Featured News

The recent killing of two people, including a teenager, by soldiers of the Indian Army has renewed calls for the revocation of the law that gives special powers to the armed forces in the insurgency-hit Jammu and Kashmir.

The man on the street views the incident, for which the army has issued an unusual apology, as a manifestation of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that gives sweeping powers to the armed forces in the state that is inching towards peace after decades of Pakistan-sponsored proxy war.

A new study has revealed if a couple remembers accurately what was going on at each stage of their deepening commitment, they are moving toward marriage over the course of their relationship.

Brian G. Ogolsky, a U of I professor of human development and family studies said that people like to feel that they’re making progress as a couple. If they’re not-if, in fact, the relationship is in trouble-they may have distorted recollections that help them feel like they’re moving forward because they need a psychological justification to stay in the relationship.

The child-mortality gap has narrowed between the poorest and wealthiest households in a majority of more than 50 developing countries, a new Stanford study has found.

This convergence was mostly driven by the fact that child-mortality rates declined the fastest among the poorest families.

In the countries where the gap increased, the study identified a common thread: poor governance.

(Pervez Bari): A three-day International Conference on History of Islamic Medicine (Contemporary Medicine & Alternative Medicine) is scheduled to be organised from January 2-4, 2015 at Calicut in Kerala.

According to Dr. Fakhruddin Mohammad, secretary MESCO, (Muslim Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation, Hyderabad), the International conference is being jointly organised by the International Institute of Islamic Medicine, (IIIM), USA and Islamic Medical Association of North America, (IMANA), in collaboration with Muslim Education Society, (MES), Kerala and MESCO of Hyderabad.

Indian girls are becoming more forthright than ever about their marital choices. It’s evident from a survey which shows they prefer to meet a prospective groom before his family.

The survey, by online matrimony platform www.shaadi.com, was conducted on a total of 5,800 respondents in the age group of 24 to 35 years, to understand if singles — both men and women — believe that there is ‘Someone for Everyone’.

It was the kill shot heard around the world. Now, the US Navy SEAL commando who fired the eye-shot that felled al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden will reveal his identity to the world in a two-part Fox News television special to air next month around Veteran’s Day, the cable news network has announced according to multiple media reports.

It was at an airport where medical student Anjali Mehta saw the wonder boy of Indian cricket and was floored by the “cute looks” of Sachin Tendukar. She ran after him screaming Sachin…..Sachin, much to the embarrassment of the 17-year-old Tendulkar. She even forgot about her mother whom she had to gone to pick with a friend.

A new study reveals how overuse of smartphones, especially, during midnight hours can destroy intimacy in relationships, leading to break-ups, cheating and divorce in modern days.

The study pointed that as the quality of our physical connections gets diluted, people expect less and forget what real romance is.

For the study, researchers from the Oxford University in Britain studied 24,000 married European couples and they found a direct link between use of social networking sites and marital satisfaction.

Gold prices are likely to decline further to around Rs 24,500 per 10 grams by December if the rupee continues to rule at the current level, according to analysts.

“We expect the gold prices to remain bearish and if the rupee continue to rule at current level the yellow metal may touch Rs 24,500 level by December. We expect gold to consolidate in a week or two, then continue to decline further from mid or end of December,” Motilal Oswal Associate Vice President – Commodities – Kishore Narne told PTI here.

With Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deciding against seeking re-election from Ganderbal, the decades-old relationship of the Abdullah family with the constituency, considered to be its stronghold, will come to an end.

The ruling National Conference (NC) yesterday announced a fourth list of candidates with its working president Omar to fight from two constituencies- Sonwar in Srinagar and Beerwah in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

Omar, however, said he had made this decision two years ago.

In a clear display of abuse of power and perks, Jaamu and Kashmir Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Shakeel Beig’s son shamelessly flaunted a series of photographs on Instagram evoking angry reactions from netizens.

The pictures, posted by Tony Beig, have gone viral on social networking websites and one of which shows a man sitting on floor next to the DIG helping him put on his shoes.

The DIG’s son didn’t stop there and boasted about the lavish life lived by his father and himself by showing off a photograph on Instagram in which a man is holding an umbrella for both of them.

India has performed poorly in removing gender-based disparities, ranking 114 out of 142 countries in World Economic Forum’s 2014 gender gap index, scoring below average on parameters like economic participation, educational attainment and health and survival.

India slipped 13 spots from its last year’s ranking of 101 on the Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum. India is part of the 20 worst-performing countries on the labour force participation, estimated earned income, literacy rate and sex ratio at birth indicators.

Ram Jethmalani, who raked up the black money issue in the Supreme Court, today accused the Narendra Modi government of “resiling and even going back” on the stand taken by UPA regime for disclosing all information and documents supplied by Germany on unaccounted money parked by Indians in Liechtenstein Bank.

