The Bangladesh government on Sunday claimed the attackers who slaughtered 20 hostages inside a cafe in Dhaka in the country's worst terror attack were members of "homegrown" Islamist terrorist outfits and not Islamic State of Syria and Iraq militants.
Here was an Indian like you and me, who reached the country's highest office without compromising on his integrity or values. Here was a politician who was not a Muslim, or Tamil, or a boatman's son -- but an Indian president, who opened his office to all Indians, says Sriram Karri.
The journalist, identified as Anwar of news channel CNN IBN, said despite heavy police deployment, clashes erupted in the court complex and the cops' presence did not deter the lawyers from shouting slogans and fighting with journalists and students.
The Child Protection Services programme under the Integrated Child Development Services was increased to Rs 1,500 crore from Rs 925 crore.
A round-up of our favourite photographs of the week gone by.
Can we make high speed 4G Internet available at 10 cents per GB, and make all voice calls free of cost -- that too in a large and diverse country like India? Can we make high-quality but simple breast cancer screening available to every woman, that too at the extremely affordable cost of $1 per scan? Can we make a portable, high-tech ECG machine which can provide reports immediately and that too at the cost of 8 cents a test? Can we make an eye imaging device that is portable, non-invasive and costs 3 times less that conventional devices? Can we make a robust test for mosquito-borne dengue, which can detect the disease on day 1, and that too at the cost of $2 per test? Amazingly, says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, all this has been achieved in India, not only by using technological innovation but also non-technological innovation.
The Man From UNCLE is as lovingly tailored as they come, says Raja Sen.
'Pakistan should evolve a common narrative. The country should have common position in combating all kinds of terrorism and not fight selectively.' 'The main motive was revenge, of course. But the Nobel Prize to Malala Yousufzai also contributed to the Taliban's anger' Bestselling Pakistani author and foreign policy expert Ahmed Rashid speaks exclusively on the Peshawar school attack with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
India is failing to take advantage of its important ally, Japan as much as it should, notes Mihir S Sharma.
Every house in the Achota village of Dhamtari district in Chhattisgarh has children who roll bidis but are outside the scope of child labour laws.
'By taking fingerprints, iris scans and other details of citizens, the State is becoming the custodian of its people.' 'The State can use this data according to its whims and fancies, which is not good in a democracy.' 'When the State looks at all the activities of its citizens, it becomes a police State.'
The winners of the 60th annual World Press Photo Contest have been announced. The winning shot was taken by Turkish Associated Press photographer called Burhan Ozbilici, with an image he has simply titled An Assassination in Turkey. Showing Mevlut Mert Altintas shouting after shooting Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey, on December 19 2016.
Rediff.com captures the mood among the people at Elphinstine Road railway station, a week after 23 people died in a stampede at a footover bridge.
Charles 'Biharilal' Thomson, an Australian who speaks fluent Hindi, on how India has bewitched him.
'The critics were writing so well about me, I was shocked!' 'My phone didn't stop ringing!' 'This is the biggest tribute for a senior actor.' 'Now, I can pack up.'
Anup Patel tells Chaya Babu that he is bound by a sense of duty to help the country of his birth fight the menace of human trafficking
'Just this week, the Indians killed a Kashmiri terrorist, who is a member of Hizbul Mujahideen.' 'This is a nasty terrorist organisation, and did Pakistan welcome this killing?' 'No, in fact, they denounced it and referred to him as a Kashmiri separatist.' 'These Kashmiri terrorist groups have been aided by the Pakistani State.'
At these 'relief camps' people had nothing to sleep on except for a piece of cloth and men and women, boys and girls all cramped together. Factor in the fact that Kakching in the 2011 census had a population of 28,746 people and that about 90 per cent of that population has been affected by the floods now, and one can work the math of the crisis at hand.
Sin City 2 doesn't quite illicit the same response as the film film, says Paloma Sharma.
'If religious scholars and preachers declare suicide attacks as un-Islamic and decree that suicide bombers will be denied an Islamic burial and funeral rites, it may dissuade some would-be terrorists who dream of an afterlife in heaven,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The vote leaves Greece in uncharted waters: risking a banking collapse that could force it out of the euro.
The jury of the 58th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected an image by Danish photographer Mads Nissen as the World Press Photo of the Year 2014.
'What if Modi becomes the fascist the leftists paints him as? What if he does suspend the Constitution and declares himself the ruler, with support from the army? What exactly will you do, Mr Leftie?' asks Rajeev Srinivasan.
About one-third of the world's poor live in India but there are countries where 88 per cent of population is extremely poor.
Here's your weekly digest of the most weird, true and funny news from the across the globe.
Meet Cassie de Pecol, a 27-year-old traveller from Connecticut, United States, who visited 196 countries in 18-and-a-half months, making her the fastest person to visit every country in the world.
As we celebrate the spirit of childhood, here are some children who've made India proud.
Even as France mourns the bloodiest terrorist attack for 20 years, let's take a look at some major standoffs witnessed in the past:
Highway isn't merely concerned with cataloguing the virginal, versatile landscapes of Northern India. Often it's the only ray of cheer to offset the grimness concealed within two wounded souls, feels Sukanya Verma.
Ivanka spoke for a good 15 minutes, gracefully, looking straight at her audience, her face wreathed often in winning smiles. She is an articulate, striking, woman who charmed her audience.
'I personally consider Indian cinema as one of the most creative and powerful forms of cinematic expression in the world.' 'An average Indian film is 10 times better than a costly American production because of the creativity involved.'
Hyderabad-based Anshul Sinha is making hard hitting films on important social issues, but there are no takers.
'We could not sleep for many days. We kept hearing gunshots and blasts throughout the night.' 'To live in a war-torn city is terrifying.' 'Our journey from the hospital to the port was the scariest.' 'We were taken care of so well by government officials. They did not leave a single person behind.'
They are shaken by the mass molestation in the city on New Year's Eve. But they are not waiting to be rescued. Nikita Puri reports.
We take a look at Time magazines top world leaders.
Five young women are getting ready to circumnavigate the world.
The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement with China needs closer scrutiny, says Rup Narayan Das.
'No amount of economic measures or prosperity in Kashmir will make any dent in the situation there. The average Kashmiri understands the Pakistani game and is unlikely to prefer Pakistan over India. But the Pakistanis have made clever use of religious symbols and slogans to force religious-minded Kashmiris to support them. India has failed to counter this posturing by the separatists,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Patel was more in tune with the popular mood than Jawaharlal Nehru. While the principle that Hindus and Muslims should be able to live together remained central to Nehru's vision for India, the Sardar was less sentimental.' 'Nehru would angrily face down mobs himself, rushing from trouble spot to trouble spot. A veritable tent city, filled with Muslim refugees, sprouted on the lawns of his bungalow... Mountbatten feared Nehru's impulsiveness would get him killed, and assigned soldiers to watch over him.' Nisid Hajari's Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition casts fresh light on the events and personalities behind the horrific division of the subcontinent which haunts the India and Pakistan to this day.
