More than 110 children in Bihar have died this month from encephalitis.

Health experts have long been dumbfounded by the root of the encephalitis outbreak in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district.

Recent studies have suggested that natural toxins in litchis could harm undernourished children by blocking their ability to produce enough blood sugar, which can lead to death.

The link to the fruit, however, is inconclusive, Alok Ghosh, the Muzaffarpur district magistrate, told Reuters. Ghosh said that in about half of the more than 400 known cases of encephalitis, the children had not consumed litchis.

Three medical sources at the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, where some 95 patients have died, told the news agency they thought serious dehydration was likely to blame.

WHAT IS ENCEPHALITIS?

Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain, caused by any one of a number of viruses.

Early symptoms can be similar to those of flu, with patients suffering from high temperatures or headaches. But symptoms can worsen within hours, and can include serious complications like seizures, paralysis and coma.

In Bihar, children were typically taken to hospital with fevers.

HOW COULD LITCHI CAUSE SICKNESS?

Researchers who conduced a study of 390 children who fell sick in 2014 in Muzaffarpur said that litchi contained hypoglycin A, an amino acid that can disrupt metabolism, lowering blood sugar levels, Reuters reports. That can trigger hypoglycaemia, and in extreme cases, death.

The study by National Centre for Disease Control and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, added that when the brain lacks glucose, it turns to other sources of energy, which are rapidly depleted, eventually pushing people into coma.

“The synergistic combination of (litchi) consumption, a missed evening meal, and other potential factors such as poor nutritional status, eating a greater number of litchis, and as yet unidentified genetic differences might be needed to produce this illness,” the researchers said in their study, which was published in the Lancet in 2017.

Retired virologist T Jacob John also raised the possibility that cases of hypoglycaemic encephalitis in Muzaffarpur could be associated with litchi in a 2014 study published by the Indian science journal Current Science. Muzaffarpur is a major hub for growing litchis, which ripen at this time of year.

However Muzaffarpur-based paediatrician Arun Shah told Down To Earth, that this study has been “grossly misinterpreted”.

“If a healthy child eats litchi, s/he will not suffer from AES. The governments, both central and state, must accept that malnutrition is the cause,” he told the magazine. 

Shah, an executive member of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, said the fruit was not a causal factor, but a triggering one.

According to The Guardian, Shah and a team of doctors told the Bihar government in 2016 to direct parents that they must keep children away from litchi between April and June. Among their guidelines was a request to the administration to address malnutrition in the poorest families and tell parents to ensure their children eat a meal in the evening meal if they had eaten litchis during the day.

“The number of deaths fell in 2017-18 because the Bihar government began implementing these guidelines. But this year they took their eye off the ball because they were too caught up with the general election. I would say the state government is certainly guilty of shortcomings and carelessness,” Shah told the daily.

ANY OTHER HYPOTHESES?

Doctors and officials are testing children for a variety of conditions and many are divided on the cause of the disease.

But dehydration as a heat wave sweeps India could be to blame, according to medical staff in Muzaffarpur.

“In my observation it is nothing but an epidemic of heat stroke,” Gopal Shankar Sahni, the head of the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital’s paediatric department, told Reuters. 

Officials are scrambling to contain the outbreak, but victims’ relatives say poor hospital facilities have allowed the death toll to balloon.

Two lawyers have filed a petition to the Supreme Court criticising government “inaction”, citing an inadequate number of doctors and hospital beds, according to a report by ANI.

District magistrate Ghosh told Reuters officials were running door-to-door awareness campaigns in villages by asking people to stay clean and hydrated. Other officials are ensuring children get sweets at breakfast to maintain glucose levels.

In neighbouring Odisha, the state’s health minister has asked officials to investigate the toxic content in litchi being sold in the state, ANI reported.

(With inputs from Reuters)

SOUTHAMPTON — The Pakistan team under captain Sarfaraz Ahmed have failed to live up to their country’s expectations and there will be a “robust review” of their performance in the last three years, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Wednesday.

Pakistan are still trying to salvage their World Cup campaign as they languish ninth in the 10-team standings with one win from five matches.

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They are still smarting from Sunday’s heavy defeat by arch-rivals India.

The PCB is expecting the team to stage a comeback in the tournament but they would need something extraordinary to finish the group stage in the top four and make the semi-finals.

“The BoG had a discussion on the Pakistan cricket team’s recent performance across all formats,” the PCB said in a statement after a Board of Governors meeting in Lahore.

