The restoration work, held up for more than 200 years, took nine months to be completed.
Midnight tolling of bells, decked up Christmas trees, long row of candles and carols sung in unison marked Christmas celebration across the country, as the faithful thronged churches to offer prayers and exchange gifts.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack, adding: "The target was Christians."
It does not stop here, though. According to field information, state ministers, AIADMK candidates and campaigners are asking BJP cadres accompanying them not to carry party flags at common rallies and also avoid their saffron shawl on those occasions. BJP cadres are also asked to stay out of the common campaign when it enters a minority-dominated areas, especially of Muslims, and re-join later, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Gay and lesbian groups have called on voters in the Philippines to boycott boxing icon Manny Pacquiao as he bids for a Senate seat, after he described gays as 'worse than animals'.
Pope Francis on Tuesday called for respect of human rights and healing of racial and religious hatred as he arrived on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka, days after a new government assumed power in the country.
The ultimate was surely Yudhishthira's immortal "Aswathama hatha...", followed by a whispered "iti narova kunjarova..."," says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Mother Teresa is expected to be officially canonised in Rome on 4 September as part the pope's Jubilee year of mercy.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council K S Eshwarappa alleged that the government has 'misused' the office of the President by getting Tipu's name mentioned in the speech.
The 54-year old Mulakkal was arrested by Kerala police after intense interrogation in Kochi over the last three days.
Hindu and Sikh leaders will share stage with Pope Francis during a prayer service in New York
'What happened last Sunday is a great tragedy, an insult to humanity'
In a landmark judgement, a Malaysian court on Monday ruled that non-Muslims cannot use the word "Allah" to refer to God and prohibited a Christian newspaper from using it in the Muslim-majority nation.
The Philippines army battles terrorists backed by Islamic State in the first major military encounter with Islamists in that part of the world.
'A class antagonism of rich versus poor took the colouring of a communal confrontation,' says Sunil Sethi.
Instead of repealing Section 295A of the IPC, which criminalises speech that offends the religious, India intends to further criminalise offence against religion, says Mihir S Sharma
The Chinese President dethroned Russian President Vladimir Putin as the most influential person on the planet.
Croatia's Mirjana Lucic-Baroni could barely contain her joy after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday, 19 years after her only previous singles match win at Melbourne Park prior to her remarkable run.
'Of course, I would like a world in which candidates don't ask for my vote on religious (etc) grounds.' 'But will we ever live in a world free of such appeals?' 'More important, will a Supreme Court verdict, by itself, ever deliver such a world?' asks Dilip D'Souza.
Rights activist Kailash Satyarthi is the eight Indian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Rediff.com takes a look at other Indians or Indian-origin people, who have been awarded the honour.
Even though she was one of the planet's best known people, Mother Teresa remained an enigma all her life.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
'The problem is not lack of evidence, but the unholy alliance between political parties and church authorities.' 'If you are raising a voice against the priest, you and your family will suffer.'
Did you know that Clark Gable nearly didn't say 'Frankly, my dear I don't give a damn' in Gone With The Wind? Or the film's India connections?
'Rich Indians don't give cash, they give gold. Why?' 'Because cash is spent by temples on prasad or doing some charitable work.' 'Gold remains intact with god,' says Aakar Patel.
'This business of monopoly of one family must end.' 'Here, they picked up a few leaders for him as he needed support which was okay, but later, they became his cronies.'
At least 15 persons were killed and 80 others injured when Taliban suicide attackers targeted two packed churches during mass on Sunday in Pakistan's biggest Christian neighbourhood in Lahore, the capital of Punjab.
Rather than talking about Khajuraho and Shikhandi, the argument should be about a Constitution that promised rights to all, says Mihir S Sharma
Rediff.com takes a look at some personalities who are likely to win the prize this year.
'While India's 'secularism' is a matter of cultural values rooted in Hinduism, the Western concept became one of rights rooted in legal rights. India would be secular with or without Article 25 of the Constitution,' says T V R Shenoy.
'Your constant reiteration on the lack of religious freedom in India has sown doubts about the kind of information that you are being fed and based on which you seem to be making adverse references to India and its tradition of religious tolerance.'
Here's your weekly digest of the craziest stories from around the world.
The work of Norman Borlaug, who helped save billions from starvation, is worth recalling, especially as opposition to gene-modified crops mount, says Shreekant Sambrani.
When Pope Francis canonizes the late Mother Teresa at the Vatican on September 4, she will officially be recognised as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. However, for her followers in Kolkata, the title is a mere formality.
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