American and North Viet 4 Namese delegates to the Paris Peace talks to-day [December 6] appeared to be deadlocked on what, at first sight, seems to be a ridiculous problem: the shape of the negotiating table in the enlarged talks. The Americans want the table to be rectangular, reflecting the …

With senior leaders quitting the Akali Dal and the AAP in disarray, the Congress is the biggest political beneficiary in Punjab While both Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, senior leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), cited deteriorating health as the reason for their resignation from the party, …

A robust witness protection scheme will strengthen the criminal justice system The witness protection programme is at last in place. Pending legislation by Parliament, the Supreme Court has asked States to implement a scheme framed by the Centre to protect witnesses in criminal trials from threat, intimidation and undue influence. …

The Katowice climate meet must ensure that today’s children don’t inherit a planet heading to a catastrophe The world is in deep trouble. Average global temperatures have crossed a degree Celsius above preindustrial levels and such concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (410 ppm) has never been seen by …

Post-Khashoggi, how long can Saudi Arabia retain leverage over the U.S.? The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has reportedly concluded that Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, personally ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. The murder of the Saudi dissident journalist at the Kingdom’s Istanbul consulate on October 2 …

Today we find ourselves to be more rigid versions of our former selves Think about it: 1.49 billion people on average log onto Facebook daily; every second, on average, around 6,000 tweets are tweeted on Twitter; and since its inception, over 40 billion photographs have been posted on Instagram. We …

The Katowice climate meet must ensure that today’s children don’t inherit a planet heading to a catastrophe The world is in deep trouble. Average global temperatures have crossed a degree Celsius above preindustrial levels and such concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (410 ppm) has never been seen by …

Scientists have successfully used a virus to engineer a better type of memory in computers. The research, published in the journal Applied Nano Materials , found that a key way to develop faster computers is to reduce the millisecond time delays using the virus M13 bacteriophage. These delays usually come …

Murtaza Ahmadi moved the world with his love for footballer Lionel Messi in 2016. His dream of meeting the Argentinian came true, but now the seven-year-old boy is living a nightmare as one of thousands of Afghans displaced by war. Murtaza and his family abandoned their home in southeastern Ghazni …

Uniparts India, manufacturer of engineering systems and solutions, has filed draft papers with the markets regulator SEBI to float an initial public offering. The IPO comprises fresh issuance of shares worth Rs. 100 crore besides an offer for sale of 1,30,60,770 stocks by existing shareholders, according to the draft red …

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asking him to push the deadline for filing of annual GST returns to March 31, 2019 from December 31, 2018, now. “It is to bring to your kind notice that till today the format of filing …

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U), being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Housing for All by 2022 mission since June 2015, needs a concerted push to succeed, according to Crisil Research. The government will need another Rs. 1 lakh crore in three …

Parliament’s vote on British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal will go ahead on December 11, her office said on Thursday, despite a newspaper report that Ministers had sought a delay to prevent a defeat. The British Parliament is mid-way through a five-day debate on the Brexit deal, ahead of …

Former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed, widely regarded as a climate champion, will lead Male’s official delegation at the UN climate change conference in Poland. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih nominated Mr. Nasheed to head the Maldivian team, according to a statement. Mr. Nasheed’s participation signals a potential shift in …

Anti-corruption campaigners have welcomed a decision by the British Home Office to temporarily suspend a fast-track visa scheme for wealthy investors — that has been used by many Indians — but have called for urgent action against those found to have invested suspicious wealth in the U.K. The British government …

Delhi’s air quality remained ‘very poor’ on Thursday, with seven areas recording ‘severe’ air quality. The Central Pollution Control Board listed an overall air quality index (AQI) of 355. An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 and 500 is ‘severe’. A …

Separately, the Cabinet also gave its ‘in-principle’ approval for the strategic sale of the government’s existing 52.63% total paid-up equity shareholding in Rural Electrification Corporation to the Power Finance Corporation, along with the transfer of management control. “In my Budget speech, I had said that where multiple PSUs are operating …

India on Thursday hit out at Pakistan alleging that Islamabad has tried to politicise the Kartarpur corridor. The Ministry of External Affairs also alleged that Pakistani authorities created difficulties for the two Indian Ministers who visited Kartarpur on November 28. “It was unfortunate that Pakistan has attempted to politicise a …

The Supreme Court on Thursday described as “unacceptable” the death of nearly 15,000 people in road accidents caused by potholes in the last five years and said the number was probably more than those killed on the border or by terrorists. This indicates that the authorities concerned are not maintaining …

Police sources here [Calicut] said to-day [December 5] that they could now state that the forest areas of Pulpalli, Tirunelly and Kottiyur had been cleared of most of the terrorists. Peace had been restored in the area and the so-called Naxalite ‘revolution’ had been crushed, they said. According to these …