Say hello to the most in-demand wedding singer in the world: Adele.

The British superstar took a break from making us all wait for her next album ― more on that later ― for an impromptu performance at her best friend’s wedding in London over the weekend.

The multi-platinum singer’s longtime bestie Laura Dockrill tied the knot with The Maccabees musician Hugo White on Saturday night. After reportedly officiating the wedding, Adele basically turned the reception at Masons Arms pub into a full-blown concert. 

In videos taken at the party, Adele is seen performing her breakout hit “Rolling in the Deep,” as well as covers of the Spice Girls’ “Spice Up Your Life” and Candi Staton’s “Young Hearts Run Free,” while backed by a full band.

The bride, guests and fellow singer Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine also joined Adele onstage for some fun. 

Just like any regular wedding guest, Adele lost her mind when the DJ put on Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” and later danced in the crowd to “Single Ladies.” 

The singer stunned in a cream-colored top and an Oscar de la Renta floral-print skirt at the reception, according to Harper’s Bazaar, where she also gave a sweet speech in honor of the happy couple. 

“I truly can’t think of anywhere else that I’d rather be than here,” she said at the celebration.

And if seeing Adele back on stage has you excited, then a recording of the singer telling a cheering crowd to “expect my album in September” will have you positively rolling off the deep end. 

Fans, of course, have been eagerly awaiting the follow-up to her Grammy-winning third studio album, “25,” which was released five years ago. 

But don’t expect Adele to make this a regular gig, though we’d happily take a “Wedding Singer” reboot with her as the star, for the record. The recording artist is the godmother to the bride’s son, and the two have been friends “for more of our lives than we haven’t,” she revealed back in 2018.

Welcome to the latest instalment of The Idea of India, HuffPost India’s monthly conversation about how we see ourselves as a people and as a nation. 

In this instalment, we look at the south Delhi locality of Shaheen Bagh, home to a two-month long protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, and a refuge for all those who opposed a law that makes religion the basis of granting Indian citizenship. 

We look at Shaheen Bagh now, wondering how this leaderless protest, fronted by grandmothers and mothers from Muslim families, blossomed into a battleground for secular values, an epicentre of resistance, and why it tugs at our heartstrings. We look at it, wondering how the daadis of Shaheen Bagh have quietly withstood some of the the coldest nights ever recorded in Delhi, the endless flow of taunts and fibs from the highest echelons of power, and the ever-present threat of violence. We look at it, wondering how the Supreme Court of India will respond to calls to shut it down. 

Shaheen Bagh’s Contagious Freedom Lets Us Imagine The Nation We Can Be

In this account of his wanderings around Shaheen Bagh, HuffPost India’s Aman Sethi writes about how in the winter of 2019-2020, grandmothers older than the Indian Republic and its youngest citizens pushed back against the Narendra Modi government. “A sit-in begins as an occupation of space then deepens into a liberation of time,” he writes. “In Shaheen Bagh, it is hard to escape the energy radiating outwards from the shamiana where the women sit... Why are so many people coming to Shaheen Bagh? What do they carry within themselves when they leave?”  

And what of the petitions asking the Supreme Court to shut it down because the protesters are blocking traffic, and people are free to protest but not by inconveniencing others? Sethi writes, “Since no-one in the government has found a good enough argument to move the protestors thus far, the BJP hopes the Supreme Court will.” 

Shaheen Bagh’s Women Have Transformed Who Speaks For India’s Muslims, Says NYU Anthropologist 

That the protest at Shaheen Bagh will end one day feels like an inevitable pinprick. But what of its legacy? The daadis of Shaheen Bagh, who drew a line in the sand, will pass into Delhi’s folklore. But what change has their resilience wrought for India’s Muslims. 

In a conversation with HuffPost India, Dina M. Siddiqi, an anthropologist at New York University, said these women have broken the monopoly that religious men and “cherry picked” politicians had when it came to speaking for India’s Muslims. “That is an enormous step forward for women who are Muslim in India. That is terrific. Nobody is going to go back to those men who were not necessarily representative at all,” she said.

Siddiqi, who has family roots in Bangladesh, and who visited Shaheen Bagh in January, said that she was struck by the “Islamised” way in which people were speaking at the protest. “I think a lot of Muslims in India have realised that it is now or never to create a space where you can be a citizen and not be apologetic about being a Muslim citizen,” she said. 

How ‘Azadi’ Went From A Kashmiri Slogan To A Pan-Indian Anthem

With anti-CAA protests mushrooming across the country, Hindu nationalists sought ways and means to make them out to be anti-Hindu and anti-national. The slogan “azadi” (freedom) came under fire. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ajay Bisht, who goes by name Yogi Adityanath, said that anyone chanting “azadi” would be charged with sedition. 

Riyaz Wani, a journalist based in Srinagar, traced the “azadi” slogan to the beginning of the separatist movement in Kashmir, and then analysed how it went from being a Kashmiri slogan to a pan-Indian anthem. ”It has been adapted to mean freedom from authoritarianism, freedom to protest and in a larger sense a reclamation of the idea of India,” he writes. 

Ironically, Wani writes this at a time when Kashmiris are being denied any freedom to protest against the sudden abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status, last year, and its bifurcation into two union territories.  

Thank you for your feedback on our newsletter.

David Stein, a regional planner living in Oakland, writes that he does not feel any less despondent than he did when he first responded to our newsletter in September, last year, and yet he takes hope from his grandchildren and young activists like climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg. 

“The continued advancement of the Trump/Modi mode of politics bodes poorly for the rest of us, though there is, here and there, a small beacon of light in the form of such marvels as Greta Thunberg.  But for the most part, the press and the public lack the depth and wisdom to see the broader patterns, or to care much about the consequences of their short-sighted views and actions,” he writes. 

You can subscribe to our newsletter here. 

Please do share your thoughts: What is your Idea of India? Write to me at betwa.sharma@huffpost.in

Welcome to the latest instalment of The Idea of India, HuffPost India’s monthly conversation about how we see ourselves as a people and as a nation. 

In this instalment, we look at the south Delhi locality of Shaheen Bagh, home to a two-month long protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, and a refuge for all those who opposed a law that makes religion the basis of granting Indian citizenship. 

We look at Shaheen Bagh now, wondering how this leaderless protest, fronted by grandmothers and mothers from Muslim families, blossomed into a battleground for secular values, an epicentre of resistance, and why it tugs at our heartstrings. We look at it, wondering how the daadis of Shaheen Bagh have quietly withstood some of the the coldest nights ever recorded in Delhi, the endless flow of taunts and fibs from the highest echelons of power, and the ever-present threat of violence. We look at it, wondering how the Supreme Court of India will respond to calls to shut it down. 

Shaheen Bagh’s Contagious Freedom Lets Us Imagine The Nation We Can Be

In this account of his wanderings around Shaheen Bagh, HuffPost India’s Aman Sethi writes about how in the winter of 2019-2020, grandmothers older than the Indian Republic and its youngest citizens pushed back against the Narendra Modi government over the CAA. “A sit-in begins as an occupation of space then deepens into a liberation of time,” he writes. “In Shaheen Bagh, it is hard to escape the energy radiating outwards from the shamiana where the women sit... Why are so many people coming to Shaheen Bagh? What do they carry within themselves when they leave?”  

