Satyarup Siddhanta has just one mountain to go before he completes the Seven Summits, the tallest mountains in each of the seven continents.
Rescue teams from India and 33 other countries were on Saturday asked by Nepal to leave as it prepared to launch massive operations to rehabilitate millions of uprooted victims of the devastating temblor that has killed at least 7,365 people, including 41 Indians.
Some stunning moments of the week that was
'Today if you look at the way India is growing many people are saying the sleeping elephant has finally woken up, is dancing!' 'I have travelled extensively, in about 60 countries. In all these the moment you say India, the first thing they mention is either an actor's name. Or they start humming a song.' 'I wanted to be in Bollywood. It is the most powerful medium we have in this country. That's soft power.' Listening in on Shobhaa De, Kabir Khan, Vikas Swarop and Saffron Art CEO Hugo Weihe speak on India's Soft Power, Hard Influence.
'To Sanjay Gandhi, the means were not as important as the end... The appeal that someone like Narendra Modi holds is precisely this -- that he gets things done. Don't ask too many questions about how he gets it done though... But that's exactly what is dangerous because that is how authoritarianism comes in. It always comes in with public consent.' Vinod Mehta, editor extraordinaire, speaks to Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy in an eloquent interview.
The mortal remains of the nine Siachen bravehearts, who were buried alive on February 3 in an avalanche in the world's highest battlefield, were on Monday brought to New Delhi.
Miquel Roque, a Real Betis defender who started out in Barcelona's youth ranks and had a stint at Liverpool, has died of cancer at the age of 23, Betis said on Sunday.
At least 40 people were killed as heavy rains and snowfall wreaked havoc in the northern parts of Pakistan, snapping road links and forcing people to remain indoors at many places.
Will India and Pakistan transform the crisis at Giari into an opportunity? Jyoti Malhotra analyses
At least nine people, including five Pakistani soldiers, were killed and several others were missing after being hit by snow slides along the Line of Control.
The recent tragedy confirms the view of humanitarian aid as a political weapon
Re-elected for a second term, US President Barack Obama is dubbed as one of the greatest presidential orators in the modern era. Rediff.com takes you through some of his best speeches.
Politicians have used the tragedy to score political brownie points and the media has been a willing participant, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
The dollar index was down by 0.23 per cent against a basket of six major rivals after the US Federal Reserve continued to express concern about the economy and made no changes to its ultra-easy monetary policies.
India and Pakistan on Saturday agreed to adopt a forward-looking approach in normalising their ties, while recognising the need to "expeditiously" bring perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack to justice. Both External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar emphasised the need for the two countries to set the sight on the future and not be held "hostage" by the past.
In a strongly worded speech to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte , United States President Barack Obama has sought a second term as the leader of the free world.
Pakistan's hawkish Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who did little to change the force's India-centric stance, will leave the world's sixth-largest army grappling with a host of security challenges when he steps down on Friday.
For the first time ever, the government has announced the number of Indian soldiers who have laid down their lives in the Siachen sector, ever since the Indian army made its first headlong rush to secure that strategic area in the summer of 1984.
'Perhaps the finest example is from the current avalanche itself.' 'The Commanding Officer of 19 Madras (the affected unit) is Colonel Um Bahadur Gurung, a Gurkha who joined the Madras Regiment.' 'He inspired this recovery operation at 19,500 feet, a unique feat by itself.' 'He knew that if it was delayed the chances of finding the mortal remains in the Saltoro's ice would be impossible.' 'He did not pass orders from his base at Kumar (15,000 feet) or gave directions; he simply went there himself, inspiring the multitude that followed.' Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), who has served on the Siachen Glacier, salutes the incomparable spirit of the Indian Army.
'At an altitude of 5,000 metres, the levels of oxygen in the blood of a healthy soldier would be similar to that of a patient with a severe lung disorder at sea level.' 'While such patients are admitted to ICUs, confined to bed and treated with continuous oxygen therapy, the soldier at 5,000 metres with similar levels of oxygen in his blood performs intense physical activity and fights the enemy!' BharatShakti.in founder Nitin Gokhale reveals the ordeals that await soldiers when they are posted to the Siachen glacier.
Entrepreneurship is like boxing. Where every entrepreneur has to live his life in a 16x20 box, if lucky then in a 20x20 one. So is the case with me. Once inside the ring, you only have two outcomes. Either you get knocked down or you knock someone off. There is no in-between, says Krishna Kumar.
Indian Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma arrived in Pakistan today for crucial talks on the military standoff on the Siachen glacier against the backdrop of calls to demilitarise the world's highest battlefield following an avalanche that killed 139 people.
Bayern Munich demolished Schalke 04 4-0 with two goals from David Alaba to open a 15-point gap at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday as champions Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen slipped up.
Ahead of the talks next week with Pakistan on Siachen, Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday sought to lower the expectations, saying that no "dramatic announcement or decision" should be anticipated. He said India will stick to its stand on the issue at the defence secretary-level talks in Islamabad on June 11-12
In an e-mailed interview with Business Standard, Mark Lynas says his opposition to GM was divorced from science.
North India continued to be under the grip of cold wave as temperatures remained below the normal levels in most parts of the region, while seven persons were killed in avalanches in Himachal Pradesh.
India is likely to thin out troops from wartime positions on the border with Pakistan, where they were deployed after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, according to a media report on Monday.
Pakistan has asked India to reschedule talks on the Sir Creek border dispute which were to be held in New Delhi next week, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has insisted his country had not been "complicit" in sheltering slain Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden and said the latter was able to live undetected for so long in Pakistan due to a global 'intelligence failure'.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari have underlined the need to move step-by-step and find pragmatic and mutually acceptable solutions to India-Pakistan bilateral issue, government told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Honesty coupled with pragmatism translates to good governance. Honesty plus hubris and self-righteousness spells disaster: that is what the AAP is, says Vivek Gumaste
Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has contended that India had hardened its position on the Siachen issue, especially compared to the situation in 1989, when the two sides were "close to a resolution".
Theo Walcott evoked memories of the great Thierry Henry when his dazzling hat-trick inspired Arsenal to a 7-3 win over Newcastle United on Saturday in one of the best English Premier League games of the season.
"The withdrawal of Pakistani troops is possible provided India also agrees. It will not be a unilateral decision," he said while addressing a convention of workers of his Pakistan People's Party in Okara district, 100 km from Lahore, on Friday.
It needs to be underlined that Pakistan army chief Gen Kayani's pleasant remarks should not be interpreted as indicating a change in the hostile mindset of the Pakistan army towards India, argues B Raman.
Pakistani media analysts and politicians have called for a review of the deployment of forces at Siachen, where soldiers from the two countries have been engaged in standoff since 1984.
India and Pakistan maintain a permanent military presence at a height of over 20,000 feet, which has led to more deaths due to extreme weather conditions than to each other's military might, reports Amir Mir
The Siachen issue between India and Pakistan is to be primarily resolved through dialogue, but the United States is willing to help the two neighbors in whatever way it could, a State Department official said on Monday.
The sudden visit of President Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal to India has invited ire from their political opponents in Pakistan, with cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan questioning the timing of the tour, while the country was grappling with the tragedy of 135 soldiers missing in an avalanche in Siachen glacier.
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