It’s November 2020, only days before the presidential election. Early voting is underway in several states as a video suddenly spreads across social media. One of the candidates has disclosed a dire cancer diagnosis, and is making an urgent plea: “I’m too sick to lead. Please, don’t vote for me.” The video is quickly revealed to be a computer-generated hoax, but the damage is done ― especially as trolls eagerly push the line that the video is actually real, and the candidate has just changed her mind.

Such a scenario, while seemingly absurd, would actually be possible to achieve using a “deepfake,” a doctored video in which a person can be made to appear as if they’re doing and saying anything. Experts are issuing increasingly urgent warnings about the advance of deepfake technology ― both the realistic nature of these videos, and the ease with which even amateurs can create them. The possibilities could bend reality in terrifying ways. Public figures could be shown committing scandalous acts. Random women could be inserted into porn videos. Newscasters could announce the start of a nonexistent nuclear war. Deepfake technology threatens to provoke a genuine civic crisis, as people lose faith that anything they see is real.

House lawmakers will convene on Thursday for the first time to discuss the weaponization of deepfakes, and world leaders have begun to take notice.

“People can duplicate me speaking and saying anything. And it sounds like me and it looks like I’m saying it — and it’s a complete fabrication,” former President Barack Obama said at a recent forum. “The marketplace of ideas that is the basis of our democratic practice has difficulty working if we don’t have some common baseline of what’s true and what’s not.” He was featured in a viral video about deepfakes that portrays him calling his successor a “total and complete dipshit.”

How Deepfakes Are Made

Directors have long used video and audio manipulation to trick viewers watching scenes with people who didn’t actually participate in filming. Peter Cushing, the English actor who played “Star Wars” villain Grand Moff Tarkin before his death in 1994, reappeared posthumously in the 2016 epic “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” “The Fast and the Furious” star Paul Walker, who died before the series’ seventh movie was complete, still appeared throughout the film through deepfake-style spoofing. And showrunners for The Sopranos had to create scenes with Nancy Marchand to close her storyline as Tony’s scornful mother, after Marchand died between the second and third seasons of the show.

Thanks to major strides in the artificial intelligence software behind deepfakes, this kind of technology is more accessible than ever.

Here’s how it works: Machine-learning algorithms are trained to use a dataset of videos and images of a specific individual to generate a virtual model of their face that can be manipulated and superimposed. One person’s face can be swapped onto another person’s head, like this video of Steve Buscemi with Jennifer Lawrence’s body, or a person’s face can be toyed with on their own head, like this video of President Donald Trump disputing the veracity of climate change, or this one of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying he “controls the future.” People’s voices can also be imitated with advanced technology. Using just a few minutes of audio, firms such as Cambridge-based Modulate.ai can create “voice skins” for individuals that can then be manipulated to say anything.

It may sound complicated, but it’s rapidly getting easier. Researchers at Samsung’s AI Center in Moscow have already found a way to generate believable deepfakes with a relatively small dataset of subject imagery — “potentially even a single image,” according to their recent report. Even the “Mona Lisa” can be manipulated to look like she’s come to life:

There are also free apps online that allow ordinary people with limited video-editing experience to create simple deepfakes. As such tools continue to improve, amateur deepfakes are becoming more and more convincing, noted Britt Paris, a media manipulation researcher at Data & Society Research Institute.

“Before the advent of these free software applications that allow anyone with a little bit of machine-learning experience to do it, it was pretty much exclusively entertainment industry professionals and computer scientists who could do it,” she said. “Now, as these applications are free and available to the public, they’ve taken on a life of their own.”

The ease and speed with which deepfakes can now be created is alarming, said EdwardDelp, the director of the Video and Imaging Processing Laboratory at Purdue University. He’s one of several media forensics researchers who are working to develop algorithms capable of detecting deepfakes as part of a government-led effort to defend against a new wave of disinformation.

“It’s scary,” Delp said. “It’s going to be an arms race.”

The Countless Dangers Of Deepfakes

Much of the discussion about the havoc deepfakes could wreak remains hypothetical at this stage — except when it comes to porn.

Videos labeled as “deepfakes” started in porn. The term was coined in 2017 by a Reddit user who posted fake pornographic videos, including one in which actor Gal Gadot was portrayed to be having sex with a relative. Gadot’s face was digitally superimposed onto a porn actor’s body, and apart from a bit of glitching, the video was virtually seamless.

“Trying to protect yourself from the internet and its depravity is basically a lost cause,” actor Scarlett Johansson, who’s also been featured in deepfake porn videos, including some with millions of views, told The Washington Post last year. “Nothing can stop someone from cutting and pasting my image.”

It’s not just celebrities being targeted — any person with public photos or videos clearly showing their face can now be inserted into crude videos with relative ease. As a result, revenge porn, or nonconsensual porn, is also becoming a broadening threat. Spurned creeps don’t need sex tapes or nudes to post online anymore. They just need pictures or videos of their ex’s face and a well-lit porn video. There are even photo search engines (which HuffPost won’t name) that allow a person to upload an image of an individual and find a porn star with similar features for optimal deepfake results.

In online deepfake forums, men regularly make anonymous requests for porn that’s been doctored to feature women they know personally. The Post tracked down one woman whose requestor had uploaded nearly 500 photos of her face to one such forum and said he was “willing to pay for good work.” There’s often no legal recourse for those who are victimized by deepfake porn.

Beyond the concerns about privacy and sexual humiliation, experts predict that deepfakes could pose major threats to democracy and national security, too.

American adversaries and competitors “probably will attempt to use deep fakes or similar machine-learning technologies to create convincing — but false — image, audio, and video files to augment influence campaigns directed against the United States and our allies and partners,” according to the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment, an annual report from the director of national intelligence.

Deepfakes could be deployed to erode trust in public officials and institutions, exacerbate social tensions and manipulate elections, legal expertsBobby Chesney and Danielle Citron warned in a lengthy report last year. They suggested videos could falsely show soldiers slaughtering innocent civilians; white police officersshooting unarmed black people; Muslims celebrating ISIS; and politicians accepting bribes, making racist remarks, having extramarital affairs, meeting with spies or doing other scandalous things on the eve of an election.

“If you can synthesize speech and video of a politician, your mother, your child, a military commander, I don’t think it takes a stretch of the imagination to see how that could be dangerous for purposes of fraud, national security, democratic elections or sowing civil unrest,” said digital forensics expert Hany Farid, a senior adviser at the Counter Extremism Project.

The emergence of deepfakes brings not only the possibility of hoax videos spreading harmful misinformation, Farid added, but also of real videos being dismissed as fake. It’s a concept Chesney and Citron described as a “liar’s dividend.” Deepfakes “make it easier for liars to avoid accountability for things that are in fact true,” they explained. If a certain alleged pee tape were to be released, for instance, what would stop the president from crying “deepfake”?

Alarm Inside The Federal Government

Though Thursday’s congressional hearing will be the first to focus specifically on deepfakes, the technology has been on the government’s radar for a while.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, has spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years to develop technology that can identify manipulated videos and images, including deepfakes.

Media forensics researchers across the U.S. and Europe, including Delp from Purdue University, have received funding from DARPA to develop machine-learning algorithms that analyze videos frame by frame to detect subtle distortions and inconsistencies, to determine if the videos have been tampered with.

Much of the challenge lies in keeping pace with deepfake software as it adapts to new forensic methods. At one point, deepfakes couldn’t incorporate eye-blinking or microblushing (facial blushing that’s undetectable to the naked eye), making it easy for algorithms to identify them as fake, but that’s no longer the case.

“Our method learns all these new attack approaches so we can then detect those,” Delp said.

“As the people making these videos get more and more sophisticated with their tools, we’re going to have to get more and more sophisticated with ours,” he added. “We might get to a situation in the future where you won’t want to believe an image or a video unless there’s some authentication mechanism.”

With a presidential election on the horizon, politicians have also started to sound the alarm about deepfakes.Congress introduced the Malicious Deep Fake Prohibition Act in December, which would make it illegal to distribute deepfakes with an intent to “facilitate criminal or tortious conduct,” and the Algorithmic Accountability Act in April, which would require tech companies to audit their algorithms for bias, accuracy and fairness.

“Now we have deepfake technology, and the potential for disruption is exponentially greater,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said last month at a panel event in Los Angeles. “Now, in the weeks leading up to an election, you could have a foreign power or domestic party introduce into the social media bloodstream a completely fraudulent audio or video almost indistinguishable from real.”

A New Breed Of ‘Fake News’

Despite Trump’s countless tirades against fake news, his own administration has shared hoax videos online. The president himself has circulated footage that was manipulated to deceive the public and stoke partisan tensions.

In May, Trump tweeted a montage of clips featuring Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, that was selectively edited to highlight her verbal stumbles.

“PELOSI STAMMERS THROUGH NEWS CONFERENCE,” Trump wrote in his tweet, which he has yet to delete. His attorney Rudy Giuliani also tweeted a link to a similar video, with the text: “What is wrong with Nancy Pelosi? Her speech pattern is bizarre.” That video, as it turns out, had been carefully tampered with to slow Pelosi’s speech, giving the impression that she was intoxicated or ill.

