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Russia's LGBT community has come under increasing pressure from the authorities for years Russia's Supreme Court has declared what it calls "the international LGBT public movement" an extremist organisation and banned its activities across the country. The ruling was prompted by a motion from the justice ministry, even though no such organisation exists as a legal entity. The hearing was held behind closed doors, but reporters were allowed in to hear the court's decision. Nobody from "the defendant's side" had been present, the court said. Russia's constitution was changed three years ago to make it clear that marriage means a union between a man and a woman. Same-sex unions are not recognised here. Ahead of the ruling, I asked Sergei Troshin, a municipal deputy in St Petersburg who came out as gay last year, what effect it would have. "I think this will mean that anyone whom the state considers an LGBT activist could receive a long prison sentence for 'participating in an extremist organisation'," he said. "For the organiser of such a group, the prison term will be even longer. "This is real repression. There is panic in Russia's LGBT community. People are emigrating urgently. The actual word we're using is evacuation. We're having to evacuate from our own country. It's terrible." There is panic in Russia's LGBT community... We're having to evacuate from our own country. It's terrible. Sergei Troshin Municipal deputy in St Petersburg In recent years Russia's LGBT community has come under increasing pressure from the authorities. In 2013, a law was adopted prohibiting "the propaganda [amongst minors] of non-traditional sexual relations". Last year, those restrictions were extended to all age groups in Russia. References to LGBT people have been deleted from books, films, adverts and TV shows. Earlier this month, one Russian TV channel discoloured a rainbow in a South Korean pop video, to avoid being accused of violating the "gay propaganda" law. At the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, Vitaly Milonov, a famously homophobic MP from the ruling party, United Russia, said the ban on LGBT groups was "not about sexual minorities or the private life of individuals". "It's more about the political agenda proclaimed by this LGBT international movement," he told me. "They have their own tasks, their own goals. They act as a political force, a political structure and the goals of this structure contravene the Russian Constitution." Click : Clickhere

By Savita Patel San Francisco Indo-Chinese food - the sharp, spicy fusion between Indian and Chinese food - is now being spotted on many restaurant menus in the US. But what makes this comfort food of Indian immigrants such a hit? Christina O'Neill clearly remembers when she had gobi (cauliflower) manchurian for the first time. It was at a friend's home in an affluent Californian suburb in 2017. The crisp, fried cauliflower florets dunked in a red chilli sauce "melted in her mouth" and quickly became her favourite. She's not the only one - across the US, at plush parties and downtown restaurants, the cauliflower manchurian and its variations have become a ubiquitous presence. The dish is part of the distinctive Indo-Chinese cuisine, which has been around and wildly po[CENSORED]r in India for decades. The food is a bold mix of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger with an ample amount of chilli. "It's a creative incorporation of Chinese flavours with Indian ingredients," says Abhilash, manager of the Georgia branch of Inchin's Bamboo Garden, an Indo-Chinese speciality restaurant which has 25 outlets in North America. Now, Indo-Chinese food can also be found in eateries across the US, which has a sizeable Indian-American po[CENSORED]tion. While Indian and Nepali restaurants specialise in the fare, others have incorporated the signature dishes into their menus. "People who've moved from India expect this from us," says Anupam Bhatia, owner of Aurum and Broadway Masala in the San Francisco Bay Area. "The tasteful fusion pairs well with white wine and makes Americans demand it too." Pastries, Biryanis & Chaat (PBK), a restaurant in Tampa, Florida, says it incorporated the cuisine after requests from its customers. "Being near a university we get a lot of people from Asia and the Caribbean," says Prasad Dasari, corporate chef and manager at PBK. But what started as a response to satisfy the cravings of Indian immigrants has fast made its way into the American dining scene. The cauliflower manchurian, for instance, has found a permanent spot on the menu. "It's so po[CENSORED]r that it's difficult to take it off. And it sells as much as butter chicken," Mr Bhatia says, referring to a po[CENSORED]r sweet and spicy roast chicken preparation. But the manchurian - which has no connection with the region of Manchuria - is just one among an array of Indo-Chinese staples that are on offer. Neha Sharma, the manager at San Ramon - a Californian branch of Inchin's Bamboo Garden - says that the "most ordered" item on their menu is hakka noodles. While its global recognition is a recent affair, the origins of Indo-Chinese food go back more than 100 years and lie in the Indian city Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). In the 19th Century, thousands of Chinese migrants arrived for work in the city, which was then the capital of British India. The Cantonese migrants worked in carpentry and the ship-fitting industry, while the Hakka Chinese worked in the tannery and food business. When they moved, they brought their food along with them. The first Chinese eatery was opened in the 1850s in what is now called the old Chinatown area of Kolkata, says Tathagata Neogi, an archaeologist who also organises history tours of the city. "These were family-run, street-side eating places that catered only to the community," he says. "Others rarely ventured there." On his tour, Mr Neogi shows participants the building which housed the first posh restaurant - Nanking - in the 1920s. The place made the cuisine available to "those outside the small Chinese community for the first time", he says. "Governor Generals, viceroys and people in high society would dine there," Mr Neogi explains. Link : Clickhere

A specialist drilling machine has been deployed to rescue 40 Indian workers trapped inside a tunnel for more than four days in Uttarakhand state. It was flown in from Delhi on Wednesday after attempts to drill through the debris using another machine failed. The machine will help drill a passage so that a pipe can be inserted through which the workers can crawl out. They have been stuck inside since Sunday, after a landslide caused a portion of the tunnel to collapse. Authorities told the BBC that they did not want to speculate how long the task of clearing the debris might take, but they were expecting "a positive development" by Thursday evening. However, federal minister VK Singh on Thursday told reporters that rescue operations could stretch on for another two-three days. The accident occurred at 05:00 local time (23:30 GMT) on Sunday in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. A portion of the Silkyara tunnel, around 200m away from its opening, collapsed while the workers were inside. The mounds of debris cut off oxygen supply to the workers. The workers are trapped some 200m into the tunnel and are safe, officials said. Rescuers have been providing the men with food, water and oxygen through pipes and are communicating with them through walkie-talkies. However, some reports said that a few of them have been experiencing headaches, anxiety and nausea. Authorities have denied this and said the workers are not injured. Deepak Patil, who is in charge of the relief and rescue work, told the BBC that sufficient oxygen was being pumped inside the tunnel, so "there wasn't going to be any problems in terms of breathing". He added that the tunnel was well-lit and that morale was high among the workers. The new equipment - a heavy-duty horizontal drill with an augur or with a drill bit - was flown in by military aircraft in three parts and was assembled at the accident site. Experts say the machine is powerful enough to dig through five metres of debris per hour. The plan now is to drill a hole that is wide enough to fit a metal pipe of 900mm diameter. Officials say that the workers can then crawl through the pipe and exit the tunnel. Click : Clickhere

