ROME: Pope Francis called for “arms to be silenced” around the world in his Christmas address on Wednesday, appealing for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan as he denounced the “extremely grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza. He used his traditional message to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to call for talks for a … Read more
Like spy thrillers, which rarely focus on trust as the central plot, global politics is increasingly based on trust deficit. Could the lacklustre global leadership since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s be the reason? Compared to the aftermath of the Second World War, political achievements in the new millennium seem … Read more
India faces a severe shortage of IAS, IPS, and IFoS officers, straining administrative efficiency and law enforcement capabilities. As of January 2024, data from the department of personnel and training (DoPT) reveals a 19 per cent shortfall in IAS officers, with 5,542 in service against a sanctioned strength of 6,858. Similarly, the IPS cadre has … Read more
Image: Shutterstock The year 2025 could well be a breakout one for virtual digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, even as global Bitcoin prices are expected to touch fresh highs. Buzz and action from United States president-elect Donald Trump and his administration towards regulation of cryptocurrencies, further growth in assets under management for Bitcoin ETFs and … Read more
Hyderabad: Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court directed the state education department and others to place on record the eligibility criteria for local students entitled to the fee reimbursement scheme. The judge took on file a writ plea filed by Banka Vasanthi, a student, challenging the non-inclusion of her MBA course admission … Read more
In this photograph taken on December 7, 2024, Akriti Khatri, founder of Venus Detective Agency, shows a spy camera during an interview with AFP in New Delhi. Image: Arun SANKAR / AFP From an anonymous office in a New Delhi mall, matrimonial detective Bhavna Paliwal runs the rule over prospective husbands and wives — a … Read more
The recently concluded 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Baku, Azerbaijan, marked a moment in the global battle against climate change. Nearly 200 nations gathered for this summit, uniting to confront one of the most urgent challenges of our time. However, the countries … Read more
Federal Reserve Bank Chair Jerome Powell (left) and Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra. Images: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP The current calendar year marked a somewhat weary return to normalcy following a major policy reset to tide over a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Nearly five years ago, since March 2020, global central banks … Read more
A young bride-to-be samples a makeup look under the watchful eyes of her mother at Moiza Studios, a multibrand beauty and skincare outlet in Aminabad, Lucknow. Image: Madhu Kapparath In the sleepy town of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, inside an otherwise quiet shopping mall, a salesperson artistically sweeps a brush on the cheekbones of a volunteer, … Read more
Kiran Nadar, philanthropist, art collector, and founder of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Image: KNMA In its recently concluded auction titled ‘Historic Masterpieces’, online auction house AstaGuru presented an extraordinary lineup of rare and unique Modern Indian art masterpieces. The auction included works by Jamini Roy, Rabindranath Tagore, and Nandalal Bose, who laid the … Read more