Drake struck out at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday night, getting booed off the stage during a surprise appearance at the Camp Flog Gnaw music festival.

Several clips show the Canadian rapper appealing to the crowd that he’d like to continue performing ― but being met with jeers and chants of “we want Frank”.

The “Frank” in question would be Frank Ocean ― the artist who had been heavily rumoured to be the special guest performer at Tyler, the Creator’s annual concert, as reported by Newsweek.

Drake did perform several songs, but the rude reception prompted him to exit about 20 minutes early, according to Billboard.

“Like I said, I’m here for you,” Drake said. “If you want me to keep going, I’ll keep going.” 

But the boos and cries of “no” sent the Hotline Bling star permanently into the wings.

“It’s been love,” he said. “I go by the name of Drake, thank you for having me.” 

Here’s a longer look at the incident that includes some people in the crowd realising that the entire show is over. Another clip shows fan reaction well after that:

As Jammu and Kashmir entered its 100th day of lockdown on Tuesday, residents in large parts of the Kashmir Valley were without electricity as the first snowfall hit their power supply last week. 

The Valley has been without electricity since Thursday, November 7, The Print’s Azaan Javaid reports.

Thousands of electric poles and numerous transformers were damaged due to unprecedented snowfall, an administration spokesperson told PTI on Saturday, adding heavy damage to 220KV and 132KV lines resulted in complete failure of grid stations.

Officials told the news agency that power supply to all hospitals in Kashmir was restored on Saturday.

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Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Baseer Khan told PTI on Monday electricity supply in Srinagar district had been restored almost fully. However, residents of other parts of the Valley say they have without been electricity for 4-5 days.

The lack of power supply has disrupted life in Kashmir.

“I had to wash my face with a mug of water which I collected from the snowmelt from the roof. There is no electricity for the past two days in our area and we could not get the water supplied to the water tanks on the roof,” said Bashir Ahmed, a resident of Rawalpora in Srinagar, told the Economic Times.

 “On previous occasions, there was an elected government to fail us so we would direct our ire at known politicians and public faces. With all of them in jail, who should we blame now?” a local businessman told The Print. 

On Saturday, the Power Distribution Corporation and Transco Limited said it had taken up the restoration work on a war footing and power supply in most areas of Srinagar city and other district headquarters had been restored.

The commissioner secretary was assured by chief engineers that power supply in the Valley would be fully restored in the next four to five days, the spokesperson told PTI, adding the divisional commissioner was informed that snow on all the major roads across the Valley has been cleared.

However, five days later, on Tuesday, people said they still did not have power.

Divisional Commissioner Baseer Khan said 95% of electricity supply in Srinagar district, 78% in Pulwama, 73% in Kulgam and 70% each in Shopian and Ganderbal has been restored on Monday.

Islam has been based in the UK for over a decade and was awarded a three-year Junior Research Fellowship after completing her PhD from Newnham College at the University of Cambridge this year.

Dr Asiya Islam is a highly valued member of the research community at Newnham College and the University of Cambridge. Dr Islam has an impressive academic record: she was a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge, was awarded the best degree performance award at the London School of Economics, and received the Dr Zakir Hussain medal for academic excellence from Aligarh Muslim University, said a spokesperson for Newnham College.

In a letter weeks after Islam’s super priority ILR application costing nearly 3,500 pounds, the Home Office replied that it would not be unreasonable to expect her to re-integrate back into life and society in India”, having only been in the UK for a short period.

In addition, it is considered that you would be able to re-establish a private life and form new friendships, or resume friendships with former acquaintances, upon your return, the letter adds.

The response has caused widespread outrage in the academic community and a retaliatory open letter, doing the rounds on social media and now signed by over 1300 academics and students, describes Islam as an outstanding young academic with a promising career in the UK .

It urges the Home Office to reconsider its stance and calls on Home Secretary Priti Patel for appropriate discretion in deciding her application.

“Her case is distressing, but it also sends a foreboding signal that despite policy changes to protect Tier 2 researchers, UK universities will continue to lose the talented PhD researchers that they have invested years in training,” notes the open letter.

“Her qualitative research on the ground in New Delhi is the key element of her PhD’s contribution to knowledge. Her research is an asset to the UK and its academic community, yet her very success in academic fieldwork is now being held against her,” it notes.

Islam plans to appeal against the Home Office decision, which she believes flies in the face of the UK government’s Global Britain message.

DUBAI — A promotional video published by Saudi Arabia’s state security agency categorises feminism, homosexuality and atheism as extremist ideas, even as the conservative Muslim kingdom seeks to promote tolerance and attract foreigners.

The animated clip posted on Twitter at the weekend by a verified account of the State Security Presidency said “all forms of extremism and perversion are unacceptable”.

It listed those concepts alongside takfir - the Islamist militant practice of labelling followers of other schools of Islam unbelievers.

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“Don’t forget that excess of anything at the expense of the homeland is considered extremism,” said the promo’s voiceover.

As part of plans to open up society and attract foreign investment to transform Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pushed for a more moderate form of Islam and promoted nationalist sentiment.

He has loosened social restrictions and launched a tourist visa and, as Saudi Arabia prepares to take over the presidency of the Group of 20 countries next year, Riyadh has chipped away at a guardianship system that assigns each woman a male relative to approve important decisions throughout their lives.

But the authorities have also cracked down on dissent, arresting scores of critics including clerics, intellectuals and activists.

Nearly a dozen women’s right advocates were detained weeks before a ban on women driving - which they had campaigned against - was lifted last year. Activists and diplomats speculated that may have been a message that reform would happen only at the government’s initiative.

The public prosecutor has said the women were arrested on suspicion of harming Saudi interests and offering support to hostile elements abroad. Some of the charges relate to their rights work.

Under Saudi law, supporting groups classified as extremist organisations can lead to imprisonment.

Homosexuality and atheism have long been illegal and punishable by death in the absolute monarchy, where public protests and political parties are banned and the media is tightly controlled.

″Pagal ho jaun, jab tu ho rubaru; na uncha lamba, gora chitta, phir bhi dil mein tu (I go crazy, when you are near, you’re not tall, or fair and handsome, yet you are in my heart),” Bhumi Pednekar, painted a dozen shades darker than she actually is, sings to Ayushman Khurrana’s character in Bala in a promotional track that landed on the internet a few weeks back. Within a few days, the whole Instagram ecosystem was all over the song with beauty bloggers showing glam eye looks while the song played on the background and dance influencers announcing classes to teach the choreography of the song. As I scrolled through my feed, the song kept popping up over and over again: ”na gora chitta, phir bhi dil main tu″. Now, I am dark-skinned and it’s been a few years that I have stopped giving “only gora chitta = beautiful” business any of my few damns, but the song made me think: what would a younger me feel? Or what would younger girls, at the beginning of the long, exhausting, infuriating road to self-acceptance and love, feel as the song played on a loop on their social media feeds and blasted from shared cabs and buses?

