Illustration: Damon Dahlen/HuffPost; Photos: Getty Images 

If you’re a famous animal, free from the burdens of politics and world events, you live in blissful ignorance ― riding your perky personalities, witty-bitty faces and poor grammar to fame and followers. In today’s market, animals can turn viral fame into monetary value overnight, and some of the top earners could easily eclipse six figures.

With the explosion of social media, the 2010s saw all kinds of animals ― cats, dogs, kangaroos and even octopuses! ― skyrocket to more fame than their humans perhaps ever thought pawsible. In 2014, we looked at what happened to some of the most famous celebrity animals, and with the decade coming to an end, and the sad news of the recent death of Cosmo, the dog from “Fuller House,” we thought now would be a good time to take another stroll down memory lane to see what other beloved animal influencers are up to now.

Boo, The “World’s Cutest Dog”

Boo the Pomeranian, aka the “World’s Cutest Dog,” is much more than just a pretty face. He’s also a published author — well, the subject of a few different books anyway, including the timeless classics “Boo: The Life of the World’s Cutest Dog” and “Boo: Little Dog in the Big City.” Over the last decade, this powerful, plucky pooch has gained a massive following online, having more than 16 million fans on his Facebook page and just shy of 600,000 on Instagram.

When this dog wasn’t busy being a muse for novels, he was playing around with friends and enjoying his favorite foods: chicken, grass and dirt.

Where’s Boo now?

He’s dead. His humans released a statement on Facebook in January 2019 confirming the news. Boo had supposedly been suffering from heart problems following the death of his fellow viral BFF Buddy in 2017. He was 12.

Grumpy Cat, The Grumpiest Cat

Who couldn’t fall in love with the mug on Grumpy Cat, real name Tardar Sauce. Known for her iconic resting cat face, Grumpy overcame feline dwarfism to rise to fame in 2012 after a photo was put online by her humans, the Bundesen family. Videos followed to prove the original photo wasn’t doctored, and the legend of Grumpy Cat, the world’s grumpiest, most cynical kitty, became one of the internet’s first crazy viral memes.

Since the viral images, Grumpy Cat went on to appear on several TV shows, including “Good Morning America” and “American Idol.” She became a spokescat for Friskies, was voiced by Aubrey Plaza in her own Lifetime Christmas movie, “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever,” and accumulated millions of fans on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  

But the question is, “Where’s Grumpy Cat now?”

She’s dead. The 7-year-old kitty died at home following complications from a urinary tract infection in May 2019.

Roger, The Ripped Kangaroo 

He’s breaking hearts and metal buckets. Roger the kangaroo has a classic superhero origin story. He was rescued as an orphaned joey and obviously channelled that into gaining his Hulk-like physique. After he was saved as a baby roo, his human, Chris Barns, set up the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs Australia as a place for him to grow up.

Roger became a viral star after images of his ripped bod crushing a bucket hit the internet in 2015. However, he would later “retire” as the alpha of the sanctuary due to arthritis and fading vision. 

So where is Roger now? Drum roll, please ...

Also dead. Barns announced the death in December 2018. He was 12.

Lil Bub, The Littlest Bub

It’s not easy being Lil Bub. The famous kitty was born with a number of abnormalities, including dwarfism, toothlessness and a mismatched jaw that left her tongue constantly sticking out. She also suffered from a rare bone disease called osteopetrosis. 

But never one to let the world get her down, Bub took her unique look to the internet and became a star after her photos were posted to Tumblr in November 2011 and later to Reddit. Lil Bub has accumulated 2.4 million followers on Instagram, more than 3 million on Facebook and starred in “Lil Bub & Friendz,” a documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Her efforts have also reportedly raised $700,000 for animal charities, according to her human, Mike Bridavsky.

So where’s the Lil Bub that we lub?

Dead. Lil Bub unexpectedly died in her sleep earlier this month, reportedly following a struggle with a bone infection. 

Kuma, The Dog With A Blog

Kuma von Clifford, the dog with a blog, was rescued from a shelter in South Los Angeles by human Sarah Clifford. Kuma broke into showbiz with a 2005 TV movie, “McBride: The Chameleon Murder.” In 2012, Kuma would gain perhaps his most noted role as Stan in Disney’s “Dog With a Blog,” a show about a talking dog who blogs about his human family’s high jinks. 

Hey, Kuma, what you been blogging about?

Not much. He’s dead. 

Deadline reported the death in November 2018. Kuma suffered from complications from a stroke. He was 16.

Paul, The Predicting Octopus

You don’t want to Messi around with this cephalopod. Paul the octopus became a star of the 2010 World Cup when he accurately predicted match outcomes by choosing a mussel from one of two boxes adorned with the flags of the competing nations. Paul correctly predicted the results of eight matches, including choosing Spain as the winner.

According to the BBC, he was even made an honorary citizen of a Spanish town and was named an ambassador for England’s 2018 World Cup bid. 

What’s Paul predicting lately?

Nothing. Dead. Octopuses reportedly rarely live beyond two years, and Paul was around 2½ in 2010 when he was discovered dead in his tank.

Tillman, The Skateboarding Dog

Tillman skated into our lives thanks to a 2007 video on YouTube showing him shredding the street. That video has since received 22 million views and was also featured in an early iPhone ad.

After skyrocketing to fame, he set a Guinness World Record as the world’s fastest skateboarding dog. He also appeared in the Hallmark Channel’s TV series “Who Let the Dogs Out.”

Don’t be shifty, Tillman. What are you up to?

Very dead. Tillman suffered from an irregular heartbeat and developed a heart muscle disease. After “lapsing into a sudden bout of labored panting,” he reportedly died en route to the hospital in 2015.

Bento, The Reincarnated Keyboard Cat

Bento was actually the second feline to take up the moniker of Keyboard Cat. His predecessor, Fatso, died in 1987. But Bento was no poser. The pair shared an owner, Charlie Schmidt, and days after Bento was adopted he too was playing the keys.

Bento’s Keyboard Cat videos made him a star in his own right. Since his debut, he gained millions of views and fans online. He even starred in a Wonderful Pistachios commercial.

So let’s get the cat out of the bag. What’s he up to?

Uh, Bento’s dead. He died of cancer in 2018.

Chloe, An #Unfiltered Frenchie

Pardon my Frenchie, but Chloe is one hell of an influencer. The pint-size pooch gathered around 17,000 followers on Instagram, sharing her adventures as she made celebrity appearances and tested the limits of fashion.

Where is Chloe now?

You guessed it. Dead. Chloe was reportedly recovering from a routine surgery in 2017 and being held for observation when hospital staff “mis-calibrated an oxygen machine” and damaged the dog’s lungs. She suffered cardiac arrest and died shortly after. She was 4.

Uggie, The Doggie Artist

A professional in every sense of the word, Uggie the Jack Russell terrier left his mark on Hollywood with a co-starring role in the 2011 film “The Artist.” He stole the movie and our hearts. Uggie reportedly won a Palm Dog award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for his work and has left his paw prints outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Other notable roles include appearing opposite Reese Witherspoon in 2011′s “Water for Elephants” and Will Ferrell in 2012′s “The Campaign.”