“The members agreed the team’s performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 to date has been below expectation, but expressed faith, support and confidence in the side, and hoped they will ... bounce back strongly and finish on a high.

“...following the World Cup, the PCB will carry out a robust review and analysis of the side’s and the team support personnel’s performances in the past three years and submit their recommendations to the Chairman and the BoG for their consideration.”

The 1992 world champions next play South Africa at Lord’s on Sunday.

Expelled IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Gujarat court in a 1990 custodial death case, PTI reported.

The Jamnagar court, which pronounced his sentence, has not pronounce the quantum of sentence for six other policemen who have been convicted in the case, NDTV reported.

“The court found Pravinsinh Zala and Sanjiv Bhatt guilty under IPC section 302 and thus sentenced them to life imprisonment under IPC section 302. Rest of the accused were found guilty under section 323, 506 for custodial torture,” the special public prosecutors in the case said, Indian Express reported.

Bhatt was Additional Superintendent of Police in Jamnagar district and had detained around 150 people during a communal riot in Jam Jodhpur town in 1990, NDTV said. 

Prabhudas Vaishnani, one of those arrested, died in hospital after he was released. His brother filed an FIR in which Bhatt and six other policemen were named and accused of torturing Vaishnani.

Bhatt, who was sacked in 2015, is currently in judicial custody in Palanpur jail in a drug planting case. His plea for bail in this case was dismissed by the Supreme Court on 9 May.

Bhatt had moved the Supreme Court in 2015 for a probe into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged complicity in the 2002 Gujarat riots, when he was the state’s chief minister.

His plea also asked the top court to order an investigation into alleged collusion between government officials, defence lawyers, and BJP chief Amit Shah, in cases relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots and the fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh.

A SIT team, set up by the Supreme Court, had cleared Modi of wrongdoing in 2012.

In 2014, a special CBI court had exonerated Shah in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby slammed Alabama’s law that effectively bans abortion, stating that her life was saved because she was able to access the procedure after her sexual assault. 

In a “Variety” cover story celebrating Pride, the “Nanette” star predicted that if her assault had happened in Alabama with its restrictive abortion law in place, she would have ended up dead. 

“It’s as simple as that,” she added. “I was assaulted, raped, and very, very vulnerable. How was I going to raise a child? I would have ended up dead. How is that pro-life? You can’t say women can’t have abortions and then provide absolutely no infrastructure to help them.”

The comedian shared deeply personal stories, including the homophobia, violence and sexual assault she’s experienced, in the critically acclaimed Netflix comedy special that fueled her rise to fame.

In an interview with HuffPost last year, the comedian said “fury” fueled her revolutionary stand-up routine and was the most constructive way for her to put her anger to use. She considered the performance a “call to action” for other comics to be constructive with their art, too. 

“There are comics who are more worried about their freedom of speech than they are about what the fuck they’re putting out in the world,” she said.

Read Gadsby’s interview here.

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.

VARANASI — UK-based rapper Taran Kaur Dhillon aka Hard Kaur has been booked for sedition for allegedly posting objectionable remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on social media, police said Thursday.

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A written complaint was filed by a local lawyer, Shashank Shekhar, on Wednesday, SHO Cantonment Vijay Pratap Singh said.

The police have booked her under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion), 500 (defamation) and 505 (intent to incite) of the Indian Penal Code and section 66 of the IT Act, he said.

The complaint will be forwarded to the cyber cell for further probe into the matter, the SHO said.

Hard Kaur is known for her hit songs like “Glassy” and “Move Your Body”. She also owns a music label, Future Records.

The “Star Wars” saga takes place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. But one goof that’s been hiding in plain sight for decades is of much more recent ― and far, far more local ― vintage. 

If you take a close look at Luke’s lightsaber in the wampa cave on the icy planet of Hoth in 1980′s “Empire Strikes Back,” you’ll see the phrase “NEW YORK” stamped into the bottom. 

The error was spotted by Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group, who works to ensure continuity throughout the “Star Wars” franchise: 

Given that there aren’t many people in any galaxy who know as much about “Star Wars” as Hidalgo, it’s a safe bet that few have noticed the error.

But good luck NOT seeing it in subsequent viewings. It’s even visible in the YouTube clip:

Hidalgo explained in subsequent tweets that the lightsaber was made from a Graflex flash holder for a camera: 

When it was repurposed as a lightsaber, most of the text on the bottom was hidden. But much of “New York” was unobscured, and for the most part unnoticed.

Until now. 

NEW DELHI — As speculation continues on his next steps, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said his party will decide on who his successor will be and not him.

