Onkar Singh, a valuable member of the Rediff.com team over the years, breathed his last on January 13. Syed Firdaus Ashraf, who knew him intimately, remembers the ultimate newsman.
Like millions of people across the world, the year 2020 had dealt me irreplaceable losses and the lowest of blows. Like I have always done at such junctures, I had sought the refuge of the mountains. I wanted to end the year on a high, to show the finger to life, says Sumit Bhattacharya after a memorable journey to North Sikkim.
Concerned over the dubious handling of politically sensitive cases by the Central Bureau of Investigation, a group of eminent citizens has written to agency chief Ranjit Sinha seeking to know whether his force really needs autonomy.
A number of football leagues around the globe will resume after the COVID-19 stoppage in the coming weeks but the matches will be played without fans.
A judge is likely to decide on Friday whether to grant bail to Oscar Pistorius, with prosecutors arguing he is a cold-blooded killer and his own lawyers that he is far too famous to have any chance of fleeing prosecution.
Triggering controversy over capital punishment to Yakub Memon in Mumbai blasts case, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday sought to know whether the perpetrators of demolition of disputed structure in Ayodhya, communal riots of Mumbai and Gujarat and other such sensational cases would get a similar punishment.
The female tiger, named Nadia, is believed to be the first known case of an animal infected with COVID-19 in the US. It is suspected that she contracted the virus from a caretaker who was asymptomatic at that time.
'If the envoys are satisfied, it will either mean they are naive or that they are not serious about their trip, which they probably regard as some kind of a picnic, a much-needed break from their dreary routine in Delhi,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
Tomar said the union leaders kept insisting on repeal of the three farm laws, but the government side tried to explain them the benefits of the Acts and sought to know specific problems faced by the farmers.
Data shows that the current system of decentralised marketing and centralised procurement helps Punjab and Haryana farmers the most, while its efficacy in other states has been poor. Experts and farm leaders say success of the laws rests heavily on implementation.
An accused D G Vanzara gets bail months after Modi emerges as PM and hails it is as a return of 'Achche Din' while the blind-folded lady justice, almost mocks the rest of us, by suggesting that nobody is guilty for the cold blooded killing of Ishrat Jahan, Kauser Bi and the 2,000 odd innocent people in Gujarat, says Shehzad Poonawala.
YCook can add a year of shelf life to food without the side effects of chemical preservatives.
Joginder Tuteja looks at the top 10 flops of 2000.
Failure to sell Air India, IDBI may have prompted a change in strategy.
December 3, 2021 marks 50 years since the beginning of the 1971 War which ended in a decisive military victory for India and the liberation of Bangladesh. Most analysts of the 1971 War agree that the IV Corps dash across the mighty Meghna river led by the brilliant General Sagat Singh was the turning point in the war, recalls military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The company seeks appointment of independent international experts to verify its claims.
Inside the narrow alleys of the basti, two CRPF companies -- around 150 armed guards -- have been deployed to keep a check on any unnecessary movement, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
'Beijing is comfortable with Hasina's pragmatism -- perceived as 'pro-India', but staying out of Indian orbit and receptive to forging close ties with China and yet, siding with neither neighbour,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Finding itself trapped in a cul de sac, all things considered, a negotiated climbdown at this juncture seems the only sensible course available for the Centre, suggests Virendra Kapoor.
'All the vaccines that are available in most countries, right now, are all highly effective and safe.'
More rural women are having babies in government hospitals. Facilities have improved, but Bihar has is a long way to go in public health.
Statesmanship requires that the prime minister himself reaches out to those amassed at the Singhu and Ghazipur borders. Modi should be able to win over this domestic front with sheer compassion, observes Virendra Kapoor.
India's largest airline has also told its crew members -- who are working on flights connecting India with East Asian countries like Thailand and Singapore -- to wear N95 masks at all times when they are on ground.
Was the death sentence provoked by a retired Pakistani colonel going missing in Nepal, presumably abducted by Indian agents?
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief and the three others convicted last Friday in the case appeared before the court through video conferencing.
Onion prices have been ruling at Rs 70-90 per kg in most parts of the country and even touched Rs 100 per kg in some cities like Patna and Jammu.
'I am sure our DRDO will surely be on the job towards building similar capability to counter the threat posed by this Chinese helicopter,' observes Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
'I knew one day I will explode if I don't get some sanity with making music.'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
'Our confidence has been strengthened by the fact that the Supreme Court has decided to examine the Constitutional validity of all that has been done on August 5.' 'That in itself is an achievement because the Supreme Court could have very well said you don't have a case at all.' 'The very fact that the honourable court has decided to admit it for regular hearing, and refer it to a Constitutional bench, tells us that the Supreme Court has found merit in our case.'
Raj Kumar, a resident of Jarara town situated 20 kilometres from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, would not have thought in his dreams that his one decision of declaring a delivery 'no ball' would end up in him losing his sister. The incident took place last Friday when Kumar, who was umpiring in one of the cricket matches in the Jarara Premier League organised by the village people, declared a delivery 'no ball' at the crucial stage of the game between Jarara and Bariki. Angry at his decision, Sandeep Pal, one of the players, went up to him and told him that his decision was unfair and, therefore, he should change it. Kumar, however, felt that it was a correct decision and did not change it following which, Pal started beating him and said the umpire would have to pay dearly for the mistake. On Sunday, when Kumar's sister, Pooja and three of her friends, were going to the forest to bring some mud, Pal on gun-point offered them cold drinks laced with poison.
A 26-year-old woman was allegedly drugged and gangraped in Muzaffarnagar by five youths, including son of a Sub-inspector, police said on Sunday.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's son and Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao said he would 'personally monitor the case'.
The Centre has put the proposed Rs 3,500-crore global airport hub at Noida in Uttar Pradesh into cold storage and the ambitious project would not be able to keep its date with the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
A 20-year-old British youth, charged for the cold-blooded murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve, shocked everyone on Monday by calling himself a "psycho" in court before being remanded to custody.
'Will you declare MSP for 100 odd crops that the farmers of India grow?'
After an apparent truce between AAP and the BJP following the Delhi polls, sparks are flying once again. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Farmer leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan said told reporters after the meeting that the unions urged the government to repeal the three laws, but the Centre was unwilling to do so. "We decided to meet again on January 19 at 12 pm," he said.
'Closets brimmed and overflowed.' 'The dining cabinet was emptied to stock footwear.' 'They were thrust into bookshelves still in their wrapping.' 'It was like a boot plague for which there was no antidote,' says Kishore Singh.
Construction companies will make money building detention centres. Information technology companies will make money on the enumeration of the CAA, NRC and NPR, notes Devangshu Datta.