Where is Uggie now? 

You already know. Dead. His human, animal trainer Omar von Muller, confirmed the news on Facebook in 2015, saying Uggie suffered from a cancerous tumor. He was 13.

Colonel Meow, The Cat-astrophic Dictator

Colonel Meow, a Himalayan–Persian crossbreed, began gathering followers ... er ... “minions” after his humans made him a Facebook page in 2012. The Colonel Meow Instagram account currently sits close to 300,000 followers, but there’s more than just an intimidating stare that cuts through your soul going on here. Meow also won the Guinness World Record for “cat with the longest fur.” 

Where’s the Colonel now?

He’s in the Billiard Room with a lead pipe! No, just kidding. He’s dead.

In January 2014, Colonel Meow died of cardiac arrest. He was 2.

So what happens meow?

Though it’s been a ruff decade in which many people feel like they’ve aged in dog years, it’s good to acknowledge those that actually have aged that way. Kuma, Colonel Meow, Roger and Grumpy Cat may be gone, but they’ll all live on in the photos and memes they left behind. Still, with new insta-famous furry friends joining the scene every day, the next decade should bring even more animal celebs to celebrate. Plus, famous fur balls such as Doug the Pug, Jiff the Pom and Katie, the monkey from “Friends,” are still around to capture headlines and our hearts. 

And for all the others, at least there will always be the meme-ories.

Even as reports of gross police excess come out of Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued yet another warning against anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests saying those who stand in the way of “his work of public welfare” will be punished. 

Adityanath’s Twitter account, referring to him in third person, and called him a saint. The tweet said, “Whoever stands in the way of the saint’s continuous efforts of public service and welfare of the people will be punished.” 

Taking a dig at Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s criticism on police atrocities in the state and government apathy, the tweet said, “How will those — who have inherited politics and have forgotten the country, and indulge in politics of appeasement — understand the meaning of serving the public?”

In another tweet the chief minister’s office said that he had donned his saffron robes, and renounced everything, to serve people. 

PTI quoted Gandhi as saying on Monday, “He wears the dress of a yogi. He wears saffron clothes. This bhagwa (saffron) is not yours, it belongs to the religious, spiritual tradition of Hindustan.”

“It is a symbol of the Hindu religion. Us dharma ko dhaaran kariye (adopt that religion). In that religion, there is no place for anger, violence and revenge. This is all I have to say,” she added.

Adtiyanath’s BJP government has muzzled dissent through several methods, including “damage” notices to protesters who allegedly vandalised public property. Most of the people who have been detained or have received such notices are so underprivileged that they do not have the means to hire lawyers to defend them in courts. 

Munni Begum, the mother of an embroidery worker who was in police custody and had received a notice had told The Indian Express last week, “I have not received any recovery notice from the district administration so far. We don’t even have money to arrange a lawyer for Zameer. How can we pay any compensation?” 

Now, a Huffpost India report published on Tuesday shows that the police are also forcing the kin of the dead to have quick funerals. Editor-in-Chief of Huffpost India, Aman Sethi, writes in his report: 

The visible violence, arson, and vandalism of the Uttar Pradesh police force, vividly captured by television channels, has been accompanied by an orchestrated attempt to erase all traces of deaths caused by the state police with a justified reputation for impunity.

[READ — CAA: Forget Protests, Yogi Adityanath’s Govt Is Muzzling Funerals]

Earlier in an interview with Huffpost India’s politics editor Betwa Sharma, activist Kavita Krishnan had said the Uttar Pradesh police had killed Muslims in the state who were not even protesting.  

[READ — CAA: UP Police Shot And Killed Muslims Who Weren’t Even Protesting, Says Kavita Krishnan] 

British influencer and illustrator Venus Libido was at home in Southampton recovering from a recent surgery when the notifications popped up on her phone. In private messages to her 128,000-follower Instagram account, a stranger had sent her two photos of his penis, along with the text “enjoy the view.”

It was the afternoon of Dec. 16 and Venus, who uses a pseudonym to protect her identity, closed the app in disgust. If she ignored him, she figured, he would probably go away. But moments later, another message appeared: “bitch i know you read it say something.”

As an outspoken feminist and mental health advocate, Venus decided to post screenshots of the man’s messages on her Instagram Story and page (censoring his genitals and username) to call attention to the kind of harassment women endure daily on the platform. She also blocked and reported him to Instagram. It wasn’t long before he contacted her from two newly created accounts to threaten and verbally abuse her.

“WTF take that down bict [sic],” he wrote. “My fucking girl could see this … your done!!”

So Venus reported him again. A short time later, Instagram — which rolled out a new anti-bullying initiative that same day — told her the man had not violated its user guidelines, and his account would remain intact. In fact, it was Venus who’d broken the rules, according to the next alert she received. Instagram removed her post without specifying which policy it had violated, an action the company would later claim was taken in error.

“That really angered me,” Venus recalled. She then posted a piece of her artwork on her page with a caption describing the situation and criticizing Instagram for declining to take action against her harasser. Minutes later, as comments were flooding in from other people describing their similar experiences on the app, Instagram shut down her account altogether.

Social media sites are shielded from liability for user-generated content, meaning they’re free to decide who and what is allowed on their platforms. By choosing to silence victims and protect abusers, Instagram is not only tolerating harassment — it’s encouraging it. 

Venus’ case isn’t an isolated occurrence. In July, when accusations of sexual misconduct started to pour in against disgraced celebrity photographers Marcus Hyde and Timur Emek, a number of models used Instagram to speak out about their own alleged experiences with the two men.

Instagram reportedly disabled the account belonging to photographer and art director Haley Bowman after she used it to accuse Emek of assaulting her when she was a teenager. Upon regaining access to her page, Bowman said she felt as if she was “being punished for calling out a rapist,” according to Screen Shot Magazine.

Similarly, after model Sunnaya Nash posted screenshots purporting to show Hyde asking her for nude photos of herself in exchange for a free photo shoot, Instagram took down the posts and threatened to delete Nash’s account. 

Instagram, which eventually removed Hyde and Emek’s accounts as the allegations continued to surface, later claimed that the deletion of Nash’s content “was a mistake obviously.”

Venus received a similar explanation from the company, but she doesn’t buy it.

“I felt like I was being silenced for calling out an issue Instagram wasn’t addressing,” she said of her own account’s closure. “I’ve built my account up over two years, and it felt like it was being ripped away from me for speaking out.”

Like many content creators, Venus uses Instagram as a digital portfolio where she promotes her work to a wide audience. Being kicked off the billion-user site threatened to jeopardize her livelihood, so she appealed the deletion through the app and contacted an Instagram representative directly.

After several anxious hours, Venus’ account was reinstated. Not long after she’d logged back in the next morning — her 28th birthday — her harasser sent her yet another photo of his penis with the message: “I hope that teached you a lesson getting your account removed!!”

