Flint’s water infrastructure has reached a crisis point, as residents cope with high levels of lead pollution and questions mount over contamination and negligent oversight. Aiming to cut costs in a state of financial emergency almost two years ago, the city began drawing water from the local Flint River rather than continuing to depend on…

The COVID-19 epidemic sweeping the globe has affected millions of students, whose school closures have more often than not caught them, their teachers, and families by surprise. For some, it means missing class altogether, while others are trialing online learning—often facing difficulties with online connections, as well as motivational and psychosocial well-being challenges. These problems…

I was fortunate enough to attend the official start of World Environment Day in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Here's why their vision for a sustainable future is so important.

The host country of the United Nations World Environment day is working to protect its natural resources and adapt to climate change.

It is fitting that Slow Food has a prominent place at the World’s fair, which this year is hosted in Italy and promises to explore the topic of feeding the growing global population.

1) In a popular topic we've visited several times, Forums user moseph is "wondering, big or small, what is

You can see these magnificent photo portraits of Londoners on a wall or on the web.

In honor of World Environment Day, organizers of the World’s fair highlighted the greenest exhibit designs.

The art form of papercuts is taken to another level with these intricate works that draw attention to some of the world's threatened species.

EvanEco: Carnival of the Green 172 by Don Bosch "Got milk? Grab a glass of the white stuff and a chocolate chip cookie, and join me for some green bloggy goodness..."Guardian Ethical Living: Ethical Superstore and Natural Collection merge into giant

This past Thursday, at the business conference Opportunity Green, one panel entitled Next Generation Carbon Mapping: Radical Transparency and Truth in Advertising captured the attention of the standing room only audience at

Artist Jessica Rath uses sculpture and photography to highlight the problem with new hybrid apples and endangered varieties.

Considered to be the highest award a restaurant can receive, the Michelin Guide's 2020 French edition now gives a nod to environmentally minded restaurants.

Pigeons live large in these big artworks that celebrate the remarkable qualities of these overlooked birds.

'Coral Garden' is a handcrafted installation that's inspired by the world's threatened coral reefs, and made with upcycled materials.

Done in collaboration with local companies, residents and other organizations, the project's aim is to bring awareness to how palm oil production is negatively affecting humans and animals alike.

The campaign will promote locally-based alternatives to the global consumer culture, hoping to turn the stories into tools for action in other cities.

It's not a competition but... here are some of the loveliest things at the London Design Festival

Using a non-chemical process based on traditional techniques, these furniture pieces are created with fish skins that would have otherwise gone to waste.

It brings together all of my favorite things – food, friends, travel, and biking, of course.

With the aim of showcasing and selling products designed by women, No Sir also draws attention to gender inequality in the design profession.

Farmers Insurance "We Know From Experience" Ad Campaign Spot

Video One

Video One

EAMF 2016 Highlights

In reopening plants, automakers face worker safety issues and must abide by local mandates, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk highlighted earlier this week. Then there are more complex problems.

Ex-president backs new app for victims as WHO reports 60% rise in domestic abuse calls

The former French president François Hollande has spoken of his concern for women suffering domestic abuse during the lockdown.

In an interview with the Guardian, Hollande called for schoolchildren to be taught that violence at home was unacceptable but that it affected every social group.

Related: Protecting domestic violence victims in lockdown

Second member of banned folk group dies in country where few political protest options remain

İbrahim Gökçek died at an Istanbul hospital after almost a year on hunger strike protesting against the detention of his wife, Sultan. She was still in prison, rather than at his side, when he died in intensive care on Thursday, two days after abandoning his strike.

Gökçek, a bass guitarist, is the second member of the banned left-wing folk music band Grup Yorum to die in just over a month after launching hunger strikes over the Turkish state’s treatment of their band: 28-year-old Helin Bölek, a singer, died on 3 April after 288 days of fasting.

• GoFundMe page for Navajo and Hopi aid lists many Irish names
• Choctaw Nation sent donation in 1847 for potato famine victims

The list of recent donors reads like an Irish phone book. Aisling Ní Chuimín, Shane Ó Leary, Sean Gibbons, Kevin Boyle, Kevin Keane, Clare Quinn, Eamonn McDonald, on and on down a GoFundMe page that by Friday had raised $3.15m of a $5m goal.

The individual amounts are not remarkable – $10, $20, $30, some exceeding $100 – but the story behind the donations stretches back two centuries and encompasses a singular act of generosity that forged a bond between Native Americans and Ireland, a bond now renewed in the coronavirus era.

DLC character debuts for game on May 13

The world needs The Maniac. That's the name of the central character in a play called The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, written by the Nobel Prize-winning Italian Dario Fo in 1970. The plot is highly political. It involves the protagonist infiltrating a brutally corrupt system, and exposing the powers that be as being the emperor with no clothes. And in the process, he has the bad guys scrambling for cover since their misdeeds are out in the open. These villains — specifically, the police force in this case — are forced to resort to 10 lies to hide just one.

