Every evening at 6, a crowd of around 200 gathers in the city centre of Banja Luka, the capital of Republika Srpska, the Serb-dominated ruling entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to protest against the death of David Dragičević, a young man who was found dead in March. Various cities in …
Read More »Daily Archives: October 7, 2018
Next on Irish voters’ list: Blasphemy law
In 2015, comedian Stephen Fry was interviewed on Ireland’s RTE Television on his well-known views on God. Asked what he would say to God if he was proved to be wrong and met God at the end of his life, Mr. Fry’s response was immediate. “Bone cancer in children, what’s …
Read More ȣ1 mn Banksy artwork shreds itself
‘Girl with Balloon’ passes through a hidden shredder moments after auction British street artist Banksy has stunned the art world with arguably his most audacious prank yet, self-destructing one of his best-known works moments after it fetched more than £1 million at an auction in London. “Girl with Balloon” had …
Read More »Picking out silent ghosts in the deep
Temple Adventures, a recreational scuba diving operator, has been conducting ghost net removal programmes since its inception in 2008, and with support from the Wildlife Trust of India since February 2018. Dive against debris “We usually find ghost nets about 12 km off the coast of Puducherry, at depths of …
Read More »EC sets month-long schedule for 5 States
The EC also put off an announcement on the schedule of bypolls to two Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu. Since an election petition pertaining to one of the constituencies was still pending in the Madras High Court, technically the vacancy had not arisen yet, the CEC said. Besides, around 10.30 …
Read More »is Facebook data breach serious?
What happened? On September 16, Facebook noticed an unusual spike in the number of times the platform’s ‘View As’ feature was being used. The feature allows users to see how their Facebook page will appear to another user. On September 25, Facebook announced that it had identified this as a …
Read More »Opening doors to women at Sabarimala
With a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court lifting the decades-old ban on women in the 10-50 age group from entering the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, it is up to the Kerala government and the Travancore Devaswom Board to ensure that women who may choose to offer prayers at the temple …
Read More »‘cVigil’ on the trail of poll fraudsters
The Election Commission on Saturday said the “cVigil” mobile application for citizens to share proof of malpractices by political parties, candidates and activists would be available for use soon after the notification of polls in five States. The Commission had launched the application’s beta version in July, following a pilot …
Read More »NGO to build 6,000 homes
Habitat for Humanity India, an NGO, plans to build or repair 6,000 homes of those affected by the deluge in Kerala. The initiative is being taken up by the NGO as part of the second edition of Jacqueline Builds — a unique campaign featuring Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez. The second …
Read More »A young woman like no other’
Nadia Murad, co-winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, embodies courage When news came in that this year’s Nobel Peace Prize had been awarded to former ISIS captive Nadia Murad and Congolese physician Dr. Denis Mukwege, I realised just how powerful media can be. Dr. Mukwege and Ms. Murad were …
Read More »India leaves out offset clause for S-400
Aim is to advance deliveries of the system, though Russia was ready to accede to the condition The Rs. 40,300-crore deal between India and Russia for five S-400 air defence missile systems does not have any offset clause. India has decided to drop it so as to advance deliveries, though …
Read More »Putting first-time flyers at ease
Airports Authority of India creates a simulated experience of security drills With the aim of dispelling any fear in first-time flyers and educating them about the mandatory security drill, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has recreated an airport experience at an international exhibition here. The AAI, which manages 130 …
Read More »Uncertainty shadows the Rohingya of Kutupalong
Safe now in Bangladesh’s sprawling camps, refugees are haunted by the violence that forced them to flee and seek assurances before they return Mohammed Nikaruzzaman, the sub-district officer in charge of Kutupalong, can never forget the sight that he witnessed on September 6, 2017. That rainy evening, while driving towards …
Read More »Restoring Kerala’s cultural colours
International team to arrive tomorrow, will come up with plans for restoration after the deluge The International Centre for the study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), an intergovernmental organisation with headquarters in Rome, would be salvaging the cultural wealth affected by the recent floods in Kerala. …
Read More »EC sets month-long poll schedule for 5 States
The Election Commission on Saturday announced that the Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana will be held from November 12 to December 7. The results for all the five States will be declared on December 11. The model code of conduct came into effect in four …
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