Jihadi noir: Terrorism and its collateral damage

Jihadi noir: Terrorism and its collateral damage

Title: The Spinner’s Tale ; Author: Omar Shahid Hamid; Publisher: Pan Macmillan India; Pages: 308; Price: Rs.399 The debate about whether criminals are born or made can be extended to terrorists too, and assumes greater significance given the indiscriminate death and destruction they deal in. For it is important to understand what can make certain […]

Calling a Sri Lankan spade a spade

Calling a Sri Lankan spade a spade

Title: Sri Lanka: The New Country; Author: Padma Rao Sundarji; Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India; Pages: 322; Price: Rs.499. This is a book of courage. Padma Rao Sundarji, a versatile New Delhi-based journalist who covered the Sri Lanka conflict over the years, finds it disgusting that Western countries conveniently overlook the deaths of thousands they cause […]

Yoga Day: When world came together at India’s call

Yoga Day: When world came together at India’s call

The International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations here sought to symbolize the unity of humanity as people from around the world gathered Sunday in unique observance of an Indian proposal sponsored by 177 nations and endorsed by all 193 UN members. People of all races and religions, nationalities and political persuasions joined to perform the […]

47 Islamic nations join International Yoga Day

47 Islamic nations join International Yoga Day

There are 47 Islamic nations among the 177 countries of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that officially co-sponsored with India a resolution to establish June 21 as “International Day of Yoga”. Yoga is a 5,000-year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice rooted in Hindu tradition, a religious origin that has caused disquiet among some Indian […]

Nearly 3,000 alleged insurgents killed in Pakistan since last year

Nearly 3,000 alleged insurgents killed in Pakistan since last year

The operation Zarb-e-Azb (Sharp and Cutting) launched against the Taliban a year ago in western Pakistan has killed nearly 3,000 alleged insurgents. It has also caused a decrease in terrorist attacks, while several thousand families have been displaced. For a year, Pakistan has bombarded its North Waziristan province, a region traditionally outside the control of […]

Millions in China wish to call off dog meat festival

Millions in China wish to call off dog meat festival

China’s annual dog meat festival has evoked outrage, with millions signing petitions on social media to call it off, a media report said on Saturday. The Yulin dog meat festival, held in June, originated in Guangxi Zhuang region’s Yulin prefecture. The festival, which involves killing of 10,000 dogs for human consumption, falls on Sunday this […]

No probe, no rebidding on soccer World Cup, says Putin

No probe, no rebidding on soccer World Cup, says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected the need for a probe by his country against FIFA, the governing body of global football, because of corruption allegation in the award of 2018 World Cup soccer. He said the World Cup would be held in Russia in 2018 as scheduled. Russia had won the bid, Putin said, […]

Belgium’s Khan brothers show EU the yoga way

Belgium’s Khan brothers show EU the yoga way

Ten years back Feroze and Sameer Khan opened their yoga centre in Brussels, starting initially in the auditorium of the Indian embassy. Today, they are household names in the European Union (EU) circles on yoga. In a run-up to the International Day of Yoga on 21 June, Sameer Khan led a special yoga session in […]

10 Tunisian consulate staff taken hostage in Libya

10 Tunisian consulate staff taken hostage in Libya

Tunisia’s foreign ministry said on Friday that 10 of its officers at its consulate in Tripoli were taken hostage by a Libyan armed militia group. The kidnappers attacked the headquarters of the Tunisian general consulate in Tripoli and held 10 employees as hostages, Xinhua news agency reported citing a ministry source. In an official statement […]