And what of the petitions asking the Supreme Court to shut it down because the protesters are blocking traffic, and the argument that people are free to protest but not by inconveniencing others? Sethi writes, “Since no-one in the government has found a good enough argument to move the protestors thus far, the BJP hopes the Supreme Court will.” 

Shaheen Bagh’s Women Have Transformed Who Speaks For India’s Muslims, Says NYU Anthropologist 

That the protest at Shaheen Bagh will end one day feels like an inevitable pinprick. But what of its legacy? The daadis of Shaheen Bagh, who drew a line in the sand, will pass into Delhi’s folklore. But what change has their resilience wrought for India’s Muslims. 

In a conversation with HuffPost India, Dina M. Siddiqi, an anthropologist at New York University, said these women have broken the monopoly that religious men and “cherry picked” politicians had when it came to speaking for India’s Muslims. “That is an enormous step forward for women who are Muslim in India. That is terrific. Nobody is going to go back to those men who were not necessarily representative at all,” she said.

Siddiqi, who has family roots in Bangladesh, and who visited Shaheen Bagh in January, said that she was struck by the “Islamised” way in which people were speaking at the protest. “I think a lot of Muslims in India have realised that it is now or never to create a space where you can be a citizen and not be apologetic about being a Muslim citizen,” she said. 

How ‘Azadi’ Went From A Kashmiri Slogan To A Pan-Indian Anthem

With anti-CAA protests mushrooming across the country, Hindu nationalists sought ways and means to make them out to be anti-Hindu and anti-national. The slogan “azadi” (freedom) came under fire. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ajay Bisht, who goes by name Yogi Adityanath, said that anyone chanting “azadi” would be charged with sedition. 

Riyaz Wani, a journalist based in Srinagar, traced the “azadi” slogan to the beginning of the separatist movement in Kashmir, and then analysed how it went from being a Kashmiri slogan to a pan-Indian anthem. ”It has been adapted to mean freedom from authoritarianism, freedom to protest and in a larger sense a reclamation of the idea of India,” he writes. 

Ironically, Wani writes this at a time when Kashmiris are being denied any freedom to protest against the sudden abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status, last year, and its bifurcation into two union territories.  

Thank you for your feedback on our newsletter.

David Stein, a regional planner living in Oakland, writes that he does not feel any less despondent than he did when he first responded to our newsletter in September, last year, and yet he takes hope from his grandchildren and young activists like climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg. 

“The continued advancement of the Trump/Modi mode of politics bodes poorly for the rest of us, though there is, here and there, a small beacon of light in the form of such marvels as Greta Thunberg.  But for the most part, the press and the public lack the depth and wisdom to see the broader patterns, or to care much about the consequences of their short-sighted views and actions,” he writes. 

You can subscribe to our newsletter here. 

OKAYAMA, Japan (Reuters) ― About 10,000 Japanese men clad only in loincloths braved freezing temperatures at the weekend to pack into a temple and scramble in the dark for lucky wooden talismans tossed into the crowd, in a ritual that dates back five centuries.

The highlight of the raucous day-long ‘Hadaka Matsuri’ festival came at 10 p.m. on Saturday, when the lights went out and a priest threw bundles of twigs and two lucky sticks, each about 8 inches long, among the participants.

That set off a 30-minute tussle for the sticks, coveted as symbols of good fortune and prosperity, although most men escaped with just a few cuts and bruises, in contrast to past occasions, when some have been crushed to death.

“Once a year, at the coldest time in February, we wrap ourselves in just a loincloth to be a man,” said 55-year-old Yasuhiko Tokuyama, the president of a regional electronics firm.

“That’s the significance of this event and why I continue to participate.”

Plenty of sake and beer is sold outside the temple to warm the revelers, but a purifying plunge into pools of cold water before the start of the festival was a shock to the system for most.

The annual celebration at the Saidaiji Kannonin Temple in the southern city of Okayama has its roots in a competition to grab paper talismans that dates back more than 500 years.

But as its popularity grew, the paper talismans began to rip, as did the clothes of the rising number of participants, so that eventually wooden sticks were adopted and garments discarded.

The Jammu and Kashmir police have slapped the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on those in Kashmir using proxy servers to use social media in the erstwhile state. 

The J&K police, in a press release, said, “Taking serious note of misuse of social media, the Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone Srinagar has registered a case FIR against various social media users who defied the government orders and misused the social media platforms.” 

It has been over six months since mobile and broadband internet services were shut down in light of the scrapping of Article 370. 

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Under the UAPA, a person can be kept in custody by the police without producing any evidence against them. 

The Indian Express reported that the FIR came after many social media users uploaded a video of an ailing Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani. 

“There have been continuous reports of misuse of social media sites by the miscreants to propagate the secessionist ideology and to promote unlawful activities. Social media has remained a favourite tool which largely provides anonymity to the user and also gives wide reach,” the police said in the statement. 

The police said that the FIR was filed while taking into cognizance posts “by the miscreants by use of different VPNs, which are propagating rumors with regard to the current security scenario of the Kashmir valley”. 

While Kashmir has been reeling under the shutdown which has now gone on for over six months, the Narendra Modi government has maintained everything was “normal” in Kashmir. 

The internet shutdown in the Kashmir is the longest seen in any democracy. 

The police have registered the FIR under Sections 13 of UAPA, 188, 505 of IPC and 66-A (b) of IT Act. 

However, section 66A of the IT Act, 2000 had been struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015. Huffpost India had earlier reported that people continue to be arrested after being booked under this particular section of the IT Act. While senior policemen claimed that such the arrests are a consequence of a lack of training, the continued detentions illustrate how citizens are being deprived of their freedom without any legal mandate. 

Sachin Tendulkar being carried on the shoulders of his teammates after India’s World Cup win at home in 2011 was voted the Laureus best sporting moment in the last 20 years.

He was handed the award by former Australian skipper Steve Waugh on Monday.

Tendulkar tweeted that he was dedicating the award to “India, all my teammates, fans and well wishers in India and across the world who have always supported Indian cricket.”

In his speech after winning the award, Tendulkar said, “It’s incredible. The feeling of winning the World Cup was beyond what words can express. How many times you get an event happening where there are no mixed opinions. Very rarely the entire country celebrates.”

He added that “this is a reminder of how powerful a sport is and what magic it does to our lives. Even now when I watch that, it has stayed with me.”

Looking back, he said his journey started in 1983 when he was just 10 years old. “India won the World Cup in 1983 and at the age of 10, I didn’t understand the significance of winning that trophy. I was celebrating because everyone else was celebrating. But somewhere I knew that something special had happened to our country and I wanted to experience that one day.”

Watch his speech here:

Indian skipper Virat Kohli congratulated Tendulkar saying, it’s “a great achievement and a proud moment for our nation.”

KL Rahul said he agreed with Tendulkar that sports “has the power to unite us”.

Congratulating Tendulkar, Kuldeep Yadav said that “as a sportsman, you always gave us moments to cherish”.  

India’s head coach Ravi Shastri noted that “perseverance pays” and congratulated Tendulkar on winning the award. 

