A Parliamentary panel has recommended that the Centre urgently take steps to ensure that the National Security Guard (NSG) — the country’s premier counter-terrorist and contingency force — is equipped with its own dedicated air wing. The committee headed by Congress leader P. Chidambaram observed with anguish that the two …

Priya Prakash Varrier is India’s ‘most searched’ personality Sport-related queries dethroned entertainment as India’s top ‘googling’ obsession in 2018, occupying the top three spots on the list of most searched for ‘items’ online. This is as per the annual trends data released by Google, which it does towards the end …

Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle will help bring back crew members stranded under water The Indian Navy joined a select group of naval forces in the world on Wednesday when it inducted its first non-tethered Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) system at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. The DSRV is used …

The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended the deadline for submission of claims and objections for inclusion in the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) from December 15 to December 31, 2018. A Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton Nariman also extended the subsequent date for starting the process …

14 Opposition TNA members back it A majority of Sri Lankan parliamentarians — including 14 from the opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) — on Wednesday voted for ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as their preferred candidate to serve in the post. The motion moved by Sajith Premadasa, deputy leader of …

The internal affairs committee of the Cabinet to-day [December 11, New Delhi] discussed the political situation in Kerala, with Special reference to the proposed creation of Malappuram district having a Muslim majority. While recognising that the question fell within the State jurisdiction and the Centre could not direct the Nambudiripad …

The Congress’s performance in the Hindi heartland will enthuse it in the run-up to 2019 For a party that had appeared to be lost in the political wilderness over the past few years, the Congress has plenty to cheer about following the results in the recent round of Assembly elections. …

K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s welfare schemes helped the TRS surge ahead despite discontentment in some regions The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), led by K. Chandrasekhar Rao, popularly known as KCR, has registered a huge win in the Assembly elections. This can be seen as a vote for welfare. The formation of …

The Congress has placed itself firmly as the nucleus of any anti-BJP formation Of the few States where the Congress confronts the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) face to face, three will likely have Congress Chief Ministers now. Last year, the party gave the BJP a scare in the fourth, Gujarat. …

The situation created by Urjit Patel’s resignation should be used to push through much-needed reforms Among the quintessential traits of a central banker is to be unpredictable in action so that the markets can be kept guessing. Urjit Patel exhibited this quality in ample measure when he announced his decision …

The Congress has struggled to subdue the BJP in these State elections, but the setback to the BJP is indisputable If celebrations have broken out in Congress offices across the country, few will grudge it considering that its success in the Hindi heartland comes after four years of defeats, self-doubt …

Global warming is heating the Arctic at a record pace, driving broad environmental changes across the planet, including extreme storms in the mid-latitudes, a major U.S. scientific report said on Tuesday. Persistent heat records have rattled the fragile Arctic in the past five years, a record-long warming streak, said the …

Blitzes are swift, vigorous attacks and usually part of military parlance. But there was nothing military about citizens as they looked up at trees across India on December 1 and 2: they were on a ‘bioblitz’, recording the flowering and fruiting of common trees. The Winter Tree Quest’s results now …

Dozens of top fashion industry firms have pledged at the UN climate talks to reduce their combined greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. “The fashion industry is always two steps ahead when it comes to defining world culture, so I am pleased to see it now also leading the …

A growing number of people are looking for ways to cut their personal emissions Some people count their calories. Dirk Gratzel counts his carbon emissions. The software entrepreneur from Germany is among a small but growing number of people looking for ways to cut their personal greenhouse gas emissions from …

French President Emmanuel Macron’s government on Tuesday defended a financial relief package to quell the “yellow vest” revolt over taxes and living standards, hoping to end protests which have spiralled into violence in Paris and other cities. Over 21 million people watched a visibly contrite Mr. Macron declare a “state …

Time magazine on Tuesday named a group of journalists, including Jamal Khashoggi and a pair of Reuters journalists imprisoned by Myanmar, as its “Person of the Year”, in a cover story headlined “The Guardians and the War on Truth.” The honour went to a series of journalists including Reuters journalists …

German leader Angela Merkel ruled out further negotiations on Brexit on Tuesday but said efforts were being made to give the U.K. reassurances after Prime Minister Theresa May abruptly pulled a vote at home because she faced defeat. With less than four months left until the United Kingdom is due …

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Union Environment Ministry to declare 10 km area around 21 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country as ‘eco-sensitive zones’. A Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur took the initiative after its amicus curiae informed the court that the State governments …

The Supreme Court on Tuesday prohibited the media from publishing or airing the names or any material which may even remotely reveal the identity of victims of sexual crimes. “No person can print or publish in print, electronic, social media, etc. the name of the victim or even in a …