Internet was a city waiting to be explored. Now it's a prison cell

What we've lost is the serendipity of the Internet. The intellectual equivalent of getting lost in a foreign city and stumbling upon a strange little shop that sells something you never knew you needed

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2 hours ago

• Yahoo

My Lungs Are Physically Sore From Laughing So Hard At These Hilarious Black Twitter Tweets From The Week

While we can't endorse what X has become, we can bring you the worthwhile moments that still exist there, curated and free of the surrounding chaos. Another week, another Black Twitter roundup! Let's get into the chaos: 1. 2. 3. Related: "That Sentence Sat In My Head For Months": Men Are Revealing The Most Hurtful Things A Woman Can Say To Them, And It's Actually Fascinating 4. 5. Related: Here Are 50 Pictures That Make Me Grin Uncontrollably No Matter How Many Times I've Seen Them, In Case You Need Them 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. That's all for this week! Let us know which tweet was your favorite, and check out last week's roundup below if you missed it. My Lungs Are Physically Sore From Laughing So Hard At These 17 Black Twitter Tweets From The Week Also in Internet Finds: Holy Crap, I Can't Stop Laughing At These 28 Painfully Awkward And Embarrassing Conversations Also in Internet Finds: I Need To Call My Doc For A New Inhaler After Cackling So Hard At These 41 Funny Tweets From The Week Also in Internet Finds: People Are Sharing How What Happened In Vegas Did NOT Stay In Vegas, And This Should Be A Lesson To Never Go To A Bachelor/Bachelorette Party There

News18

7 hours ago

• News18

Vidya Balan Visits Tirumala Temple With Family, Joins Devotees In Queue

Last Updated: Vidya Balan visited Tirumala Temple with her family, offered prayers, and received blessings. She patiently stood in queue and joined other devotees. Bollywood actress Vidya Balan paid a visit to Lord Venkateswara at the famous Tirumala Temple, and offered prayers on Saturday. The actress was accompanied by her family members. After offering prayers, Vidya Balan and her family members made offerings to the deity through the hundi, a traditional practice at the temple. They also received vedic blessings from the priests and were presented with prasad and sheshavastaram by the temple officials. For her visit to the temple, the actress opted for a traditional attire. After the prayers, the actress stepped out of the temple, where she was mobbed by fans and devotees. The actress was seen smiling and waving at the crowd as they clicked photos and selfies with her. Earlier in March this year, the actress Vidya Balan, took to her Instagram, and shared the video in question notifying her followers about its lack of authenticity. She urged her followers to not take anything on face value in current times where it is so easy to generate video content using deep fakes. She also penned a long note in the caption asking her followers to be mindful of misleading information, and stressed upon the practice of verifying anything that's available on the Internet. She wrote, 'There are multiple videos currently circulating on social media and WhatsApp, which appear to feature me. However, I want to clarify that the videos are AI-generated and inauthentic. I have no involvement in its creation or dissemination, nor do I endorse its content in any way. Any claims made in the videos should not be attributed to me, as it does not reflect my views or work". 'I urge everyone to verify information before sharing and be cautious of misleading AI-generated content. #FakeAlert #StayAware", she added. First Published: June 21, 2025, 17:26 IST

First Post

8 hours ago

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What Iran withdrawing from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty could mean for India

