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US clears Boeing 787 for test flights, as delays loom

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has allowed Boeing to carry out flight tests of its 787 Dreamliner in order to help it check its troubled electrical system and batteries which is suspected to be the root cause of battery fire in one of its planes in January. ...  

Penguin debuts a new self-publishing imprint in India

Here's some great news for upcoming writers in India, Penguin Books India has announced the introduction of its new venture Partridge, a new self-publishing imprint launched in partnership with Author Solutions, Inc. Partridge will provide new opportunities for Indian authors to get published and discovered, both in India and around the world. ...  

Gurgaon: Mock earthquake drill ends up in a disaster

A mock earthquake drill in Gurgaon failed on Thursday because of non-cooperation of other agencies, including an expressway contractor, volunteers have said, and added that the equipments did not work and a hospital failed to provide stretchers for dummy victims. ...  

Gurgaon: Mock earthquake drill likely to hit traffic

A mock earthquake rescue drill will be held in Gurgaon, including on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, on Thursday and will affect traffic, an official said on Wednesday. The mock drill will affect the flow of traffic on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, causing long jams for a few hours, the official said on the condition of anonymity. ...  

I worked on 'The Song of Achilles' for ten years: Madeline Miller

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart. In this stunning re-imagining of Homer's Iliad, Patroclus, an exiled young prince becomes friend and companion to Achilles, prince of Phthia, destined to be Aristos Achaion, best of the Greeks....  

I get smarter when I read those who are smarter than I am: author Mridula Koshy

'Not Only the Things That Have Happened' is a novel about the stories that make us and break us and then remake us. The novel takes place over a thirty-six hour period, travelling between far-flung places, characters, the past and the future. Time is a character here, revealing that though the story of our present is always told for us, the story of the past and the future is ours...  

Maradona not pardoned over tax debts, says Italy authority

Earlier on Friday Maradona's lawyer Angelo Pisani told Italian television the tax body had cleared his client of a tax bill of almost 40 million euros. ...  

Is 'The Accidental Apprentice' the next 'Slumdog'?

Vikas Swarup, the author of Q&A, the novel that inspired the Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire', has come up with another page turner - 'The Accidental Apprentice'. As character-driven narrations go, 'The Accidental Apprentice' has the hallmarks of a successful screenplay and might just hit pay dirt as 'Slumdog' did in 2009. ...  

JLF Day 1: Organisers stand by authors, police ensure security

The maha kumbh of literature, the 8th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival kicked off to a smooth start despite warnings of protests against Pakistani writers following the recent killings of soldiers at the Line of Control. Except for Mohammed Hanif, who has skipped the festival for personal reasons, the other Pakistani authors kept their date with Jaipur. ...  

Won't be bullied by terror any kind: Jaipur Lit Fest organiser

The Jaipur Literature festival began on Thursday under heavy security with Pakistani authors attending the programme as scheduled. Controversy surrounded the festival again this year with the Bharatiya Janata Party's youth-wing protesting against the participation of Pakistani authors following tension at the Line of Control. ...  

Jaipur Lit Fest is South Asia's biggest literature festival: Amrita Tripathi

CNN-IBN's Amrita Tripathi joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on Jaipur Literature Festival. ...  

Pak authors to participate in Jaipur Lit Fest despite protests

Amidst tight security arrangements in Jaipur, the Literature Festival is all set to kickstart on Thursday. After the controversies of 2012, Pakistani authors are likely to participate in the Lit Fest this year after the organisers assured that there was no threat to them. ...  

i have learnt to stop worrying about critics: author Manil Suri

In the desolate streets of Mumbai, empty after threats of nuclear annihilation, Sarita can only think of one thing. She must buy the last pomegranate that remains in perhaps the entire city for her physicist husband Karun, who has been mysteriously missing for over a fortnight. Jaz - young, cocky and handsome - is also looking for his own lover. 'The Jazter', as he calls himself, is a Muslim, but...  

Tiger conservation: Govt needs to increase buffer zones

While the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) laments the growing number of tiger deaths in Indian reserves, there seems to be an increase in population in Karnataka. Virtually every month a transient tiger has been caught in the precincts of the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. ...  

There's far too much pretension and pomposity in Indian writing: Anand Prabhu

Is massage an expression of man's hunger for the human touch? How does the massage experience vary from the West to the East? What are the different services that are on offer for the uninitiated? 'Massage No Boom Boom' answers all these questions. The author, Anand Prabhu, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on his book and more. ...  

Inside the Direct Cash Transfer debate

Over the past three years, India has vigorously debated the merits of having a Unique Identity (UID) number for each citizen and, allied with it, the move towards direct cash transfers (DCT) of subsidies (like food, fuel and fertilizer) and social security endowments, like pensions and scholarships. On January 1, India took its first steps towards UID-enabled direct cash transfers. But the move has further stoked the debate on the...  

Khushwant Singh's Freethinker's Prayer Book: A Review

Hindustani awaaz |  Rakhshanda Jalil

I must begin this review with a confession: I am an unabashed admirer of Khushwant Singh. I have known him for years and enjoyed many ...

US: Barack Obama signs annual defence policy bill

US President Barack Obama has signed into law the annual defence policy bill, authorising $633 billion in defence spending for 2013. Obama in a signing statement said that he is doing so even as he has strong reservations on several provisions of National Defence Authorisation Act 2013. ...