Mandakini, wife of Mr. Kunnikkal Narayanan, Naxalite leader, was arrested in the Kumthala forest in Cannanore district this evening [December 2]. The Police denied that Ajitha, daughter of Mandakini, had been arrested. Earlier reports had said that khaki-clad Ajitha who was alleged to have played a prominent role in the …

The passing of George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, from 1989 to 1993, is an occasion to contextualise the current turbulence in the world, especially in liberal democracies. Three events — the first Gulf War, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the …

The growth estimates for the July-September quarter from the Central Statistics Office show that the economy’s expansion predictably slowed. GDP growth weakened to 7.1%, from the robust 8.2% in April-June, as rising oil prices combined with a weakening rupee to dampen demand. Gross value added (GVA) data show five of …

I generally refrain from commenting on editorials and opinion pieces. I recognise that there are points of convergence as much as there are points of divergence between the newspaper and its myriad readers, and even within the newspaper itself. These conversations lend plurality to the newspaper and they should not …

The Telangana government’s recent announcement of the Rythu Bandhu scheme has spotlighted the policy of utilising cash transfer to assist land-owning farmers with a non-agricultural income — instead of the traditional policy measures of price interventions, trade restrictions and farm loan waivers. While the scheme is nominally intended as investment …

I want to thank that nameless student whose body danced the language of freedom. He was singing bhajans of the mind. His song made sense and it also captured that sense that we often respond to dissent too seriously. We summon ideology to combat ideologically, reducing debate to the level …

The first known movie to feature disability in a meaningful way in Hindi cinema was Jeevan Naiya (1936). In this movie, the lead character abandons his wife on learning that she belongs to a family of dancers. Later, he is blinded in an accident and is nursed by a woman …

NASA is set to launch a rocket to get a closer look at the how the earth’s atmosphere is leaking into space. Understanding atmospheric escape on earth has applications all over the Universe — from predicting which planets might be habitable, to piecing together how Mars became a desolate landscape. …

Israeli researchers say an inscription on an ancient ring discovered near Jerusalem may include the name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who Biblical accounts say sentenced Jesus to death.It would be a rare example still in existence of an inscription with the name of the man believed to have …

On November 17, Guillaume Féral and Mike Lomberg took off from Geneva, Switzerland, for Verona, Italy, the first of 150 hops on an around-the-world adventure that will take them to six continents and 80 countries over nine months. Not unusual, such adventures. Except that the pilots are wheelchair users.Mr. Féral, …

It felt as if humanity had crossed an important line: In China, a scientist named He Jiankui announced recently that twins had been born in November with a gene that he had edited when they were embryos.But in some ways this news is not new at all. A few genetically …

Two centuries ago experts predicted that Icelandic would be a dead language by now. But the doomsayers can eat their words: Icelandic is alive and kicking despite an onslaught of English brought on by modern technology.Currently spoken by the 355,000 inhabitants of this North Atlantic island, Icelandic has repeatedly come …

“It’s still straightening,” said engineer Roberto Cela, gazing at the Leaning Tower of Pisa gleaming in the autumn sunshine of northern Italy. “And many years will have to pass before it stops.”The gravitationally-challenged landmark is leaning less after years of ambitious engineering work. Fortunately for the millions of tourists who …

The government has constituted a six-member committee to look at selling as many as 149 small and marginal oil and gas fields of state-owned ONGC and Oil India to private and foreign companies to boost domestic output, sources said.The panel is headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar and …

China has not accepted India’s proposal to carry out bilateral trade in local currencies, which was aimed at bridging the ballooning trade deficit with the neighbour, an official said.India’s exports to China stood at only $13.4 billion and imports aggregated to $76.4 billion in 2017-18, leaving a trade deficit of …

Does an old military truck or a dismantled part of an old car or a broken bicycle have any place in a restaurant or a lounge bar where one would go to enjoy food or wine? Shouldn’t these things belong to the junkyard and stay there?No, if you ask 44-year-old …

The U.S. is our biggest customer. There, one sees a GDP growth of around 2% and that is a very refreshing change compared to the previous years. E-commerce is getting an upside. With the GDP growth, customers are coming out to retailers to buy.Departmental stores are struggling but tier two …

Slowing inflation is likely to prompt the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to hold the key policy rate or the repo rate in the fifth bimonthly monetary policy review of 2018-19 scheduled for Wednesday.The retail inflation rate — the yardstick used by the RBI …

While much of the slowdown in economic growth in the second quarter can be attributed to systemic and structural issues such as a base effect and the impact of rising oil prices, the impact of election season and the corresponding uncertainty on investment sentiment cannot be ruled out, according to …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that he briefed his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on the Ukraine crisis as he came under pressure over Moscow’s robust foreign policy at the G20 summit in Argentina.Mr. Putin said he explained Moscow’s position to Mr. Trump when the leaders met briefly at …