In Pic :A homeless girl slept on the ground on a cold morning in New Delhi in January. My reaction to watching “Les Misérables” on stage in London in late 1985 was very different from my reaction when I saw it at the cinema in Delhi last week. In 1985 London, I was enthralled and moved by the spectacle. In 2013 Delhi, I was like, whatever. It’s true that the […]

In Pic :Hut of Primitive Tribes crushed by administration, hundreds homeless. Administration argues pulling down their huts will ensure ‘safety of wildlife’ A day after the Union government announced a Rs.100-crore grant for Chukutiya Bhunjia of Orissa, a primitive tribe which lives on the eastern border of Chhattisgarh, 30 huts of the Baigas, another primitive tribe, were razed to the ground by government officials in the western part of the […]

While still at the top of the GP growth table, the Chinese economy seems to be on a long-term traverse from a trajectory with extremely high growth rates to one where growth is more moderate. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Chinese GDP growth, year-on-year, which had fallen from 8.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, to 7.6 per cent in the second and 7.4 per […]

He is suspected to have jumped into the sea off Greece Before he was suspected to have jumped into the sea off Greece, 22-year-old Umashankar Mahto wrote extensively in his diary of “mental torture” by the chief officer of m.t. True, who often abused him using filthy language. On several occasions, he complained he was hungry and clearly said he could not go on with his life’s dream of proving […]

The National Investigation Agency is probing a hawala transaction from Dubai  which they believe was used to carry out Hyderabad’s twin blasts last week. Vicky Nanjappa reports. A hawala transaction from the Al Quasis industrial area in Dubai to Hyderabad a week before the twin blasts is a subject matter of investigation today. Officials in the NIA informed rediff.com that this is a suspicious transaction and was used to carry […]

The fire broke out at a multi-storey building in the market in central Kolkata around 5:30 am this morning. 20 fire engines have been used to bring the fire under control. The market houses many shops and several plastic and paper godowns. Many workers stay here overnight. Firefighters are facing difficulty in going inside the market because of congested roads and heavy smoke due to the fire. Cutting the window […]

Sri Lankan security forces have committed crimes of sexual violence against ethnic Tamils in state custody, a new Human Rights Watch report says. The study focuses on cases of alleged rape of men, women and minors detained between 2006 and 2012 because of their suspected links to Tamil Tiger rebels. It documents 75 accounts of alleged sexual abuse and torture, saying most of them are backed by medical evidence. Sri […]

Tinsukia: Among upper Assam’s many tea estates, the Kunapathar Tea Estate was known till recently mainly for its sheer size of 1,000 acres. Then, in December, in the middle of a sunny afternoon, a mob armed with bows and arrows tore its way into the house, attacked the owners, and then set the sprawling five-bedroom home on fire. The four security guards at the house said they were outnumbered; any sort […]

    A sub-inspector and a constable were attacked by a mob of around 20 when they tried to nab illegal migrants in Navi Mumbai, police said. Mumbai Special Branch-I wing sub-inspector S Bandekar and constable S B Lande are currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mulund, police said. Acting on a tip-off, Bandekar, along with his team went to Mankhurd late on Sunday night where they caught […]

Hyderabad: Muslim youths from Hyderabad detained Sunday morning by Special Investigation Team and task force have been released late in the night after whole day of interrogation in connection with the Dilsukanagar twin blasts. Mohammed Rayeesuddin, who was acquitted in the Mecca Masjid blast case, was taken for interrogation by the SIT today morning. From East Zone Task Force he was shifted to Osmania University police station. Immediately after his […]