Three militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Badgam district, police officials said on Monday.

According to the police, as the searches were being conducted, the militants hiding in the village opened fire on the forces, triggering off a gunfight.

Security forces first shot dead two militants and then a third, who was hiding in a nearby house in Kaneera village. “The bodies are lying at the site,” officials said.

‘The Army’s Rashtriya Rifles, the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of state police launched a cordon and search operation in Kaneria village after inputs about the presence of militants, police Said.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman and former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan denied the rumours of his third marriage and said he had only proposed marriage to Bushra Maneka.

Imran Khan’s in a statement said that it was “regrettable” and “sad” to see a private matter being subject to “erroneous” reporting.

“It is indeed sad to see this extremely private and sensitive matter be made the subject of erroneous story leading to all manner of public conjecture,” the statement said and further read that ‘regrettable’ that story was reported as it involves “a very private lady who is not in public life.”

“This has put an acceptable burden especially on the children of Maneka and Khan who have had to learn of such a private and intimate issue from media,” the statement said.

“If and when the proposal is accepted by Maneka for the marriage, Khan will announce it publicly in the proper manner. Till then we request the media to give the two families, especially the children, their privacy,” the statement added.

“PTI refutes all the speculated news originated and propagated by Jang Group related to @ImranKhanPTI private matter. PTI will take legal action against Geo and Mir Shakeel ur Rehman,” Khan’s party will take legal action against Geo news for its report tweeted the official.

Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain slipped from second to third place in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, released on Monday, due to her withdrawal from the Brisbane International because of muscle cramps.

Romanian Simona Halep managed to stay atop the rankings after winning the Shenzhen Open title in China on Saturday, reports Efe.

Carolina Wozniacki of Denmark moved up one place to be ranked second, just 90 points ahead of Muguruza.

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina climbed to fourth place after her win in Brisbane, replacing Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, who fell to sixth.

The current WTA rankings and point scores are as follows:

1. Simona Halep (Romania) 6,425 points

2. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 6,095

3. Garbiñe Muguruza (Spain) 6,005

4. Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) 5,785

5. Venus Williams (US) 5,567

6. Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) 5,445

7. Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) 4,901

8. Caroline Garcia (France) 4,385

9. Johanna Konta (Britain) 3,600

10. Coco Vandeweghe (US) 3,258.

Singer Lana Del Rey has beensued by rock band Radiohead for reportedly ripping off “Creep”.

Rumours began circulating on January 7 that Radiohead was considering suing Lana for copyright infringement over her song “Get Free”, which they claimed is similar to the band’s 1992 hit “Creep”, reportsthesun.co.uk.

A source told thesun.co.uk that both Radiohead and Rey “are trying to thrash it out behind the scenes to prevent it from going to court.”

The source added that Radiohead’s team hoped that the English rock band would either “receive compensation or be credited on the list of songwriters to receive royalties.”

While Radiohead has yet to comment on the rumours, Rey took to Twitter on the same day to confirm that the rumours were true. She claimed that the band was in the process of suing her and that the lawsuit would likely end up in court.

“It’s true about the lawsuit,” she wrote.

She added: “Although I know my song wasn’t inspired by ‘Creep’, Radiohead feel it was and want 100 percent of the publishing – I offered up to 40 over the last few months but they will only accept 100. Their lawyers have been relentless, so we deal with it in court.”

This wasn’t the first time Radiohead going through some legal issues with “Creep”. Following the release of the song in September 1992, the band was sued over the single’s similarities to the Hollies’ “The Air That I Breathe”, which was released back in 1974.

Australia has moved into third place while England has dropped to fifth in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings after the Kangaroos coasted to a 4-0 Ashes triumph in Sydney on Monday.

Australia had entered the series in the fifth position on 97 points but vaulted to third on 104 points after regaining the urn at the Syndey Cricket Ground while the English side has slipped from 105 to 99 points, in the list dominated by India with 124 points.

