Apollo-8 astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders, on their return from a spectacular whirl round the moon, to-night [December 25] sped back into the grasp of earth’s gravity at 23-09 I.S.T., after successfully breaking free of lunar gravity. Their spaceship dashed unerringly “right down the corridor” towards a …

The intimidatory power of the mob made itself felt once again when the Ajmer Literature Festival abruptly cancelled veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah’s keynote address. This followed the torrent of abuse heaped on Mr. Shah by a loose coalition of persons, ranging from anonymous trolls on social media to functionaries of …

The opening of the first office of Indian Ports Global Limited at Iran’s Chabahar and the takeover of operations of the Shahid Beheshti port is a milestone in India’s regional connectivity and trade game plan. Chabahar port opens up a permanent alternative route for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia, …

The Union Home Secretary, last week, promulgated an order authorising 10 Central agencies to monitor, intercept and decrypt information which is transmitted, generated, stored in or received by any computer. Under the order, an individual who fails to assist these government agencies with technical assistance or extend all facilities can …

Elections in Bangladesh are famously a blood sport. During the campaigns virtually every constituency turns into its own bull ring, as party cadres treat rival banners like a matador’s red cape. With polls slated for December 30, the first two weeks of canvassing have already seen eight deaths and dozens …

Bhupesh Baghel, the new Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, is considered one of the architects of the Congress’s victory in the recent Assembly election. In a free-wheeling interview, he talked about how he rebuilt the Congress after being appointed president of the party State unit in 2014, his agenda for governance, …

Politicians and voters may or may not be making America great again, but they are making American politics young, and young again, if one considers the fact that several of the country’s ‘Founding Fathers’ were in their 20s and 30s. This trend is showing up in at least two ways …

The U.S.’s plans to withdraw about 7,000 troops, nearly half of its current strength, from Afghanistan, has invited strong, shocked reactions from Afghans as well as international stakeholders. The decision followed a three-day long meeting of the U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad with Taliban members in Abu Dhabi earlier last …

The Pentagon is considering using small teams of Special Operations forces to strike the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, one option for continuing a military mission there despite President Donald Trump’s order to withdraw troops.The U.S. commandos would be shifted to neighbouring Iraq, where an estimated 5,000 U.S. forces …

Watching films in cinema halls is set to get cheaper with the government slashing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on tickets. The GST comes down to 18% from 28% for tickets exceeding Rs. 100 and has been lowered to 12% from 18% for those up to Rs. 100.The decision …

Only one out of 39 locations through which the Ganga flows had clean water in the post-monsoon period this year, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has said in its latest study.As many as 37 of the 41 locations through which the river flows reported moderate to severe water pollution …

The packaging of milk has largely been a tale dominated by plastic.While pasteurised milk sealed in polyethylene pouches is still the mainstay of the doorstep delivery of milk at most homes across the country, consumers, especially in urban areas, have increasingly warmed to milk in Tetra Pak cartons, which help …

Relaxing the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) for foreigners visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands had “nothing to do with the killing of U.S. national John Allen Chau, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a response in Parliament. The RAP is mandatory for foreign nationals visiting certain areas, including Andaman …

The defeat in the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh has made the government go back to the drawing board over the issue of rural distress. Some measures to bolster incomes in the countryside may be announced by the end of the winter session of Parliament. While the …

A major challenge in the construction of the Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge — set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25 — was finding the required skilled manpower, and convincing the personnel to work in the hostile conditions of Upper Assam.“Getting the required manpower on this project …

Six months after Maharashtra imposed its ban on plastics, raising fears of job losses and a sizeable financial impact on local industry, urban bodies in the State have reported reductions in plastic waste of up to 40%, officials said.This even as the State’s Finance Department is still studying the impact …

When the devastating floods in August submerged large tracts of farmland across Kerala, the Pokkali paddy variety, which grows to a height of up to 2 m, survived the rising waters. The GI-tagged Pokkali is a saltwater-tolerant paddy grown in the coastal fields of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts. Endemic …

The Goods and Services Tax Council cut rates on 17 items and six types of services during its 31st meeting on Saturday, leaving only one common use item — cement — in the 28% bracket.Cutting rates on cement would have a significant impact on revenues and so the Council decided …

With garbage piles increasing over the years and more sewage flowing in open canals, the amount of bacteria and fungal microbes in the air is on a steady rise.Since 2010, the Department of Environmental Science in Bengaluru University has been studying the amount of bioaerosols — a term to cumulatively …