Author: xorance@gmail.com

When Sophie decided to travel to Romania for her summer vacation, she had no idea what she was in for. Or the mysterious and slightly chilling situations she would face. The first oddity? As she sat at the back of the taxicab, she felt herself getting closer and closer to her first destination. But not through the use of a map or GPS! Rather, it was an eerie sensation that was slowly bubbling up within her, causing a slight but cold shiver to form at the back of her neck and run down her spine. Why was this happening? Well,…

India’s strategy signals a shift from transactional resource acquisition to long-term supply-chain partnerships. These partnerships increasingly emphasise sustainability, value addition, and shared development outcomes, aligning Indian economic interests with broader global governance normsIn an era defined by tariff wars and economic coercion, resource politics has become a key pillar to influence geopolitics. Traditionally, lack of resources was seen as a structural weakness for developing economies like India. It was seen as a vulnerability which left them dependent on the external suppliers. However, today India has adopted a different strategy of converting its scarcity into leverage and its dependency into cross-trade,…

Media members walk by the press site video display showing NASA’s Crew-12 astronauts. | Photo Credit: Reuters NASA is now aiming to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (February 13, 2026), in another delay over weather conditions, the U.S. agency announced.It is targeting February 13 for the lift-off of Crew-12’s mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a window opening at 5:15 a.m. local time (1015 GMT).“Mission teams completed a weather review Tuesday morning and have waived off the Thursday, Feb. 12, launch opportunity due to forecast weather conditions along Crew-12’s flight path,” NASA…

Representational image. File | Photo Credit: AP A man along with three family members allegedly gang-raped a married woman in Ludhiana to avenge the perceived humiliation after his daughter eloped with the victim’s brother, police said on Sunday (August 11, 2024).The accused, who hail from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, also allegedly recorded the act on their mobile phones, they added. Although the incident took place on May 1, the victim was too traumatised to report the matter for a long time, the police said. It was only after she recovered and stabilised from the trauma of the alleged gangrape that…

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed on a flat note in a choppy session on Wednesday (February 11, 2026) as gains in PSU banks and auto shares were offset by losses in IT stocks. In a range-bound trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 40.28 points, or 0.05%, to close at 84,233.64. During the day, it hit a high of 84,487.34 and a low of 84,081.25. The NSE Nifty inched up 18.70 points, or 0.07%, to settle at 25,953.85. Among the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Eternal, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement,…

Zimbabwe’s captain Sikandar Raza says the team is solely focused on taking it one game at a time | Photo Credit: AP Zimbabwe has been the talk of the town this T20 World Cup. Victory over Australia in Group B leaves the side with a realistic shot at achieving its maiden Super Eight appearance. A win over Ireland in its penultimate group game will help the side take a further step towards qualification.Captain Sikandar Raza, however, says the team is solely focused on taking it one game at a time.“It’s a lovely position to be in. But the next game…

Testimony By Fire by Atulya Misra  | Photo Credit: Special arrangement It all begins at the fateful forest fire of 2018 on the hills of Kurangani in Tamil Nadu. Atulya Misra, an IAS officer, was appointed by the State Government to probe the incident. He has now written a novel whose protagonist is inspired by the guide who saved the lives of several trekkers. Testimony By Fire (published by Rupa) is about a journey this survivor undertakes across the length and breadth of our country. When Misra, an Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Department of Sports & Youth Welfare, set…

The UGC controversy has raised troubling questions on multiple fronts. At one level lies the obvious question distressing many minds: how could something so deeply discriminatory and divisive find its way into an institutional framework meant to unify and uplift? But at a deeper level, there is an even more disturbing question: what if it was not an accident at all?If deliberate, such an episode is tragic for a country reawakening to its civilisational self after centuries of setbacks — and it’s politically suicidal for a party that claims to oppose divisive, casteist politics while advancing a broader politico-cultural unity…

Kadhambari S. Viswanathan, assistant vice-president, Vellore Institute of Technology, in conversation with L.V. Navaneeth, Chief Executive Officer, The Hindu Group, at The Hindu Tech Summit 2026 on Friday (February 13, 2026). | Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ Online education is one of the biggest finds of the last decade, Kadhambari S. Viswanathan, assistant vice-president, Vellore Institute of Technology, said on Friday (February 13, 2026) at The Hindu Tech Summit 2026.She was speaking at a session, titled ‘From Campus to Corporation: Building Industry-Ready Talent for an AI First World’, in conversation with L.V. Navaneeth, Chief Executive Officer, The Hindu Group, at the event hosted…

State Transport minister Sushanta Chowdhury. File. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Tripura’s connectivity project with Bangladesh – the Agartala-Akhaura rail link and Maitree bridge – may be delayed due to the political turmoil and change in government in the neighbouring country, state Transport minister Sushanta Chowdhury said.An interim government under Muhammad Yunus was formed in the neighbouring country after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5 following widespread protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs.Mr. Chowdhury said most of the connectivity projects with Bangladesh were almost complete but now not sure…