Australia is now trailing number-one ranked India by 20 points, while they are seven points behind second-ranked South Africa (111 points). The top two ranked sides are presently involved in their three-Test series, which concludes in Johannesburg on January 29, following which the Test team rankings table will be updated.

Australia will now travel to South Africa where they play a four-Test series from March 1 to April 3, while England’s next series is against New Zealand from March 22 to April 3 when they will play a two-Test series.

In their home season, England will host Pakistan for a two-Test series and India for five Tests.

After winning two trophies in the main categories at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, “The Handmaids Tale” producers and cast members said they are heartened to see the emergence of the Times Up and #MeToo movements.

The movements advocate for empowerment and justice for women facing abuse and harassment.

The headlines of the past few months, amid the deluge of women coming forward with stories of workplace misconduct, have been a kind of parallel to elements of the series based on the famed 1987 novel by Margaret Atwood, about a post-war America in which women have lost civil rights and are treated as property by men, reports variety.com.

“A lot of time we wish we were not as relevant as we are,” said executive producer Warren Littlefield.

“When we went into development and production the world was … not the Trump world. Midway through the first season the reality changed and every day we’re reminded of what we carry forward. We have a responsibility to live up to Margaret Atwood’s vision and to be part of the resistance.

“Today we join the resistance for Time’s Up. That feels for all of us a really important and good place to be,” Littlefield added.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” was named as the Best Television Series, Drama and its star Elisabeth Moss won the Golden Globe for Best performance by Actress in a TV series – Drama at the award gala held here on Sunday. “The Handmaid’s Tale” will premiere in India on AXN on February 5.

Moss said the success of “The Handmaid’s Tale” is also meaningful for the industry in demonstrating that female-focused projects can be commercially viable, reports variety.com.

She said: “We want to tell stories that reflect our lives back at us. Many, many women watch television and go to the movies. We want to see ourselves.

“Hollywood is learning that this makes money. It’s doing well. That is something that people are listening to.”

As a strike that has virtually crippled Tamil Nadu’s state-run bus service continued for the fifth day, the Madras High Court on Monday again asked the employees to resume work and told the government not to sack any striker.

Tens of thousands of commuters continued to be affected across the sprawling state as employees of road transport corporations intensified their strike for better wages, triggering fears that a prolonged protest may affect the upcoming Pongal festival.

The strikers have ignored appeals from both the government and the High Court to end their work stoppage. The government has started hiring temporary drivers in a desperate bid to put the buses back on the roads.

ALSO READ: Transport strike hits life in Tamil Nadu

On Monday, the High Court reiterated its order asking the striking workers to join duties at the earliest but also told the government not to dismiss them from service without its consent.

Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose said they could not vacate the ban on the strike as school students, daily wagers and other poor people were badly hit.

But the judges also asked the retirement why benefits and arrears due to employees were not paid and asked the government to address their genuine grievances.

The workers vowed to continue the strike.

ALSO READ: Transport strike in TN enters 3rd day, govt says many staff returning to work

Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation President A. Soundarrajan urged the government to invite the unions for talks to settle the issue before Pongal festivities next week.

He said the strike was peaceful and would continue till the government accepted their demands.

The government claimed to have operated nearly half of the buses across the state. But the situation remained grim.

DMK leader M.K. Stalin said the situation was turning worse and asked the government to invite the strike leaders for talks.

“The government appears unconcerned about people’s suffering,” he said.

Rebel AIADMK faction spokesperson C.R. Saraswathi too lashed out at the government, saying it should not have allowed the situation to deteriorate like this.

“The CM must begin talks with unions and clear the issue,” she said. “Amma would never have allowed the situation to develop like this.”

West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress on Monday took a swipe at ex-party stalwart-turned-BJP leader Mukul Roy, citing the string of incidents over the BJP’s candidate in the upcoming Noapara assembly bypolls that left its state unit red-faced and advising him to focus on party organisation.

Refuting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s allegation that their nominated candidate in Noapara was arm-twisted by Trinamool to express her loyalty towards the ruling party, its Secretary General Partha Chatterjee said Roy should focus on strengthening his party’s organisation instead of resorting to “gimmicks”.