More than 50 people were injured in the blasts Police in India have arrested a man in connection with a series of explosions at a Jehovah's Witnesses meeting in the southern state of Kerala. Three people were killed and more than 50 injured in the blasts at a programme held by the Christian-based religious movement on Sunday. Police said the man, Dominic Martin, was arrested under an anti-terror law. He had earlier posted a video claiming responsibility for the attacks and surrendered to police. The blasts took place during the last day of a prayer session organised by Jehovah's Witnesses in the town of Kalamassery, about 10km (six miles) north-east of the port city of Kochi (Cochin). More than 2,000 people were attending the three-day event. TA Sreekumar, a regional spokesperson for the Jehovah's Witnesses, told local media that the first blast took place in the middle of a hall, and two more explosions took place seconds later on either sides of the hall. Two women who attended the meeting died on Sunday, while a 12-year-old girl with 95% burns succumbed to her injuries on Monday. Hours after the explosions, Mr Martin posted a video on Facebook claiming to be a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses who planned the blasts because he was angry with the group's teachings. But Mr Sreekumer told Reuters that Mr Martin was "not a registered member". Police said Mr Martin was from Kerala state and had previously worked in Dubai. "We are convinced that he committed the crime based on his confession and corroborating pieces of evidence we collected," Kochi city police commissioner A Akbar said on Monday. Mr Akbar said Mr Martin was co-operating with the police. The blasts sent shockwaves across the country, and security was stepped up in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities. The Jehovah's Witnesses is a religious movement which believes that traditional Christian churches have deviated from the actual teachings of the Bible and Armageddon is imminent. The group, which claims to have about 8.7 million followers worldwide and some 60,000 in India, has a strong presence in Kerala and is known for door-to-door evangelism in the state. Queen Richard, a member of Jehovah's Witnesses who was in the hall when the bomb exploded, said she initially thought a short circuit had caused the explosion. "As we closed our eyes and prayed, we heard that explosion in the centre of the hall. There was a huge flame," she said, adding that she and her husband, who has a disability, found it difficult to leave the hall. "As soon as I got outside I fainted and fell down," she said. Link : Clickhere

High levels of poverty and unemployment have fuelled money-making rituals in Nigeria Five men have been jailed for 12 years each in Nigeria after they were convicted of exhuming a human skull. They had planned to take it to a traditional doctor who said it was needed for rituals that would make them rich. The men pleaded guilty after being caught with the skull in a bag. The prosecutor told the court that the men had dug up a body buried three years earlier at a Muslim cemetery in the north-central Niger state. "They said the herbalist informed and promised all of them that they would share the wealth from the said criminal activity and directed them to look for the human skull," the prosecutor was quoted as saying by the privately owned Daily Punch newspaper. Security officers had arrested the young men, who are aged between 18 and 28, in early September as they transported the remains to a third party, on the instructions of a traditional doctor. A court in Minna, the capital of Niger state, declared the men guilty on the charges of criminal conspiracy, trespassing on burial grounds and unlawfully possessing a human skull. The traditional doctor was not arrested and charged. Belief in "juju" - sometimes known as voodoo or magic - is fairly widespread in Nigeria, with many combining it with either Christianity or Islam, according to a 2010 report by the Pew Research Centre. Such beliefs, especially that human body parts and charms can produce money from a clay pot, have led to a recent wave of gruesome murders in Nigeria, often targeting individuals seen as vulnerable, including children, single women and people with disabilities. Local authorities have also said that body parts are sold and used in rituals believed to generate wealth. Money-making rituals in Nigeria have also been fuelled by mounting economic desperation, in a country where four out of 10 people live in poverty, according to World Bank data. Click : Clickhere

Police say the situation is now under control A teacher has been killed and two people have been seriously injured in a knife attack at a school in France, officials say. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the attack happened at the Gambetta high school in the northern city of Arras at about 11:00 local time. The attacker has been arrested and is now in custody. According to witnesses, he shouted "Allahu Akbar", or "God is greatest", during the attack. The person killed was a French language teacher. Those injured were another teacher and a security guard. The man, described as being in his 20s, is of Chechen origin and known to the security services for his involvement with radical Islam, according to police. French media reports say he was a former pupil at the school. The French anti-terror prosecutor's office says it has opened an investigation following the attack for "murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise" and "attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise". News channel BFMTV has reported that the brother of the attacker has also been apprehended by police. Police say the situation is now under control. French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the school later on Friday, while the National Assembly in Paris has suspended its session in solidarity with the victims. The attack comes amid rising tensions in France's sizeable Muslim and Jewish communities due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. However, police have said there is nothing to indicate a link with the Middle East. The attack comes nearly three years since the murder and beheading of another teacher, Samuel Paty, at his school outside Paris. The perpetrator of that attack, 18-year-old Abdullakh Anzorov, a Russian Muslim refugee, was shot dead by police shortly afterwards. Click : Clickhere.

This year's Nobel economics prize has been awarded to Claudia Goldin, an American economic historian, for her work on women's employment and pay. Prof Goldin's research uncovered key drivers behind the gender pay gap, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. She is only the third woman to receive the prize, and the first to not share the award with male colleagues. The 77-year-old academic currently teaches labour market history at Harvard University in the US. She had "advanced our understanding of women's labour market outcomes", the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said, pointing to her work examining 200 years of data on the US workforce, showing how and why gender differences in earnings and employment rates changed over time. "This year's Laureate in the Economic Sciences, Claudia Goldin, provided the first comprehensive account of women's earnings and labour market participation through the centuries," the prize-giving body said in a statement. "Her research reveals the causes of change, as well as the main sources of the remaining gender gap." Her research found that married women started to work less after the arrival of industrialisation in the 1800s, but their employment picked up again in the 1900s as the service economy grew. Higher educational levels for women and the contraceptive pill accelerated change, but the gender pay gap remained. While historically that earnings difference between men and women could be blamed on educational choices made at a young age and career choices, Prof Goldin found that the current earnings gap was now largely due to the impact of having children. "Claudia Goldin's discoveries have vast societal implications," said Randi Hjalmarsson, a member of the committee awarding the prize. "She has shown us that the nature of this problem or the source of this underlying gender gap changes throughout history and with the course of development," she said. Describing her as "a detective", Prof Hjalmarsson said her work had provided a foundation for policymakers in this area around the world. Globally, about 50% of women participate in the labour market compared to 80% of men, but women earn less and are less likely to reach the top of the career ladder, the prize committee noted. Listen: Claudia Goldin on women in economics The tiny pill which gave birth to an economic revolution Prof Goldin was the first woman to receive tenure in Harvard's economics department in 1989. Economics still had an image problem with women, she told the BBC in 2018. "Even before students enter university they believe economics is a field more oriented to finance and management and women are less interested in those than are men," she said. If we explained economics was about "inequality, health, household behaviour, society, then there'd be a much greater balance," she said. On her website she also publishes a blog about her dog, Pika, a golden retriever. The economics prize is different to the original prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace, which were established by Alfred Nobel and first awarded in 1901. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Scienceswas established in 1968 and funded by Sweden's central bank. Elinor Ostrom was the first woman to win the economics prize in 2009, which she was awarded jointly with Oliver E Williamson for research on economic governance. In 2019 Esther Duflo shared the award with her husband Abhijit Banerjee, and Michael Kremer, for work that focused on poor communities in India and Kenya. Link : Clickhere.