The operative word here is ”phir bhi”, as if it’s unusual for a non-fair person to be loved or desired. While from the trailer, it seemed the film aspires to break stigmas around dark skin, it’s almost impossible to understand how they could instead end up reinforcing them by hiring a light-skinned Bhumi Pednekar to play a dark-skinned woman. 

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The lyrics brought back unpleasant childhood memories of discussions about my skin colour. “Gayer rong chapa hole ki hobe, mukhta toh mishti (so what if she is dark skinned, she has such a sweet face),” I remember my aunts saying as they discussed my matrimonial prospects. It was as if my “sweet face” was the saving grace for the bane that is my dark skin, because otherwise who would marry me? And no, I wasn’t preparing for marriage, I was about 8 or 9 years old. As a child these conversations stayed with me  — “must be fair skinned to find a man to marry me”. Casual remarks about my dark skin by friends, family, classmates were something that I had to get used to. I remember feeling like less of a human being, always a step away from perfection, and who was never, ever going to get the best of everything because of my skin colour. I was lucky that my parents would tell me over and over that I was perfect just the way I was. But the negative voices always rang louder. Now I know that all the anxiety and fears I had as a child were triggered by outside voices, they were triggered by other people’s anxieties about my apparent husband-less future. 

The problematic nature of trying a woman’s worth to a husband aside, casting Pednekar as a dark skinned woman brought back flashes of those conversations. Was a dark skinned woman not good enough to play a dark skinned woman in a Bollywood movie? Apparently not. 

[Read our review of Balahere.]

Bollywood can’t get it right

Now, it’s no secret that Bollywood isn’t the place for body positivity. Once, I watched Naseeb Apna Apna on Zee Cinema, while my nanny took her afternoon nap and I was left to my own devices. A fair-skinned Rishi Kapoor is married off to Chandu (a brown-faced Raadhika). Kapoor is repulsed by her complexion, so he marries Radha, played by Farah Naaz. He only accepts Chandu back when she goes to a parlour and returns with her hair straightened out and her skin significantly fairer. 

Imagine watching that and then trying to believe my parents who insisted that beauty did not matter. It wasn’t entirely easy. The popular female actors of my time — women I watched with wide-eyed adoration — were all fair skinned. Madhuri Dixit, Monisha Koirala, Juhi Chawla, Karishma Kapoor were light skinned, and somehow, I never thought anyone with my skin colour could be like them — glamorous, popular, successful. Then, when Kajol started making headway into the industry and newspapers hailed her as the ‘dusky’ beauty, relatives and acquaintances often chatted about how fair-skinned her mother Tanuja is. “How is her daughter so kaalo (dark)? But she is a good actor,” I’ve heard aunts, neighbours and friends say countless times, as if her acting talent was a welcome respite from the colour of her skin.  

All this, despite my parents’ protestations made me think that I was not enough. Which is why I keep circling back to Pednekar in Bala. Even though she is a fabulous actor, it’s impossible to believe that makers couldn’t find a single dark skinned female across from across India to play the role. For some young girl in some corner of India, it may seem like you have to be a light skinned woman to even play a dark skinned woman in Bollywood.

Not just Bollywood, the whole pop culture narrative around films exhorted women to look ‘fair’. Articles in magazines told women to put cucumbers, potatoes, dahi, tomatoes to look like their favourite actor. 

“Beauty gurus” who wrote on Sunday magazines had a solution for all sorts of darkness — dark knees, dark elbows, dark armpits and dark knuckles. Rub, scrub, dunk yourself in food products to attain your best, beautiful self, they told women. I won’t lie, I did try some of them. Once a friend’s mother advised that I must put ubtan on my body to attain fair skin. My skin violently broke out in rashes. Even ubtan failed. 

Caste and class aggressions

The portrayal of dark skin in cinema and society’s ideas of what qualifies as “beautiful” is also intrinsically linked to caste and class. My aforementioned nanny would often joke that I was not my parent’s child. She would say I was a homeless child who had been picked up from the road by my parents. Proof was my dark skin, many shades darker than my mother’s. Years later, when I was in Class 7, the boy who sat behind me in class called me “shaontalmeye” or tribal girl.

As a child, I did not want to be identified as either a homeless child or a tribal person. Considering the conversations around everything beginning from class or caste was cocooned in caste and class privilege, they were mostly tone deaf. And I imbibed most of it, including shame for being associated with a ‘santhal’. It took years of reading and interaction with teachers, classmtes and friends who knew better to undo the obnoxious class and caste importance that privilege gifted me. 

It wasn’t just in everyday conversations among irresponsible and ignorant adults that skin colour was made out to be some sort of an important caste and class marker.  

In Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) — a film considered a seminal document on India’s politics then, a very fair skinned Simi Garewal was cast as Duli, a Santhal girl. The film was shot in black and white and when I watched it as a 20-year-old in college it was clear that her complexion had been darkened considerably. “Has she been dunked in a barrel of tar?” I remember thinking. 

Dark skinned background dancers in tribal clothes chanting “jhinga lala hurr” or other such pretend tribal lyrics was quite common in the 80s and 90s. Think Hum Befawa (Shalimar), Hawa Hawai (Mr India), Saat Samandar Paar (Vishwatma) and Oye Oye (Tridev). Some of the dancers were brown faced as well. 

It’s 2019 and “woke” Bollywood continues to paint its actors brown instead of casting people with actual dark skin. One wonders why, because we are a country of dark skinned people. Alia Bhatt, who albeit acted really well, was brown faced in Udta Punjab, Ranveer Singh was many shades darker than his usual skin tone in Gully Boy and Hrithik Roshan was doused in bad bronzer in Super 30. The list is endless. A-list Bollywood actors like Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan have endorsed fairness creams too. And till today, leading Bollywood actors continue to be generally fair skinned. 

By the time I went to high school, I was a bit more aware, in want of a better word. I had slowly began to see the unfairness of this bias against dark skin. I watched Oprah on Star World at 2 pm everyday. She told me to turn my “pain into power” and warned of men “who were just not that into you”. Turn my pain into power, I did, in a way a 15-year-old knew best. A large part of it involved overcompensating for my apparent “lack” of “good looks”. I was exceptionally good at everything else I did. I won prizes in fests, I carefully made myself “cool”, boys paid me attention and in some ways my self-worth grew from that male validation. 

Thanks to internet, and college, I found feminism and feminist writers and that literally lit something inside me. A few years later, Facebook and Twitter had arrived, bringing with it the voices of other women who had felt the same way as I did when they were young, who had been otherised on the basis of their appearances. It made me realise that I didn’t need to be desired by men who thought I should be fairer, that I did not need to desired by a man to feel good about myself. Period. 

Amid widespread criticism after the Bala trailer release, Pednekar defended her brown face. She told IANS, “See, that was the character. When people see the film they will understand that it is not making fun of colour. It is a film that is trying to break the basic bias or the obsession that people have with fair-skinned India.”

