Author: Jindan Malhotra

Authorities in India’s Uttar Pradesh state have sealed a private school after its teacher asked students to slap their Muslim classmate. Officials said Neha Public School was shut down as it “did not meet the education department’s criteria.” The school’s students would be shifted to a government school or other nearby schools, officials said. Meanwhile, the teacher – Tripta Tyagi – has told NDTV news channel that she was “not ashamed” of her actions. The child’s family has said he was beaten up for getting his times tables wrong. A video of Ms Tyagi telling her pupils to slap their…

The emergence of a horrific video that shows two naked women being paraded and molested by a mob in the violence-hit Indian state of Manipur has highlighted who often pays the highest price during conflict. Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing. The assault on the women took place almost three months ago but became public only on Thursday after the video went viral on Twitter. According to a police complaint, one of the women was gang raped. The complaint added that a third woman was also forced to strip but she is not seen in the video. The…

The conference on the settlement of the military conflict in Ukraine, held in strict secrecy in Copenhagen, was attended by the countries of the global South, which take a neutral position in the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. A peace conference on Ukraine was held in Denmark in conditions of strict secrecy. As reported on Monday, June 26, radio station Deutschlandfunk, in addition to representatives of several Western countries, it was also attended by diplomats from countries in the global South, including China, India, Brazil and South Africa. These countries have so far taken a largely neutral or low-key stance…

A recent announcement that the next edition of the Miss World pageant would be held in India has revived memories of its last visit to the country – which involved violent protests, threats of self-immolation and predictions of a cultural apocalypse. The BBC’s Zoya Mateen revisits that tumultuous time, and examines what has changed since then. The year was 1996. India had moved away from protectionist policies a few years ago, opening its markets to the world. International brands such as Revlon, L’Oreal and KFC were setting up shop in the country, sometimes sparking tensions with local activists and manufacturers. Beauty pageants…

Three people were killed after Russia attacked a boat carrying evacuees from a flooded area in Kherson, the regional governor said. Ukraine has been trying to rescue people trapped on the Russia-held eastern bank of the Dnipro River since the Nova Kakhovka dam was destroyed. Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian troops shelled the evacuation boat and shot a 74-year-old man dead. The man was trying to rescue a woman from gunfire, Mr Produkin said. Two police officers were also injured. The Nova Kakhovka dam burst on Tuesday, releasing a huge torrent of water which quickly flooded vast areas of land on…

To start negotiations with Ukraine, it is necessary that it transfer the Nikolaev, Odessa and Kharkov regions to Russia. This was stated in an interview with Ura.ru by Sergei Tsekov, a member of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, a senator from the Republic of Crimea. The senator expressed doubts about Ukraine’s soon and public consent to negotiations, but noted that in the event of the transfer of these territories, it would be possible to start a dialogue. At the same time, he stressed that the issues of demilitarization, denazification and neutral status should remain on the agenda. He…

Modi addressed more than 1,500 bureaucrats, drawn from training and research institutes across the country. The event was held at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan. Stating that it is the responsibility of each government official to increase people’s faith in the system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday exhorted bureaucrats to break the “shackles of hierarchy” and use the experience of every person in the organisation. Launching the inaugural ‘National Training Conclave’, Modi emphasised the significance of strengthening expertise, promoting collaboration, and improving service provision. In his address at the conclave, the Prime Minister “emphasised the importance of aspects like service orientation…

A man accused of throwing an explosive toward Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the western Japan city of Wakayama in April is set to undergo a psychiatric examination to see whether he can take criminal responsibility, it was learned on May 22. On May 19, a summary court in Wakayama Prefecture approved a request for an examination of his mental condition to be conducted, according to Wakayama District Court sources. The examination is expected to start shortly and continue until Sept. 1, the sources said. In the incident, which occurred on April 15, the suspect, Ryuji Kimura, 24, threw…

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, and the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, have paid their respects at a memorial to the tens of thousands of Korean victims of the atomic bombing, in a further sign of improving ties between the north-east Asian neighbours. The pair, accompanied by their wives, laid bouquets of white flowers before lowering their heads at the memorial in the city’s peace park on May 21 on the sidelines of the G7 summit, where Yoon is one of several non-member leaders taking part in “outreach” sessions. The joint visit – the first of its kind – is being…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 21 arrived in Papua New Guinea where he will host the third summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on May 22 jointly with his counterpart James Marape. Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea on the second leg of his three-nation tour is the first ever by any Indian prime minister. He arrived here from Japan where he attended the summit of the G7 advanced economies and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders. Modi and Marape will host the third summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on Monday.…