While a lot of attention was on the Karnataka polls, we people did have a tiny by-election in Meghalaya. What’s really interesting is that while 272 votes were polled in the NOTA category (None of the Above), the BJP candidate ended up with just 40 votes. United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate Synshar Kupar Roy Lyngdoh […]
In what appears to be a consistent way of harassing ethnic tribals in Bangladesh, non tribals destroy cash crops and encroach on traditionally held homesteads. Recently, the ethnic Khasi people in northeast Bangladesh have made a police complaint against the management of a tea estate for allegedly destroying a betel leaf plantation, the mainstay of […]
The world as we know it will be evolving to a place where 80 percent of human jobs will be wiped out. From Rio De Janeiro comes an AFP story that artificial intelligence (AI) could replace 80 per cent of human jobs in the coming years. But that is a good thing, says United States-Brazilian […]
A village in Manipur’s Ukhrul District has been celebrating its garlic crop in a festival called ‘Shuri Kaso Phanit’. This week, the 10th edition of the garlic festival, held at Talui village ground and organized by the Talui Kharngarum SHG(Self Help Group), was less satisfying tan previous years, according to the locals. Observers and locals […]
Things are hotting up in the wildlife sector in Assam, in what may be a major embarrassment for the state. Apparently, a high ranking forest official illegally spent over a crore of rupees from a Tiger Fund on a President’s visit to Kaziranga National Park in February last year. Things haven’t been going well in […]
The United Nations 2023 Water Conference in New York City ended with over 700 commitments to make the world water-secure, according to a statement. The three-day summit ended on March 24, 2023. “The commitments at this Conference will propel humanity towards the water-secure future every person on the planet needs,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated […]
If you are still getting a good supply of clean water from your taps at home, you are very fortunate. More than half the population from 31 countries is seriously concerned about water shortages, says a global study. On the other hand, another global report says that the expansion of ‘bottled water industry’ is actually […]
It’s an ambitious plan to reintroduce an extinct predatory animal species. Twelve cheetahs arrived in Madhya Pradesh from South Africa on Saturday ( Feb 18) and were released into the quarantine enclosures at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district They have been flown to India as part of an agreement to introduce dozens […]
Sustainable energy sources are one of the ways which we can end our reliance on polluting fossil fuels, and the Indian Government is cracking the whip, it seems. One sees a new carrot and stick policy to get the beast moving is in the offing. First, the carrot, for foreign producers: India is planning to […]
A documentary produced in the Northeast has been selected for screening in a prestigious international film festival in France. ‘Mask Art of Majuli’, a documentary film featuring the Satriya mask-making culture of the famed river island in Assam, has been chosen for competition sections of the 29th Festival International des Cinemas d’Asie (FICA) in France […]
It was great news for the loved ones of 222 political prisoners, who were freed by Nicaragua’s authoritarian government on Thursday (February 9). Among them were some of the top opposition politicians and business leaders. They were sent to the United States in a surprise operation. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega does not take kindly to […]
Two women journalists in Iran, saw an injustice and did what independent journalists are supposed to do— they reported on it. Now they are in jail for ‘espionage’, a crime that has a death penalty. Reporters Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi reported on Mahsa Amini, the young Kurdish Iranian woman, who died Sept. 16 after […]