Bala releases at a time when several actors have cried hoarse about the colour bias that runs deep in the film industry. Nandita Das, who has been part of several campaigns that tries to break the bias against dark skin in India, has spoken several times about the discrimination she has faced in the film industry. “When there is a role of a rural woman, or a Dalit woman, or a role of a slum-dweller, then my skin colour is fine… But the minute I have to play an educated, upper-middle-class character, invariably someone comes up to me and says ‘I know you don’t like to lighten your skin, but you know this role is of an upper-middle-class educated person’,” she said while launching the India’s Got Colour campaign last month. 

Malaika Arora said recently that she had been put into the “dark skin” category when she joined the film industry. “I came at a time in the business when this whole thing about dark-skinned, fair-skinned was so prevalent and I was always put into the dark-skinned category so that was always there initially so ya that bias was always there,” she told Neha Dhupia in an episode of #NoFilterNeha Season 4. 

Watching the trailer of Bala affected me very little, but made me realise that the bias against dark skin is alive and thriving. While the comments on my skin tone and the bullying I faced as a child made me more sensitive, empathetic and aware, it also took a lot of time away from my childhood that I could have spent doing constructive things. It took away precious time that I could have spent enjoying my life instead of worrying about how I looked. 

If Bollywood is going to milk the our lives for melodrama and profit, it should at least have the decency to walk its own talk. It must accept that brown facing its actors is nothing but blatant racism. 

The drama in Calabasas has carried all the way to the red carpet. 

Kim and Kourtney Kardashianmadeheadlines Sunday night as fans and critics alike commented on their awkward interaction at the People’s Choice Awards in Los Angeles. 

During an interview with E! News host Giuliana Rancic focused on what the women were wearing, Kourtney spoke only a handful of words before Kim rushed to cut in. 

“Can we break down the looks?” Rancic said, motioning her microphone toward Kourtney who answered, “I didn’t plan this. Naeem Khan, is that how you say it?” 

Kim butted in halfway through Kourtney’s interview and ― ever the businesswoman and Kardashian brand stan ― said, “KKW Diamonds, that’s all. We’re all wearing it!” while Kourtney finished her sentence. 

Kim said she was doing her eldest sister a favor and told her, “I was saving you since you didn’t know who you were wearing. That was my save.”

Kourtney said that wasn’t the truth, at all.

“No, I just didn’t know how to pronounce it,” she said, while Kim let out a little, “Oh.”

Rancic and momager Kris Jenner kept things moving and played off the awkward moment by going over outfit details. 

As far as sisterly spats go, the moment isn’t quite as crazy as when Kim branded Kourt “least exciting to look at” in 2018 during a brutal fight captured by “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” cameras. 

It’s also not as bad (or funny) as the KKW Beauty founder calling Kourtney a “fuckin’ fake humanitarian ho” the following year. But it does paint a picture as to why the Poosh founder thinks about leaving the family’s reality show. 

The eldest Kardashian sister said last week during an interview with “Entertainment Tonight” that she’ll be spending less time in front of the “KUWTK” cameras during the next season. 

In a Deep Cuts episode of the Netflix show Patriot Act, the audience asks host and comedian Hasan Minhaj about his thoughts on the looming recession in the United States. Minhaj says what terrifies him is how the news headlines always talk about impending doom but never tell you exactly what will happen. This fear is understandable. None of us likes to be caught unawares. But the problem is that even financial experts don’t know for sure. It’s a game of probabilities and not certainties. Is it certain that a recession is coming? No. Is there a recession on the horizon? Yes, there is a high probability of one. In a world where our Uber arrivals, Amazon deliveries and Swiggy orders ensure we are never in the dark about date, place and time, the uncertainty of the exact onset of a recession induces a small panic attack. 

Economists in the US have been predicting a recession for over two years now. The country is witnessing its longest period of economic growth in history (albeit one of its slowest too) and at some point, the business cycle is bound to change. If the US goes into a recession, the ripple effects would be felt in India too. Larger information technology firms in India still depend heavily on revenues from the US. This means that a lot of jobs here are inextricably linked to what happens there. 

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While the question to Minhaj was about an American recession, it may well have been about one in India. Our economy is experiencing a slowdown. In fact, it may have started three years ago – remember demonetisation in November 2016, followed by the chaotic rollout of the Goods and Services Tax in July 2017? Even before that, the methodology to calculate economic growth (as a measure of gross domestic product or GDP) was changed in 2015, adding to the confusion.

According to the latest figures released in August this year, GDP growth in the April-June quarter hit a six-year-low of 5%. 

In this gloomy scenario, Indians, particularly the young workforce, are increasingly turning to Google for advice on dealing with the economic situation – in the absence of clear answers from the experts. The last time we had so many people asking Google if India was headed for a recession was in 2011 and 2008 – both years that witnessed a slowdown coinciding with a global financial crisis. The Google Trends graph below shows the trend in searches for the term “India recession” between January 2004 and September 2019:

How to be recession-proof

So, what is a recession? Economists have their own definitions for the term – a common thumb rule being a period of two consecutive quarters of contraction – and often split hairs on whether it’s a slowdown or a recession. But for us regular folk, does it really matter? When the economy stutters, we feel the pinch. Asking people not to panic is easier said than done. In a slowdown, even our jobs could be on the line. 

In a desperate measure to prop up the economy and address the concerns of equity market investors, the government slashed corporate tax rates on 20 September. Lower taxes mean higher net profits for companies (if everything else is constant). And, hopefully, this translates to no job losses and higher incomes for employees. 

Whether this holds true is yet to be seen. But for now, let’s look at what we can do to make ourselves as recession-proof as possible.

The 8-point checklist

1. Job

Even in jobs that seem secure, a recession means that company management will cut costs and most people often don’t see a lay-off coming. It is advisable to keep your resume updated and ready. There are numerous free certifications available online and including them is not a bad idea. And don’t forget to network and reconnect with old contacts. 

2. Expenses

This is the best time to take a deep look at your budget and plug any leaks. For instance, if you have subscriptions for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and cable TV, why not make do with just one? And if there are expensive club or gym memberships that you have bought but never use, now is the time to cut the cord. Monitor your credit card expenditure, especially if you’re trigger-happy at the swipe machine.

3. Income

Try to create a second source of income. It could be as simple as teaching students in the neighbourhood. Or, if you have a special talent or passion – baking, dance, crafts, anything – try to sell it. People prefer home-made to store-bought often enough.  

4. Debt

If you have loans, prioritise high-interest debt, such as credit card dues. Even if you pay the minimum amount due, you will still be charged interest on the remainder, which could be as high as 36% annually. 

5. Emergencies

Check on your reserves or emergency cash. While most planners recommend stashing away funds that would take care of three months of expenses, having 12 months worth is better at keeping stress in check.

