Almost exactly four years to the day since former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner stood in the lobby of the Baur au Lac hotel and warned FIFA a "football tsunami" was about to hit it, his words have finally came true.
Every general election since 2004 has been seeing the foray of one or two new parties into the political battlefield in Andhra Pradesh.
Trying to stay aloof from the scathing backlash that he has faced in the real and virtual worlds, following the World T20 loss to India on Saturday, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has said that he is not bothered by the criticism as he knows what is best from the team.
Mamata Banerjee was on Friday sworn in as the chief minister of West Bengal for the second consecutive time, heading a 42-member ministry.
'His popularity is still high; respect for his intellect and integrity is still discernible; but his long night may just be beginning,' says Ambassador B S Prakash.
The start of Indian lobbying in the US can be traced back to Pakistan's anti-India lobbying. Policy wonk Ashok Sharma documents this journey and its catalytic role in transforming the US-India relationship.
'Oil companies like IOC, BPCL and HPCL have to set up world class systems where they are always two steps ahead of the crooks,' says Sudhir Bisht, a veteran of the petroleum industry.
Durba Dhyani set out to work from home and here's what she discovered.
Kamal Haasan's unrivalled make up skills, Jack Nicholson's haunting imagery, Asha Parekh's life as a Hit Girl and the surprise package of Beauty and the Beast, it's all there in Sukanya Verma's super filmi week.
'The middle class stood by the BJP, especially after demonetisation, and they expected something in return.' 'Some section of the BJP believes the middle class is condemned to vote for the BJP as they have no other choice.' 'They think they can treat them any way, still the middle class will run to vote for it.' 'That's what the Budget seems to convey.'
The government chose moral persuasion to make people give up subsidies, notes Rahul Khullar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the ambitious 'Make in India' campaign to make India a global manufacturing hub, create jobs and boost economic growth.
Heartbroken? Fighting too often? Want to propose? Love Guru is here to help.
'We should not have waited for the political crisis in Nepal to erupt before being galvanised into action,' says Shyam Saran. 'We should have seen what was coming and not accepted assurances from the leaders of the political parties at their face value.'
'Clearly, from the Indian viewpoint, the US retrenchment from Asia cannot be happening as good news.' 'The abandonment of the US' pivot to Asia exposes the US-Indian partnership to be a mere transactional relationship,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
The first Indian to compete at the prestigious Presidents Cup in Korea next week, Anirban Lahiri on how he realised his dreams which got ignited only last year.
Till date, 107 elections to states and three parliamentary polls have been smoothly conducted using the EVMs.
'Both Modi and Xi know that if all that there is to show for Modi's visit -- barely eight months after Xi's India trip -- is a repeat of the same old declarations, there will be a terrible sense of letdown in the public mood resulting in future summits losing credibility. Only the possibility of new ground being broken can justify Modi's trip at this time,' says B S Raghavan.
The people who know Tibet will continue to fight the good fight. Long, hard, less than hopeful, but always peaceful.
Noting the "widespread cynicism and disillusionment" with governance and functioning of institutions, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said elections next year is an opportunity to elect a stable government that will ensure security and economic development.
M R Venkatesh, chartered accountant turned political commentator tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com that Modi's war is not against the opposition parties or the Congress but against the bureaucracy and the establishment.
Expelled BJP ideologue Prof Hari Om speaks to Pervez Majeed.
'So much sacrifice has gone into Baahubali and it's been worth it. The film is going to be part of history. We never thought we would get such an amazing response. The film has cut across barriers of language and region. It's being positioned as a pride of India. I never envisioned this.' Cinematographer KK Senthil Kumar tells us how he shot the epic blockbuster Baahubali.
As the nation heads toward the general election, the Congress fortunes have most likely dipped below the point of no return. The Modi-BJP juggernaut rolls along despite some hiccups. And the meteor that rose in the form of the AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal seems to be disintegrating, says Shreekant Sambrani.
'You are beginning your professional life in a time of global turmoil, when economic systems and the earth's eco-systems are in deep crisis.' 'Societies across the world are struggling with the complexity of technological and social change happening at a speed that our species has never experienced before.' 'May you be more excited than frightened by the times we live in.' 'Precisely because the crises are so deep, there are also unprecedented opportunities for pioneering and brave work that can transform society, culture and economy to create a much better world for your children.'
'Even if the national security framework is to be threat-based, then the division of security threats between Pakistan and China is absurd. The two threats are one.'
Suresh Narayanan, chairman & managing director, Nestl India, shares tips on crisis management.
Former external affairs minister, K Natwar Singh, shares his critique of the Narendra Modi government's foreign policy in this e-mailed interview with Aditi Phadnis. Edited excerpts
'Olympic wrestling is like an old Nokia phone.' 'WWE is like an iPhone.' The Great Khali's academy turns pro-wrestling dreams into reality
PM said Kovind will make an 'exceptional President'.
Chinese leaders may well respond to challenges with heightened rhetoric.
Even as the United States snuggles closer to India with the thinly veiled objective of containing China, the Indian strategy is to avoid alienating either nation.
We need a change in mindset, says the RBI Governor.
'The target for all our counter-terror operations ought to be Pakistani Punjab's population,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Rampant corruption by Congress ministers must be counted as the single biggest factor to prompt the electorate to hand over a thumping mandate to the Communist parties, says M K Bhadrakumar.
'For a long time Pakistan dreamt that India would break up and that it would be the predominant power in the region,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
We should be prepared for a phase of increased tensions in India-Pakistan relationship thanks to the evolving situation in Afghanistan, says Shyam Saran.
'Could the Khar police and the CBI have tinkered with the driver's call data records?' 'And did their fiddling with the information not make it that they were tampering with the lives of people that were in the balance as a result of this case?'
The fruits of election boycotts are harvested not only by the separatists but also by beneficiaries across the democratic divide, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
Payal Mohanka travelled to Morocco, that magical place where the past and the present don't jostle but instead coexist rather beautifully.
