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 …
Read More »Daily Archives: October 23, 2018
T.N. seeks Rs. 14,910 crore from Centre as cyclone assistance
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, …
Read More »Housing of the People. Trade Unionist Demand.
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 …
Read More »The German Retreat & Allied Advance.
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. …
Read More »When misogyny reared its ugly head at a press meet
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 …
Read More »Fanning the flames
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 …
Read More »A shocking mystery
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 …
Read More »Turf battle
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 …
Read More »The value of a health scheme
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 …
Read More »Ripe for prison reform
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 …
Read More »Populism confronts reality
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 …
Read More »The judiciary’s #MeToo moment
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 …
Read More »NASA names gamma-ray constellations after Godzilla, Hulk
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 : …
Read More »New hope for drug-resistant TB patients
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 — …
Read More »‘Earth’s inner core is softer than thought’
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 …
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