From India's fight against COVID-19 to China face-off, Kovind spoke on several issues during the televised address.
In the pitch dark of the African night, a herd of cape buffaloes gather at the watering hole for a drink, taking care to stay by the edge to avoid the crocodiles lurking in the depths. In Gangiova, a village in Romania, a doctor places her stethoscope to the chest of a newborn baby, listening intently for the beating of his tiny heart. These are just some of the moments that have been picked by the judges for the Sony World Photography Awards. For the 2017 competition, photographers entered 227,596 images across the awards' Professional, Open and Youth categories. The Open competition winner will receive $5,000 (Rs 3.3 lakh), Sony digital imaging equipment and flights and accommodation to the awards ceremony at Somerset House in London. Sony World Photography Awards has been kind enough to share some of their shortlisted pieces with us.
'In 1981 when I had a project in Qatar, those in charge told me they would not like Indians in high positions; they felt Indians could work only as drivers, cleaners and labourers.' 'I challenged them and showed that Indians could do great work in all areas.' 'Today, in the Middle East, they insist on having Indians in all fields. Everybody believes Indians are capable, hard working and trustworthy,' Ravi Pillai, one of the most influential businessmen in the Middle East, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
Brent hit a session high of $114.69 a barrel, its loftiest since September last year.
China has been keeping tabs on the restive Tibet province through a 'grid' system and some 600 'convenience police posts' armed with high-tech equipment that monitor the daily life of the citizens of Lhasa and other Tibetan towns. Worse, 'volunteer security groups' known as 'Red Armband Patrols' are roaming around in order to get more information and 'classify' each and every citizen, says Claude Arpi
Is it sustainable?' 'Or is it like an overdose of a medicine that saves your life in the short run but kills you through long-lasting side-effects?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
From Singapore to Almora, Abhishant Pant has survived without cash, and he wants to continue in that state all his life.
'Chinese leaders rarely receive their foreign guests in cities other than Beijing. Such respect for India!' 'Does it mean that Modi could replicate "the warmth and unconventional way" by sending Indian troops into Tibet, as Xi did in Chumur (Ladakh) when he arrived in India? Of course, Indians are far too polite to do so,' says Claude Arpi.
In a stinging attack on Narendra Modi, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was trying to hoodwink Muslims by talking of apology after "having allowed their carnage" in 2002 and dismissed as "baseless propaganda" Gujarat chief minister's development claims.
Jaitley also dismissed criticism that lower taxes were aimed at helping corporates.
The general secretary and a founder leader of the United Liberation Front of Assam, Anup Chetia alias Golap Barua who is now lodged in a Bangladesh jail because of his pending application for political asylum, now wants to come back to his birth place Assam where he wants to live for the rest of life.
Sonal Arora, VP, Team Lease Services offers prudent advice to working women.
None of the political parties in UP has any effective plans to create jobs.
India wants more business and closer engagement with ASEAN even as China's influence spreads in the region. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with the prime minister on his visit to Brunei, reports from Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of the tiny oil-rich country.
These figures are based on purchasing power parity of 2005.
The best in international photojournalism was recently announced by World Press Photo's Annual Photo Contest. Despite fierce competition, the jury was forced to select just a handful of images from more than 73,044 photos by 4,548 photographers across 125 different countries. This year's grand prize was awarded to Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt, earning him the title of Press Photographer of the Year. Here are some of the winners.
During the election campaign Trump had said Clinton would be in jail if he won the elections. He now faces the consternation of supporters who took that pledge literally.
oaring crime gave Venezuela the horrific title of being one of the most violent countries on earth. Inflation ran into tens of thousands per cent, impoverishing nearly all of the country's 31 million people.' Yet, says Radha Roy Biswas, she sees hope for the beleaguered nation where she spent her childhood years.
'Reports of hitherto 'atmanirbhar' breadwinners having to stand in line for a plastic bag of khichdi or, travelling thousands of kms with nothing but packets of biscuits, have not moved the prime minister,' observes Jyoti Punwani.
Cottage industries across India have suffered heavily because of the note ban. In the second of a six-part series, Sanjay Jog travels to Bhiwandi to examine how the power loom industry here is coping five weeks on.
So what's all this talk about the Yeti? Does it really exist?
The jury of the 58th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected an image by Danish photographer Mads Nissen as the World Press Photo of the Year 2014.
Aseem Chhabra introduces us to the best of Berlinale.
Of the 20 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, eight were from Maharashtra, three each from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, two from Jammu and Kashmir and one each from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
Here is a recap of all the big events that shaped the world last week.
The Apple Watch may cost well over Rs 30,000 for the base model.
YU will be run as a separate business, not as an extension, says Rahul Sharma.
Adapting to an inevitable digital intervention is India's only hope at beating a long-standing job crisis. To do so, focus on quality education and better skill development is fundamental, says Dr Yogesh Kumar Bhatt.
The same scandal has led to 109 out of 387 athletes originally included in the Russian team for the Rio Olympics being banned, including its entire track and field squad.
The disparity between the outlook of the rich and poor was greater in India than in any other emerging economy. Indians might want to be worried about this because this suggests that the rich are really out of touch with the poor, Bruce Stoke, Director of Pew Research Center, tells Faisal Kidwai in an interview.
These images from across the globe tell us that it is a bizarre world out there!
In 2012, with one million deaths, China reported the highest toll from PM2.5 and PM10 pollution. At the time, India followed, reporting 621,138 deaths, nearly 10 per cent of the global toll associated with outdoor and indoor air pollution
'That has always been my ambition -- to take the reader behind the scenes, to the places he was not allowed to visit, but which I had the privilege of entering.' Haresh Pandya remembers Ted Corbett, sports journalist extraordinaire, who passed into the ages on August 9.
The 104-storey building's opening marks an emotional milestone for the United States.
Here's your weekly digest of the craziest and funniest stories from around the world
Cottage industries across India have suffered heavily because of the note ban. In the second of a six-part series, Sanjay Jog travels to Bhiwandi to examine how the power loom industry here is coping five weeks on.
News that will shock and make you laugh at the same time.
The White House denied reports that the US has threatened or is considering any physical threat to Snowden, 29, who is currently in Russia and has sought asylum in Ecuador, which is said to be his final destination from Moscow.