Venus blocked the man yet again, but that didn’t stop him from creating one new account after another to continue his campaign of abuse. Later in the day, he sent her a full-body nude and another stream of messages:

“ur boring”

“oh and a dumb slut” 

“if i gave u my real instagram would you not expose me and just write me a message?”

After being contacted by HuffPost, a spokesperson for Facebook, which owns Instagram, said that it has taken action to ban the man from its platform, and that it had mistakenly removed Venus’ content and account.

“@venuslibido didn’t violate our policies and we apologize for the mistakes we made when reviewing content on her account,” the spokesperson said. “We have taken steps to stop the individual harassing @venuslibido from returning to Instagram.”

But Venus sees a pattern. Instagram is notoriousforcensoring, shadow banningandsilencingwomen, she noted. And although the company claims her original post was removed in error, it still hasn’t been restored.

“How is it that Instagram cracks down so hard on things like female nipples, but they’ll continue to let a man send me photos of his genitals even after I’ve reported him over and over again?” Venus asked, referring to Instagram’s ban on posts that show women’s nipples.

Since the scare of having her account deleted, several people have suggested that Venus keep her head down and stay quiet to reduce the risk of being deplatformed again, she said. But she refuses to self-censor.

“I have a chance to use my voice and my platform for good,” she said. “I don’t care if I get removed again. I’ll just keep fighting it because this is wrong, and if I don’t say something, then what am I doing?”

“Fleabag” fans were in a frenzy over the weekend after former President Barack Obama announced that the show was among his favourites in 2019... which means he obviously saw the scene where the main character masturbates to him, right?

On Sunday, Obama released his roundup of his favourite movies and TV shows, which included the second season of the BBC show.

Shortly after the list made the rounds on social media, fans realised that Obama actually makes an appearance of sorts in the show’s pilot.

In a salacious scene, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character, Fleabag, watches Obama give this speech on her laptop in bed and masturbates to said speech. So, if Obama loved the second season so much, he must’ve seen that saucy moment with his cameo.

Once people made this connection, Twitter went wild:

PANAJI — Even as opposition parties hit out at the Goa government over the death of three tourists after collapsing at the Sunburn Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Festival, state Culture Minister Govind Gawade on Monday said no one forced people to attend the event.

The Congress alleged that drugs were “openly sold” at the venue and demanded that permission for the EDM festival be revoked and an inquiry be conducted.

The Goa Forward Party (GFP) sought a CBI probe in the deaths.

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Three tourists died in the last three days after collapsing at the festival venue at Vagator beach in North Goa district.

Asked about criticism of the government for allowing the event in the state, Gawade said, “The government is not forcing the youth to go and attend the Sunburn festival. They go on their own. No one is forced to go there.“

The three-day Sunburn festival concluded on Sunday.

On Friday, two tourists from Andhra Pradesh collapsed after feeling uneasy while standing outside the festival venue. They were taken to a hospital where doctors declared them dead, police said.

The postmortem was conducted and the opinion on the cause of death was reserved as the viscera was sent for further forensic examination, they said.

On Sunday night, another tourist from Bengaluru complained of easiness at the venue and later died, minutes after being rushed to a hospital, they said.

Gawade said the government was not responsible for such a massive crowd at the festival.

“We are not distributing any passes to anyone. It is the music enthusiasts who like to go there, they do it out of their own wish,” the minister said.

He said the state government has always been promoting local culture and music through different events.

“When we speak of local culture, we also include western culture, which is taught in government-run institutions like the Kala Academy,” Gawade said.

State Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar could not be contacted for his comments.

Goa Pradesh Youth Congress Committee president Varad Mardolkar alleged that drugs were “openly sold” at the event.

“Police are not taking action against the culprits,” he said.

The Congress on Sunday sought the intervention of Superintendent of Police (North) Utkarsh Prasoon in the matter and demanded that permission for the festival be cancelled.

“If the police had paid heed to our request, the third death could have been avoided,” Mardolkar said.

GFP vice president Durgadas Kamat demanded a CBI probe into the deaths.

“The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should take over the probe into the cause of deaths at the EDM festival and the sudden increase of drugs everywhere in the state,” he said.

Festival organisers were not available for comment.

Amid the strain of her ongoing legal woes, Taylor Swift can take heart in “Little Women.” 

Emma Watson, who stars in the new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s seminal 1868 novel, likened a key scene in the film to Swift’s music copyright dispute with Scooter Braun and Big Machine. 

“It’s about believing in yourself and knowing your worth and owning your worth,” Watson, who plays Meg March, told Variety last week of the scene. “Right now, the Taylor Swift situation is a great example of, you know, you’re young and you’re talented and someone wants to buy your work. But having ownership at the end of the day is super, super important because you don’t know what someone’s going to decide to do with that.” 

The actor was referring to a segment late in the film in which Jo March (played by Saoirse Ronan) faces off with a New York publisher (Tracy Letts) over the draft of a novel that will become “Little Women.” 

The scene concludes with Jo reluctantly agreeing to marry off the novel’s protagonist, whose journey mirrors her own. However, she does so only in exchange for full ownership of the book’s copyright.

“I think people undervalue ownership,” Watson said. “You know when you play Monopoly and you have a decision and you want to own something or get cash fast. The way to win Monopoly is to own stuff. I’m just saying.”

Swift has vowed to re-record songs from her first six albums after her back catalog was acquired by Braun in June as part of a $300 million deal with her former record label, Big Machine. 

The feud most recently made headlines in November when Swift alleged she’d been banned from performing her early material at the 2019 American Music Awards. 

Just days before the ceremony, Big Machine executives said they’d reached a licensing agreement with the award show’s producers, Dick Clark Productions. In the end, Swift performed a decade-spanning medley that included old hits like “Blank Space” and “I Knew You Were Trouble,” but not without delivering a pointed message for her detractors. 

As for “Little Women,” the film has turned out to be a critical and commercial smash, generating a flurry of Oscar buzz for director Greta Gerwig and her all-star cast, which includes Laura Dern and Timothée Chalamet. 

Though Watson said she “loved playing” Meg in the film, her off-screen life is more similar to that of Ronan’s free-spirited Jo. 

“The role that I play is a really important kind of foil, or counterbalance, to Jo,” she told Variety. “But I definitely resonate the most with Jo.” 

2019 has been an interesting year for PC gaming. From cheaper hardware prices courtesy the bitcoin crash to the Epic Games Store snagging one exclusive after another (along with free games aplenty), now is good a time as any to pull the trigger on a new gaming laptop or building your own rig.

The good news isn’t restricted to low prices or free games though, we’ve seen some genuine improvements from Japanese game developers that have made playing on PC better, and the best part? You can play all of these offline.

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From Bandai Namco’s surprisingly excellent ports to Capcom’s continued consistency, here are the best Japanese PC games of 2019.

