Author: Anissha Varma

As Beijing intensifies Covid lockdowns, limiting travel for tens of millions of people, a completely different situation is playing out in Hong Kong. The mood in the Chinese-controlled city is likely at its lightest in three years, when officials removed mandatory hotel quarantine for incoming guests in September, spurring a wild rush to book flights out of the city among travel-starved inhabitants. It was a significant U-turn, Beijing given how steadfastly city officials had adhered to the quarantine mandate, despite a collapsing economy, a deteriorating worldwide reputation, and other factors. Throughout the pandemic, Hong Kong followed Beijing’s strict “zero-Covid” approach,…

On Friday, smears of dried blood marred the hardwood floor of a classroom in northern Thailand, a day after the country’s bloodiest slaughter occurred in one of the most improbable settings. School bags stood uncollected Thailand on coloured shelves at the Child Development Center Uthai Sawan, while images of youngsters were smiling from the wall, pinned into place with pegs alongside cardboard cut-outs of ladybirds. Outside, grieving parents gathered in a makeshift shed on blue plastic chairs, nursing their grief and clutching to one another and their children’s blankets and bottles, a reminder of life, as officials completed plans for…

The bodies of the Ukrainians lay side by side on the grass, the dirt beside them splayed out by a crater. The victims’ arms pointed to where they had died as they were dragged to Putin the place by Russian mercenaries. “Let’s plant a grenade on them,” a husky Russian voice replies, implying a plan to booby-trap the bodies. “There’s no need for a grenade; we’ll just bash them in,” one of the Ukrainian soldiers who had come to retrieve the victims said. The mercenaries then discover they have no ammunition left. These incidents, were seen and heard exclusively on…

Invasion of Taiwan’s sovereign airspace by Chinese fighter jets or drones will be considered a “first strike,” Taiwan’s Defense Minister said on Wednesday, as the island strives to beef up its defenses in response to Beijing’s military push. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has stated that any Chinese fighter jets or drones that violate Taiwan’s territorial airspace will be considered a “first strike.” Taiwan’s Defense Minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, made the statements while speaking to MPs on the threats posed by Beijing’s recent string of aggressive moves, which saw Chinese fighter jets and drones fly near the self-governing island nation, even entering…

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur gave the PM a “Ransingha,” a trumpet-like traditional instrument, at a rally. Modi played it and declared, “This signals the beginning of each future victory.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday while urging citizens to alter their “riwaaz” (custom) and give the BJP a second term in the upcoming elections, that previous governments just laid the foundation stones and forgot about the actual projects once the polls were over. The Prime Minister, who was in Himachal Pradesh to inaugurate the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bilaspur, also physically sounded the vote…

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur gave the PM a “Ransingha,” a trumpet-like traditional instrument, at a rally. Modi played it and declared, “This signals the beginning of each future victory.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday while urging citizens to alter their “Riwaaz” (custom) and give the BJP a second term in the upcoming elections, that previous governments just laid the foundation stones and forgot about the actual projects once the polls were over. The Prime Minister, who was in Himachal Pradesh to inaugurate the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bilaspur, also physically sounded the vote…

On Wednesday, Varun Manish Chheda was allegedly murdered by his 22-year-old roommate, who is currently being held by police while an investigation is being conducted. At a resident hall on the Indiana campus of Purdue University, a 20-year-old student was allegedly killed by his roommate overnight and had “several sharp force traumatic injuries.” The student’s death has raised a number of questions since, according to early autopsy findings, it was a homicide, while other people have labeled it as murder. On Wednesday, Varun Manish Chheda was allegedly murdered by his 22-year-old roommate, who is currently being held by police while…

Since it was Jhala who laid the technological foundation for the ambitious cheetahs initiative under several governments starting in 2009, his removal has sparked concerns. Jhala has been working since 2009 to import cheetahs to India under several governments. He was also the primary author of the 2022 Cheetah Action Plan and oversaw the technical negotiations with Namibian and South African biologists. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) established a new nine-person task force on September 20 to keep an eye on the eight Cheetahs that had been flown in from Namibia earlier that month. A report in the Indian…

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat stated on Wednesday that “efforts aimed at the prosperity of the country would not be effective until women’s equal participation in the workforce is secured.” Bhagwat stated, “If the entire society is to be organized, then 50% of it is the maternal power,” during the annual RSS assembly in Nagpur on Vijayadashami. It is indisputable. They require strengthening. Their name is Mother. They come to mind as Jagat Janani (creators of the universe). I don’t know what made us decide to restrict their range of activity when imagining these things. These limitations later gained…

Gen. Anil Chauhan, the next Chief of Defence Staff, faces the challenging assignment of getting the three services to agree on theatre commands while also keeping the military Bureaucracy research community accountable for developing gear within the allotted time frame. Defense minister Rajnath Singh with CDS General Anil Chauhan and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari. Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, head of the Indian Air Force, stated on Tuesday that his organization was not opposed to any integration or theatre command procedure but had concerns about the planned military architecture. There is a doctrine for each…