Months earlier, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted a video that had been altered in an attempt to dramatize an interaction between CNN reporter Jim Acosta and a female White House intern.

The video, which Sanders reportedly reposted from notorious conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson, was strategically sped up at certain points to make it look as if Acosta had aggressively touched the intern’s arm while she tried to take a microphone away from him.

“We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video,” Sanders wrote in her tweet, which she, too, has yet to delete.

Neither the video of Pelosi nor the one of Acosta and the intern was a deepfake, but both demonstrated the power of manipulated videos to go viral and sway public opinion, said Paris, from Data & Society Research Institute.

“We’re in an era of misinformation and fake news,” she said. “People will believe what they want to believe.”

When Hoaxes Go Viral

In recent years, tech giants have struggled — and sometimes refused — to curb the spread of fake news on their platforms.

The doctored Pelosi video is a good example. Soon after it was shared online, it went viral across multiple platforms, garnering millions of views and stirring rumors about Pelosi’s fitness as a political leader. In the immediate aftermath, Google-owned YouTube said it would remove the video, but days later, copies were still circulating on the site, CNN reported. Twitter declined to remove or even comment on the video.

Facebook also declined to remove the video, even after its third-party fact-checkers determined that the video had indeed been doctored, then doubled down on that decision.

“We think it’s important for people to make their own informed choice about what to believe,” Facebook executive Monika Bickert told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. When Cooper asked if Facebook would take down a video that was edited to slur Trump’s words, Bickert repeatedly declined to give a straight answer.

“We aren’t in the news business,” she said. “We’re in the social media business.”

More and more people are turning to social media as their main source for news, however, and Facebook profits off the sharing of news — both real and fake — on its site.

Efforts to contain deepfakes in particular have also had varying levels of success. Last year, Pornhub joined other sites including Reddit and Twitter in explicitly banning deepfake porn, but has so far failed miserably to enforce that policy.

Tech companies “have been dragging their feet for way too long,” said Farid, who believes the platforms should be held accountable for their role in amplifying disinformation.

In an ecosystem where hoaxes are so often designed to go viral, and many people seem inclined to believe whatever information best aligns with their own views, deepfakes are poised to bring the threat of fake news to a new level, added Farid. He fears that the tools being designed to debunk deepfakes won’t be enough to reverse the damage that’s caused when such videos are shared all over the web.

“Even if the record is corrected, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”

President Donald Trump said that he would accept information from a foreign government on his opponents in the 2020 presidential election and suggested during his interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he also wouldn’t need to alert the FBI. 

During the interview, which ABC previewed Wednesday, Stephanopoulos asked Trump whether he would accept information from a foreign entity like China or Russia on a political rival or instead call the FBI.

Trump replied, “I think maybe you do both,” before he added that he would do that only if he “thought there was something wrong.”

“I think you might want to listen,” Trump said. “I think there’s nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country, Norway, [and said], ‘We have information on your opponent.’ Oh, I think I’d want to hear it.”

When Stephanopoulos described that type of interaction as “interference in our election,” Trump disagreed.

“It’s not an interference,” the president said. “They have the information! I think I’d take it. 

“If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI, if I thought there was something wrong. But when somebody comes up with oppo research... ‘Oh, let’s call the FBI.’ The FBI doesn’t have enough agents to take care of it.”

Trump’s remarks to ABC are alarming considering the special counsel’s Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Over the course of the investigation, the president has defended Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin while discrediting the entire Mueller investigation, even as the U.S. intelligence community, including the CIA, FBI, Justice Department and National Security Agency, concluded that Russia interfered in the previous presidential election and continued to meddle in U.S. elections throughout 2018.

In his interview with ABC, Trump defended his son Donald Trump Jr.’s decision to not alert the FBI after he received an email promising compromising information on Trump’s presidential opponent Hillary Clinton during his 2016 campaign. That email eventually led to a meeting in Manhattan’s Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer who had ties to the Kremlin. The president has previously defended the meeting as “totally legal.”

“I’ve seen a lot of things over my whole life,” Trump said in defense of his son’s meeting to obtain opponent research. “I don’t think in my whole life I’ve ever called the FBI. You don’t call the FBI.”

“This is somebody who says, ‘We have information on your opponent.’ Oh, let me call the FBI,” Trump said sarcastically. “Give me a break. Life doesn’t work that way.”

Stephanopoulos reminded Trump that FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress during a hearing that the FBI would want to know if a foreign government was trying to influence a U.S. election.

However, Trump disagreed with Wray.

“The FBI director is wrong because, frankly, it doesn’t happen like that in life,” he said.

This article has been updated with more information from the interview.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that can be triggered by experiencing or witnessing something traumatic. Many people think of PTSD as a disorder that only military veterans deal with, but it can also occur in reaction to other distressing events like sexual violence, a physical assault, childhood or domestic abuse, a robbery, the sudden death of a loved one, a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. 

According to the National Center for PTSD, it’s estimated that 7% to 8% of the U.S. population will have PTSD in their lifetime. Women are more likely to develop it than men. 

Symptoms of PTSD may include vivid flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance of anything or anyone that reminds them of the trauma, difficulty sleeping, irritability, being easily startled and feelings of numbness. The symptoms must last more than a month and be severe enough that they disrupt the person’s ability to function at work, in their relationships and in their daily life. 

Having a strong support system can help carry a person through some of the more difficult periods of PTSD, but only if those with the disorder are able to communicate what they need from their loved ones. 

“Like any illness, PTSD doesn’t just affect me, it has impacted the people in my life who love and care about me,” blogger Alexis Rose told HuffPost. “My family’s dynamic has definitely changed. Keeping the conversation open, getting support, and having accessible information about PTSD can help with the challenges that families and friends face when caring for a loved one with post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Below, people with the disorder share what they wish more of their well-meaning friends and family understood about loving someone with PTSD.

1. Instead of always trying to “fix” us, we just want you to listen. 

“Sometimes we do not want to hear any advice. We do not need you to fix us and tell us what to do, or compare us with others. We just need the people we love to stay, to sit with us through the storm, to listen and to embrace us.” ― Nicole Figueroa

2. Please don’t tell us to “just get over it.”

“I think it’s great if loved ones can to do their best to find that balance between allowing someone with PTSD to move through their symptoms, while also holding their hand to help them pick themselves back up. I can appreciate that it’s difficult to see someone you love suffer, but telling that person to ‘get over it’ or shaming them for what they’re experiencing only makes the process harder for the person experiencing symptoms. Meeting them where they are, and saying things like, ‘I’ve got you,’ ‘Let me help you breathe,’ or whatever resonates best for your loved one helps make those most challenging moments easier.” ― Susannah Pitman

3. Be patient with us — and yourself — when we’re experiencing it. 

“Don’t take it personally. If you’re reading this, you probably have a big heart, and you might feel frustrated when your love isn’t enough to ‘cure’ someone’s PTSD. So here are two things to remember: First, while many people can recover from PTSD, there is no ‘cure,’ as there’s no way to know what might trigger an episode of PTSD in the future. Second, this isn’t about you. So be patient with your loved one, and with your own heart.” ―Rita Zoey Chin, author of “Let The Tornado Come”

4. Consider attending a therapy session with us to better understand what we’re going through. 

“I think it’s extremely important to go with your loved one to a therapy session so the mental health professional can walk you through your loved one’s PTSD. My now-husband was with me during one of my worst flashbacks. Despite me having explained thoroughly my PTSD symptoms to him, along with what tends to trigger me, he argued with me rather than recognizing I was having a flashback. His resistance made the flashback and the anxiety that followed significantly worse and my symptoms lasted more than a week afterward.

Thankfully, he listened to me when my therapist suggested he come with me to my next session. The therapist was able to articulate what I couldn’t in a way my husband could understand. It was really helpful for both of us and since then my husband has been supportive, loving and understanding whenever I’ve felt symptoms.” ― Pitman

5. When we’re having a bad day, know that it’s not your fault.

“I wish they understood that when I’m struggling it has nothing to do with them. Like, if I’m going through something because of my PTSD, it’s because of my PTSD, not them. I never want friends or family to feel like it’s their fault when I’m struggling with anxiety or from other symptoms of my PTSD.” ― Kayla Stevenson

6. Try to understand our fears instead of writing them off as “irrational.”

“People with PTSD experience terror that can be debilitating. This is a terror that is often impervious to logic, which means that trying to reason with people who have PTSD is one of the quickest ways to alienate them. Instead of trying to talk them out of their fears, let them talk to you. Ask questions. Listen. Let them know that you understand. You don’t have to understand the exact nature of their terror; you simply need to understand that it is, in fact, terror.” ― Chin

7. Don’t rush us to move through the trauma. 

“I don’t like being pushed to do things that others might think would ‘cure’ me. I don’t like being pushed to go out and explore, to forget people and events that have happened right then and there, to meet people, to date, etc. I am taking things at my own pace, and time.” ― Figueroa

8. Ask how you can help us feel safe. 

“People with PTSD often don’t feel safe. This is where you can draw on that big heart of yours. Because you have now asked your loved one questions about their fears, you’ve learned some things you can do to help them feel safe. For some people, it’s a hug. For others, it’s watching a funny movie. For others, it’s a bowl of ice cream or an impromptu dance party in the kitchen or a drive on a country road. Whatever it is, the point is not to try and fix people with PTSD but to instead let them know you’re beside them, wherever the road goes.” ― Chin

9. Know that we each have different ways of coping with the disorder.

“We have our own coping mechanisms, and it varies depending on the personality of the person. As for me, I write. I wrote a series to be able to express how it feels to suffer from depression, panic and anxiety attacks, and PTSD.” ― Figueroa

10. Don’t forget to take care of yourself, too.

“During the time that I was processing my trauma and trying to cope with the overwhelming feelings, emotions and unrelenting symptoms of PTSD, I felt unglued. Before I had learned skills to tolerate my distress, I was upset, angry, hurt and lived in what felt like a constant state of panic. I took anything my husband said personally and blew things way out of proportion. I lost my trust in the world, feeling raw and vulnerable, working hard to push him away. At the same time, I was terrified he would abandon me, needing constant reassurance that he wasn’t going anywhere.

