A large-scale effigy of Santa Claus created by artisans in Kolkata with thermocol ahead of Christmas.
Suman Kalyanpur, known for her melodious voice and soulful renditions, was laid to rest with full state honours in Mumbai.
Maharashtra's Sarvesh Anil Kushare and Tamil Nadu's Vithya Ramraj secured victories in high jump and 400m hurdles respectively at the Indian Athletics Series in Ranchi. Sarun Payasingh also won the men's long jump event.
Christmas was celebrated with devotion and festive gaiety across India, with churches decked in lights, midnight masses, and community events spreading cheer. Leaders extended greetings, and celebrations took place in various states with prayers for peace and harmony.
President Droupadi Murmu will attend the state funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican City this week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Murmu will pay a two-day visit to Vatican City beginning Friday, offering condolences on behalf of the government and people of India. She will pay homage to Pope Francis by laying a wreath at Basilica of Saint Peter on Friday and attend the funeral Mass at Saint Peter's Square on April 26.
The mourning will be observed across the country on April 22 and 23, and again on the day of the Pope's funeral.
The "Santa Banta" jokes on Friday came under the lens of the Supreme Court which agreed to hear a public interest litigation seeking ban websites on sardar jokes by a month. The petition said the jokes portrayed the sardar community as 'persons of low intellect, stupid and foolish'.
From dubbing voices to putting faces with the help of AI, political campaigns are undergoing a Bollywood makeover. Among the favourites is a scene from the Anil Kapoor-starrer Nayak, posted by the BJP, where Kapoor asks about the Chunaavi Vaade (poll promise), with Arvind Kejriwal at the receiving end instead of Amrish Puri.
Gandhi said the govt "tried everything to stop" his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', but nothing was working against the "effect" of the foot march.
The domestic equity markets are expected to extend gains following the strong showing of the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state elections - a crucial precursor to the general elections in May. The BJP decisively secured victories in three of the four key states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. While the battles in these three states were closely contested, the scale of the BJP's triumph has surprised many, heightening expectations for regime continuity in 2024 - a positive catalyst for the markets.
Jaishankar said that he can talk for himself and does not do politics while travelling abroad.
US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AM) on Friday announced a $400 million investment in India over the next five years and said it will build its largest design centre in Bengaluru. AMD chief technology officer Mark Papermaster made the announcement at the annual semiconductor conference in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Undeterred by Taiwan's Foxconn pulling out of his group's $20 billion semiconductor-making venture, mining baron Anil Agarwal said the first phase of Vedanta's chip-making project will be ready in two-and-a-half years.
'Holding on to superstardom is far more difficult than the struggle to get there.'
Christmas was celebrated across the country on Saturday, but the festivities were low-key for the second year in a row due to Covid, with churches and other events witnessing lower footfalls, people avoiding large get-togethers and the administration in some areas imposing certain curbs.
The surprise action comes weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and India.
After two years of muted festivities due to COVID-19, crowds thronged churches across the country this Christmas on Sunday for special prayers as people celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
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.
Digital India was the flavour of the PM's recent Silicon Valley visit.
'... as long as he doesn't stop me from mingling with my Muslim friends.' 'Tolerance isn't about making a show of your respect for another man's religion. Tolerance is about not interfering in other people's affairs as long as it doesn't infringe your own rights as an individual.'
'That the two sides allowed such a situation to arise exposed the level of inaction and inefficiency in China-India border management.' 'The Modi-Xi meeting in Xiamen initiated a process to to avert such contingencies in the future.'
What these elections prove beyond any doubt (if ever there was one) that Modi's hold over public mind and Shah's mastery of election management are unparalleled. It doesn't seem likely that they will be matched any time soon in the Indian political scene, reaffirms Shreekant Sambrani.
There could be significant announcements about India's purchase of Kamov-226T helicopters, S-400 air defence missile systems, and the long-delayed contract for joint development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft.
Not only is Modi's India not the shining land of dynamism and prosperity that he promised -- though it may be that, for some people, in a few years from now -- but socially it has the positively regressive tendencies that were entirely predictable.
Midnight tolling of bells, decked up Christmas trees, long row of candles and carols sung in unison marked Christmas celebration across the country, as the faithful thronged churches to offer prayers and exchange gifts.
'If only Cariappa/Thimayya/Chaudhari/Manekshaw were given a free hand, there'll be no PoK, the Chinese would have been taught a lesson, 1965 would have slain the Pak demon and in 1971 just another fortnight's fighting after Bangladesh and West Pakistan would have been occupied.' 'No authoritative military account suggests anything remotely like any of these...' '...Chronologies, names, even periods get mixed up, but, never mind, because the point -- strong Army denied by cowardly Congress -- is made.' 'This is where Modi is coming from,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
'If your paper writes something you don't agree with, will you criticise it?' Nitin Gadkari asks Aditi Phadnis when quizzed about demonetisation.
As Pranab Mukherjee passes away, we remember the man, the politician, the Rashtrapati.
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani hit out at Chidambaram saying the Congress is 'scared' of the polls in the state.
While Smriti Irani might bristle with faux indignation at the 'malicious' newspaper report, it is very clear that just as Teacher's Day was hijacked by her boss and a day of celebration became an assignment, the first attack on Christmas as a holiday has been made in the war on India's cosmopolitan way of life, says the Mango Indian.
There is a perception getting built inside the government that big technology companies -- a common term used for firms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon and the like - are becoming very powerful and present multiple threats to entire nations and their citizens today. The digital ecosystem is replete with CSAM (child sexual abuse material), fake news, drug trade, radicalisation, trolling among other social vices. Given the network effect that these platforms have, it is important to ensure that these platforms are not misused.
Purists may balk at this level of public discourse, but no one can deny its ability to marshal opinion.
The gunman, believed to have been dressed in a Santa costume, opened fire inside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul's Ortaky district, where hundreds were celebrating the New Year.
A selection of some interesting stories from Wednesday that you possibly would not have read in your newspaper.
We Indians simply cherry-pick those aspects of other cultures we like and reject what we consider unsuitable. Most of us recognise it as globalisation, says Kanika Datta.
As Pranab Mukherjee steps down as President, we remember the man, the politician, the Rashtrapati.
'Whether or not Chandrashekhar Azad succeeds or fails electorally, he has already made democratic politics more accountable to Dalits.'
It was conveyed that he would not have a free rein in making bureaucratic postings. Sunil Bansal, handpicked by BJP president Amit Shah to execute his UP blueprint, has made it clear the party's writ would run over the government. But Adityanath has institutionalised a system to keep Bansal out, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Enrich a woman and you can enrich a nation. Hurt women, deny women equitable rights, and a nation's death sentence will soon commence, says Dr Krishan Jeyarajasingham.