Mayank Agarwal said the memory of Tendulkar holding the World Cup trophy is imprinted in his mind forever. 

Suresh Raina said that moment from World Cup 2011 still gives him goosebumps. 

(With PTI inputs)

You’d be hard-pressed not to stumble on a social media #ad for vitamin packs. Trendy supplement brands like Ritual or Care/Of promise their products will help alleviate a series of vitamin deficiencies, which companies warn can cause health issues ― including problems with your mental health.

We know we need proper nutrients in order to function properly. But just how much of an impact do they really have on our minds?

“Optimal mental health requires adequate availability and absorption of vitamins, minerals and amino and fatty acids as essential building blocks for our brain cells and neurotransmitters,” said Dr. Jennifer Kraker, a New York-based psychiatrist who specializes in nutrition and mental health. “When our nutritional biochemistry is imbalanced, our mental health is affected.”

For most people, a healthy diet will take care of that. For others, a doctor may need to prescribe a vitamin supplement if the body doesn’t metabolize nutrients properly. (And they don’t have to come in an aesthetically pleasing glass bottle or Instagram-worthy capsule. Drug store brands will do just fine.)

“Because we’re all unique, one person may tolerate lower levels of a certain nutrient (such as vitamin D) very well, and another might not,” Kraker said. “Rinse and repeat for most all micronutrients.”

Nutritional deficiencies can tinker with your mental health on a sliding scale ― everything from mild to disruptive symptoms, depending on the person. Research has found certain deficiencies can contribute to anxiety and depression, as well as exacerbate symptoms in people with specific mental health disorders, such as obsessive compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder. A deficiency can also just slightly impact your emotional well-being.

“More commonly, nutrition-related issues are experienced as symptoms like reduced ability to manage stress, increased anxiety or edginess, lower mood, and poorer concentration or focus,” said Nicole Beurkens, licensed psychologist and board-certified nutrition specialist at Horizons Developmental Resource Center in Caledonia, Michigan.

Of course, mental health is complex and nutrients may be a minimal part of the puzzle (or sometimes they don’t influence it at all). That said, there are some cases where they play a role. There’s plenty that scientists are still working to discover and debunk about the food-mood connection and the impact that specific deficiencies can have on our mind, but here are some of the key nutritional players they’ve managed to suss out so far.

Vitamin D

This fat-soluble vitamin influences the expression of over 1,000 genes that regulate mood, sleep, as well as the protection and synthesis of neurons (the cells in our brain and nervous system that run the show).

There are vitamin D receptors throughout the body and brain, some of which are located in regions that influence mood, alertness, motivation, memory and pleasure.

“Vitamin D also regulates genes that make the feel-good brain chemicals serotonin and oxytocin,” Kraker said.

Symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency can include depression, anxiety, irritability and fatigue.

Vitamin B12

Besides helping with the formation of those ever-important neurons mentioned above, vitamin B12 plays a role in regulating mood-boosting brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, as well as stress hormones like norepinephrine.

“It also functions on a molecular level to aid in the detoxification of homocysteine, a neurotoxin for the brain that’s associated with depression,” Kraker said.

Symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency can include fatigue, brain fog, numbness and tingling, shortness of breath and more.

Vitamin B6

“Vitamin B6 concentrations are roughly 100 times higher in the brain than the body as a whole, implying importance in mental health function,” Kraker said. It’s a co-factor in making the brain’s feel-good chemicals, including serotonin, dopamine, and GABA. 

And, like B12, vitamin B6 helps the body keep homocysteine levels in check, which helps with mood issues, Kraker said. People with kidney disease or malabsorption problems are the ones who are most likely to be deficient in B6.

Magnesium

In mental health, magnesium helps to regulate the stress response and is considered to be one of nature’s mood stabilizers, Kraker said.

It’s pretty uncommon to be deficient in magnesium, but it does happen. Symptoms that might indicate you’re low can include fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite and mood changes.

Zinc

Zinc is a trace mineral with many important roles in brain function, Kraker said. It also helps vitamin B6 do the best job possible of making feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine.

Most people naturally get enough zinc through their diets. A deficiency can occur in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, vegetarians and people with gastrointestinal disease. Symptoms can include loss of appetite or taste, loss of temper, depression and learning difficulties.

Iron

Besides regulating oxygen delivery throughout the body and brain, iron helps to create and balance mood-regulating chemicals like serotonin and dopamine.

“Those most at risk for an iron deficiency are fertile women, the elderly, and vegans who aren’t particularly mindful about how to eat to prevent an iron deficiency,” Kraker said.

Symptoms of an iron deficiency can include fatigue, difficulty concentrating and dizziness.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3s contain components called DHA and EPA, both of which play an important role in brain function: “They ward off inflammation, maintain brain cell health, and improve communication between brain cells,” Kraker said. They can also help with mood.

Symptoms of an omega-3 deficiency can include mood issues, often accompanied by dry skin, fatigue, allergies and chronic thirst. 

How To Figure Out If You Have A Deficiency — And What To Do About It

Before we go any further, one important note we want to reiterate: This all isn’t to say overhauling your diet or taking vitamin supplements on your own will completely cure any mood-related symptoms. Other interventions like talk therapy and medication are the best-known ways to improve mental health issues.

You should look at nutrition as “an important adjunctive treatment to maintain health and prevent relapse, or use lower doses of pharmaceutical interventions,” Kraker said.

There are several physical signs that can clue you into whether there’s a potential deficiency brewing, Beurkens said. These can include frequent headaches, GI symptoms (think: constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating), weak nails, dry skin or eczema, hair loss and many others.

“High stress levels also often accompany ... symptoms and can negatively impact nutrient levels,” Beurkens added.

Similarly, adjusting to a new set of life stressors can impact how you take care of yourself and deplete nutrient stores in the process ― say, a recent move has you eating differently, a new job has upended your go-to lunch habits, or a newly diagnosed autoimmune condition has you adjusting to a whole new way of functioning.

Getting a comprehensive workup of your nutritional status can be helpful in getting to the root cause of what’s going on. 

“Physical and mental health are interconnected, so nutrition should always be a part of the discussion when mental health symptoms are raised as a concern,” Beurkens said. “Unfortunately, this rarely happens.”

Start by opening up to your physician or psychiatrist about your suspicions: Share with them the symptoms you’re experiencing, a highlight reel of what your eating habits are like, and anything else you feel might be relevant, such as relatives who have the same deficiency.

Ask your doctor to either order relevant bloodwork that’s consistent with your symptoms or refer you to someone who specializes in both mental health and nutrition. (The Institute for Functional Medicine, Integrative Medicine for Mental Health, and the Walsh Research Institute all list doctors trained in this manner.)

“You know your body and your life best, so if something feels off, it probably is,” Kraker said. 

With the right treatment plan ― which can include input from your doctor along with a psychologist or psychiatrist ― you’ll hopefully find a solution that works best for you.

Meghan Markle is setting style records. 

Last year, the Duchess of Sussex guest-edited British Vogue’s iconic September issue ― becoming the first guest editor in the magazine’s 103-year history. The issue’s theme was “Forces For Change” and featured 15 women on the cover, including Gemma Chan, Laverne Cox, Jane Fonda, Salma Hayek Pinault, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and more. 