Best PC games 2019

5. Dragon Quest Builders 2

This was unexpected considering the first Dragon Quest Builders game ditched the PC. Nonetheless, Square Enix have delivered the definitive take with a suite of scaleable options and all the DLC that released with the game on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. If you haven’t played Dragon Quest Builders 2 this is the best way to play it.

4. Code Vein

We really love Code Vein and the PC version in particular is an absolute treat (review). Throw in a near relentless update cadence of new content and fixes coupled with an intricate set of systems wrapped in a cel shaded veneer and you have one of the finest expressions of the soulslike formula in recent memory.

3. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

With popularity of arcade flight simulators going the way of employment rates, Ace Combat 7 delivers a welcome shock for the sense. A bizzare plot that is essentially anime, stellar visuals, and a great sense of speed, you really can’t go wrong with this entry in the long-running franchise. It gets so much right that the slick PC optimisation is a sweet bonus.

2. Devil May Cry 5

Devil May Cry 5 should have been a no brainer when you consider that the PC version of DmC: Devil May Cry was a solid effort. However Devil May Cry HD Collection being what it was on PC, we have every reason to doubt Capcom’s latest outing starring Dante and friends. A single look at the settings menu allayed all fears. It’s not just a great action game but one of the most flexible, customisable experiences to boot allowing for decent frame rates even on PCs built before the PS4 and Xbox One were a thing.

1. Resident Evil 2 Remake

With a plethora of options to tinker with and surprisingly low system requirements, Resident Evil 2 Remake is fantastic on PC. Granted some may not be pleased with the company fully embracing a price point that puts it close to what you’d pay for the game on PS4 and Xbox One, but a port this good is well worth the price of entry.

All in all, 2019 was a great year for Japanese games on PC. Hopefully the PS5 and Xbox Series X launching in 2020 don’t distract developers too much from supporting the platform.

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

After a rocky 2018, the Nintendo Switch has had a great year in 2019. With multiple new Nintendo-published games, third-party ports, and even new hardware releases, 2019 is easily the best year the system has had since the launch year.

Games like God Eater 3 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 were surprises not many expected but there have been a few games that stood out for us. Here are the best Nintendo Switch games of 2019.

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Best Nintendo Switch Games of 2019

5. Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout

Koei Tecmo and Gust’s Atelier franchise has always been one of the better series of games that too few people played. There is always a lot of baggage associated with long running franchises and there’s always a need of a great entry point. Atelier Ryza is a polished JRPG and the best entry point to the franchise available on all modern systems. The Nintendo Switch version in particular is very good and Atelier Ryza remains the best Atelier game on Switch and one of the best releases on Nintendo Switch in 2019.

4. God Eater 3

We’ve been covering God Eater 3 a lot for a good reason. It debuted on PS4 and PC earlier in the year and has been constantly updated with free content enhancing the gameplay for all players. When Bandai Namco Entertainment brought it to Nintendo Switch, it arrived in the form of an excellent port that has been a joy to play on the go. Since that release, all versions have been updated with new content and God Eater 3 is one of the better examples of post launch support this generation. God Eater 3 is easily one of the best action RPGs on Nintendo Switch today.

3. Tetris 99

When most developers and publishers were scrambling to add a battle royale mode into their shooters, Nintendo did things differently as usual. Announced and released earlier this year, Tetris 99 is a Tetris battle royale game. You play against multiple other players to try and eliminate and survive. It is also a great example of free-to-play done right with a single DLC option that allows for offline play through new modes. While Nintendo forces players who want to play online to buy into its subscription service to continue playing the likes of Splatoon 2 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tetris 99 is by far the best reason to get a Nintendo Switch Online paid subscription.

2. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition

Dragon Quest XI was already one of the best JRPGs of the generation (review) when it debuted on PS4 and PC last year. The Nintendo Switch version offers a plethora of extra content, loads of quality of life features, a brand new way to play the game, and much more making it the best version of Dragon Quest XI and one of the most ambitious releases on the system. Square Enix did a fantastic job bringing this massive open RPG to a portable with the right compromises. If you’ve never played it before, Dragon Quest XI S is the version to get.

1. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is something many were skeptical about when it was originally shown off. Thankfully, the end result is a game that takes the best of Trails of Cold Steel, Persona, and Fire Emblem and delivers a compelling strategy RPG that offers branching paths, great map design, and superlative music. While it is a bit rough on the technical side, the well-written characters, superb plot, and sheer amount of quality content offered make Fire Emblem: Three Houses one of the best games ever on Nintendo Switch and the best game this year for Nintendo’s hybrid system.

While 2018 was a bit weak for Nintendo Switch, 2019 has seen great original games, ports, and even new hardware releases. It is going to be interesting seeing what happens in 2020 with Animal Crossing, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, and more set to arrive on Nintendo’s hybrid console.

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

The PS4 has pretty much dominated the current generation of video game consoles. From capitalising on Microsoft’s missteps aplenty to steady price cuts, in some regions it appears that Sony is essentially competing with itself. 

It’s no surprise when you consider how strong the PS4’s library of games is at this point. There’s something for everyone. Here are our top picks for the best PS4 games of 2019.

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Best PS4 games 2019

5. Trails of Cold Steel III

Arriving in English (and French) over two years after it debuted in Japan, the wait for Trails of Cold Steel III has been well worth it. The enhancements to visuals, combat, and the superb voice acting, and the great pacing make this one of the best JRPGs in a long time. In fact, it’s the best JRPG of 2019. Nothing comes close.

4. The House in Fata Morgana

The advantage of the PS4 being as popular as it is, is the steady stream of relatively obscure titles making their way to the platform. One such game is The House in Fata Morgana. It’s a visual novel with twists and turns that would give genre greats like Steins; Gate an inferiority complex.

While available on the PS Vita too, the PS4 version sports some welcome improvements over its handheld variant like a rewind feature. This makes it not only the best version of Novectacle’s must play game, but it is one of the best stories you will experience in gaming.

3. Death Stranding

The drama surrounding Hideo Kojima’s exit from Konami was more entertaining than Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, which proved to be a lacklustre end to one of gaming’s greatest franchises. Death Stranding plays like a direct response to The Phantom Pain, telling a gripping tale backed up by likeable cameos and a number of novel gameplay systems that make Kojima’s pre-release claims of Death Stranding being the first in what he dubs as the ‘strand genre’ almost true. Finally, a weapon to surpass Metal Gear.

2. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

At the beginning of the year if you told me I’d be spending close to a 70 hours playing Monster Hunter World: Iceborne I’d laugh you out of a room. Fast forward to the end of the year and I can’t believe it myself. The new snowy setting of Hoarfrost Reach and challenging gargantuan wyverns to slay combined with the simple yet addictive gameplay loop make Capcom’s expansion entertaining through and through.

Thanks to additions like the Guiding Lands which ramps up the endgame significantly and fantastic quality of life improvements such as the clutch claw, there’s no reason not to give Iceborne a shot. Unless of course, you’re waiting for it on PC.

