'Communal Forces Dominating Political Spaces Of Modi'

The perceived communal overtones dominating the political space in the form of the saffron outfits’ ghar wapsi programme are beginning to hurt the Narendra Modi-led NDA government.

The latest India Today Group-Cicero Mood of The Nation Survey shows that the BJP would lose at least 27 Lok Sabha seats from its current tally if elections were held today.

In the opinion poll, 38 per cent of the 12,000 respondents rated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s performance as ‘good’. 

Of those who participated in the opinion poll, 22 per cent categorised it as ‘excellent’ and only 11 per cent said they were ‘unhappy’ with the first 10 months of the National Democratic Alliance government. 

The findings of the opinion poll should come as a wake-up call for the Union government as people might be satisfied overall with its performance on the counts of governance, economy and foreign affairs, but the communal tag is pulling its image down.

A direct fall-out of the government’s image taking a beating is evident in terms of seat projections for the BJP. The survey shows that the ruling party will lose 27 seats while others will gain 24.

Wealthiest Jihadis: Terror Outfit ISIS's Annual Earnings Doubled On Al-Qaeda With Organ Selling And Smuggling

A new study of the Islamic State's finances has revealed previous that estimates suggesting the terror group earns $2billion every year could be far too low.

ISIS' finance chief Sheikh Abu Saad al-Ansari - who operates from ISIS' Iraqi stronghold Mosul - is understood to have recently approved the terror group's first annual budget  - revealing and estimated spend of $2 billion this year, plus a expected surplus of $250 million.

'When Narendra Modi Spoke His Mind On Islam, Terrorism'

BOOK REVIEW: A journalist reveals the details of his first meeting with the man who would become prime minister.

I first met Modi in September 2001 when he was a BJP national secretary in the party’s Delhi headquarters. He had been banished from his home state of Gujarat because of party infighting and was not regarded as a future leader. The setting was a television studio, three days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in America, and the occasion was a session of The Big Fight 6, a series where an anchor (then accompanied by two other journalists) runs a discussion with four or five specialists and other protagonists.

Why The West Is Losing The Battle Against Radical Islam?

The US and Europe fail to summon the courage to criticise Saudi Arabia or toxic Wahhabism.

The West declared a war on terror more than a decade ago. Yet in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, the subsequent wave of police interventions in Europe, many feel less secure. Even generally peaceful, cohesive nations of Canada and Australia have seen gruesome attacks in recent months.

Despite spending years developing security arrangements, investing billions in the process, the West is less secure.

Across The Border: In Mithi, A Pakistani Remote Village, Hindus Fast And Muslims Do Not Slaughter Cows

Pakistan has become synonymous with terrorism. On most local and international news channels, we hear about minorities getting slaughtered at the hands of extremists; attacks on temples, churches, imambargahs; or the forced conversions of Hindus and Christians in the country.

I reckon you might be pleasantly surprised to know that there is a small town in Tharparkar, a district of the Sindh province where none of this is happening.

Mithi is one of the few towns in Pakistan where Muslims do not form the majority. In this quiet portion of a sprawling desert, both Hindus and Muslims have lived together like brothers since the creation of Pakistan.

Interview: ‘Growing Up As A Hindu In Pakistan Has Made Me More Sensitive To The Issues Of Minorities Elsewhere’

Born in 1973 to middle-class Hindu parents in Umerkot town of Sindh province, Lal Chand Malhi was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 2013 General Election. Malhi contested the polls on a ticket from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf led by former cricketer Imran Khan and won from a reserved seat. Known for his efforts to defend human rights, especially of the minorities in Muslim-dominated Pakistan, the journalist-turned-politician spoke to INNLIVE on a wide range of issues. Excerpts:

Tell us about your background?
I come from Umerkot, a typical moffusil town near the India-Pakistan border in Sindh province. I studied in government schools in Umerkot and went on to do my intermediate from Hyderabad city in Sindh before graduating from the University of Sindh, Jamshoro.

'Beef Ban' In Maharashtra: How Politicians Manipulate 'Hindu Sentiments' Around 'Cow Slaughter'?

Beef has been banned completely in Maharashtra. The Union government has given its assent to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, almost two decades after the state assembly had passed it under the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government in 1995.

Maharashtra had always banned the slaughter of cows but allowed the slaughter of bulls, bullocks and water buffalo. The new act will ban the slaughter of all cattle with the exception of water buffaloes.

ISIS: Maldives Becoming A Recruiting Haven For Jihadists

India needs to be worried … very worried. If the doom and gloom scenario projected by leaders of Maldives’ major opposition party - the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is true, then the brutally violent Islamic State (IS) may well be setting up base, right in India’s backyard.

It is the most iconic archipelago in the world: famous for its sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters and, as they write in tourist brochures, as close as you can get to “paradise”.

ISIS's Trade In Human Organs After Iraqi Diplomat Reveals Doctors Are Being Executed For Not Harvesting Body Parts

Iraq has urged the United Nations to investigate Islamic State terrorists' bloody trade in human organs after the Iraqi ambassador said doctors are being executed for not harvesting body parts.

Mohamed Alhakim claimed that dozens of bodies with surgical incisions and missing body parts have been found in shallow mass graves near ISIS stronghold Mosul over the past few weeks.

ISIS' horrifying trade in human organs, which was revealed by INNLIVE last December, is just the latest way for the terrorist organisation to finance its activities, with other major sources of the group's $2 million-a-day income being the sale of oil, ransom payments, and smuggled antiques.

