Finalists in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition have been revealed and the stunning images have to be seen to be believed.
'Perhaps the finest example is from the current avalanche itself.' 'The Commanding Officer of 19 Madras (the affected unit) is Colonel Um Bahadur Gurung, a Gurkha who joined the Madras Regiment.' 'He inspired this recovery operation at 19,500 feet, a unique feat by itself.' 'He knew that if it was delayed the chances of finding the mortal remains in the Saltoro's ice would be impossible.' 'He did not pass orders from his base at Kumar (15,000 feet) or gave directions; he simply went there himself, inspiring the multitude that followed.' Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), who has served on the Siachen Glacier, salutes the incomparable spirit of the Indian Army.
'On her birthday, I decided to meet her and dressed up for it.' 'Then I saw her walking towards me with a boy. I thought it could be her brother.' 'But when she came close, she asked, "Have you met my boyfriend?"' 'That day I realised the value of sad songs in India.' 'That was the first time I was heartbroken.'
Patrick French, who profiled Nupur and Rajesh Talwar and the case against them in his book India, A Portrait, speaks to Rediff.com about their acquittal.
'340 films have been shot in Rajasthan in the last 50 years.' 'The Rajput community has never opposed any film except for Jodhaa-Akbar and Padmavati.' 'Rajasthan is known for welcoming guests, but why did these two films get into trouble?' 'They got into trouble because these two filmmakers wanted to create a controversy.'
'How does one get to weaken all those pillars on which the Deep State of Pakistan and the Separatists rely to prevent the situation reaching that point; how must this stage of the proxy war be countered? In many ways the strategy being followed by the adversaries is a smart one, acting within threshold and avoiding overpitch,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Co-founder of Twitter Biz Stone tells us what he learned from his enterprising entrepreneurial journey.
'Is there a connection between the way we pitched the entire issue of Udta Punjab's censorship and the apologetic, full-of-very-specific-answers tone of the movie?' 'Maybe it's just me, but as an Indian liberal, I am more scared of us liberals than I am of the average Indian conservative bloke,' says Sreehari Nair.
Oncologist Dr Zankhana Buch, AyurVAID Hospital tells us why these foods could help you lead a healthy lifestyle.
Unlike most Bollywood kids whose careers tend to play out in fits and starts, Alia's growth has been swift and steady.
'What we are going to see is a large number of white collar jobs getting lost.' 'Job loss can drive people to depression, drugs, alcoholism and even suicide as there is no one to turn to when they are down.' 'There is no in-between now -- things go from a luxurious lifestyle to no lifestyle.'
United States President Barack Obama said goodbye to his nation in an emotional address enriched with wisdom and optimism.
'After General Raheel Sharif took on the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, some sections of the military establishment may have felt unease as to whether the crackdown could be extended against friendlier 'non-State' actors like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.'
The British administration ignored the mounting evidence of violence between Hindus and Muslims... Military historian Barney White-Spunner traces the countdown to the tragedy in his book, Partition.
'We keep climbing one step and slipping three. In 2004, our relay team was 7th in the world. Then we slipped from there. Otherwise, today our 4x400 metres relay team would have been gearing for a medal at the Rio Games.' 'If we need to compete at the world level, our thinking needs to be at world level. You can't have akhada thinking.'
'The stereotype of an actress is that she's dumb, somebody who will sit on your lap, giggle on stupid jokes, come to the van when she's being called, receive a call at 3am and come over to your house. So when a girl comes along and challenges this, people get uncomfortable.'
Aseem Chhabra gives us the top films that enriched his year.
'The so-called separatists are representatives of Pakistan. They get paid from Islamabad for propagating that country's policy and conniving in her ploy of accession of Kashmir to Pakistan.'
'We have not seen even during Vajpayee's time what Modi and the BJP has adopted now.'
Aziz Haniffa, who has covered every Indian Prime Minister's visit to the US since Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, gives us a peek into what's happening in Washington, DC on the eve of the Modi-Trump summit.
'If there is anything a man fears, it is financial instability and it matters to me as well,' Fawad Khan tells Sonil Dedhia.
'The Indian and Israeli rabbis were singing a small departure song for brave little Moshe, who had spent many, likely, heartbreaking but bittersweet hours at this home of his babyhood, looking at the drawings his mother had made for him, that were still up in his room.'
'It's very expensive for a girl to become an actress. I remember I was nominated at all the award shows for Tanu Weds Manu, and conscientiously, like a new actress, I attended all of them and I was bankrupt by the end of it! I had to find a costume stylist, a hair stylist, a makeup stylist...!' Ronjita Kulkarni/Rediff.com gets inside Swara Bhaskar's mind.
"Each soldier was my brother in arms.' 'We fought together and achieved glory for India.' 'We fought on with only one thing in the mind -- that that this is a national battle and we must not let the Pakistanis get the better of us,' says Major General Shamsher Singh, who was awarded the Mahavir Chakra for fighting in one of the bloodiest battles the Indian Army has ever waged.
Kanu Behl's Titli is one of the best films from India in recent years, says Aseem Chhabra from the Zurich film festival.
'I have to fight to ensure something like this doesn't happen to any other child, that no other parent faces what we are going through.' 'That is how I will find strength.'
Half of the screenplay's job is done the minute Dilip Kumar's hypnotising gaze falls on Nargis. The screen bubbles with intense chemistry and sexual tension every time this incredibly handsome pair converse from a distance. Revisiting Kidar Sharma's 1950 classic, Jogan.
The 20th Law Commission has mooted the concept of shared parenting and joint custody rights to a child in case the parents opt for a divorce, both parents have equal access to the child and there should be no restricted visiting periods for a parent who does not have rights. While these sound good on paper, we need a more comprehensive report that would look into the whole issue of children's rights, lawyers tell Rashme Sehgal.
Rajiv Gandhi would have turned 72 on August 20. Had he lived. On a humid night 25 years ago, the former prime minister of India was murdered in cold blood by an LTTE suicide bomber. Neena Gopal was an eyewitness to the assassination, and in this exclusive extract from her new book, The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, she reveals for the first time what she saw in Sriperumbudur that night.
'After Rajan is back in India, our resident dons are almost down. I won't say that they are out. So, now the obvious question is about Dawood, and the present government, I think, is more than willing to address that issue.' 'I think the political system made this kind of people; the corporate world made this kind of people. I have mentioned in my book that even the banks were using these outlaws to get their money back.'
The Congress has kept quiet on the way the Union home ministry has handled innumerable blast cases under its rule. It has not openly condemned the bias that pervades within its government and the security agencies, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
The awards aren't the only story, and here, in chronological order, are my top 10 moments from this year's Globes.
Smita Patil would have been 60 on October 17 had fate not cruelly snatched her from us in 1986. She was only 31 when she died. Rediff.com salutes the incomparable actress in a special series.
Aseem Chhabra lists the elements that he loved and was pleasantly surprised by in the movies.
'I did not imagine I would be offered a film like Sonali Cable,' Rhea Chakraborty gets candid with Sonil Dedhia.
And here's how not to make them...
The gulf between Hindi cinema's finest current actor and his contemporaries widens with each film. But even Irrfan Khan, in Mick Jagger's words, can't always get what he wants. Raja Sen tells us why that's not a bad thing.
'I was very wary about stepping into the limelight and the populist role like Sherlock Holmes, but the minute I saw who was involved and read the script and the quality of it I thought: I've got to do this.' Benedict Cumberbatch tells CNN International why he nearly turned down the chance to play Sherlock Homes.
An economist from J&K and a popular face from the RSS/BJP sat together to craftily weave an alliance in what is one of the most difficult agenda-setting exercises in recent history.