6. Health

Make sure you have adequate health insurance cover, apart from the one provided by your employer. Then, even if you are laid off, you will have something to fall back on should an emergency arise.

7. Portfolio

Take a top-down view of your finances to see if you are on track to meet all your goals, or if some tweaks are needed. When companies experience a slowdown, it reflects in their stock prices. This means the equity component of your portfolio will experience some pain. However, if your equities aren’t linked to short-term goals or if you’re not near retirement age, stock market gyrations should not bother you much.

8. Impulse

In his book ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’, Matt Haig says the world is increasingly designed to depress us and that if we are happy with what we have, we won’t need more. Remembering this important lesson, ask yourself if you really need to buy that iPhone, which is now available at a lower price. Avoiding social media might also help curb your expenses. I recently came back from a vacation in the US but when I see photos of friends holidaying in Goa, I’m tempted to head there too. People spend because of the Fear of Missing Out and social media does not help.

For people under 30, the next recession will probably be the first one in their working life. Remember that recessions are not permanent and that growth will follow. Keeping some of these tips in mind can help you build a solid financial base, whether you’re trying to weather an economic recession or not.

Nithin Sasikumar is the co-founder of Investography, a financial wellness company based in Bengaluru. He can be reached at nithin@investography.in or on Twitter @NithinSasikumar

“Watchmen,” a new HBO series created by Damon Lindelof (“Lost,” “The Leftovers”), is set about three decades after the 1986 comic book series in an alternate reality where Robert Redford is president and baby cephalopods fall from the sky. Though based on the comic, the TV show remixes the superhero saga to explore racial injustice, policing, politics and family.

Some characters do return, including Agent Laurie Blake (Jean Smart), the former second Silk Spectre, and Adrian Veidt (Jeremy Irons), aka Ozymandias, once one of the richest people in the world and also the person who secretly sent a giant squid to kill half of New York in the ’80s in order to avert nuclear war. (We know, it’s a lot to untangle; here’s a deeper explainer if you’re confused.) However, the first four episodes of “Watchmen” focus mostly on a twisty story about new characters in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

A war is brewing in Tulsa between the mask-wearing white supremacist group known as the Seventh Kavalry and the also-mask-wearing cops trying to keep the peace. With everyone wearing masks, detective Angela Abar (Regina King), aka Sister Night, finds it nearly impossible to tell the good guys from the bad. The arrival of Will Reeves (Louis Gossett Jr.), a mysterious figure in a wheelchair who is tied to Abar’s past, complicates things even more. There’s also a trillionaire, Lady Trieu (Hong Chau), who seems to be able to predict the future and is building a giant clock for reasons yet unknown.

With so much going on, HuffPost’s Bill Bradley and Erin Evans decided to unmask some of the storylines on “Watchmen” so you could decide the ultimate question: Should you watch it?

The Bottom Line 

NEW DELHI — The BCCI’s plans to dilute reforms mandated by the Supreme Court amount to “ridiculing” the country’s highest judicial authority, asserted Lodha committee secretary Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who had a pivotal role in drafting the revamp. 

Sankaranarayanan feels the Supreme Court still has a role to play in the matter and should take appropriate steps, otherwise all its efforts to reform the BCCI’s administrative structure would go waste.

“If this is permitted to be done and if it remains unchallenged in court and the Supreme Court does not either have a challenge before it or it does not take up suo motu, it will mean ridiculing of the Supreme Court and everything that it did over the years,” he told ESPNcricinfo.

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The proposal to change the reformed constitution came to light last Saturday when BCCI’s new secretary Jay Shah gave out the agenda for the board’s annual general meeting to be held in Mumbai on 1 December.

The most stunning amendments include altering the rules concerning the cooling-off period for office-bearers, relaxing various disqualification criteria and removing the need for any changes to the constitution needing approval from the Supreme Court.

“It will completely mean going back to square one as far as cricket administration and reforms are concerned. Most of the significant changes would have ceased to exist,” he said.

Sankaranarayanan was the secretary of the Lodha Committee, which was appointed by the apex court in 2015 to usher in reforms in cricket administration in the country.

The committee was headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha, along with former Supreme Court Justices RV Raveendran and Ashok Bhan.

According to Sankaranarayanan, if these dilutions are adopted, they might be challenged in the court. 

“They are trying to imply that they will no longer need the Supreme Court’s imprimatur when it (BCCI) makes changes (to the constitution),” he said.

Sankaranarayanan, who was closely involved in drafting the reforms, however, feels the apex court is partly responsible for the current situation as it played a role in diluting the reforms.

“It makes no difference if the amendment is unanimous...in my view the court will have a role because the court had a role all this while. It was specific when it approved the initial reforms (in 2016), then it approved the constitution that was drafted and submitted by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) last year,” he said.

“They could possibly try and argue that, ‘Look, the Supreme Court has not barred us from amending our own constitution so we are more than capable of amending it and making all sorts of changes to it.’ That is a narrow way of looking at things.

“They will somehow ensure whatever is left after Supreme Court itself had reversed much of the (original reforms) so that old cliques can continue to operate in a big way,” he added.

Feeling a little heated? It’s typically nothing to worry about ― especially if you’re sick. However, other issues can cause your temperature to rise.

A normal body temp is typically around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) but can vary slightly for each individual, and even fluctuate depending on the time of day. 

“It can be lower in the morning and higher in the late afternoon and evening,” said Michael Hall, a physician based in Miami. But when your temperature gets to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, and lasts more than a few hours, you’re getting into fever territory ― something that can be caused by a number of conditions.

“Most of my patients understand that a fever is a common symptom of cold and flu,” said Christopher Dietz, an area medical director at MedExpress Urgent Care. “However, what some people might not realize is that a fever isn’t always just a sign that you’re coming down with something.” 

Here’s what could also be at play, according to medical experts:

Infections

If you are looking for the reason behind your elevated temperature, start here. Experts note that infections are commonly associated with a fever.

“When the immune system detects a threat such as bacteria or virus, a substance known as pyrogens is released into the bloodstream to reach the hypothalamus, which regulates body temperature,” said Diana Gall, a general practitioner with Doctor4U in the U.K. “When the hypothalamus detects pyrogens, it raises body temperature and causes fever in an attempt to kill off bacteria and viruses.” 

She noted that a high fever is one of the ways your body is responding and fighting the infection ― “but a body temperature that is too high can also be dangerous.”

“If the fever is persistent and isn’t coming down with home remedies, you should see a doctor, particularly if the fever is accompanied by a severe headache, difficulty breathing, blood in your urine or stool, redness of the skin or rash, or vomiting, etc. The infection may be serious and your body temperature may not reduce without medical treatment,” she said.

Overexerting yourself outdoors

Hot outdoor temperatures and “internal heat generation from exercise and mechanical movement of the body can heat you up,” said Phil Mitchell, national medical director at DispatchHealth. 

