To no one's surprise, the first question directed at Indian Ambassador to the United States Dr S Jaishankar -- at the end of his first public address since he assumed his duties in December -- was about the controversial Devyani Khobragade episode.
'There is a point near the hill where you kill the engine and park your vehicle in neutral.' 'The vehicle automatically slides a few inches, which the locals believe is due to the magnetic power of the hill.'
A New York court has refused to grant relief to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade on the ground that adjournment of the date when she has to be indicted will not grant her the "relief she seeks" regarding plea negotiations between her and the government to resolve the visa fraud case.
Denouncing India's attempts to get Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade full diplomatic immunity, United States law enforcement officials warn that it will set a terrible precedent. Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa reports from Washington, DC.
The United States has ruled out acceding to either of the two Indian demands --withdrawal of charges against its diplomat Devyani Khobragade, and an apology for alleged mistreatment, after her arrest in New York last week.
'All those photographs I had seen before about Ladakh were not photoshopped.' 'Ladakh, truly, was nature's masterpiece.'
Aishwarya Rai confirmed in her September 27, 2002, interview to The Times Of India: 'Salman and I broke up last March, but he isn't able to come to terms with it.'
There is no chance of the case against Devyani Khobaragade being dropped, but a plea deal is possible, which could avoid a jail term for the Indian diplomat, sources in the US government tell Rediff.com's George Joseph in New York.
'If the Americans believed that India is as strong as China or Russia, would they have shown this scant respect for us,' asks Tarun Vijay, MP. 'An economically strong and militarily powerful India would never have had this experience. Not just the Americans, everyone in this world respects might. China receives respect, India gets the law book.'
'If at all,' says Suhasini Haidar, Foreign Affairs Editor, CNN-IBN, 'Devyani Khobragade is to avoid facing a full trial, the process of that negotiation must start immediately, for which the current acrimonious atmosphere must be improved. It is no more than the US was willing to do for Raymond Davis; the Italian government for its sailors; and India for Captain Sunil James and Vijayan in Togo. Devyani Khobragade is not accused of charges anywhere as serious they were, and whether Preet Bharara's office recognises it or not, she is a diplomat who represents a proud country that has taken the insult to her as a personal insult to the country.'
No theory would ever justify the public humiliation of the acting head of the consulate of a friendly country. Whatever be the eventual solution, grievous damage has been done to her personally and to the relations between the two countries, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'If you batted an eyelid and drifted the vehicle a little, you'd certainly hit the unsteady rocks and meet your end. Or so it seemed.' 'By the way, did I tell you that we were cruising at approximately 12,000 feet and above?'
Gangster Chhota Rajan, arrested in Bali on Monday and who is likely to be extradited to India, was not one to forgive or forget easily. Mumbai's foremost crime writer S Hussain Zaidi recalls the time when Rajan was almost killed in an attack by his rival Chhota Shakeel, and how Rajan extracted revenge across continents.