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Asserting that India's policy on Palestine issue remains unchanged, government on Monday refused to take sides over the Gaza conflict as it said Israel and Palestine should have peace talks and forestalled a resolution in Rajya Sabha which was demanded by the opposition. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said the House should not be divided but send out a joint message that wherever there is violence, it is condemnable and both Israel and Palestine should accept Egypt's offer of peace talks. She was replying to a short-duration debate on Gaza situation during which opposition condemned the violence in Gaza, pressed...

Chhattisgarh state department of archaeology and culture plans to seek help from Nasa and Isro for research on 10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs in Charama region in Kanker district in tribal Bastar region. According to archaeologist JR Bhagat, these paintings have depicted aliens like those shown in Hollywood and Bollywood flicks. Located about 130km from Raipur, the caves come under village Chandeli and Gotitola. "The findings suggest that humans in prehistoric times may have seen or imagined beings from other planets which still create curiosity among people and researchers. Extensive research is needed for further findings. Chhattisgarh presently...

Dependence on Russian imports diminishing Russia is fast losing its dominance in Indian skies as the Indian Air Force is sticking to its guns on inducting 127 Rafale fighter jets from France and turning to the domestic military industry to supplement its requirements. Defence sources told The Hindu that despite an aggressive counter campaign by the British and Americans, the Indian side is firm about wrapping up the Rafale deal. The Rafale has made the grade because it is a safer twin-engine aircraft, which the IAF wants to fly for the next 40 years. Besides it has the teeth to...

Military radar evidence suggests the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner was deliberately flown west toward the Indian Ocean’s Andaman Islands, sources told Reuters on Friday as mounting evidence pointed to a criminal inquiry into Flight MH370. Two sources told Reuters that an unidentified aircraft – believed by investigators to be the missing Boeing 777 - was following a route between navigational way-points, indicating it was being flown by someone with aviation training when it was last plotted on military radar off the country's northwest coast.

Sergey Glaziev the head of the Russian central bank in her discussion with Vladimir Putin, unveiled an elegant technical solution for this problem and left a clear hint regarding the members of the anti-dollar alliance that is being created by the efforts of Moscow and Beijing. On June 10th, Sergey Glaziev, Putin's economy advisor published an article outlining the need to establish an international alliance of countries willing to get rid of the dollar in international trade and refrain from using dollars in their currency reserves. The ultimate goal would be to break the Washington's money printing machine that is...

A valet at the five star Le Meridien Hotel in New Delhi, India is in a certain amount of trouble after he wrecked a guest's precious Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder recently, causing damages of up to $330,000 to the luxury vehicle. Captured on CCTV for all the world to see, the valet, Arun Kumar drives the car from the parking area at the hotel to the busy valet area. He briefly gets out of the car. Then, after climbing back in, the car suddenly lurches forward, sending other valets running for cover as it hits a wall head-on. The valet managed...

A girl has been raped in northern India after a village council ordered the crime as payback for her brother's actions, according to police and her family. The girl's mother tells the AP, "We begged with folded hands but [the village council] would not listen. They dragged her away to the forest." A police rep says that her father later took her to a police station, her clothes "smeared with blood."

Indian Navy will receive its first indigenous P15A, Kolkata class destroyer today. The destroyer completed delivery acceptance trails (DAT) and will be commissioned soon. The 6,800 tonne destroyer, which is over three years behind schedule, is a technology demonstrator and will showcase shipbuilding technology for India. It was constructed at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai. INS Kolkata will be a part of the Kolkata Class destroyers of the Indian Navy which will include follow-on ships by the name of INS Kochin and INS Chennai respectively. The keel of the warship was laid down in September 2003 and the ship was launched in...

FULL TITLE: Incredible sight of the elephant that cried: Raju was held in chains, beaten and abused for fifty years and on the day he was released tears rolled down his face Raju was held in chains for more than 50 years after being poached in India The animal bled from spiked shackles and lived on hand-outs from tourists Team from North London charity Wildlife SOS travelled to India to free animal Raju cried tears of joy after being freed from suffering on American Independence Day Five-and-a-half tonne animal driven 350 miles away to safe conservation area These incredible pictures...