Under normal circumstances, your body will function well enough to cool you down through sweating and dilation of blood vessels. But if these basic systems are overcome and you cannot cool down, your body will continue to increase in temperature.

This typically does not happen from exercise alone, but exertion in a hot environment can cause this under the right circumstances, Mitchell said. He noted that you should immediately remove yourself from the heat and try other methods to cool your body down if this is the case.

Heatstroke can occur if heat exhaustion is not treated promptly. “You need immediate medical attention if you become confused, lose consciousness or if you have an elevated temperature in this situation,” said Steven Reisman, a cardiologist and director ofNew York Cardiac Diagnostic Center.

Vaccinations

Vaccines to prevent a bacterial or viral infection prepare your body to come in contact with that infection later, said Erik A. Larsen, assistant director of EMS and emergency preparedness at White Plains Hospital in New York’s Westchester County.

“So when you get the vaccine, your body’s immune response is stimulated and the body says, ‘Whoa, what is this?’ It then mounts a fever,” he said.

Larsen added that when you get a vaccine, you’re not really invaded by an active infection, but it tips your body off that sometime in the future you may come across this.

Alcohol withdrawal

“Low-grade fevers can occur during the first few days of alcohol withdrawal as the central nervous system, which has been suppressed by alcohol, readjusts,” said Holly Phillips, a board-certified general internist in New York and a medical expert for RxSaver.

Alcohol withdrawal also causes tremors, which can affect your heat, Larsen said.

“The body is reacting to the loss of not receiving alcohol, which creates muscle contractions. This makes the body shake like a tremor, and it raises the body’s temperature,” he said.

Inflammatory conditions

Certain inflammatory conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, can cause fevers, said Lisa Alex, a physician at Medical Offices of Manhattan. This also occurs because the body is producing pyrogens, which raises your temperature. So if you have underlying inflammatory conditions and have a flare-up of any sort, the result may be a fever.

Certain medications

“Many medications like antibiotics [and] antimalarials can also cause drug-induced fever. Anticonvulsants and some herbal medications can also do the trick,” said Soma Mandal, a New Jersey-based physician.

You should monitor your body’s reaction when taking any new medication.

“Look for a fever that starts a week after starting a new medication and goes away once you stop taking the drug,” said J. David Gatz, an assistant medical director of the emergency department at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Blood clots

Blood clots are an under-discussed source of fevers, according to Nate Favini, medical lead at preventative primary care service Forward.

“If you’re experiencing fever along with pain, swelling and redness in your leg or shortness of breath, that could be a sign of a blood clot,” he said.  

Endometriosis 

“While rare, several of my patients have had fever and flu-like symptoms every month at the start of their periods, likely due to severe pelvic inflammation caused by chronic bleeding into the stomach from wide-spread endometriosis,” said Kenneth Ward, director ofPredictive Laboratories and a scientific advisor forPredictive Technology Group in Salt Lake City.

If you experience this, Ward suggested making an appointment with your physician to get screened for the condition. Additional symptoms can include debilitating cramps during your period or pain with sex, urination or bowel movements.

Recent surgery

If you’ve recently gone under the knife, especially for a chest or abdominal procedure, you may experience an elevation in temperature in the days to follow, known as postoperative fever.

“The body produces inflammatory proteins in response to the trauma surgery ... This causes fever as a reaction for the first few days post-operatively,” said Laurence Gerlis, CEO and lead clinician atSameDayDoctor in London.

Studies show that this is a common side effect from surgeries, with up to 90% of patients reporting elevated temperature after the fact. In most cases, this resolves on its own.

Fevers could also be a side effect to anesthesia, although that’s more rare, said Erin Nance, an orthopedic surgeon and hand and upper extremity specialist in New York. This is called malignant hyperthermia.

When this happens, according to Nance, it’s because of your body’s response to common anesthetic agents used during surgery. This can present as a high fever, muscle rigidity and rapid heart rate. The condition can be fatal and is treated with a medication called Dantrolene and ice packs.

“If you have a family history of malignant hyperthermia, it is critical to tell your anesthesiologist before proceeding with surgery,” she said.

STIs

Rina Allawh, a board-certified dermatologist withMontgomery Dermatology LLC in Pennsylvania, said that certain sexually transmitted infections may cause a higher-than-normal temperature.

“Initially, syphilis presents with a non-tender chancre (i.e. an ulcer). However, if left untreated, may result in high fevers, joint pain, lymph node enlargement and fatigue,” he said.

Gonorrhea, if left untreated, may result in high fevers associated with a rash, Allawh said. To prevent life-threatening consequences, prompt recognition and treatment of the condition is essential, he said. Additionally, “practicing safe sexual practices and sexual-transmitted disease testing” is equally as important. 

Traveling to another country

Depending on the area of travel, a rise in body temperature can often be attributed to tropical bacteria and protozoa not often seen in developed countries, said Amna Husain, a board certified pediatrician and founder of Pure Direct Pediatric in New Jersey.

“For this reason, I recommend travelers consult with their physicians and refer to the (Centers for Disease Control) guidelines for safe food and water recommendations,” she said.

Hormone disorders or changes

“Hyperthyroidism itself does not cause a fever, but we can see a very dangerous and fatal disorder associated with a large influx of thyroid hormone into the body called a ‘thyroid storm,’ which does have fever, along with rapid heartbeat, fluctuations in blood pressure, and tremors associated with it,” Husain said.

She noted that thyroid storm can occur because of a major stressor such as trauma, heart attack, delivery of a baby or because of an infection in people with uncontrolled hyperthyroidism.

“In rare cases, it can be caused by treatment of hyperthyroidism with radioactive iodine therapy for Graves disease,” she said.

Hormonal changes that occur during menopause can also cause you to feel warmer than normal, which are typically known as hot flashes.

Cancer

Keep in mind that a fever isn’t necessarily the first sign or a major sign of cancer. However, it could be one of many symptoms.

“Several cancers are associated with fever, which are most commonly leukemias and lymphomas, although other cancers can cause this as well,” said Timothy S. Pardee, chief medical officer atRafael Pharmaceuticalsand an oncologist and director of Leukemia Translational Research at Wake Forest Baptist Health in North Carolina.

Pardee said this occurs because, in some cases, cancer cells create an inflammatory response, which then causes the body to respond with a fever. In other cases, the cancer cells themselves secrete cytokines ― or substances in the body ― that can cause a fever. And, according to Pardee, cancers like leukemia can impair your body’s ability to fight off infections resulting in prolonged illnesses and fevers.

“Additional symptoms to look for are unintended weight loss and drenching night sweats (where you have to change your shirt or sheets when you wake up). These symptoms should prompt a call to your doctor for further evaluation,” he added.

When you should be concerned about a fever

“A fever may not be cause for alarm, unless there are some specific situations,” said David Cutler, a family medicine physician atProvidence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

He added that “medication to reduce fever when there is an infection like a cold, flu or pneumonia can help minimize bothersome symptoms like headache, body aches and dehydration from excessive sweating.”

