The aid climate showed signs of distinct improvement with the announcement here [New Delhi] to-day [December 19] that the United States would sign aid agreements with India in the next few days for $231 million of project and non-project aid, and $167 million of food aid. At the same time, …

The events that led to the Stockholm peace agreement, and the way forward What triggered the truce? The ceasefire between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in the port city of Hodeida came into existence on December 18. The agreement was reached in UN-mediated talks …

The passage of a Bill in the Lok Sabha to secure the rights of transgender persons is a progressive step towards extending constitutional protection to this highly marginalised community. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2018, as passed, is an improved version of the legislation introduced two years ago. …

In the din over the Bharatiya Janata Party’s losses to the Congress in three States in the Hindi heartland, the dismal defeat of the ruling Congress party to the Mizo National Front in Mizoram has gone insufficiently noticed. With this, the Congress has lost its last remaining State in the …

One of the low points in Parliament’s history is that when 2,733 Sikhs were massacred in three days in Delhi in November 1984, it did not pass any resolution condemning the killings or even condoling those deaths. This was despite the resolutions sponsored by the Rajiv Gandhi government in January …

In a democracy, citizens have the freedom to criticise laws that violate their idea of dignity “It has become a fashion of the day to make a hue and cry about personal liberty,” the Maharashtra government lamented before the Supreme Court in early December. The government said this in response …

Delhi in the cooler months, between early October and late March, once a six-month stretch of mild sunshine, blue skies, crisp air, festivals of every major religious community, associated with agricultural cycles, equinoxes and other natural and cultural punctuations of the annual solar calendar braided with the monthly lunar calendar, …

A newly-discovered blind amphibian from Panama will be named after Donald Trump in recognition of the U.S. President’s stance on climate change, according to a media report. EnviroBuild, a U.K.-based sustainable building materials company, announced on Tuesday that it would be using Dermophis donaldtrumpi as the name for the amphibian …

Japanese scientists have detected evidence of water in 17 asteroids for the first time using data from the infrared satellite AKARI. Researchers from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and University of Tokyo found that water is retained in asteroids as hydrated mine- rals, which were produced by chemical reactions of …

Elon Musk on Tuesday took a break from futuristic electric cars and private space travel to unveil a low-cost tunnel he sees as a godsend for city traffic. The billionaire behind Tesla and SpaceX late on Tuesday put the spotlight on a 1.8 km tunnel created by his Boring Company …