Translated letter provides first-hand account of the “unforgettable scenes where horror mixed with sublime heroism” as the Titanic sank. A harrowing first-hand account of the moment the Titanic sank has been uncovered in a letter purportedly from a French maid who survived the disaster. The letter, written in French and dated 8 August 1955 – more than 43 years since the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on […]

KARACHI, Pakistan – A bomb attack killed at least 11 police officers and wounded 42 others in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi on Thursday, police said. A van exploded after hitting a bus the officers boarded moments after it had left a training school in what appeared to be a suicide attack, said police officer Rao Anwaar. Nearly 50 officers on board the bus came from a special commando force, […]

Foodgrain needs to stay fit for round-the-year consumption. Fruits and vegetables must stay fresh until they reach the plate. But forget all-weather warehouses or cold storage facilities, most developing countries dump millions of tonnes of food in the open at the mercy of the elements, birds and rodents. More wheat rots in India than the total production of Australia, which loses less than 1 percent of its grain in storage […]

HARYANA HAS emerged as the hub of premium quality basmati rice in the country, accounting for as much as 40 percent of exports. Sushil Jain, president of Rice Export Association, Haryana, says, “Exports from Haryana have nearly doubled in the past two years. The value of the rice produced last year was close to 8,000 crore.” Among the districts, Karnal alone accounts for 50 percent of Haryana’s exports, which is […]

North Korea has moved two missiles from launch sites on the country’s eastern coast, after weeks of concern that Pyongyang had been poised for a test-launch. A US defence official said on Monday that Washington did not believe the Musudan missiles had gone to an alternate launch site and that they were now believed to be in a non-operational location. The move coincided with preparations by US President Barack Obama […]

Australian scientists have found a way of hugely increasing the efficiency of solar panels while substantially reducing their cost. The University of NSW researchers have come up with improvements in photovoltaic panel design that had not been expected for another decade. This has really got the industry very excited The breakthrough involves using hydrogen atoms to counter defects in silicon cells used in solar panels. As a consequence, poor quality […]

Yasin Bhatkal is India’s most wanted terrorist. How has he managed to elude the top sleuths. ON 13 July 2011, terror revisited Mumbai. Three powerful bombs exploded at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Dadar, killing 26 people and injuring 130. This terror case throws up an interesting anecdote, which is pertinent today in the wake of reports that Indian Mujahideen (IM) leader Yasin Bhatkal, 40, had a hand in the […]

There is no doubt that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba is the deadliest outfit around in the world today. A recent write up in the Pro Publica states that there are nearly 300000 trainees in this group and most of them had joined at the age of 17. While this is a growing worry for the entire world, for India the problem remains specific as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba since the year 2011 has gone […]

If  Maharashtra is facing its worst drought in 40 years, can neighbouring Gujarat be far behind? The impending crisis — which has hit three of Gujarat’s six regions, Saurashtra, Kutch and north Gujarat — was obvious since December but it had managed to elude the eyes of the state government. And now, while chief minister Narendra Modi is busy selling his development model across the country, at home, thousands are […]

Twenty years after he paid for the bombs which tore through Mumbai in 1993, killing 257 people, organised crime kingpin Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar’s cash has begun washing up on the shores of Nassau island – known for its perfect beaches, perfect weather, and zero-tax, high-secrecy banking. Ibrahim, a Firstpost investigation has found, has emerged as the principal provider of financial services to narcotics traffickers and jihadists across South Asia – a business […]