Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan introduced their daughter Maxima to the world with a beautiful and thoughtful letter.
On this one issue that touches the raw nerve of Tamil Nadu, Modi had better heed M Karunanidhi's sage words conveying "the desire and appeal of all well-wishers of the nation that Prime Minister Modi should focus on accelerating economic growth and social development" and not, let me add, let his ministers embark on disruptive escapades, says B S Raghavan.
Arsh Ali's work is about getting reliable evidence about the ancient Buddhist link between India and Egypt, discovers Veenu Sandhu.
'Amartya Sen is a citizen of the country who has every right to criticise or give his opinion on a policy decision.' 'Get back at him! Why get back at Harvard?'
'The Indian Right can afford to be rigid; but as liberals, our position has to be one of constant evolution, or else death awaits us,' argues Sreehari Nair.
Pakistan's dismal public health system is rife with mismanagement and a paucity of resources. Amidst this shambolic system, one hospital in Karachi has been providing specialised healthcare to millions. Free of charge. As the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation celebrated 40 years of successful service, Dr Sanjay Nagral visited the facility and met the man who helms it, armed with the simple philosophy that 'No person should die only because they are unable to afford medical expenses.'
'This novel format of diplomacy -- the informal summit -- will not only facilitate bilateral communication and reduce miscalculations at the very top level of the two governments, but possibly open the space for China and India to speak in one voice on various issues of mutual concern,' note Feng Renjie and Ding Kun Lei
Through its early days to the 1980s, Pakistan sought to expand its sphere of Islamic influence through Afghanistan to Central Asia and got Pakistani citizens recruited in the Afghan government institutions in the 1990s when the Taliban were power. Now, it is looking eastward through India to Bangladesh and Myanmar to establish an imaginary caliphate.
A number of studies and statistics prove that marital rape is a reality in India. But laws that do not acknowledge this are another reality that a large number of married women are forced to live with.
There are signs of China's external behaviour becoming more aggressive in the coming years. If that happens, strategic implications for neighbours having territorial disputes with China can become deeper and imperatives can rise for the former to counteract, says D S Rajan
A major criticism of the new law is that it can become an instrument of abuse as it confers the tax enforcement authorities with strong discretionary powers, says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
'Did Islam kill those five people in London?' 'Or did one wacko individual do them in?' asks Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
New Delhi can strengthen its leverage by having better relations with the two than they have with each other.
The approval was announced by Environment Minister Greg Hunt, who said "after undertaking a thorough assessment and consideration under national environment law, I have approved the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Infrastructure project, subject to 36 strict conditions".
International scientists said they have glimpsed the first direct evidence of gravitational waves, which Albert Einstein predicted a century ago.
Nayan Khanolkar, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016, tells Rediff.com's Divya Nair his story.
'The moment the BJP loses a state, it announces some policy which never takes off.'
No account of the 1962 war could be complete without Maxwell's authoritative analysis. Which is why we are reprinting this article which was run on Rediff.com in June 2001.
Donald Trump is believed to be the first US President or President-elect to have spoken to a Taiwanese leader since 1979, when the US severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan after its recognition of the People's Republic of China, points out former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
India-Vietnam relationship has its own imperatives and dynamism. In India's look east policy Vietnam has been the major pivot, at least in terms of security and strategic imperatives, says Rup Narayan Das.
Amid a spurt in terror attacks in various countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said terrorism is the "gravest threat" to the world, "equally impacting" India and Mozambique which agreed to strengthen security and defence ties and bolster cooperation in food security.
'If the US intention was to use the FATF platform to isolate Pakistan and impose sanctions against it, that is not going to work when influential countries such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia will not lend support to the US campaign,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Kidney scouts roam around the labour markets in the poorest districts of Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi in search of potential donors.
Harish Kapadia is the only Indian to win mountaineering's most prestigious award.
The growth story of India depends on its achievements in the S&T sector. There is a need to revolutionise the landscape of Indian science and technology and this is only possible if the scientific community is allowed to work 'professionally and scientifically' without burdening them with the baggage of the past, says Ajey Lele.
'When the youth population is so large, in a globalised world, they look for opportunities. Are there enough opportunities for the youth in India?' 'The idea of affirmative action has to be creating capability. All individuals have potential. Unfortunately, there is capability deprivation because of the State's inaction.' 'Nation building has been a disaster in India mainly because we lacked the work ethic compared to the US and European countries.'
After weighing all the costs and benefits, the next administration is likely to reduce and restructure assistance to Pakistan but not to end it altogether, says Daniel S Markey.
'Attempts at long-term rapprochement have been rather feeble from both sides. The primary cause of the lack of progress is that these efforts do not appear to have the support of the Pakistan army,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Biometric authentication is based on the unscientific and questionable assumption that there are parts of human body that does not age, wither and decay with the passage of time.
It's not as easy to know how the funds were deployed and gauge the impact.
Harassment, corruption and the burden of compound interest for years are also the reasons.
The Indian Army and more recently the Indian Navy have already set up dedicated intelligence branches. It is surprising indeed that the IAF, where real time and timely intelligence is most vital for effective and safe prosecution of the air war, has still not done so itself, says Group Capt (retd) P I Muralidharan.
In the heat and dust of a Baramati rally with Supriya Sule.
'...Unless we muck up our policies.' 'We have to become a modernised economy.' 'Our institutions should be stronger. And that is most important.' 'The rule of law should prevail and contracts should be enforced.' 'Above all, we have to recognise the importance of globalisation.' 'It is in our favour at this stage. We should grow and become globally competitive.'
'I always say I am a teacher by choice and an entrepreneur by chance.'
It would be foolish for Pakistan to assume that India would not act no matter what the provocation is, just because it is militarily more powerful than Myanmar and is armed with nuclear weapons, says Anand Kumar.
The average Indian soldier remains as hardy as before but he is certainly confused with the pace of change occurring all around him. It is here that the leaders -- the officers -- will have to adapt themselves to the new reality, says Nikhil Gokhale
The Forbes 30 Under 30 list is harder to get into than Stanford or Harvard University. Meet the desis who made the cut this year.
The elements are all aligned to make India a global powerhouse, says IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
There are some larger policy issues related to the submarine as a platform and the modernisation programme of the navy that merit brief recall and review, says C Uday Bhaskar
