New book on legendary Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci reveals the abuse, humiliation inflicted on her by her coach
Nadia si Securitatea (Nadia and the Securitate), written by historian Stejarel Olaru, was published earlier this month and is the fruit of his trawls through thousands of pages of declassified Securitate reports.
Books of the week: From Aravind Mallagatti's Karya to Ashok Ferrey's The Unmarriageable Man, our picks
Our weekly roundup of books that should be on your radar.
Netflix true crime docu Why Did You Kill Me? raises more questions about justice, vengeance and vigilantism than it answers
The case the documentary explores is the 2006 murder of a 24-year-old Riverside, California, resident — Crystal Theobald — in a drive-by shooting near her home.
'This is going to be a difficult Ramzan': Food insecure Syrian refugees struggle to fast, and feast
Ramzan, which began on 13 April, comes as Syrian refugees’ life of displacement has gotten even harder amid their host country Lebanon’s economic woes.
ACM Awards 2021: Maren Morris, Old Dominion among winners on a Sunday night dominated by female performers
Though female country stars didn’t compete for the night’s top prize, they owned Sunday’s ACM Awards.
My Sindh book review: Shakuntala Bharvani weaves together academic detail, personal history to tell story of her homeland
Shakuntala Bharvani used the lockdown to re-ignite a much deeper connect — that with her lost homeland, which has resulted in a book marked by nostalgia and occasional touches of humour.
Prof G Venkatasubbaiah, renowned Kannada lexicographer, passes away in Bengaluru at 107
Having compiled 12 dictionaries, edited over 60 books and produced various seminal works on dictionary science in Kannada, Venkatasubbaiah was a leading figure in the literary scene
Chaitanya Tamhane on the death of his Court actor Vira Sathidar: 'It's a collective loss for society'
Court filmmaker Tamhane dwells on the experience of working with activist, writer, poet and intellectual Sathidar, who passed away last week.
Anonymous French prison chef cooks mouthwatering dishes in his cell to become bona fide Instagram star
His approach is two-fold: either he takes his prison food tray and reworks the steamed fish or vegetables with olive oil and garlic to add flavour or he creates his own dish from scratch using food and equipment sourced through the prison catalogue.
New study finds Sikkim’s urban sacred groves mitigate double the carbon compared to a natural rural forest
The importance of urban forests is reflected in a clutch of India’s forest and environment policies such as the National Agroforestry Policy which supports the increase in the country’s tree cover including tree outside forest (TOF) and urban forest to reduce pollution in the cities.
Black Americans' collective racial trauma is a serious public health issue, warn experts
Many Black Americans are facing a collective sense of grief and trauma that has grown more profound with the loss of each life at the hands of police in America.
Scott Rudin to 'step back' from Broadway productions after multiple allegations of bullying
The move comes more than a week after The Hollywood Reporter’s cover story on Rudin contained accounts of the producing heavyweight throwing glass bowls, staples and baked potatoes at former employees.
Supergiant, maker of BAFTA-winning Hades, takes on industry goliaths with old-school approach to video games
Unlike massive role-playing experiences with film-like graphics, Hades is a "dungeon crawler" that challenges players to fight their way through chambers rife with demonic adversaries to escape the underworld.
Life in the Clock Tower Valley: In Shakoor Rather's debut novel, an insider's view of the everyday life in Kashmir
Life in the Clock Tower Valley focusses on the everyday emotions and hardships that the common folk of Kashmir face, and not just the constant conflict and military presence on its terrain. The novel includes fascinating historical and political information about Kashmir as well as environmental issues plaguing it that are seldom talked about.
R Vatsala's The Scent of Happiness speaks to women navigating politics as it plays out within home, work spheres
In an interview with Firstpost, writer R Vatsala and translators K Srilata and Kaamya Sharma reflect on the origins of Kannukkul Sattru Pazhanithu, translation as an art-driven exercise and scientific process, and how sharing experiences can light a fire.
Law prohibiting gender confirming treatment creates confusion, pain for Arkansas' trans youth
The measure prohibits doctors from providing gender confirming hormone therapy, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18 or referring them to other doctors who provide that care.
Dispatches from a year of dressing: How working from home changed wardrobes around the world
Have months of self-isolation, lockdown and working from home irrevocably changed what we will put on once we go out again?
27 paintings by three generations of Wyeths donated to Maine’s Farnsworth Art Museum
The gift includes Room after Room and Geraniums, a pair of watercolors painted by Andrew Wyeth at the Olson House in nearby Cushing; Islander, one of Jamie Wyeth’s best known paintings; and a trio of paintings by NC Wyeth that capture fishing scenes.
The Zai Whitaker column | Dispatches from the ecotourism classroom that is the Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is about the size of Israel and home to some of the most iconic birds and animals in the world.
Why the sweater vest is a style sublimely attuned to these strange, in-between times
From luxury stalwarts (Hermès and Michael Kors) to cool brands geared toward younger consumers (Wales Bonner and Eckhaus Latta), spring collections were chockablock with this hybrid of waistcoat and traditional knit.