He is not the person to take a decision on his successor, Gandhi told reporters when asked who will succeed him as Congress president.

Gandhi is adamant on stepping down as party president following the debacle in the elections, but the CWC, the highest decision making body of the Congress, has rejected his offer to resign and asked him to restructure the party at all levels.

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The Congress chief also maintained that there was “theft” in the Rafale fighter jet deal.

Gandhi was responding to a question about Rafale finding a mention in President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament.

“I maintain my stand that there has been theft in the Rafale jet deal,” he told reporters outside Parliament. 

He has been maintaining that there has been corruption in the Rafale deal and that there should be a thorough probe into the deal

The Congress has already petitioned the CVC for a probe into alleged corruption in the fighter jet deal.

The government has denied any corruption, wrongdoing or favouritism in the deal.

Two people, including a teenager, were killed in clashes between unidentified people in West Bengal’s Bhatpara on Thursday morning, four people have been injured.

NDTV reported that in light of the violence, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for an emergency meeting of the state police chief, the chief secretary and other top officials of the state. 

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Bhatpara is located just north of Kolkata in the North 24 Parganas district. 

One of the people who died has been identified as Rambabu Shaw. The identity of the second deceased is yet to be ascertained.

According to reports, bombs were hurled and several rounds of bullets fired in the air by the members of the two warring groups near a newly constructed police station, which was scheduled for inauguration on Thursday.

A team of police officers along with Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel has been deployed in the area, with shops, market places and business establishments seen downing shutters following the unrest.

Bhatpara has witnessed a series of clashes since 19 May, when bypoll was held in the Assembly constituency.

The NDTV report said that the blasts took place right before the arrival of the Director General of Police who was supposed to inaugurate the new building. He had to return to Kolkata. 

The report also said that shops and other establishments had to shut down after the violence and the Rapid Action Force had been deployed. 

(With PTI inputs) 

SOUTHAMPTON — Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday said he expects Shikhar Dhawan to bounce back strongly from the injury setback that has forced him out of the World Cup and backed the opener’s replacement Rishabh Pant to do well.

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Dhawan was Wednesday forced out of the mega-event owing to a fractured left thumb, an injury that he picked up during the June 9 clash against Australia. The swashbuckler scored a match-winning hundred while playing through pain in that game.

“Feel for you Shikhar. You were playing well & to be injured in the middle of such an important tournament is heartbreaking. I’m sure you’ll come back stronger than ever,” Tendulkar tweeted. 

Replacing Dhawan in the team is the 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, who has impressed one and all with aggressive hundreds during maiden Test tours of England and Australia.

“Rishabh you’ve been playing well & there can’t be a bigger platform to express yourself. Good luck!,” Tendulkar.

India will play their next match on Saturday against minnows Afghanistan. The two-time champions are undefeated in the ongoing edition.

NEW DELHI — The central government has decided to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC), currently being updated in Assam, on priority basis in areas affected by infiltration, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Thursday.

In his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, Kovind also said efforts will be made to amend the Citizenship Act while protecting linguistic, cultural and social identities.

“My government has decided to implement the process of National Register of Citizens on priority basis in areas affected by infiltration,” he said in his customary address after the formation of the 17th Lok Sabha.

The President, however, did not specify in which areas the NRC will be implemented.

Apart from Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and some other parts of the Northeast are reportedly affected by the problem of illegal immigration.

Kovind said security along the border will be further strengthened to prevent infiltration.

The President said while on the one hand, the government is working to identify infiltrators, on the other, it is also fully committed to protecting those who are victims of persecution due to their faith in neighbouring countries.

“In this regard, efforts will be made to amend the Citizenship Act while protecting the linguistic, cultural and social identities,” he said.

The Supreme Court-monitored NRC exercise, aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state that borders Bangladesh, was carried out only in Assam, which faced an influx of people from Bangladesh since the early 20th century.

When the draft NRC was published on July 30, 2018, there was a huge controversy over the exclusion of 40.7 lakh people from it. The draft NRC included the names of 2.9 crore people out of the total 3.29 crore applications.

The final list of the NRC will be published on July 31, 2019.

When the NRC was first prepared in Assam way back in 1951, the state had 80 lakh citizens.

According to the 2011 census, Assam’s total population is over 3.11 crore.

The process of identification of illegal immigrants in the state has been widely debated and is a contentious issue in state politics.

There were huge protests in the Northeast, particularly in Assam, early this year over the move to amend the Citizenship Act as it intends to give citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and Christian illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The main objection of the people of the Northeast was to the proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act will negate a provision of the 1985 Assam Accord, which provides for declaration anyone, irrespective of religion, who had entered India after 1971 as foreigner.

