News updates

Two Hindu NGOs are now pushing the authorities to step forward and protect the 110-year-old Vivekananda Ashram in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, from the threat of redevelopment. Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy today called on the National Heritage Department to step in and object to the proposed development and conversion of the land status at the [...]

NEW DELHI: One of PM Narendra Modi’s first global imprints could come soon with the fructification of his proposal – which he announced in his UNGA speech — for an International Day of Yoga. As many as 50 countries – US, Canada and China most recently — have signed up for co-sponsorship of a draft [...]

DHAKA: A special Bangladeshi court on Wednesday handed the death sentence to the leader of the country’s largest Islamist party for war crimes, in a long-awaited verdict that triggers fears of fresh violence. The war crimes court found Motiur Rahman Nizami, head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, guilty of mass murder, rape and looting during Bangladesh’s [...]

Though India has pursued the case of Dawood Ibrahim with the US for a long time, the two countries signalled their intention to jointly go after the mob boss and his support network during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the US.  A joint statement issued after Modi’s meeting with US President Barack Obama [...]

London: British Prime Minister David Cameron has reiterated that the United Kingdom wants deeper ties with India and claimed that the two democracies face many similar challenges while also making it aptly clear that his government will never interfere in the highly vexed Kashmir issue. The Conservative Party leader was on Tuesday quoted as saying [...]

MUMBAI: Accounting books are mostly anachronisms these days. Students still fill up those long columns, but few businessmen would bother now that computers and accounting software are so cheap. Yet every Diwali businessmen still flock to shops like the ones near the Mumbadevi temple in Mumbai to buy account books that they will fill up, [...]

Online retail giant Amazon found itself facing the wrath of devout Hindus here who objected to the Seattle-headquartered corporation’s sale of women’s leggings emblazoned with images of various Hindu deities, asserting that religious sentiments were hurt by these deities adorning parts of the body. Describing the item as “inappropriate,” Hindu cleric Rajan Zed of Nevada [...]

NEW DELHI: Stressing on the importance of enhancing internet connectivity in India, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday said, “Connectivity can’t be restricted to just the rich and powerful. Cost of internet access has to be made affordable.” According to Zuckerberg, Facebook is working extensively to enhance connectivity in rural India. “India is an amazing [...]

WASHINGTON: Impressed by the “energy and vigour” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to the US despite being on fast, President Barack Obama has expressed his interest in yoga, officials have said. While the First Lady has been instrumental in introducing yoga inside the White House, Obama appeared to be very impressed [...]

Barbie takes a Kali avatar as Argentine artists Marianela Perelli and Pool Paolini, in an exhibition series called “Barbie – The Plastic Religion,” are featuring a Kali version of this popular doll range. In the exhibition in Buenos Aires, which is set to open on October 11, the artists will present various avatars of Barbie, [...]