“Someone’s loyalty towards (Trinamool supremo) Mamata Banerjee cannot be induced by invoking fear. The man from Kachrapara would not be able to do anything by resorting to these sort of gimmicks,” Chatterjee said in a veiled reference to Roy who defected from Trinamool in November last year.

“He should rather focus on strengthening (his party’s) organisation. First, he should look to firm his seat within the party he has entered and then think about Bengal,” he added.

The BJP central leadership had on Sunday announced the name of Manju Basu, two-time Trinamool MLA from Noapara as the party’s candidate for the by-election but hours later, Basu said she will not fight on a BJP ticket as she continues to remain a loyal soldier of Mamata Banerjee.

Basu, known to be a close associate of Roy during his days in Trinamool, held regular talks with the BJP in the past few days after being denied a ticket from the seat by Trinamool this year but her sudden change in stance left the state BJP leadership confused.

Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Monday said Basu was put under “tremendous pressure” by the Trinamool leaders including Mamata Banerjee, not to leave the party.

“Manju Basu agreed to fight the election in BJP ticket when she was approached and also met our party secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya. But she was put under tremendous pressure by the Trinamool leader and party. She got several calls from Banerjee. She had to step back under pressure,” he alleged.

In a bid at damage control, the BJP on Monday announced the name of Sandip Banerjee, party’s Barrackpore district chief, to contest the Noapara seat.

The assembly seat fell vacant following the death of sitting Congress member Madhusudan Ghose a few months ago.

Trinamool has already nominated Sunil Singh while the Left Front nominee would be CPI-M’s Gargi Chatterjee. Congress has fielded Gautam Basu as their candidate.

The bypoll would be held on January 29.

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy will visit the US this week to discuss the Korean peninsula’s nuclear issue, an official said on Monday.

Lee Do-hoon, special representative for the Korean peninsula peace and security affairs, will visit Washington from Wednesday to Friday, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency.

During the visit, Lee will meet his US counterpart Joseph Yun, a chief negotiator at the six-party talks for the denuclearised Korean peninsula.

Lee will also meet key figures of the US government in charge of North Korea affairs, the Foreign Ministry said.

The South Korean envoy will make an indepth discussion with the US officials on ways to peacefully resolve the peninsula’s nuclear issue and improve inter-Korean relations.

Lee’s visit to Washington would come a day after the high-level talks between South and North Korea on January 9 in the truce village of Panmunjom.

Even if actress Priyanka Chopra was not at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, it didn’t stop her from lending support to the Time’s Up campaign by sporting an all-black ensemble.

The actress took to Instagram to shared a photograph of herself in an all-black ensemble — much like what was flaunted by Hollywood’s Who’s Who at the awards gala on Sunday in Los Angeles.

She captioned it: “Today we wear black. Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you’re doing… join us. Time’s Up. Why we wear black.”

Today we wear black. Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you’re doing…join us 🖤 #TimesUp #WhyWeWearBlack

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Jan 7, 2018 at 8:57am PST

The Golden Globe Awards event saw most celebrities in black ensembles, signifying a silent protest against the spate of sexual harassment scandals that have rocked Hollywood. Putting out the message louder were black-and-white ‘Time’s Up’ pins.

The color black was chosen as a way for the movie and TV industry to make a statement against a pervasive culture of misconduct.

The Time’s Up campaign is a coalition of 300 Hollywood women-actors, directors, producers, writers, agents and entertainment executives who have also established a $13 million legal defense fund to provide support for women and men who have experienced sexual harassment or abuse in the workplace.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik on Monday gave his assent to a bill that seeks to withdraw 20,000 “politically-motivated” cases filed across the state over protest demonstrations, including one against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and some others.

The case against Adityanath and a dozen others was filed for holding a meeting in alleged violation of prohibitory orders over 22 years ago.

Eight bills, passed during the winter session of the UP legislature, got the governor’s nod including the Uttar Pradesh Criminal Law (Composition of Offences and Abatement of Trials) (Amendment) Bill, 2017.

