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PM Modi’s UK visit comes at a bad time: How the British press viewed the Bihar defeat

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Looks like the drubbing Narendra Modi-led NDA alliance received in Bihar state assembly elections will resonate till 10 Downing Street in London. The Prime Minister’s three-day visit to Britain, beginning on 12 November, is being billed as an important milestone in the evolving bilateral relations between New Delhi and London, especially since an Indian prime […]

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Why the Coorgs are upset with Tipu Sultan and the Karnataka government’s efforts to honour him

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The Karnataka government’s decision to celebrate 10 November as Tipu Jayanthi flies in the face of history and has deeply offended the people of Coorg, Mangalore, and parts of Kerala who regard Tipu Sultan as a tyrant who destroyed temples, killed non-Muslims, and forcibly converted tens of thousands of conquered people. Various parties and organisations

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Pakistan invites Sushma Swaraj for conference on Afghanistan’s future

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Pakistan has invited External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for a crucial conference in Islamabad on Afghanistan’s future, a move that could provide an opportunity for the two neighbours to repair their ties. The ‘Heart of Asia’ conference on Afghan issue will be held on December 7 and 8, where representatives from Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan,

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Belgian Court Gives Facebook 48 Hours to Stop Tracking Internet Users

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A Belgian court on Monday gave Facebook 48 hours to stop tracking Internet users who do not have accounts with the US social media giant, or risk fines of up to EUR 250,000 ($269,000) a day. The order follows a case lodged by Belgium’s privacy watchdog in June which said Facebook indiscriminately tracks Internet users

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Chinese lights spell darkness for traditional potters this Diwali

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For generations, Indian homes were lit up by diyas, or traditional earthen lamps, during Diwali. Potters now complain that customers prefer cheaper Chinese electrical lighting or more pricey products in shopping malls, jeopardizing their livelihoods. Until a few years ago, hundreds of potters and their families would be overworked in the run up to Diwali,

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Rival Taliban factions clash in southern Afghanistan, dozens dead

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Rival groups of Taliban militants have clashed in the southern Afghan province of Zabul, killing as many as 80 people in recent days, officials said on Monday, as brewing hostility between factions in the insurgency turned violent. Government officials and spokesmen for the two main Taliban groups said fierce fighting had been underway since the

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Madhesi protest in Nepal: Why India needs to step back a little

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The buzz among sections of Nepal’s intelligentsia is that the Modi government encouraged Madhesi protest in the Terai Region to gain electorally in Bihar elections. This might be farfetched but it goes to show the extent of distrust among the Nepali elite about India’s role in what is essentially an internal issue for a country

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‘Haathi chale Bihar,… bhaunken hazaar’: Shatrughan Sinha returns fire at Vijayvargiya

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Shatrughan Sinha just escalated his tiff with the BJP as he responded to an insult hurled at him by a party leader infamous for consistently sticking his foot in his mouth. After Kailash Vijayvargiya — yes, the very same one — on Monday compared party MP Shatrughan Sinha to a dog, Sinha took to Twitter

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How did Chhota Rajan manage to get passport renewed in 2008, asks CBI

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A special CBI team interrogating long-absconding underworld don Chhota Rajan will visit Karnataka in a couple of days to enquire from the regional passport officials who issued him a passport in 2003 on a fake name and address. The passport was made using the Tatkal (urgent) service with its validity date till 2008, sources said.

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Pawan Hans helicopter crash: Coast Guard recover body of one of the two pilots

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The Coast Guard on Monday recovered the body of one of the two pilots who were missing since their Pawan Hans helicopter crashed into the Arabian sea off the Mumbai Coast last week. The Coast Guard also found wreckage, including cockpit, of the 14-seater VTPWF Dauphin aircraft, five days after the mishap occurred on November

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OROP row intensifies, ex-servicemen to return medals from today

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The ex-servicemen will start returning their medals from Tuesday to protest against Centre’s notification on the implementation of One Rank, One Pension, which they have categorically rejected. “The notification that the government has issued completely murders the definition of OROP. In OROP’s definition, a senior will never get less pension than a junior. In the

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After Bihar debacle, the rumoured Cabinet reshuffle is a question of ‘when’ and not ‘if’

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2015 has politically proved to be a bad year for Narendra Modi. For the first time since he became chief minister of Gujarat in 2001 to when he became Prime Minister of India in 2014, and then won a series of state Assembly elections, Narendra Modi had only tasted success. The severe drubbing in the

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Selma director Ava DuVernay compares Aamir Khan to Oprah Winfrey!