The BJP has maintained that the Citizenship Amendment Bill is aimed to give Indian nationality to those people who have been facing persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan for their religion.

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher fired back in the most sarcastic way at a tabloid rumor that they’d split.

The celebrity couple, who tied the knot in 2015 and have two children together, trashed an In Touch Weekly magazine story about their supposed separation with this mocking video:

“Have fun selling magazines this week,” Kutcher captioned the clip. “Maybe next week my wife will be having twins. For the third time. But who’s counting.”

The publication does not appear to have commented on the couple’s response.

But the video prompted a slew of responses from other celebrities, including actor Dax Shepard, singer-songwriter Demi Lovato and singer/actress Rumer Willis (whose mom, Demi Moore, was married to Kutcher for eight years until 2013).

The footage also went viral on Twitter, where some fans reprised pictures of the pair starring in “That ’70s Show” together in their defense:

Oprah Winfrey said she’d revive her landmark talk show ― with one important change.

“I would love to make that happen, let me tell you,” she told Entertainment Tonight recently. “But maybe not every day. That was a problem. Our dates were too frequent.”

While there are no apparent plans afoot for her return, who could blame the entertainment mogul for pondering a revival? From 1986 to 2011, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” often dominated afternoon television, won dozens of Daytime Emmys and drove the national conversation.

“The only time I missed it was like during the election or when something really big happens in the news,” Winfrey, 65, said. “I think, ‘Oh, gee, I wish I had a show.’”

Winfrey, who was in Canada to promote her new book “The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction And Purpose,” said she gave herself an ultimatum regarding the talk show’s fate when it was about to begin broadcasting from Chicago.

“My path became clear the moment, I remember it actually, when I flew into Chicago,” she told ET. “... I thought, ‘If the show isn’t successful, then I’m going to go into advertising. I’m gonna do something else.’”

Check out the interview here or fast-forward to 4:05 for the talk-show reboot discussion:

RANCHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the International Day of Yoga from Ranchi on Friday with all arrangements being in place at the Prabhat Tara ground.

Since 2015, the International Day of Yoga is celebrated annually on 21 June.

“Yoga connects people and with the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi world has adopted yoga,” an official release quoting Chief Minister Raghubar Das said Thursday.

“It is a matter of great pride that the prime minister will participate in the main programme of International Yoga Day in Ranchi. The state government is putting all efforts to make the programme success. Good arrangements have been made for the participants,” Das said.

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During one of his previous yoga day speeches, the prime minister had said yoga has become one of the most powerful unifying forces in the world.

The prime minister will reach Ranchi on Thursday night, stay at the Raj Bhavan and participate in the fifth International Yoga day programme at 6 am Friday, according to an official communique.

Adequate security arrangements have been made as over 40,000 yoga enthusiasts are expected to take part, an official release said.

Gates will be opened at 3 am with free bus service, which will start Thursday night, it said.

A total 400 make-shift toilets, over 200 drinking water kiosks, eight medical teams, 21 ambulances, jawans of NDRF and more than 100 CCTV cameras are in place at the venue adjacent to the Prabhat Tara school.

A total 28 display screens have been installed at the venue for live telecast of the event.

Besides the chief minister, Governor Droupadi Murmu, Union Minister of state (Independent) for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik and Jharkhand Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi will share the stage with the prime minister, the communique said.

HYDERABAD — The fate of the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a UPA partner in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, is in doubt after four of its six Rajya Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh defected on Thursday to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The resolution to merge the legislature party of TDP with BJP was passed by TDP Rajya Sabha MP YS Chowdary and three other MPs — CM Ramesh, Garikapati Mohan Rao and TG Venkatesh.

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Confirming the merger, Chowdary told Huffpost India, “The party will be merged with BJP under paragraph four of the tenth schedule of the constitution”.

Close aides of Chowdary said the MPs have been disgruntled ever since the party was routed in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. TDP had won just three out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in the recently concluded general elections. Rival YSR Congress Party, led by the incumbent Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, routed TDP by winning 23 seats. In the Assembly election, TDP could only manage to get 23 seats while YSR Congress won 151 out of 175 seats.

According to close aides of Chowdary, the rift widened as Naidu failed to reassure its members to stay on. Naidu, who refused to attend the oath taking ceremony of Jagan Reddy, is currently taking a vacation abroad.