The same play has been adapted in an Indian context by Amitabh Srivastava, and is called Operation Three Star. A staging of it will take place in the city this weekend, directed by Arvind Gaur of Asmita Theatre. Gaur tells us about how the story line is timeless, and can fit any part of the world where there is an unjust hierarchical structure at work. But before we examine why that is, let's draw an outline of the plot.

The Maniac being interrogated

The curtains open to reveal an inspector interrogating The Maniac for being a fraudster. But the dim-witted policeman's IQ is no match for the highly intelligent Maniac's. So, the latter constantly outsmarts him. He intercepts a phone call that the cop gets when he is away for a little while. The caller is a superior who wanted to let the inspector know that he is needed back in the police station for a case where an anarchist has been accidentally killed. A judge is about to arrive to find out about the more minute details of the case. And hearing this, The Maniac gives the inspector the slip and decides to go to the station himself, posing as the judge.
Once there, The Maniac inadvertently learns that the death of the so-called anarchist was not in fact an accident, but a murder at the hands of the police forces. The latter are thus now trying to concoct an elaborate web of deceit to wipe their hands clean. This leads The Maniac to assume the role of a crusader, and trick the police into admitting their own guilt. And the curtains fall with an open ending, where The Maniac asks a journalist covering the case to choose between two possible scenarios.

Arvind Gaur

So, how does the same plot reflect our own times, in India? "It's through the metaphor of encounter killings, for one," Gaur tells us. He says, "There was a time when encounter cases were rampant. But then people started talking about the issue. A hue and cry was made whenever there was such a killing. And the start of that conversation eventually led to the numbers reducing, because if you think about it, there are a lot less encounter cases now than before."

Gaur adds that since there is no one superhero called The Maniac who can single-handedly rid society of corruption — there are, for instance, ethical hackers, rights activists and investigative journalists collectively doing the same job — the onus lies on individuals to address any corruption they come across. "Each of us needs to identify an issue and then talk about it to reach a solution, because if we stay mum, the unjust will get away and things will carry on as they are," he explains. The power to make a difference then lies in our own hands, he says, meaning every member of society is The Maniac to some extent. And it's just that the world needs us to recognise ourselves as being one.

ON March 15, 7.30 pm.
AT Veda Factory, bungalow no - 120, opposite Gulshan Colony Co-Op Housing Society, Aram Nagar Part 2, Versova, Andheri West
LOG ON TO bookmyshow.com
COST Rs 200

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Singer Sona Mohapatra, who is known to speak her mind, has come up with a new song, her own badass version of Raees' Zaalima. The singer's soulful voice is a perfect fit for love ballads, case in point Ambarsariya, Naina, Bolo Na and many of her hits. While, it wouldn't be wrong to say that, very few female solo songs are released nowadays in film soundtracks, it came as a pleasant surprise to see this reprise and refreshing version of the the Shah Rukh Khan's film, Raees' popular love song.

Sona has an unique ability to infuse newness in songs and her version of Zaalima is quite different from the original version, sung by Arijit Singh. As per her post, she had created this in-house video with some interesting 'gender-political' messaging about the state of the music industry some time ago and is all set to release it to spread cheer and even some laughs to drive away the lockdown blues, now!

Sona says, "Musicians have been hit the hardest in recent times. There are no residuals or royalties for creators here unlike the west and unless we step out to play concerts on stage we don't make money. It's only sweat labour in India. The lockdown and post COVID era will hit the musicians even harder with no stages to play in and the economy focusing on essentials. In these grim times, most artists in my community have been setting aside their own emotional state and performing online to spread joy and love and I am so proud of all of them! In these times you realise that it's mostly musicians who have the craft and talent to deliver without too many resources or people helping them. My DIY video should be taken with a pinch of salt although any good comedy does come from a truthful place; our film-music has completely sidelined the strong solo female voice in the last decade and it's time for all of us to notice."

"Few know that I had been called to sing the last few lines of the film version but couldn’t fathom why only the last few lines were reserved for the female voice considering it was a romantic duet!" - she wrote on her YouTube channel, while sharing the song. 

A user commented - "I didn't know who's voice was this? Also, I was a huge fan of Sona Ma'am. But now I'm flat. And now after this rendition, I'm completely dead."

Another user commented: Thank goodness she didn't end up singing the actual song.

Tell us your views about the new version of Zaalima!

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Drug overdose epidemic emerged abruptly among the Baby Boomers, shifted youth-ward for Generation X, and then soared to new heights among the Millennials, says a new study.

Income-poverty rates are high among the over-65s in Switzerland. The effective age of labour market exit is high in Switzerland in international comparison...

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

Old-age poverty decreased in Portugal in the final few years of the last decade by more than twice the OECD average. The effective age of labour market exit is high in Portugal in international comparison...

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

Risks That Matter 2018 Country Highlights: Poland

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

Risks That Matter 2018 Country Highlights: Norway

This 4-page online document presents the key findings from OECD Pensions at a Glance 2015 and why it is important for the United States. It also identifies two key pension policy measures which would help improve the performance of pension systems in the United States.

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.

Risks That Matter 2018 Country Highlights: United States

This note presents selected country highlights from the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 with a specific focus on digital trends among all themes covered.