A 19-year-old girl was allegedly set on fire in Uttar Pradesh's Kaptanganj district on Saturday following a brawl between her father and some men over a  land dispute.

Police said the teenager was set afire when she attempted to rescue her father from the fight.

The teenager was finally rescued by her mother and admitted to a district hospital with 45 per cent burn injuries. Doctors said she is out of danger.

A First Information Report or FIR was filed against eight people under Section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code on a complaint by the girl's father.

Police officials said that out of the eight, three accused - Umesh Chandra Shukla, Suresh and Virendra - have been arrested. Deputy Superintendent of Police Kalwari Singh assured that the remaining men would be arrested within 24 hours.

The incident comes just days after two girls, 15 and 14 year old cousins, were gang-raped and found hanging from a tree in the Badaun district. In the last 10 days, three cases of rape have been reported from Uttar Pradesh.

The '57 Chevy was still a year away when the launch of the interstate highway system kicked U.S. car culture into high gear. But six decades later, changing habits and attitudes suggest America's romance with the road may be fading.

After rising almost continuously since World War II, driving by U.S. households has declined nearly 10 percent since 2004, with a start before the Great Recession suggesting economics is not the only cause. "There's something more fundamental going on," says Michael Sivak of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

The average American household now owns fewer than two cars, returning to the levels of the early 1990s.

More teens and 20-somethings are waiting to get a license. Less than 70 percent of 19-year-olds now have one, down from 87 percent two decades ago.

"I wonder if they've decided that there's another, better way to be free and to be mobile," says Cotten Seiler, author of "Republic of Drivers: A Cultural History of Automobility in America."

Those changes — whether its car trips replaced by shopping online or traffic jams that have turned drives into a chore — pose complicated questions and choices.

TRYING ALTERNATIVES: Each day, about 3,500 people bike the Midtown Greenway, a freight rail bed converted to cycle highway in Minneapolis, where two-wheel commuting has doubled since 2000. It's still a small percentage, but more residents are testing the idea of leaving cars behind.

A second light rail line opens in June. Street corners sprout racks of blue-and-green shared bikes. About 45 percent of those who work downtown commute by means other than a car, mostly by express bus. That syncs with figures showing Americans took a record 10.7 billion trips on mass transit last year, up 37 percent since 1995.

It's been nearly 28 years since the Marvel Comics-inspired "Howard the Duck" hit theaters, and since then the much-maligned film has developed a bit of a cult following that even includes big Hollywood stars. But parts of the production still haunt Lea Thompson, who played Howard's companion Beverly Switzler in the film.

During a conversation about Thompson's new film "Ping Pong Summer," HuffPost Live's Ricky Camilleri asked about the first thing that comes to her mind when she thinks back on "Howard the Duck." Thompson's answer? "Pain."

See Thompson share her memories from the production in the clip above, and click here to watch the full HuffPost Live conversation with the cast of "Ping Pong Summer."

Sizzling beauty Mallika Sherawat has once again sparked a controversy by sporting a tricolour in the first poster of her upcoming film `Dirty Politics`. The first look of the movie was released recently in Mumbai.

In the poster Mallika Sherawat, who plays the lead role in the film, is seen sitting on an old ambassador car draped in a long tricolour cloth. Not only this, but the poster also shows the Rajasthan Assembly building in the background.

According to reports, the director of the film KC Bokadia is surrounded by political pressure from all quarters to change the poster to a more acceptable form, especially since the using the tricolor has offended many.

The film which is slated to release later this year is reportedly based on the infamous Bhanwri Devi case. Big names like- Om Puri, Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff and Rampal Yadav will also be seen in the movie.

This is not the first time Sherawat has been seen sporting a flag in a raunchy pose. The poster of Mallika Sherawat`s 2011 film `Politics of Love` which saw the actress lying on a bed with Brian White, draped in an American flag had also sparked a controversy.

The background of the poster features the State Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan. Mallika Sherawat is shown flaunting her toned legs with a CD in her hand.
 
However, as expected the poster has given rise to a huge outcry from people all over the country especially from the state of Rajasthan.

Directed by K.C. Bokadia, ‘Dirty Politics’ also stars Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, Om Puri and Atul Kulkarni.

Last year, the actress promoted ‘Dirty Politics’ at the Cannes Film Festival.

Talking about the film, in her heavy American accent, the actress had said, “It’s about a woman who gets involved with a politician, who was a nurse (sic),” she said as she kept shuffling between ‘hurr’ American and Indian accent, “And how she gets murrderred in the end… here was this woman who actually had the ‘currrage’ to stand up to this politician who kind of raped her, molested her, abused her and record his misgivings and everything (sic), and release it to the press.”

