We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
Two months after TikTok ban: Influencers busy rebuilding their fan base as homegrown apps enjoy 'gold rush'.
'The generals couldn't care less about political corruption, being complicit themselves.' 'Coup d'etats are out of fashion.' 'Their only desire is backroom control,' says Sunil Sethi.
Mumbai Indians' consistency on the big day paid off again during a season where there were more than 30 last-over finishes.
'What is hindering us is the fear for the disease.' 'For those below the age of 55 years, it's a mild disease.' 'So take care of yourself, your family and your parents.'
'Our drains are not filled with bodies, our hospitals not run out of beds.' 'That good news, or absence of expected bad news, is the truth that so many in the international community, and also within India, seem unable to handle,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week marks a star-studded start to the year
'My work hasn't reached many people, and I hope that changes.'
Ranbir's daku aspirations, Alia's magical transformation, Aishwarya's mommy love and more in Sukanya Verma's Super Filmi Week.
The lockdown that crippled the entire logistics, delivery and supply chain network to near zero, was enough to deal a body blow to India's fastest growing unicorn whose very business model saw a severe disruption, like several other firms and sectors.
Rahul Gandhi's backroom decisions. Kapil Sibal's fear of television debates. Modi vs Advani vs Scindia. All this, and more, in this week's Dilli Gupshup.
'Helpful neighbours, useful nuggets of information keep the people going as supplies run low.'
Aman Garg, 17 Devansh Kaushik, 17 and Anmol Gupta, 18 share their success journey.
Flipkart and Myntra, together, post higher sales than Amazon
The ecosystems of India and China today jostle against one another across Asia and much of the world.
Ganesh Dhene said there had only been two or three mango trees in the grove, from where he found the skeleton, which he specified had no flesh on it.
'If push comes to shove, Pakistan does have the capability to make it difficult for the US and NATO forces to make even a withdrawal of troops out of Afghanistan in orderly fashion,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Astad had the courage to plough a lonely furrow. He made a life of his own, on his own, and created a path-breaking dance style.' 'Only a few in the performing arts could do what he did.' 'A classical dancer can fall back on tradition, but Astad created something absolutely new.'
Two young designers from Meghalaya are making a positive impact with their skills.
'Neither Modi nor the BJP have lost control over the minds and votes of their original supporters due to their tremendous political ability to play upon baser communal instincts.' 'But this buoyant support will melt away if the economic scenario remains depressing.' 'That makes 2020 an interesting year to watch out for,' notes Sheela Bhatt.
'Washington is telegraphing here is its willingness to support a low-grade, limited use of force meant to send a strong message to Pakistan.' 'Perhaps something along the lines of the surgical strikes in 2016, or perhaps something a bit more -- but not much more.'
Some members of the Obama administration have worried that Pakistan's heightened anxieties about India might lead Islamabad to take reckless measures, so they have wanted New Delhi to pursue more diplomatic engagement with Islamabad.
India questioned the functioning of Pakistan's notorious military courts.
Prominent journalists have been giving the HRD minister a hall pass, asking her about politics and TRP-generating issues rather than focusing on her visions for the country's education sector.
The HC's direction came on Qureshi's plea in which he sought a restraint on the ED from arresting or taking any coercive action once he joins the investigation.
'Aamir Khan is a chalta phirta school. Even if you spend one day with him, you will learn a lot. He never gets tired. He works from morning till night.' Meet Dangal's Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra.
Modi has been relentless in building his brand regardless of banks having a problem of fraudulent and unauthorised transactions with his companies.
Jacqueline Fernandez gets candid about why she is not dating anyone, her relationship with Sonam Kapoor, her journey in Bollywood, her upcoming film Housefull 3 and more...
The New Delhi-born Krishnamoorthi, a lifelong progressive, was always the front-runner in the race against Republican Peter DiCianni. They were vying for the seat vacated by Tammy Duckworth, who won Illinois's US Senate seat.
The software had, perhaps unknown to Dr Tripathi, tracked the changes he had made. The 'morph track' feature of the software provided a trail of what had been done and also indicated that the doctor had, it seemed, opted to morph Sheena's face with the provided skull, much in the same manner that Fantamorph can turn a woman into a cheetah.
Savouring Spielberg's fierce, fine movie; salivating over MAMI's line-up; gobbling a Shrek cake; visualising a desi Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants with Alia, Bhumi and more in Sukanya Verma's Super Filmi Week.
Historian Stanley Wolpert, author of several books on India, passed into the ages recently. We remember Professor Wolpert with Rajeev Srinivasan's March 1997 interview published on the occasion of his controversial book on Jawaharlal Nehru.
The Dalai Lama's Arunachal visit is not likely to derail the relationship but it is enough to signal the Chinese that India is also willing to flash the Tibet/Taiwan card should the need arise, says Sana Hashmi.
'...that it takes fantasy seriously as a part of real life'... A fascinating excerpt from Jonathan Gil Harris's book, Masala Shakespeare: How A Firangi Writer Became Indian.
With one million users in Brazil, and 35,000 here in India within three weeks -- are we going to witness an encore from Orkut Bykkkten?
'You worry when serious people, with control of our and our children's future, begin to start obsessing over social media, seeing it as an easy, lazy, fun, low-cost substitute for boring, old-fashioned practices of politics, governance and serious, fact-based debate,' says Shekhar Gupta.
This issue assumes greater importance if you are a managed marketplace in the hypercompetitive online world.
Away from parents and in-laws, many couples find themselves unprepared for parenthood in a digital age. Nikita Puri explores apps that can ease the way.
A buoyant economic mood and tempting discounts, both online and offline, are fuelling a shopping frenzy this Diwali.
With spin expected to have an impact on the outcome of the opening Test starting in Kanpur on Thursday, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is hoping that the lessons learnt during the World Twenty20 in India will help his side's spinners counter the hosts. New Zealand had reached the semi-finals of World T20 and Mitchel Santner (4/11 in 4 overs) had recorded the best figures for a Kiwi spinner in Twenty20s en route to their knock out stage appearance. Those figures had come for a winning cause against India in Nagpur and he was well supported by Ish Sodhi, who took three wickets in that match. These two spinners -- Santner and Sodhi -- will challenge the Indian batting line-up in this Test series.