Islamic courts have no legal authority in India, the country's Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying Muslims cannot be legally subject to a parallel religious authority. Individuals may abide by Shariah court rulings if they wish, but cannot be legally forced to do so, Judge C. K. Prasad said. "No religion is allowed to curb anyone's fundamental rights," he told the court, giving the decision of a two-judge bench. Indian law does not recognize Shariah court rulings, he said. The court was responding to a petition filed in 2005 by a lawyer who said the Shariah courts should be disbanded for...

Kelly Parker was thrilled when she landed her dream job in 2012 providing tech support for Harley-Davidson's Tomahawk, Wisconsin, plants. The divorced mother of three hoped it was the beginning of a new career with the motorcycle company. The dream didn't last long. Parker claims she was laid off one year later after she trained her replacement, a newly arrived worker from India. Now she has joined a federal lawsuit alleging the global staffing firm that ran Harley-Davidson's tech support discriminated against American workers — in part by replacing them with temporary workers from South Asia. The firm, India-based Infosys...

54 students of a government middle school in Bihar's Sitamarhi district fell ill today after eating a mid-day meal in which a 'snake' was found. Sursand block development officer Vinod Kumar said the children of Meghpur Middle School at Sursand developed symptoms of nausea and fell unconsciousness after eating the meal. They were rushed to a nearby public health centre, given medicines and kept under observation. None of them were in critical condition, he said. "We have seized the khichdi that was given to the students. A long, black object was found in it and we suspect that it could...

Twitter and Facebook users were outraged as the news of Maria Sharapova not knowing Indian cricket’s master blaster Sachin Tendulkar went viral. The Russian lawn tennis ace found herself in the eye of a social media storm over her saying she doesn't know who Tendulkar is to tennisworldusa.org website. The website after an interview with Sharapova said, “Sachin Tendulkar may be the greatest cricket batsman in history and one of the legends on the sporting world. But French Open champion Maria Sharapova admitted that she did not know who he was during her press conference at Wimbledon on Saturday.” Sharapova...

In a revelation that is sure to raise worries in India's security establishment, the first-ever audio message of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIS, has confirmed suspicions that Indians could well be part of his organisation's ranks. While enumerating the nationalities of fighters who constitute ISIS, Al-Baghdadi's 20-second-long audio titled 'A message to the Mujahideen and the Muslim Ummah in the month of Ramadan' that was released on Tuesday mentions that Indians, among a host of other nationalities including Chinese, American, French, German, Australian, etc. figure in the ISIS squad. According to intelligence sources, on January 22, a...

On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced Washington will be selling India submarine-launched Harpoon missiles. On Tuesday, the U.S. announced its intention to sell India submarine-launched missiles. The announcement was made in a press release by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). “The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to India for UGM-84L Harpoon missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $200 million,” the press release said. It noted that it sent a certification of delivery to Congress on July 1, 2014. DSCA elaborated on the sale: “The Government...

At least 15 militants were killed and three soldiers were injured on Monday as the Pakistani military began the second phase of its offensive in North Waziristan with a ground operation in Miramshah (NYT, ET). The military released a statement on Monday that said infantry and special forces units moved from house to house throughout the city and uncovered networks of tunnels and bomb factories. The operation included the mobilization of tanks, artillery, and gunship helicopters in support of those infantry forces. The statement also said that 376 militants and 17 soldiers had been killed since the beginning of the...

Is There A Distinctive 'Indian English'? BBC Trending By BBC Trending Is there a distinctive "Indian English"? Yes, according to a hashtag that's been trending in the country - #IndianEnglish. "Open the windows and let the atmosphere come in." "Today is my Happy Birthday." These are a couple of examples being shared on the hashtag #IndianEnglish. Since it took off early on Thursday, it's been used around 20,000 times in India. It was started by 22-year-old Ojas Korde, a masters student in public relations from Mumbai. "On Twitter, we take things lightly," he told BBC Trending. Indians often translate directly...

Court grants woman divorce for forcing her to wear sariObjecting to wife wearing kurta and jeans and forcing her to wear sari amounts to cruelty inflicted by husband and can be a ground to seek divorce, a family court here has ruled. The wife pleaded that after marriage in December 2010, her husband did not buy her any clothes and therefore she had purchased kurta and jeans from her salary. However, the husband did not allow her to wear them, saying she should wear only saris. In her order was passed on June 24, Principal Judge of Family Court, Dr...

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The danger faced by women going to the toilet outdoors in rural India was made clear last month when two girls were ambushed, gang-raped and hanged from a tree. But defecation outside is normal for most Indian villagers - so how do they manage?