British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful revealed last week that Meghan’s issue set two major records for the publication: It became the fastest selling issue in the history of the magazine and also the “biggest-selling issue of the past decade.”

“I’m thrilled to report that newsstand sales of @BritishVogue are up in the second half of 2019, but the real highlight for me is the performance of our September 2019 issue,” Enninful wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday.

″#ForcesForChange, guest edited by The Duchess of Sussex @SussexRoyal, was our fastest-selling issue in the history of #BritishVogue ( sold out in 10 days) and the biggest-selling issue of the past decade,” he added.

In honor of the issue’s success, Enninful posted an exclusive behind-the-scenes video of Meghan at his home, talking about the poignant issue and the women featured in it. The video was also shared on the SussexRoyal Instagram account. 

In the video, the two talk about how their collaboration came to be and why it was important that anyone who read the magazine issue “should be able to see themself in it,” the duchess said. For that very reason, the cover included a blank space ―  meant to represent a mirror ― next to the 15 women featured on the front. 

During the 2½-minute clip, Meghan breaks out celebratory party hats for her and Enninful, whom she calls “E,” before they call some of the women featured on the cover. Many of them were surprised to hear the duchess on the phone and thanked her for her work.

“Meghan, I’m so proud of you for using your amazing platform and your strong voice, and I’m so honored to be a part of it with all those other amazing women,” Jane Fonda can be heard saying over the phone. “Thank you so much for including me.”

When the news of Meghan’s role as guest editor broke, the duchess said in a statement on her SussexRoyal Instagram page that it was “rewarding, educational and inspiring” to work on the issue.

Kerala student Alan Shuhaib, who was arrested under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, has been allowed by the Kannur University to write his second-semester law exams, reports said.

The Kerala High Court had asked the university to reply on how to complete the procedure after the court said Shuhaib had the right to take his exams, Mathrubhumi reported.

Alan Shuhaib’s petition in court said the university had banned him from writing his third-semester exams. He then asked the court for permission to write the second-semester exam due on Tuesday.

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Shuhaib was arrested along with Thaha Fasal in November last year for alleged links to Maoists. 

The two were arrested days after four suspected Maoists were killed in an encounter by the Kerala police in Palakkad.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan and the state’s LDF-led government has received considerable backlash for its handling of the case, including from the CPI(M) and the CPI. 

The two students, who were CPM members, were thrown out of the party earlier this month,  Malayala Manorama reported.

Party state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters that Alan Suhaib and Taha Fazal used to “work with the CPI(M) and the Maoists simultaneously.”

Jameela, Thaha Fasal’s mother, told reporters that though the news of their expulsion hurt her, she was not ready to disown the party.

“Yes. It hurts when such news comes out. None of the local party leaders have informed us about this. I still believe in the party. Not going to disown the party,” Jameela told PTI.

The NIA took over the case in December and re-registered an FIR under Section 20 of the UAPA. 

Both the students have been kept at the Viyyur jail in Thrissur.

Alan Shuhaib was brought to the exam centre in Kannur by the police on Tuesday under tight security. The exams will be underway for the next five days and he will be allowed to write each one, Manorama’s report said.

NEW DELHI — A Delhi court on Tuesday sent Sharjeel Imam, who has been named as an “instigator” by the Delhi police in its charge sheet on violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act at New Friends Colony last year, to judicial custody till March 3.

Imam was arrested on sedition charges last month.

The Delhi police has filed a charge sheet before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur, naming Imam as an instigator of the violence.

It said it has attached CCTV footage, call detail records and statements of over 100 witnesses as evidence in the charge sheet.

The court had on Monday sent Imam to one-day custody of Delhi Police in the case.

Protestors had torched four public buses and two police vehicles as they clashed with police in New Friends Colony near Jamia Millia Islamia during the demonstration against the CAA on December 15, leaving nearly 60 people including students, cops and fire fighters injured.

Actor Jack Black drank a pint of Guinness during a recent trip to Ireland and ended up inspiring an amusing “Photoshop Battle” on Reddit.

“Thanks Dublin...you da best!” the “Jumanji” star captioned this snap that he shared on Instagram last week:

Redditors didn’t disappoint as they reimagined the picture by inserting Black into other movies, television shows and existing memes:

Constance Wu went undercover at a strip club to prepare for her role in the 2019 movie “Hustlers.”

And the star of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Fresh Off The Boat” earned $600 in the process.

Wu told all during Friday’s broadcast of “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”

“I did work at a strip club to get ready for ‘Hustlers.’ I went undercover. I gave lap dances to strangers,” Wu told host Kelly Clarkson.

Clarkson initially doubted the claim.

“I’m not lying!” responded Wu, who played Destiny in the film (also starring Jennifer Lopez) about strippers who scam their wealthy clients.

“I made 600 bucks my friend,” she added, recalling changing her hair and putting “fake tattoos on my neck” so she wasn’t recognized.

The experience wasn’t “fun,” noted Wu, who also installed a stripper pole in her living room ahead of filming. But she said, “the stripping helped me to know that feeling, because you can’t duplicate it, the first time you walk into a club and say, ‘Hey, I’d like to have a job here,’ and then you go work that night.”

Check out the interview above.

AHMEDABAD — U.S. President Donald Trump will inaugurate the world’s largest cricket stadium when he arrives in Ahmedabad, the home base of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday at the start of a two-day visit aimed at smoothing ties strained by trade disputes.

Making his first official trip to India, Trump is also expected to visit the abode of Gandhi in Ahmedabad.

The leaders of China, Japan and Israel have all visited Ahmedabad since Modi became prime minister.

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If his Indian hosts can help it, Trump probably won’t see a slum as they’ve ordered for a 400-metre wall to be built along his route to block the view of where poor people live.

Authorities in Ahmedabad expect to spend around $11-12 million on preparations for the visit by the American president that is likely to last around three hours, two government officials with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters.

The sum is equivalent to about 1.5% of the annual budget for the home ministry in Gujarat.

Security-related costs, with more than 12,000 police officers expected to be deployed, will account for almost half the expense, said the officials, who declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak publicly about the visit.

Ahmedabad municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra, the city’s top civic official, told Reuters that authorities had already spent around $4.2 million on widening roads and improving infrastructure around the new cricket stadium.

With capacity for 110,000 spectators, the Motera Stadium will dislodge the Melbourne Cricket Ground as the world’s largest cricket stadium.

“Eighteen roads of about 20 kilometers in length from Ahmedabad Airport to Motera Stadium have been widened or re-laid,” Nehra said, adding that the improvements had been planned before Trump’s visit was confirmed.

A further $840,000 will go on “beautification” of the city, said Nehra, including erecting the wall to spare Trump’s view.

Ashok Brahmbhatt, secretary of Gujarat Cricket Association, which owns the Motera Stadium set to be opened by Trump, said it would also spend tens of millions of rupees during the event.

Going to the gym is a regular part of many people’s routines, and as with any public activity, it comes with many opportunities for rude behavior. 