Gulab Singh Shergill believes girls in his village deserve a shot at chasing their dreams More than a dozen young girls from a small village cycle through farmland in the Indian state of Punjab. Moving along a dirt pathway, dressed all in white, their excitement starts to build. Amid the miles of wheat fields, emerges the source of their joy: two cricket pitches, with plastic wickets and strip of concrete from where they can bat. If it conjures images of the 1989 Hollywood film, Field of Dreams, it wouldn't be too far from the truth. These 18 girls make up the Gulab Singh Cricket Team. Cricket is the most po[CENSORED]r sport in India, akin to a religion many would say. While it continues to remain a male-dominated game, things are changing. Earlier this year, India started a women's cricket premier league (WPL), a female version of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It has quickly become one of the world's most lucrative women's franchises, second only to the Women's National Basketball Associate in the US. Women in India have been active - and high performing - in cricket for many years. The WPL has catapulted them into mainstream po[CENSORED]rity. Now they get the kind of media attention only reserved for men's teams. In October, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the governing body of Indian cricket. said it all contracted female cricketers would be paid the the same match fee as men - a historic decision to promote "gender equality" in the country's most-loved game. Despite the changes on the national level, it can still be difficult for girls to be afforded the opportunity to play, especially in rural towns. "I created this cricket team to make their lives better," says Gulab Singh Shergill, 35, who started this plucky little league four years ago. Gulab Singh Shergill started the little league four years ago Partly to live out his failed dreams of playing cricket professionally and mostly because he really believes the girls in the village deserve a shot. "They don't get permission to get a higher education, only getting to tenth class," he says. After that, it's a life of cooking and cleaning until they are married and sent to live with their in-laws. His players are being exposed to something different. Every day, they come here, park their bikes under a tree behind the batting area and head to the grassy field where they start warming up. Simranjit Kaur, 13, is learning to bowl. She runs down the pitch, rotates her arm and lets the leather ball out of her hand. Her height allows her to get speed and she says her accuracy is starting to improve. She is quiet and soft spoken, still very much the frame of a child but has had to grow up fast. After her mother died suddenly three years ago, her grandmother has become her primary caretaker, along with her two younger sisters, aged 10 and three. She joined the team a few years ago after seeing them play in a tournament in a neighbouring village with her father, a cricket enthusiast. "My father asked me if I would like to play," she said in the courtyard of her house. "I said yes. So he asked the coach if I could join. And he said to come the next day. Click : Clickhere

One of the latest images sent by the Vikram lander India's space agency has released images of the far side of the Moon as its third lunar mission attempts to locate a safe landing spot on the little-explored south pole. The pictures have been taken by Vikram, Chandrayaan-3's lander, which began the last phase of its mission on Thursday. Vikram, which carries a rover in its belly, is due to land on 23 August. The photos come a day after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control. The craft - Russia's first Moon mission in nearly 50 years - was due to be the first ever to land on the south pole, but failed after encountering problems as it moved into its pre-landing orbit. On Monday morning, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said the lander from Chandrayaan-3, which is due to touch down on Wednesday at 18:04 India time (12:34 GMT), has been mapping the landing area and taking images with its "hazard detection and avoidance" camera. Isro added that the black-and-white images sent by this camera will assist them "in locating a safe landing area - without boulders or deep trenches". The lunar far side is the side that faces away from the Earth and is sometimes also called "the dark side of the Moon" because so little is known about it. Scientists say landing there can be a tricky affair. But there's a lot of interest in this part of the Moon which scientists think could hold frozen water and precious elements. India's latest Moon mission sends first photos Historic India Moon mission lifts off successfully Isro said on Sunday that the lander module had been successfully lowered into an orbit closer to the Moon (of 25km by 134km) and is now waiting for the lunar Sun-rise to land. If Chandrayaan-3 is successful, India will be first to land on the lunar south pole. It will also be only the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon after the US, the former Soviet Union and China. The third in India's programme of lunar exploration, Chandrayaan-3 is expected to build on the success of its earlier Moon missions. It comes 15 years after the country's first Moon mission in 2008, which discovered the presence of water molecules on the parched lunar surface and established that the Moon has an atmosphere during daytime. Chandrayaan-2 - which also comprised an orbiter, a lander and a rover - was launched in July 2019 but it was only partially successful. Its orbiter continues to circle and study the Moon even today, but the lander-rover failed to make a soft landing and crashed during touchdown. The women scientists who took India into space Was India's Moon mission actually a success? Isro chief Sreedhara Panicker Somanath has said that the space agency had carefully studied the data from its crash and carried out simulation exercises to fix the glitches in Chandrayaan-3, which weighs 3,900kg and cost 6.1bn rupees ($75m; £58m). The lander module weighs about 1,500kg, including the 26kg-rover Pragyaan. The south pole of the Moon is still largely unexplored - the surface area that remains in shadow there is huge, and scientists say it means there is a possibility of water in areas that are permanently shadowed. One of the major goals of Chandrayaan-3 is to hunt for water ice, which scientists say could support human habitation on the Moon in future. It could also be used for supplying propellant for spacecraft headed to Mars and other distant destinations. Link : Clickhere

