The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will perhaps be best enjoyed by those who have not yet read JRR Tolkien's prequel to the Lord of the Rings series, says Paloma Sharma.
'Of equal importance was the AIADMK's precarious assembly membership, what with 11 of its MLAs including deputy chief minister OPS facing court cases for disqualification and by-elections due in another 21. To shore up the party's numbers for anticipated eventuality on the 11-MLAs' front, the AIADMK leadership in general and chief minister EPS in particular, were even more focussed on assembly seats than LS seats, just now,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If we chose to do the right things, it is possible to avoid job losses at a mass scale,' ABB MD Sanjeev Sharma tells Raghu Krishnan.
The apex court sought to know whether the governor could have sent a message in the present manner under Article175 (2) to conduct a floor test and if delay in the floor test can be a ground for the proclamation of President's rule in the state.
Jolted by the shock loss to New Zealand in the opening game, India will be fighting a survival battle quite early in the tournament when they take on arch foes Pakistan in what is being seen as the marquee clash of the ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on Saturday. The hosts, who started clear title-favourites, were in for a blow in the first match itself when New Zealand's spinners bamboozled their famed batting line-up on a turning Nagpur track. As a result, the world No.1 side is staring at an early elimination should it lose to Pakistan in the high-voltage game at the Eden Gardens. As is the case with most India-Pakistan contests, this game too has been preceded by its share of drama. The match was originally scheduled to be held in Dharamsala but was shifted here after the Himachal Pradesh government expressed inability to provide security to the Pakistan team owing to protests by ex-servicemen and their families.
The confidence motion moved by Kumaraswamy was defeated with 99 members voting for the motion and 105 against it in a House of 225 including speaker P R Ramesh Kumar and a nominated member.
Not exactly meant for family audiences, Main Tera Hero is a refreshingly unpretentious, says Paloma Sharma.
Political observers feel that the outcome of the elections weighs in favour of the BJP which had won a massive mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, held earlier this year.
Ashok Gehlot analysis the shocking rout of the Congress in the assembly polls in Rajasthan.
An ill-informed public narrative centres on expensive weapons platforms instead of the little things that would improve capability.
E-cigarettes pose a huge health risk to users, who more often than not are adolescents and young adults
However, the tilting factor still remains: Can the rivalling 'Modi brand' of 'soft Hindutva' and 'hard-sell nationalism' garner more votes for the NDA in Tamil Nadu, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
'I went to the Siddhi Vinayak temple in Mumbai, and a lady starting cursing me. A man in Shirdi temple asked why I had come there when my conduct in Balika Vadhu was wrong! It's not easy. People have liked, hated, liked and again hated me.' Balika Vadhu's Jagya -- Shashank Vyas -- moves on from the show.
BJP strategists need to remember even at this late hour that 'negativism' sells when you are in the Opposition as the Indian voter has mostly voted anti-incumbency, and not when you are in power. You still needed to highlight your achievements and promises, and let the voter draw his conclusions, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The economy can't grow without increasing electrification, which requires more power plants, and given coal is the cheapest form of fuel and is abundant, it makes sense that India is looking to boost the use of the fuel.
'We will have to wait till the snows melt in June/July 2016 before we can get a clearer idea of whether Pakistan intends to get serious about ending support for cross-border terrorism,' says G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner to Pakistan.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) race will be a direct face-off between Kings XI Punjab's hard-hitting batsman Glenn Maxwell and Kolkata Knight Riders' dashing opener Robin Uthappa.
Being a pragmatist Modi is not likely to give preference to China over Japan. Both security and economic aspects are likely to shape Modi's decision in terms of engaging the two biggest economies of Asia, says Sana Hashmi.
Despite their promised and announced reduction in power prices, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government may want keep the issue on the burner for sometime longer, since none of the concerned players are ready to give an inch, and seem raring for a fight, says Upasna Pandey
The AG said the country needs the Rafale jet to defend itself 'from F-16 fighter planes that recently bombed us'.
'I have yet to hear a public debate in which someone has not blamed women being out late for the unwelcome attention they get,' says Sherna Gandhy. 'Unfortunately, rape is not seen as the utterly heinous act it is. Not by large numbers of the public who think it is an occupational hazard of being a woman -- nor by the law enforcement agencies.'
Judge Jagdale, with a severe expression shadowing his face, looked sharply at Manoj Patil, Airtel's nodal officer, and told him plainly: "It is difficult to digest what you are saying (about) giving call data, but not giving call timings and durations."
Indian soldiers in Kashmir are not on a joy ride scouting for people to kill, says Vivek Gumate.
There are many ways to improve a bike's power character. Here are some sure shot ways
Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday returned a hung verdict with the Peoples Democratic Party as the dominant one that can tie up either with the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the government. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand the BJP and its allies headed for capturing power.
'It is best that an amicable solution to the dispute is found outside the precincts of the courts of law,' says former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole.
50 years ago, on April 1, 1968, Tata Consultancy Services -- now India's leading IT company -- was born. The foundation for TCS was laid by Faqir Chand Kohli whose life touched directly or indirectly many, many, Indians, says Shivanand Kanavi.
If nothing is done, the country is set to become 83 per cent energy-import-dependent by 2040.
The activist and her husband have allegedly embezzled funds from riot victims.
Siva Sankar looks at S P Balasubrahmanyam's fantastic repertoire.
Performance counts more than populist slogans when you are in power, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
- 'Yuvraj's ommission from the sqaud was shocking' - 'Over the years we just neither showed enough vision nor bothered to nurture talented players' - 'Australia and South Africa have good chance to win'
'Mulayam has by design cornered the people's attention back to the party and Akhilesh.' 'People were only talking of Modi and demonetisation, but now suddenly everybody is talking of Akhilesh and the SP.' 'My personal subjective impression is that the SP is neck and neck with the BJP.'
The attorney general admitted that there is no sovereign guarantee, but asserted that there is a letter of comfort by France which would be as good as a governmental guarantee.
Prime witness to one of the biggest controversies that rocked Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar has finally spoken about the anger and sense of betrayal he felt during the 'Monkeygate scandal' in Australia, revealing that he took the lead in threatening a boycott of the tour at the peak of the furore.
Just in case the NDA is unable to reach 272 seats and is in the low range of 220 seats, then some novel ideas may spring up. Like a 'national government'. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports on the various scenarios that are being considered by the political parties, and by the President of India.
A summary of Day 2 at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
One should appreciate the sagacity and audacity of JRD and Nani Palkhivala in founding TCS on April 1, 1968. At that time there was no Microsoft or Intel, SAP or Accenture, much less Google.
They needed a person who could build and execute their vision: A frontiersman; a problem solver and an institution builder. It was their and India's good fortune that Faqir Chand Kohli more than measured up to their requirements and indeed laid the foundation to take TCS to unimaginable heights and to the giant success that it is today. Shivanand Kanavi salutes the incomparable F C Kohli, who passed into the ages last week.
Here's your weekly digest of the most weird, true and funny news from the across the world.
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The UP government, if it manages to remain in power now, must take immediate steps to ensure that no violence takes place as the country gears up for the elections. Action has to be taken to prevent this, not just through the law and order machinery, but through a secular campaign in which all non-communal political parties participate, says Seema Mustafa.
