The announcement of their release came a day after human rights group Amnesty International claimed that over 3,000 people had been detained in Nepal since the February 1 royal takeover.
'The intensity with which we are focussed on Pakistan, particularly our government and our media, ultimately harms us and reduces our greatness,' argues Aakar Patel.
'You can't go on creating division and rhetoric of hate.' 'It comes to roost. We are seeing the first glimpses of that in the state elections.'
India should do what we can to ensure that our two friends do not get into a confrontation that is meaningless and ultimately damaging to everyone including us.
Congress trained its guns on the National Democratic Alliance dispensation on a wide range of issues including economy, employment, price rise and foreign policy.
'How will someone who has stood on Mars and looked at Earth, only a tiny blue dot in space, then see the idea of nations and religions and all of our divisions?' says Aakar Patel.
We present our alphabet of 2020, pulling in everything you'll remember about this year we'd rather forget.
'Modi personally provides the higher direction of the ministry and the minister then works with bureaucrats on implementation,' points out Aakar Patel.
Some of the policy measures announced are expected to go a long way in removing current challenges on financing faced by businesses and also increasing economic activity, especially in areas of construction and manufacturing.
Bangladesh labour activists said on Friday they had joined a lawsuit in Switzerland against world soccer body FIFA for allegedly failing to use its influence to ensure people working on 2022 World Cup facilities in Qatar are treated fairly.
But the US secretary of state sounded benign about the issue.
'The party will keep to the script that its core supporter understands: temples, statues, Muslims and cows.'
The FM has levied 0.1 per cent tax will be levied on withdrawal of cash of Rs 10,000 and above from banks on a single day. So if you withdraw Rs 10,000 from the bank on a single day, you will need to pay a tax of Rs 10 on it.
'It is only because of the Congress that we became a secular republic.' 'As we enter a period where another political force has became dominant, it will be interesting to see if this legacy of Nehru and the Congress is sustained or we are taken in a new direction,' says Aakar Patel.
The execution of Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey was the first death sentence carried out in Indonesia since 2001.
Despite pressures from the Left parties to hike taxes on the rich and corporates, the Union Budget for 2005-06 is unlikely to be harsh on these sections while revisiting the tax structure to make it simple and compliant.
2019 will be 'a match between the old caste politics and something new which we have not fully understood in UP,' says Aakar Patel.
Turkish investigators have told local media and also to the US media that Khashoggi was brutally killed inside the consulate on October 2.
The government on Wednesday rejected in the Lok Sabha the demand for setting up of a joint parliamentary committee into the collapse of Global Trust Bank
'One goal of the Congress would surely have been to rebuild its organisation so that it begins to match that of the BJP.' 'However, this has not happened, though Rahul Gandhi has been in the party for 15 years now,' says Aakar Patel.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the inflation index would determine the nominal growth figure, and it is better to set modest targets and outperform them.
'The narrative that is the ruling party is using on Pulwama is not productive.' 'I do not think Modi and the BJP will get more votes because of that incident and the response to it,' says Aakar Patel.
'Random displays of anger will end in punishment from the IOC and the loss of points in the World Cup, without achieving what we seek,' says Aakar Patel.
An Amnesty International official has blasted the US for human rights violations under the guise of a war on terror.
Foreigners intending to work in NGOs, carry out research work on human rights and environment issues will have to face stricter scrutiny of their visa applications after detection of several incidents of alleged misuse of these provisions.
'Once the prime minister and the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Haryana pushed for this in 2014 and 2015, we have been trapped in a cycle of violence that gives India a bad name around the world,' says Aakar Patel.
Nobody understands the deep causes of defeat and victory better than the defeated. The defeated have been to all the battlefields. They have looked into the eyes of their soldiers and those of the opponents, says Aakar Patel.
'The government should refrain from 'adventurism' and 'megalomania'.' 'But this should be true of reckless government action against every Indian, whether or not they are wealthy or have access to the finance minister even when he is in hospital,' says Aakar Patel.
'We would do well to encourage all Indians to participate in democracy by contesting and laws that prevent or deter individuals and parties should be relooked at,' says Aakar Patel.
As corporate India gears up to be GST-ready, the ongoing litigation and tax dispute cases are something most businesses are cagey about.
Members of the all-women protest group Pussy Riot released a new music video on Thursday criticising Russia's staging of the Winter Olympics and its human rights record, in a rare show of dissent during the Games.
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