A video of two women being paraded naked in Manipur has sparked national and global outrage India's parliament was adjourned for a third day after opposition MPs demanded a debate on the violence in the north-eastern state of Manipur. Angry MPs disrupted proceedings by shouting slogans and holding placards in both houses. Home Minister Amit Shah said he was "ready to have a discussion" and blamed the Opposition for not allowing it. But protesting MPs demanded that PM Narendra Modi should address the house on the issue. Tensions have escalated in Manipur since May where ethnic clashes between the majority Meitei group and the tribal Kuki minority have killed more than 130 people and displaced nearly 60,000. On Sunday, the US expressed concern over reports of a video that showed two women being paraded naked in the state. The assault on the women took place almost three months ago but became public last week after the video went viral, sparking global outrage. A US spokesperson called the incident "brutal" and "terrible", Reuters reported. India is yet to comment on the statement. But earlier this month, the Indian government had responded sharply after a US official said that his country was "ready to assist" in resolving the crisis in Manipur. Foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that he had not seen the comments, made by US ambassador Eric Garcetti, personally but that foreign diplomats usually did not comment on India's "internal developments". The video, which was first circulated on Thursday, shows two Kuki women being pushed around and groped by a mob from a village dominated by Meiteis. India video shows how rape is weaponised in conflict India police face scrutiny after women paraded naked What is happening in Manipur and why? It sparked widespread condemnation, leading to the arrest of six men. According to a police complaint, one of the women was gang raped. The complaint added that a third woman was also forced to strip but she is not seen in the video. Questions are being raised about why it took police so long to act - the complaint had been lodged just days after the incident and many of the men are clearly identifiable in the footage. After the video went viral, Mr Modi condemned the assault as "shameful" and promised tough action but he is yet to make a statement in parliament. Protests also erupted in Manipur, where thousands gathered over the weekend demanding the arrest of men involved in the assault. There have also been reports of Meities living in the neighbouring Mizoram state leaving for Manipur and Assam state after an organisation of former insurgents issued a "warning" about their safety. However, the Mizoram government has assured the Meitei community of their security in the state. On Sunday, the organisation also clarified that its statement was not a warning, but an "advisory requesting Meities living in Mizoram to exercise caution in the light of the public sentiments". Link : Clickhere

Travis King joined a border tour and fled to North Korea Travis King, the American soldier who fled to North Korea, had been detained for getting into fights in South Korea before he crossed the border. Court documents showed he also damaged a police car and had recently spent time in a detention facility in Seoul. The 23-year-old serviceman had been recently released and was being sent back to the US when he escaped. He joined a tour of the Joint Security Area and fled into North Korea, which has not commented so far. It remains unclear what his intentions were for crossing the border. US authorities have said that he did so "wilfully, of his own volition" and expressed concern about his well-being. Private 2nd Class (PV2) King's mother Claudine Gates told ABC News she could not imagine her son doing such a thing. He "had to be out of his mind", she said. Ms Gates said she had last heard from the US soldier "a few days ago", when he told her he would soon be returning to Fort Bliss, his army base in Texas. PV2 King was reportedly investigated for assault in South Korea in September 2022. According to local media, he was suspected of punching a Korean national in a nightclub in Seoul. He was fined 5m won (£,3,000; $3,950) for "repeatedly kicking" the back door of a police car and screamed "foul language" at the officers trying to apprehend him. Local reports quoting officials said he was released on 10 July after serving two months in jail on assault charges, but did not elaborate. Travis King, dressed in a black shirt and black cap, is seen on the tour before he crossed the border After his release, he was placed under military observation for about a week in South Korea. He was escorted to the airport in Incheon, near Seoul, for a flight back to the United States, where he was to face disciplinary action. But he did not board the plane. The Korea Times, quoting an airport official, said he arrived at the boarding gate alone as military police officers were not allowed to accompany him all the way to the plane. At the gate, he reportedly approached an American Airlines official and claimed his passport had gone missing. An airline employee then escorted him out of the departures area. After parting ways with his escort, he is reported to have left the terminal to embark on a tour of the Demilitarised Zone, or DMZ, between North and South Korea, where foreigners can visit via tour companies. It is not clear how PV2 King managed to get on one of these tours, as it typically takes between three days and a week for an individual to be authorised, and the trips are usually closely monitored. An eyewitness on the same border tour described hearing the soldier laughing loudly before making a run across the border. The United Nations Command, which operates the DMZ, said it believed the soldier was now in custody of the North. A senior US commander said there had been no contact with the soldier and the incident was being investigated by US Forces Korea. Click : Clickhere

Soldiers patrol the violence-hit Dolaithabi village in Manipur Ethnic violence has plunged Manipur, India's scenic state bordering Myanmar, into turmoil. Persistent clashes between the Meiteis and Kukis for over two months have left both feeling besieged. The neighbouring villages of these communities appear to be particularly susceptible to attacks. In the second of a two-part series on Manipur, the BBC's Soutik Biswas visited a scenic valley where Meitei villages have come under attack. Under the cover of darkness in early May, the men emerged from the hills above. They were shouting slogans that pierced the stillness of the night and firing gunshots that punctuated the balmy air. Some of them wielded swords, while others brandished bottles of petrol and diesel. Murders and mayhem tearing apart an Indian state "Kill them, burn them!" echoed a war cry that reverberated in the air, and remained etched in Khunaijam Shanti's memory. She and fellow villagers had been dreading an attack as news - and rumours - of ethnic violence spread like wildfire through whispers and mobile phones. Around midnight they abandoned their homes, evading the fury of the mob. On 3 May, ethnic violence sparked by a thorny affirmative action row erupted in India's north-eastern state of Manipur. More than 130 people have died since, during clashes between the majority Meitei and the tribal Kuki minority groups. Some 60,000 have become refugees in their own land. Soldiers patrol Leitangpokpi, a Meitei village located barely 1,500 metres from the nearest Kuki villages The Meitei - mostly practising Hindus - like Ms Shanti live in community villages in the sprawling valley, including the capital, Imphal. The Kukis, mostly Christians, reside in their chief-run villages in the rolling hills. The ongoing violence has tragically led to a near-complete segregation of the two groups. Dolaithabi, where Ms Shanti lived, was among the four villages - Ekoi, Yangkhaman and Leitanpokpi were the three others - in the Imphal East district that was attacked by Kukis in a fierce night of burning and looting. These Meitei-dominated villages - where nearly 3,000 people lived - were particularly vulnerable, nestled against the foothills in close proximity to Kuki settlements. Villages of the two groups are barely separated, with only 1,500 (1.5km) metres between them. Here - and in many other similar areas - security forces have set up buffer zones to restore peace. On both sides, civilians - calling themselves "village defence forces" - have also built bunkers, often manned by armed volunteers. It is difficult to imagine a place so scenic and tranquil to be at the crosshairs of a violent conflict. A dammed river called Iril flows past sleepy villages of sloped corrugated tin homes. Hand-tended rice farms cover the floodplains, fringed by slopes that rise to the cloud-clapped emerald green hills of oak and pine. "This is a valley surrounded by hills. It is a vulnerable area. They [the Kukis] have the vantage point. They can take pot shots from the hills. Anything can happen anytime," said Lenin Lamabam, a senior officer of Manipur's military police. He, along with 80 of his men and hundreds of border forces, is patrolling the area. Link : Clickhere