Naidu said that the crisis was not new to the party and workers have nothing to be worried about, reported ANI. He also condemned the BJP’s efforts to weaken TDP.  “We fought with BJP only for Special Category Status and state’s interests. We sacrificed central ministers for Special Status,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

Chowdary, who owns Sujana Group of Industries, was the Minister of State for Science and Technology during the last term of National Democratic Alliance government. TDP was in alliance with BJP during the last term. Naidu quit the alliance in March 2018, accusing the BJP of refusing to grant Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.

The split has also revealed the caste dynamics within the weakened TDP as Chowdary is a leading voice among the dominant Kamma caste. The other two MPs, Ramesh and Mohan Rao, are Kappu leaders who have been yearning for power for the last four years within the Kamma dominated TDP, observers said.

In the neighbouring state of Telangana, similar defections had weakened Congress. The party is now reduced to six MLAs in the legislative Assembly.

BEED, Maharashtra — As an unprecedented drought devastates rural Maharashtra, politicians from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena are enriching themselves by systematically siphoning off funds and resources from cattle camps meant to help out impoverished cattle farmers.

Local administration officials, including a female officer, who tried to clamp down on the practice have been confronted by mobs who have threatened their safety.

HuffPost India interviewed farmers, social activists, lawyers, politicians and government officials to piece together the workings of a fodder scam that is as straightforward as it is lucrative.

In March this year, the state government set up over 1,400 camps where drought-hit farmers could shelter their cattle. Beed district, one of the worst-affected, was sanctioned 933 camps, out of which 876 were set up, and 545 fodder camps are still operational — feeding 3,49,106 cattle each day as per the latest government figures.

 As per government guidelines, local NGOs were invited to manage these camps and provide free fodder and water to these cattle. In return, the NGOs were reimbursed Rs 90 per day to provide 15kg of fodder for every large animal, and Rs 45 for 7.5 kg of fodder for each small animal in the camp.

In Beed, HuffPost India found that local BJP politician Rajendra Mhaske and Shiv Sena’s district president Kundalik Khande have taken control of many of these cattle camps through NGOs set up in the name of their associates, and are systematically inflating the numbers of cattle in their camps, while skimping on the fodder and water provided to the cattle.

 After an inquiry and inspection ordered by Beed Collector Astik Kumar Pandey last month, the number of cattle in fodder camps in Beed tehsil reported 16,000 less cattle in a day — meaning money between Rs 7.2 lakh and Rs 14.4 lakh (depending on the size of the animals shown in the ghost entries) was being siphoned off by the BJP and Shiv Sena every day of the drought.

The participation of BJP and Shiv Sena workers in a scam to rob cattle of their fodder and water is particularly ironic, given that both parties have made cow protection a vital, and often violent, part of their political agenda. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly claimed to be a national watchman, or chowkidar, but in Maharashtra, his own party workers are literally making hay while the sun shines.

“Most of these NGOs or local organizations are fronts of local politicians,” said Ajit Deshmukh, an anti-corruption activist, and a practicing lawyer. “These politicians are so shameless that they want their cuts even when people are facing survival issue due to drought.”

As per government documents, the Jyotiba Bahudesshiya Sevabhavi Santha, an NGO, runs 11 fodder camps across Beed in the villages Ambesavli, Nagapur Phata, Dagadi Shahjanpur, Samnapur, Belkhandi, Piparnai, Padali, Shirapur Gat, Nirgudi, Aher Wadogoan, Chaklamba village.

The registered office of the Jyotiba Bahudesshiya Sevabhavi Santha is the modest home of  Kalyan Pawar, a small farmer in Dgadi Shahjanpur village in Beed, who is listed as the NGO’s president, according to the registration deed seen by HuffPost India. In an interview, Pawar told HuffPost India that he earns about Rs  2.5 lakh a year from his seven acre plot of land.

So how does he manage to single-handedly run so many camps? Where does he get the money from?

“There are good politicians who are helping me run these camps. I only make sure there is no problem on the legal front,” Pawar told this reporter in a candid conversation. “I am a member of Shiv Sena but a political worker of Rajendra Mhaske. Mhaske had asked me to register this organisation in 2006.”

Rajendra Mhaske was a member of Maratha group Shiv Sangram until recently but he shifted to BJP reportedly due to the persuasion of late Gopinath Munde’s daughter Pankaja who is also a guardian minister of Beed district.

“Khande and Mhaske are working together when it comes to fodder camps and they are running multiple such camps,” Pawar told HuffPost India. “They help me run these camps. When the government sanctions amount meant for these camps in my account, I repay it to them and others who help me run these camps.”