1. Judgment

This generation has been replete with game executives telling us we don’t want to play focussed story-driven games, that single-player games are dead. Fine. If the collective hivemind of bean counters and suits are correct then Judgment serves as a greatest hits send-off with a sublime story, near perfect pacing, ridiculously polished gameplay mechanics, and some of the most memorable characters we’ve had the pleasure of spending time with. Ever. If you own a PS4 you owe it to yourself to play Judgment.

Hopefully it won’t be too much trouble getting these games to work on the PS5 that’s due in 2020. Sony has confirmed backwards compatibility but hasn’t explained how it would work just yet.

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

Microsoft may not have been the best-selling console manufacturer this generation but the company has been leading in other aspects such as backwards compatibility, cross-platform play and making games cheaper with Xbox Game Pass. It makes us wonder if any of these would have come to pass if the company had better first-party exclusives compared to Sony and Nintendo.

While the Xbox Series X and Project xCloud reveals have left us with more questions than answers, the current state of Xbox is a far cry from the Xbox 360 heydays. This doesn’t mean there aren’t any decent games worth playing. Here are the five best Japanese games on the Xbox One.

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Best Xbox One games 2019

5. Dead or Alive 6

It may have had a lacklustre launch with barebones online features but Team Ninja has taken Dead or Alive 6 from strength to strength adding new characters and content at a steady clip. Furthermore, HDR for Dead or Alive 6 is exclusive to the Xbox One X version of the game, which makes it look a whole lot better than the PS4 or PC versions provided you have the right TV. If you haven’t checked it out already now is good a time as any to jump in.

4. Romancing SaGa 3

Outside of a handful of Final Fantasy remasters, there’s been little in the way of great Xbox One Japanese games. This makes it a rarity of sorts. The original release of this game never made it outside of Japan and this version is a remake with higher resolution visuals and gameplay additions. Granted its the sixth entry in the SaGa series, but it’s a great entry point for newcomers and JRPG veterans alike.

3. Ace Combat 7

Flexible controls, an exhilarating sense of speed and some straight up crazy missions pitting you up against gigantic propeller-powered flying fortresses that spit out drones makes it a sheer joy. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long before the next entry.

2. Resident Evil 2 Remake

While Resident Evil 2 delivers horror in spades, one part of it that isn’t fraught with horror is how it runs on the Xbox One family of consoles. The game looks great on all of them with Capcom able coax decent performance out of the base Xbox One and Xbox One S versions too. It’s heartening to see a solid experience across the board ensuring everyone can enjoy this retelling of one of the best games ever.

1. Devil May Cry 5

Capcom’s track record this year has been superlative, delivering great experiences across most platforms. The Xbox One X version of Devil May Cry 5 in particular is a treat with high octane action at a near 60fps presentation at 4K. Microsoft’s first-party output may be stunted but Devil May Cry 5’s excellence makes up for it.

Although the Xbox One has it better than it did during its early days, it’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft bolsters its line up of must have Japanese titles for the Xbox Series X.

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

Sanjay Manjrekar on Monday said 2019 was the worst year for him as an analyst and commentator. In an interview to ESPNcricinfo, he recalled the spat with Ravindra Jadeja and his on-air comments about Harsha Bhogle. 

In July this year, Manjrekar had called Jadeja a “bits and pieces player” and the all-rounder had hit back saying, “Still I have played twice the number of matches you have played and I am still playing. Learn to respect people who have achieved. I have heard enough of your verbal diarrhoea”.

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After Jadeja’s fabulous innings during the World Cup semi-final where he made 77 runs of 59 balls, Manjrekar admitted that “by bits ‘n’ pieces of sheer brilliance, he’s ripped me apart”.

Talking about Jadeja in the interview with ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar said it was terrible because he made that comment (bits and pieces player) and in the very next game — the World Cup semi-final—Jadeja “played an absolute blinder of an innings”. “The kind of batting we have never seen from him.”  

He also recalled the on-air incident with Bhogle and said he regretted it and apologised to the producer for it. “With that particular comment, it was me losing control. I was unprofessional. I was wrong. It is something I regret. I let my emotions get the better of me and it bothers me. So mostly being unprofessional and to an extent, indecent also,” he added. 

During the day/night match between India and Bangladesh last month, Bhogle suggested that the players need to be asked about the visibility of the pink ball. 

“Don’t think so. Because when you see the slip catchers the way they have taken catches, I don’t think visibility is an issue at all. The texture of the ball is the issue,” responded Manjrekar, according to News18.

Bhogle insisted that he would ask the players from both sides and also suggested a proper analysis of the pink ball test. To this, Manjrekar replied, “only you need to ask Harsha, not us, who have played a fair bit of the game.”

Several Twitter users had criticised Manjrekar’s comments and asked him to apologise to Bhogle. 

Newly declassified documents reveal members of the UK government once considered plans to make Russia an associate member of Nato.

A memo from January 1995 shows defence secretary Malcolm Rifkind suggested there was an opportunity to change the relationship with Russia and Central Europe for the first time since the end of the Cold War, highlighting the political and military alliance as a possible means for doing so.

The note from Rifkind’s department identified how “integrating Russia into the European and Western family of nations in a realistic and sensitive way” was “the most difficult problem we face”.

The memo was written ahead of a Chequers summit discussing foreign policy and released among a tranche of declassified documents at the National Archives at Kew, PA Media reports.

It said making Boris Yeltsin’s Russia a full member of Nato would “always be impossible”, and said giving it an Article V guarantee – a core tenet of Nato’s founding treaty, committing to collective defence responsibilities – could prove difficult in sending forces to the farthest flung corners of Europe to fight on Russia’s vast borders.

A possible solution, it was claimed in the memo, was to “create a new category of Associate Member of Nato”, giving Russia a formal status to attend meetings but without the Article V guarantee.

Aides agreed to keep the suggestion confidential ahead of the the Chequers summit.

Minutes from that summit described how the chancellor, Ken Clarke, “was cautious about [Nato] expansion”.

It added: “At the extreme, some were even contemplating including Russia in Nato.

“That was farcical and should not be on our agenda.”

Rifkind agreed at Chequers that Russia should not become a full member of Nato, but stressed the need to make it “a more normal member of our western family”, or risk is reverting to authoritarianism.

Minutes also reveal how John Major used a literary flourish to sum up the UK’s position in the world as he saw it at the time, describing the country as “too much of a team player”.

Referring to the prime minister’s comments, the minutes add: “We did not pursue our self-interest with the ruthless determination of the US and France.

“We had tended to play Sancho Panza to the US’ Don Quixote.”

The reference was to the Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes, where Sancho Panza is a simple peasant who loyally follows land noble Don Quixote.

The prime minister said the main threat from Russia was “as a source of trouble” through arms deals with poorer countries.

Nato currently has 29 member countries. Russia is not among them.

The Kerala Assembly passed a resolution, tabled by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, against the Citizenship Amendment Act even as protests raged across the country. 