Cyber security firm Crowdstrike illustrates the biggest hacker threats with cartoons A cyber-attack that took over iPhones at a Russian technology company is being blamed on US government hackers. Could the attack, and the response from the Russian government, be rewriting the narrative of who the good guys and bad guys are in cyber-space? Camaro Dragon, Fancy Bear, Static Kitten and Stardust Chollima - these aren't the latest Marvel film superheroes but the names given to some of the most feared hacking groups in the world. For years, these elite cyber teams have been tracked from hack to hack, stealing secrets and causing disruption allegedly under orders from their governments. And cyber-security companies have even created cartoon images of them. Camaro Dragon - Checkpoint's latest illustration for an alleged Chinese group hacking European foreign affairs workers With dots on a world map, marketeers at these companies regularly warn customers about where these "advanced persistent threats" (APTs) are coming from - usually Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. But parts of the map remain conspicuously empty. So why is it so rare to hear about Western hacking teams and cyber-attacks? A major hack in Russia, unearthed earlier this month, might provide some clues. Link : Clickhere

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Sushant Singh Rajput made his big-screen debut in 2013 Sushant Singh Rajput lived an extraordinary life - just like some of the characters he played in his hit Bollywood films. But his fairy tale journey, from humble beginnings to stardom, ended on 14 June when he was found dead in his flat at the age of 34. The police in Mumbai, where he lived, said he took his own life. The news devastated millions of his fans, who saw his success as their own. Sushant grew up in Bihar, one of India's poorest states. He worked hard and was admitted to one of India's top engineering colleges - a sure way of securing a bright future for middle class families. But his heart was set on acting. So he dropped out of college and went to Mumbai, a city that makes and breaks thousands of dreams every day. He did small roles, took up odd jobs and worked in theatre for years until one of his TV shows became a hit. Success on the big screen followed soon. He was an excellent dancer and often performed on stage His story fired the ambitions of young people in small towns - it's why many of his fans took his death as a personal loss. And just as they were coming to terms with the news, unverified details about Sushant's career, financial status, relationships and even mental health started circulating on social media and in debates on news channels. No-one has been spared by the voyeuristic coverage - his therapist, his former cook, his friends, his manager, his family, his colleagues have all been hounded for interviews and exclusives. With police drip-feeding details to the media, the mystery around his death has only deepened. Link : Clickhere

Rescue operations continue in Karatsu Three people were killed and three others are missing in flooding in southwest Japan caused by the region's "heaviest" rain ever. Rivers overflowed and hillsides collapsed as record amounts of rain were dumped on parts of Kyushu island. The national weather agency logged 402.5mm falling in Kurume on Monday, the highest ever recorded in the city. Roads and powerlines were cut, and thousands were ordered to evacuate as further downpours were expected. Satoshi Sugimoto, of the Japanese Meteorological Agency, said he believed the downpours were "the heaviest ever experienced" in the region. Evacuation notices were issued to thousands of people At least three people died in the flooding but the toll could rise, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told AFP news agency. Three people were missing in some of the remotest areas of the island. "We express our condolences to those who died, and our heartfelt sympathy towards those who were affected by the disaster," Mr Matsuno said. The downpours prompted evacuation notices for hundreds of thousands of people and remote communities remain effectively cut off by flooding and other damage, he said. An elderly woman died when she was trapped in a house engulfed in mud in Soeda, Fukuoka province, local authorities said. Her husband survived. Another victim was apparently washed away by a flooded river while riding in a car in Kurume. Japan is currently in its annual rainy season, which often brings heavy downpours, and sometimes results in flooding and landslides as well as casualties. According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency, the heaviest rainfall recorded in Japan was in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, on 12 October, 2019, when 922.5mm fell in one day. Scientists say climate change is intensifying the risk of heavy rain in Japan and elsewhere, because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. The weather agency said it had already been raining for more than a week in the region before the heavy downpours that arrived Sunday night. And while the sun was shining in many areas on Tuesday, officials have warned of more rain in the forecast, which could loosen already sodden ground. Landslides are a particular risk in Japan during heavy rains because homes are often built on plains at the bottom of hillsides in the mountainous country. Link : Clickhere!

In 2018, Byju's became a unicorn valued at $1bn Byju's, once among the most valued edtech start-ups in the world and a darling of investors during the Covid-19 pandemic, has seen a dramatic downturn in its fortunes after operational and financial setbacks in recent months. Experts say it marks a necessary correction in the bull run of Indian start-ups. "Byju's is a company that has grown too fast too soon," says Shriram Subramanian, who heads an independent corporate governance research and advisory firm. Founded in 2011, Byju's launched its learning app in 2015. With 15 million subscribers by 2018, the edtech firm became a unicorn (valued at $1bn) amid much fanfare. It expanded substantially during the Covid-19 pandemic as students turned to online classes during lockdowns. But in 2021, it posted a loss of $327m, which was 17 times more than the previous year. Since then, the edtech giant has witnessed an extraordinary unravelling. Valued at $22bn (£17.28bn) last year, Byju's has seen its valuation slashed to $5.1bn this year by Prosus NV, the company's biggest investor and shareholder. The company did not respond to the BBC's queries. "After the pandemic, when children returned to schools there was going to be a downturn," Mr Subramanian said. "But Byju's kept on growing and investors kept on putting money into it. They did not see the signs that there could be a downturn." Aniruddha Malpani, an angel investor and vocal critic of Byju's business model, says the company had "paper fortunes". "There's a big gap between value and valuation," he said. With exponential growth during the pandemic, Byju's went on an acquisition spree in 2021, spending $2bn to acquire edtech start-ups and firms like WhiteHat Jr, Aakash, Toppr, Epic, and Great Learning. It soon surpassed digital payments platform Paytm to become India's most-valued start-up. Byju's channelled hundreds of millions into its marketing, roping in Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and football star Lionel Messi as its brand ambassadors. It became the main sponsor of the Indian cricket team and an official sponsor of 2022 FIFA World Cup. But in recent months, the company has been dogged by complaints as parents accused it of not fulfilling its promises - coercing them into buying courses they couldn't afford and then not providing the promised services. Some also said that the firm used predatory practices to exploit customers. Byju's has laid off thousands of employees in the past year in a bid to cut costs Former employees complained of high-pressure sales culture and unrealistic targets. The firm has laid off thousands of employees in the past year in a bid to cut costs. Byju's has denied the allegations made by parents and its former staff. It has also been facing investigations from the government. In April, the firm's office in Bengaluru was raided by Indian authorities over suspected violations of foreign exchange laws. The company denied any wrongdoing and assured its workers that it had fully complied with the laws. In May, lenders to the company filed a suit in a US court, accusing it of defaulting on payments and breaching terms of the loan agreement, including months-long delays in releasing financial statements. The lenders also accused the company of diverting funds through its US-based subsidiary Alpha, a claim Byju's denied. In June, after reportedly missing an interest payment of nearly $40m, Byju's sued the lenders over alleged harassment. It also began another round of layoffs, firing nearly a thousand employees. There was more trouble waiting for the firm from its own auditors. Deloitte Haskins and Sells Llp quit as the company's auditors citing the delay in Byju's submitting its financial statements. The auditors said it impacted their ability to assess the company's books. This was soon followed by news that three of its board members had resigned, leaving just CEO Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath and brother Riju Raveendran on the board. The start-up is reportedly now in talks to restructure its debt load. Reports also said that there were calls for the CEO's resignation at a shareholders' meeting this week, but two investors at the company denied these claims. "Byju's failed at holding itself to the standard expected of a company its size," said K Ganesh, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor who founded one of India's largest online grocers, BigBasket. The delay in filing financial statements was "unacceptable and unconscionable", he says. "Most sectors that benefited from the pandemic and expanded rapidly are now facing headwinds because the return to normal has been more drastic than they expected," Mr Ganesh said. "This is true for all companies in the edtech sector." Experts say the sector's potential was overestimated during the pandemic. "Technology by itself will never work," Dr Malpani explains. "You need it along with safe space for children where there is adult supervision, peer to peer learning." "Byju's was essentially selling hardware, like its tablets, with study material that could be found online for free," he says. Link : Clikchere