Apart from Adityanath, who also holds the home portfolio, Union Minister Shiv Pratap Shukla, BJP MLA Sheetal Pandey and ten others were respondents in the case filed at Gorakhpur’s Pipiganj police station on May 27, 1995.

Gorakhpur is Adityanath’s home turf, and he represented the Lok Sabha constituency for five terms before being appointed the chief minister earlier this year.

Adityanath, who was then the local MP, allegedly made a hate speech following the killing of a Hindu youth in a clash between two groups during a Moharram procession. He was arrested and spent 10 days in jail before being enlarged on bail.

In May this year, shortly after Adityanath took over the reins of the state, his government had told the Allahabad High Court that he cannot be prosecuted in another case for allegedly making a hate speech that was said to have triggered communal riots in Gorakhpur in 2007.

The governor also gave approval to the UP Prayagraj Mela Authority, Allahabad, Bill 2017, aimed at having improved arrangements for holding Maha Kumbh, Kumbh, Magh and other ‘melas’ at the Sangam in Allahabad, a Raj Bhawan communique said here on Monday.

Singer Madonna’s former personal trainer Tracy Anderson has claimed the star was too unpredictable for her.

The “Music” hitmaker parted ways with Tracy Anderson in 2009 and the fitness guru has revealed she never knew what to expect when she turned up for her sessions with the star who is now 59, reports.

Tracy said: “Some people are just not what you think. We’re very different. I’m a real softie…

“If I text Gwyneth (Paltrow) , or Jennifer Lopez wants to book a session, or I text Lena (Dunham’, ‘Lena, hey, how are you?’ then I get a text right back. ‘Tracy, my sweetheart, how are youuuuu?’ It’s, like, consistent.

“I need consistent people in my life. Consistency is like my favourite word.

“So walking in and not knowing what I might get is tough for me.”

Tracy previously revealed the final straw in her working relationship with the Like a Virgin singer was when she missed a musical performance from her son because of a training session with Madonna.

She said: “Madonna can demand whatever she wants to demand, she’s Madonna, that’s just what it is. It wasn’t working for me because my demands are, like, I have a kid. When I missed my son’s saxophone concert because of a training session with her, I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ That was it for me.”

Despite their acrimonious relationship now, Madonna – who has 21-year-old daughter Lourdes, and 17-year-old son Rocco from previous relationships and adopted kids David, 12, Mercy, 11, and five-year-old twins Stelle and Estere – previously praised Tracy as her “saviour”.

Speaking in 2009, she said: “Tracy Anderson is my saviour. After two Caesareans, three hernia operations and one riding accident that left me with 10 broken bones, she was the only one who could pull my body back together into one piece.”

A senior leader of Trinamool Congress on Monday organised a massive “Brahmin and Purohit Sammelan” (a Brahmin convention) in Bolpur town of Birbhum district, a move seen by the opposition BJP to arrest consolidation of Hindu votes in favour of the party.

The day-long sammelan is organised by party’s Birbhum district president, Anubrata Mondal in his home district.

Mondal said the convention aims to highlight “misintepretation” of the hindu religion by the BJP and discuss what the Hindu religion stands for.

“The Hindu religion is being misinterpreted by the BJP. Today we will discuss the real meaning of Hindu religion,” Mondol told reporters.

A source in the ruling party said around 12,000-14,000 Hindu priests are attending the meet that started around 12:30 pm today.

The priests will be felicitated with a copy of the Gita, shawl and pictures of Sarada Maa and Ramakrishna, he said.

The saffron party has accused the Trinamool Congress leadership of practicing “soft hindutva” to stop the Hindu voters from uniting under the BJP.

They have been quoting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent visit to Sagar island to take stock of arrangements for the January 14 Makarsankranti festival in support.

“The so-called secular leaders are practicing Hindutva because they are well aware that Hindus are uniting under the BJP. They have realised that they will no longer be able to win elections by appeasing Muslims,” BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.