Real National News

"No one in this country can be more anxious than me to see the conclusion of this issue. I will cooperate with authorities and not with obstreperous and publicity seeking attempts by others," said Tharoor. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday reaffirmed his stand to cooperate in the ongoing investigations over the mysterious death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar. Tharoor, while addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, stated that his commitment to cooperate in the investigations is resolute. However, he refused to participate in the public discourse on the issue of his wife’s death, and termed the media debate as  ‘hostile and publicity seeking attempts made by few people’. “No one in this country can be more anxious than me to see the conclusion of this issue. I will cooperate with authorities and not with obstreperous and publicity seeking attempts by others,” said Tharoor. Tharoor’s stepson Shiv Menon has appealed to the Delhi High Court, challenging the ...

The Congress has protested against the portrayal of party veterans like Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and others in upcoming movie Indu Sarkar, which is based on the 1975-77 Emergency period. Indu Sarkar, a film on Emergency, will hurt sentiments of many Congressmen and that is what the “present Prime Minister wants”, veteran Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said on Sunday. Indu Sarkar, based on the 1975-77 Emergency period, has evoked strong criticism and protest from the Congress. The Congress’s apprehensions are over the portrayal of party veterans like Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and other senior leaders in the film. Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, however, had said he would include a disclaimer in Indu Sarkar, stating that the film is mostly fictional. Talking to PTI, Moily said the film will hurt sentiments of Congressmen. “It hurts the sentiments of many of the Congressmen and that is what the present Prime Minister wants. Ultimately, it will (hurt) him (Narendra Modi...

Those lacking meaningful education are most likely to be left powerless and, therefore, become victims in any society that is based on choice and informed decision-making. It was June 2008, when news broke early in the morning that 38 Greyhound commandoes had been killed in a   deadly Maoist attack in Odisha . It caught my attention instantly, because the place of the attack — Chitrakonda — was where I had spent much of my childhood in the 1970s. My father, an engineer, was posted there for the construction of what Jawaharlal Nehru had so captivatingly called “the temples of modern India” — a dam and a hydroelectric power plant. Chitrakonda was etched in my memory for its rich forests, beautiful mountains and the always fascinating tribal communities . How could such a place of peace and tranquillity turn into a Maoist den? In search of an answer, I travelled there a few months later to find the place of my childhood that once held out the hope of modernizing India had indeed...

The Mi-171 is a civilian variant of the Mi-17 military cargo helicopter that is already in service in the Pakistan Army. The second helicopter was ordered by Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province. Pakistan has received a Russia-made Mi-171E non-combat helicopter, the second such chopper delivered to the country this year, indicating growing ties between Islamabad and Moscow, a media report has said. The Mi-171 is a civilian variant of the Mi-17 military cargo helicopter that is already in service in the Pakistan Army. The second helicopter was ordered by Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province. “I am confident the convertible Mi-171E handed over to the customer will perform decently when accomplishing any missions, whether in passenger and freight carriage or in medical, search and rescue operations,” Chief Executive Officer of Russian Helicopters Andrei Boginsky was quoted as saying by the Russia’s TASS news agency. In the case of a medical emergency, the chopper can be us...

Who is a Kanwariya and what does he want from life? HT travels with a group of pilgrims, who are getting younger, wilder and more male every year, to understand why they take the journey “Where are the hockey sticks?” Omi Saini shouts into the air as his open-top truck first hits traffic 25 km into the drive from Hardwar. His fellow travellers first look at him in puzzlement and then at each other in accusation. They are six in all, but except for the one at the wheel, the rest of them are sitting in the back of the truck on a deck erected on bamboo poles and stacked up with mattresses. Actually, not all five of them are together on the deck at any point in the 300-km drive between Hardwar and Firozepur Jhirka, their destination. Two of them are always on the road, running behind the truck with a bag carrying two bottles of water. The positions change every 100 metres but without the truck ever coming to a full stop. As the vehicle slows down, two men climb a wooden ladder to the de...

Pranab Mukherjee, the 13th president of India, leaves the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, making way for his successor Ram Nath Kovind. President Pranab Mukherjee hailed India’s democracy and parliament in particular during his farewell speech on Sunday when he looked back at his more than 40-year stint in politics. Mukherjee, the 13th president of India, leaves the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, making way for his successor  Ram Nath Kovind . “If I claim I am the creation of this Parliament, perhaps it will not be treated as immodesty,” Mukherjee said in his final address to parliamentarians, in which he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his support. “As President, I’ve tried to protect, preserve, defend the Constitution, not just in letter but in spirit as well.” Mukherjee, a Congress veteran before he was elected President in 2012, said that it was in Parliament that he understood the “real value of debate and discussion”. “My career as a parliamentarian was men...