He was stunned and hurt and didn’t how to be around me any longer. He didn’t understand what was happening to me, and I’m sure he felt helpless not knowing how to make things better, to fix it. He found a support group for loved ones of PTSD and started therapy to learn how to take care of himself. It’s extremely important that our caregivers get what they need for their own emotional and physical wellbeing.” ― Rose

“Living With” is a guide to navigating conditions that affect your mind and body. Each month, HuffPost Life will tackle very real issues people live with by offering different stories, advice and ways to connect with others who understand what it’s like. In June, we’re covering trauma and PTSD. Got an experience you’d like to share? Email wellness@huffpost.com.

If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also text HOME to 741-741 for free, 24-hour support from the Crisis Text Line. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources. 

Violence erupted in Hong Kong on Wednesday as thousands of protesters amassed near the government’s headquarters.

Police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the crowds as anger about a contentious extradition bill spilled into violence.

A legislative session on the bill was delayed as an overwhelmingly young crowd of demonstrators filled nearby streets, overturned barriers and tussled with police outside the offices where the bill was due to be discussed. 

If you haven’t been keeping up with the news, here’s the lowdown on why the bill has sparked such a large scale protest.

Firstly, is Hong Kong part of China? 

This is one of the most googled questions about Hong Kong so it’s probably a good starting point. The answer is yes, but it is complicated.

In 1997, the former British colony became a special administrative region of China when Britain’s 99-year lease of the New Territories, north of Hong Kong island, expired.

Under its “one country, two systems” framework, Hong Kong was guaranteed the right to retain its own social, legal and political systems for 50 years following the handover from British to Chinese rule. 

However, China’s ruling Communist Party has been seen as increasingly reneging on that agreement by forcing through unpopular legal changes.

What is the extradition bill?

Hong Kong currently limits extraditions to jurisdictions with which it has existing agreements and to others on an individual basis. China has been excluded from those agreements because of concerns over its judicial independence and human rights record.

The proposed changes would allow for extradition requests from authorities in mainland China, Taiwan and Macau for suspects accused of criminal wrongdoings, such as murder and rape. The requests will then be decided on a case-by-case basis.

The move came after a 19-year-old Hong Kong man allegedly murdered his 20-year-old pregnant girlfriend while they were holidaying in Taiwan together in February last year. He then fled back to Hong Kong and could not be extradited to Taiwan because no extradition treaty exists between the two countries.

Officials have said Hong Kong courts will have the final say whether to grant such extradition requests, and suspects accused of political and religious crimes will not be extradited. 

Why do people oppose it?

The protests have widely been seen as reflecting growing apprehension about relations with the Communist Party-ruled mainland, whose leader, Xi Jinping, has said he has zero tolerance for those demanding greater self-rule for Hong Kong.

The legislation has become a lightning rod for concerns about Beijing’s increasing control over the semi-autonomous territory.

Critics believe the extradition legislation would put Hong Kong residents at risk of being entrapped in China’s judicial system, in which opponents of Communist Party rule have been charged with economic crimes or ill-defined national security offences, and would not be guaranteed free trials.

What are the protestors doing?

The protests have been building ahead of the planned second reading of the bill. On Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong in the biggest protest since the 2014 demonstrations about electoral freedom. 

On Tuesday night a crowd began gathering outside the Legislative Council, and the US Consulate warned people to avoid the area, exercise caution and keep a low profile.

Early on Wednesday protesters, some wearing face masks and helmets, blocked key roads around government buildings. Violence erupted when police tried to clear the crowds by firing rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters.

Some businesses decided to close for the day, and while labour strikes and school and university protests have also been called, it was not immediately clear if those were widely heeded.

What are the protestors saying?

One protester, who gave only his first name Marco, said: “We want the government to just set the legislation aside and not bring it back.”

A fellow protester who gave her name as King said the protest is a watershed moment for Hong Kong’s young generation, who face difficult job prospects and skyrocketing housing prices.

“We’re young but we know that if we don’t stand up for our rights, we might lose them,” said an 18-year-old protester who gave only her first name, Jacky, to avoid possible retaliation from authorities.

“We have to stand up for our rights or they will be taken away,” she said.

The reluctance of protesters to be identified by their full names and professions – many wore surgical masks to obscure their facial features – reflects an increasingly hard-line approach to civil unrest by the authorities.

Such actions are never tolerated in mainland China and Hong Kong residents can face travel bans and other repercussions if they cross the border.

Why do politicians want the bill to go through?

Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam has consistently defended the legislation as necessary to close legal loopholes with other countries and territories.

Lam, who cancelled her regular question and answer session on Wednesday, said the government had considered concerns from the private sector and altered the bill to improve human rights safeguards. She said without the changes, Hong Kong would risk becoming a haven for fugitives.

She emphasised that extradition cases would be decided by Hong Kong courts.

What next?

A government statement said the session of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council that was scheduled to begin at 11am local time on Wednesday would be “changed to a later time” yet to be decided.

The vote on the bill is scheduled to take place on June 20 and it looks unlikely that the protests will let up in the meantime. 

Cyclone Vayu, which intensified into a “very severe cyclonic storm” and changed its course slightly, will not hit Gujarat coast, weather forecasters said on Thursday.

Ahmedabad IMD said the cyclone would pass by the coast near Veraval. According to private forecaster Skymet Weather, Vayu is tracking north-northwestwards and will pass by the Gujarat coast.

IMD’s previous weather report had said it could hit the Gujarat coast anywhere between Veraval in the south and Dwarka in the west on Thursday afternoon.

Here are the live updates:

9.49am: Somnath temple open despite alert over issued over Cyclone Vayu

ANI reported pilgrims have been visiting Somnath temple despite the alert issued due to the cyclone.

Gujarat minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama told the news agency: “Temples can’t be closed. We have requested tourists not to visit, but ‘aarti’ which is being performed since many years can’t be stopped.”

9.18am: Cyclone Vayu will skirt Saurashtra coast, says IMD

9.04am: Cyclone Vayu may not make landfall, but system may still hit Porbander, says IMD

IMD Mumbai says: “The extent of cyclone is over 900 km. So while eye of cyclone may or may not hit Porbandar, the system will still hit. Accompanying risk factors such as wind and storm surge and rainfall, all 3 stay very much threat factors. Hence please don’t relax in preparedness.”

8.45am: Cyclone Vayu will not hit Gujarat coast, says IMD

“Cyclone Vayu will not hit Gujarat coast. It will pass nearby from Veraval, Porbandar, Dwarka,”  IMD scientist Manorama Mohanty told ANI.

8.38 am: Beaches in Konkan region shut

IMD says the sea condition is very likely to be very rough to high along and off the Maharashtra Coast and northern parts of east central Arabian Sea till Thursday

8.32 am: Cyclone Vayu may skirt the Gujarat coast

Skymet Weather said the cyclone is recurving before reaching Gujarat coast but warned people to stay alert due to strong winds and rough seas.

8.27 am: Flights suspended at 5 Gujarat airports

The Airports Authority of India announced that flight operations will remain suspended at five airports in Gujarat for 24 hours from midnight Wednesday to minimise the damage to airport infrastructure and to avoid inconvenience to passengers due to the cyclone.

Since all the airports in Kutch and Saurashtra region have been asked to shut their operations completely, flights to these destinations from Ahmedabad Airport stand cancelled for Thursday, PTI reported.

8.15am: Railways cancels trains to Kutch and Saurashtra

In a release, the Western Railway said it has cancelled trains going towards Kutch and Saurashtra region for two days. As a precautionary measure, the Indian Railways has announced that all the trains for this region have been either short-terminated or cancelled for two days, starting 6 pm Wednesday.

8.08 am: 3 lakh people evacuated 

8.02am: Special trains for relief and rescue

To help authorities in relief and rescue work, the railways has kept special trains ready for deployment in those areas after the cyclone makes landfall.

“Special trains with six to 10 coaches each will be formed, to be kept in ready condition at the nearest safe location to be moved in emergency conditions,” the Western Railway said.

