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MIT has banned student Megha Vemuri from its graduation ceremony.

Vemuri was scheduled to be the marshal but was disallowed by the chancellor.

The ban follows her pro-Palestine speech during a campus event.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has banned Indian-American student Megha Vemuri from her graduation commencement ceremony after she delivered a pro-Palestine speech during an event on Thursday (May 29). Ms Vemuri, MIT’s class of 2025 president, was scheduled to be the marshal at the ceremony, but university chancellor, Melissa Nobles, announced she could not attend the event.

Ms Noble also stated that Ms Vemuri and her family were banned from the college campus for most of the day.

“You deliberately and repeatedly misled Commencement organizers,” Ms Nobles wrote in an email to Ms Vemuri, as per the Boston Globe.

“While we acknowledge your right to free expression, your decision to lead a protest from the stage, disrupting an important institute ceremony, was a violation of MIT’s time, place and manner rules for campus expression.”

One of the most versatile cricketers in the game, KL Rahul, couldn’t inspire his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Delhi Capitals, to the competition’s playoffs. DC eventually finished 5th, just one spot outside the knockouts, leaving players and fans debating about the ‘what-if’ moments. However, instead of sulking on the failed pursuit of the top 4, Rahul has reportedly decided to join international duty by making himself available for the India A tour of England. Rahul has reportedly told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he wants to play for India A against England Lions in the second unofficial Test.

The series gets underway with the first match starting on May 30 in Canterbury. While Rahul can’t make the squad in time for that match, he is said to be keen on a place in the team for the second match. The intention has also been informed to the BCCI and the selection committee chief, Ajit Agarkar.

“He will be flying on Monday and will be playing a second unofficial test with the India A side. As he is part of the senior men’s team, which will be playing five Test matches in the series, these matches will give him game time and match practice,” the Indian Express quoted a source as saying.

The second unofficial Test between England Lions and India A begins on June 06. The senior Indian team will then be involved in an intra-squad match in Beckenham on June 13. The first Test of the 5-match series starts in Leeds on June 20.

In a recent interview to Sky Sports, Rahul had also spoken of his love for the longest format of the game.

“I love red ball cricket. I mean you can’t take that away from me or anyone who’s part of that Indian team. Everyone that I’ve spoken to on that Indian team, we’re all on the same page as to Test cricket is number one for us. We love playing Test cricket and that hasn’t changed for me,” Rahul had said.

“I grew up watching Test cricket. I grew up watching you guys play for England. I used to wake up at five in the morning and watch Test cricket in Australia with my father. He loved watching cricket as well,” he added.

Haribo has recalled Happy Cola F!ZZ sweets in the Netherlands.

Traces of cannabis were found in the candy, causing health complaints.

The recall targets packs with production code L341-4002307906.

Germany-based candy maker Haribo has recalled its Happy Cola F!ZZ sweets in the Netherlands after it was found to contain traces of cannabis. Several people, including children, suffered health complaints such as dizziness after consuming the candy from three one-kilogram packs, the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) said.

The recall applies to the items under the production code L341-4002307906, with a best before date of January 2026. Haribo added that a full refund would be provided for the packs returned, according to a report in The Guardian.

“There are bags in circulation with sweets that can lead to health complaints, such as dizziness, when consumed,” NVWA spokesperson Saida Ahyad said.

“The police reported this to the NVWA after several people, both children and adults, became ill after eating the cola bottles. Do not eat the sweets,” she added.

According to the Dutch police, a couple from the Twente region in the east of the country bought a pack of the cola-bottle shaped sweets to the local police station for analysis after their young children became sick after eating them. The forensic analysis revealed that the candy pack did contain cannabis.

“We want to know exactly how it got into the candy and, of course, how the bags ended up in the store,” police spokesperson Chantal Westerhoff said.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Qualifier 1 went Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s way, with the franchise securing a dominant 8-wicket victory against the Punjab Kings. However, Virat Kohli didn’t have a big role to play in his team’s victory, at least with the bat, as he departed after scoring just 12 runs. Despite chasing a paltry score of 102 runs against PBKS, the RCB stalwart played some unwanted shots, as he departed for 12 runs off 12 balls on the bowling of Kyle Jamieson.

While RCB’s victory in the match prevented a big debate around the manner of Virat’s dismissal, it still managed to send a signal to fans over the ‘reason’ behind the batter’s recent retirement from Tests.

