National Geographic has announced the winning photos of its popular Travel Photographer of the Year 2018 photo contest. The grand prize was awarded to Japanese photographer Reiko Takahashi, who captured an underwater photo of a humpback whale calf's tail. The winning photo, titled "Mermaid," was selected from over 13,000 entries received this year. Describing the moment she captured the scene, she said: "It was a special scene for me, to be able to take a photo of the calf, completely relaxed in gentle waters." Scroll down to see the full selection of winners.
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.'
Sukanya Verma lists the lessons Bollywood taught us this year.
When it came to dealing with the media and academia, it has been a roller coaster ride for the National Democratic Alliance, observes Nitin Sethi.
The ecosystems of India and China today jostle against one another across Asia and much of the world.
'Kanhaiya Kumar and others of his ilk are now out on bail. But what about the NIT 'anti-nationals'?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
In a first, a public transport facility is beating its own drum.
'Mary just stopped talking to me. Maybe she did not like the fact that she was the gold medallist, but it was me (Sarita), not her, who was getting all the attention.'
'Most of the agitations are staged by the Opposition to disturb the peace of the state.'
'To be fair to Arnab Goswami, the television camera is his only fix.' Unlike other TV stars who rule social media, Arnab is nowhere to be found.' 'While they hold forth in newspaper columns, maybe having realised that true gravitas is earned via newsprint not digicams, he does nothing of the sort.' 'He breathes and lives TV news,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'When the forensics have collapsed, approver is clearly proved to be a liar from the beginning to the end... Does the prosecution genuinely believe that we ought to remain in judicial custody despite showing that their own story is not being corroborated by evidence, for another 192 witnesses?'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'We have created an enemy we can't even see and that enemy is entertaining us while tightening the noose around our necks.' 'As the radiation increases, it will affect everything -- from your little bumble bee to plants to every living cell.' 'By the time the effects are understood, it might be too late.'
'Nowhere in the country, except perhaps Jammu and Kashmir, do extremist groups enjoy political patronage as they do in Kerala. Terrorists are exported from Kerala to Afghanistan, Syria.'
Dog squads are sniffing out poachers and busting their plans. Geetanjali Krishna tells us more about these canine crusaders.
Indian billionaires do not believe in sitting on their wealth.
Asaram is also facing a rape case in Surat in Gujarat in which the Supreme Court earlier this month gave five weeks time to the prosecution to complete the trial.
'From the beginning (I have told her) "Whatever it may be -- you are losing or winning -- on the ground you're not going to cry!" She never cried.' '"I don't want you to project that you are a loser. You are a winner".' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com speaks to Leela Raj about her famous daughter, now in the West Indies for the women's T20 World Cup.
From an exclusive interview with GQ magazine's Daniel Riley, for GQ India's April 2016 issue, here are 12 things you should know about Cristiano Ronaldo - the footballer, the father and the man
Smart cities can provide more safety, better management of traffic congestion, a low-carbon environment and better services.
'Outsiders are the ones who have to make the biggest journey to realise themselves, to come back to some sense of normality.' Director Jacques Audiard and actor Jesuthasan Antonythasan discuss the human landscape behind the award-winning film, Dheepan, with Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com
The public-private partnership model is a compulsion, says the minister.
'It's very expensive for a girl to become an actress. I remember I was nominated at all the award shows for Tanu Weds Manu, and conscientiously, like a new actress, I attended all of them and I was bankrupt by the end of it! I had to find a costume stylist, a hair stylist, a makeup stylist...!' Ronjita Kulkarni/Rediff.com gets inside Swara Bhaskar's mind.
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's Bareilly Ki Barfi had the critics reaching for the stars. But that is just the tip of the iceberg discovers Rediff.com's Savera R Someshwar.
Sandeep Mawa is a Kashmiri Pandit married to a Kashmiri Muslim, intent upon spreading the message of love and Kashmiriyat through his campaign. He wants to hug Assaduddin Owaisi, Arvind Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi and do a pau lago to Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi.
'Once Attenborough had locked the shot, Jaffrey turned to Amitabh and told him in a very controlled but stern voice that he should never talk to an actor in between takes.'
'I want to leave behind the bank stronger and better than when I took over.'
'The year in pictures' treks across the globe, looking back on the moments that shaped 2016. From the United States presidential race, to demonetisation in India to the refugee crisis, the news has kept pouring in. Here are our top 50 moments from the world.
Ananth Mahadevan takes on the audience.
The winners of the annual US Military Photographer of the Year competition showcase the compelling body of work military photographers compiled in 2014.
Over the years, pravasis have become a constituency, to be tapped, cultivated, and honoured, or at the very minimum to be listened to, says Ambassador B S Prakash.
'I always used to say ignore the trolls and move on and focus on your fans and friends,' Sreenath Sreenivasan tells Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar. 'That was easy for me to say. But now when I say it, I really mean it.'
'If you look at peacekeeping right now, it is fraught with accusations of sexual abuse or peacekeepers involved in deals that are outside their purview, human trafficking.' 'When a contingent of women walk through a camp, the women in the camp and the children respond to them, talk to them. Women are more open to talking about sexual violence and domestic violence to other women.'
For his 60th birthday in December, which he called his third 20th birthday, Mallya flew in Enrique Iglesias to perform at his villa overlooking the beach in Goa.
A food consultant tries to channel her healthier side, and here's what she discovers.
Prince William and Princess Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, collected quite a few Mumbai hearts on a hot two days in April.
Born and abandoned in Mumbai, reborn in Sweden, Erika Sandberg says she is Indian on the outside but feels Swedish on the inside. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel narrates her tale.
In 2002, at 13 she lost both her hands and severely damaged her legs in a freak accident. Today she is a dedicated social worker, a motivational speaker and model for accessible clothing in India.
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