As for structural reform, there are signs if one looks hard enough.
Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa haunted Arsenal again by firing his side to a 1-0 win in Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg to send the Spaniards into the final and deny Arsene Wenger a dream end to his long reign as Arsenal coach.
How many of the 319 films Aseem Chhabra watched in 2018 have you seen?
'In the newsroom, the thought process is about understanding the story and trying to look beyond the obvious. The fiction-writing process is similar in many ways but more internal.'
'What we think is being patriotic is quite opposite to what actually is patriotism.' 'You have to do things for your country.' 'You have to add value and participate in actions that are not beneficial only to you.' 'That's when I decided to do a lot as an individual and as an artiste, who has 'x' number of followers on Instagram.' 'What is the point of having so many followers if I cannot use my voice for some good?'
'Sriram Raghavan is mainstream Hindi cinema's greatest gift to us,' declares Sreehari Nair after watching the director's latest movie caper.
Devulkar had a certain abnormal vagueness about him that was unreal and defied belief. That came across in both his slightly too easy-going, extra-cooperative manner and the ragged nature of his testimony.
Just two actors on stage capturing love, jealousy, possessiveness, class issues and guilt in 90 minutes... a highly entertaining musical set in 19th century Paris. Arthur J Pais/Rediff.com reports from New York on Love Letters and Can-Can.
20 years ago this week, India and Australia played one of the greatest Test matches in cricket history. Sreehari Nair relives the sound and the fury of that unforgettable game at the Eden Gardens.
His anonymous online platform helps people seek help without disclosing their identity.
Soni is a soft treatment of a very complex subject, feels Sreehari Nair.
'Breaking down silos and ensuring a more integrated governance process is just as important to performance.' 'It has been a major priority in the last six years, especially in national security,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out when delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.
Meeting the disclosure norms isn't very easy.
As millions of passengers stream through Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport, heading off on holidays or returning home to loving families, all Hassan Al Kontar can do is watch. And wait. Stuck at the airport since March 7, 2018 that's all Kontar has been able to do. The airport has become his home. And for all those who wonder what it must be like to live at an airport, the stranded 36-year-old tells us via Twitter exactly what his story is and what's happening to him.
Aseem Chhabra spots 10 must-see movies at the Berlin Film Festival.
Shoojit Sircar takes Rediff.com's Ronjita Kulkarni behind the sets of October, and right inside his beautiful mind.
'My own Indianness has kept me evolving and changing -- and that's something that nobody and nothing can take from me,' says Roopa Unnikrishnan, who left the Indian shores a decade ago. As India gears up to honour its pravasis to mark their contribution in the nation's development, Rediff.com presents different perspectives on the Diaspora.
Mark Tully on the India he loves.
'Not just the cow, nowadays any issue can be problematic.' 'All animals are related in some way or other to some God, so what kind of image do we create now?' Artist Chintan Upadhyay, who was detained by the police in Jaipur for an art installation featuring a cow, mourns the decline of India's free-thinking culture.
European champions Portugal comfortably dispatched New Zealand 4-0 to reach the Confederations Cup semi-finals on Saturday after Cristiano Ronaldo set them on their way with a penalty.
'There are times when you feel, you know: "Oh these are parents who committed murder".' 'There are times when you feel: 'No, no, the parents were innocent.' 'There is a fine line between guilt and innocence, which I found very interesting to portray.'
Talks will ensure the rise of Islamism in Kashmir and the death of the Idea of India, warns Vivek Gumaste.
'It was impossible to please everyone with Amy Winehouse's story because it is complicated and dark. Everyone has his or her own version of what was going on and I found myself caught in the middle of it.'
'...by stopping its promotion of turmoil, its aid and abetment to militancy.' 'Mr Vajpayee paved the road for peace by engaging Pakistan tirelessly while also reaching out to Kashmiri leaders and people at large.' 'Like so often in the past, this government does not have a policy. No consistency in approach.'
With the Rafale fighter deal stuck over price negotiations, can the prime minister step in and find a way out for both countries?
At its core, Criminal Justice is a tale of small miscalculations leading to grave consequences, feels Sreehari Nair.
Rukh may be lit like a YouTube Short Film, and may have its share of other technical problems, but there's something disturbingly original about director Atanu Mukherjee's vision, Sreehari Nair feels.
This will be 'an Uddhav Thackeray government controlled by a remote now held by Sharad Pawar.'
Accused No 1 announced that there had been a change in the circumstances of her health condition. She produced a thick 19-page document, written in her neat, very feminine handwriting, detailing her condition, its symptoms and the consequences it could have on her health and well-being.
Aseem Chhabra gives us the top films that enriched his year.
Abusers on social media will be rewarded if you just got intimidated or even minimally distracted. If you don't let the noise make you do either, you are winning, without even fighting the battle, says Shekhar Gupta.
Reaffirming his commitment to destroy the Islamic State, United States President Barack Obama said America will destroy any militant organisation that tried to harm its people but ruled out sending large scale troops on the ground as done in the case of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Indian and Pakistani movies, now in New York theatres!
As we observe Martyrs' Day today, Mahatma Gandhi would have been dismayed by the number of vested interests that are seeking to carve out identities and spaces outside the Republic of India, says Shreekant Sambrani.
These natural wonders are all under threat.
'More so, if it is their daughters wanting to marry someone of their own choosing.' 'Children are seen as property. That's why the problem is so messy.' For young Indians wanting to marry outside their religion, expressing their right to love and live as they choose is becoming increasingly hazardous.
What got the Jats of Haryana so furious?
Sreehari Nair is *not* impressed by this lot of films at all.