One of the arrested men was injured in the encounter and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, news agency ANI reported. Uttar Pradesh police arrested four men on Sunday morning for allegedly gangraping four women and murdering a man accompanying them on the Jewar-Bulandshahr highway in May this year. According to news agency ANI, the arrest came after an encounter broke out between the gang and the police. One of the arrested men was injured in the encounter and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. “The four arrested men were involved in gang rape of four women and murder of their male relative on May 25 off the Yamuna Express. One of them has received bullet injury in the leg and has been hospitalized. Three others have been taken for questioning,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Love Kumar told Hindustan Times. According to the HT report, police officials said they zeroed in on the suspects after they were tipped off about the presence of six criminals near ...

"Our neighbour should understand that aiding and abetting terror will not help them, they should recall what happened in 1971," Venkaiah Naidu said while speaking at ‘Kargil Parakram Parade’ in New Delhi. Days after the US State Department identified Pakistan as one of the “terrorist safe havens” ,  NDA Vice-presidential nominee   Venkaiah Naidu   on Sunday said terrorism had become its state policy. “Terrorism is the enemy of humanity, it has no religion. It has unfortunately become Pakistan’s state policy,” he was quoted as saying by news agency  ANI. “Our neighbour should understand that aiding and abetting terror will not help them, they should recall what happened in 1971,” he said while speaking at ‘Kargil Parakram Parade’ in New Delhi. The event was organised to honour the Kargil War martyrs. Naidu also spoke on the Kashmir issue which has become integral to the bilateral relations between the neighbouring countries. “We are a peace loving pe...

A month since a short meeting prior to leaving for England, the women in blue are now just a stride short of completing the walk that would justify their pre-tournament talk. Now, India take on England in the final of the extravaganza at Lord's. It could easily go down as the shortest pre-World Cup team meeting ever. Just before their departure for London for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, coach Tushar Arothe shepherded the Indian team to a room and asked a loaded question: “Why are we taking this flight?” As quickly as an echo, a couple of women replied, “To win the World Cup.” Like at an army drill, several others repeated the answer jauntily, others nodded vigorously. “I heard that, I saw the group and I said the meeting was over. The team had belief and a clear target. There wasn’t much to say,” says the 50-year-old Arothe, a veteran of over 100 first-class games and Baroda’s one-time Ranji Trophy run machine. It’s been almost a month since that meeting, the women in ...

Audio released by Haaretz, revealed that Netanyahu, during a close-door session with leaders from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia told them: “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he needs water for his people. ‘Where will I get it? Ramallah? No’.” There are many red faces in South Block over a conversation of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accidentally relayed through a hot mic, which appeared to suggest that Prime Minister   Narendra Modi   chose the country as his preferred destination to get technology and, in the process, ignored Palestine. Audio released by Haaretz, one of Israel’s leading news outlets, revealed that Netanyahu, during a close-door session with leaders from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia this week in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, told them: “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he needs water for his people. ‘Where will I get it? Ramallah? No’.” Modi visited Israel from July 4 to 6 and skip...

BEIJING: China's youth are largely nonchalant about calls by a hawkish section of the official media to  "teach India a lesson" over the Doklam stand-off +  . Most of them are even ignorant of  such a border problem +  because they pay little attention to the official media. This is evident from the insignificant level of discussions on the Chinese social media about the issue. The issue did not figure among the top 50 trending topics on Saturday on Sina  Weibo , the Chinese version of Twitter, which has over 340 million users in China. There are signs that attempts made by a section of the official media to whip up passions against India have not succeeded, probably because there is no history of animosity among ordinary Chinese towards India. China's ultra-nationalists had managed to arouse a lot of passion against  Japan during the 2012 territorial dispute +  because the two countries have been at loggerheads through much of history. Even the top...

MUMBAI: A former Doordarshan anchor and yoga instructor  Kanchan Nath , returning home from work in Chembur, has become the third casualty of a tree collapse this year in the city. Nath, 58, died on Saturday morning, two days after a coconut tree snapped from its trunk and fell on her as she walked down on Sant Venkaiah Marg. The incident took place on Thursday, around 8 am, during a brief lull amid heavy rains. Kanchan had got off a bus and was making her way back to Prawasi housing society near Swastik Park after a yoga session. The upper portion of the coconut palm came crashing down in an instant. She collapsed under its weight and was extricated by passers-by, who shifted her to nearby Sushrut Hospital where she died on Saturday. Kanchan is survived by husband Rajat, 59, a daughter and a son. The former TV anchor and face of a 'Pradeshik Sangeet' show on the state-run broadcaster, was to celebrate her birthday on September 10; she had booked a new car for the occasio...