Jammu and Kashmir – immensely popular as the paradise on earth, is abundantly blessed by nature. The scenic beauty of the Valley is simply mesmerising and one can’t help but go crazy raving about its gorgeousness. The Indian entertainment industry couldn’t ever resist the temptation of grabbing the magical beauty of Kashmir on celluloid. The iconic Dal Lake and the houseboats became symbols of the land of incredible exquisiteness. Tourists […]

A flash protest by the Kapu community demanding inclusion in the backward classes list turned violent on Sunday with the protestors setting a train on fire, damaging a railway station and a police station and blocking rail and road traffic in Andhra Pradesh. Movement of trains between Vijayawada and Vishakhapatnam and vehicular traffic on Chennai-Kolkata national highway came to a halt as thousands of protestors squatted on the tracks and […]

If President Pranab Mukherjee’s remarks during the launch of his memoirs are anything to go by, the man is the keeper of many secrets, including those which must never be told. However, developments in the Bofors scandal and the Ramjanmabhoomi site in connection with prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s do not appear to fall in this category. “The opening of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple site on 1 February 1986 was perhaps […]

To create an elemental shift in human consciousness, the feminist movement — not unlike other ideological movements — relies on sharing a common goal to define, establish and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal and social rights for women. Since the occurrence of the modern feminist movement in two major waves in the US from the late 19th Century till its fanning out into radical, socialist, cultural or liberal wings, […]

Nuclear threats and climate change pose strong threats to the planet and a symbolic “doomsday” clock will stay at three minutes to midnight, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said on Tuesday. The clock serves as a metaphor for how close humanity is to destroying the planet, and was most recently moved closer to midnight in 2015. “It remains the closest it has been over the past 20 years,” said […]

The suicide note written by Rohith Vemula – the Dalit student who recently died at the University of Hyderabad – echoes the discourse Mahatma Gandhi used when he chose to fast ‘unto death’. Like Gandhi, Rohith’s letter displays a passion for a better world embedded in a Bhagwad Gita-esque detachment. There are several other similarities: Introspection, taking personal responsibility, seeking forgiveness and not blaming anyone. In both cases, their willingness […]

A superpower’s capital city that was brought to its knees with just an inch of snow midweek is gearing up for what meteorologists are predicting will be a epic winter storm that is expected to dump some 30 inches of snow in parts of the US northeast. Washington DC is shutting down metro and bus services for the weekend, and airlines are cancelling some 4,000 flights from several east coast […]

The votes are in, America, and the best country in the world is… It’s Germany. Sorry, United States, you’re fourth – right behind third-ranked Britain and second-ranked Canada. But, hey, America beat Sweden! That’s according to the inaugural “Best Countries” ranking from U.S. News & World Report, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and global brand consultants BAV Consulting. The ranking was officially unveiled at the World Economic Forum in […]

The Pakistani Taliban first took and then denied responsibility for this morning’s deadly assault on a university in volatile northwestern Pakistan, in which 25 people died, according to a minister who briefed parliament. Here are the 10 latest developments in this story: A group of four terrorists, using the cover of thick, wintry fog, scaled the walls of the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. […]

They are among the richest people on earth, have won plaudits for their fight to eradicate some of the world’s deadliest and prolific killers, and donated billions to better educate and feed the poorest on the planet.  Despite this, Bill and Melinda Gates are facing calls for their philanthropic Foundation, through which they have donated billions worldwide, to be subject to an international investigation, according to a controversial new report.  […]