Held on the first day of Spring by the Chinese calendar, it began with a performance by dancers waving glowing green stalks to convey the vitality of the season, followed by an explosion of white and green fireworks that spelled the word "Spring".
'It is for the first time the voices of the most deferred, the most neglected, the most ignored, the most abused, the most vulnerable - the children-- has been heard. It is a great moment.' 'I always wanted Pakistan and India to have good relationships because I believe that this is very important for the development of both the countries.' 'If children are taught hatred, if they are taught about sectarianism and prejudice, then we can see that there will be terrorism in society." Nobel Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai were given an ovation after they delivered their rousing speeches in front of a packed audience at a glittering ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday. A day later, they sit down for an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour and share their dreams, their hopes for the future. Read excerpts from the interview.
'How long can you keep a person in jail using false cases?'
As the doctors at a Delhi hospital said the condition of tribal rights activist and Aam Aadmi Party leader Soni Sori was stable and there was no threat to her life, Chhattisgarh police here denied that they had any role in the attack on her.
Pakistan's prime minister is trying to use the unrest in Kashmir to save his government, says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, a former high commissioner to Islamabad.
The murder of Atiq and his brother and the police encounter with his son have raised many questions about the propriety of how crime is tackled by the Yogi government. But Yogi knows he has the support of the people who are fed up with crime holding the state to ransom for decades, asserts Ramesh Menon.
The draft lays down 17 charges against 15 accused, including human rights and civil liberties activists, and they have been sought to be charged under various sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
"The Right to Life as guaranteed by Article 21...gives the right to every human being to live a life of dignity with access to at-least bare necessities of life. To provide food security to impoverished persons is the bounden duty of all States and Governments," the top court observed while issuing a slew of directions on a plea of three activists.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden's presence at the airport in Moscow but has refused to hand over him to the United State authorities.
Tens of thousands of people, including Indian-Americans, took to streets in several United States cities to protest against controversial immigration policies of US President Donald Trump which has resulted in separation of children of illegal immigrants.
Addressing a health card distribution ceremony in Peshawar, Chief Minister Khan said the government has issued orders to rebuild the temple. The attack on the temple in Terri village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) Karak district on Wednesday drew strong condemnation from human rights activists and the minority Hindu community leaders.
'They have started an institute, the Academy of Training and Sensitisation, for prison officials near Vellore.' 'This institute has been started by the Union home ministry and it is meant for all the four southern states.'
Cricketer Harbhajan Singh, actor Mona Singh and an entertainment channel were on Thursday issued summons by a local court for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with their Ravana-Sita dance act in a reality show last year. The summons, returnable by April 22, were issued by First Class Judicial Magistrate Rajneesh on a petition filed by NGO activist and local advocate, Arvind Thakur, and spokesman of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Vijay Singh.
This motley group of gay rights activists came together to change history.
A two-judge bench upheld the validity of section 14 of POTA, which made it mandatory for every person to divulge knowledge about terrorist activities to the police immediately.
A panel discussion on Saturday had turned chaotic as some 'pro-freedom' Kashmiris, most of whom were youngsters and students, entered into heated arguments with a Kashmiri Pandit leader for hailing the Indian Army.
The lively convention, organised in New Delhi, announced of a long list of plans for practical action to be taken to galvanise the struggle against communal fascism.
This episode highlights that the country's surveillance systems are not robust enough to ward off and prevent such attacks in the future.
The dinner Jill Biden and her husband US President Joe Biden hosted for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, June 22, at the White House brought together, Indians and Americans from so many firmaments.
The Federation of Indian American Christian Organisations of North America on Friday staged a protest outside the United Nations headquarters and urged Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to look into the 'naked violation' of human rights of Christians in Orissa.Holding placards with slogans that read 'Ban VHP,' 'Stop Burning Christians alive in Orissa,' and 'Deploy Army to Orissa to Christians,' the FIACONA activists staged a three-hour protest outside the UN.
Sundarraj said, "Security forces are in a dominating position."
The Congress MP said that national security in our country is not going to get compromised by few people shouting slogans.
An Amnesty International report has accused three major US companies-Google, Microsoft and Yahoo-of helping the Chinese government crush political dissent and freedom of expression.
The report said that collaborative efforts should be taken to renovate Terri Mandir (Karak), Katas Raj Temples (Chakwal), Prahlad Mandir (Multan) and Hinglaj Mandir (Lasbela).
The accused persons held training camps at various regions to recruit cadres at all levels for commission of terrorist activities of the CPI (Maoist), the anti-terror agency said.
'Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is sincere about maintaining religious harmony in the country.' 'But for mysterious reasons, it does not reach the grassroots activists of her party.'
The tributes to Fr Stan by his associates and his co-accused (which were read out) provided a clue to why his death continues to touch so many.
At the Leo fete, Vijay had this also to tell his fans: 'I know you all are in my heart. But today, I also know that I am also in the hearts of all of you...' A typical politician's line, did you say, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
George Soros, who is in the eye of the storm over his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Adani issue, is an Hungarian-born American financier, philanthropist, and activist whose success as an investor made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. He is also known as a powerful and influential supporter of liberal social causes. In a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Thursday, the billionaire philanthropist said he believes the turmoil at Gautam Adani's business empire may weaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hold on the government, a statement which was strongly contested by the BJP as an attack on Indian democracy.
As the 25-year-old, who has refugee status in Australia, got off a plane in Bangkok on November 27, Thai immigration police were waiting to arrest him based on an Interpol "red notice" from Bahrain.
Casting doubts on Pakistan's "crackdown" on activists of Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JuD) - a political arm of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Ansar Burney, a former Pakistani minister, on Thursday asked why "arrested" terrorists have not been produced in court.
"India not supporting it in UN shows you are homophobic and a biphobic. I demand the prime minister to break his silence to speak about an inclusive society. Any kind of fundamentalism and criminalism is unacceptable."
Ekta Desai, who lives in New York was allegedly racially abused by an African-American man who called her inappropriate names and yelled "get out of here" when she was travelling in a busy commuter train.
'Through this one step, and more steps that follow, log judte jayenge (more people will come together); I'm sure of that.'
It was a year of so many contradictions and contrasts that it became dangerous to talk about movies, people lost their heads discussing Friday releases, psychiatrists began dabbling in film criticism, and film critics turned into psychiatrists, says Sreehari Nair.
'Is it a crime to be inspired by the Left ideology? Why can't I read a book on Marxist philosophy? Is it banned in India?'
The Olympic torch landed amid tight security on Friday in the Thai capital, the latest leg of its world tour, with police saying they are ready to stop any attempt by anti-China activists to put out the flame. Thai Olympic chief General Yuthasak Sasiprapa said short-cuts and alternative torch relay routes have been made ready in case of any "unexpected incidents".
'The Tamil Nadu government should ask Andhra Pradesh to speed up the investigation.'
'In Hindu society, marriage is not between a man and a woman, but between their castes; politicians do not ask for human votes, but for caste votes....' 'Have you heard of such nonsense anywhere else in the world? And we claim we are civilised!' 'One or two or a few people becoming President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Speaker etc from the downtrodden do not mean that the untouchables are uplifted and caste-based slavery is over.'
As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, and far beyond its borders, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has said.
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