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Academy Award-nominated director Ava DuVernay says she admires superstar Aamir Khan’s work and compared him to Oprah Winfrey. “I have seen more of Aamir Khan’s work. I have been learning about huge stars like Big B (Amitabh Bachchan) and a number of stars that people know here. And there in America people don’t know many

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Bigg Boss 9: Yuvika Chaudhary eliminated, says Prince’s feelings for her are genuine

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People might brand Prince Narula’s proposal to Yuvika Chaudhary on “Bigg Boss Nau” a publicity stunt, but the actress says his feelings for her are real. The “Om Shanti Om” actress becomes the latest contestant to be evicted from the controversial reality show and Yuvika said Prince’s behaviour after her elimination was announced makes her

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6 million-year-old elephant skull discovered in China

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The skull of an elephant around six million years old, has been discovered in China’s Yunnan province, the media reported on Saturday. The fossil found in Shuitangba, Zhaotong city, puts the history of the mastodon species back one million years, said Wang Shiqi, a vertebrate evolution expert with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Previously,

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Ballistic missile Agni-IV test-fired as part of user trial

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In pre-Diwali fireworks over the Bay of Bengal, India on Monday successfully tested the nuclear-capable Agni-IV ballistic missile, which has a strike range of 4,000-km, from the A P J Abdul Kalam Island (formerly Wheeler Island) off Odisha coast. The user trial by the tri-Service Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which saw the two-stage missile being

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OROP row: Not all demands can be fulfilled, says Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar

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With the protesting ex-servicemen dissatisfied with the formal notification of one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said that everyone has a right to make a demand in democracy but not all demands can be fulfilled. Underlining that the “maximum” demands of the veterans have been fulfilled, he said the

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Cricket All-Stars: Warne’s Warriors trump Sachin’s Blasters in front of electric New York crowd

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Amid a sea of Indian shirts, fluttering Pakistan flags and deafening roars, New York cricket fans turned out in their thousands to watch greats of the game face off against each other on Saturday — in a baseball stadium. Australian spin king Shane Warne and Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar captained two star-studded teams in a

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The Koh-i-noor effect: Queen Elizabeth II may face legal challenge over the world famous diamond

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A lobby group made up of Indian businessmen and actors is mounting a legal challenge against Queen Elizabeth II demanding the return of the world famous Koh-i-noor diamond to India. The 105-carat stone, believed to have been mined in India nearly 800 years ago, was presented to Queen Victoria during the Raj and is now

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After Bihar debacle, Modi to attend BJP meet to analyse reasons

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BJP’s Parliamentary Board, its top decision-making body, will meet on Monday to analyse its rout in Bihar assembly polls, a second humiliating defeat in a row for the party after the Delhi assembly election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the meet in which almost all top party leaders, including its chief Amit

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Six sentenced to death for brutal murders of two children in Bangladesh

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Six people were sentenced to death today by two Bangladeshi courts for torturing to death two young boys, including a 13-year-old whose death had triggered protests in the country after video footage of the brutal attack went viral. Four people were ordered to gallows in Sylhet where the culprits murdered 13-year old Samiul Islam Rajon

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India condemns Nepal deputy PM’s remarks on Terai, calls them ‘baseless and malicious’

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India on Sunday strongly condemned Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister’s allegations that it is trying to disintegrate Nepal and annex the Terai region, saying such “baseless and malicious” comments vitiate the age-old historical and familial ties between the two countries. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu in a statement reiterated that “India’s only objective is peace, stability

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Myanmar election: Suu Kyi supporters confident of landslide win

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Supporters of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi were confident on Monday her party had won a landslide victory in the country’s first free general election in 25 years, with the biggest question whether the margin was enough to claim the presidency. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) was expected to win the largest share

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Heavy rains lash Puducherry, but no threat of cyclone in Tamil Nadu

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Normal life was hit in Puducherry with incessant rains pounding the Union Territory since Sunday, reports PTI. Official sources said to PTI that Puducherry and its suburbs recorded 13.3 cm rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Monday. Low lying areas were inundated. As Tamil Nadu is set to receive heavy rain throughout

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Bihar impact in TN and Kerala: Setback for Modi in states where BJP has little presence, but big ambitions

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The sweet taste of setting a new record in the Kerala local body polls would have likely turned bitter in the mouths of BJP leaders in the southern state on Sunday as Bihar gave a thumbs down to the ruling party at the Centre in a decisive verdict. Patna might well be 2,800 kilometres from

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Bihar elections result a ‘referendum’ against Narendra Modi, says Arvind Kejriwal

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday termed the Bihar poll verdict a referendum against the Narendra Modi government as the BJP-led NDA stared at defeat at the hands of the grand alliance in the state. “The Bihar results are in a way a referendum (on Modi government). The way the prime minister was working

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Sashastra Seema Bal cancels Diwali leave of officers along Indo-Nepal border

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Border guarding force SSB has cancelled Diwali leave of its officers commanding battalions deployed along the Indo-Nepal border in view of the prevailing situation in the neighbouring country and the declaration of poll results in Bihar. The paramilitary’s headquarters in New Delhi has asked its field formations to implement the latest directive, also for Bhutan

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‘March for India’ protest: Anupam Kher meets PM Modi on intolerance issue

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met a delegation of artistes led by Bollywood actor Anupam Kher protesting against a section of artistes who are returning their awards over “intolerance” in the country. “He (Modi) listened to us and said the intolerance issue is harming the country and its reputation,” Kher said after meeting the

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