“Because a gym is a shared space, one where adrenaline is in ample supply, members must be particularly mindful of how their behavior can adversely affect the experiences of others,” said Thomas P. Farley, an etiquette expert also known as “Mister Manners.” “Whether their commitment entails a once-a-week treadmill run or a daily heavy-lifting regimen, all members should remember they are part of a community and therefore need to follow common-sense guidelines to ensure everyone hits their goals.”

Of course, people are often not aware of the consequences of their actions in shared spaces ― gym or otherwise. To help make working out an enjoyable experience for everyone, HuffPost asked Farley and other etiquette experts to identify the faux pas they often see people committing at the gym. Read on for 11 examples.

Not Wiping Down Equipment 

After you sweat all over a piece of equipment, it’s important to wipe it down before moving onto the next machine. 

“Nobody wants to sit in your sweat,” said April Masini, an etiquette expert and fitness advocate. “So grab a towel or wipe to clean it.”

If you notice someone else failing to do this, there’s a polite way to confront them, said Jodi R.R. Smith, president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting.

“You can say, ’Oh excuse me, I don’t think you realized it, but there are paper towels over there so you can wipe down the machine,” Smith said. “Most people are well-intentioned and will do that. But don’t engage further if they disagree. Just go tell some staff members.”

Failing To Return Weights

If you use the free weights at the gym, be sure to put them away when you’re finished. Leaving them on the floor is not only rude but can pose a safety hazard, as people may trip over them. 

“This is a kindergarten skill,” Smith said. “Once you’re done playing with your toys, put them away.”

Masini said it’s important to re-rack weight plates because you don’t know who will be using the equipment after you.

“These big guys are working out with multiple 45-pound plates on each side of a leg press, and then someone like me has to put them back ― it’s like having a workout before even getting to my workout,” she said. 

Be mindful when you’re using or returning your weights, as well. Farley noted that “dropping heavy weights rather than placing them gently” on the ground is “among the biggest etiquette lapses at the gym.”

Hogging Machines

In the age of iPhones, people often sit on equipment texting without realizing that people are waiting to use it. Other times, they use a particular machine for a long time and prevent others from completing their workouts. 

“If I’ve been waiting for a long time, I may say something like, ‘I hate to trouble you because it looks like you’re training for something, but I need two minutes on this machine. Do you mind getting off, so I can work through my circuit?’” Smith suggested. “Often people say, ‘Oh, I had no idea you were waiting!’ or, ‘Yes, I was just finished!’”

Playing Your Music Loudly

It’s common to listen to music while working out, but be sure to keep it in your earbuds. 

“Some people have their music playing so loudly that others nearby can hear it ― which is annoying to those people and also really bad for your ears,” said Smith. “People shouldn’t be able to stand by you and know what music you’re listening to. And be respectful about singing along. Even if you’re a Broadway star, don’t assume people in a confined space want to hear you singing.”

Laughing At Other People Working Out

“It’s disheartening when people are mean-spirited and stare or laugh at people who are somewhat out of shape,” Masini noted. “If you’re someone who hasn’t spent much time at the gym, you probably feel intimidated, so it takes a lot of courage to get there.”

Rather than encouraging inexperienced gymgoers, many people make them feel embarrassed, insecure and less inclined to return. 

“That’s why a lot of people quit,” Masini added. “They don’t feel confident, especially after feeling people staring and laughing at them.”

Talking On The Phone

Farley advised against “talking on one’s cell phone while others are nearby.”

Smith echoed this advice, noting that it can be OK to have a chat with the person on the machine next to you, but phone calls in the gym push the boundaries of etiquette. 

“It is infinitely more annoying to listen to half a conversation than it is to listen to a whole conversation, so don’t subject people to listening to you talk on the phone,” she said. She added that you can make an exception with something quick like an appointment confirmation.

Leaving A Mess In The Locker Room

The locker room is another shared space that gymgoers should respect.

“Among the missteps gym members might make here include leaving towels on the floor and benches rather than dropping them in a laundry bin,” Farley said.

“Don’t take forever in the shower and then leave your shampoo bottle or wrapping from the soap or hair in the drain,” Smith said. “If you’re shaving at the sink, rinse and wipe down the sink at the end. Nobody wants to see the evidence of your grooming regimen.”

Masini highlighted another unhygienic locker room behavior. “Don’t sit on a bench or sofa or chair completely nude,” she said. “Now the next person’s got to go and sit there.”

Showing Up Smelly

It’s natural to sweat and produce an odor while exercising, but you shouldn’t show up to the gym in dirty workout clothes you haven’t washed since your last visit.  

“There’s a difference between fresh sweat and old sweat,” Smith said. “People should wash their workout clothes in-between”

Mentioning another way people fail to be considerate in the gym-odor category, Masini said, “You’d be surprised how many people don’t shower and don’t wear antiperspirant.”. 

Treating It Like Social Hour

Although it can be OK to chat with the person exercising next to you, you should be mindful of your conversation’s volume level and whether you might be distracting others.

“Don’t act like it’s social hour,” Masini said. “Sure, some gyms are more socially inclined, but others, like the one where I go, are very serious. People there don’t want to be interrupted for chat time. And it’s a bad habit to go up and start talking to someone when they’re in the middle of a set.”

Going Overboard With Selfies

If you want to take a mirror selfie at the gym, don’t make a big production of it or expose others. 

“Don’t take pictures in the locker room. It’s disrespectful of others’ privacy,” Smith said, noting that people walk around in various states of undress. “Even if you aren’t trying to include other people in the photo, someone could walk by. People should be able to walk through the locker room with the expectation that they won’t be photographed.”

As for the gym floor, it’s best to take up minimal space and be quick with your selfie-taking. 

“You want to be careful. Minimize the number of other people you capture in the background,” Smith said. “And don’t use the guise of taking a selfie to get a picture of someone else working out to body-shame them. If someone else is doing something rude, don’t selfie-shame them, either. Speak with them directly and politely, and get the staff involved if that doesn’t work.” 

Staring At People

Overall, gymgoers should be respectful of each others’ personal space, whether that’s space in the locker room, at a fitness class or on the gym floor. And it’s not just physical space.

“No creepy staring,” said Smith. “Human beings are notoriously accurate at being able to tell when someone is staring at them, even from behind. And if somebody is more private about their body, don’t stare at them as you walk by in the locker room. Give them the space they need to change.”

Panchkula, Haryana — At little after sunrise on a cold winter morning, 52-year-old sanitation worker Bhanmati appeared as a green dot on a giant screen at the Command and Control Centre of the Municipal Corporation of Panchkula.

While Bhanmati shivered outdoors as she swept roads, bent low to scoop the garbage into her pushcart and moved from street to street, the climate-controlled control centre kept track of her every step by monitoring a smartwatch-sized “Human Efficiency Tracker” strapped to her wrist.

The tracker, or smartwatch as the municipal corporation calls it, had a microphone and a camera so a supervisor could hear and watch her as she worked, and a GPS tracker to ensure she stayed within her assigned area. A sim-card embedded in the tracker meant her supervisor could call her at any moment. If Bhanmati’s tracker switched off during duty hours, or if she strayed from her GPS-monitored geo-fence, the system would alert her supervisor who could punish her by docking her monthly salary. 