Whether India engages Iran quietly but assertively will be a decision that needs to be taken, Delhi is also in a position to work behind the scenes with Moscow and Washington to prevent the complete erosion of diplomatic options read more Iranian flags fly as fire and smoke from an Israeli attack on Sharan Oil depot rise, following Israeli strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025. File Image/WANA via Reuters West Asia is at it again. Lighting matchsticks near oil drums. However, this time the fuel isn't being lit by a rocket but by a simple signature and paperwork. A potential withdrawal. Following recent military escalation between Israel and Iran, the Internet is filled with predictions of doom, with social media pages claiming the odds of a nuclear war in 2025 are now one in six, with even the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute claiming that the world is on the cusp of a nuclear arms race and very possibly actual detonation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iran, cornered and humiliated, is now indicating that it might be folding the page on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a decades-old 'insurance policy' for the world when it first woke up to the devastating consequences of nuclear technology, intended to stem the spread of the same. No fireworks or explosions, just soft whispers in the Iranian Parliament that are beginning to sound very intentional. However, this isn't just Tehran turning its back on diplomacy but, in all probability, the beginning of a long and deliberate undoing of restraint – the kind of which kept oil shipping lanes safe and power balances somewhat intact. So what might this mean for us, Indians? India has always been the careful dancer in a crowded room – one tied to Iran by centuries of cultural exchange, a mutually symbiotic oil dependence relationship, while also a friendly partner to the United States, whose rules of engagement quite obviously come with fine print and keen watchful eyes. Now if Iran pulls out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, India will be watching a friend turn into an unpredictable wildcard. For India, the cost will be measured in diplomacy, Indian rupees and the rising heat in an already volatile region and tense atmosphere. Chabahar Port Chabahar Port, once India's favourite geopolitical trump card to skirt Pakistan and reach Central Asia, is now trembling in the long shadow cast by China's Belt and Road and, of course, the collective Western discomfort. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If Iran goes rogue, this trump card might well be rendered useless or, worse, be useful to other powers playing a scarier and louder game. The Oil Equation In the good old days when sanctions were bearable, India bought Iranian oil by the barrel. Deals made in Indian rupees, special discounted prices, shipping conveniences, etc. That chapter had to close under US pressure, unfortunately, but what now? If Iran truly embraces full isolation, prices won't just be rising – they will writhe. Fuel bills, freight fares, rates of vegetables and other essential commodities will rise dramatically as the transport costs goes up. It's not going to destroy us in any way, but effects will be felt. Every auto rickshaw driver, every delivery truck, every common man will pay. For India, which still imports over 80 per cent of its oil, the financial tremors will be very uncomfortable. The Strategic Tightrope of Diplomacy While India has been walking this tightrope for a while now, India's delicate relationship with Iran seems to be becoming more and more fragile and simultaneously crucial. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Our Western allies, already queasy about Iran's nuclear ambiguity, will now expect India to align more clearly with the West. However, a complete pivot at this point risks antagonising Tehran at a time when they are being aggressively courted by China with infrastructure, defence and strategic partnerships. Also, one has to keep in mind that India isn't just watching this as a peninsular nation but also through the eyes of 8 million Indians living in the Gulf. Any escalation involving Iran – whether triggered by sanctions, US pressure or Israeli responses – could make the region plain, outright dangerous, leading to an enormous humanitarian crisis. We've seen it before, in Kuwait, Yemen and Lebanon. However, this time the nuclear anxiety cloud hangs heavy over us. India by itself is not a signatory to the NPT – a fact that has been diplomatically manoeuvred since the landmark 2008 US-India civil nuclear deal. Iran's potential withdrawal reopens uncomfortable global conversations about who gets to hold nuclear weapons and why. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India's well-earned status as a 'responsible nuclear power' could come under increased scrutiny, while Tehran's moves might encourage other powers in the region, such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to consider nuclear options of their own. The NPT's erosion might well trigger an arms race not just in West Asia but all over the world, in a domino effect. For India, which has historically advocated for global disarmament even while maintaining a credible deterrence, this would be a major strategic setback. New Delhi must now be prepared for volatility in oil markets – hedge better, diversify oil supply chains and insulate the economy in whichever way possible. Whether India engages Iran quietly but assertively will be a decision that needs to be taken. Possibly reinforcing the strategic importance of Chabahar and signalling that regional restraint is still valued. India is also in a position to work behind the scenes with Moscow and Washington to prevent the complete erosion of diplomatic options. The NPT may not be the fairest and most perfect treaty ever signed, but it is still one of the strongest threads keeping the global nuclear order intact. An order that must be protected at all costs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The treaty may burn in the heart of West Asia, but the smoke will drift in every direction. India, as always, must try to breathe both air and fire without letting either consume its lungs. As a regional power with global ambitions, India cannot afford to simply sit and watch. Sometimes, the loudest warnings come from paper being torn in the quietest of rooms. The author is a freelance journalist and features writer based out of Delhi. Her main areas of focus are politics, social issues, climate change and lifestyle-related topics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.