Kundalik Khande is the Beed district president of Shiv Sena.

When contacted for his reaction, Khande denied that he is running any fodder camp in Beed but he admitted that he helped sanction 40 fodder camps to local Shiv Sena leaders and workers.

“I am not running any fodder camp here. I have only helped some of my workers get sanctions for it. There are many BJP-Shiv Sena leaders who are running fodder camps in this district,” Khande told HuffPost India.

 Mhaske said that he is involved in working of only three camps where no irregularities have been reported so far.

District officials in Beed have tried their best to crack down on the practice, but are cognisant that they are up against local politicians patronised by the BJP state government.

On the evening of May 9, 2019, Sub Divisional Magistrate Shobha Jadhav of Ambejogai division went to inspect a camp situated outside Kolarwadi village on the outskirts of Beed. Officials told HuffPost India that this camp was ostensibly run by an NGO called Matsygandha Sevabhai Sanshta, Beed, but its actual in-charge was Gorakh Singham, the Beed district convenor of Shiv Sena and an associate of district president Khade.

“When I reached this chhavni at around 5 and asked for records, the representatives of Chavni Chalak made me wait,” Jadhav told HuffPost India. Chavni is the Marathi word for camp. “After half an hour, Shiv Sena leader Kundalik Khade turned up and told me that this chhavni is being run by one of his workers. When Khade reached this chhavni, some of my officials started texting me on my mobile to not inspect this camp.”

When Jadhav insisted on checking records and inspecting the camp, a mob of close to 200 people gathered in front of her and her staff and the camp lights were turned off.

“Khade said that farmers are opposing the inspection. He threatened my staff,” Jadhav said. “He did not even listen to the collector who spoke to him on the phone. Sensing the situation, I decided to move my staff away from this spot.”

But Beed District Collector Astik Kumar Pandey was adamant on the inspection and sent a deputy collector and a police team to the spot. So Jadhav and her team went back to the Kolarwadi camp and began the inspection, but Khade’s men refused to turn on the lights.

The SDM asked for torches and personally inspected every animal but Khande and his men continued to interfere with the inspection and kept trying to intimidate the officers.

“This camp had shown 1607 cattle on record but in our inspection, we found 863  cattle in this camp, 744 less,” Jadhav told HuffPost India.

After this incident, the district administration canceled the permission granted to the fodder camp here.

However, within a few days, the NGO running this camp was changed.

If Singham is to be believed, his camp is running normally now and he is getting government grant as well. Officials, however, maintained that Kolarwadi camp was shut down.

The district collector ordered a thorough inquiry into 18 other camps after this incident, most of which were somewhere related to Khande. Next day, the number of cattle in all fodder camps in Beed were shown to be reduced by 16,000 in Beed tehsil.

HuffPost India has learnt that district collector Pandey has recommended suspension of three district officials including two tehsildars. An internal note prepared by his office has recommended action against Beed Tehsildar Avinash Shingate for conspiring to allot camps to Khade, who is apparently his relative.

 Shingate did not respond to multiple calls and messages from HuffPost India when tried to reach for his reaction.

 In public, however, the local administration is doing its best to silence any whispers of wrongdoing.

 “Everything is legal on paper,” Beed’s deputy collector R S Parlikar said when HuffPost India confronted him with these findings. “There is no such wrongdoing. All that was needed to allot Chavni  to any NGO was a registration with the charity commissioner that’s it”

However, there are exceptions to this money siphoning mafia.

Some camps even provide one-time meal to the farmers in these camps and some others have set up projectors and screens for the entertainment of the farmers.

 “Wherever the fodder camps are being run by actual social groups, you won’t find any irregularity or attempt to siphon off money. But the moment there is a political connection, you sense corruption,” informed a local RSS worker who runs an NGO in Beed.

Queen fans got a surprise treat this week in the form of a never-before-seen music video featuring the band’s legendary frontman, Freddie Mercury. 

The clip, released Thursday on YouTube and on Mercury’s website, shows the singer-songwriter looking every inch a superstar as he performs a song titled “Time Waits for No One” on the empty stage of London’s Dominion Theatre. 

The track is an early version of Mercury’s “Time,” which appeared on the 1986 concept album for Dave Clark’s stage musical of the same name, albeit in a more fully produced form. 

Catch the full video below: 

Clark, best known as the former leader and drummer of the Dave Clark Five, said he’d kept the footage buried deep in his archives ― until now. 