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A surveillance revolution is sweeping India’s government departments, aided abetted by private and state-owned companies who have spotted a lucrative opportunity to push largely untested, deeply invasive systems by pitching “digital innovations” for programmes favoured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Municipalities that have “ICT enabled attendance” — a version of the Panchkula experiment— for their sanitation workers, for instance, earn 10 extra points under the national Swachh Survekshan rankings, an annual index of the so-called cleanest cities under the much ballyhooed Swachh Bharat initiative of the Government of India. 

As a consequence, Panchkula’s Municipal Corporation has spent over 35 lakhs in only 9 months in 2019 on this worker surveillance system, but has failed to provide basic safety equipment like masks, gloves and boots to its workers. Meanwhile, sanitation work across the country remains distressingly dangerous, with workers frequently succumbing to fatal accidents.

Panchkula isn’t alone; versions of this system, a Human Efficiency Tracking System in the jargon of the trade, has been implemented in at least seven other municipal corporations — Mysore, Lucknow, Indore, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, and Chandigarh — most of which are controlled by the BJP.

These intrusive surveillance systems are being implemented with little oversight, no worker consent, and no public conversation on how this data is being stored, tracked or analysed. Many of these human tracking experiments are being conducted on the most marginalised members of India’s workforce. 

Many of the sanitation workers tracked by Panchkula’s Municipal Corporation are contract workers from the Dalit caste. This raises troubling questions of dominant-caste supervisors literally tagging Dalit workers, tracking their every move, and penalising them by slashing their salaries for any perceived shortcoming. 

“In ancient India, dominant caste people would tag us by tying chains to our legs,” a Dalit sanitation worker told HuffPost India. “Now we are asked to wear smartwatches to track our movements.”

The tracking, workers interviewed by HuffPost India said, continues even after work ends as they must take their trackers home at the end of each shift and charge them overnight. Some women workers have stopped going to the bathroom during work shifts as they fear the camera on their trackers might be used to record them in the toilet. Others fear their supervisors might use the devices to snoop on conversations in workers homes.

“It amounts to slavery. Workers have privacy rights even during duty hours,” said Usha Ramanathan, a legal theorist who has worked extensively on data, privacy and surveillance. “The government has created an obnoxious level of hierarchy where a person sitting on top believes that he has a privilege to sit in his office and can see everyone working under him anytime in the day.”

Human Efficiency Tracking System

The Municipal Corporation of Panchkula’s creepy “Human Efficiency Tracking System” has been implemented by Indian Telephone Industries Ltd (ITIL), a state-owned company, using technology provided by the Indian subsidiary of Imtac Software Solutions, a private company headquartered in Oman, according to documents obtained by HuffPost India under the Right to Information Act. Imtac sells this particular suite of software and hardware as a product called Empyreal.

The contract, signed in February 2019, commits the Panchkula municipal corporation to renting 958 trackers for Rs 467 per worker per month for a minimum of 45 months — or a total sum of approximately Rs 2 crore — exclusive of taxes. The replacement cost for each tracker is Rs 8000.

Each tracker shows the time, has a camera for “manual face capture”, a microphone, and a GPS tracker that monitors the location of every worker and how much distance they have covered each day and transmits the data in real-time to a control centre. The tracker, Huffpost India learnt on a visit to the control centre, is fitted with a SIM card, and generates a unique id for each worker that is linked to their personal information including their name, employee id, salary account and Aadhaar number.  

It is unclear how this data is secured and who has access to it. The contract documents simply require Indian Telephones Industries Limited to provide a cloud-based storage system, but place no caveats on data security nor any penalties in case of a data breach.

The system in Panchkula, a representative for the company said, was based on a similar system implemented by the Municipal Corporation of Nagpur in 2018 to track over 7000 workers.

“That was our first human tagging programme in India. The surveillance device works on a mobile sim that can track the presence and movement of every sanitation worker inside the work fence assigned to him,” said Hargun Singh, a Panchkula based representative for ITI Limited. 

In two short years, Singh said, the project has expanded to at least seven other municipalities. In each case, Singh said, only contract workers have been tagged. The decision to tag only contract workers is no coincidence, workers told HuffPost India. 

“We have no opportunity to voice our complaints,” a contract worker said, seeking anonymity as he feared he might lose his job.

Singh claimed the system had improved efficiency and had stopped workers from sub-contracting their work. 

“The permanent employees used to run their own businesses,  hired local youths at a meagre amount to do their jobs. There was no check on them in the fieldwork,” Singh said. “With the help of HETS, MCP detected personal impersonation and deducted salaries of over 15 workers who were found negligent in their duties.” HETS is an acronym for Human Efficiency Tracking System.

Singh, however, refused to answer questions on data storage, privacy or security. 

Unhappy Workers

Workers told HuffPost India they were deeply unhappy with the new system.

As mentioned earlier, each active worker is represented as a green dot on a giant display. But should a worker stray out of their assigned area, or pause to catch their breath, the dot turns red — prompting a call from their supervisors.

The mindless monitoring of their movement, workers told HuffPost India, often forced them to keep walking even if they had finished their work. “Work that used to be finished in an hour, nor takes twice the time, and is more stressful and exhausting,” a worker said.

The presence of a camera and a microphone that can be controlled remotely has added to their concerns.

Women workers told HuffPost India that they were hesitant to go to the bathroom whilst wearing a tracker fitted with a camera. Yet, taking off their trackers while on duty was not an option.

“I don’t know how the watch works. What is the camera fitted on the screen works all the time?” a woman worker said. “I can’t even take it off as we are not allowed to do so.”

As a consequence, she only uses the bathroom once her shift ends at 6 in the evening. 

Bhanmati, the sanitation worker, said her tracker often switches itself off when the poorly designed power button presses against the bangles on her wrist. \

“I have to remind her to switch it on many times in a day,” said Suresh, her supervisor. “But I can’t tell her to take off her bangles as they are a symbol of her marital status.” 

Workers must also take the trackers home each night and charge them overnight to ensure they function through the day. But several workers told HuffPost India they were scared to take the devices home, as they feared the gadgets would record personal conversations with their family members.

“We do not have any option. A dead watch will not record our footsteps and we will be marked absent from work,” said one worker. “So, I lock it in my two-wheelers when I get home and bring indoors to charge only after midnight once everyone is asleep.” 

The SIM card fitted in the device has created its own problems. While ITIL, the company implementing the project, is supposed to ensure that the SIM cards have call restrictions, workers say their trackers ring almost incessantly with the usual assortment of spam, robocalls and call-centres offering loans and insurance.

“Every day, we keep on receiving calls from banks and insurance companies who offer us loans,” said Satish, a sanitation worker. “We are already under huge debt and cannot afford to get further loans.”

Satish also questioned how these telephone agents had found their numbers.

Data Security Concerns

Panchkula Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Jogpal told HuffPost India he had no idea how the data gathered by this system was being stored, and who the data was being shared with.

Neither Jogpal nor the officials sitting at the Command and Control Centre claimed to know if the system only tracked workers during duty hours or if it continues to monitor them once they logged out for the day. 

Commissioner KK Yadav of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, a city that has just implemented the system, claimed he needed no consent to track his employees.

