-- The gunman live-streamed the mass shooting inside the Al Noor Mosque -- Witnesses have said they saw 'blood everywhere' -- Four people are in custody after the shootings, including one woman and three men -- New Zealand Prime Minister said the shootings were 'an unprecedented act of violence, an act that has absolutely no place in New Zealand. This is not who we are'.
Vipul Ambani, a runner who participated in city marathons, never wore his last name on his sleeve, was easy-going, mild-mannered and always smiling. Yet, the question that begs to be asked is why would he join a luxury jewellery company, says Pavan Lall.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
They are sure not to like this particular one, observes N Sathiya Moorthy
Dipti Sarna had revealed that she was abducted by four men at knife point while she was on her way back home in an auto-rickshaw.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A Ganesh Nadar meets the stunned father of Alexis Prem Kumar, the Indian Jesuit priest, who was abducted by armed gunmen in the Herat province of Afghanistan.
Yogita Ashok Desai, 12, died of 'cardio pulmonary arrest', after she collapsed on her way home after fetching water.
Indrani's words were quick, her hand gestures quicker. She kept pointing to certain paragraphs in their consent terms.
Back in 2007, Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt had profiled Yakub after he was sentenced to death by the Terrorist and Disruptive Actives (Prevention) Act court for criminal conspiracy and financing air tickets to send co-conspirators for arms and RDX training to Pakistan.
Back in 2007, Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt had profiled Yakub after he was sentenced to death by the Terrorist and Disruptive Actives (Prevention) Act court for criminal conspiracy and financing air tickets to send co-conspirators for arms and RDX training to Pakistan.
Though the list of superstitious beliefs is long, often dissolving distinctions of class, caste, religion and education, Karnataka's anti-superstition bill is seen as a big step ahead.
'The stage is set for increasing tensions in a highly volatile region as crucial as ever from a geopolitical standpoint,' predicts Claude Smadja.
Why did such a 'socially conscientious' people adapt to cash-for-votes and the like, as fish to water? N Sathiya Moorthy offers an explanation.
Peter's lawyer paints Indrani as a master manipulator, looking to waste the court's time and use the media to manipulate public perception about his client. 'She is "trying to exonerate herself," the lawyer argues, and accuses Indrani of "trying to lay a trap" for Peter "and attempting to malign his reputation"...'
'If I have to write a letter I will give it to the media. They will put it out.'
Three engineering students from Tuticorin are in jail for their college principal's murder. A Ganesh Nadar digs deeper to find out what went wrong
Bihar! The state goes to the polls next year. Narendra Modi has chosen a Bhumihar, Rajput and Yadav as his ministers from the state.
The burning of a Dalit house has put Sunpedh on tenterhooks, and overenthusiastic politicians and activists aren't helping matters.
Will there be answers? Will we ever know the truth about who murdered Sheena Bora?
'People wondered aloud why she had given up on the aging, getting-day-by-day-more-infirm avatar. And was freshly blooming.'
The babas' vote banks and the politicians' greed for en bloc votes, is the curse of Punjab and Haryana.
The year threw up quite a few shockers, some rather rude one. Below are Rediff.com's 12 picks that made us sit back and think, 'Did that really happen?'
'I ask for bail in the name of justice.' 'Give me a chance to stay alive and see the trial till its end.'
With five rapes being reported over the past 36 hours from different corners of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state seemed to be turning into the country's 'rape province'. Sharat Pradhan reports
If terror indeed has no religion, no partisan affiliations, and if the government, media and all right-minded people in this country people truly believe that, let us not call one blast a "terrorist incident" and dismiss another one as a mere "cylinder blast" just because it is politically convenient, says Shehzad Poonawala.'If terror indeed has no religion, no partisan affiliations, and if the government, media and all right-minded people in this country truly believe that, let us not call one blast a "terrorist incident" and dismiss another one as a mere "cylinder blast" just because it is politically convenient,' argues Shehzad Poonawalla.
Pasbola wound up his cross examination, tabling a new narrative in the murder case. That Sheena Bora had been murdered not by her mother. But by her brother.
Nitin Gokhale, national security expert and founder BharatShakti.in, tells us what the controversy is all about.
'Mohammad Akhlaq's death isn't only about a Muslim being killed out of sheer communal bigotry, but also the denial of the Constitutional guarantees of "due process" under Article 21 and the freedom of choice,' says Shehzad Poonawalla, who has moved the National Commission for Minorities over the murder.
The terrorists were armed with AK-47s, grenades, pistols, knives, many rounds of ammunition. Sepoy Jagdish Chand's weapons were his bare hands and enormous courage. He died, but not before he felled one of them. Archana Masih/Rediff.com speaks to the family of Sepoy Jagdish Chand, one of the 7 soldiers martyred in the terrorist attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station.
Sanjeev Khanna stepped out of his usual sort of absent-minded personality to actively 'log into' the hearing, following the testimony alertly, at times standing up in the accused box to catch all of what was being said. His co-accused Peter Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea were less attentive, but were not switched off either.
Lawyer Amit Ghag got up to tell the judge that Shrikant Shivade -- Salman Khan and Peter Mukherjea's lawyer -- would take a morning flight from Jodhpur to Mumbai and would be in court by 3 pm on Friday to cross-examine Sub-Inspector Dalvi. For a moment, Judge Jagdale looks startled. "But isn't he caught up with that case in Jodhpur?" the judge asked.
'They have the same pet peeves, the same ruse, the same beliefs, the same justifications.' 'All terrorists thrive on the premise that by perpetuating violence and bloodshed on innocents, they are justifying the injustices done to their community.'
Seeing Indrani in court with her perpetually sunny demeanour and beaming face is sometimes as unreal an experience as making sense of court delays.
A young IT grad jailed for visa fraud committed by his agent, gives an insider's view of life in jail.
In the 25 odd days that he has appeared before CBI Special Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale, you have experienced the entire range of emotions just observing him. Everything from pity to irritation. To bafflement. And shock. You have scoured his face, gazed into his eyes, watched his expressions and body language, searching vigilantly for motives. And come away no wiser. Who is Shyamvar Rai? Does anybody know?
'It would be a folly on our part to believe that the KKK or its Indian version exists only as some dedicated organisation. Rather, the Indian KKK, much like the American counterpart, exists as a fragmented and amorphous collection of independent groups and individuals,' says Shehzad Poonawalla.
There it lay, a photograph on the desk under a stapler, and later a stamp pad, forgotten, done with, like its subject, a Mumbai Metro One employee who vanished overnight.
'Even if the media is partisan, the BJP, governing at the Centre, has the most to lose if India descends into widespread communal violence.' 'Fanning the flames either by vested political interests or by partisan reports only plays into the hands of those seek a conflagration.'
'As a governor, I have every right to speak my mind if I feel the security of my country is at stake.' 'Why is it that we would have to shed tears when Muslims are killed or tortured, but have to keep mum when the Hindus receive the same treatment?'
