Native Central American people were terrified of a witch centuries ago, who they believed lived deep in the earth. They would sacrifice their children and young women to what today is known as Nicaragua’s Masaya volcano, one of the most popular tourist destinations. Today, the crater southwest of the capital Managua is an international tourist magnet, where photo-snapping visitors scramble among sulfurous fumes to get views of its bubbling […]

Tirupati, the Lord of the Seven Hills.               South India’s most famous temple is the temple of Tirupati. This temple is considered to be the abode of Lord Vishnu.  Known simultaneously by various names, He is Vishnu, Balaji, Sri Venakataswami, Sreenivas, Govinda, or simply, Swami (Lord). The holy shrine of Tirupati is famous in India and abroad.Dating back to as far as 300 A.D., […]

massive fire broke out at Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) in Pulgaon near Wardha killing 17 army personnel including two officers. CAD Pulgaon is India’s biggest ammunition depot.   At least two officers and 15 Defence Security Corps (DSC) jawans are feared dead, the Army confirmed. The fire also injured 17 other DSC jawans.   While the cause of the fire is yet unknown, reports said that the fire broke out […]

Donate blood and add an extra per cent while applying for admission in any government college in Rajasthan. This is according to the new admission policy 2016-17 unveiled by the state government. How this works? Students who produce a proof of donating blood thrice in three years in a row will now get a bonus 1% at the time of admission. Higher education minister Kalicharan Saraf said”Students have to produce […]

Beaches are exotic. But did you know that there are more beaches in India, or any Indian city that you could actually be aware of? One of such states is Odisha. Popular for its coastline, Odisha has a rich 485 km-long coastline along the Bay of Bengal. Although many people know about the Puri beach, located in the holy city of Lord Jagannath – many are not even aware that […]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set aside calls from 150 leading scientists and public health officials to postpone or move the Rio Olympics because of the ongoing Zika virus.  In an open letter to the WHO and the International Olympic Committee – both organisation based in Switzerland – the experts are asking for the Games to be held in another location. Professor Amir Attaran, one of the co-authors of […]

India, which has emerged as the world’s second largest mobile market, is also the fifth largest producer of e-waste, discarding roughly 18.5 lakh tonnes of electronic waste each year, a study says. Telecom equipment alone accounts for 12 per cent of the e-waste, a joint study by Assocham-KPMG said. Matter of concern The rising levels of e-waste generation in India have been a matter of concern in recent years. With […]

Just a week into my arrival in Ottawa, I asked my interlocutor, a well known US-Canadian educationist, if Canadians were indeed as friendly as they appeared. Without batting an eyelid, she recounted an experience of shopping at a supermarket, when a watermelon she had just placed in the cart simply disappeared. Intrigued, she wondered, “When had watermelons learnt to fly?” A G7 and G20 nation, with a resource-rich expansive landmass […]

With the awful memories of the last year’s floods still fresh in their mind, people in Chennai have begun preparations to tackle the worst situation in coming days. The MeT Department has issued a cyclone alert for north Tamil Nadu and south coastal Andhra Pradesh, predicting heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours. The reports say that the local civic body has deployed over 1000 officials to handle any emergency […]

Planning a holiday is super exciting, but even more so when you know it’s not going to burn a huge hole in your pocket! Budget holidays are awesome because you often discover yourselves looking for places to visit, restaurants to eat at, shops to buy from that are low-key, authentic and also present yourself with unique experiences! So, here is a list of 8 fantastic, yet low-on expenditure, travel holidays […]