Filmmaker Aishwarya Dhanush Rajinikanth's next Tamil directorial will be a biopic on Indian Paralympic high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu, and it was announced on Sunday to coincide with the New Year. Titled "Mariyappan", the film will throw the spotlight on the life of the 21-year-old high jumper from Salem district in Tamil Nadu. In 2016 Summer …
Continue reading "Aishwarya Dhanush’s next a biopic on Paralympian Thangavelu"
December 31, 2016Chinnamma Sasikala has become Amma in Tamil Nadu and she took charge of the AIADMK on Thursday. Sasikala’s story is like a movie script as she had come to Jayalalitha as a video library owner to supply videos and had become her close companion three decades ago. But with Dame Luck smiling on her she …
Continue reading "The challenges facing Sasikala"
December 31, 2016The ushering in of the new millennium marked the end of an era of iconic screen legends who drew audiences to the cinema halls of Calcutta as it then was. In those days under the British, the best of Hollywood films came to the city and set the silver screen on fire. In 1939, Metro …
Continue reading "Recalling an era of screen"
December 31, 2016General Bipin Rawat has taken over as the 26th Chief of the Army Staff after weeks of speculative talk on ‘who is the next COAS’ and suggestive conclusions that Gen Bakshi, the senior most General was the obvious choice etc. The announcement made by the Government on 18 December that Gen. Rawat would lead the …
Continue reading "Let the General now get on with his job"
December 31, 2016Christmas of 2014 had been christened Good Governance Day by the newly-elected NDA Government. Offices had been kept open to observe the occasion with due solemnity. It had caused some consternation and minor annoyance as it clashed with a holiday, which had never been disturbed. Based on experience or for other undisclosed reasons, 2015 was …
December 31, 2016Close to four years after the Rana Plaza collapse (April 2013) ~ one of the world's worst environmental disasters ~ the garment industry in Bangladesh, that manufactures the top European and American brands, is in crisis again. International concern over the exploitation of child labour, expectant mothers, and almost inhuman working hours has deepened this …
Continue reading "They make garments…"
December 31, 2016More than 70 years after World War II ended, Pearl Harbour bears witness to diplomatic grandstanding and belated expressions of pious sentiment… instead of apologies for the catastrophe that killed 2,400 Americans and prompted the US to enter the war. It sure was a historic moment on Wednesday when the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, stood …
Continue reading "No Apologies"
December 31, 2016Criminal action deserves punishment in accordance with the Indian Penal Code ~ nothing less suffices. Thus, while holding no brief for allegedly-tainted sports administrators Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala, it is necessary to ask the sports minister if his outrage against both of them being declared honorary life-presidents of the Indian Olympic Association is …
Continue reading "‘Killer’ Kindness"
December 31, 2016The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously approved a resolution supporting a Russian-Turkish peace initiative for Syria, including an ongoing ceasefire and talks next month in Kazakhstan. The resolution aims to pave the way for the new talks under the aegis of key Syria government backers Russia and Iran, and of Turkey, which backs rebel …
Continue reading "UN Security Council unanimously backs Syria peace plan"
December 31, 2016Thanking all Russians for their "victories, achievements, understanding and trust" in 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday wished "peace and prosperity" for all citizens and that they will be able to fulfil their dreams and "good intentions", In a televised New Year's address, he also revealed the secret of how all may become something of …
Continue reading "Putin congratulates Russians, reveals New Year secret"
December 31, 2016State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Saturday hiked the price of subsidised cooking gas, or LPG, along with kerosene and aviation turbine fuel (ATF). The three state-owned OMCs revise rates of LPG, Kerosene and ATF on the first of every month, based on global oil prices and the foreign exchange rate. This is the seventh straight …
Continue reading "LPG, jet fuel prices hiked in Delhi"
December 31, 2016The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday said that it will introduce a facility for exchange of old specified bank notes for Indian residents and NRIs, who were abroad from November 9 to December 30. According to a RBI notification, Indian residents, who were abroad during November 9 to December 30, 2016 can avail …
Continue reading "RBI to announce facility for NRIs to exchange old notes"
December 31, 2016As we enter the New Year 2017, thestatesman.com wishes all its readers a happy and prosperous year ahead. The year 2016 was a pack of delight for some, while others saw it as a start of revolutions that promised a change they eagerly awaited from a long time. From Colombia striking a peace deal, to …
Continue reading "Happy New Year 2017, India sets sight on new goals"
December 31, 2016Let us take a trip down memory lane to cherish the very best of every month in 2016.
December 31, 2016Donald Trump sent New Year's greetings to his "many enemies" in a backhanded tweet on Saturday in which he gloated over his political conquests. "Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!" the US president-elect …
Continue reading "Trump tweets New Year’s greeting to his many enemies"
December 31, 2016Yuki Bhambri breezed past Italy's Marco Cecchinato in the opening round of the qualifiers in the Chennai Open here on Saturday. The former top-100 player and a quarterfinalist in 2014 in Chennai Open, Yuki has returned to the circuit after a long injury lay off. But he displayed a lot of aggression as he romped …
Continue reading "Yuki wins opening round of qualifiers in Chennai Open"
December 31, 2016Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday set out a stern warning of tough action against the "dishonest" people even as he announced a slew of sops for senior citizens, farmers, rural housing, women and small entrepreneurs to soften the blow of demonetisation. He also assuaged the honest people that the government will act as a …
Continue reading "PM warns of tough action against dishonest, announces sops"
December 31, 2016