He said after the July 2011 verdict on black money, the UPA government had only sought recall of direction for formation of SIT but did not ask for modification or clarification on the issue of Liechtenstein Bank accounts which is now being sought by NDA government.

The UK today handed over its last base in Afghanistan to the Afghan forces, marking an official end to the 13-year-long combat operations that claimed over 450 British lives in the war-torn country.

It is with pride that we announce the end of UK combat operations in Helmand, having given Afghanistan the best
possible chance of a stable future,” UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said.

The Union Jack was lowered at a ceremony in Camp Bastion in Helmand province, bringing an end to the 13-year war in
Afghanistan that has claimed 453 British servicemen and women’s lives.

Even as the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is trying to own up Mahatma Gandhi, the Malayalam mouthpiece of the RSS has suggested that Nathuram Godse, instead of assassinating Gandhi, should have targeted Jawaharlal Nehru as he was responsible for Partition and never had any genuine attachment with the Father of the Nation.

The article in ‘Kesari’ has blamed Nehru and his ‘selfishness’ for major national tragedies of India like partition and Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.

The communal riots which started in Bhagalpur on 24.10.1989 is completing its 25th year on 24th October this year. After 1947 the biggest Hindu-Muslim riot was Bhagalpur riot. Bhagalpur has witnessed Hindu-Muslim riots even before 1989, in 1924, 1936, 1946 and 1966.But all of these were limited to a few lanes and Mohallas (wards) in city areas and the administration succeeded in containing them from spreading to other areas.

The Wikipedia India Community Consultation 2014 was organized by the Wiki Media Foundation (WMF) and Wikipedia India Chapter in collaboration with Centre for Internet Society (CIS A2K) Bangalore on The venue was Movenpick Hotel and scheduled for October 4th and 5th here.

Govt. of A.P. is trying to acquire Wakf land belonging to Masjid-e-Akbar of Agraharam village of Yacharla Mandal in Pondur Talukha of Srikakulam district for the construction of Srikakulam Airport as it did in the case of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamsabad in Hyderabad. It may be mentioned that Masjid Omer Farooq was dismantled for the construction of Hyderabad Airport. In the same manner, Govt. of A.P. might dismantle Masjid-e-Akbar belonging to Qutub Shahi period. Govt. of A.P. is trying to acquire 2000 valuable wakf land for this purpose. There is a threat to Masjid-e-Akbar.

You are aware of the fact that ever since the Civil Services Aptitude Test (C-Sat) has been introduced in the Civil Services Preliminary Examination in 2011, the representation of rural and regional languages media have been plummeted. It was not because of standard of examination or inability of candidates but because of English language. The English language of the question paper is terse and passages are lengthy, sequel to it many candidates writing in regional languages could not answer properly.

Manohar Lal Khattar is a low profile RSS leader who is known for his quiet work on the field and in the BJP that has earned him the reputation of a tough task master with a no-nonsense approach.

60-year-old Khattar, who once wanted to become a doctor, is a man known for his organisational skills. He enjoys a clean image and is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with whom he has worked in the past.

Khattar, who is a bachelor and a first-time MLA, has worked for almost 40 years as an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak.

The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) is the new player in Maharashtra’s pollscape and stunned political ring with 2 seats in Maharashtra and leading on few. The party made a quiet entry into the state earlier winning 13 Nanded civic body seats. This time, the outfit is contesting 23 assembly constituencies, 12 in Mumbai.

MIM Sunday notched three stunning victories in the Maharashtra assembly polls and was leading in a fourth constituency.

A giant 1400Kg Murrah Bull called Yuvraj was crowned as champion at Meerut’s All India Cattle show which was selected by a 10 member jury. Its owner Karamvir Singh nurtured it as his son. The Bull is 5 feet 9 inches in height. He drinks 20 liters of milk everyday and gobbles 5kg of Apples and 15 kg of very fine quality fodder. He also takes a walk of 4 km every day.

A house was completely gutted by fire resulting from short circuit at Janki Nagar Colony Tolichowki. All the items of the house were reduced to ashes; the fridge burnt and got shrunk, the LED set got melted, the sofa set reduced to ashes and the complete house wiring got burnt. The fire resulting from the short circuit gutted the whole house. The walls remained as hot as the furnace for hours but the 6 to 7 copies of the Holy Quran kept in the shelf in a corner of the house remained untouched by the fire; even though the fire melted the electric wire close to the copies of the Quran.

(Pervez Bari): Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Rabat, Morocco and Secretary General of Federation of Universities of Islamic World (FUIW), has called upon Muslim youth in India and all over the world to come forward and project the “true, humanitarian and inclusive image of Islam” to the rest of the world.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday held westernised education concept brought by Britishers responsible for dealing a severe blow to the values and culture of the country and said present system was not fulfilling the main objective of education.

Singh, while addressing a gathering at the Chopsani Schools centenary celebrations here said the main objective of the education is “comprehensive development of the personality” and lamented that the present education system was not fulfilling this objective.