US Prez Barack Obama Says Religious Intolerance In India Would Have Shocked Gandhi; Is PM Modi Listening?

US President Barack Obama on Friday said the 'acts of intolerance' experienced by religious faiths of all types in India in the past few years would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi.

The comments by Obama came a day after the White House refuted suggestions that the US President's public speech in New Delhi in which he touched upon religious tolerance was a "parting shot" aimed at the ruling BJP.

Future View: Does Islamic State Pose A Threat To India?

From being almost unheard of in India a few years ago to becoming a group that has horrified people with its brutal execution of hostages, the latest being the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot, the Islamic State has emerged as one of the most powerful and dreaded terrorist organisations.

But just how much of a threat does it pose to India, especially after its move to appoint a new commander for Khurasan, the historic name for the area encompassing Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia and parts of India?

Exclusive: Kiran Bedi May 'Loose', Kejriwal May 'Win' Delhi

The BJP has tried all tricks in the book to win Delhi, from announcing regularisation of slum colonies to paradropping Kiran Bedi in the state unit to making political capital of the Obama visit, but nothing seems to be working for it at the moment. 

Not long ago, the consensus among poll observers was that Delhi would be a cake-walk for the party what with its spectacular performance in assembly elections in other states. Only a couple of weeks ago, everyone accepted AAP was a strong challenger but that BJP had the edge with the Congress nowhere in the picture. How things have changed!

The Middle East In 2015: Falling Oil Prices And Terrorism

MIDDLE EAST IN 2015

Having largely turned away from the possibility of wide scale reform and change that the Arab Spring seemed to promise, the Middle East in 2015 is returning to familiar themes: enduring economic pain because of falling oil prices while trying to manage the threat of regional terrorism.

Sliding oil prices over several months have cast a cloud over the finances of the region’s governments and have taken a toll on investor sentiment in Arab securities markets. Meanwhile, the ongoing civil war in Syria metastasized into the militant group calling itself the Islamic State, and remains a threat to the region.

OpEd: Why US Prez Obama Is Betting On PM Modi?

It is about national interest, more than personal chemistry. Barely a year ago, most foreign policy pundits would likely have agreed on one simple prediction: the election of Narendra Modi as Indian prime minister would set back relations with the United States, and by extension with the West more broadly.

Instead, the opposite has happened.Yesterday President Barack Obama shattered a symbolic taboo by becoming the first American chief guest at India's annual Republic Day parade.

Point Blank: Modi-Obama Bromance Needs Reality Check

Despite the symbolism of the US president’s visit, Indo-US relations have a long way to go before becoming what Obama had once called ‘the defining partnership of the 21st century’.

It is a paradox that has confounded foreign policymakers at home and abroad for decades: A basic lack of trust permeates the India-United States relationship in spite of a confluence of ideas and peoples. (The Devyani Khobragade episode and the controversy over visa denial to Narendra Modi are fresh in the Indian mind.)

Focus: 'Medusas Of Mayhem' - Female Islamist Terrorists Who Seek To Impose Radical Islam Across The World

Many of them are indoctrinated by their own family members and preachers, and given training to become female warriors and even suicide bombers. The Indian Army says that 21 such women are being trained by the Lashkar-e-Taiba at training camps in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to attack India. 

The mastermind is none other than the planner of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi. The group of women terrorists, named Dukhtareen-e-Taiba, will be unleashed in the Kashmir Valley through the Uri sector, according to an Indian defence report.

What’s Next For US-India Defense Ties With Obama Trip?

Obama’s visit is an opportunity for both sides to boost bilateral defense ties. As U.S. President Barack Obama prepares for his visit to New Delhi next week to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defense officials from both sides have been rushing to finalize the components of what could amount to a much-needed boost in this dimension of the U.S.-India relationship.

As is often the case, much of the attention ahead of the visit has been focused on potential defense deals that make for good headlines.

Friday Film Review: Despite Many Silly Plots In Script, Macho Akshay Kumar's 'Baby' Is Entertaining

Director Neeraj Pandey’s films are a mixture of old school Bollywood formula, slick modern execution and bouts of intense suspense with some bombastic, social commentary. His films don’t have clueless idiots with walkie talkies pretending to be commandoes. They have reasonably realistic depiction of police work and ludicrous ‘holy cow that was awesome’ thrills.

His latest venture Baby is another perfectly outlandish and white-knuckled action thriller - a seemingly intelligent but mindless piece of well-oiled escapism that delivers several crowd-pleasing moments of action mayhem.

The Great Wall Of Saudi Arabia: Kingdom Plans To Build 600-Mile Border Barrier To Prevent The Invasion Of ISIS

The Saudi royal family are building a 600-mile barrier to fortify the northern frontier of their kingdom.

The fence and ditch, punctuated with radar surveillance towers, command centres and guard posts, aims to protect the Saudis' oil-rich territory from invasion by the Islamic State insurgency.

Last week a suicide bombing and gun attack which killed two Saudi border guards and their commanding officer was styled by one analyst as the Islamic State's first attack on the kingdom.

We Need New Antibiotics To Beat Superbugs, But Why Are They So Hard To Find In Pharma Industry?

We’ve heard a lot lately about superbugs – bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics. But as the threat of superbugs continues to rise, the number of new treatments available has flatlined. This has placed us dangerously close to the edge of a return to the pre-antibiotic era, when even simple infections caused death.

We’ve developed antibiotics in the past, so why it is now so difficult to discover and develop new antibiotics? To find out, let’s look back to the “golden age” of antibiotic discovery from the 1940 to 1970s.