A Cabinet meeting in Delhi proposed building a passage for the pilgrims accessible “365 days and 24 hours”, sources told The Hindu . Hours later, the Cabinet decision was conveyed by Ministry of External Affairs in a letter to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. “The government of India urges …

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and sought assistance to the tune of Rs. 14,910 crore towards relief, permanent restoration and mitigation efforts in central districts ravaged by Cyclone Gaja.According to the memorandum handed over by Mr. Palaniswami to Mr. Modi, …

The Labour Housing Association held its annual conference at Derby on 31st August. Mr. J.W. Ogden, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Union Congress, who presided, said that according to an estimate, 500,000 working-class houses were required at present, and to meet the needs of an increasing population …

Reuter’s Correspondent at British Headquarters telegraphing last evening [October 22 at 10-35 p.m.] said: The enemy resistance is stiffening. In Flanders we have reached the west bank of Escaut between Pecq and Lenfer, both of which are in our possession. The Enemy is maintaining heavy fire from the opposite bank. …

How a few women dealt with a bunch of angry, mostly male reporters Change, as the cliché goes, begins at home. This is what some of us journalists realised at a press meet organised by the South Indian Women’s Film Association last week. Members of the association, including playback singer …

Historically, mob violence has resulted in political gains for some Scapegoating is a well-worn political technique to divert attention from governance failures. For instance, in 1905, the Tsarist government in Russia organised a pogrom of Jews to divert attention from its military failures. Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s economic …

Saudi Arabia’s official version ofJamal Khashoggi’s death just doesn’t add up Saudi Arabia’s admission that Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident journalist who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, died in a “fistfight” inside the building raises more questions than it answers. According to the latest …

The RBI makes a valid case against the proposal for a separate payments regulator The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Union government are once again at loggerheads over the legitimate extent of their powers. In a rare gesture, the central bank last week made public its reservations against …

The challenges for the success of Ayushman Bharat are more than just at the financial and infrastructural level On September 24, the government launched the grand government-funded healthcare scheme, the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). While some see its ambitious goals as its main strength, others are sceptical …

Political will is crucial to reform India’s criminal justice system In an acknowledgment that the more than a century-old system of prisons in India needs repair, the Supreme Court, late last month, formed a committee on prison reforms. Headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Amitava Roy, it is to …

With Pakistan seeking an IMF loan, Imran Khan will struggle to keep up his rhetoric It is two months since Imran Khan became Pakistan’s Prime Minister with the very partisan and public support and assistance from Pakistan’s military and its clandestine organisations, when his main opponent, Nawaz Sharif, and his …

It is an opportunity to ensure that the defamation law is no longer used as a tool for harassment In Isaac Asimov’s famous Foundation novels, one of the protagonists often explains that “violence is the last refuge of the incompetent”. In India, the fallout of the #MeToo movement has recently …

NASA scientists have devised a new set of 21 modern gamma-ray constellations and named them after fictional characters such as the Hulk and Godzilla. The constellations, constructed through its gamma-ray telescope, were devised to celebrate the completion of 10 years of operations of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Source : …

A new treatment for a deadly drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis can cure more than 90% of sufferers, according to a landmark clinical trial whose results were revealed exclusively to AFP. Doctors in Belarus treated 181 patients with the new drug, bedaquiline, in combination with other antibiotics. Of these, 168 — …

The inner core of the earth is solid, and softer than previously thought, according to a study which could improve our understanding of how the planet was formed. Researchers at The Australian National University came up with a way to detect shear waves, or “J waves” in the inner core …

Scientists have developed a 3D printing technique that can recreate the complex geometry of blood vessels, and could one day be used to produce artificial arteries and organ tissues. A study, published in the journal Nature Communications , outlines a layer-by-layer printing method that features fine-grain, programmable control over rigidity. …

The purple urchin is mowing down kelp forests that are crucial as a critical habitat and a source of food for a wide range of species Early on a grey summer Saturday, an unusual assemblage — commercial fishermen, recreational boaters, neoprene-clad divers — gathered for a mission at Albion Cove, …

Will a “feminist dictionary” help men and women get a better understanding of contemporary rights movements and shift in laws — the #MeToo campaign and the ruling on Section 377, to name a few — that are changing the fabric of society? Women’s studies scholar H.S. Sreemathi thinks so. She …

Even before the microbiome craze — the hope that the bacteria in your gut holds the key to good health — people were ingesting cultures of living microorganisms to treat a host of conditions. These probiotics have become so popular that they are being marketed in foods, capsules and even …

Tejas Networks, a maker of networking products, has received an Rs. 111-crore purchase order from Sterlite Technologies to implement Indian Navy’s country-wide next-generation digital communications network. Tejas Networks would supply its terabit capacity DWDM systems and high-performance layer-3 multi-gigabit ethernet switches for Navy’s pan-India network, according to a statement. Source …