PTI reported that the ruling CPI(M)-LDF and the Opposition Congress led UDF supported the resolution while BJP’s lone MLA and former Union minister O Rajagopal’s was only person who voted against the motion.  

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This comes as several states across the country, mostly led by non-BJP governments, have refused to implement the CAA. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been one of the most vocal critics of the CAA. 

On Tuesday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar extended his support to Banerjee. 

In the letter Pawar said he pledged “to stand in solidarity with all like-minded leaders and parties to protest against the implementation of the CAA and nationwide NRC.”

“I would appeal to everyone to join hands against the BJP and isolate them everywhere. Political parties, civil society groups and students’ communities should oppose and isolate the party across the country. They want to take away our independence. We will not let that happen,” PTI quoted Banerjee as saying on Tuesday. 

Banerjee also lent support to the students protesting across the country. 

“I extend my support to students protesting (against the law). I will not stop my protest till the CAA is withdrawn. Just ensure that your name appears on the voters’ list. The rest will be taken care of by me. No one will have to leave this country,” she said.

Banerjee, who is among the vocal critics of the BJP, insisted that no one would have to leave the country as long as she was alive.

“Your (Centre’s) writ runs in Delhi. Don’t think the state will fall in line. We will neither implement CAA nor NPR in Bengal. You can do whatever you want to...”

“As long as I am alive, CAA will not be implemented in Bengal. No one has to leave the country or the state. There will not be any detention centre in Bengal,” the CM, who has held five protest marches and two rallies in Kolkata since December 16 against the citizenship law, added.

PTI reported that while presenting the resolution, CM Vijayan said, “The Act contradicts the basic values and principles of the Constitution.”

“In view of the anxiety among the people of the country, the Centre should take steps to drop the CAA and uphold the secular outlook of the Constitution,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)

Winter is here, and the nip in the air (or the blast of freezing air in North India) offers the perfect excuse to stay at home and read (if you’re not out at a protest). Treat yourself to a nook with a favourite blanket, spiced cookies and something warm to sip on. Doorstoppers, stories of rogues, books teeming with magic—take these with a side of hot cocoa and you are all set to embrace the sweater weather.

1. 2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pyjamas by Marie-Helene Bertino

Foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, motherless nine-year-old Madeline lives in a cockroach-infested apartment with an absent father but all her dreams are about singing. Spanning over twenty hours from a Christmas eve morning, and featuring many memorable characters (the owner of a soon-to-be-closed jazz club, a divorced school teacher hanging out with a childhood crush), this book is funny and tinged with holiday serendipity.

2. Blankets by Craig Thompson

I read Blankets during a cold Mumbai winter admiring Thompson’s art—black-and-white panels knitted together with blankets and quilts over Wisconsin winters, sibling rivalry, first love and self-reflection. Blankets are fought for, played with and also shared because “In that little pathetic clump of blankets there was comfort.” You will find yourself sighing, longing to revisit your childhood self and smiling as you read this graphic novel. 

3. Chocolat by Joanne Harris

There’s nothing that says winter like the urge to stuff yourself with chocolate, and Chocolat is definitely an enabler. Vivianne Rocher and her daughter move to a strait-laced French hamlet to open a chocolatier, much to the chagrin of the local priest who vehemently delivers sermons against her devilry. With bonbons, handmade chocolates, mugs of hot cocoa, and even a chocolate festival, Chocolat promises to be a sensual feast.  Be sure to have your stash of chocolates near the bedside for those insatiable midnight cravings.

4. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

This glorious doorstopper, which comes highly recommended by Neil Gaiman, is a maze— a captivating narrative set in the 1800s with rival magicians, magical theory enthusiasts, the Napoleonic Wars, book hoarding, rain ships, sand horses, faery servants, and dead ladies, stippled with over 200 footnotes (and not a single boring one). You’ll find the novel irresistible and unputdownable if you have a thing for academicians poring over journals, possessive bookworms (aren’t we all?), spell-making trials and historical fiction. Pair it up with the TV adaptation and the audiobook, like I did, and thank me later.

5. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

On the day of the first snowfall, a childless couple playfully makes a child out of snow. The morning after, a feisty, blonde-haired girl with a red fox arrives, but the wife fears their ‘snow child’ will leave with the melting snow. Set in the 1920s, and based on the Russian fairytale Snegurochka, the novel sleds through the bleak Alaskan wilderness, snow flurries and magic. Read it for lyrical, dreamy sentences and an atmosphere that’ll warm you with wintery kisses. 

6. A Gallery of Rascals by Ruskin Bond

Actually anything by Ruskin Bond—reminiscences, hill station stories, mysteries, horror—evokes cosy vibes. My recent favourite is this collection which includes both his old, more-famous stories and new ones, about “rogues, rapscallions and ne’er-do-wells.” Read for cyanide-laced chocolates, Grandfather’s private zoo, the seven husbands of Suzanna, duels between British officers, arrested school teachers, ghosts, thieves and jinns. The 30 stories are short enough for quick evening reads and, as we all know, Bond never disappoints.  

7. Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden

Vasya grows up on a steady diet of stories by the fireside in 14th century Rus’ (old Russia) but soon she realises she is in one. A battle is brewing between chyerti (spirits) and humans. Abandoned cottages, Slavic mythical beings like rusulka (water spirits), domovoi (household guardians), upyr (vampires), paganism vs Christianity and references to real-life politics juxtapose in this frosty fairytale brimming with ancient magic. The first book, The Bear and the Nightingale, gave me mad, colourful, Wonderland-like dreams at night and the last one, The Winter of the Witch, set me on a googling spree about medieval Russian history. So good!

8. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, translated from Russian by Louise and Aylmer Maude

I am usually intimidated by chunky books but the complex, detail-heavy, anguish-inducing passages, aristocracy and intoxicating characters made me fall head over heels for this Russian opus on high society life. Save for a few agrarian passages, I loved Anna Karenina to bits — the tragic love story, the consequences that are lighter on men than women for the same actions, and the stifling, suffocating community. I suggest dividing the book into sizeable chunks for weekly reads and keeping piping, hot drinks at hand. There’s nothing better than committing to this classic over the winter.

9. Snow by Orhan Pamuk, translated from Turkish by Maureen Freely

Pamuk’s Snow, set in a remote city in eastern Anatolia, shut off from the world because of three days of unrelenting snowfall, is your best bet for a literary heavyweight. A poet investigates the rising suicides of girls, revisits his past, and meets his ex-sweetheart. Snow is a novel of opposites—modernism vs tradition, secularism vs an Islamic government, clash of ideals and art—and a love story. I read it very slowly over many months, twice.

10. The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay

Why not pick up the much acclaimed, and award-appealing (the JCB Prize for literature 2019 winner, DSC Prize for South Asian Literature shortlisted, among many others) debut novel for these dreary winter months? Set in Kashmir and Bangalore and featuring a daughter on a solo mission, The Far Field is a slow, sometimes meandering read, which often slips into personal grief coupled with political turmoil. 