Areas likely to be affected

The Gujarat  government said the cyclone is likely to affect Kutch, Morbi, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Devbhoomi-Dwarka, Porbandar, Rajkot, Amreli, Bhavnagar and Gir-Somnath districts.

Holiday has been declared in schools, colleges and ‘anganwadis’ on Wednesday and Thursday in these 10 districts. 

Coast Guard, Armed Forces on alert

The Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force and the Border Security Force have been put on high alert, PTI reported.

While the state government has said all fishermen and their boats have already returned to the shore after getting the warning, ports have been asked to hoist storm warning signal number 8 and 9 to convey “great danger”.

Based on the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) advice, Great Danger 8 (GD-8) signal has been hoisted at Porbandar and Okha ports, while GD-9 signal has been hoisted at Diu, Veraval, Navlakhi, New-Kandla, Sikka, Mundra, Madvi and Jakhau ports.

Briefing the media about preparations to deal with the cyclone, Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue, Pankaj Kumar said police would do night patrolling in vulnerable areas to make sure no one is left behind.

“Our aim is to ensure zero casualty. We appeal to outsiders to refrain from visiting vulnerable areas near the coast. We have deployed 33 teams, each having 90 to 100 personnel, of National Disaster Response Force and nine teams of State Disaster Response Force in these 10 districts,” he said.

In addition, 11 columns of Army, two companies of BSF, 14 companies of State Reserve Police and 300 commandos of state marine police were also deployed at different locations in Kutch and Saurashtra region, the officer added.

A defence release said the Army has allotted 24 columns on standby and is ready to carry out any rescue and relief operations. Each column has a strength of about 70 people from infantry/artillery, signal, engineers and Army medical corps.

It further informed that ships and aircraft of this region were dispersed at various places to enable search and rescue readiness post landfall of cyclone.

“The state government has decided to suspend operations at all the ports situated on Gujarat’s coast. As a precautionary measure, all the airports in Saurashtra region will remain shut till the cyclone recedes. Bus services to pilgrimage sites in that region have also been cancelled,” Rupani said after the review meet in Gandhinagar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday advised people in his home state to follow real-time information being given by local agencies to stay safe.

“Praying for safety and well-being of all those affected by Cyclone Vayu. The government and local agencies are providing real-time information, which I urge those in affected areas to closely follow,” Modi tweeted.

After a review meeting with officials this afternoon, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani appealed to people to cooperate in the evacuation process so that there is no loss of life.

(With PTI inputs)

Sweet birthday, babies: Netflix’s “Russian Doll” will return for an eight-episode second season, the show’s co-creator and star Natasha Lyonne announced Tuesday.

Lyonne made the announcement at Recode’s Code Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, with Cindy Holland, Netflix’s vice president for originals.

“Nadia Vulvokov is a coder, as you know,” Lyonne said, referring to her character, “so I guess it would be somewhat appropriate to maybe have this be the time and place” for the announcement.

The series’ first season, which premiered in February, received universal praise for its innovative premise, existential themes, dark twists and moody ambiance. Lyonne, who co-created the show with Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, plays Nadia, who finds herself trapped in a seemingly endless time loop. On her 36th birthday, Nadia relives the same day over and over again, even after experiencing several versions of her death — each one returning her to the scene of her birthday party, where the cycle starts over again.

Though the show appeared to work as a standalone miniseries, Lyonne and Headland have previously said that they envisioned it as a multi-season series.

“I have some ideas that are pretty out there for what the next season would be. The show certainly has some legs for more bizarre scenarios,” Lyonne told Indiewire in February.

Headland compared the show to a Russian doll itself.

“There’s definitely more, I think, like a Russian doll. You can always go deeper,” she said.

Lyonne said Tuesday that the second season will be the “same show, just weirder.” Its premiere date has not been announced.

According to Holland, the show’s viewership exceeded the streaming giant’s audience expectations for the show “relative to its cost.” Netflix generally does not provide specific viewership data on its programming.

WASHINGTON — Citing the popular election slogan ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has sought to take the bilateral relationship with India to the next level and said the Trump and Modi Administrations have a “unique opportunity” to make it happen.

“As Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi said in his latest campaign, ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai,’ or ‘Modi makes it possible’, I’m looking forward to exploring what’s possible between our people,” Pompeo said in his major India policy speech at the India Ideas Summit of US-India Business Council on Wednesday.

Very much looking forward to his trip to New Delhi later this month, and meeting Modi, and his new counterpart, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Pompeo listed out some of the “big ideas and big opportunities” that can take the bilateral relationship to a new level. 

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Giving a sneak preview of his India mission, he said he truly believes the two nations have a unique opportunity to move forward together for the good of their peoples, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world.

Pompeo will travel to India, Sri Lanka, Japan and South Korea from June 24 to 30. His four-nation is aimed at deepening US partnerships in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

Pompeo said under President Donald Trump, the US has taken defence cooperation to newer heights, solidified their common vision for the Indo-Pacific and taken a far tougher stand on Pakistan’s unacceptable support for terrorism.

Now the Trump and Modi Administrations have a “unique opportunity to take this special partnership even further”, Pompeo said he has a strong partner in his new counterpart, Jaishankar ñ a  former ambassador to the United States.

“He said in a speech in April that he’s ready to cultivate warmer relations with America ñ and the feeling is mutual. We want to move ahead,” he said and enumerated how that can be done.

First, the two countries have to build ever-stronger relationships, he said.

“Forging strong ties means formalizing these individual friendships. Last year, we kicked off  the ‘2+2 dialogue’ alongside the Department of Defence. We’ve also reinvigorated the Quad Dialogue among India, the United States, Japan, and Australia ñ all like-minded democracies in the Indo-Pacific. These are all good steps,” he said.

India and the US, he said, must embrace the strategic framework that works for both the nations. “We respect India as a sovereign power, with its own unique politics and strategic challenges. We realise it’s different to deal with the likes of China or Pakistan from across an ocean than across a border,” he said. Making a strong case for a free and open Indo-Pacific, he said it starts from the premise that the two share common values of democracy, freedom, and a belief in the ingenuity of the human spirit. “It’s only natural that the world’s most populous democracy should partner with the world’s oldest democracy to maintain their shared vision for the Indo-Pacific.”

“Third, we have to deliver,” Pompeo said. The Trump Administration has already enabled American companies to export more high technology items to India, including cutting-edge defence platforms like armed UAVs and ballistic missile defence systems. “We’ve already launched the Asia-EDGE programme, to help India raise private capital to meet its energy security and access needs,” he said.

“These are solid achievements, but we want to do much more. We clearly have overlapping interests in defence, energy, and space,” said the top American diplomat. Pompeo said the first batch of India’s Apache helicopters are coming off Boeing’s production line in Arizona. Lockheed Martins F-21 and Boeing’s F/A-18 are state-of-the-art fighters that could give India the capabilities it needs to become a full-fledged security provider in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

“On energy, we want to complete the Westinghouse civil nuclear project, and deliver more  American LNG and crude,” he said adding that these steps will give Indians reliable and abundant energy and help reduce dependence on regimes like Iran and Venezuela.

On space, NASA is already working with the Indian Space Research Organisation on the world’s most advanced earth-observation satellite and India’s second lunar mission. But differences remain in some of the key trade and business issues, he acknowledged.

“But we remain open to dialogue and hope our Indian friends will drop their trade barriers and trust in the competitiveness of their exporters and private-sector companies,” he said.

Pompeo said the US will also push for the free flow of data across borders ó not just to help American companies ó but to protect data and ensure consumer privacy. The US is eager to help India establish secure communications networks including 5G networks, he said. 

The Kerala government on Wednesday suspended its much hyped Medical Insurance Scheme for State Employees and Pensioners (MEDISEP) after a major security violation was detected on its website.

The scheme, earlier meant to launch on 1 June and then postponed, will now begin only after all the loopholes in the data collection process have been plugged, especially those which could lead to important information such as Aadhaar card details being leaked.

This is not the first time that a leak has been discovered in a major government website, but the Kerala case serves as a pointer for just how easy it is for untrained government officials to put people’s privacy and data security at risk: the login ID and password of the scheme’s nodal officer had been shared with all the staff of the health department, meaning that anyone could log in to access and even alter the information.

The Malayala Manorama first reported this news on Wednesday, adding that it was able to independently verify the complaint. The report led to outrage, and cyber experts and employees’ unions demanded that the scheme be suspended until all the concerns were addressed. The protesters pointed out the possibility of vested interests stealing vital information of government employees and pensioners and their families.

The state finance department, to which the scheme’s nodal officer belongs, said on Wednesday evening that the data would not be accessed by anyone until a solution was found.

HuffPost India has reported on large-scale data leaks in various states, especially in Andhra Pradesh, where an unsecured dashboard on a government website of a government-run medical store allowed anyone to track who bought what medicines from government-run Anna Sanjivini stores. In April, HuffPost India reported on a website that allowed anyone to geolocate people in Andhra Pradesh by caste and religion. 

Government officials associated with the scheme told HuffPost India that the nodal officer’s login credentials were shared with all the department staff to reduce the work burden of the seniors.

