India (Mumbai)— Drivers of Mumbai’s iconic horse-drawn carriages can’t imagine not plying the roads pulling photo-snapping tourists atop their kitsch-covered chariots. Yet that time is coming, thanks to a court order calling such superfluous “joyrides” a form of animal cruelty and banning them in India’s financial capital from June 2016. Carts pulled by horses, oxen or camels and used for transportation or labor are exempt. To carriage owner Varma Ramnarayan, […]

The country’s well-known “encounter specialist” Daya Nayak was suspended on Thursday after the Mumbai police officer declined to join his new posting at Nagpur fearing his family’s safety. Best known for gunning down more than 80 Mumbai underworld gangsters in the 1990s, the officer has courted controversy several times in the past — especially when he was under scrutiny for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to his income. Like millions of […]

  It is obvious that as most other women, I was outraged by the acutely sexist Outlook write-up about IAS Officer, Smita Sabharwal, titled ‘No Boring Babu’. Somehow the volume of work that she has done thus far, her dedication and hardwork all seemed to be belittled by the mere fact that she is good looking, wears pretty sarees or carries herself beautifully. That really set me thinking about the […]

Washington: NASA’s New Horizon spacecraft has captured stunning coloured images of Pluto as it gets ready for a close flyby of the mysterious planet system on July 14. The images show two very different faces of the mysterious dwarf planet, one with a series of intriguing spots along the equator that are evenly-spaced. Each of the spots is about 480 km in diameter, with a surface area that is roughly […]

Have you ever wondered how it would be like if Little Miss Sunshine was re-made in Bollywood? It would obviously have to be made suitable for our audience, which means no gay brother (Sorry Steve Carell) and no heroin or drugs related issues. But the idea of a dysfunctional family on a road trip isn’t too un-achievable for a film industry that thrives on family-related movies and ensemble casts (we’re […]

Cranberries are a versatile fruit and their benefits make them useful in food as well as in medicinal products. The Latin name for cranberry plant is Vaccinium macrocarpon. It is one of the native fruits of North America. Cranberries have a tremendous amount of antioxidant capacity as compared to other fruits and vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and apples. The health benefits of cranberry juice include relief from urinary tract infection, […]

The ‘living dinosaur’ measured 3 metres long and weighed about 272 kilograms A New Jersey boy has a colossal story to tell his fellow fourth graders when he returns to school this fall after he reeled in a “living dinosaur” from the Fraser River on Monday. Nine-year-old Kegan Rothman and his father, Dan Rothman, were just hours into their week-long chartered fishing trip when Kegan hooked a monster Great White […]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated “India Digital Week“, aimed at reinvigorating an $18bn campaign to strengthen India’s digital infrastructure. The initiative introduces nine “pillars” that the government will expand on, in its push to try to bridge the country’s digital divide. Prashanto K Roy explains the significance of each pillar and what challenges the government faces in trying to implement them. Broadband Highways Digital India aims to have broadband […]

  I’ve been fighting my whole life. It’s not a choice for me. Every punch I’ve ever thrown has been on my own. Nobody showed me how to do this. So says Adonis Johnson, son of Apollo Creed in the first trailer for Creed, a reboot/reimagining of the Rocky franchise. The Fruitvale Station director/star duo of Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan reunites for this uniquely organic continuation of the […]

The bureaucrat from Telangana who has sued Outlook magazine for deeply disparaging and sexist remarks about her told NDTV, “I want Outlook to apologise to women across the country, this is an insult to women in general.” Explaining her decision to seek legal action, senior IAS office Smita Sabharwal said, “It is a matter of professional pride. I have spent 14 long years in service. The write up hurt very […]