“Freddie asked me, ‘How do you want me to perform this?’” Clark recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone published Thursday. “I said, ‘As a cross between Edith Piaf, Jennifer Holliday and Shirley Bassey.’ He said, ‘Well, dear. I have all the dresses. I can do it perfectly.’”

Mike Moran, the pianist featured on the song, had reportedly never met Mercury prior to their recording session. He went on to collaborate with the singer-songwriter on the 1988 album “Barcelona.”

Mercury, who died in 1991 due to complications from AIDS just one day after publicly announcing he was HIV positive, has re-entered the pop culture dialogue following “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the 2018 Queen biopic starring Rami Malek. Despite mixed reviews, the film raked in more than $900 million at the box office worldwide and won four Academy Awards, including one for Malek’s performance. 

Clark said the restored version of “Time Waits for No One” was ready for release last year, but he purposely waited for the film’s buzz to recede so as to not seem like he was cashing in. 

“The movie’s been off and on, no disrespect, for over a decade, and I decided it would be wrong to bring it out before the film or during it, so I waited,” he told Rolling Stone. 

“The nice thing about the film is it’s Freddie on his own without anybody else, and it shows the emotion of the song,” Clark added. “We all know he’s a great singer, but I don’t think he’s been seen on his own with just a piano like this. It makes you realize how good somebody is.”

Shortly after rumors began flying that Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods hooked up in February, the Kardashian-Jenner clan sought information from various friends and family members.

Kylie Jenner just went to the source: Woods. 

The beauty mogul called her then-best friend to figure out if she’d actually had sexual relations with her sister Khloé Kardashian’s then-boyfriend, who is the father of Khloe’s child, True. And Jenner didn’t mince words. 

“I called her and she didn’t really say anything. She was just like, you know, crying the whole time,” Jenner said in a new “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” preview of Sunday’s forthcoming episode on E!

“And I was just telling her, ‘I’m like scared of you now. Like, you’re capable of waking up the next morning with a smile on your face,’” the 21-year-old added. 

Jenner also told Woods that she broke the Kardashian-Jenners’ cardinal rule: Never go against the family.

In case you thought the internet had a monopoly on Keanu Reeves thirst, Marvel Studios would like to remind you that it has been in the know long before the Keanussance.

There’s no denying that the actor is having a moment in the pop culture zeitgeist. Thanks to a trio of well-received performances in “John Wick 3,” “Toy Story 4” and “Always Be My Maybe,” and a couple of viral interviews, Reeves has reminded just about everyone why he’s a major movie star. 

And yet despite his renewed cultural relevance, the actor has yet to join forces with the most popular franchise around despite its repeated attempts to make him a full-blown superhero.  

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed he’s courted Reeves many times over the years to join the ever-expanding universe.

“We talk to him for almost every film we make,” Feige said in a recent interview with ComicBook.com. “We talk to Keanu Reeves about. I don’t know when, if, or ever he’ll join the MCU, but we very much want to figure out the right way to do it.”

While Marvel has yet to announce its new slate of films, rumors have swirled that Reeves has been approached about the upcoming project “The Eternals,” which will reportedly feature Angelina Jolie in her superhero film debut. 

Feige compared his pursuit of Reeves to another in-demand star, Jake Gyllenhaal, whom he talked to “multiple times” before the actor signed on the Marvel dotted line to play Mysterio in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”

As for who else might populate future Marvel films, Feige addressed rumors that Donnie Yen and Millie Bobby Brown are being considered, calling them both “good actors” but saying “nothing specific” is in the works at this time. 

The studio is expected to announce its plans for future films after the latest “Spider-Man” sequel debuts at the beginning of July, but Feige stopped short of confirming that he’d spill the beans at July’s Comic-Con convention in San Diego. 

“I will say all of the post Comic-Con, post ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ stuff. ... Here’s an exclusive. We’re gonna keep making movies. We’re gonna still keep making movies after these two,” he told IGN. “And we will talk about them soon after ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ comes out.”

RANCHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday performed Yoga with around 40,000 enthusiasts at the Prabhat Tara ground here and said everybody should practice the ancient Indian discipline lifelong.

The Jharkhand capital has been selected as the venue for the main event for the 5th International Day of Yoga.

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Events to mark the day are being held across the country and several of them are being led by Union ministers, including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.

Modi also said the government has been working to make Yoga a pillar of preventive healthcare.

Expressing concern that young people are becoming vulnerable to heart ailments, Modi said, “Yoga can play a huge role in tackling the issue and hence, this year’s theme is ‘Yoga for Heart’.”

He also appealed to the people to take yoga to all sections of society.