11. The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale

Papa Jack’s Emporium opens with the first frost of the year and closes after winter. It sells toys that come to life—paper trees that sprout instantly, patchwork dogs, and toy soldiers that fight. In this magical toy shop is the rivalry between his sons (both aspiring toymakers), the gloom of war and a runaway pregnant girl.

12. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

A luxury train that travels over Europe stops in the middle of nowhere because of a snowdrift. An American tycoon is stabbed to death onboard the train and Hercule Poirot is digging for clues. Agatha Christie proves her mastery in this whodunit (one of her best) with twelve suspects, each with a solid alibi, that’ll leave your head spinning at the denouement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have vehemently defended the Citizenship Amendment Act over the last few weeks to no avail. Protests have continued to rage across the country with lawyers, activists and journalists explaining on social media why when coupled with the National Citizen’s Register (NRC) the Act would spell doom for many citizens of India. 

While Modi has gone to the extent of lying about his government’s plans (read about his 5 lies here), Shah has repeatedly said India Muslims have nothing to fear. If one reads the names of those who have been killed by the police and those who have been detained, you know Shah’s comments could not be farther from the truth. 

They have also blamed the Congress for nationwide protests. And as the protests continue, Modi found the most bizarre candidate to come to his defence about the CAA. On Monday, the prime minister tweeted a 20-minute video by Sadhguru.

Also known as Jaggi Vasudev, the man describes himself as a “mystic” and a “yogi”. What still remains unknown is why the most powerful man in the county hired a “mystic” as opposed to a constitutional expert or a lawyer to make his case. 

The “mystic” also admits he hasn’t read the law, but says, “In my opinion, CAA is too little compassion coming too late.” Modi described Sadhguru’s explanation as lucid. 

And like they do in most such situations, Twitter users called out Sadhguru and the BJP government with hilarious tweets. 

Some wanted him to explain everything under the sun. 

There was sarcasm too. 

There were others who wondered why Sadhguru was doing this explanation on CAA: 

Sonny Mehta, the editor-in-chief of publishing house Alfred A Knopf and chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group in New York, passed away at the age of 77.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted condolences. “He was one of the world’s best editors and an extremely civilized person,” Patnaik said.

Under Sonny, Knopf published six Nobel literature laureates, as The Indian Express pointed out, numerous Pulitzer Prize winners and Booker Prize winners. He began his career in publishing in 1965 when he joined Rupert Hart Davis in London. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled his death. “Mehta would be fondly remembered by countless avid readers across the world. He endeared himself to many thanks to his erudite and knowledgable personality,” he tweeted.

BENGALURU, Karnataka—If you’ve been following the conversation around the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), you would have noticed many social media posts asking protesters to wear face masks or paint their faces.

This is because there is a very real possibility that your face may be added to a facial recognition database by the government. On Saturday, The Indian Express reported that the Delhi Police is filming protesters, and then running the footage through its Automated Facial Recognition Software (AFRS) in order to identify alleged “rabble rousers and miscreants”. The police force had adopted AFRS in 2018 to locate missing children.

This is a clear instance of Indian authorities taking a leaf out of China’s playbook in the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, using CCTV footage and other recordings of protests to identify and crack down on dissenters.

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The Delhi Police, which reports to the Union ministry of home affairs, has been under a cloud since it forcibly entered the Jamia Millia Islamia campus earlier this month and brutally attacked students. It isn’t the only police force in India to use facial recognition software to track protesters. The New Indian Express had also reported that police at Osmania University in Hyderabad were seen making videos of the demonstrations. HuffPost India could not independently confirm multiple tweets about policemen at various protests walking around with Android tablets to identify protesters through facial recognition. 

Writing for architecture and design magazine Dezeen on the Hong Kong protests, historian Owen Hopkins pointed out that facial recognition software poses the biggest threat to “those whose lives are already economically precarious, who can’t afford to lose their jobs, or whose behaviour is somehow different to “normal”: subcultures, migrants, those who identify as LGBTQ and other minority groups”.

In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had made a communal remark hours before the Delhi Police stormed the Jamia campus. Muslims, especially in Uttar Pradesh, have been the worst-affected by the police’s violent crackdown on protests, with even children not being spared detention and torture.

“Rather than make us safer, facial recognition only amplifies existing prejudices and further entrenches existing power structures. It doesn’t matter who wields it – whether state, private company or some seemingly benevolent entity – the technology itself is a fundamental threat to society,” Hopkins wrote.

The police is trying to build a bigger, and more widespread facial recognition network, that brings together its flawed CCTNS system with a number of other databases of faces, under the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), leading experts in the field to raise serious concerns about its misuse.

What can people do about facial recognition?

The crackdown on people through facial recognition is particularly concerning when you take into account the huge amount of documentation of protests over the past couple of weeks. Many Instagram handles, TikTok videos and Facebook and Twitter timelines have shared photos and videos of the protesters. In a spirit of solidarity, they have highlighted acts of protest, appreciated the best posters, and shared videos of the songs and slogans. But this has also meant that a lot of people now have their photos and videos up in public, often without explicitly getting their consent first.

This can sometimes have negative consequences for the people involved. When Ladeedah Farzana (who goes by Ladeedah Sakhaloon) was identified as one of the women who stood up against the Delhi Police in Jamia, she was instantly hailed as a hero. And then she was almost trolled off the Internet. 

But while others may not be facing the same kind of reactions right now, they are still at risk of having their images scraped off the open Internet and used to populate databases of people who protested against the government. This is a real concern, and it doesn’t necessarily require a high-tech intervention to identify people taking part in protests either. For example, the UP police has been releasing photos and videos of protesters, asking people to identify them. Reportedly, the police printed posters with photos, announcing a reward of Rs 25,000 each for information on three “wanted” people.

In order to minimize their risks, people need to start taking steps to beat facial recognition systems, taking a lesson from protesters in Hong Kong who have sustained their movement for months now, bringing a sizeable amount of International pressure against the Chinese government. 

The Hong Kong protesters also tried using masks and face paint, these were soon banned by the police. In turn, the protesters started using lasers to ‘blind’ the cameras tracking them, while others toppled lampposts with cameras on them.

According to a report from The Brookings Institution’s Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative, there are some guardrails that people should be demanding when it comes to facial recognition software: 

It recommends that there be limits on how long data should be stored; data sharing should be restricted; there should be clear notification when facial capture is being done, and minimum accuracy standards need to be met. Third party audits are also required; and collateral information collection (metadata) must be minimized, the report said.

Srinivas Kodali, an independent security researcher, wrote a Twitter thread on the uses of facial recognition during the protests. 

“The Hyderabad Police again for example uses an app TSCOP, to check if your photo is any crime database. Hyderabad police has been randomly stopping people and checking if they are criminals,” he noted.

In terms of more direct action, Kodali said, “One can use a mask or paint their face. There are different ways to confuse a facial recognition system with assymetrical face structures by painting their face to resemble an animal or by wearing masks. However it will be difficult if the AI is equipped to track a citizen’s walking style.” 

