Sikkim has identified 40 high-hazard glacial lakes, with 16 at the highest risk of catastrophic outbursts. Following a devastating GLOF in 2023, the state is developing India's first dedicated GLOF Risk Mitigation Protocol, using advanced monitoring and interdisciplinary approaches to protect downstream settlements and serve as a model for other Himalayan regions.
Newly appointed West Bengal minister Bishal Lama performed a puja before occupying his new office, which was previously used by former education minister Partha Chatterjee, who was arrested in a school jobs scam. Lama stated it was a personal tradition for auspicious beginnings.
The Indian government has amended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) rules, introducing stricter regulations for NGOs receiving foreign funds. Key changes include mandatory selection of predefined purposes and areas of operation, restrictions on foreign nationals as key functionaries, and explicit exclusion of proselytisation from certain faith-based activities. The amendments also introduce minimum spending limits, enhanced financial accountability, and increased transparency requirements, including social media disclosure and ultimate donor identification.
West Bengal's Bharatiya Janata Party government has moved to institutionalise its "detect, delete and deport" policy by directing all district administrations to set up "holding centres" for suspected illegal foreigners and foreign prisoners awaiting repatriation -- a step that appeared to give administrative shape to one of the party's most potent political themes in the state.
The opposition parties, including Congress, Raijor Dal and Trinamool Congress, opposed the move and demanded wider consultation with all the stakeholders before its introduction.
Frankly, was it really necessary in the middle of a fratricidal war for External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to travel to Abu Dhabi for a one-on-one with the sheikh on April 12?Or, for National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to follow up on April 26? Or, for PM Narendra Modi to follow through today? There are no easy answers, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Rather than wasting time on rhetoric, emotions and drama, if Aakhri Sawal had engaged in a serious debate with more controversial questions and stronger arguments to counter them, it would have enriched the viewer as well as lifted the discourse, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
The Maharashtra government sanctioned over Rs 1 crore for development works at a temple linked to Ashok Kharat, a self-styled godman accused of rape, in 2018. The funds were approved under the regional tourism development scheme. Kharat was arrested on March 18 after being accused of repeated rape.
Unrequited love, underdog triumph, catch all that and more on OTT this week.
The cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
'I want to show bearded men actually caring and loving for their sons or a woman from Pakistan in a position of power. How radical is that?'
'Filmmaking is such a weird line of work, artistic expression and collaboration.' 'It is letting go, then holding on to something, being democratic and then being tyrannical.'
'People don't believe that a 15-year-old girl subjected to sexual intercourse within a marriage is a victim of rape.'
'If at all human beings require a religion, the future religion will be Hinduism.'
'Only because of the absence of a dedication record in writing, how can such properties be treated as located on misappropriated government land?'
The most beautiful aspect of Bad Girl is the way it delves into the mother and daughter relationship, observes Mayur Sanap.
'What is it about the institution of faith that makes somebody get a sense of impunity, that they believe they can get away with anything?'
'Why have we failed to address the issue of ensuring a requisite buffer zone in J&K, given that cross-border links of some J&K politicians are known?', asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
A delegation of a Meitei civil society group from Manipur has conveyed its concerns to the Centre over an incident where the state's name written on a bus windshield was covered with white paper. The group, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), expressed its commitment to peace and its willingness to cooperate in efforts to restore normalcy. They also raised concerns over the growing threats posed by narco-terrorism, cross border illegal immigration, and widespread illegal opium cultivation in the state.
All-party parliamentary delegations on Friday met leaders and diplomats from several countries to galvanise international action against terrorists and decisively counter the tactics of those who perpetrate, support and sponsor cross-border terror activities against India.
'In my 26 years at Raj Bhavan, working with more than ten governors, I can tell you C P Radhakrishnan Sir stands out.'
The BAPS Hindu temple in Chino Hills, California, was desecrated, marking another incident targeting Hindu temples in the United States. The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) condemned the act and called for unity against hate, while the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) demanded a thorough investigation and highlighted a pattern of such incidents in recent years.
India has previously rejected the US state department's annual human rights report on the country, saying they continue to be based on "misinformation and flawed understanding".
It also alleged that the person occupying the high post of Prime Minister of India has been portrayed in a very belittling manner besides there are scenes in which castes have been presented as low and high and women in an insulting manner.
A high-level inter-ministerial team conducted a six-hour investigation in Badhaal village, Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir, to ascertain the causes of death of 17 members of three families under mysterious circumstances. The team, led by a director-rank officer in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, collected samples and briefed by senior district, health and police officers. The team's visit follows the deaths of 16 people between December 7 and January 19. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities focusing on potential neurotoxins and a spring that tested positive for pesticides.
The controversy has sparked reactions across states. The famous Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of 'prasad' bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade 'prasad' or fruits.
Experts said the direction is meant to maintain party unity.
An influential Hindu organisation in the United States has slammed a group of lawmakers for introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives on record of India's religious freedom arguing that it is grossly inaccurate and aims to provoke.
Buddhism, which spread from India to China 2,000 years ago, will play a new role in cementing Sino-Indian friendship and enhancing cultural contacts, China's top religious official has said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections likely to be held in April-May.
Fifteen people, including 11 'mobsters', were killed and 14 others injured in a terrorist attack in China's restive Xinjiang province on Saturday. The attack occurred at ShacheCounty in the northwestern province, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
In 1511 The Chora Church was converted into a mosque and in 1958 it was opened as a museum to the public.
Malayalee From India is trapped within its self-serving corniness and refuses to break free in the process, observes Arjun Menon.
Islamabad also summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires here and issued a strongly worded condemnation of Iran's "violation of its airspace", the Foreign Office said.
Hindu temples in Bangladesh have been vandalised by some unidentified miscreants during Durga Puja celebrations, prompting the government to deploy paramilitary force in 22 districts after three people were killed and many others injured in riots, media reports said.
The Centre on Wednesday told Delhi high court that while the city police have taken steps to ensure safety of churches and institutes run by missionaries, it was "silent" on the issue of protecting other religious places like temples, mosques and gurudwaras.
From the time he first rose to prominence during the movement against the then UPA government, Arvind Kejriwal has regularly grabbed headlines for his surprise moves and decisions. Here are 10 such instances.
Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs said that the violation of Pakistan's sovereignty is "completely unacceptable" and warned of serious consequences.
The BJP's Karnataka unit shared photographs of the artworks inside the new Parliament House, including the murals of ancient India, Chanakya, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and B R Ambedkar and the cultural diversity of the country.