“We should make efforts to take yoga from cities to villages, tribal areas. Yoga is above region, above faith, above everything,” Modi told the gathering.

He also stressed that for yoga to become popular, infrastructure for it must be strengthened and said the government was working towards it.

Urging people to make yoga a part of daily life, Modi said, “Peace and harmony are related to Yoga. People across the world must practice it.”

The prime minister had arrived here Thursday night to participate in the main event on the International Yoga Day.

Since 2015, the International Day of Yoga is celebrated annually on June 21.

When dating, many people notice they tend to be attracted to the same “type.” There are physical types, sure ― tall, dark and bearded, for instance ― but also personality types. Maybe you’re drawn to the quiet, mysterious type. Or the vivacious, extroverted type that somehow manages to get you out on a Friday night.

For Lindsey Oliver, a design specialist from Durham, North Carolina, it’s a rare occasion when she strays from her type. She’s almost exclusively drawn to passionate and oftentimes emotionally volatile women.

“I’ve had multiple instances where my friends have warned me that someone I have a crush on may not be particularly emotionally stable,” she told HuffPost. “In retrospect, I feel like I’ve ignored every red flag because I’m hopelessly optimistic about them.”

That tendency to fall for the same kind of person time and time again (even if they’re not the healthiest match) isn’t just common; it’s now recognized by scientists. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that most of us really do have a “type” when it comes to the personalities of our romantic partners. The researchers examined interviews with the current and former partners of hundreds of people to reach this conclusion.

Why talk to people’s exes instead of asking them directly? Previous research on the topic actually did rely on self-reported data about past relationships, but that’s a slightly problematic approach, said Yoobin Park, a lead researcher of the new study and a Ph.D. student in the department of psychology at the University of Toronto. 

If a person has any lingering negative feelings toward an ex, they’re probably not going to give a fair assessment of that person’s personality. 

“If you ask people to self-report, they may exaggerate the negative aspects of their ex-partners (e.g., ‘they were really clumsy’), and we may end up finding similarity between the exes just because of the participant’s tendency to describe them negatively,” she explained.

To skirt the issue, Park and her co-author Geoff MacDonald looked at the German Family Panel study, a multi-year ongoing survey of German adults across several age groups. The survey includes interviews with both primary survey participants and their current and former flames. If a primary participant breaks up and finds another partner, the new S.O. gets interviewed and that data is added to the participant’s file. 

The 332 primary participants (along with their respective exes and current partners) were asked to describe their levels of what’s known by psychologists as “the big five” personality traits: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience. (On a scale of 1 to 5, participants were asked how much they agreed with a series of statements such as, “I am usually modest and reserved,” “I am interested in many different kinds of things” and “I make plans and carry them out.”)

Analyzing the collected data, Park and MacDonald found that, overall, the primary participants’ current partners described themselves very similarly to their past partners. (And their responses reflected something more than the participant’s tendency to date someone similar to themselves, Park said.)

“It’s interesting because we often see people who, following a breakup, think that they have a better idea about who they want or need as a partner,” Park said. “Sometimes they’re looking for a person that’s not necessarily the same type of person as their ex.” 

The results from this study, though, suggest there’s consistency in our partners’ personalities.

The partner association was weaker, though still present, for people who scored high on extroversion and openness to new experience. (Apparently, variety is the spice of life for these folks, even when it comes to partners.)

If you’ve had a string of toxic exes, you might be rolling your eyes right now. But having a “type” isn’t inherently good or bad, Park said. Yes, similarities in partners might make you feel hopeless or frustrated when you encounter the same problems and challenges with a new partner. (“I knew this was going to happen,” you might think. “Same issues, different person.”)

But it’s potentially a positive if you can put the lessons and communication strategies you learned in your past relationships to use with your new S.O. (Think of it this way: Same issues, different person, smarter response.)

“Using that knowledge can improve your relationship quality,” Park said. “Plus, the sense of familiarity can also facilitate the couple’s bonding.”

If your “type” really has been problematic in the past ― or you have a long history of breakups ― don’t freak out about these findings. Instead, tinker and adjust your “type” and look for someone who fits your criteria while also possessing healthier traits and habits. That’s what Oliver, the aforementioned design pro who’s attracted to passionate women, has learned to do.

“I recognized that I am interested in women who are deeply passionate, but it took these failed experiences to realize that someone can have deep emotions and express complex feelings without being toxic and draining to me,” she said. “So now I’m trying to simultaneously embrace and buck my ‘type,’ just by reframing it a little.”

Sounds like a smart strategy.