The judiciary is deviating from its own precedents in terms of civil liberties Article 21 of the Constitution places the personal liberty of citizens on the highest pedestal, and so it is the duty of our courts to protect it. However, two recent decisions of the Supreme Court suggest that …

The new IPCC report makes it clear that the path forward offers no simple or easy solutions The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just released a special report on global warming of 1.5°C over pre-industrial temperatures. Produced speedily, it provides details on how the global response to climate …

The Defence Minister fields questions about a number of concerns that relate to the Rafale deal — ranging from pricing to due process Last month, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said there was “a perception battle” the Centre was fighting over the Rafale deal and she would do so by “stating …

The India-Russia dialogue should not get inextricably entangled in the India-U.S. dialogue At their meeting in Goa at the India-Russia annual summit, in October 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted a Russian proverb to Russian President Vladimir Putin: “An old friend is better than two new ones.” It was a …

A whale calf has been freed after it got tangled in a shark net off the Australian east coast. Authorities worked for almost two hours on Tuesday morning to free the calf. “The calf had some superficial wounds, but nothing life threatening, and swam away with its mother when released,” …

Scientists say they have developed the first bioelectronic medicine — an implantable, biodegradable wireless device that speeds nerve regeneration and improves the healing of a damaged nerve. Researchers at the Washington University in the U.S. developed a device that delivers regular pulses of electricity to damaged peripheral nerves in rats …

The story cuts across class and race lines, says writer In a red cape, dark hair blowing in the wind, he crosses the dunes under a blazing sun: Antara, the famed 6th century Arab poet born a slave, is now a superhero. A pre-Islamic poet, Antara is celebrated in the …

Evidence shows that the civilisation also stored and traded the commodity Salt may have been a valuable commodity for the Mayans, say scientists who found that the ancient civilisation produced, stored and traded the mineral over 1,000 years ago. Stone tools found at a site called the Paynes Creek Salt …

Archaeologists unearth 2000-year-old carving in Jerusalem Israel on Tuesday unveiled a stone pillar engraved with an ancient inscription showing that the spelling of Jerusalem in its present-day Hebrew form was already in common use some 2,000 years ago. During construction work in February in Jerusalem, archaeologists unearthed the pillar with …

Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa says he has received “safety guarantees” from Musk Billionaire Japanese tycoon and future space tourist Yusaku Maezawa’s training to go the moon should not be too tricky, he joked on Tuesday, adding that he planned to use free time from his six-hour work day to squeeze it …

Tech giant also unveils Pixel 2-in-1 tablet and a connected Home Hub speaker Google’s new Pixel phones mirror the industry trend moving the devices toward lusher, bigger screens and add new twists on the camera for taking better selfies and other pictures. The Pixel phones have barely made a dent …

novels and more recently through modern Turkey’s hugely successful TV soap operas They are among Istanbul’s most iconic sights — magnificent waterside mansions strung out along the Bosphorus as the waters of the strait dividing Europe and Asia lap almost at their front doors. Once the preserve of the Ottoman …

The Centre has notified a higher interest rate of 8% for the non-government provident, superannuation, and gratuity funds, effective from October 1. The interest rate on these funds has been raised from 7.6%. The move comes on the back of a hike in small savings rates — by up to …

India is projected to grow at 7.3% in 2018 and 7.4% next year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday, predicting that the country will regain the tag of the world’s fastest growing major economy this year, surpassing China with more than 0.7 percentage points. In 2017, India had …

Weakens for sixth straight session The rupee weakened against the dollar for the sixth straight session, as the currency hit a fresh low amid strengthening of the greenback. The rupee declined 33 paise against the dollar to end the day at 74.39, which is a record low. The rupee opened …

JSW Energy is planning to revive its 240 megawatt (MW) hydro power project in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh at a cost of Rs.2,500crore. The plant, conceived in2007, was put on hold as the company could not have a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the buyers. Government tender “The …

State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to triple the target for loans it purchases from non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). The move is expected to provide much-needed liquidity to these entities. SBI had earlier planned to buy Rs. 15,000 crore worth of portfolio from NBFCs. It has now decided to …

Payment service, in pilot mode, to expand countrywide Ahead of the October 15 deadline to comply with RBI’s data localisation norms, Facebook-owned Whatsapp said it had built a system in India to store payments related data locally. “In response to India’s payments data circular, we’ve built a system that stores …

Suppliers keen on assurance from clients on payment obligations The payment default by some Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) group entities and the resultant debt overhang has, in its wake, reportedly created a panic reaction in the diamond market as members of the diamond trade are known to be …

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants Pope Francis to visit the officially atheist country, South Korea said on Tuesday. South Korea’s presidential office said in a statement that Mr. Kim told President Moon Jae-in during their summit last month that the Pope would be “enthusiastically” welcomed in North Korea. Mr. …