your freeing, terrifying future. 

Greenland’s foreign minister has nixed US President Donald Trump’s reported interest in buying the autonomous Danish territory for the United States.

“We are open for business, but we’re NOT for sale,” Ane Lone Bagger told Reuters on Friday.

Trump had spoken with aides about the idea to buy the world’s biggest island, located between the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans, with “varying degrees of seriousness”, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The Associated Press, however, cited a source who claimed Trump ― who is scheduled to visit Denmark next month ― was not really “was not serious” about the plan.

It inevitably set Twitter alight.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Denmark’s former prime minister, tweeted that Trump’s idea “has to be an April Fool’s joke. Totally out of season.”

Soren Espersen, the foreign affairs spokesman for the Danish People’s Party, said “if he truly is contemplating this, then this is final proof, that he has gone mad.” “The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous,” he added to broadcaster DR. 

And Rufus Gifford, the former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, used this thread to explain why it would be “a complete and total catastrophe.”

Miley Cyrus has unveiled a new break-up track, following her recent split from Liam Hemsworth.

The singer confirmed over the weekend that she and Liam had chosen to go their separate ways after eight months of marriage, and she’s now unveiled a new song titled Slide Away, which appears to allude to the split.

Co-written by Miley, the song opens with the lyric: “Once upon a time, it was paradise, once upon a time, I was paralysed, think I’m gonna miss these harbour lights, but it’s time to let it go.”

On the chorus, she sings about a former lover “sliding away back to the ocean”, while she goes “back to the city lights”, before declaring: “Move on, we’re not 17, I’m not who I used to be. You say that everything changed, you’re right, we’re grown now.”

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

The two first met in 2009 – when Miley was, as the song suggests, 17 years old – while working together on the film The Last Song, confirming they were an item a year later.

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

Miley alluded to the split for the first time in an Instagram post earlier this week, sharing a photo of herself in the mountains alongside a message about embracing “inevitable” changes.

“Don’t fight evolution, because you will never win,” she said. “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.” 

Liam later said: “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.”

Listen to Slide Away in full below:

The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), led by former captain Kapil Dev, announced on Friday that Ravi Shastri will continue as the head coach of Indian men’s cricket team. 

Shastri, who got a 45-day extension after the end of his tenure following the World Cup in England, was publicly backed by captain Virat Kohli.

However, Dev, in a press conference, said that they did not consult Kohli. “We did not ask anyone.”

Former West Indies opener Phil Simmons pulled out of the race for the Indian cricket team chief coach’s job, leaving five aspirants in the race.

Ravi Shastri was on Friday re-appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s team by the Kapil Dev-led Cricket Advisory Committee. Captain Virat Kohli had openly backed Shastri. 

He has been reappointed for a two-year period, ending with the 2021 T20 World Cup in India.

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Shastri pipped former India teammates Robin Singh and Lalchand Rajput along with former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson and Australian Tom Moody to the post. Former West Indies and Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons pulled out of the race, citing personal reasons.

Shastri was considered a frontrunner since the BCCI invited applications for head coach. Twitter had a lot to say about CAC’s decision to re-appoint Shastri:

Some even compared the selection process of the coach to that of Congress president. Sonia Gandhi was recently named interim Congress Party president.

(With PTI inputs)