Elton John told his millions of fans on Saturday night that they would remain in his "head, heart and soul", concluding his marathon farewell tour in Stockholm with one of his biggest hits - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. The 76-year-old singer has won five Grammy awards in a spectacular career spanning 50 years and nearly 4,600 performances worldwide. "It's been my lifeblood to play for you guys, and you've been absolutely magnificent," he told the audience at Sweden's Tele2 Arena. Elton John paid an emotional tribute to his current band and crew, some of whom have been touring with him for many years. "They're really incredible," he said, "and they are the best, I tell you, the best." He kicked off his show with Bennie and the Jets, and went on to perform many other hits, including Philadelphia Freedom, Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man and Candle in the Wind. His Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour began in North America in 2018, and this was his second night performing in Stockholm. The tour spanned the globe - he played to more than six million fans, and one of the highlights was his headline slot at the Glastonbury Festival last month. That concert drew one of the biggest crowds in the festival's history and a British TV audience of millions. Elton John ends Glastonbury on record-breaking high His gig in Stockholm included a video message from Coldplay, who were performing in the Swedish city of Gothenburg at the same time. The band's Chris Martin told Elton: "From all the bands and artists you've helped and inspired, we love you so much. "We are so grateful for everything you've done for the Aids Foundation, anytime you've been kind to anybody," he said. Link : Clickhere

Southeast Asian Swifties are on a pilgrimage to Singapore Millions of Taylor Swift's South East Asian fans are competing for about 330,000 seats that went on sale on Friday for her only stop in the region. The pop star's Eras Tour includes six shows in Singapore in March 2024. Devoted fans have skipped work, charged up their devices and joined long queues for the coveted tickets. The tense situation which is unfolding both on and offline, will end with either Bad Blood or with some seeing their Wildest Dreams come true. Swift is also performing in Japan and Australia, but nowhere else in East or South East Asia, where her fans or "Swifties" are legion. Singapore, the Indonesian capital Jakarta and the Philippines' most densely packed city, Quezon, are among the world's top locations for streaming Swift's songs, according to Spotify. So for fans in this corner of Asia, Singapore which is closer, offers visa-free or visa-on-arrival and plenty of cheap flight options, is an easy pick. The country has long been a po[CENSORED]r stop for big music acts because of its impressive public transport and infrastructure - Coldplay is performing at the expansive National Stadium a month before Swift. This is Swift's first post-pandemic concert outing. She has not toured since her 2019 Lover album and there's a wealth of material from three records she has released since then - Evermore, Folklore and Midnights. Lines are already snaking outside Singapore post offices, where fans can buy tickets offline. Given the demand, the daily Straits Times suggested four sleepy spots on the island's outskirts where the chances of getting tickets could be higher. "It's Taylor Swift, I just have to see her," says Joan Ng, who along with a group of her 15-year-old friends has camped out overnight at the post office in a Singapore mall to buy tickets. The girls say Joan is the biggest Swiftie among them. They couldn't skip school during the pre-sale, so they convinced their parents to lend them their credit cards and allow them to stay at the mall. They hopped from one shop to another to stay inside and then took turns napping at Haidilao, a po[CENSORED]r hot pot chain, until daybreak. They shared a bowl of soup for dinner. L-R: Kean Teo and Kenneth Lim got hold of tickets after a 31-hour wait "She's the best music artist of all time," says Levincia Ong who considers Swift's country album about teenage love and heartbreak, Fearless, to be the soundtrack to her life. Sajani Rajikumar says they have to get the tickets because they have "spent so much effort being here". But the line is moving slowly because the system keeps crashing. At the front, 18-year-old friends Kean Teo and Kenneth Lim were the first to get hold of the tickets. "We feel very lucky. It was a long wait," says Kenneth, grinning. They had wandered around the building for 31 hours, also taking turns to sleep at Haidilao. It has been no less harrowing online. A competitive pre-sale on Wednesday, which was exclusive to cardholders of Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOB), offered a preview of the hunger games that could unfold later in the week. Over a million fans joined the virtual line and UOB reported a surge in credit and debit card applications in the weeks leading up to the pre-sale. The excruciating wait played out on WhatsApp chats, TikTok and Twitter as people swapped strategies and tips - these included logging on ahead of time, perhaps even a day before, unlocking devices, and turning off sleep mode. Groups of friends, meanwhile, plotted to aim for different dates and seats so they so they could maximise their chances. Some even took a day off work, or cleared their schedule for the entire day. Others queued up using multiple devices and waited to see which one of them - laptop, tablet or mobile phone - would get to the virtual ticket counter first. "Oh my god, this pre-sale was so exhausting," says Endro who lives in Jakarta. The 31-year-old did not wish to share his last name. He was glued to his devices all day, but his attempt ended in failure and a dispiriting queue number: 493,901. "For now, I think I will still try, but I have to be realistic... I don't want to make myself more miserable by hoping too much." Agniya Kh, a 29-year-old Jakartan who snagged tickets in the pre-sale, says it reminded her of a hit from Swift's most recent album, Midnights: Great War. "This is definitely the Great War for Swifties in [South East Asia]. Can we just ask for more dates, please?" She used both her laptop, which put her 22,987 in the queue, and her smartphone, which placed her much further behind at 896,813. Link : Clickhere!

