Author: Jasbeer Mittur

The European Union (EU) plans to make available 400 million euro ($440 million) to Slovenia to back the country in recovering from the recent floods, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said. “Slovenia can request and will receive financial support from the EU. And we have discussed a package of three components. First of all, from the Solidarity Fund 400 million euro are accessible. Time is of the essence. Therefore, the Commission can pay an advance of up to 100 million euro before the end of the year,” Von der Leyen said in an address to Slovenia’s parliament on…

Read More

At Chatterjee & Lal, Mortimer Chatterjee recreates two chapters out of the life of one of India’s greatest pedagogues and essayists and authors and poet KG Subramanyan who was known to his students and friends as Manida. Tyeb Mehta and Manida Split into two parts this exhibition is like a reverie doused in double dip nostalgia as well as the haunts of history and impeccable research. Mortimer Chatterjee who is one of India’s greatest silent curators, puts together a stellar unveiling of the multifaceted Manida both as an avid learner as well as a textile experimenter. In looking at the installation images…

Read More

The question of wealth and income of public representatives in India frequently generates fascination and interest, but unfortunately, often for dubious reasons. Irrespective of their political affiliations, many politicians have amassed significant fortunes, acquiring lavish estates, extensive car collections, and valuable properties. The sources of their wealth often remain enigmatic, with some attributing it to family inheritances. Recently, the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) conducted a comprehensive study encompassing 28 states and two union territories, revealing the top ten wealthiest MLAs in India. Interestingly, the top three MLAs in the list come from Karnataka. While the two of these representatives…

Read More

Raigad administration has appealed to the citizens to donate generously to the survivors in terms of food as well as funds. A colony of 32 container houses has been set up at Chouk village adjacent to the old Mumbai Pune highway A day after the landslide that wiped off one village from Khalapur Taluka, Raigad administration has appealed to the citizens to donate generously to the survivors in terms of food as well as finances. For donating finances, the administration has also released details of a bank account. Those who want to help financially should deposit the funds in this…

Read More

The civic body failed to receive any bids from eligible contractors till June 30 and the deadline for submitting the bids was postponed four times. Nearly eight months after floating tenders for construction of two underground tunnels which will be part of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s ambitious Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, the civic body has so far received three bids. In a bid to ease traffic, the BMC is creating the 12.2 km-long GMLR, which will connect Goregaon in the western suburbs with Mulund in the eastern suburbs through a serious of arterial roads, underground tunnels and bridges. The…

Read More

Finishing as the second best team in the world over four years and two cycles isn’t such a bad thing. By losing two successive finals of the World Test Championship, however, India have blotted their copybook somewhat. It is possible that India lost the final on the opening day when they won the toss and asked Australia to bat first. Australia might have done the same – but they had better fast bowlers. Was that why India bowled first, so they wouldn’t have to face them first up? Was it a defensive move? It is one of cricket’s enduring cliches…

Read More

India’s top wrestlers have suspended their protests after a senior minister promised them a swift investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against their federation chief. The protesters have been camping in Delhi since April, demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. On Wednesday, they met Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and held talks that lasted nearly six hours. Mr Thakur said the police would complete an investigation against Mr Singh by 15 June. He said the wrestlers had assured him that they would not hold any demonstrations until then. The government has also promised to hold elections to the executive…

Read More

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukrainian counter-offensive was facing very stiff resistance. “Because for Russia to lose this campaign in Ukraine means to actually lose the war,” Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News. News from the front line is “generally positive, but hard,” the Ukrainian president said, adding that the slow delivery of new Western weapons, such as fighter jets, was helping Russia’s defense. “We are losing time, we are losing people and, most importantly, we are losing our advantage,” Zelensky said. Adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak said on the eve that…

Read More

US President Biden backs NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s plan to announce that Ukraine will not need to complete a “Membership Action Plan” (MAP) to join the alliance It is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Axios . Stoltenberg put forward a proposal at the White House on Tuesday, according to the publication’s sources, under which the alliance would say that Ukraine has made progress towards membership and will not need to complete the step-by-step MAP process that other Eastern European members have previously gone through. The MAP process sets out specific criteria and reforms and may take years or even decades to complete.…

Read More

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is an influential but controversial MP from India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For several months, he’s been at the centre of India’s biggest sporting row. The allegations against him are grave. Some of India’s top wrestlers, including Olympic medallists and world champions, accuse him of sexually harassing female athletes and have held months of protests demanding his arrest. Mr Singh, who until recently had been the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for the past 12 years, has denied the allegations. He accuses the wrestlers of being “politically motivated” and recently said he…

Read More