'I didn't expect much from him when he came on set.' 'But he was just jumping and flying around and I couldn't tell that this was his first action film!'
When Amit Jatia, vice-chairman of Westlife Development (WLDL), which operates fast-food chain McDonald's in West and South India, wanted to become the American fast-food giant's local partner in 1995, he had to first convince his family he would remain a staunch vegetarian. As McDonald's - home of the iconic Big Mac - completes 25 years in India, being one of the largest operators in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) segment in the country with over 300 outlets, Jatia has held on to the promise he made to his family. Not one to sit back and watch anyone flip the Big Mac, he gets straight to the meat of the matter when he says McDonald's success menu will see the QSR expand its ever-hungry 'foodprint' by doubling the number of joints and increasing its average unit volume by 35-40 per cent in five years.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday announced his government's decision to form 19 new districts and three new divisions in the state, earmarking Rs 2,000 crore for development of infrastructure for them.
Jaishankar, who arrived in Santo Domingo on his first official visit to the Dominican Republic, also said that India has seen a dramatic expansion in connectivity, contacts, and cooperation across the region.
Two senior government functionaries said the central government does not want to take any decision that may further escalate the ground situation.
Even as the rescuers are braving hostile weather and difficult terrain for the third day to look for signs of life under the mound of debris at Malin village in Pune, Suresh Talekar, a Pune-based activist has charged the agriculture department officials of culpable homicide, and has filed a complaint at the Ghodegaon police station.
Ninong Ering, the MP from Arunachal East, wants to meet his tribesfolk across the border in China. But he is not going to make that trip on a stapled visa, unlike the 'backdoor entry to China' made by some BJP MPs in the past.
'It is pure luck that we did not have any body bags, otherwise things could have been nasty.'
Divya Nair spent eight hours getting home September 4. Thankfully she reached safe. And was able to appreciate the human side of her journey. Her story is not any more unusual than that of so many other city residents last Wednesday. But why should anyone have to spend eight hours getting home on an average rainy day in Mumbai? Why?
The high court on Tuesday had granted bail to two Jawaharlal Nehru University students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita and a Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha saying in its anxiety to suppress dissent, the State has blurred the line between right to protest and terrorist activity and if such a mindset gains traction, it would be a "sad day for democracy".
In December 2020, the Madan Lal-led Cricket Advisory committee had named Chetan Sharma, Abey Kuruvilla and Debashish Mohanty as the new members of senior selection committee.
A winter storm on America's north-east coast has brought near-whiteout conditions to Boston.
'Whatever the legal position, it is my understanding that in practice, the Indian authorities have always treated Hindu refugees from Pakistan and Bangladesh far more sympathetically than Muslims,' notes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
The great Indian election is over and now the wait for the results is shrinking with every passing moment. Though exit polls hint at a cakewalk for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Democratic Alliance, there are some battles which will be keenly observed on the result day.
When the prime minister was offering floral tributes to Patel, flower petals were also showered on the world's tallest statue by an Indian Air Force helicopter.
The IMD has also issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts.
Protestors continued to target railway properties in Bihar and West Bengal on Saturday to vent their ire against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme disrupting train services in the eastern region for the fourth day in a row, while demonstrations were held on roads in Odisha and Jharkhand.
This was a difficult election to win, but the Modi card, the caste divide and the division in the Opposition vote bank helped overcome many challenges.
The court granted her bail on the ground of parity as co-accused Jawaharlal Nehru University students and Pinjra Tod members Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal have already been granted the relief in the case.
It is learnt that the face-off took place after a Chinese patrol tried to enter Indian territory and the troops of China's People's Liberation Army were forced back.
It said that the transit was "ongoing" and that there had been "no interference from foreign military forces so far."
After the Ladakh fiasco where Xi Jinping did not expect the Indian Army to resist his land-grabbing tactics, he has to save face before his colleagues in the Communist party.' To bring the threat of a mega-dam to the northern Indian border is a clever move, observes Claude Arpi.
'The Israeli government is saying, "OK, leave northern Gaza, because we're going to fight Hamas there".' 'But Hamas is not stupid. They are going to put militants in southern Gaza too. And then what's Israel going to do?' 'At some point are they going to say, 'Leave southern Gaza too because we want to fight Hamas there? Go across the border to Egypt"'? 'That's what people are worried about. Because they fear that once they cross the border into Egypt there will be no coming back.'
'China wants to change the status quo of India's Northern Border and proves that it can do whatever it wants in what it perceives as its own territory,' states Claude Arpi.
'Not a single soldier should be left behind in enemy territory.' Nitin A Gokhale's fascinating account on how the Indian Army conducted the daring and successful cross-border operation last September.
India and China on Tuesday agreed to hold the next round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve complete disengagement from all friction points in eastern Ladakh to create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral ties.
GAIL (India) Ltd has pre-poned the supply of gas from the US and is looking to contract more LNG next year as it doubles down efforts to secure affordable energy supplies to meet the needs of Asia's third-largest economy, chairman Manoj Jain said. India's No.1 gas transporting and marketing firm has long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contracts from the US to Australia and with Russia, supplementing domestic gas supplies. "In 3Q (October-December 2021) we preponed a couple of cargoes (LNG shiploads) from supplies that we were to receive next year and we did it again in the current quarter," Jain told PTI. This is because US LNG costs one-third of the price of gas available in the spot or current market.
Ahmedabad is home to the strangest of cuisines and is a city of contrasts, if you look beyond the tourist places.
If the Opposition has any chance at the prime minister's job, it can happen only if they all stop dropping names and work at the grassroots-level, state-wise, suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
There is nothing the young Purvanchali wants more desperately than to escape to a place with less hopelessness, and some opportunity, discovers Shekhar Gupta.
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
Swami Swaroopanand, who was the Shankracharya of Dwarka, Sharda, and Jyotish Peeth, was not keeping well for over a year, his aide said.
Without periodic booster shots to display of strength, how is this government what it aims to be? There was also the landscape of prosperity pictured; the in-season affair with 'amrit' stretched to a longer residence in 'Amrit Kaal', notes Shyam G Menon.
The IMD has issued an orange alert for Mumbai, warning of very heavy rains at isolated places with strong winds on Monday as the very severe cyclonic storm Tauktae is likely to pass close to the Mumbai coast towards Gujarat.
According to police officials, BJP supporters started reaching the venue as early as 9 am while the gates of the stadium were opened at 11 am, almost five hours before the ceremony.
IMD Director General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that 'Yaas' is likely to intensify into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm by Tuesday evening and Chandbali is likely to witness the maximum damage caused by it.
China has chosen to keep New Delhi guessing, while retaining for itself the option of constantly changing facts on the ground and shifting the LAC westwards -- the strategy called 'salami slicing', notes Ajai Shukla.
The Chinese military on Thursday said it has conducted precision strikes over the Taiwan Strait and 'expected results' were achieved, in apparent retaliation to the United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei disregarding Beijing's vociferous warnings.
The location of the landfall is north of Dhamra and south of Bahanaga, close to Bahanaga block, on the coast, around 50 km of Balasore, he said.
Following are their brief profiles and roles as alleged by the NIA.
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