Our ten favorite European trains don’t necessarily offer the fastest journeys—just the most memorable. All aboard! Much of European train travel is about efficiency and comfort—punctually leaving and arriving and having a cozy seat or sleeper compartment in which to devour the latest issue of the Economist. But rail travel in the United Kingdom and on the Continent is also about experience: gaping out the window at Alpine glaciers, savoring […]

For most of us living in Delhi, a trip to the mountains meant either Shimla or Manali. Places such as Kasol, Shogi, Chindi, Theog were completely unheard of. This trip, which was considered a break from the city, had its fair share of horse-riding afternoons, numerous ice-cream treats on the mall and posing infront of an erstwhile church from the British era. Things have changed and how! Reminiscing about my […]

Justin Trudeau hasn’t been alone as his star rises in the political world — whether visiting China’s Great Wall, dining at the White House or marching in Toronto’s gay pride parade, he’s often joined by his family who have helped cement his reputation as a down-to-earth everyman. Upon taking office one year ago, the prime minister set the tone: Although he’s Canada’s leader, he’s also a father with a young […]

At least 20 people have been killed in a major fire that broke out in SUM hospital, a leading private healthcare institute, here on Monday evening. Fire service sources said the fire originated around 7.30 pm in the dialysis ward in the second floor of the hospital. Over 30 patients were present in the ward when the mishap occurred, police sources said. “We engaged adequate fire tenders and rescue teams. […]

A jawan of paramilitary force SSB was killed and 8 others, including a policeman, were injured on Friday night when militants attacked security convoy in Zakura area on the outskirts of Srinagar. Out of the eight personnel injured, 4 of them are critical. The injured, who included a policeman, have been admitted to a hospital for treatment. According to IG SSB Deepak Kumar, three companies of SSB patrol party were […]

On a Tuesday in mid-October, the most expensive map ever to hit the market was sitting on the floor of an empty office on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Daniel Crouch, the rare book and map dealer to whom it had been consigned, stood over it, beaming. “I’ve handled several [similar] maps in my life,” said Crouch. “But never one so gleamingly brilliant as this.” The map, which was created by […]

Bengaluru is protesting against a government plan to build a steel bridge that will make travelling to the airport easier, in a project that will cost the city 1,800 crores and more than 800 trees.   Citizens, some of who have also moved the High Court against the proposed bridge, have protested not only against the exorbitant cost of the project but also against what they call a lack of […]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attended the historic Ramlila celebrations here where he launched a veiled attack on Pakistan, saying those who help and provide shelter to terrorists cannot be spared, but made no reference to the surgical strikes. Making terrorism the centrepoint of his over 20-minute speech, he said terror was the worst enemy of humanity and called upon the world community to speak in one voice against […]

The Telangana government on Saturday organised the traditional state festival of ‘Bathukamma’ on a grand scale at the Lal Bahadur stadium in Hyderabad. The event, attended by about ten thousand women, found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, a government release said.  The women sang and danced around the tastefully arranged flowers during the event. The release quoted Jayachandra, a representative of the Guinness Book, as saying […]

A 13-year-old girl in Hyderabad died last week after fasting for 68 days as per Jain rituals during the holy period of ‘Chaumasa’. Aradhana, a class 8 student, was admitted to the hospital just two days after completing her fast where she died of cardiac arrest, the family said. At least 600 people attended Aradhana’s funeral hailing her as a ‘bal tapasvi’. The funeral procession was called a ‘shobha yatra’ […]