“How can I check 4000 people manually every day? The technology will promote efficacy and productivity in their work,” said Yadav. “There is nothing illegal as I am only tracking my employee during working hours.”

Ramanathan, the privacy expert, disagreed. “There is no reason why workers should be tagged for live surveillance,” she said, describing the department diktat for workers to wear trackers without their consent as unconstitutional and unethical.

Nonetheless, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation will soon start crediting salaries only after checking worker performance statistics logged in their personal trackers. 

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has said he is “saving the big deal” with India for later and he “does not know” if it will be done before the presidential election in November, clearly indicating that a major bilateral trade deal during his visit to Delhi next week might not be on the cards.

“We can have a trade deal with India. But I’m really saving the big deal for later,” he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews Tuesday afternoon (local time).

Trump is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25.

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The US and India could sign a “trade package” during the visit, according to media reports.

Asked whether he expects a trade deal with India before the visit, Trump said, “We’re doing a very big trade deal with India. We’ll have it. I don’t know if it’ll be done before the election, but we’ll have a very big deal with India.“

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the point-person for trade negotiations with India, is likely to not accompany Trump to India, sources said. However, officials have not ruled it out altogether.

In an apparent dissatisfaction over US-India trade ties, Trump said, “We’re not treated very well by India.” But he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is looking forward to his visit to India.

“I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot,” Trump said.

“He told me we’ll have seven million people between the airport and the event. And the stadium, I understand, is sort of semi under construction, but it’s going to be the largest stadium in the world. So it’s going to be very exciting... I hope you all enjoy it,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) in a report said the latest quarterly data depict the continuation of overall positive bilateral trade trends. The third quarter data reflects some downslide in growth rates.

“It may be due to several reasons, including the unexpected economic slowdown in India’s economic growth, impact of US-China trade war, GSP withdrawal from the US side and retaliatory tariffs on specific US goods from the Indian side,” USISPF said.

According to the report, the data available for the first three quarters of 2019 (January-September) pulled the overall growth rate in cumulative bilateral trade down to 4.5 percent from 8.4 percent registered for the first two quarters.

Goods and services trade performance in third quarter was dismal at -2.3 percent, in contrast with the impressive 9.6 percent growth witnessed for the first two quarters of the year; while trade in services was up two percent goods trade dropped five percent, the report said.

The cumulative US-India trade in goods and services ($110.9 billion) for the first three quarters of 2019 increased 4.5 percent with US exports and imports growing at four percent and five percent respectively.

The US exported $45.3 billion worth of goods and services to India in the first three quarters 2019, up 4 percent from the corresponding period in the previous year; and the US imported $65.6 billion worth of goods and services from India, up five percent from the previous year’s $62.5 billion level for the same period, it said.

The USISPF has projected that the total bilateral trade can touch $238 billion by 2025 if the current 7.5 percent average annual rate of growth sustains; however, higher growth rates can result in bilateral trade in the range of $283 billion and $327 billion.

TOKYO — As an extraordinary two-week quarantine of a cruise ship ends Wednesday in Japan, many scientists say it was a failed experiment: The ship seemed to serve as an incubator for the new virus from China instead of an isolation facility meant to prevent the worsening of an outbreak.

Since the virus was identified late last year in central China, it has sickened tens of thousands of people and killed more than 1,800.

As of Tuesday, 542 cases of the virus, known as COVID-19, have been identified among the 3,711 quarantined passengers and crew, making the ship the site of the most infections outside of China. The Diamond Princess cruise ship is also the only place where health officials have seen the disease spread efficiently beyond China.

The question now is: Why?

The Japanese government has repeatedly defended the effectiveness of the quarantine. But some experts suggest it may have been less than rigorous.

In a possible sign of lax quarantine protocols, three Japanese health officials who helped in the quarantine checks on the ship were also infected.

“There are sometimes environments in which disease can spread in a more efficient way,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program. Ryan said cruise ships in particular were known to occasionally accelerate spread.

“It’s an unfortunate event occurring on the ship and we trust that the authorities in Japan and the governments who are taking back people will be able to follow up those individuals in the appropriate way,” he said.

Japan’s health minister, Katsunobu Kato, told reporters Tuesday that all passengers who remained on the cruise ship have had samples taken and that those who tested negative would start getting off the vessel beginning Wednesday, when their required 14-day quarantine is scheduled to end.

“They all want to go home as early as possible, and we hope to assist them so that everyone can get home smoothly,” Kato said.

The process is expected to take until Friday because of the large number of people involved.

“Obviously the quarantine hasn’t worked, and this ship has now become a source of infection,” said Dr. Nathalie MacDermott, an outbreak expert at King’s College London.

She said the exact mechanism of the virus’ spread was unknown. Although scientists believe the disease is spread mostly by droplets — when people cough or sneeze — it’s possible there are other ways of transmission.

“We need to understand how the quarantine measures on board were implemented, what the air filtration on board is like, how the cabins are connected and how waste products are disposed of,” MacDermott said.

“There could also be another mode of transmission we’re not familiar with,” she said, noting the possibility of environmental spread and the importance of “deep-cleaning” the entire ship to prevent people from touching contaminated surfaces.

During the 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS, a related virus, more than 300 people were infected through a defective sewage system in a Hong Kong housing estate. MacDermott said it was possible there was a similar issue aboard the Diamond Princess.

“There’s no reason this (quarantine) should not have worked if it had been done properly,” she said.

Cruise ships have often been struck by outbreaks of diseases like norovirus, which can spread quickly in the close quarters of a boat and among elderly passengers with weaker immune systems. But MacDermott said it would be highly unusual for an entire boat to be quarantined.

“They might quarantine the people affected in their rooms until they’re 48 hours clear of symptoms, but certainly not all passengers,” she said.

Some passengers on the Diamond Princess described the ship as a “floating prison” but were allowed to walk on the decks every day while wearing a mask and were told to keep their distance from others.

“I suspect people were not as isolated from other people as we would have thought,” said Dr. Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in England. He said the continued spread of the virus could be due to compliance problems.

“It’s difficult to enforce a quarantine in a ship environment and I’m absolutely sure there were some passengers who think they’re not going to let anyone tell them what they can and cannot do,” he said. He suggested that if the passengers had been quarantined on land, having more space might have allowed for better infection control procedures. But he acknowledged that attempting to quarantine more than 3,700 people was logistically challenging.

Hunter said it was “a huge disappointment” that the quarantine hadn’t curbed the spread of the virus and that it was unfortunate some passengers returning to their home countries would now face a second period of isolation.

“Given how the virus has continued to spread, we have to presume everyone leaving the ship is potentially infected, and therefore they have to go through another two-week quarantine period,” he said. “Not to do so would be reckless.”

Japanese health officials say a 14-day quarantine on the ship is adequate, noting that all but one of more than 500 Japanese returnees from the epicenter of the virus in China who initially tested negative were found to be virus-free at the end of their 14-day quarantine.

Those officials also defended precautions taken on the ship. About 1,000 crew members were told to wear surgical masks, wash their hands, use disinfectant sprays and stop operations at restaurants, bars and other entertainment areas after Feb. 5, when the first group of 10 infections was reported and the start of the 14-day quarantine was announced.