Even when facial recognition doesn’t work, it’s dangerous

While facial recognition is a dangerous tool in terms of privacy and security, they can pose a threat even when they don’t work properly, as there is little room for oversight and appeal. Bengaluru-based Pranay Prateek, co-founder of SigNozIO, tweeted a thread about his experience with automated policing systems based on computer vision when he was caught jumping a red light. “The traffic policeman had a device with fines registered on my vehicle number. There were some 3-4 fines which I knew nothing about. Interestingly, there was one fine for triple riding,” Prateek said. “This surprised me - as I never triple ride. When I asked the traffic policeman - as to who registered this - he said that it is automatically detected by CCTV camera.”

Prateek, who has worked with computer vision in the past, noted that these algorithms can often be very inaccurate. When challenged, the policeman told Prateek to go to the station, which he chose not to do to save time. But he added that with our photos being used to raise fines, not being able to access this information when being challaned or through a public website is unacceptable.

The AFRS was brought in by the Delhi Police in March 2018 to trace missing children. This same technology has seen mission-creep and is now being used to identify habitual offenders and “rabble rousers”. Except there’s not much reason to believe it actually works. Just six months after the technology came into use, the Delhi High Court was informed that the accuracy of the system is only 2%, according to the Delhi Police counsel. In August 2019, just before a tender for a National Automated Facial Recognition System was raised by the NCRB, the Ministry of Women and Child Development told the court that the number of children matched using AFRS was less than 1%, and that the system would match the pictures of boys with girls.

The technology was provided to the Delhi police by Innefu Labs, a Delhi-based technology company which, apart from facial recognition,also offers technology for social media analytics for law enforcement, and is a proponent of the concept of predictive policing, using videos and images along with social media posts, to try and predict where crimes will take place. Social media snooping is already happening in India with little to no oversight, and the proposed Data Protection Bill doesn’t have any safeguards against being spied on by the government.

Predictive policing, on the other hand, has been widely criticized around the world, and many academics have pointed out that it is “simplistic and harmful”. 

“Predictive policing algorithms have the potential to increase accuracy and efficiency, but they also threaten to dilute the reasonable suspicion standard and increase unintentional discrimination in a way that existing law is ill-equipped to prevent,” writes Lindsey Barrett in the NYU Review of Law and Social Change. “If predictive policing technology were reliably accurate, the methodology were transparent, and law enforcement officers and judges understood its limitations, then the use of predictive policing at the border might not threaten individual rights. As it stands, the use of an unpredictable and poorly understood technology, in an area of law where a highly malleable evidentiary standard can justify a substantial intrusion on individual rights, poses a colossal problem”

So, an ineffective system that can’t properly identify people is nevertheless being used by the Delhi Police and doubtless other police departments around the country, in order to make a database of protesters. Once you’re “identified” by the database, you are now vulnerable to punitive action. As a reminder, the Pegasus surveillance software which was used to spy on Dalit rights activists and lawyers was most likely deployed by the Indian government itself.

DHAKA — Bangladesh has ordered telecom operators to shut down services along the border with India, citing security concerns over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new citizenship law which critics say discriminates against Muslims.

Mobile network coverage has been suspended for a one-kilometer-wide band along the border with India until further notice “for the sake of the country’s security in the current circumstances,” officials said in a statement released late on Monday.

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The move stems from concerns that Indian Muslims might seek to flee to Bangladesh, two officials told Reuters. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the measure.

India’s Citizenship Amendment Act gives citizenship rights to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan who settled in India before 2015 - but not to Muslims.

Critics fear it is a prelude to a broader National Register of Citizens in which residents would be asked to prove their citizenship, which activists say could put poor Muslim families lacking documentation at a disadvantage.

India’s external affairs ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Bangladesh’s move.

 India and Bangladesh countries share a border of more than 4,000 km. Millions of Bangladeshis live alongside the frontier, mainly engaged in cross-border trade of medicines, agricultural commodities, milk and livestock.

“The decision to suspend mobile services could impact about 10 million people living on the border,” said a senior official at a mobile phone company in Dhaka.

News website ThePrint on Monday reported that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had sought a written assurance from the Modi government that it would not expel illegal immigrants across the border.

Hasina’s office was not immediately available to comment on the news report.

Earlier this month, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said one senior diplomat was attacked during a protest in Assam, which shares a border with Bangladesh and has the highest incidence of illegal immigration from its neighbour.

The sky has turned an apocalyptic shade of red, and thousands of people have evacuated onto the beach in the Australian town of Mallacoota as a destructive wildfire approaches.

Pictures of the red sky and falling embers are trickling onto social media as thousands of residents and tourists in the eastern Victoria town, about 400 miles south of Sydney, seek refuge from the oncoming blaze and prepare to escape into the Tasman Sea if the fire comes closer.

Social media users reported wearing goggles in order to see and covering their skin with towels to protect themselves from falling ash and embers. The sound of wailing emergency sirens added a shrill note to a constant roar of the fire.

Victoria state Fire Commissioner Andrew Crisp said 4,000 people were sheltering on the beach.

Bed-and-breakfast owner David Geoffrey told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) what he was witnessing on Mallacoota Beach. 

“It was blowing out to a gale for a point and then... it’s pitch black. And then the sky went red. We thought it was a fire front about to run over the top of us,” he said.  

“They wanted us to get into the water, get against that wall. It’s got oysters and stuff, not the greatest thing to do, but it will save you from radiant heat. It’s a barrier. 

“So we were ready to jump in. And everyone was all along the edge, ready to go, and, of course, when, you know, when that sky went red, it looked like what we’ve been looking at when we saw the fire coming.”

Geoffrey added that evacuees could hear gas cylinders exploding, “which means it’s people’s homes being destroyed.”

Community radio presenter Francesca Winterson was sheltering in a building on the town’s main street, she told ABC. She said loudspeaker alerts were issued throughout the town intermittently, between warning sirens, telling people to take refuge immediately.

“It’s absolutely horrific at the moment,” Winterson told ABC. “We have got blustering winds, we are surrounded by red sky, choking dust, choking smoke, and embers are falling on the town, and we are completely isolated.”

Another resident reported escaping out to sea on a boat with his family and pets, saying that it was “chaos,” as seen in the footage below.

About 100 fires are burning across Australia in multiple states, with as many as 14 emergency warnings in place for Victoria. Fires are also threatening homes and infrastructure in South Australia and Tasmania.

A New South Wales volunteer firefighter who died in a “cyclonic wind” fire event on Monday has been identified as 28-year-old Sam McPaul.  

The state’s Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons described McPaul as “a much loved and respected local firefighter” who leaves behind a wife who is pregnant with their first child. 

“He leaves behind, tragically, a beautiful wife, Megan, who is pregnant with their first child, that’s due on 4 May,” Fitzsimmons said at a news conference Tuesday.

Fitzsimmons said there were preliminary reports of three more potential fatalities in small towns in New South Wales.