Congress chief claims PM has admitted to ‘theft’ in Rafale deal; Minister hits back, calls it falsehood A day after the Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, explaining the decision-making process in buying 36 Rafale fighter jets, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sparred on …
Read More »Yearly Archives: 2018
Avni: ‘two chances to tranquillise missed’
Forest official wrote on Sept. 20 about lack of coordination Even as this month’s shooting of Avni, the tigress that is said to have killed 13 villagers, remains a subject of intense debate, a letter written by a forest department official to Maharashtra’s Chief Wildlife Warden reveals the disquiet over …
Read More »U.P. Cabinet nod for Faizabad name change
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to change the name of Faizabad district to Ayodhya, a week after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made the announcement on the eve of Diwali. Source :https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/up-cabinet-nod-for-faizabad-name-change/article25489783.ece
Read More »Binny Bansal resigns as Flipkart CEO
Binny Bansal has announced his resignation as CEO of Flipkart Group, effective immediately, following an independent investigation into an allegation of “serious personal misconduct,” said Walmart Inc. in a statement. “He strongly denies the allegation. Nevertheless, we had a responsibility to ensure the investigation was thorough,” said Walmart. Source : …
Read More »Govt. asks Twitter to help track accounts
Micro-blogging site slow to act on take-down requests: official The Centre has asked microblogging site Twitter to furnish telephone numbers and other identifiable sources that could help track suspicious accounts, as asked for by law enforcement agencies, a senior Home Ministry official said. Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Monday …
Read More »Excitement high as countdown begins for F1H2O Grand Prix
Nine teams from 12 countries reach Amaravati The F1H2O power boat race buzz is growing louder 48 hours ahead of the world championship set to make a splash in River Krishna in Amaravati here. Nine teams comprising 19 Formula 1 drivers and nine Formula 4 drivers from 12 countries have …
Read More »Is govt. crop insurance scheme losing steam?
More than 84 lakh farmers, which is around 15% of the total farmers insured in the first year of the Centre’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in 2016-17, withdrew themselves from the scheme in 2017-18, a reply to an RTI application has revealed. It includes 68.31 lakh farmers from …
Read More »Sri Lanka court stays dissolution, snap elections
Speaker convenes Parliament today Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed President Maithripala Sirisena’s dissolution of Parliament and restrained the Election Commission from preparing for snap elections. After hearing 11 petitioners and respondents for two days, the top court suspended until December 7, the proclamation issued by Mr. Sirisena last …
Read More »SC refuses to stay Sabarimala ruling
Review pleas to be heard on Jan. 22; women of all age groups can visit the shrine this pilgrim season The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear in open court review petitions against its majority judgment which lifted a ban on women aged between 10 and 50 years from …
Read More »Lagos, Nov 12, 2018 (AFP) –
175 dead in Nigeria cholera outbreak Suspected cholera cases have jumped in northeast Nigeria, the Norwegian Refugee Council said on Monday. It said 10,000 people have been affected and 175 people have died in the States of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe as of early November 2018.AFP Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/lagos-nov-12-2018-afp/article25480988.ece
Read More »Nepal names former law minister as ambassador to India
Ex-Minister to be Nepal’s envoy to India The Nepal government on Monday nominated former Law Minister and senior politician Nilambar Acharya as Ambassador to India. The position was vacant since October last year.PTI Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/nepal-names-former-law-minister-as-ambassador-to-india/article25480987.ece
Read More »150 killed in 24 hours in battle for Hodeidah
At least 150 people have been killed in 24 hours of clashes in Yemen’s Hodeidah, medics and military sources said on Monday. Government loyalists supported by a Saudi-led coalition are fighting to oust the Iran-backed Houthi rebels from the Red Sea city, whose docks are a lifeline to 14 million …
Read More »6 killed in Kabul suicide attack claimed by IS
Six people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in Kabul on Monday, close to where scores of Afghans had been protesting against Taliban attacks on the minority Hazara group. Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said 20 were wounded in the blast, in front of a high school …
Read More »Turkey slams comments by France over Khashoggi probe
Erdoğan was accused of playing a ‘political game’ Turkey on Monday lashed out at “unacceptable” comments by the French Foreign Minister, who accused President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of playing a “political game” over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Mr. Erdoğan said on Saturday that Turkey had shared recordings linked to …
Read More »Bangladesh poll date pushed to December 30
Authorities in Bangladesh agreed on Monday to delay national elections by a week because of Opposition demands for more time to prepare. Chief Election Commissioner K.M. Nurul Huda said officials decided to shift the date to December 30 in response to the proposals by the Opposition parties. The new deadline …
Read More »Talking to Pak. over asylum to Asia Bibi’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asserts that Canada is a welcoming country Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that his government was holding talks with Pakistan over potentially offering asylum to Asia Bibi, a Christian woman recently freed from prison after her blasphemy conviction was overturned. “We are in …
Read More »Top election official, parties challenge Sirisena’s move
Apex court seeks explanation from government on dissolution of Parliament One of Sri Lanka’s independent Election Commissioners joined a host of political parties in challenging President Maithripala Sirisena’s recent dissolution of Parliament, in the country’s Supreme Court on Monday. The court asked the Attorney-General to explain the President’s decision at …
Read More »Manipuri man on cycle tour to save deer
Sangai, a brow antlered deer endemic to State, is under threat from poachers With an aim to spread awareness about the importance of protecting ‘Sangai’, a brow antlered deer endemic to Manipur, a local cyclist on Monday embarked on a State-wide bicycle tour. There are less than 260 deer in …
Read More »Graphic novels give a push to Bengal’s dying folk arts
Three books were published in Bengali and English in 2018 Pintu, a teenager from Murshidabad, is in awe to hear the history of Raibenshe, a folk martial dance from south Bengal, from Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, while Tito, a boy from Kolkata, is surprised to learn that behind the Chhau masks …
Read More »In China’s Himalayas, a wine ‘flying above the clouds’
The country is set to become the world’s second largest wine consumer by 2021, led by its burgeoning middle class A $300 bottle of wine sold in the U.S. and Europe is made in the unlikeliest of places: at the foot of the Himalayas in China, where farmers sing traditional …
Read More »