Sania Mirza, who is competing in her final Grand Slam at the Australian Open, penned an emotional note for her fans on social media.

'The biggest problem that faces the Opposition in Gujarat is just a day or two before voting is scheduled, Modiji goes on a spree of emotional appeals.' 'That process has been set in motion much earlier this time in Gujarat.'

A record five Indian-American lawmakers from the ruling Democrat Party, including Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera have been elected to the US House of Representatives, while several others were elected in state legislatures, in one of the most polarised midterm elections in the country.

Four Indian-American politicians from the ruling Democratic Party, including Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal, were elected to the US House of Representatives on Wednesday and many others won across the country to state legislatures in the highly polarised midterm elections.

The 42-year-old is holding a solid 55 per cent lead with the Oddschecker betting odds aggregator, followed by a 29 per cent chance of former prime minister Boris Johnson making a comeback. Third placed in what is emerging as a three-way contest is Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt, who had polled third in the first round of parliamentary votes to shortlist candidates for the last leadership race.

Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com reports from Shivaji Park and the MMRDA ground to sense the mood of Shiv Sena workers -- from the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde camps.

Yuri Alemao, Altone D'costa and advocate Carlos Alvares Ferreira, the three Congress MLAs who didn't join the eight of their former party men in jumping ship speak up about their decisions and their motivations to stay with the 137-year-old Congress.

'It is easier to make friends with strangers as they are non-judgmental.'

I got to know that every referred case for angiography and angioplasty got a kickback of Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively. Seeing this trend, doctors started paying referring doctors Rs 1 lakh in advance and adjusting it as and when patients came in. This menace slowly spread its tentacles all over the medical field, including radiological diagnostics and biochemistry laboratories. For every test ordered, 20 per cent of the bill was given back to the referring doctor. This led to doctors recommending unnecessary tests. The pharmaceutical companies also saw burgeoning business. Acclaimed doctors were given televisions sets, refrigerators, air conditioners and cars depending upon the prescriptions. General practitioners would prescribe unnecessary drugs, and were given returns in cash. A fascinating excerpt from Dr Upendra Kaul's When The Heart Speaks.

'On this day, recollecting all our divine memories, we paid obeisance to our father's beloved deity -- Lord Ganesha -- to bestow on all of us the happiness and joy and to remove all hurdles and obstacles throughout this journey of mortal life.'

Serena Williams signalled she is not quite ready for retirement advancing to the second round of the US Open on Monday with a scrappy 6-3, 6-3 win over Danka Kovinic.

While West Punjab became part of West Pakistan, East Punjab was given to India, and Bengal's division saw a large swathe of its eastern territory forming part of East Pakistan.

Last week, two BSF troopers from Rajasthan, members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Congo, were killed by protestors. Do we need to lose lives fighting in a country not ours, in a war that is not ours and for a cause that is not ours, asks Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd), who served in the UNPKF in Congo.

It appears that the party has some kind of political death wish, observe Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.

The Shahbaz Sharif family (his two wives and their children) invested PkRs 277 crore in 13 companies without having known sources of income.

Within three weeks of lifting its mask mandate, the Delhi government on Friday made masks mandatory at public places with immediate effect, and imposed a fine of Rs 500 for any violation as coronavirus cases rise in the city again.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea of the wife of an Indian Army officer seeking repatriation of her husband and other Army officers believed to be held under illegal detention as prisoners of war by Pakistan since the 1971 war.

'The distrust of traditional political parties in Punjab is an advantage for AAP.'

With the BJP continuing to be the constant combatant, centrifugal pressures will rise. Fractured relations between the Centre and the states as between BJP and non-BJP ruled states is a sizeable risk owing ahead, warns Shekhar Gupta.

Without periodic booster shots to display of strength, how is this government what it aims to be? There was also the landscape of prosperity pictured; the in-season affair with 'amrit' stretched to a longer residence in 'Amrit Kaal', notes Shyam G Menon.

Winter Olympics will be staged by a country that has grown far wealthier, more powerful

Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Friday approved the Delhi government's proposal to allow private offices to function with 50 per cent staff but suggested maintaining the status quo on lifting weekend curfew and removing the odd-even rule for the opening of shops in the markets, sources said.

We live in hope that India and its airlines might finally grow up, notes Anuli Bhargava.

There is money to buy the central public sector enterprises, but buyers will need a firm assurance that the disvestment programme will keep environment issues front and centre of their corporate plans.

'There is no need to do anything, let your SIPs get deducted every month, and stick to your allocation between equity, fixed income and emergency funds and your risk covers.'

As the new year arrives, the Bharatiya Janata Party's finds itself on the cusp of the most consequential cycle of state polls since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the results will tell if the road ahead in its bid for a third straight term at the Centre is getting any bumpier or a strong opposition challenge remains elusive.

Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite Indian films of 2021.

Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite films, most of them shown at international film festivals held virtually (Berlinale and Rotterdam), hybrid (Toronto) or physical (Cannes and Venice).

'Mortality or hospitalisation has not increased in South Africa because of the new variant.' 'There is nothing to show so far that it is more infectious.' 'I am of the opinion that at the moment, there is no reason to panic.'

Expressing grave concern over a US nuclear-powered submarine sustaining damage in the disputed South China Sea, China on Friday demanded Washington to reveal the details and the location of the accident and blamed America's frequent air and naval sorties in the Indo-Pacific to assert the "freedom of navigation" as the "root cause" of the incident.

The Tatas are rather overwhelmed with some facets of the airline they have discovered, but even more unnerved by what they may not have yet uncovered, reveals Anjuli Bhargava.

Images from the Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings, in Dubai, on Friday.

If he doesn't win next year, it will set back the party's prospects in 2024. If he wins, it will be seen as his win as much as the BJP high command's, points out Shekhar Gupta.

President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the nation on the eve of India's 75th Independence Day. Here's the text of what he said:

The Orwellian surveillance State is here. And here to stay, asserts Virendra Kapoor.

Dilip Kumar remained in demand all through his career because he kept reinventing himself in keeping with the changing times in Indian cinema, argues Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.

In March 2020, soon after the cessation of airline operations globally and domestic flights within India, many in the aviation sector had written Delhi-headquartered low-fare airline SpiceJet's obituary well before that of most of its rivals. Unlike IndiGo, GoAir (now rechristened Go First), Vistara and even AirAsia India, SpiceJet did not have founders or backers with deep pockets. Although it is the only other listed carrier in India besides IndiGo, it was considered the weakest and the least likely to survive the pandemic. But chairman and managing director Ajay Singh surprised everyone by not only surviving but taking the lead on many fronts. Within a few weeks of the scheduled flight stoppage, SpiceJet was doing as many charter flights as it could get hold of.

'India has to ensure its borders are properly sealed and there is no infiltration from PoK.

The shift toward a staunchly secular identity will help Congress to rebuild its trust and confidence with the minority communities, especially Muslim voters. Arguably, this is where the Congress' future also lies in national politics, observes M K Bhadrakumar.

Let battle commence, says Djokovic ahead of Nadal showdown