West Bengal polls: Nearly 80 percent turnout in second phase
Nearly 80 percent of about 1.22 crore voters exercised their right to franchise across 56 constituencies in the second phase of elections to the West Bengal assembly on Sunday, amid allegations of sporadic violence and voter intimidation. “At 5 p.m., the overall polling percentage was 79.70 percent,” an Election Commission official said. Long queues of […]
William and Kate follow Diana’s footsteps, visit Taj Mahal
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Taj Mahal on Saturday in a tour marked by symbolism and nostalgia, sitting on a marble bench where Prince William’s mother Diana had posed alone for a memorable photograph 22 years ago. “Stunning,” was how Prince William described the 17th century monument of love as he accompanied […]
Obama appoints MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga to key administration post
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Thursday appointed Indian American MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga to a key administration post as a member of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. Banga is one of the nine members of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity appointed by Obama, a White House announcement said. “I have charged the Commission […]
‘It came like a storm’: Kerala survivors describe temple blaze horror
“It came like a storm, throwing everyone to the ground.” This was how Anish Kumar described the explosions and a blaze that killed at least 110 people at Puttingal Devi temple in Kollam district’s Paravur on Sunday. “There were bodies all over the place and the injured were writhing in pain,” he said. Thousands had […]
LIVE Assembly polls: 72% voter turnout in WB, 70% in Assam till 3pm
More than 17 million voters in Assam and West Bengal will cast their ballot on Monday, in an election that will likely have a bearing on political realignment at a national level. Sixty-one assembly constituencies go to polls in the second and final phase of the vote in Assam, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) […]
New poverty line makes a third of Pakistanis poor
ISLAMABAD: The PML-N government on Thursday announced that 60 million Pakistanis are living below the poverty line, posing a challenge for the ruling party. The number of poor increased owing to the adoption of a new methodology for measuring poverty which uses the 2013-14 survey data, said Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal. […]
Pakistan says talks with India suspended, hints won’t allow NIA visit
Pakistani envoy Abdul Basit said on Thursday the dialogue with India is suspended as there are no plans for the foreign secretaries to meet, while hinting that the NIA will not be given access to JeM chief Masood Azhar for the probe into the Pathankot attack. The assault on the Pathankot airbase, blamed on Pakistan-based […]
East set for high-voltage fight as assembly elections get underway
The BJP’s electoral appeal in the absence of any perceptible Modi wave and the Congress’s tenacity against a spirited attack on one of its last fortresses will be under test when people in Assam’s 65 constituencies, and 18 in West Bengal, vote in the first phase on Monday. Of the four states and a Union […]
Hindu Americans Oppose Textbook Edits by Curriculum Commission – Updated
Over 100 Hindu Americans staged a silent protest outside the Department of Education building in Sacramento, Calif., March 24 to voice their concerns regarding the California Department of Education Instructional Quality Commission’s plans to accept edits made by a group of South Asian studies faculty members to California state textbooks from Grade 6–10. The proposed […]
Lahore: Suicide attack by Taliban faction targeting Christians kills 72
A breakaway Pakistani faction of the militant Taliban group has claimed responsibility for an Easter Sunday bombing in a park in the eastern city of Lahore that killed at least 72 people. Ahsanullah Ahsan, spokesperson for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, told the Associated Press that a suicide bomber with the faction deliberately targeted the Christian community. The explosion took place […]
Congress to move court against imposition of Prez rule in Uttarakhand
Congress said on Sunday it will challenge in court the Centre’s decision to impose President’s Rule in Uttarakhand and party vice president Rahul Gandhi told Prime Minister Narendra Modi “don’t let your love of of power overrule people’s mandate”. Senior party leader Kapil Sibal said President’s Rule was imposed a day before the floor test in the […]
Gujarat’s golden link to IIM toppers
Gujaratis have always been lauded for their keen business sense. Co-incidentally, this year three of the four gold medalists at IIMA have a Gujarat connect. One of the best business schools in the country, IIMA admits only the best brains from across the country. The four gold medalists – Ashay Subhash Shah (26), Ayush Agarwal […]
Meet the home-grown guardians of Odisha’s Olive Ridley turtles
It’s a bright, breezy February morning and we’re getting into a fishing boat to try to spot some Olive Ridley sea turtles. Fifteen minutes later, just one kilometre off the coast of the Rushikulya area in south-east Odisha, there’s no need to try – they’re everywhere. They swim, hundreds of them in every direction, in […]
Body of soldier killed in Kargil avalanche recovered, to be sent to TN
The body of soldier Vijay Kumar – who was swept away by an avalanche at an altitude of about 17500 feet in Kargil sector last Thursday – was recovered from under 12 feet snow on Sunday, the army said. The avalanche hit the army post and swept away two soldiers who were on surveillance duty. […]
Overseas Indians challenge govt order on surrogacy
New Delhi: A group of people categorised as overseas citizens of India (OCIs) have challenged a Central notification disallowing them from commissioning surrogate children in the country. In a petition before the Supreme Court, the OCIs termed the move as discriminatory. Taking up the petition on Thursday, a bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi and NV Ramana […]
Experts Explain How Real Estate Bill Will Help Home Buyers in India
The Real Estate Regulatory Bill, which has been cleared by parliament, is likely to provide big relief to home buyers. The bill will increase transparency and accountability in the realty sector, which is notorious for opacity and delays. Once the new rules come into effect, home buyers will be able to make an informed decision […]
Indian-Americans disappointed with Obama’s SC decision
WASHINGTON: Indian-Americans expressed their disappointment over Barack Obama’s decision not to nominate “trailblazer” Sri Srinivasan to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court bench but appreciated the US President for “strongly considering” the Indian-origin judge. Srinivasan, 48, was among the few judges interviewed by Obama for the top judicial post, but in the end he […]
Sri Sri explains NGT cess climbdown, blames media
On the second day of the World Culture Festival, Art of Living (AOL) founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar blamed the media while explaining why AOL had paid the first installment of the cess imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Friday, despite his initial refusal to pay the Rs 5 crore fine the NGT had […]
BJP to field Netaji’s grandnephew against CM Mamata in Bengal polls
The Bharatiya Janata Party said on Wednesday it will field Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s grandnephew Chandra Bose against West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in the upcoming assembly elections. Chandra Bose joined the BJP on January 25 , two days after he attended a ceremony in Delhi where the government released 100 declassified files on Netaji. […]
India’s endangered species nobody wants to save, or talk about
If you saw the pangolin, you’d probably find it quite adorable. It’s a shy, stooped creature that ambles close to the ground, looking furtively at the world through beady eyes. When threatened, this prehistoric mammal curls up into a ball, presenting a hide covered in overlapping scales so tough, they can withstand a tiger attack […]
