In what could further stoke the Salman Rushdie controversy, a section of authors at the Jaipur Literature Festival on Friday launched a campaign demanding immediate lifting of the 23-year-old ban on the controversial writer's book The Satanic Verses.
Close aide of former chief minister Madhu Koda Sanjay Chaudhary, alleged to have been behind dubious investments of the leader, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
'If you look at peacekeeping right now, it is fraught with accusations of sexual abuse or peacekeepers involved in deals that are outside their purview, human trafficking.' 'When a contingent of women walk through a camp, the women in the camp and the children respond to them, talk to them. Women are more open to talking about sexual violence and domestic violence to other women.'
Latin America has the largest income inequality, although it is more equitable than sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia in life expectancy and schooling, states a UNDP report.
It's a historical day indeed! The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday announced that the Nobel Peace Prize 2011 would be equally divided by three influential women: Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni politician and activist Tawakul Karman.
Meet Soros Fellow Victor Roy, whose grandfather's dedication to healing the poor and ailing for over six decades has set him on the same path.
The Directorate, which is probing charges of huge illegal investments and hawala transactions against Koda and his associates, got an approval order from the adjudicating authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act in New Delhi.
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, who met with an accident in Liberia, will be airlifted to Chennai for further treatment.
"We urge the High Commissioner to go to Oslo, attend the award ceremony, and convene a press conference that will spotlight the plight of the 1.3 billion Chinese citizens who are systematically denied the basic guarantees of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," they said in a statement.
United States President Barack Obama lauded efforts being made in villages across India to empower citizens and promote transparency in governance at a global forum in New York, which incidentally India has decided not to join.
'It is astonishing how many Indian politicians have been convicted of sexual assault and of various types of crimes against women.' Ricken Patel, founder of the world's largest online activist site Avaaz, on his work in India and how technology is revolutionising the fight for a more just world. Rediff.com's P Rajendran reports from New York.
Non-bailable arrest warrants have been issued against seven aides of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda including an Indonesia- based businessman in connection with the multi-crore illegal investments and hawala case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
After confirming her name and date of birth, the 40-year-old told the courthouse in The Hague that two men knocked on the door of her hotel room and woke her up late at night after a dinner with former South African President Nelson Mandela in 1997.
Funds diverted by associate to Dubai.
Pakistan reacted strongly to the seizure by India of a ship carrying equipment used by Pakistan and Bangladesh for UN peacekeeping missions on Sunday.
The detained Karachi-bound ship, laden with military hardware, ammunition and explosives, was brought to the Kolkata Port from Diamond Harbour for scrutiny on Sunday.
A Karachi-bound cargo vessel from Bangladesh with heavy military supplies, including explosives, was on Friday detained by the police at Diamond Harbour in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, top police officials said.Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh said, "It is a consignment of heavy military supplies meant for a consignee in Karachi. Five tonnes of explosives and a huge quantity of arms and ammunition were found after the police detained the vessel."
A Pakistani officer allegedly fired at a Central Reserve Police Force camp, which is part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in violence-hit Liberia, leaving a civilian seriously injured. There were no casualties in the CRPF camp. The incident took place on June 8 in Zwedru, the capital of Grand Gedeh County, one of the 15 counties in the West African country of Liberia.
Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but one that was allegedly gifted to the supermodel back in 1997 may soon have her facing a UN war-crimes tribunal.
The year 2014 is coming to an end. It was the year of conflict, the year of strife. Year 2014 will be remembered for several reasons -- the rise and threat of the Islamic State, the downing of two Malayasia Airlines aircraft and the sudden and effective way of using hastags on social media to generate a buzz about the event. After all, who can forget #theicebucket challenge and the phenomenon it grew into. Read on as we bring you an overview of international news and events of 2014.
The United States is reportedly planning to discontinue its policy of nationality based security checks of America-bound travelers and will now select passengers for special scrutiny at airports on the basis of possible matches to intelligence information, including physical descriptions or a particular travel pattern.
The passport of Sanjay Choudhary, close aide of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, has been revoked as part of the investigations into the alleged multi-crore illegal investment and hawala racket involving the duo and some others.Sources said Choudhary, who is alleged to be the main money bag for Koda, is currently hiding in Dubai.
Dr Kalyani Gomathinayagam, a young Indian doctor who volunteered to spend four weeks in west Africa helping those suffering and dying of Ebola, speaks to Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com why she took on an assignment many would shy away from.
The Indian envoy to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri asked the Security Council to devise clear and achievable goals for missions serving in post-conflict areas around the world and provide greater resources for their implementation.
India has so far succeeded in staving off the deadly virus that has claimed over 4,500 lives abroad.
ONGC-Mittal Energy Ltd -- joint venture of ONGC Videsh Ltd and Mittal Investment Sarl -- had in 2007 won the offshore block North Coast Marine Area-2 (NCMA-2), that is estimated to hold in-place reserves of two trillion cubic feet, beating Britain's Centrica Plc.
The special judge, Pankaj Kumar, ordered issuance of letters of request in the name of the five countries to enable ED officials to conduct investigation. SR Das, the counsel for ED told the court that the visit was necessary as the agency had unearthed facts about the illegal investments and hawala transactions made in these countries by the accused.
Did the ill-gotten money of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and his associates, who are allegedly involved in the Hawala and illegal investments case, find its way to Naxal groups?
The income tax department on Wednesday sealed some rooms and almirahs at the Ranchi residence of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, embroiled in the alleged hawala transaction and illegal investments running into more than Rs 2,000 crore.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and his associates, facing charges of money laundering, have been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning on alleged hawala transactions and investments.
The searches, which began at 9:30 am, were carried out after the Enforcement Directorate registered a case against 38-year-old Koda for alleged money laundering and diversion of state funds.
A case was registered against former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and three of his cabinet colleagues by the Enforcement Directorate on Friday for alleged money laundering, diversion of state funds and making huge investments abroad without legal sanction. The ED filed a Enforcement Case Information Report (equivalent to a FIR) before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Ranchi against Koda, Kamlesh Singh, Bhanu Pratap Shahi and Bhandu Tirkey.
Presently, women comprise only 8 per cent of UN police officers and about 2 per cent of the military personnel deployed in peacekeeping operations.
After creating a controversy by his 'cattle class' remark, Union Minister Shashi Tharoor has now complained about his workload while tweeting about 'ridiculously full' engagements.
Soon after his return from Liberia and Ghana where he was on an official visit, Tharoor met Gandhi amid demands for his resignation as Minister of State for External Affairs. Later he also met senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
A tax haven, or a place in which certain taxes are imposed either at a low rate or not at all, is the best possible way out for those interested in reducing their tax liabilities.
Steel major Tata Steel plans to become a partner in Canada-based New Millennium Capital Corp's $4-billion KeMag property, having iron ore reserves in excess of two billion tonnes.
United States ambassador-designate to the United Nations, Susan Rice, identified Kashmir as one of the hot spots and bracketed it with conflict-torn regions, including the Balkans and Golan heights.
Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi was awarded the 2009 Ballon D'Or, French magazine France Football said on its website on Tuesday. The 22-year-old became the first Ballon D'Or winner from Argentina, eclipsing runner-up and last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo by a record 240-point margin.
If there were people willing to offer bribes worth crores of rupees there were definitely other people who were willing to stand behind Madhu Koda's shoulder, offering hints about investing all those rupees. Who were they? asks T V R Shenoy.
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