But if the fever is caused by hormonal effects, such as menopausal hot flashes or muscular activity like strenuous exercise, these medications will not be effective. In these instances, Cutler said to use measures like cooling fans to lower the body’s temperature. 

According toAmesh A. Adalja, senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Maryland, “a person should be concerned for fever above 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38.3 degrees Celsius) when it is unremitting, when it is associated with other symptoms such as dehydration, extreme fatigue, shortness of breath and severe rash.”

Additionally, someone suffering who has a compromised immune system should have a low threshold for seeking medical attention. Same goes for those who are pregnant, have heart or lung disease, or who are very young, he said.

That said, if you’re ever concerned about a fever, it’s always worth it to call your doctor. That’s what they’re there for, after all.

LOS ANGELES — Chris Evans said he would never say never to coming back as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the possibility would not get an “eager yes” from him.

The actor, who has essayed Steve Rogers aka Cap in 11 MCU films, concluded the character’s journey with 2019 blockbuster Avengers: Endgame.

When his Endgame co-star Scarlett Johansson, who plays Black Widow, asked Evans if he would come back, he responded with a question: “To Marvel?”

He even joked that his character is “an old man now” post Endgame.

“Everything clicks when I get up, recovery is not the same,” Evans quipped.

But when Johansson prodded, he gave a more serious answer.

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“You never say never. I love the character. I don’t know. It’s not a hard no, but it’s not an eager yes either,” he said during Variety Actors on Actors segment.

Evans also elaborated on his career after Captain America’s supposed swansong in Endgame.

“There are other things that I’m working on right now. I think Cap had such a tricky act to stick the landing, and I think they did a really nice job letting him complete his journey.

“If you’re going to revisit it, it can’t be a cash grab. It can’t be just because the audience wants to be excited. What are we revealing? What are we adding to the story? A lot of things would have to come together,” he said.

The actor, who now stars in whodunnit mystery Knives Out, said he was dying to direct a film, he doesn’t have a story.

“I’m dying to direct, but I don’t have the courage or focus to write, and the hardest thing is finding material. The good material isn’t just sitting there untouched. When I directed, one of the trickiest things was I found some little broken-bird script and thought, ‘Oh, I can nurse this thing back to health’. In retrospect, I do think even the best version of the movie I directed, there may still have been a ceiling based on the material,” he said.

He made his directorial debut in 2014 with Before We Go, in which he also featured with Alice Eve.

When Johansson asked what kind of stories he wanted to make, Evans expressed his interest in the Buddhist philosophy.

Those are stories that I think can touch people. I think we’re all looking to find out, from an egoic standpoint, what our relevance is, who we’re supposed to be, what the definition of joy and love and purpose is. Loose concepts of Buddhism address a lot of that. I certainly don’t have the skillset to write it, so I’m just on the hunt.

NEW DELHI — Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan announced on Tuesday that his party will contest 50 seats in the Jharkhand assembly elections, scheduled to be held in five phases between 30 November and 20 December. 

“The state unit of the party had to take a decision on fighting the Jharkhand assembly polls. It has decided that the Lok Janshakti Party will contest 50 seats on its own,” Paswan said.

Though the LJP wanted an alliance with the BJP, the saffron party was reluctant as its leaders believed that the regional party did not have much to offer electorally in the state. The BJP and the LJP are allies in neighbouring Bihar.

Another BJP ally in Bihar, the Janata Dal (United), has already announced to go solo in the Jharkhand polls.

The BJP received a setback on Monday when its Jharkhand ally AJSU unilaterally announced a number of candidates, including against senior saffron party leaders.

BJP leaders are working to defuse the crisis as the party begins its campaign to retain power in the state, which has 81 assembly constituencies.

The leading philosopher of our time and Netflix’s go-to rom-com star, Noah Centineo, was the belle (bro?) of the ball that was the People’s Choice Awards on Sunday night. 

The actor took home the trophy in the Best Comedy Movie Star category for his performance in “The Perfect Date” ― with a newly replaced knee no less. 

With the help of presenter Sarah Hyland and a leg brace ― the star recently underwent surgery after a sports injury ― Centineo made his way to the stage to deliver a speech that started out well, but ended with a deeply confused platitude. 

“I just want to say. thank you everyone at home. You are the reason I’m on this stage,” he told the crowd. “You are the reason I get to do what I am passionate about. You are the reason that I have a platform that I can help hopefully make the world a bit of better place.”

And that’s when things took a turn for the worse, as Centineo tried to wrap up the speech on an inspiring and unintentionally hilarious note. 

“Before I go I just want to say, it matters not what you’ve done but what you do with what you’ve done for others,” he continued.

Wait ... come again? Centineo seemingly tried to put his own spin on President John F. Kennedy’s quote about public service from his 1961 inaugural address, but confused just about everybody along the way. 

Of course, everyone watching at home couldn’t help but poke fun on social media at the awkward moment.

Centineo punctuated his final thought by sticking out his tongue, perhaps signaling to us all that we shouldn’t look too deeply into the sentiment. 

So until he fully explains what he meant, we’ll just be over here wondering what we can do with what we’ve done for others. 

NAGPUR, Maharashtra: India’s richest state may be set for a short spell of president’s rule as four major political parties rush around trying to cobble together the numbers to form the state government. Sharad Pawar’s NCP, the third party invited by Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in a week to stake claim to forming a government, only has time till 8.30 pm on Tuesday. 

Koshyari has recommended President’s rule even before the deadline given to NCP, to show its willingness to form the government, ends.

“The Governor of Maharashtra Shri Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, having been satisfied that as the government of the state of Maharashtra can not be carried on in accordance with the Constitution, has today submitted a report as contemplated by the provisions of Art.356 of the Constitution,” said a press release issued by Maharashtra Raj Bhavan.

Article 356 of the Indian Constitution deals with the President’s rule in states.

The right-wing Shiv Sena, which angered larger ally BJP over its stubbornness on the chief minister’s post, was left embarrassed on Monday night after the Congress kept it waiting for a letter of support, before finally saying it needed more time to decide. 

Shiv Sena leaders had already termed the 24 hours given to it as “inadequate”. The governor also refused Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray’s request to extend the time given to his party.

The party’s MLAs had already begun celebrating and distributing sweets at the Hotel Retreat in Mumbai, where they have been holed up, by the time Aaditya Thackeray and other leaders left to meet the governor on Monday. Multiple MLAs told this reporter confidently that both the Congress and NCP had guaranteed support to the party to form a government.

What followed was an hour of utter confusion as the Shiv Sena insisted it had the numbers but couldn’t produce letters from Congress and NCP to back the claim. 

On Monday night, Congress general secretary K.C.Venugopal issued a statement which said that his party would continue discussions with Sharad Pawar’s NCP over government formation.

A visibly dejected Aaditya Thackeray told reporters outside the governor’s house that the Shiv Sena’s claim of government formation has not been rejected. 