“The access might have been given to the staff for making the registration purpose easy. However, the whole process involves serious security breach. Without any monitoring, the data might have been misused,’’ said NK Benny, leader of the Congress-affiliated Kerala Non-Gazetted Officers Association.

The project was first postponed because the model code of conduct had come into force ahead of the election, and then delayed again from its 1 June launch date. Now questions about data security have increased the uncertainty.

“As per my knowledge, no data leakage has occurred so far. The scheme is now in its rudimentary stage. The future chances of data misuse are minimal but it must be welcomed that the government responded to the apprehensions quickly. I hope the government can bring about additional security measures to alleviate fears raised by government employees and pensioners,’’ said D Arun, a software expert based in Thiruvananthapuram.

What is MEDISEP?

According to the scheme approved by the Pinarayi Vijayan government, state government employees, part-time contingent staff, teaching and non-teaching staff in the aided sector, employees of local self-government institutions, universities, High Court and others who come under the ambit of the Kerala Government Servants Medical Attendance Rules will be covered under the scheme.

Under the scheme, which offers a three-tier cover for its beneficiaries, each family would be eligible for an annual cover of ₹2 lakh. An additional benefit amounting to a maximum of ₹6 lakh would be given to each family during the three-year period for treating serious ailments, organ transplant, etc.

If the ₹6 lakh additional cover is insufficient for a family for critical care, another component up to ₹3 lakh would be given to the family from a corpus of ₹25 crore to be constituted by the insurance company.

Reliance General Insurance Company, which had quoted the lowest annual premium of ₹2,992.48, had been selected for implementing the scheme.

NEW DELHI — The Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a fresh bill to ban the practice of instant triple talaq, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said.

The bill will be introduced in the Budget session of Parliament which begins on Monday to replace an ordinance issued in February by the previous BJP-led NDA government.

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With the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha last month, the previous bill had lapsed as it was pending in Rajya Sabha.

 The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, which made the practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) a penal offence, had faced objections from the opposition parties which claimed that jail term for a man for divorcing his wife was legally untenable.

Javadekar said the proposed legislation is based on gender equality and is part of the government’s philosophy of SabkaSaath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ .

The new bill will be a copy of the ordinance in force and the minister hoped that it will be passed “unanimously” by Rajya Sabha, where the government lacks numbers.

Bills that are introduced in Rajya Sabha and are pending there do not lapse with the dissolution of Lok Sabha.

However, bills passed by Lok Sabha and pending in Rajya Sabha lapse with the dissolution of the lower house.

The government had promulgated the ordinance on triple talaq twice ― in September 2018 and in February 2019 ―. as the contentious bill remained pending in Rajya Sabha, though it was passed by Lok Sabha.

Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019, divorcing through instant triple talaq is illegal, void and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband

Seeking to allay fears that the proposed law could be misused, the government has included certain safeguards in it such as adding a provision for bail for the accused during trial.

These amendments were cleared by the Cabinet on August 29, 2018. While the ordinance makes it a “non-bailable” offence, an accused can approach a magistrate even before trial to seek bail.

In a non-bailable offence, bail cannot be granted by police at the police station itself. A provision was added to allow the magistrate to grant bail “after hearing the wife”, the government had said.

In the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha, the new government plans to convert 10 ordinances, including the one to ban the practice of instant triple talaq, into law.

The ordinances were issued in February-March this year by the previous government as these could not be converted into Acts of Parliament in the last session of the 16th Lok Sabha.

Since the Narendra Modi government returned to power in the recently held elections, it has decided to give a fresh push to these proposed laws in the newly-constituted Lok Sabha.

These ordinances will have to be converted into laws within 45 days of the beginning of the session, else they will lapse.

The hot topic in marriage therapist’s offices right now? Emotional labor. 

Unfortunately, the invisible work of running a household and raising the kids disproportionately falls on women’s shoulders. And in many cases, it’s on top of their day-to-day responsibilities at work.

Now that there’s a catch-all phrase for this work, spouses ― wives in particular ― are more prone to talk about it. Kurt Smith and other therapists HuffPost interviewed for this piece said the emotional labor divide is brought up most by heterosexual couples.

“I’m regularly addressing this problem with partners,” said Smith, a couples therapist in Roseville, California. “When I ask them if they’ve had a discussion about the roles each is taking on and how they’ll split up the household responsibilities, I almost always get a ‘no.’”

Our guess why that conversation never happens? The emotional laborer in the relationship was probably too damn tired to add it to their to-do list. When you do it all ― mediate fights between the kids, run household chores, schedule doctor’s appointments, get everyone to bed ― you don’t have the mental or emotional wherewithal to actually address it. 

Still, Smith said, “My go-to advice to the couple is to start this discussion. I say ‘discussion’ because it should be an ongoing, ever-evolving conversation, not a one-and-done talk that happened 15 years ago.” 

Because that’s easier said than done, we asked Smith and other therapists to share the exact advice they give when this issue comes up in their offices. We’ve divided their advice into two categories: what they tell the exhausted spouse and what they tell the spouse who’s slacking off. 

Don’t assume your spouse should “just get it.” You’re going to have to talk about this.

In an ideal world, your partner would recognize the hot mess your household would be if you weren’t handling it all. They’d home in on the tasks that need to be done and do it without being asked. In the real world, you probably need to speak up about the inequity here. (A word to the wise: Have the discussion when you’re well-rested and have some alone time, not after a long day of putting out fires at work and home.)

“Don’t assume that your partner should ‘just get it.’ Tell them it’s bothering you,” Smith said. “Recognizing non-verbal cues isn’t always a strength for many men because they’re out of habit, but it’s definitely something that can be worked on.”

If he’s never heard of “emotional labor” and really doesn’t get it, consider using the definition offered by writer Khe Hy: “Shit someone does that goes unrecognized.” (Nailed it, actually.)

As for how to bring it up, Alicia Clark, a Washington, D.C.-based therapist, said to avoid blunt criticism that might, however unfairly, make you seem like a nag. Instead, tell your partner how you feel when you are overburdened with responsibilities.

“Tell them you feel anxious, trapped, burdened, worried, alone, ignored, invisible, unappreciated, sad, or distant when you do it all and how you really don’t want to feel that way,” she said. “If you get your communication right, your partner will respond with empathy and compassion.”

Resist the temptation to point fingers. You’re both responsible for falling into this dynamic.

Without even realizing, you may have fallen into an unspoken agreement about responsibilities around the house, said Kathleen Dahlen deVos, a psychotherapist based in San Francisco. 

“For parents, the unconscious agreement might be, ‘I prioritize the needs of my children above the needs of my relationship or myself,’” she explained. “With a significant other, it might sound like, ‘My partner’s career is more important than mine.’” 

All too often, those unspoken agreement falls along depressingly gendered lines: You might be a full-time worker just like your husband, but that doesn’t matter. Your “second shift” begins the minute you walk through the door and the kids run to you.

For your own well-being, don’t allow yourself or your spouse to fall into these traps.

Stop doing everything. Let some things fall to the wayside and see what happens.

Stepping back can be difficult, but doing so can change your entire dynamic. See what happens if you don’t address everything, even if the thought alone fills you with immense dread (including visions of “D” test grades for the kids or your home looking like an episode of “Hoarders”). 

“You might assume you have to perform all the emotional labor because your partner can’t or won’t,” said Anna Poss, a therapist in Chicago. “In reality, you’ve created the expectation that you’ll bear the burden and have established that role in the relationship. It sends a message to their partner that they are not expected to help and often, that they should not.”

In the process of letting go, mistakes will be made ― but they’ll also be learned from. Don’t underestimate your partner’s ability to get most things done, said Greg Cason, a psychologist based in Los Angeles.  

“To make things move faster, refrain from complaining about what your partner isn’t doing and just ask your partner for help,” he said. “Then, whatever your partner does, give them kudos and keep letting go.”

Think of what your home life might be like if your spouse wasn’t there. 

Understanding and genuinely appreciating the emotional labor your partner performs every day is difficult if everything is going swimmingly at home. And if you don’t feel pressured to do it, is this stuff really all that important? 

Emotional labor might be called invisible work, but look hard enough and you’ll see your spouse’s handiwork: The report card grade that improved because she prodded your kid to study. The new contact lenses your 11-year-old is sporting because your wife made a doctor’s appointment and took him. The weekend at your parents’ house that’s all squared away because she organized it and packed.

Look around your house, consider your family life, and imagine the chaos that would ensue if she wasn’t handling all of it, Cason said.

“Once you’ve realized things really would fall apart, it’s time to step up,” he said. “For your part, you need to radically accept there is a problem, then apologize to your partner for not always being there. Be careful not to give excuses and ask your partner how you can help. Better yet, look for ways to help and help shoulder the emotional burdens.”

Stop telling yourself “she’s just better at this kind of stuff.”

There’s nothing in your wife’s genetic coding that makes her better suited to this kind of work. You are just as intuitive, empathetic and caring as she is. You’re just as capable of rooting her on in her career and playing in-house therapist when your 16-year-old experiences her first breakup.

Emotional labor is a habit that is practiced rather than the result of a person’s personality or some sort of character trait, Poss said. 