Seema Ghulam Haider met Sachin Meena through PUBG The love story of a Pakistani woman and an Indian man who met through po[CENSORED]r online game PUBG has been making headlines in India after the couple landed up in jail. Seema Ghulam Haider, 27, met Sachin Meena, 22, through the virtual gaming platform a couple of years ago and recently travelled to India so that she could live with him. She entered India illegally in May along with her four young children and they were staying with Mr Meena in Greater Noida - a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh - for over a month, police said. On Tuesday, the couple was arrested. A court has remanded them in jail for 14 days. The woman's children are with their mother. The couple have told reporters that they want to get married and live together. Police say they are carrying out a detailed investigation into the case. The India-Pakistan love story has sparked conversations around the role the virtual world plays in fostering real-life relationships across geographical borders. Sparks fly on PUBG Ms Haider married Ghulam Haider, a resident of Pakistan's Sindh province, in February 2014. The couple had four children - three daughters and a son - together. Five years after their marriage, her husband moved to Saudi Arabia for work. Ms Haider began playing PUBG to keep herself occupied. "I used to play PUBG for two to three hours a day and I got to know Sachin while playing the game," she told BBC Hindi. The two exchanged phone numbers and began speaking regularly. The rented room where the couple stayed. After their relationship had progressed over three years, Ms Haider decided to move to India to marry Mr Meena. She has accused her husband of beating her and has told police that she had divorced him. Mr Haider has denied the domestic violence allegations and the divorce. He has accused Ms Haider of selling their house in Pakistan and running away with their children and jewellery. Link : Clickhere!

A video showing Ansari pleading for his life has been widely circulated on social media. A court in India has given 10-year jail terms to 10 men for beating a Muslim man to death four years ago. Tabrez Ansari, 24, died days after being attacked by people who accused him of stealing a motorcycle in the eastern state of Jharkhand. A video showing Ansari being forced to say chants praising Hindu gods while pleading for his life had gone viral and led to huge outrage in India. His family alleged that police denied him treatment despite his injuries. The state police denied any wrongdoing. The video footage from the night of 19 June 2019 showed a terrified Ansari tied to an electricity pole and being assaulted by the mob, with blood and tears streaming down his face. His attackers forced him to repeatedly chant "Jai Shri Ram", which translates from Hindi to "hail Lord Ram" or "victory to Lord Ram". Ansari did as told, but the mob kept assaulting him through the night. He was handed over to police the next day who then arrested him for theft. His family had alleged that they were not allowed to see him. The Hindu chant that became a murder cry Beaten and humiliated for being a Muslim in India On 22 June, Ansari complained of nausea, vomiting and chest pain and was transferred to a hospital but he died from injuries sustained during the attack. Last week, trial court Judge Amit Shekhar convicted the 10 men ruling they were "guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder". The police had been criticised initially for not invoking the more stringent murder charge. Later on they did invoke murder charges against all the accused in a supplementary charge sheet. However, the judge said there was not enough evidence to convict the accused of murder. Ansari's lynching by a Hindu mob was not an isolated incident - there have been several similar incidents reported in India in recent years where Muslims have been attacked by so-called "cow vigilantes" over rumours that they had eaten beef, or that they were trying to smuggle cows - an animal many Hindus consider holy - for slaughter. Cow slaughter is illegal in many Indian states. The attacks on the minority community have been condemned by opposition politicians. Senior Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi had described Ansari's lynching as a "blot on humanity". Critics say anti-Muslim violence has risen since 2014 under the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They say the prime minister has not condemned such attacks quickly or strongly enough. The government denies this and points out that days after Ansari's killing, Mr Modi said he was "pained" by the assault. Link : Clickhere!

A statue of Hachiko has stood outside Shibuya station in Tokyo since 1948 The Chinese tagline on the movie poster says it all: "I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes." It tells the true story of Hachiko, the faithful dog that continued to wait for its master at a train station in Japan long after his death. The cream white Akita Inu, born 100 years ago, has been memorialised in everything from books to movies to the cult science fiction sitcom Futurama. And the Chinese iteration - the third after a Japanese version in 1987, and the Richard Gere-starrer in 2009 - is a hit at the box office. There have been tales of other devoted hounds such as Greyfriars Bobby, but none with the global impact of Hachiko. A bronze statue of him has stood outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo, where he waited in vain for a decade, since 1948. The statue was first erected in 1934 before being recycled for the war effort during World War Two. Japanese schoolchildren are taught the story of Chuken Hachiko - or loyal dog Hachiko - as an example of devotion and fidelity. Hachiko represents the "ideal Japanese citizen" with his "unquestioning devotion", says Professor Christine Yano of the University of Hawaii - "loyal, reliable, obedient to a master, understanding, without relying upon rationality, their place in the larger scheme of things". The story of Hachiko Hachiko was born in November 1923 in the city of Odate in Akita prefecture, the original home of Akitas. A large-sized Japanese dog, the Akita is one of the country's oldest and most po[CENSORED]r breeds. Designated by the Japanese government as a national icon in 1931, they were once trained to hunt animals like wild boar and elk. "Akita dogs are calm, sincere, intelligent, and brave [and] obedient to their masters," said Eietsu Sakuraba, author of an English language children's book about Hachiko. "On the other hand, it also has a stubborn personality and is wary of anyone other than its master." The year Hachiko was born, Hidesaburo Ueno, a renowned agricultural professor and a dog lover, asked a student to find him an Akita puppy. Hachiko became nationally known in Japan after a newspaper article in 1932 After a gruelling train journey, the puppy arrived at the Ueno residence in Shibuya district on 15 January 1924, where it was initially thought dead. According to Hachiko's biographer, Prof Mayumi Itoh, Ueno and his wife Yae nursed him back to health over the next six months. Ueno named him Hachi, or eight in Japanese. Ko is an honorific bestowed by Ueno's students. Link : Clickhere!