“He has refused to grant us any more time but our claim for government formation still stands legally,” he said.

After that, Koshyari invited NCP, which won 54 seats in the recent assembly election, to stake its claim.

Who’s to blame?

On Tuesday, Congress and NCP leaders pointed fingers at each other for the impasse.

“The Congress Working Committee deliberated on the situation for over three hours on Monday after which Sonia Gandhi spoke with Sharad Pawar. Pawar told her that Congress-NCP should first discuss among themselves and then involve Shiv Sena. Congress was ready but there could not be any decision last evening because of what Pawar told us. Pawar has again postponed a meeting with our senior leaders. His discussion with us yesterday was inconclusive. NCP was ready to go with Shiv Sena but Congress was still deliberating on it,” Manikrao Thakre, senior Congress leader from Maharashtra, told reporters in Mumbai.

Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit, however, claimed that Pawar was waiting for Congress’s letter of support for Shiv Sena all of Monday.

“We could not have given our letter of support without Congress doing so. We are around 100 MLAs (Congress-NCP). Until 7.30 pm on Monday, we were waiting for Congress’s letter,” Ajit Pawar said.

NCP sources also told HuffPost India that the governor only giving 24 hours to Shiv Sena was “problematic” because many Congress and NCP MLAs were out of the state.

“There was no chance we could have obtained signatures of all MLAs needed to present before the governor. Pawar sahab had asked Uddhav (Thackeray) to ask for more time to the governor but he waited till evening. He should have sent someone to meet the governor in the morning. Also, you cannot have deliberations on government formation in half a day. It requires time. The governor gave BJP 72 hours but he has given only 24 hours to Shiv Sena and NCP. It is clearly unfair. All fingers are crossed now,” an NCP leader told HuffPost India on condition of anonymity.

Sushil Kumar Shinde, former Maharashtra CM and senior Congress leader, was confident that even if president’s rule is imposed, it would not impede negotiations for government formation.

“It can be lifted the moment the governor is presented with numbers,” he said.

Pawar is chairing an NCP meet in Mumbai and Aaditya Thackeray is slated to meet Shiv Sena MLAs at Hotel Retreat.

According to an Indian Express report on Tuesday, most central Congress leaders, including former party president Rahul Gandhi, were against supporting Shiv Sena.

“We cannot compromise on our ideology…it is a fact that the state leaders are demanding…and most of the leaders here are not in favor,” a senior Congress leader told the Express.

To be sure, even if the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena manage to put aside their differences, the resulting alliance will have a tough time finding common ground to rule the state. The Shiv Sena has often mocked the Congress and NCP for their “secular” and “progressive” credentials, respectively.

If the NCP is not able to show it has the support of 145 MLAs by 8.30 pm, the governor is unlikely to invite the Congress, which is the fourth largest party with 44 MLAs. In that scenario, president’s rule will be imposed in the state by Tuesday night.

Pahlaj Nihalani may have quite the Central Board of Film Certification as chairperson but the ghost of censorship looms large over the notoriously prudent certifying body.

In the upcoming Christian Bale-Matt Damon-starrer, Ford v Ferrari, the CBFC has asked the makers to blur out pictures of alcohol bottles and glasses containing alcohol from the frame. In images seen by HuffPost India, scenes that have alcohol bottles, both in the background and foreground, have been hastily pixelated. 

For instance, when a character is holding what appears to be a wine glass, the viewer only sees him holding an object, with the glass missing, effectively dampening the viewing experience.

Check out the images below:

In another key sequence, the sentence ‘son of a bitch’ has been muted out in entirety, making the viewer guess what was said and disrupting the following scene as a result.

The James Mangold-directorial, which releases in India this Friday, has already generated early Oscar buzz, especially for Matt Damon’s compelling performance. 

Damon and Bale play legendary racers Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles who collaborate with Ford to build a sports car that can potentially beat Ferrari at the famed Le Mans race in France. 

A senior studio official, talking on the condition of anonymity, expressed shock that glasses were blurred out. The person said, “We know we’ve to blur out the bottles because they carry brand name and CBFC guidelines do not allow that. But a mere glass being blurred out is something I’m hearing for the first time.” 

The person said that often studios are prepared in advance for such cuts, irrespective of the rating they are applying for. “You know the committee is going to send the print back with such cuts. Can’t do much about it. It’s frustrating.”

The Indian censor board often acts arbitrarily on scenes depicting drug use, sex, alcohol and violence. For instance, in one scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, the brand of the beer the characters are drinking. However, in some other scenes, it was visible.

In an interview with News18.com, Sanjay Bijli, Joint MD of PVR Pictures, which distributes an array of Hollywood films in India lamented the failure of Ari Aster’s Hereditary in India.

He said, “It did really well in the US in terms of box office wise. It was one of our summer trumps, so to speak. But the censor completely butchered it. They suggested so many cuts that it almost became choppy and a very incomprehensive film. Critics didn’t like it. The audience didn’t like it either which ultimately affected the business of the film.”

HuffPost India wrote to Disney, producers of Ford v Ferrari, and Prasoon Joshi, chairperson of the CBFC but is yet to receive a response.

Meanwhile, Twitter didn’t take too kindly to the Indian censors latest diktat.

MUMBAI — Katy Perry arrived in the city for her performance this weekend and says she’s excited to indulge in “all things Indian”, including discovering shopping streets and partying with Bollywood celebrities. 

The ‘Roar’ hitmaker will perform at the DY Patil Stadium on 16 November as part of the OnePlus Music Festival.

“I’m excited to watch some of the other people performing. I’m totally excited to immerse myself in the culture, this week in Mumbai. I am not the girl who stays indoors and orders room service. I go out, seek the world, I love people, culture, traditions. You’re going to catch me on these streets,” Perry told reporters.

She was speaking at a special press conference, where she was joined by actor Jacqueline Fernandez who will play the host at the festival.

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When asked if she is keen to collaborate with local artistes, Perry said, “That’s what the research and development this week is going to be about. I am going to a fun party, going to meet some Bollywood people and hearing some incredible bands. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

This is not her first visit to the country. The “Firework” hitmaker performed at the opening ceremony of Indian Premier League in 2012 in Chennai.

Perry said back then she was just “in and out” and didn’t get to discover India, so this time it’s all about “immersing and educating myself”.

“I am excited to meet anyone interesting, who has a great perspective, care, kindness and empathy for the world and wants to do compassionate artistic thing. That’s the kind of people I want to hang out with. I’m sure Jacqueline is definitely going to take me shopping, eating,” she added.

The singer said every seven years, every cell in the body rejuvenates, making one a whole different person, “so I’m a whole different human, here in Mumbai, India.”

“I’ve always wanted to come to Mumbai. I went to a couple of places seven years ago, did a cricket match, had some fun in Rajasthan at one point in my life. But I’ve always looked at Mumbai as a destination I really want to be at.

