Sunday Special | Patrol boats adrift in fuel cost spat

Ten years after 10 terrorists slipped ashore on a south Mumbai beach on a November evening, before unleashing 60 hours of mayhem that left 174 people dead, the Centre and the State government are sparring over the maintenance costs of patrol boats to secure Maharashtra’s extensive coastline.

Sunday Special | Cloud over key Tibetan meet as Delhi stalls Karmapa’s return

The indefinite postponement of the 13th Religious Conference of the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition, which was scheduled for November 29 and 30 in Dharamsala, has once again turned the spotlight on differences between the government and the Karmapa, the head of one of the four main sects of Tibetan Buddhism, over his return to India, officials confirmed to The Hindu.

Army soldier Jitendra Malik, accused of killing inspector Subodh Kumar Singh during a mob attack in Bulandshahr earlier this week, was arrested in Kashmir by the Army’s 22 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) on Saturday while the Uttar Pradesh government transferred Bulandshahr SSP Krishna Bahadur Singh and two other policemen.

Week to NRC deadline, many are clueless

A majority of those excluded from the complete draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam have no clue how to go about getting back on the list with only a week left for the crucial claims and objections round to end.

Whither rain? Chennai stares at a water crisis

Water managers in Chennai are a worried lot, as the northeast monsoon has so far failed to replenish water resources. If the rains remain elusive over the catchment areas of major lakes that the city relies on for its drinking water needs, this will be the third consecutive year that their levels fall to precariously low levels.

CJI Dipak Misra spotlights the law on death penalty

A series of Supreme Court decisions after Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi took over as top judge has seen the Supreme Court veer away the death penalty and point out lapses in the way justice is administered in death penalty cases.

Canada report on ‘toxic’ talc worries India

The debate over whether talcum powder poses serious health risks is in the spotlight again.

A risk assessment draft on talc published by Health Canada, the country’s public health department, states that talcum powder is harmful to the lungs when inhaled during breathing and could possibly cause ovarian cancer when used by women in the genital area. The draft, which was opened for public comments on Saturday, would be confirmed in a final assessment that would entail Canada adding talc to a list of toxic substances if the proposed conclusions are confirmed at the end of a 60-day feedback period.

China’s rover on mission to uncover moon’s ‘dark side’

China launched a rover early on Saturday destined to land on the far side of the moon, a global first that would boost Beijing’s ambitions to become a space superpower, state media said.

Magazine | India’s new-age shikaris

A trophy hunter, a school teacher and a businessman are routinely invited to shoot man-eaters. It’s time the forest department looked beyond the gun to tackle human-wildlife conflict.

Read more stories from the Sunday Magazine here.

Literary Review | Words like teardrops from the ocean

As we travel through Sri Lanka, its strong literary voices come crashing in like waves, and life seems to imitate art. For a country so full of luxuriant natural beauty, Sri Lanka’s architecture is equally striking. Even the buildings seem to spring from the ground fully formed, like the stalks of plants emerging with a powerful motivation from the soil. We are on the first floor and close enough to feel the spray. The waves crash against the rocks. The breakers are brilliantly white.

Read more stories from the Literary Review here.