In April 2016, there was a rare piece of good news about tigers. For the first time in over a century, the number of tigers went up. The latest global census counted 3,890 tigers, compared to just 3,200 tigers in 2010.   There are lots of reasons for this increase. But one key factor is that, in some places, people are finding ways to live alongside tigers.   India is home to around half…

The members of the Missile Technology Control Regime, a key anti-proliferation grouping, have agreed to admit India, diplomats said, in a win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he meets President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday.   Diplomats with direct knowledge of the matter said a deadline for the members of the 34-nation group to object to India’s admission had expired on Monday…

Beijing: In a rare rebuke to its "all weather" ally Pakistan, China's state-run channels have aired a documentary naming Lashkar-e-Taiba for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and even showed footage containing confessions of Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist caught alive during the 26/11 carnage. The footage was first aired by the state-run Shanghai Television weeks ahead of…

In March, a senior commander with the Islamic State group was driving through northern Syria on orders to lead militants in the fighting there when a drone blasted his vehicle to oblivion.   The killing of Abu Hayjaa al-Tunsi, a Tunisian jihadi, sparked a panicked hunt within the group’s ranks for spies who could have tipped off the US-led coalition about his closely guarded movements.…

Doha:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi today discussed the problems faced by Indian workers with the Qatari leadership, who briefed him about the reforms being undertaken to protect the interests of the skilled and unskilled labour in the gas-rich Gulf nation. Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, appreciated the role and contribution of of the Indian community for the development…

Beijing:  Amid deepening divisions over the disputed South China Sea, China and US will hold their high level annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing tomorrow during which a host of issues including differences over India's entry into the NSG are expected to be discussed. Billed as the most comprehensive dialogue between the world's two largest economies, it will be attended…

Cuban President Raul Castro says the country will not return to the Organization of American States (OAS) in a show of solidarity with Venezuela.   OAS Secretary General Luis Almargo has called for sanctions against Venezuela.   At a summit of Caribbean countries in Havana, Mr Castro called the OAS "an instrument of imperialist domination".   Meanwhile, former Spanish Prime…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a dam in Afghanistan's western Herat province Saturday that had been 40 years in the making due to war and upheaval in the country.   The Salma Dam, referred to as the Afghanistan India Friendship Dam by both countries, is built with $300 million of Indian money. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s office tweeted warm messages for Modi as…

Myanmar authorities will launch a campaign to remove betel stands from public areas and tourist attraction sites as an initial step to cut the use of betel, official media reported Sunday.   The campaign will be launched in cities first beginning the first week of this month to keep metropolitan cities and big towns clean, the Ministry of Health and Sports was quoted as saying.   The project…

At least 24 people have been killed and 40 others injured during clashes between police and squatters in the northern Indian town of Mathura.   Clashes broke out on Thursday as police tried to evict several thousand former members of a religious sect who had occupied a public park for two years.   Two senior police officers were among those killed overnight.   Akhilesh Yadav, the chief…

NEW DELHI: In a move that is as much political as it is humanitarian, the home ministry is ready with draft amendments to citizenship law that will exempt minority citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh who have come to India out of fear of religious prosecution from being tagged as "illegal migrants".   The changes to the Citizenship Act, 1955, will give a legal path to the refugees to…

WASHINGTON: A US woman bought a used freezer for $30 from her neighbour’s garage sale only to discover parts of a dead body inside.   The woman, from Goldsboro, North Carolina, was shocked when she looked into the used freezer she bought and found parts of a dead body inside.   “My heart was in my throat and I ran outside, called 911,” the woman local news channel WNCN.…

Republican Party’s presidential candidate Donald Trump said that his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, should be imprisoned for her misuse of email when she was the Secretary of State.   “I will say this: Hillary Clinton has got to go to jail. Honestly, she’s guilty as hell,” Trump told his supporters at a rally in San Jose, California, on Thursday where violence erupted…