Kohli, ahead of the resumption of the IPL, announced his decision to quit Test cricket, a format he loved the most. The decision came after the star batter had an incredibly poor tour of Australia and also struggled to get going for Delhi upon his return to the Ranji Trophy.

Kohli’s inability to craft a fool-proof plan against 5th and 6th stump delivery had caused him plenty of trouble of late in red-ball cricket. Seeing him depart in the same manner, this time in IPL against Jamieson, fans saw it as the ultimate reason behind his decision to quit Test cricket.

Sarfaraz Khan (92 off 119 balls) blended a bit of muscle and a lot of cheekiness but missed out on a three-figure mark after doing all the hard work

Karun Nair was elegance personified while serving a timely reminder to the Gautam Gambhir-led team management with a classy unbeaten 186 as India A cruised to 409 for 3 against a below-par England Lions on the opening day of the first ‘Unofficial’ Test in Canterbury on Friday. While Nair is known to bat either at No. 4 or below in first-class cricket, he looked at ease during his unbeaten ball knock which made the Lions bowlers, including their Test star Rehan Ahmed, look completely pedestrian. India A batters made the best use of loose deliveries but the quality of Lions bowling attack and nature of the track might not be an appropriate reflection of what can be expected in Test matches.

The Bengaluru man, who now plays for Vidarbha, used his extensive experience of playing for English County Northamptonshire during his 24th first-class ton.

His innings had 24 fours and one six but it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time as Gambhir frets over his batting combination for the opening Test against England at Leeds, starting June 20.

Sarfaraz Khan (92 off 119 balls) blended a bit of muscle and a lot of cheekiness but missed out on a three-figure mark after doing all the hard work. He has not been picked for India’s Test series against England.

The duo added 181 runs for the third wicket stand and then Dhruv Jurel (82 batting, 104 balls) made merry during another 177-run stand for the unbroken fourth wicket alliance.

Call it irony, just like Nair had pipped Sarfaraz as the extra batter in the Test squad, he also overshadowed the Mumbai man on a flat deck where the Lions attack didn’t have enough teeth to trouble some of the senior India stars. Conceding 51 boundaries and three sixes in 90 overs doesn’t make for a great reading.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (24 off 55 balls) played out the first hour but didn’t utilize the start while Abhimanyu Easwaran (8), who should consider himself massively lucky to have got another shot at Test team, showed why he isn’t cut out for the big league.

The Canterbury County ground pitch had a greenish tinge but there was hardly any lateral movement on offer. Nair had extra time to play his shots and was severe on all bowlers with a lot of shots square of the wicket.

Rehan, the England Test leg-spinner, was extremely ordinary as he was clobbered for 95 runs in 16 overs. Sarfaraz, in fact, hit him inside out for a boundary to complete his fifty and also hit him straight for a maximum, and against pacers, he used the bounce to play the ramp shot over slips for useful runs.

Nair was severe on anything that was pitched short and looked regal whenever he rocked back to play the pull shot. When off-spinner Dan Mousley bowled, he repeatedly played the reverse sweep with minimal effort.

The duo farmed the strike without much ado and when Sarfaraz lazily chased a wide delivery from Hull down the leg-side, even Lions bowlers didn’t expect a wicket.

Some films age like fine wine; others, like a cocktail left out too long, are sweet, sour and a little hard to swallow.

Almost a decade and a half later, Cocktail (2012) is back in theatres, stirring up nostalgia with its catchy tunes and memorable characters. But as the crowd settles in for a revisit, there’s a lingering aftertaste – something a little sour beneath the glitter. 

What seemed like a fun, modern rom-com back then now stands glaringly problematic under the lens of evolving social values and gender awareness. Let’s unpack why Cocktail remains a cautionary tale wrapped in glossy packaging and why it serves up red flags even to today’s viewers.

The ‘Party Girl’ Stereotype

At the heart of Cocktail is Veronica, played with undeniable charisma by Deepika Padukone. On the surface, Veronica is the quintessential modern woman: independent, unapologetically fun-loving and living life on her own terms. 

Yet, the film quickly reduces her to a trope – the “party girl” who drinks, hooks up and flaunts societal norms. Instead of celebrating her complexity, the narrative punishes her lifestyle, positioning her as emotionally unstable, unworthy of lasting love and ultimately ‘rehabilitated’ only after she conforms to traditional expectations.

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