Rahul Gandhi arrived in Manipur's capital Imphal on Thursday Senior leader of India's opposition Congress party Rahul Gandhi's tour of the violence-hit Manipur state has been stopped abruptly by the police. Mr Gandhi is in the north-eastern state on a two-day visit to meet people displaced by the violence and leaders of civil society groups. For the past two months, Manipur has been convulsed by clashes between the majority Meitei and Kuki communities. More than 100 people have died and over 400 have been wounded so far. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held a meeting with top government officials to review the situation in Manipur but he has been criticised for not visiting the state or commenting on the situation there. Almost a month after violence began, Home Minister Amit Shah visited the state to put in place a plan to restore normalcy, but fresh incidents of violence continue to be reported almost daily. After arriving in capital Imphal on Thursday morning, Mr Gandhi had shared a Facebook post saying that "restoration of peace is the top priority. Manipur needs healing, and only together we can bring harmony". But soon, senior Congress leader KC Venugopal told reporters that Mr Gandhi's convoy had been stopped by police near Bishnupur district while he was on his way to Churachandpur town to visit relief camps. "Police say that they are not in a position to allow us. People are standing on both sides of the road to wave to Rahul Gandhi. We are not able to understand why have they stopped us?" Mr Venugopal said. Police said the convoy had been stopped for Mr Gandhi's security. "Seeing the ground situation, we stopped him from moving forward and advised him to travel to Churachandpur via a helicopter," Heisnam Balram Singh, a senior police official at Bishnupur, told ANI. Mr Gandhi's convoy was stopped by the police Congress leaders have reacted sharply to the incident. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of "using autocratic methods to stall a compassionate outreach" by Mr Gandhi. "This is totally unacceptable and shatters all Constitutional and Democratic norms. Manipur needs peace, not confrontation," he tweeted. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said Mr Gandhi's two-day visit to the state was in the spirit of his Bharat Jodo Yatra - a five-month long unity march across the country. "The Prime Minister may choose to remain silent or be inactive but why stop Rahul Gandhi's efforts to listen to all sections of the Manipuri society and provide a healing touch?" he said. However, some BJP leaders have criticised the timing of Mr Gandhi's visit, calling it politically motivated. Nearly 60,000 people have been displaced due to violence in Manipur and are taking shelter in some 350 camps. Mr Gandhi's visit comes amid the opposition's demand for the resignation of the state's chief minister, N Biren Singh, who is from the BJP. Congress leaders have criticised Mr Singh for not being able to "restore peace and normalcy" in the state and have asked for federal rule to be imposed. Link : Clickhere!

Protests jolted India when the Miss World pageant was last held there in 1996 A recent announcement that the next edition of the Miss World pageant would be held in India has revived memories of its last visit to the country - which involved violent protests, threats of self-immolation and predictions of a cultural apocalypse. The BBC's Zoya Mateen revisits that tumultuous time, and examines what has changed since then. The year was 1996. India had moved away from protectionist policies a few years ago, opening its markets to the world. International brands such as Revlon, L'Oreal and KFC were setting up shop in the country, sometimes sparking tensions with local activists and manufacturers. Beauty pageants were already po[CENSORED]r in India by then - two years ago, Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai had become Miss Universe and Miss World, respectively, and would go on to become Bollywood stars. Millions of young women aspired to follow them and embark on glittering careers, though others criticised the emphasis these competitions placed on physical beauty. But weeks before the event, violent protests broke out - the objectors ranged from militant farmers to feminists to right-wing politicians - and made global headlines. The swimsuit round had to be moved to Seychelles for fear of the contestants' safety. "Defenders of the pageant - and they enjoy the sympathy of most Indians - find it hard to believe that an event so trivial has provoked such a tumult," the Los Angeles Times wrote. Filmmaker Paromita Vohra says that the reactions pointed to a tussle between conservative beliefs and the allure of a modern, glitzy world. "Miss World came to India at the same time as the globalised market. It churned the culture and there was reaction to that churn," she says. India's Sushmita Sen (left) was crowned Miss Universe in 1994 To be sure, things have changed in India since 1996. The country has won at least half-a-dozen more international pageants and is home to a million-dollar fashion industry which is globally recognised for its imaginative work and detailed craftsmanship. Films and web shows routinely deal with risqué topics; and conversations around women's clothes and beauty standards have become more nuanced. The 1996 pageant was organised in India by a company owned by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. According to reports, the firm hired more than 2,000 technicians, 500 dancers and even 16 elephants for the event. But weeks before the show, violent protests broke out in Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) city, the venue. Members of a women's organisation threatened mass suicide, saying that competitions like Miss World would "increase promiscuity and prostitution". "Wearing miniskirts is not part of our traditional culture," a leader of the group told The Washington Post. One man died by suicide "in protest", CNN reported. The pageant was also opposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - which now governs India - as well as a farmers' group which threatened to burn down the cricket stadium where the pageant would be held (it wasn't carried out). Link : Clickhere!

Scoop is a gripping tale of a real-life crime, Mumbai's mafia and the role of the police and the press The sensational murder of India's best known crime reporter in June 2011 and the subsequent arrest of a female crime journalist on allegations of being involved in the murder had stunned the country. Jyotirmoy Dey, po[CENSORED]rly known as J Dey, was shot dead in Mumbai by men on motorcycles on orders from one of India's most notorious gangsters, Chhota Rajan - he was convicted in 2018 and is serving a life sentence for the killing. But somehow, Jigna Vora, a newspaper journalist, got caught up in the storm and was charged - falsely - for involvement in the murder. She spent over nine months in Byculla jail before being released on bail. A single parent to a 10-year-old boy, Ms Vora was acquitted in 2018 since the police failed to produce any evidence against her. This story of a journalist's murder - and of another's wrongful confinement - is the subject of Scoop, a new webseries on Netflix that is wowing critics and viewers alike. Based on Ms Vora's 2019 memoir - Behind The Bars In Byculla: My Days in Prison - Scoop is a gripping tale of a real-life crime, Mumbai's mafia and the role of the police and the press. Many of the real-life incidents have been replicated, but Ms Vora says "the series makers have exercised cinematic leverage". Jyotirmoy Dey was shot dead in Mumbai by men on motorcycles on orders from one of India's most notorious gangsters, As Ms Vora's screen avatar Jagruti Pathak, who lives by chasing scoops that would get her a byline on the front page, ends up in a prison cell with those she once reported on, she also begins to reflect on her life and priorities. Ms Vora told the BBC that she's pleased with the way the series has turned out but watching it was difficult. "It was like revisiting the whole trauma. It was difficult to see on screen what I went through, the humiliation and character assassination I faced. But I'm happy that the series got made because people needed to see the truth that I was not guilty. A few months after J Dey's murder, rumours started swirling around that a female crime reporter was involved in the murder. Some of it was reported in the media, attributed to police sources. "We were also wondering who it could be? It didn't even cross my mind that it could be me," she told me. In October-end when one newspaper carried a report naming her, she says her first reaction was of shock. She then knew that her arrest was imminent - and she was arrested on 25 November. "It was a very tough period for me, I was scared, I even thought of committing suicide, but my family inspired me to fight. They told me that if I killed myself, then people would think that I was guilty. If I wanted to clear my name, I had to fight." J Dey's murder, Ms Vora says, changed her life forever. The police said she was involved with the underworld and had helped the murderers by providing them information about J Dey. She was charged under the draconian Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (Mcoca) - a law that carries the death penalty in serious cases. Link : Clickhere!