Passengers were instructed to stay in their cabins and not walk around or contact other passengers. Those in windowless cabins could go out on the deck for about an hour each day.

The quarantine was largely for passengers because crew members kept sharing double rooms and continued to serve guests by delivering food, letters, towels and amenities, and entering passenger cabins for cleaning. Crew members also ate in groups in a crew mess hall.

“Unlike passengers, crew members share their rooms, they share food, and that’s why some of them are infected even after the quarantine started,” said Shigeru Omi, a former regional director for the World Health Organization.

Omi said quarantine is one of the measures considered effective early on. But the virus has already made its way into local communities across Japan, where untraceable cases have been popping up, he said.

At this stage, “the spreading of the virus will be inevitable, and that’s why quarantine is out of the question,” Omi said.

He said the focus now should shift from border control to preventing the spread in local communities.

Other scientists said that passengers should have been removed from the ship from the beginning.

“Boats are notorious places for being incubators for viruses,” said Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at the New York University School of Medicine. “It’s only morally justified to keep people on the boat if there are no other options.”

Caplan said that a second quarantine was warranted, but that officials had done a poor job of explaining what would happen if their original plan failed.

“It’s never good to lose your civil liberties and your rights of movement, but two more weeks of quarantine is not an undue burden if you’re trying to protect spread of a disease,” he said.

___

Cheng reported from London. Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

Ben Affleck says his divorce from Jennifer Garner is the biggest regret of his life.

The 47-year-old actor and filmmaker opened up about his battle with alcohol addiction, the divorce and his career in a candid interview with The New York Times published Tuesday.

Affleck, an Oscar-winning screenwriter and director of Oscars Best Picture winner “Argo,” explained that his alcoholism and his crumbling marriage fueled one another in a vicious cycle in 2015 and 2016. He and Garner announced they were separating in 2015 and divorced in 2018.

The pair had first started dating in 2004 and married the following year. They share three children: Violet, 14; Seraphina, 11; and Samuel, 7.

Affleck told the Times that he was still struggling with guilt about the split, but had worked past the feelings of shame.

“The biggest regret of my life is this divorce,” he said. “Shame is really toxic. There is no positive byproduct of shame. It’s just stewing in a toxic, hideous feeling of low self-worth and self-loathing.”

Moving forward, Affleck said, is about picking himself up and learning from his mistakes. He spent a third stint in rehab around the time of the divorce and after the 40-day stay at a treatment facility, shared a statement on Instagram about his “lifelong and difficult struggle” with addiction, thanking his family, colleagues and fans for their support.

He suffered another relapse in October last year but said at the time he would not let the slip “derail” him.

“Relapse is embarrassing, obviously,” he told the Times of the incident when he was filmed drunk at a party by TMZ. “I wish it didn’t happen. I really wish it wasn’t on the internet for my kids to see. Jen and I did our best to address it and be honest.”

In his upcoming sports drama “The Way Back,” set for release next month, Affleck takes on a role with poignant parallels to his own experience. His character, a former basketball star, tries to make his comeback as a high school coach after his battle with alcoholism cost him his marriage. 

According to the Times (spoiler warning), in a moving scene toward the end of the film, Affleck apologizes to his ex-wife (played by Janina Gavankar) while in rehab. Director Gavin O’Connor said Affleck had a “total breakdown” on set after completing the scene.

At least 127 residents of Hyderabad have been served notices by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), asking them to prove their citizenship. At least three of them are Muslim. 

In a press statement released on Twitter on Tuesday, the UIDAI said that these notices were sent out after their regional office in Hyderabad received reports that these 127 people had obtained Aadhaar under “false pretences.”

“It may be noted that the RO Hyderabad received reports from the state police that 127 people have obtained Aadhaar on false pretences as in their preliminary enquiry they were found illegal immigrants who were not qualified to obtain an Aadhaar number,” the UIDAI said. 

Those who have been served notices have been asked to appear before the UIDAI deputy director in Hyderabad for a personal hearing on February 20.

This comes even as protest continue across the country against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act that offers citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have sought refuge in India. The contentious law conspicuously leaves out Muslims. 

Scroll.in accessed a notice sent to Talab Katta resident Mohd Sattar Khan that clearly states that he needs to prove his citizenship and he needs to bring documents to support it. The notice has been signed by UIDAI deputy director Amita Bindroo. 

Muzafarullah Khan Shafaat, a lawyer representing Khan told Scroll.in, “So with what authority is UIDAI asking people to prove their citizenship? As per the Aadhaar rules, if UIDAI finds that someone has fraudulently acquired Aadhar, they are supposed to deactivate the number and ask for proof of original documents, not for proof of citizenship.”

The UIDAI claimed in their statement that media reports about this were not presented in the correct perspective. “UIDAI clarifies that these reports are not presented in correct perspective and Aadhaar has got nothing to do with the citizenship issue as such.”

While the notice clearly mentions those sent notices need to bring documents to “prove all your claims of citizenship”, the UIDAI claimed that the notices were sent for “them to appear in person and to substantiate their claims for getting an Aadhaar number”.

The UIDAI further clarified, “These notices have nothing to do with citizenship and cancellation of Aadhaar number is in no way related to the nationality of any resident.” 

The New Indian Express quoted MP from Hyderabad and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi as saying, “Section 9 of Aadhaar Act says that it isn’t proof of citizenship. On what legal authority, does UIDAI, UIDAI Hyderabad have to demand proof of citizenship? The notices don’t even mention the grounds on which they were issued. This is illegal and unacceptable.”

Warning! “Game of Thrones” spoilers below.

Along with a significant portion of the fan base, Jon Snow is apparently upset after Season 8 as well.

Overall, the ending of “Game of Thrones” seemed like it was as good as it could get for the former King in the North. Sure, he had to kill his lover/aunt by stabbing her in the heart, but, hey, whose family doesn’t have drama, amirite? 

After killing Daenerys Targaryen, Jon seems to avoid any real punishment as he’s shipped off to the Wall. And since no one actually appears to know why there’s still a Night’s Watch after the White Walkers are defeated, he heads off into the woods to likely be King Beyond the Wall, or at the very least be a “Dexter”-like lumberjack.

But according to Tormund actor Kristofer Hivju, it seems there’s no happy ending for the perennial sad boy.

“Jon is in a huge depression,” Hivju told Entertainment Weekly, “so he needs Tormund to cheer him up, by the fire, warming each other.”

“Tormund is pretty heartbroken himself, so maybe they can bond over that,” he added.

The cast had continually said that the ending of the series would be “bittersweet,” but it’s decidedly more bitter. Though Season 8 appeared to conclude with the Starks taking over Westeros and Jon Snow getting off scot-free, if you take a closer look, the finale was much darker than it seemed.

Grey Worm is probably going to die, Arya’s probably going to die and Bran likely knew that all the people in King’s Landing were about to get toasted and may have just started a Big Brother-like dictatorship. At least the showrunners confirmed on the “Game of Thrones” Season 8 DVD commentary that Drogon didn’t eat Daenerys.

If there’s any consolation for Jon, it’s that he’s got Tormund and Ghost to rely on, because after the “Game of Thrones” finale, all men must cry.