Ajit Kumar Seth, an IAS officer of the 1974 batch from the Uttar Pradesh cadre has been appointed the new Union cabinet secretary. The announcement was made hurriedly to avoid an embarrassment to the government after speculation that the incumbent KM Chandrasekhar, who retires next month, would get a fourth extension
Political leaders, industrialists and businessmen are increasingly looking to tap the resource-rich countries of the world's second largest continent even as two-way trade between India and Africa is poised to reach $70 billion by 2015 from $46 billion at present.
An estimated 3,92,078 babies were born around the world on New Year's Day, according to UNICEF. Of this, an estimated 67,385 babies were born in India, the most globally. China came in second with 46,299 births.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday left for home after a six-day visit to Ethiopia and Tanzania during which he announced a financial package of $6.6 billion to the African nations.
Tokyo marathon which last year saw close to 38,000 amateur participants, was scaled back to just a few hundred professional athletes, with the public strongly discouraged from lining the route. In past years the event attracted more than 1 million roadside spectators.
Ethiopian double world record holder and Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele will not defend his 5,000 metres world title due to injury, his management company said on Wednesday.
Mo Farah's aura of invincibility after six years of unrelenting success was finally cracked in his very last major track race on Saturday as he lost his world 5,000 meters title to Ethiopia's Muktar Edris.
Two-time champion and Delhi Commonwealth Games gold medallist John Kelai of Kenya will be the cynosure of all eyes in the upcoming Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, to be held on January 16. Kelai, who triumphed in the men's event in 2007 and 2008, is expected to face stiff competition from 2000 Sydney Olympics bronze winner Tesfaye Tola of Ethiopia, Oleg Kulkov of Russia besides compatriots Kiprono Just Kipchirchir and Evans Rutto.
Why omit the Tiananmen massacre from the history of China's Communist party, asks Claude Arpi.
According to sector estimates, it takes at least six months to develop a route.
Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie reversed his decision to retire and will continue to run competitively.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai won the Boston Marathon on Monday in an unofficial time of two hours three minutes and two seconds, the fastest time ever recorded over the distance.
"On behalf of the American people, I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the people of India on the passing of former Indian President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam," Obama said in a statement.
Defending champions Andamlak Belihu and Tsehay Gemechu produced their personal best to retain the men's and women's titles respectively at the 15th Delhi Half Marathon.
A refugee team that competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics with 10 athletes from countries including Syria and South Sudan was named on Monday as winner of a Laureus Award for sporting inspiration.
Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele partly blamed his state-of-the-art Nike shoes for his failure to win the London Marathon on Sunday.
Attacks against journalists by supporters of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party increased in the run-up to general elections in the spring of 2019, the analysis alleged.
A photo symbolising "love and compassion" of an 85-year-old Brazilian woman getting her first embrace in five months from a nurse through a transparent "hug curtain" has been named the World Press Photo of the Year. This year, according to organisers, 74,470 images were submitted for judging, made by 4,315 photographers from 130 different countries. World Press Photo has been kind enough to allow to share some of this year's winning photos here with you.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday expressed concern over restrictions imposed on travelers returning from Ebola-affected countries, saying people who develop infections should be "supported, not stigmatised".
Today, his company Karuturi Global Ltd has 3,000 sq km of agricultural land in Ethiopia (5 times the size of Mumbai) and 239 hectares of land for rose cultivation.
Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Ethiopian distance runner Almaz Ayana were crowned as the IAAF's athletes of the year on Friday.
Images from the Mumbai Marathon, held on Sunday.
Chushul and Depsang are not vital in this game of Chinese checkers, the Indian Ocean Region is. Keeping our maritime prowess restricted has to be a key Chinese strategic interest and it would appear that the LAC affair has helped China achieve its aim, points out Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
Jamaican Usain Bolt and Elaine Thompson both made the shortlists for the IAAF's World Athlete of the Year awards on Wednesday after cleaning up the sprint golds at the Rio Olympics.
Olympian Deriba Merga of Ethiopia survived stiff competition to defend the men's title, while reigning world champion Mary Keitany of Kenya created a new record to be named champion in the women's category of the $210,000 Delhi Half Marathon in New Delhi on Sunday.
Stanford University medical professor Abraham Verghese is getting ready for another bout of book tours, this time for his bestselling novel Cutting for Stone's paperback edition.
Haile Gebrselassie scored a hat-trick of Dubai Marathon victories on Friday but the Ethiopian's hopes of setting a new world record were dashed by a bad back. The world champion crossed the finish line in a time of 2:06:09, 14 seconds ahead of Kenya's Chala Dechase Beyene but more than two minutes slower than his record time.
Srinu Bugatha, Sudha Singh win Indian Elite category.
The trial began at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle as the first participant received the investigational vaccine.
Did you know that samosas, idlis and coffee are not originally from India?
Rediff.com's Day 4 guide to Moscow World Athletic championships.
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge got the better of compatriot and defending champion Wilson Kipsang in a fierce battle over the closing miles to win the London Marathon by five seconds on Sunday.
Check out the gold medal winners on Day 7 of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on Friday:
World record holder David Rudisha of Kenya and Ethiopia's defending champion Mohammed Aman cruised through the heats for the 800 metres on a hot and humid opening morning at the world athletics championships in Beijing on Saturday.
Technology has and will continue to fundamentally reshape the world, says World Bank president Jim Kim.
Olympian Deriba Merga and Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia won the men's and women's crowns in the Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday. Merga set the course ablaze, clocking 59.15 minutes, to set a new meet record.
Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie shattered his own world marathon record in Berlin on Sunday when he became the first man to run under two hours four minutes.
Efficient management of time and speedy decision-making have been the focus of President Ram Nath Kovind.
Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba sprinted to gold in the slowest 5,000 meters race in four Olympics on Friday to become the first woman to win both long distance races at the same Games. The 23-year-old world record holder won the 10,000m in the second fastest time a week ago but the early laps of Friday's race more closely resembled the pace of the morning's 20km walk.
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