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Saturday, June 27, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
RIGHTS-INDIA: Recent Rape Cases Trigger New Alarm
This October, Indian President Abdul Kalam will forego the solemn, time-honoured, annual ceremony of presenting the silver bugle to his resplendent, mounted bodyguard in the forecourt of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan, once the home of the British viceroys of India.POPULATION-INDIA: Shame of Female Foeticide Remains Hard to Stop
Indian tennis sensation Saniya Mirza is not content with Wimbledon titles, but is keen on serving as a powerful deterrent to parents who seek an abortion upon discovering that their unborn child is female.INDIA: Arrest of Hindu Leader Defuses Temple Row – for Now
The arrests of thousands of supporters of a pro-Hindu group and its leader on Friday have temporarily defused a confrontation building up at the temple town of Ayodhya, but may have stoked up the political temperatures ahead of crucial state elections in India later this year.POLITICS-SOUTH ASIA: Nukes Back in Fashion, Hiroshima Mayor Warns
The mayor of the Japanese city of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba, is convinced that 58 years after his city was laid waste by an atom bomb, the world is about to use nuclear weapons once again./ARTS WEEKLY/SPORT: In India, It's Cricket versus Hockey
Sports in India these days is a matter of which game can capture not just the eye of fans but sponsorships - gentlemanly cricket favoured by the country's anglicised elite, or the rough and tumble of field hockey that is dominated by tribals and players from deprived social backgrounds.SCIENCE: India Ignores Protests over Risky Nuclear Technology
Stiff protests from local residents in southern Tamil Nadu state have not deterred India's secretive nuclear establishment from pursuing fast-breeder reactor (FBR) technology, which is being phased out around the world because it is highly risky.POLITICS-INDIA: Mudslinging Begins as Elections Approach
This week's announcement of provincial elections in four Indian states has signalled the start of particularly vicious mudslinging season, with top leaders of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its arch rival, the Congress party, at the receiving end.HEALTH-INDIA: Worms-in-Chocolates Episode Makes Consumers Wary
Alarmed by news of worms crawling out of chocolate bars, pesticide-spiked softdrinks and spurious drugs, Indians are beginning to take a closer look at what they are being served up.INDIA: Assassination Try Shows Backlash against Liberalisation
The World Bank never tires of holding up Andhra Pradesh as a showpiece among Indian states for economic liberalisation, but to many, last week's attempt by Maoist radicals to assassinate its chief minister reflects resentment against measures that have increased the rich-poor gap.INDIA: Conviction Offers Peek into Links Between Film, Crime
The nexus between India's glitzy, multi-billion-dollar film industry and the underworld was on display once again after a movie financier was convicted this week by a special court that handles organised crime.HEALTH: India Exports HIV Drugs, But Does Little for Own Patients
India may be emerging as a major exporter of cheap anti-retroviral drugs, but it ironically does little to provide affordable treatment for tens of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS in this country.POLITICS-MALDIVES: Riots May Hamper Opening Up of Island Nation
The unprecedented rioting over the weekend in the Maldives, triggered by custodial deaths there, may only serve to hamper the opening up of the remote Indian Ocean island republic, which has acquired an unsavoury reputation for repression, say regional experts. This reputation is linked to the 25-year long stint of unbroken and absolute power by Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the archipelago of 300,000 people.RIGHTS-INDIA: Justice Catching Up with Gujarat Chief Minister
The anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat state last year, which left more than 2,000 members of the minority community dead, may have ensured electoral victory for its chief minister, but justice is fast catching up with the perpetrators of the worst sectarian violence since India's partition along religious lines in 1947.RIGHTS-INDIA: Govt Stand on Homosexuality Causes New Furore
The government's stand that same-sex relationships are criminal and unlikely to be accepted in Indian society has left homosexuals and HIV/AIDS workers a disappointed lot.POLITICS: India, Israel, U.S. Axis against Terror Takes Shape
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to India, cut short Wednesday by reports of suicide bomb attacks back home, has highlighted the emerging axis among New Delhi, Tel Aviv and Washington on their worries about what they consider their terrorism problems.WTO-CANCUN: India Takes Lead in Opposing Farm Subsidies
With the support of countries like China that have a big stake in agricultural exports, India can be expected to play an uncharacteristically aggressive game during the World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun, Mexico this week.INDIA: Jet Deal Addresses Criticism of Use of ‘Flying Coffins’
The Indian government's announcement that it was concluding a 15-year-old deal to buy 66 advanced jet trainers from British Aerospace comes in the wake of mounting public criticism of its policy of training young pilots on accident-prone Russian-built Mig-21 fighters.POLITICS-INDIA: All Rows Lead to Demolished Mosque
A little more than 10 years after Hindu zealots brought the tri-domed Babri Masjid in northern Uttar Pradesh state crashing down, the ghost of the mediaeval mosque continues to make or break governments in India.INDIA-PAKISTAN: Hopes for Talks Dim after Blasts, Kashmir Violence
The 'hand-of-peace' that Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee extended to neighbouring Pakistan in April seemed hesitant on Friday as a consequence of Monday's twin blasts in the western port city of Mumbai and a spurt in militant violence in disputed Kashmir.HEALTH: Indians Rediscover Fruit Juice after Cola Controversy
While Coca-Cola and Pepsi are bogged down in a losing publicity battle over pesticide residues in their bottled products, Indians are rediscovering the value of fruit juices and natural thirst quenchers that are abundantly available in this farming country.POLITICS-INDIA: Sectarian Strife Feared after Mumbai Blasts
After 45 persons died in two car-bomb blasts that rocked western Mumbai city, India's 'financial capital', on Monday, authorities moved to contain possible sectarian strife that have, in the past, followed similar attacks.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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