“If it is a new habit, it will take some time and a little work for it to feel natural,” she said. “But helping your partner bear the emotional labor load will not only enhance their satisfaction in the relationship, but yours as well.”

Monitor your helpfulness around the house. (Download a habit tracker if you have to!) 

Now that you know this is an issue, look for areas where you can do some heavy lifting around the house or with the kids.

“At least once a day ask yourself ‘How can I be helpful to my partner?’” said Marie Land, a psychologist in Washington, D.C. “At least once a week ask your partner how you can be helpful.”

If it helps, download a habit tracker app so you can monitor your progress. 

Don’t be afraid of the criticism. Ask for feedback and practice being non-defensive.

Your spouse may slide back into criticism on this journey to redistribute the emotional labor. If they do, cut them some slack; they probably have years of resentment built up. That might play out in them being critical of how you handled one of your new tasks. Take it in stride. 

“If you’re the slacking-off spouse, you might feel frustrated by never getting it right when you help, justifying your avoidance to engage,” Clark said. “Keep engaging, though.”

Point out your progress and stay receptive to your partner’s feedback without being defensive or feeling like it’s a personal attack. 

“Aim to listen,” Clark said. “Simply being willing to hear, and understand, your partner is a powerful, and effective, first step in reestablishing connection and solving this problem.”

It’s 10 years to the day since Banksy secretly took over an entire museum in his home city, filled it with his thought-provoking art and threw open its doors to an unsuspecting public.

The free-to-enter Banksy vs. Bristol Museum show was the elusive street artist’s most ambitious stunt to date and ended up attracting more than 300,000 visitors over its 12-week run.

Banksy has since hit the headlines for that Sotheby’s shredded painting prank, opened The Walled Off Hotel overlooking the Israel-Palestine barrier and earned an Academy Award nomination for his 2010 film “Exit Through the Gift Shop.”  

He’s used his artwork to offer his (often tongue-in-cheek) commentary on issues including the United Kingdom’s Brexit decision to leave the European Union, the environment, the Syrian refugee crisis and overtourism.

And who can forget his 2013 New York City-wide Better Out Than In residency and the 2015 Dismaland bemusement park in Somerset, England?

Check out the promo for Banksy vs. Bristol Museum here:

It’s been quite the decade.

But it was back in 2009, on his return to Bristol in the southwest of England where he grew up, that Banksy captured the world’s imagination with the surprise show at the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.

His representatives did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment about the lasting impact of the exhibition.

But Bristol-based street artist John D’oh, who assisted with the four-day setup of the event, hailed it for generating “an extreme amount of cultural and economic capital” for the city and contributing to a “tenfold” spike in local artists and the ongoing success of Upfest, the annual street art festival (which is taking a break in 2019).

“The exhibition was an instant success, with queues every day and in all weathers throughout the duration,” he recalled to HuffPost this week.

“One could argue that the show became more like a ‘cultural event’ than an artistic exhibition,” D’oh noted. “People stayed in hotels and guesthouses, ate in pubs and restaurants and made the city the No. 1 tourist destination in the entire U.K. that year.”

The bulk of Banksy’s 100+ pieces, ranging from animatronics to paintings and sculptures, were located in close proximity on the museum’s ground floor.

A Michael Jackson/Hansel & Gretel-themed piece, which depicted the controversial singer-songwriter appearing to entice children into his home with candy, was introduced midway through the exhibition after Jackson’s death:

Other works were slyly hidden among the gallery’s existing exhibits in its lesser-visited galleries, such as this one:

“While some were more obvious than others, the fact that you often had to scrutinize all the exhibitions closely in order to find the guerrilla artworks helped defamiliarize the public to exhibitions they had seen before or would normally just ignore,” added D’oh. 

Banksy’s Paint-Pot Angel remains as a reminder of the historic event:

As does “Devolved Parliament,” which was temporarily returned to the museum in March to mark “Brexit Day” ― the day that the United Kingdom was supposed to leave the European Union, but didn’t:

Check out more photographs from the 2009 Banksy vs. Bristol Museum show here:

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Activists called off a general strike and civil disobedience campaign as more businesses reopened and traffic returned to its normal bustle on Wednesday in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum, as the US and Ethiopia stepped up efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis — following last week’s deadly clampdown by security forces on pro-democracy demonstrators.

Security forces violently dispersed the main protest sit-in on 3 June in Khartoum, killing over 100 people in the capital and across Sudan in a sweeping crackdown, according to protest organizers. It was an alarming turn in the two-month standoff between the protest movement and the military, which removed President Omar al-Bashir from power in April amid a popular uprising against his rule.

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The Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters’ demand for civilian rule, called on people to return to work across Sudan, after the three-day general strike, on late Tuesday.

Its decision reflected a growing desire for the protest leaders and the ruling military council to avoid a further escalation, after a week of violence.

“We are highly optimistic that the negotiations will be resumed, and things will be back to normal and they will achieve an agreement,” said Yousef Hassan, a teacher from Khartoum.

Activists, however, took to social media to criticize the FDFC’s decision, declaring that protest leaders, in calling off the strike, had diminished their ability to pressure the generals to give up power.

“The problem was not calling off the disobedience, but was its abrupt suspension. It seemed that you are giving orders to people,” said Hammour Ziada, a Sudanese novelist and activist.

According to protest leaders, theirs was a practical decision. The general strike was successful on its first day, Sunday, but the campaign had lost momentum by Monday and Tuesday, they said.

The move came amid intensifying efforts by the United States and neighboring Ethiopia to end the standoff between the two sides. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed set out to revive the negotiations on his visit to Khartoum on Friday.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the military council and the FDFC had agreed to resume their talks soon, “in good-faith to iron-out the remaining outstanding points,” including setting up a government council to run Sudan during a set transition period.

The statement added that all previous deals between the generals and protest leaders, despite the break in talks earlier this month, have been restored. These would include a three-year transition period, a Cabinet appointed by the protester leaders, and a legislative body with a civilian majority from the FDFC.

The ministry said both sides also agreed to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and de-escalate tensions, and that the military council would to take confidence-building measures including the release of political prisoners.

The United States, meanwhile, announced the appointment of a special envoy for Sudan to promote a democratic resolution. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said retired veteran diplomat Donald Booth, who previously served as U.S. special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, had started his job by accompanying the top U.S. diplomat for Africa Tibor Nagy on a visit to Khartoum late Wednesday.

Booth’s appointment is a demonstration that “the United States has a firm commitment to the Sudanese people and efforts to advance a peaceful political solution,” Ortagus told reporters in Washington. In Khartoum, Nagy and Booth will “call for a cessation of attacks against civilians and urge parties” to resume talks.

The state-run SUNA news agency said Sudanese diplomat Elham Ibrahim had met with Nagy soon after his arrival. The agency quoted Nagy as saying the U.S. backed the Ethiopian efforts to end the crisis and halt violence against civilians.

Rasha Awad, editor of the Sudanese daily Al-Tahgyeer, said the FDFC had gambled on international pressure after last week’s violent crackdown.
She said the protest leaders hoped that the Ethiopian initiative, backed by the U.S., would lead to a hand over of power to civilians.

“The gamble is that this mediation succeeded in getting both sides to return to the negotiations, which are expected to fail unless there was international pressure,” she said.

Rights groups continued to express alarm over the situation. U.N. experts on Wednesday said they were concerned that Sudan is sliding into a “human rights abyss” in the aftermath of the security forces’ deadly clampdown.

The experts, appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council, called for an independent investigation into violations against peaceful protesters in Sudan.
Human Rights Watch meanwhile urged Sudanese authorities to restore access to the internet, two days after the internet monitoring group NetBlocks said that the country’s remaining internet connectivity was blocked on Monday.

“These shutdowns blatantly repress the rights of the people the military council claims it wants to have a dialogue with,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, acting emergencies director at HRW.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday gave an ultimatum to the striking junior doctors of state run hospitals to call of their strike within four hours. The deadline was at 2 pm. 

PTI reported that Banerjee threatened to take action against the doctor if they did not abide by her directions. 

Banerjee visited the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata as strikes by the doctors entered day three hampering medical service facilities across the state. 

Agitating junior doctors raised ‘we want justice’ slogans as Banerjee arrived. 

NDTV reported that Banerjee said that doctors who don’t get back to work would be asked to leave the hostels. She was quoted in the report as saying, “They are outsiders. The government will not support them in any way. I condemn doctors who have gone on strike. Policemen die in line of duty but the police don’t go on a strike.” 

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The protesting doctors began their agitation demanding fool-proof security following an assault on them by a mob after the death of a patient at Kolkata’s NRS Hospital. 

The incident of assault took place at a state-run medical college and hospital on Monday night, leaving an intern seriously injured and the strike, which was initiated there, spread to medical institutions in the districts.

Emergency wards, outdoor facilities, pathological units of most of the state-run medical college hospitals and a number of private medical facilities in the state remained closed.

However, services in the indoor patient department were not affected, sources said.

The state government on Wednesday had asked the junior doctors to withdraw the strike and resume their duties, but the agitators were in no mood to relent and demanded intervention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the health and family welfare portfolio.

(With PTI inputs)

“IAF is sad to inform that there are no survivors from the crash of AN-32,” the Indian Air Force said in its statement.

