France has declared a national state of emergency and tightened borders after at least 120 people were killed in a night of gun and bomb attacks in Paris. Eighty people were reported killed after gunmen burst into the Bataclan concert hall and took dozens hostage. The siege ended when security forces stormed the building. People were shot dead at bars and restaurants at five other sites in Paris. Eight attackers […]
Karla Jacinto is sitting in a serene garden. She looks at the ordinary sights of flowers and can hear people beyond the garden walls, walking and talking in Mexico City. She looks straight into my eyes, her voice cracking slightly, as she tells me the number she wants me to remember — 43,200. By her own estimate, 43,200 is the number of times she was raped after falling into the […]
Clamping down on the ‘rent-a-womb’ practice by foreigners and overseas Indians, the government on Tuesday directed all its missions not to issue visas to those intending to visit India for commissioning surrogacy. Announcing withdrawal of an earlier notification of July 2012, a Home Ministry circular has asked all Indian Missions abroad and Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) to cancel any such permission given earlier and said all those granted visa […]
The diamond can only be worn by a woman or a god, according to legend It was once the world’s largest known diamond, is worth a reported £100m and is currently part of Britain’s crown jewels. But India wants it back. Bollywood stars and businessmen have united to instruct lawyers to begin legal proceedings in London’s High Court to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond. The diamond was in the crown worn by the Queen Mother at […]
The investigation that is being conducted into an incident in which a cop was stabbed by a youth protesting the beef ban is revealing more startling details. The incident occurred at Yavatmal in Maharashtra last month and the youth while stabbing the cop said, “your government bans beef, now take this.” The police have found that this incident was meant to set a trend and expected to spread through […]
In a strongly-worded order, the Gujarat High Court said the Quran was being misinterpreted by Muslim men to have more than one wife and the provision of polygamy was being misused by them for “selfish reasons”. The court called for the abolition of polygamy in Muslim society in India as it’s a “heinously patriarchal” act. The High Court also stated that time has come for the country to embrace the […]
The sudden spate of increasing instances of religious intolerance set me thinking. At a time and age where religion has been reduced to mere festivals and a small form of worship once a day or perhaps once a week, why should it matter so much that lives are being lost, political battles are being waged and even cultural legacy is being interfered with in the name of religion? But is […]
Earlier, the Mangalore police had arrested 4 men who had been part of the crime. With these fresh arrests, the total number of arrested accused in this case has gone up to 8. The Mangalore police have arrested 4 more men who they claim have direct involvement in the murder of the Bajrang Dal activist Prashanth Poojary. The arrested people have been identified as Mohammed Sharief, Mohammed Kavoor, Mohammed Mustafa […]
As we continue with our series on women centric issues and the problems they want to addressed, this is one aspect that is not just an India centric issue. Yes I am speaking on gender gap in paychecks. You might have heard the celebrities across Hollywood and Bollywood demanding for equal pay, sags about how the heroes consistently command a higher pay but surprisingly, this story remains the same even […]
Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini are trying to improve education across India using interactive computer games and software to teach children via smartphones. Our order for lunch is being taken at Bengaluru’s inventive Caperberry restaurant when we are all baffled by a word that would likely not be allowed in a game of Scrabble. The manager has asked Rohini Nilekani if she would like to order a starter called […]