“I have heard it’s the most fun and it’s where arts, culture and entertainment (come together), and Bollywood. I’m excited to indulge in all things Indian,” she added.

At the festival, Dua Lipa will also be performing and Perry said she’s excited for that as well.

“I’ve created a little bit of a special show. I am not touring right now and doing very few shows but I decided that this show was one of the most important shows of the year because of just the fact that I always wanted to go to Mumbai. I hear my Indian fans so passionately on social media. So this one checks all the boxes...

“It is difficult sometimes to bring a big production over here. That’s why most people don’t add places on their tours because the production is hard to bring, you’ve to change everything. I really wanted to come back to India, and I knew I was going to be in good hands with One Plus,” she added.

Bushfires have wiped out about half the koalas living on a coastal reserve in New South Wales, experts say, as a record number of intense fires rage in the Australian state.

About 350 koalas living on the Lake Innes Nature Reserve have died in the blaze, the group Koala Conservation Australia estimates, and up to two-thirds of their habitat has been destroyed.

Animal carers at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital nearby have been nursing 14 rescued koalas, bandaging their wounds and feeding them eucalyptus leaves and formula.

“We look for signals of pain - teeth grinding, distress - and we just take it on a day-by-day basis,” said Amanda Gordon, who leads the team of carers, adding that some of the marsupials’ health problems can be hard to spot.

“Sometimes koalas seem to be doing really, really well. Their paws might be healing up but if something’s going on that we can’t see there’s not really much we can do,” added Gordon, who has worked at the hospital for 15 years.

The carers estimate at least 10 days will be needed to assess the full damage to the koala population.

And one couple is joining the rescue efforts by taking in and nursing injured koalas in their own home in nearby Taree. 

Christeen and Paul McLeod are now sharing their home with more than 20 of the marsupials, telling News.com.au that many of them have suffered singed fur and burns to their paws, ears and noses. 

One patient, named Sootie, is regaining his strength from a laundry basket and is lightly sedated.  

Population estimates for koalas, native to Australia, vary widely, from as few as 50,000 to little more than 100,000.

They dwell mostly in eucalyptus forests in eastern states and on the coastal fringes, usually living up to 20 years, carrying their young in a pouch and sleeping for up to 18 hours a day.

Warmer weather brought by climate change threatens to worsen conditions for koalas, as deforestation has narrowed habitable areas, said James Tremain of the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales.

“Devastating bushfires are going to knock out some of these key population centres, but so also will increasing temperatures,” he said, by affecting the nutrition value of the leaves that are the animals’ sole food source.

“Koalas are definitely in trouble in New South Wales, but if the declines continue at the same rate as the last 20 to 30 years, koalas could be extinct in the wild by mid-century,” Tremain added.

Fires in the state’s north east have razed more than 850,000 hectares (3,300 square miles) of forest and farmland since Friday.

Australia’s most populous state declared a fire emergency on Monday with worsening conditions expected.

The wildfires have already claimed three lives and over 150 homes.

They’re a nuisance and always seem to come at the most inconvenient times, but scientists may have discovered a purpose to hiccups. 

The researchers, from University College London, looked at incidents of hiccups in newborns and observed that each one triggered a large wave of brain activity. Hiccups may be essential to the baby’s development, they concluded helping the brain learn to monitor and regulate breathing. 

“Our findings have prompted us to wonder whether hiccups in adults, which appear to be mainly a nuisance, may in fact [be] a vestigial reflex, left over from infancy when it had an important function,” the study’s lead author, research associate Kimberley Whitehead, commented. 

So is there really no purpose to them, now we’re all grown up? And how do we make them stop? Dr Roger Henderson, UK medical director of Liva Healthcare, says hiccups (or hiccoughs, as they’re sometimes called) are a reflex action we cannot control – and notes no real function to them for adults. 

“They are caused by a sudden, involuntary contraction of the diaphragm muscle just below the lungs,” he tells HuffPost UK. “This then triggers the top of the windpipe (the glottis) to close, which causes the typical ‘hic’ sound everyone has heard.”

People get short bouts of hiccups occasionally, he says, usually starting and stopping for no apparent reason. “Possible trigger factors include acute stress and excitement, overeating, drinking fizzy drinks too quickly, eating too fast, smoking and drinking alcohol, and sudden changes in temperature,” he adds.

Persistent hiccups – defined as those that last more than 48 hours – are rare but can cause emotional and physical distress in sufferers. “Possible causes for chronic hiccups include acid reflux, where acid spills into the gullet from the stomach, sometimes due to a hiatus hernia, strong painkillers, steroids and tranquillisers, and diabetes,” Dr Henderson explains.

Unfortunately there is no golden rule for curing hiccups, but Dr Henderson says the majority of cases clear by themselves within a few minutes – as many of us know.

What about the other solutions people suggest – like drinking water backwards? “There are a great many anecdotal and popular home remedies that are said to cure hiccups but these have little basis in fact,” he says.

“Examples of these include holding your breath for as long as you can, sipping iced water, sucking a lemon, and holding your breath when pushing out as if you are straining on the toilet.” Even so, they could be worth a try. 

If you’re concerned about regular chronic hiccups, it’s best to speak to your GP – but for the rest of us, it might be a case of *hic* just waiting for them to pass. 

A 6-year-old shelter cat named Quilty is the internet’s latest animal star after he kept breaking fellow felines out of their enclosures.

Staff at the Friends For Life Animal Rescue And Adoption Organization in Houston had to wrangle the freed cats back into their own abodes on multiple occasions.

The purr-pertrator ended up being temporarily banished to the lobby so the room could be “Quilty-proofed,” according to a Facebook post.

“Quilty will not be contained. And he has no shame,” the shelter wrote in the post. “Quilty loves to let cats out of the senior room. Repeatedly. Several times a day.”

Quilty didn’t pick up his jailbreaking skills at the facility, however. “He used to let his dog sibling in the house at his old home,” the organization wrote.

Quilty is now on a weeklong trial at a possible forever home, where his potential adopters said he “hasn’t shown any slickness at all yet.”

“Really, bro? REALLY?!” The shelter lightheartedly wrote on Instagram:

Actor Adam Devine operates his own Twitter and Instagram accounts.

But his verified Facebook page? Not so much.

The “Pitch Perfect” star revealed on Monday’s broadcast of NBC’s “A Little Late with Lilly Singh” that he actually entrusts his mother with that online task ― and that she posts, in character, as him.

“She likes Facebook, and I don’t really like Facebook. Sorry, Mark [Zuckerberg]. You’re meddling too much, Mark,” joked Devine, who last week announced his engagement to fellow actor Chloe Bridges.

Devine said he’d told his mom to just admit that she runs the account on his behalf, but she was worried his fans would get annoyed.

”She will comment on photos as if it’s me,” he added, before recalling one particularly funny post she’d written regarding 4/20.

Check out the clip above.