Eight members of the rescue team reached the crash site on Thursday morning, IAF said.

“Mummy, are you fat?”

The question comes out of the blue. It’s the weekend and I’m lying on the sofa while my two small sons pretend my body is a see-saw (I’m actually recovering from pneumonia, but when you have small, lively children, this is what ‘bed rest’ looks like).

My one-year-old is on my head, yanking fistfuls of my hair and giggling maniacally. My four-year-old is trampolining on my belly, then examining it with forensic attention. This is when he asks, in the sweetest, most innocent, piping little tones imaginable: “Mummy, are you fat?”

Well, I mean. Where to begin? And how to respond? Suddenly my brain is alive with a firework display of thoughts and emotions, as all those opinion pieces I’ve read about body positivity repeat on me with the urgency of a half-digested dodgy kebab. “Don’t Stigmatise Fat!” They warn. “‘Fat’ Isn’t A Perjorative Term!” But also, they add: “Don’t Correct Someone If They Refer To Themselves As ‘Fat’, Otherwise You’re Perpetuating The Idea That ‘Fat’ *Is* A Perjorative Term!” And on the other hand: “If You’re Reclaiming The Word As A Positive Identifier The Whole Thing Is Entirely Subjective!”

[Read More: What sort of parent do I want to be? One that’s different from my parents]

“Are you fat, Mummy?” My son asks, again.

I can’t answer, because I’m trying not to cry. Inside my brain it’s just a shower of grief.

My sons are the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. I’m sure, unless my kids are exceptionally attractive, it is the same for all parents. I am obsessed by my kids’ skin, the curve of their eyelids, the little vulnerable napes of their necks and the plumpness of their parted lips as they slumber; and I am constantly agog at how I could have lent even half my genes to something so perfect and wonderful.

And now one of them has called me “fat”.

I know this isn’t an evolved response. I personally don’t think of “fat” as a perjorative term. Still, it’s like a knife to the heart.

“Do you think I’m fat?” I manage to squeak, stalling for time by way of the age-old conversational switcheroo. My son jabs my belly and we both watch the resulting ripples – him, with interest; me with dismay. “I think you might be a little bit fat,” he replies, equably.

For a tiny second, I go blind with rage and sadness, then I take two deep breaths and tell myself to stick to the facts. I settle both boys on my lap.

“What is fat?” I ask them.

“Wok is fack?” The toddler repeats, gravely.

“Fat,” my older son informs me, “Is when you’re big and huge and round and puffed-out, like a puffer-fish or a big fat man, or a great big fat whale.”

Well, there it is. Precisely what I haven’t wanted him to think.

Quite apart from – or perhaps because of – my own insecurities, I’ve stayed away from the word “fat” as a descriptor. I’ve quietly removed classic kids’ titles like A Piece of Cake and even Dinosaur Roar from the kids’ bookshelf because they each use either the word “fat” or the notion of “fatness” negatively – and I’d like my son to at least *understand* the word factually before he accepts it unquestioningly as lazy shorthand for “comically large”, and all the connotations that go with it.

So, I say no: that’s not what fat is. For a start, puffer-fish are filled with air. And whales are big and full of fat, because it helps them stay warm in cold water. All mammals have fat, I tell him, in between our skin and our skeleton. Fat gives us energy, and helps pad out our cushiony bits like cheeks and bums and tummies.

“CHEEKY BUM TUMMY!” My toddler shouts joyfully, slapping at his belly, and prompting a family-wide examination of our “cushiony bits”.

And now we’re looking at my stomach again. I am trying very hard to see it as simply a body part, rather than the lifelong source of great anxiety it’s really been – whether it slipped easily into a sample size or, as now, is the poster child for two C-sections and finding your emotional truth at the bottom of a biscuit barrel.

I tell my sons: “Some – like Mummy – have more fat on their tummies and bums than other people. Some people have less. Just like you have yellow hair and your brother has brown hair. Lots of people say lots of different things about fat, but the important thing to remember is this: fat is just another part of your body, like your nails and teeth.”

“And like your bogeys and eyelashes,” my older boy adds. Yes, I tell him. “And your willy and your nose.” Yes, yes, yes, I say. Then I ask for a kiss, because I feel somehow like I’ve been through something.

My son throws his arms round my middle and buries his nose in my belly button. When he next speaks, his voice is muffled, but he sounds happy.

“I’ll kiss your fat,” he tells me. “I love you, fat.” And then he kisses me.

I deal with hormonal acne. At present (and thanks to some help from my dermatologist), my breakouts are mostly under control. But every so often, an angry cyst develops under the surface of my skin and refuses to back down. Even as I write this post, I’ve got a weeks-old pesky cystic pimple lingering just below my jaw. 

So when I was introduced to pimple patches ― a fairly new acne treatment ― via an email in my inbox, I was eager to give them a go. The patches, which are essentially small, circular hydrocolloid bandages that may or may not be pre-treated with active ingredients, have become increasingly popular over the past couple of years.

Some patches, like the ones by Zitsticka and Rael, also have tiny microneedles, or “microdarts,” that are meant to help active ingredients penetrate more deeply into a breakout; this type of patch is said to be useful for the annoying hormonal acne I’ve come to detest. 

I’ve tried pimple patches in the past but largely felt indifferent about the results, so I never stuck with them. Even after giving them another go recently, I’m not totally convinced (more on that later). 

But folks onlineswear by the power of pimple patches. One popular brand is Cosrx, which sells four 24-packs of its patches for about $15. Other companies with similar products include Mighty Patch, Peach Slices and drugstore mainstay Clearasil. 

Maybe I was just missing something the first time I tried them. Or maybe I didn’t have the right type of breakout for the patches to work. In any case, I decided to give them another go. I also spoke to dermatologists for additional insight on the technology involved in these little stickers and whether they really are an effective acne treatment. If you’ve been curious about pimple patches, read on. 

First of all, let’s talk about what pimple patches are.

Generally speaking, pimple patches, which are sometimes referred to as acne healing patches, are small, translucent stickers you adhere to a pimple or breakout. As Dr. Deanne Robinson, a Connecticut-based dermatologist, put it, they’re basically more “finessed options for a spot treatment.” 

The stickers are a type of hydrocolloid dressing (which has long been used in the medical world to promote proper wound healing), and they work by absorbing excess fluid and pulling out the “superficial debris” from inside the breakout, according to Dr. Hadley King, a dermatologist based in New York. 

“A hydrocolloid dressing is something that’s really healing to the skin,” Robinson added. “It’s kind of creating an environment that’s going to protect the skin and help it heal while the active ingredient gets in.” 

As King pointed out, some acne patches are just hydrocolloid patches with no added active ingredients. Others, however, may contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide, which “can do a little bit more” to help dry out pimples, King said. 

What about those microdarts? 

According to Yanghee Paik, the founder of Rael, microdart technology is rooted in the world of Korean beauty (aka K-beauty). 

“They’re not painful,” Paik said, explaining, “they’re very small microneedles that prick the acne,” allowing any active ingredients to “penetrate into the pimple.” 

Do pimple patches really work?

The idea of a sticker that absorbs impurities and heals pimples might sound too good to be true, but it’s not totally implausible. 

When asked whether pimple patches are an effective option for treating acne, both Robinson and King agreed there are some benefits. 

For starters, the hydrocolloid dressing in and of itself helps to draw out the impurities in a breakout, which King noted can help to dry it out. Paik also noted that the process could be a little “gross,” as you might see some white gunk on your patch when you pull it off. If you’re good with pus and popping your pimples ― we’ve all done it ― you probably won’t be bothered. 

Another benefit of the patches, King said, “is that while it’s stuck to your skin, it’s going to prevent you from picking it. ... Picking can increase inflammation and healing time and increase the risk for infection, discoloration and scarring. So, if you have a tendency to pick, that’s certainly a positive there.” 

As Robinson added, the patches protect “some of the skin around the pimple from the active ingredient. ... It just kind of gets to where it needs to be, and the nice normal skin doesn’t get affected.” With gel or cream spot treatments, it’s easy to apply more than needed, which could result in irritation of healthy skin around a breakout, she added.

Both dermatologists agreed that pimple patches are probably best suited for smaller breakouts that aren’t so deeply embedded under the skin ― think pustules and papules that are generally filled with pus. In terms of treating cystic acne, the dermatologists also agreed that, although the microdart patches might allow a slightly deeper penetration of active ingredients, they probably won’t warrant the most dramatic results.

Speaking from experience, I can attest to the latter point. When I tried the patches recently ― I used ZitSticka’s version with the microdarts to treat a nasty hormonal breakout ― I wasn’t left totally convinced that they worked.

Upon applying the sticker, I felt a prickly, tingling sensation from the microdarts, but it dissipates in about a minute. I wore a patch on the breakout overnight for two nights in a row, and while it did seem to reduce in size, the pimple is still lingering a week later. I should note that the box stated patches should be used at early signs of the pimple, and mine had already been there for a while. 

The most effective spot treatment for a large cystic pimple, according to King, “is going to be a cortisone injection from the dermatologist.”

