Author: Kamala Nambiyar

All men in Russia are required to do a year-long military service, or equivalent training during higher education, from the age of 18. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree setting out the routine spring conscription campaign, calling up 150,000 citizens for statutory military service, a document posted on the Kremlin’s website showed on Sunday (31 March). All men in Russia are required to do a year-long military service, or equivalent training during higher education, from the age of 18. In July Russia’s lower house of parliament voted to raise the maximum age at which men can be conscripted to 30…

Indian street food has always been known for its distinctive flavours. But recent years have seen food sellers experiment with more and more unusual combinations of ingredients as vloggers and social media influencers try to create moments that go viral. Freelance journalist Om Routray reports on this rather unusual trend. At the Odeon Shukla Paan Palace in the heart of Delhi, customers line up with their mouths wide open, eyes closed in fear and anticipation as Vijay Shukla, the store owner, pushes a flaming paan into their mouths in one swift move. Paan, a betel nut leaf with slaked lime,…

Rescue workers drilling to free 41 workers trapped in a tunnel in India’s Uttarakhand state are close to breaking through to them, officials say. On Wednesday evening, officials said they were confident the workers could be rescued by Thursday afternoon. The workers were building the tunnel when a part of it caved in on 12 November due to a landslide. Authorities established contact with the trapped men hours later and were supplying them with provisions. These included oxygen, dry food and water through a pipeline that was laid for supplying water to the tunnel for construction work. Officials have been…

“Mum, can I please play for a bit longer?” That is the refrain that six-year-old Vanraj’s mother, Pakhi Khanna, is bracing herself to deal with for the next couple of days in the Indian capital Delhi. The 38-year-old has cut her son’s outdoor playtime to 30 minutes from two hours; his classes have shifted online this week, and football coaching has been called off. Vanraj is among thousands of schoolchildren in Delhi whose schedules have abruptly changed due to air pollution rising to alarming levels. Over the past few days, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) – which measures the level…

The air quality in India’s capital Delhi has fallen to poor levels and is expected to deteriorate further in the coming days, officials have said. Delhi is one of the world’s most polluted cities through the year. But its air turns especially toxic in winter due to various factors, including burning of crop remains by farmers, low wind speeds and bursting of firecrackers during festivals. The polluted air causes severe health issues to Delhi residents every year. On Monday, the level of PM 2.5 – fine particulate matter that can clog lungs and cause a host of diseases – was…

Cricket’s most famous rivalry resumes as hosts India take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing World Cup in Ahmedabad. The match on Saturday has been described as the “blockbuster event” of the tournament – millions will tune in to watch the clash and the 132,000-capacity stadium is expected to be full. Both sides have made confident starts in the tournament, winning their first two matches. But India v Pakistan is one competition where past performances don’t guarantee a win. It’s the ultimate test of skill, preparedness, strategy and above everything else, nerves. With millions of cheering fans who see the…

Kapil Jain’s father didn’t want his children to be farmers. “My father had seen the hardship which farmers go through, so we were all educated and moved to the city to pursue a profession,” he says. But Mr Jain become tired with life in the city, and in 2018 he moved back to his family farm, near Kota in Rajasthan, north India. “I realised that I like the touch of earth and wanted to move back to the village and start farming,” he says. He didn’t want to farm the same crops as his father – wheat, rice, mustard and…

The place is nondescript; if you don’t look for it, you may not find it. And yet, for over 70 years, many Indians in London have sought it out, looking for familiar flavours and faces – a taste of home abroad. The India Club – an iconic lounge-cum-restaurant and bar – that sits inside the Hotel Strand Continental on a busy stretch of road in central London, has been a historically and culturally significant space for the South Asian community in the city for decades. It was set up in the 1950s as a place for early Indian immigrants to…

Copenhagen (17/08 – 78) Kidnapping, intimidation, and blackmail are just some of the means used to hit enlistment quotas in Tajikistan. When conscription season comes around in Tajikistan, military recruiters begin resorting to desperate measures. Scooping young men off the streets in actions tantamount to kidnapping is standard. But that is just for starters. To pressure communities into giving up their sons, recruiters will disconnect the electricity, detain relatives, and shut down mosques. Eligible levees draw lots to decide who will be the one to hand themselves over. The hunting season for men of draft age, which applies to people…

India’s Supreme Court has suspended opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a criminal defamation case. The Congress leader was sentenced to two years in jail in March for his 2019 comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname at an election rally. Mr Gandhi was disqualified as an MP following his sentencing. Friday’s court ruling paves the way for him to return to parliament and contest general elections next year. The office of the lower house of parliament will need to revoke Mr Gandhi’s disqualification for him to become an MP again. “This will have to be done immediately,” PDT Achary, former secretary…