At a time when new players in the Indian smartphone market are opting for and finding success in the e-commerce route, Obi Mobile, which will launch its first devices in the country this June, has decided to take a multi-channel approach.

Ajay Sharma, CEO of the company which came into limelight for being promoted by former Apple CEO John Sculley’s Inflexionpoint, told indianexpress.com that they would go across channels to sell the new range of phones.

“We are talking about pop and mom stores, mobile stores, regional stores and online. We plan to have a larger width of channel and touch all the distribution points available,” he said. The strategy is in complete contrast to new players like Motorola and Alcatel which are selling only through e-tailers like Flipkart. “We can’t afford to pick just one channel. Some specific models could be launched through individual channels later, but not now.”

“We were first planning to bring in just three devices, but as our launch has got delayed we should be coming in with about 5-6 devices in the R5,000 to R15,000 price bracket. Most of the devices will be priced under R10,000, that is the sweet spot,” he said.

Sharma said they are looking at a 360-degree campaign on TV, online and print to make people aware of the brand. “We also plan to give the customer an experience at the store level to convert the enquiries into sales,” he said, adding that Obi Mobile will, however, have a pan India strategy covering 50 cities initially. The company already has a headstart with distribution as Iris Computers, also owned by Inflexionpoint, has warehouses and offices in 23 Indian cities.

“We will not compete on price. What we will offer the customer is a unique looking device with differentiation and we are working with many design houses on the same,” he said, adding that user experience will also different.

The company plans to offer stock Android at the entry level, some user interface differentiation at the middle range and a completely different UI at the high end. “We are working with companies to offer content on our phones to add value to the user... We really need to help customers access content,” added Sharma, who has worked with companies like HTC and Micromax before.

The Superfight: it’s a term used so often these days that it’s become a novelty.

In theory, it identifies a bout that is designed to bring two fantastic fighters together in a clash that speaks to the best aspects of their relative skills and styles.

In boxing, it has often been used to identify bouts that could never happen: Muhammad Ali versus Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Robinson versus Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roberto Duran versus Manny Pacquiao.

But in the sport of MMA, it is used to describe the dreamlike quality of fights that, while perhaps improbable, are not impossible: Jose Aldo versus Anthony Pettis, for instance.

Or the previously ballyhooed Georges St. Pierre versus Anderson Silva.                     

It’s the proverbial “White whale” of the sport, and no matter how many times such bouts are rumored, only to fail to be actualized, the term endures because there are always new fighters rising to the top; new fights that could answer the question: “Who would win if…”

As fighters fight to answer that question, fans and pundits ponder and posit in the absence of these rarest of occurrences. We question and debate who would win in a bout between two fighters that are so good that they remain nearly untouchable by anyone save perhaps another of their untouchable ilk.

No matter what criteria you favor, you know the fights in question, as we all do. While Anderson Silva may no longer have the title, much of the Superfight debate has been built upon his name and that honestly has not changed.

Even though he lost two in a row to Chris Weidman, he is still thought to be the best because great fighters are not the sum total of their defeats. Muhammad Ali lost to Leon Spinks, when the latter had just eight professional fights, yet even after their bout, no one doubted Ali would be remembered as the greater fighter.

So, we ponder the obvious inclusions, as we always have; this time, we include them all, in one place and at one time. In fact, we will also include one boxing bout—Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao—simply because it has been debated at length in many MMA discussions, which is of no surprise; it is the gold standard for incredible fights that should have been made yet never were.

Last week, I followed TJ Dillashaw as he prepared for his UFC 173 bout against Renan Barao. He was one of the biggest underdogs ever to participate in a championship bout, and few gave him a chance of making it out of the first round, much less pulling off the historic upset.

In my time spent with Dillashaw, I saw a man completely unfazed by the task ahead of him, as though he had no idea what the fans and oddsmakers were saying.

He was relaxed, loose and absolutely confident that he’d be taking the title back to Sacramento. He spoke of all the things he’d need to get used to as bantamweight champion, such as spending fight weeks in the nicest hotel suites available instead of standard rooms.

Where did his confidence come from? How was he able to overlook the long odds he faced?

“Duane (Ludwig) always said he had the utmost confidence in me beating Barao. He isn’t going to blow smoke up my butt when he tells me what he believes. The way he went about it made me super confident getting in there,” Dillashaw says. “And then the rest of my team, Urijah, Joseph, Chad, they all tell me how good I am. Urijah really believed that I could beat Barao.