“Those work remarkably well to take the inflammation down really quickly. Nothing is going to beat that,” she said, adding that if you’re experiencing more than just one or two occasional cystic pimples, you should speak to your dermatologist to figure out the best course of treatment for you.

Should you try them? 

If you’re prone to picking at your zits, they’re particularly helpful, as they prevent the temptation to pop. And if you deal with smaller breakouts, you’ll probably have more success with them, but there doesn’t appear to be any harm in trying them out on cystic acne. 

You just need to remember that pimple patches, or any acne treatment, aren’t magic. And everyone’s skin is different. That means pimple patches, whether plain hydrocolloid dressings or microdarted stickers, might work for some people and not for others. 

The suburban Oshiwara police on Wednesday filed a ‘B Summary’ report before a metropolitan magistrate in Andheri, Deputy Commissioner of Police Paramjit Singh Dahiya told PTI.

A ‘B-Summary’ report is filed when the police do not find any evidence against the accused person to file a charge sheet and seek trial.

Patekar’s lawyer Aniket Nikam said, “The entire allegations against my client were false from the inception. My client is innocent and justice will be served.”

Meanwhile, Dutta’s lawyer Nitin Satpute told Times Now, “We will challenge the closure report”.

In her statement, Dutta said, “A corrupt police force and legal system giving a clean chit to an even more corrupt person Nana who has been accused even in the past of bullying, intimidation and harassment by several women in the film Industry.”

In a statement to the media, her lawyer Satpute accused the police of being negligent and protecting Patekar, The NewsMinute reported.

Satpute said the police had not recorded statements of certain witnesses but only of those who knew “nothing”. “Police have not investigated properly so we are opposing the summary report and are also going to file writ petition before Bombay High Court against the police officer,” he said, TNM quoted. 

Dutta had filed a complaint against Patekar in October 2018 in which she accused him of harassing and misbehaving with her while shooting a song on the sets of the film Horn Ok Pleasss in 2008.

She also alleged that during the shooting of the song sequence, Patekar inappropriately touched her even after she had clearly mentioned that she will not perform lewd, vulgar or uncomfortable steps.

NEW DELHI — Several resident doctors at the AIIMS in New Delhi worked with bandages on their heads in a symbolic protest and have decided to boycott work on Friday in solidarity with the doctors protesting against an attack on their colleagues in West Bengal.

Condemning the violence in West Bengal, the AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) has also urged the RDAs across the country to join the token strike.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the AIIMS RDA said the ongoing and worsening of violence against medical doctors in West Bengal is worrisome and disheartening.

“There is a complete breakdown of law and order, with reports of mobs attacking doctor hostels with weapons. The government has failed to provide protection and justice to doctors,” the statement read.

“AIIMS RDA condemns this in words and in spirit. Residents across the country are deeply hurt by these turn of events. Keeping in view of our commitment towards safe and non-violent working environment for residents, AIIMS RDA stands in support of our colleagues in West Bengal and has decided to hold protest on June 13 which would be followed by one day strike of work on June 14 which include OPD, routine and ward services except for emergency services,” it said.

They urged the West Bengal chief minister to intervene in the matter and address the security concerns so that residents can continue serving patients.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Wednesday directed the members of all its state branches to stage protests and wear black badges on Friday.

In a communique to all its state presidents and secretaries, the IMA has asked them to organise demonstrations in front of the district collectors’ offices from 10 am to 12 noon on Friday and hand over a memorandum addressed to the prime minister to the collectors in every district.

The Delhi Medical Association (DMA) has also urged its members to observe a “Black Day” on Thursday against the brutal attack.

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Simultaneously, all the local branches and individual members of the IMA will send an appeal to the prime minister and the Union home minister, demanding a central Act on violence against doctors and hospitals.

The IMA has also urged its state branches to communicate the information to the government doctors’ organisations of the states, request for their support and issue a press statement to this effect.

“The gruesome incident in NRS Medical College, Kolkata, is of barbaric nature. IMA condemns the violence perpetrated on a young doctor. The entire medical fraternity expresses solidarity with the resident doctors who are on strike. The IMA headquarters hereby declares All India Protest Day on Friday,” an IMA statement said.

The assault on the junior doctors following the death of a patient at the state-run NRS Medical College in Kolkata on Monday night left an intern seriously injured and the strike, which was initiated there, spread to medical institutions in the districts.

Emergency wards, outdoor facilities and pathological units of many state-run medical colleges and hospitals and a number of private medical facilities in West Bengal have remained closed over the past two days in the wake of the protest.

Queefing, as anyone with a vagina will tell you, can happen at some inopportune times: while you’re having sex, in the middle of a yoga class or during a visit to the gynecologist. 

You may have heard some people refer to queefs as “vaginal farts” (charming). But while queefs do produce a toot-like sound, we can assure you that queefing is not the same as passing gas.

We talked to gynecologists and sex therapists to learn more about what causes queefs, some of the misconceptions about them and why they shouldn’t be as mortifying as we make them out to be. 

What makes you queef, anyway?

Queefing is an involuntary bodily function that occurs when air is pushed into the vagina, gets temporarily trapped in the folds of the vaginal canal (called rugae) and is then released. 

“Queefing happens when a penis, fingers or sex toy go in and out of the vagina bringing additional air along with it,” Sherry A. Ross, an OB-GYN in Santa Monica, California and the author of “She-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health,” told HuffPost. “Sex can involve a lot of thrusting of the penis in and out of the vagina, typically pushing extra air into a dead-end space.”

Certain sex positions, like doggy style where your pelvis is titled upwards, or abruptly switching from one position to another, may increase the likelihood of queefing. Even non-sexual activities, like putting in a tampon or menstrual cup, practicing yoga (like when you move out of an inversion pose) or your gyno inserting a speculum can lead to queefing.

“From my experience as an OB-GYN, almost every woman has experienced at least one episode of queefing some time during her life, sometimes even during a pelvic exam,” said Diana Hoppe, an OB-GYN in Encinitas, California. 

While the gas that comes out of your rectum may have a foul odor (a result of bacterial activity in the gut), queefs are odorless, Hoppe added.

Can you prevent a queef?

There’s not much you can do to stop a queef in its tracks. You can’t just “hold it in” like you would a fart. 

And as OB-GYN Sheila Loanzon told Cosmopolitan, “If you try to contract the vaginal canal to prevent air from coming in, it can cause sex to be more painful.”

Women who have previously given birth, in particular, may be more prone to queefing because pregnancy and childbirth can weaken the pelvic floor muscles. By strengthening those muscles via exercises like Kegels, you may be able to reduce your odds of queefing, Hoppe said. 

“Also, when doing any abdominal exercises or weight-bearing exercise, it is important to squeeze the pelvic floor while holding the core abdominal muscles tight,” Hoppe said. “Many women squeeze abdominal muscles but do not activate the pelvic floor at the same time, thus allowing the pelvic floor to sag, increasing the likelihood of air entering into vaginal canal.” 

During sex, keeping the penis, fingers or sex toy inside you while you change positions could lessen your chances of queefing because it “gives air less of an opportunity to get into the vagina,” Jamil Abdur-Rahman, an OB-GYN and the chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vista Health System in Waukegan, Illinois, told Self.

And in theory, you could just avoid certain sex or yoga positions altogether. But what’s the fun in that? 

When queefing does happen, don’t sweat it. 

So why does this very normal bodily function feel so embarrassing in the moment, be it during doggy-style or downward dog? It really just comes down to that pesky noise, Hoppe said. 

“The stigma is due to lack of understanding the difference between release of air from the vagina and flatulence,” she said. “The sound effects may be the same though, so culturally there may be a stigma or embarrassment due to this occurring ‘down there.’”

Sex therapist Vanessa Marin underscored the fact that queefing is normal, common and “not anything to be ashamed of.” Embracing the awkwardness of the moment can even make sex more enjoyable for both partners. 

“Our bodies make funny noises sometimes, and that’s OK!” she said. “Plus, there are plenty of other goofy things about sex, like getting sweaty, slipping out, getting into awkward positions and so on. The more we can laugh about these kinds of things, the more fun we’ll have during sex.” 

When a queef slips out mid-coitus, you have two choices: ignore that deflating balloon sound completely or quickly acknowledge it and move on. Marin prefers the latter route. 

“It’s a personal preference, but I think it’s better to just quickly acknowledge it and laugh it off,” she said. “That way you don’t have to sit there thinking about it, anxiously wondering whether or not your partner heard it.” 

Is queefing ever cause for concern?

Generally, queefing is nothing to be worried about. While rare, if queefing is accompanied by pain or a bad smell, you should make an appointment with a doctor to rule out any more serious issues. 

“If queefing is associated with a foul odor, it may be an indication of a vaginal infection or possible fistula, an [abnormal] connection between rectum and vagina due to previous radiation treatment or surgery that causes stool or feces to come out of the vagina,” Hoppe said.

But for the most part, queefing is a normal, if slightly awkward, fact of life. So let’s not get so hung up on it, OK?

Sex Ed for Grown-Ups is a series tackling everything you didn’t learn about sex in school — beyond the birds and the bees. Keep checking back for more expert-based articles and personal stories.