Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last month.
At the core of Sharif's initiatives is the belief that Pakistan's economic revival is not possible until it has improved and tension-free relations with neighbouring countries, particularly India and Afghanistan, said Tariq Fatemi, the Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs.
Her deputy V K Singh is leaving for Saudi Arabia to oversee the evacuation process, she said in a statement in both Houses of Parliament.
Incisive Editor, brilliant scholar on Islam, and now BJP leader, M J Akbar is at his intellectual best when he dissects the Muslim world and its problems, and offers up a solution from his unique perspective, as he did in this recent speech at the 10th R N Kao Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.
A woman and her two minor granddaughters were killed when an angry mob set alight several houses, shops in Pakistan's Punjab province belonging to the minority Ahmadi sect in riots that followed the alleged posting of blasphemous content on Facebook.
The National Investigation Agency carried out searches at the premises of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, his NGO and a few associates for the third consecutive day on Monday, even as it blocked the website of outlawed Islamic Research Foundation founded by him.
'The whispers and the murmurs had reached even the king's private quarters.' 'Of a royal surgeon wielding a chain-saw like a carpenter; a chemist with a cannister of acid; the royal chief executioner instructing someone about the fine art of handling swords...' 'All this being supervised by Mohammed's closest confidant.'
'I am hoping that now with the strategic status of our relationship, the Indian voice will get heard in Saudi Arabia,' says Ambassador B S Prakash.
The nine meetings offer an interesting window into Shafi Armar's efforts to try and group together what after all were excitable keyboard warriors into an actual terror group, capable of handling weapons, organising recruits, cooking homegrown explosives, selecting safe training areas, safe houses and finally, committing strikes against Indian targets.
'The economy of Kashmir has collapsed.'
'He never had anything to substantiate his allegations while dropping names. It was done more to divert the investigation,' NIA sources tell Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
West Africa is in the midst of the worst Ebola outbreak in history. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that some 9,000 people have contracted the disease so far. Heath officials put the death toll at around 4,500, meaning that one in two people who get Ebola in this outbreak die. The odds are not good.
Adults are as likely as children to fall prey to diseases that immunisation can potentially prevent.
The National Investigation Agency on Thursday told a Mumbai court it has found no evidence to link nine Muslims arrested in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case to the terror attack, a move that could see them walk free.
Former Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday attacked Home Minister Rajnath Singh accusing him of resorting to a completely distorting Hindu terror remarks to blame the former UPA government.
... to choose your own calling cautiously
'People are getting admitted to hospital two to three days before their death in a very serious respiratory compromise state and they are passing away within 48 hours.' 'Those who are coming early in the disease, the minute they are suspicious that they have COVID-19, the recovery rate has been much, much, higher.' 'The moral of the story is: We must destigmatise COVID-19.' 'People should be told: 'Look, if you have anything like this, please come immediately'.'
The famous pilgrim place of Lord Shiva, the Somnath temple in Gujarat will now be off-limits for non-Hindus as authorities have decided against entry to people following other faiths without prior permission.
Ataturk and Nehru, two liberal secular modernisers, are in peril of being disowned by their successors, says Sunanda K-Datta Ray.
Former Union Minister Arun Shourie on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of deliberately maintaining silence on incidents like Dadri lynching while his ministerial.
"This is part of our policy to empower minorities with dignity and without appeasement," Naqvi said.
'Tension is being created in society because of this green flag, which is not even an Islamic flag.' 'There is no history of such a green flag being used in the Muslim world.'
It was an evening to remember for the people residing in 'Mecca of Indian Football' as a riot of colours lit the Salt Lake skyline with much awaited Indian Super League (ISL) doing everything possible to strike the right chord with the football aficionado.
The Sindhis are a lesson in perseverance. Once uprooted, they've started all over, often reinventing themselves
By clinging to the past misdeeds of some Islamic rulers, present day Muslims are making reconciliation of communities an impossibility, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Will the Statue of Unity and Tent City Narmada have as much of a transformational effect on the local economy as the salt desert/Tent City Dhordo did is something that only time can tell,' says Sanjeev Nayyar.
'Why exclude those who are curious about our faith but not born into it, to experience the temple?'
Ishant Sharma bagged seven wickets as India scored a thumping 95-run victory over England in the second Test at Lord's on Monday.
Narendra Modi seems to prefer that Hindu strongman image remain tucked in reserve, to only come when called; life's been more complicated.
A lot of people only associate him with his music. And, obviously, he's a great musician. But Rahman, above all else, is a living example of spiritual equilibrium and intrinsic human goodness. A fascinating excerpt from Krishna Trilok's Notes Of A Dream: The Authorized Biography Of A R Rahman.
Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja tells Haresh Pandya what attracted him to Reeva Solanki.
'Counter terrorism does not appear to be good guys fighting the bad ones; it is about people being picked up, detained and charged with crimes they did not commit.'
The good folks at market intelligence firm Euromonitor International have compiled this list based on international visitors arriving at various cities in 2013.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Abuu Dhabi on Sunday on a two-day visit to the strategically important United Arab Emirates during which he will hold talks with the country's top leadership to enhance cooperation in key areas of trade and security and address the Indian diaspora.
How to deal with a country that has made export of terror a reason to make the world notice and fund it? Rediff.com contributor Sanjeev Nayyar offers a few suggestions
More than 25 years after the Babri Masjid was destroyed, another generation proclaims its commitment to building a Ram temple.
'What we are today witnessing is the final act of the Pakistani army trying to retain its turf,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
However, the certified copy of the said order was issued by the court only on May 1, 2015.
