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The privilege of lounging on Monday afternoons is reserved for loafers and lovers. You do not have to take my word for it. Ask one of several hundred people who are scaling Gingee fort at the start of the week, and you would know I am right. Ever since Gingee fort, part of the Mighty Maratha Landscape encompassing 11 other forts, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site last week, footfall has shot up from between 600-700 people a day to about 1,700 over the weekend.Gingee fort, first said to have been built in the 12th Century by Ananda Kon,…

In the shadowed corridors of Beijing’s Zhongnanhai compound, a drama of Shakespearean proportions is unfolding. Chinese President Xi Jinping, now in his 14th year at the helm of the world’s second-most populous nation, has orchestrated a series of purges that have decimated the upper echelons of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).What began as an anti-corruption drive in 2012 has morphed into a tool for absolute control, concentrating authority in the hands of one man to a degree unseen since Mao Tse-tung’s era. This consolidation, while ostensibly aimed at rooting out graft and ensuring loyalty, poses…

Security has been increased in Srinagar ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on March 4, 2024 | Photo Credit: ANI The J&K Lieutenant Governor’s administration has made elaborate arrangements to mobilise hundreds of government employees to attend the upcoming public rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Srinagar’s Bakshi Stadium on March 7.Top official sources said 13 departments have been directed to send their employees to the venue. These departments include Education, National Rural Livelihood Mission, Agriculture, Rural Development Department, Handicrafts, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Integrated Child Development Services, Directorate of Youth Services & Sports, Nehru Yuva Kendra, J&K Khadi and…

Image for representation | Photo Credit: AFP On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the 16th Finance Commission report in the Lok Sabha, setting the framework for tax devolution between the Centre and the States. The Commission also recommended an allocation of ₹3.5 lakh crore to urban local governments (ULGs) for the next five years.Editorial | A cautious nudge: On the 16th Finance Commission’s recommendationsGenerally, funds are devolved to ULGs through transfer by the Central and State governments in the form of grants. According to an analysis by Janaagraha, a non-profit organisation, the Commission’s allocation for the coming five…

Thirty kilometres across the Palk Strait from Rameswaram temple lies Kathadi North, a boutique hotel offering a unique blend of adventure, environment and comfort. Located at Pirappanvalasai village in Ramanathapuram district, it is run by Quest Adventure Sports Academy that offers courses in scuba diving, kitesurfing, sea kayaking, snorkelling, swimming, and stand-up paddling. The academy’s windsurfing chapter in Rameswaram kicked off when Jehan Driver, a passionate kitesurfer who started the academy in 2011 (it was called Quest Expeditions then), began his own quest along India’s East coast for good quality water and strong winds. “My heart settled on Rameswaram because of…

Indian holy texts describe a sangam as the confluence of two rivers — sometimes visible, sometimes subterranean — whose mingling is believed to multiply their force. The newly concluded India-European Union free-trade agreement has something of that quality. After 18 years of on-again, off-again talks, two very different economic streams have finally found a channel wide enough to flow together and deep enough to be bountiful. What emerges is a grand bargain shaped by geopolitics, stagnation in Europe and momentum in India.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADAt its core, the deal is disarmingly simple. Europe gets a big slice of India’s fast-growing top-end…

A file photo of the Rajya Sabha in session during the recent Interim Budget Session of Parliament | Photo Credit: ANI The Supreme Court on March 4 said the elections to the Rajya Sabha and Council of States required “utmost protection” and the right to vote should be carried out freely without fear or persecution.“The Rajya Sabha or the Council of States performs an integral function in the working of our democracy and the role played by the Rajya Sabha constitutes a part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Therefore, the role played by elected members of the State…

The United States and India moved closer to a trade pact on Friday (February 6, 2026), releasing an interim framework that would ‍lower tariffs, reshape energy ties and deepen economic cooperation as both countries seek to ​realign global supply chains.Here are key points of the joint statement:India-U.S. trade deal LIVE updatesWhat was announcedUnited States and India agree on a ​framework for an interim reciprocal trade agreement Framework linked to broader U.S.-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) talks launched on Feb. 13, 2025 Deal aims at reciprocal, balanced trade and supply chain resilienceIndia’s tariff actions To eliminate or reduce tariffs on all…

When you step out of Incheon airport in Seoul, you expect to drive into the city and be catapulted into scenes you have seen in a host of city-slicker K-Dramas and films — an impressive skyline, chaotic, yet orderly traffic, convenience stores on every street corner, and some rain for that cinematic effect. We are however whisked away in another direction where a long highway awaits, to lead us to Gangwon. One among the three self-governing provinces in South Korea (the other two being Jeju and Jeonbuk), this vast province made up of seven cities and 11 counties does not always…

Karl Marx famously said that history repeats itself, first as tragedy and second as farce. The way US President Donald Trump and his cronies have cobbled together what they advertised as the Board of Peace (BoP) at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 shows their real intent: economic opportunities in political tragedies.Gaza, with a death toll of over 60,000 and the displacement of more than two million others, is a huge tragedy. But it has morphed into a political farce — and a massive business opportunity.Manufacturing conflicts, marketing weapons, and rebuilding war-ravaged countries are all big global businesses. Period.President Trump…