News

UK -Europe

JLF London at the British Library to run from 10th-12th June, 2022

Teamwork Arts, producer of the annual Jaipur Literature Festival and the international editions of JLF, has announced today the dates for the ninth edition of JLF London at the British Library. The much loved festival will run from 10th - 12th June, 2022, at the British Library to celebrate books, creativity, dialogue, diversity and varied intellectual discourse. JLF London will encapsulate the spirit of the iconic festival, with its pervasive sense of inclusiveness and community, and come again to the heart of London with a caravan of writers and thinkers, poets, balladeers and raconteurs, bringing alive South Asia’s unique multilingual literary heritage at the British Library. The upcoming ninth edition of the JLF London will bring together some of the world's most renowned writers, thinkers, artists, and entertainers to engage in some of the most pressing issues of t

Asia-Pacific

'Crucifixion' of Narayana Guru lands CPI-M in trouble

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI-M in the State has come in for flak from some religious and cultural outfits over alleged depiction of saint-reformer Sree Narayana Guru as being crucified during a recent party-supported cultural procession in the politically sensitive Kannur District. The outfits have come out against the CPI-M, which leads the LDF opposition in the state, after pictures of a tableau in which the 19th century Guru was seen \'crucified\' during the procession organised by arty-backed \'Balasangham\' went viral on social media. Besides depicting the Guru as fixed to a cross, his well-known message - one caste, one religion and one God for mankind - was also allegedly seen \'distorted\' during the procession, held on Sept 5. Sree Narayana Dhrama Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, a prominent social organisation of numerically strong Ezhava community founded by th

Gulf

Indian accuses Jordanian woman of molesting him in UAE lift

Dubai: A 23-year-old Indian has accused a niqab wearing Jordanian woman of allegedly molesting him in a lift before stealing USD 1,225 here, media reported on Tuesday. The complainant claimed the 32-year-old woman uncovered her face, kissed and groped him before she stole his 4,500 dirhams (USD 1,225), Gulf News reported. The Jordanian woman has been charged with hugging and kissing the employee against his will and groping him in December. He said after he entered the lift of the building where he works in Bur Dubai, the woman pushed him to a corner, according to his prosecution statement. "Once I pressed the button for the fourth floor, the woman lifted her niqab [face cover]. She drew herself towards me, then hugged and kissed me against my will. Then she groped me. I tried to walk out of the elevator, but she grabbed me and pulled me back in. She groped me again and hugged me w

US-Canada

Indian-origin Pooja gets into all 8 Ivy League schools

Washington: At just 17, an Indian-origin girl has earned admission to 14 top US universities, including all eight Ivy League schools considered the most prestigious varsities worldwide. Virginia-born Pooja Chandrashekar decided to apply to all eight ivies hoping to get into just one of them. But now she has the choice to get into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania besides six other elite universities in the US, including Stanford and MIT. Pooja, the only daughter of two engineers who emigrated to the US from Bangalore, got a SAT score of 2390 out of 2400, a 4.57 grade point average and aced all 13 of her Advanced Placement exams. The teenager has more than her academic achievements to fall back on. Besides the high score, what also boosted her application is enterprise, initiative, and creativity. The brainy teenager,

World

Pranab Mukherjee: The politician who rose above politics

India has had some outstanding presidents; it has also had a few presidents about whom it could be said did not live up to expectations. However, all presidents were decent, honourable people who served the world’s largest democracy most conscientiously. One of the most illustrious Presidents was Prof Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a world-renowned academic and philosopher. Radhakrishnan, a close friend of Jawaharlal Nehru, was also an educationalist who played a major role in the creation of the new education system that incorporated many of our ancient learning features while at the same time blending harmoniously with modern requirements. Today, India is one of the most scientifically, technologically and culturally advanced nations in the world, overwhelmingly the product of a visionary and foresighted educational system bequeathed to the nation by India’s first indepe

Sports

Sania-Martina enter US Open quarters

New York: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis eased into the women\'s doubles quarterfinals at the US Open with a comfortable straight sets victory over Michaella Krajicek and Barbora Strycova here. The top seeded Indo-Swiss combination produced a dominant performance to get the better of their 13th seeded opponents 6-3, 6-0 in 59 minutes. Sania and Hingis were hardly stretched during the contest as they managed to hold their serve all through. They were off to a good start, breaking Krajicek and Strycova once in the first set. They fired 14 winners in the opening set as against eight by their Dutch-Czech opponents. Sania and Martina upped the ante in the second set, earning six break points, three of which they converted. Krajicek and Strycova were clearly out of their depths, producing nine unforced errors as the Indo-Swiss duo wrapped up the second set in 26 minutes. The top