Dillashaw was on to something. He went in the Octagon and beat Barao from pillar to post before finishing him in the fifth round to become the new bantamweight champion.

He knocked Barao down in the first round, then used the same tactics to befuddle the champion and keep him off balance in the second. He knew then that he had a chance to win. After a dominant third, he realized he’d won the first three rounds going away. Barao had nothing to offer him.

“After that, I was like ‘I’ve got this guy’s number. I can put it on him,’ Dillashaw says. “After the third, I knew I had him.”

The historic underdog hadn’t just defied the odds; he’d trampled all over them and then kicked them out the door. He’d dominated one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and turned in one of the single best performances in UFC history.

Two police officers in India have been sacked for refusing to help search for two missing girls who were later found gang-raped and hanged, officials say.

They were also charged with criminal conspiracy, police said, adding that three people had been arrested so far.

The government has pledged to set up a fast-track court to prosecute the crime, which took place earlier this week in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Alleged police inaction sparked outrage in the teenagers' village.

The father of one victim told the BBC he was ridiculed by police when he sought help in finding his missing daughter.

He said that when policemen found out he was from a lower caste, they "refused to look for my girl".

Students in New Delhi protest against police inaction over the killings of the girls (30 May 2014) Students in New Delhi held angry protests after the girls' killings

The incident has received top coverage on India's main TV channels such as NDTV, Times Now and CNN-IBN.

"Uttar Pradesh Rape shockers", reads a ticker on NDTV, which accuses the local police of being "complicit" with the attackers and quotes relatives of the two girls saying they have "no faith" they'll receive justice.

"Lawless in Uttar Pradesh" reads a top headline on CNN-IBN, which has started its own campaign using the hashtag #StopThisShame.

"UP: 3 Rapes in 48Hrs" is the lead on the Times Now channel, which reports the growing number of rape incidents in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

"Outrage" is the word used on the front pages of several leading English-language newspapers, including The Hindu and The Indian Express.

In an editorial, The Times of India lays the blame on the government of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Singh, saying the hangings "exposes the state's slide into medieval lawlessness".

A sharp fall in plan expenditure has helped pull India's fiscal deficit for last financial year below the government's estimate, but the cut in spending on productive activities has left an impact on the economy.

The deficit, or the shortfall in the government's revenue to meet expenses, narrowed to 4.5% of gross domestic product in the year ended on March 31, compared with 4.9% initially estimated in the 2013-14 budget and the revised 4.6% given out with the interim budget for 2014-15 in February.

Plan expenditure, which is associated with productive expenditure, fell to Rs 4.53 lakh crore, according to provisional data released on Friday, from Rs 4.76 lakh crore envisaged in the estimates presented with the interim budget. This implies a reduction of more than Rs 1 lakh crore in plan spending budgeted for 2013-14.

The nation's economic growth remained below 5% for the second straight year, as GDP expanded just 4.7% in 2013-14, better than the previous year's 4.5% growth, but below the most recent government estimate of 4.9%, data showed Friday.

Sluggish manufacturing sector growth dented tax mobilisation with tax receipts coming in lower at Rs 8.16 lakh crore compared with the downwardly revised estimate of Rs 8.36 lakh crore. Non-tax revenue, largely in the form of dividends from public sector units, provided some help - at Rs 1.99 lakh crore, it exceeded the February budget estimate of Rs 1.93 lakh crore.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sought to put a stop to the race among Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled States to include a chapter on his life in school text-books by articulating his reservations about the move on Twitter which he uses regularly to connect with people.

``Am reading that some states want to include Narendra Modi’s life struggles as part of their school curriculum. I firmly believe that the life story of living individuals should not be included as a part of the school curriculum. Young minds should read about the great stalwarts of India who made our nation what it is & emulate them,’’ he tweeted from his personal and Prime Minister’s Office Twitter handles.

The governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat had announced their intent to include a chapter on Mr. Modi in their school textbooks. With the Prime Minister speaking out against such a move, reports from Gujarat suggest that the State Government has already dropped the proposal.

Compared to some of Mr. Modi’s tweets on controversial subjects, this time round his comments did not generate an animated debate on Twitter. Actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna’s wife Kavita Vinod Khanna differed with Mr. Modi. ``Humbly, I disagree with you. Lessons & inspiration are not just from those deceased but living legends too.’’