SRK with Jawan movie poster

King Khan opens up a bold new space for Bollywood

The industry prefers a winning formula to creative exploration, particularly in big-budget films populated by rocking stars with fancy fees. Will that change from hereon with the success of ‘Jawan’? We have on offer a new path for Bollywood, a path that can use its huge and unrivalled soft power to drive home some significant messages of the kind and in a way it has rarely attempted in a big-budget extravaganza.

When the music died: Afghanistan’s performing arts fall silent under Taliban rule

The famed Afghanistan National Institute of Music, the country’s only music school, had to shut down its campus in Kabul after the Taliban's crackdown. It has temporarily relocated to Lisbon, Portugal, where 273 students, faculty members and staff have been granted asylum.

Audacity to play: The remarkable story of women’s cricket in Pakistan

That the writer is Indian and male makes this book all the more remarkable. Puthran has captured not just the state of the sport in Pakistan but also the social, political, religious and administrative challenges women cricketers here face at every step. 

Empowering youth for carbon neutrality: Making campuses living laboratories for Net Zero

India's pledge to attain Net-Zero carbon emissions by 2070, articulated by PM Modi at COP26 in Glasgow, UK  underscores the nation's determination to combat climate change. In this context, higher education institutions take center stage for moulding future-ready policymakers.

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Courageous Afghan girls defy Taliban’s ban to study in secret schools

One of these secret schools is operated by a 21-year-old girl Nazanin from a house on the outskirts of Kabul. Her students, around ten in number, are almost of the same age as her.

For Pakistanis, residential housing is the safest investment option, find survey

Only 3 per cent of those aged 15 years and above in Pakistan report being able to rely on savings for emergency funds, while 49 per cent report it is not possible to come up with emergency funds, according to Findex, a global financial consultancy firm

Carpooling app comes up in Sri Lanka as fuel scarcity grows

Available both in Sinhala and Tamil, the app will allow people to publish their rides by selecting pick-up and drop locations

First in Indian military history: father-daughter fly fighter jet trainers in same formation

“The biggest, proudest moment in my life, was when flew in the Hawk formation at Bidar on May 30,” Air Commodore Sharma said, adding, “Ananya always used to say, ‘Papa, I want to be a fighter pilot like you.’”

Pakistan deploying shooters at Lahore airport to shoo away birds

In the first six months of this year, around three dozen incidents —eleven at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal Airport—of birds colliding with aircraft and risking their safety were recorded, an official told Express Tribune

Female health workers sans male guardians fired by Taliban in Afghanistan

Since coming to power in August last year, the Taliban regime has announced several measures—including barring women’s presence in the public without a male companion, ban on girls' education, and ban on women from driving among others—restricting the rights and freedom of women

Pani Puri, South Asia’s popular snack, banned in Nepal’s capital

For those fond of street food in the valley, the blanket ban on the sale of pani puri on the streets hasn’t gone down well, with many people taking to social media to question the move.

India’s first Mango Heritage Village comes up in Kerala

The journey to conserve these local fruit variants began almost six years ago with Shyju Mechathi, a civil police officer by profession, who along with his neighbours started documenting and marking every tree in each house with signboards based on their variants.

Cross-border literary exchange: When Indian and Pakistani teen authors met online

Pahal Wasu, 15, from Noida near New Delhi, who now lives in Sydney, and Aminah Alavi, 17, of Karachi turned teen authors after attending schools with good libraries, backed by families which enouraged them to read

Pakistani journalist who visited Israel fired by state broadcaster

The controversy grew this week soon after the opposition party PTI led by ousted prime minister Imran Khan accused the government of trying to attempt to normalize ties with Israel, which remains an extremely emotive issue in the Muslim country of 220 million people. 

No exams till 3rd grade; Bangladesh government seeks to reform primary and secondary level education

The Education Ministry after holding the meeting of the National Curriculum Coordination Committee (NCCC) approved the new education policy, officials said. The policy states no exams will be conducted till grade third and the number of books for grade fourth and grade five have also been reduced to reduce the education burden on children.

India Post delivers by drone, opens up future possibilities in a far-flung nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday inaugurated what was described as the country's biggest drone festival, where he said the use of drones will rise in sectors such as agriculture, sports, defence and disaster management.

Bhutan aims to become free of stray dogs by 2030

Last year, authorities launched the Accelerated Dog Population Management and Rabies Control Programme (NADPM and RCP) with the twin aims of achieving 100 percent sterilization of stray dogs, register, and vaccinate all pet dogs, and control feral dogs.

One in four Bangladesh's health workers who treated Covid patients suffered from stress disorder

Even nurses and technologists, often working for abnormally long hours, were affected during the pandemic. The risk and fear of contracting Covid and lack of protecting gears compounded the impact.

African swine fever outbreak in Nepal; over 900 pigs have reportedly died

The virus, however, is “not a danger” to human health, but it could have a devastating impact on the pig population, according to the World Health Organization. The spread, if remains unchecked, could wipe out the entire population of pigs in the affected areas.

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