Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov and translator Angela Rodel

Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov and translator Angela Rodel won the International Booker Prize on Tuesday for Time Shelter, a darkly comic novel about the dangerous appeal of nostalgia.
The book beat five other finalists to the prize, which recognizes fiction from around the world that has been translated into English. The 50,000 pounds (USD 62,000) in prize money is divided between author and translator.
Time Shelter imagines a clinic that recreates the past, with each floor reproducing a different decade. Intended as a way to help people with dementia unlock their memories, it soon becomes a magnet for people eager to escape the modern world.
Gospodinov, 55, said he began writing his book about the weaponization of nostalgia in 2016, the year of the election of Donald Trump and the U.K.'s Brexit referendum. He said it was a time when anxiety was in the air.
I wanted to write a novel about the monster of the past," he said. "Because you can see in this time  that populist ...

Taiwan, China-Taiwan

As Taiwanese cock a snook at China with cartoon-inspired patches, a look at other such statements

Why stereotypical portrayal of Asok the IITian in Dilbert escaped criticism

As Dilbert comic strips get pulled for creator's racism, Asok was accepted as a satirical comment

Children, Shiv Nadar School

Self-publishing picks up among the young; mainstream book deals remain largely elusive

superman comic

A rare copy of a Superman #1 comic book that sold on newsstands for a dime in 1939 was purchased for $2.6 million in an auction.
The comic showing Superman leaping over tall buildings on the cover was sold Thursday night to a buyer who wishes to maintain a secret identity, according to ComicConnect.com, an online auction and consignment company.
The seller, Mark Michaelson, bought the comic in 1979 from its original owner and kept it in a temperature-controlled safe. Michaelson, now semi-retired and living in Houston, paid his way through college by buying and selling comics.
The character created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster is a pioneer of the superhero genre, and comics featuring the Man of Steel have netted super prices recently. ComicConnect  announced in April  that a copy of Action Comics #1, the comic that introduced Superman in 1938, sold for $3.25 million.
Now you look at the comic books and you go superheroes everywhere.' You look back in the '30s, there

Tintin

The 1936 work in Chinese ink, gouache and watercolor was destined as a cover for "The Blue Lotus," the fifth volume of the adventures of Tintin, a young reporter created by Herge

Albert Uderzo

Uderzo created Les Éditions Albert Rene two years after Goscinny's death, after a conflict with Dargaud, the pair's original publishing house

comics

It's an intriguing peek into the fantastic, energy-packed kingdom of comics teeming with finely etched, timeless characters

Lyria Exchange helps you track collectible comic book trends for the ones available on eBay

Collection in H1 over 50% of BE of Rs 27,625 cr

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw have been coordinating in recent months on these projects

PM Gatishakti: 3 upcoming airports on fast track to get rail connectivity

airport

India has told Canada that if any of these diplomats stay after October 10, their diplomatic immunity will be revoked

Justin Trudeau

The run-up in the markets in these last few months, analysts at HSBC said, has made investors nervous about the markets amid multiple headwinds

markets

What the data suggests, however, is that India's numbers are unsustainable. They're driven by debt-fueled household consumption and government investment

Rupee, Indian Rupee, Indian currency

The Union government gave a nine-month extension in service "on contract basis" to CBDT Chairperson Nitin Gupta on Saturday, the day of his scheduled retirement.
Gupta (60), a 1986-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Income-tax department, was appointed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) head in June last year.
He was scheduled to retire on September 30.
The government order said the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the re-appointment of Gupta as the CBDT Chairman on a contract basis, with effect from 1.10.2023 till 30.06.2024, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, in relaxation of the recruitment rules, on usual terms and conditions applicable to re-employed central government officers.
The CBDT is the apex policy-making body for the Income-tax department. It is headed by a chairman and can have six members who are in the rank of special secretary.

Nitin Gupta, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Aspirational Districts Programme that brought change in 112 districts will form the basis of a programme to uplift aspirational blocks, adding that he will be back next year to review its success.
Addressing a programme here to launch the 'Sankalp Saptaah', linked to the implementation of the Aspirational Blocks Programme, the prime minister said the Aspirational Districts Programme has changed the lives of more than 25 crore people in 112 districts.
These aspirational districts have now become "inspirational districts", he said.
"Similarly, in the next one year, out of the 500 aspirational blocks, at least 100 will become inspirational blocks," the prime minister said as he urged officials of several ministries to pick 100 blocks that are lagging behind in their respective departments and bring them above the national average on various parameters.
"I am sure, in 2024, we will meet again in October-November ... and evaluate the ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PM Modi

To encourage farmers to diversify from traditional paddy cultivation to commercially viable farming, the Bihar government has come out with several incentives and subsidies for planting aromatic and medicinal plants in the state.
The state agriculture department has come out with several incentives for farmers to promote cultivation of 'lemongrass', 'palmarosa', 'shatavari', 'tulsi', mulberry', 'khas', 'gooseberry', 'bael', 'tamarind', 'jackfruit', and lemon plants.
Bihar Agriculture Minister Kumar Sarvjeet told PTI on Saturday that, "The government is coming out with several incentives and subsidies to farmers to help cultivate aromatic and medicinal plants in the state. The growing health awareness has created a lot of opportunities for innovation in the agriculture sector and the government is helping farmers to exploit this opportunity. This is the time Bihar farmers must opt from traditional paddy cultivation to commercially viable farming".
This scheme will be implemented main

farmers, agriculture, farm

The US is on the brink of a federal government shutdown after hard-right Republicans in Congress rejected a longshot effort to keep offices open as they fight for steep spending cuts and strict border security measures that Democrats and the White House say are too extreme.
Come midnight Saturday with no deal in place, federal workers will face furloughs, more than 2 million active duty and reserve military troops will work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast will begin to face shutdown disruptions.
The Senate will be in for a rare Saturday session to advance its own bipartisan package that is supported by Democrats and Republicans and would fund the government for the short-term, through Nov. 17.
But even if the Senate can rush to wrap up its work this weekend to pass the bill, which also includes money for Ukraine aid and U.S. disaster assistance, it won't prevent an almost certain shutdown amid the chaos in the House. On Friday, a ...

US Fed Reserve, Fed Reserve

Indian shooters beating the Chinese in their own den at the ongoing Asian Games has enhanced their "self-belief" and given them the confidence that they can beat the "best in the world", said pistol coach Samaresh Jung following the country's marksmen's sizzling performance at the continental showpiece.
Jung, who is in Hangzhou with the Indian contingent, added that the success of the band of young shooters at the Asian Games was a significant "milestone" in their sporting journey.
"They (shooters) need to believe that they can do it, and now they have seen it. Beating a powerhouse like China in China is a big thing and it would certainly enhance their self-belief. This made them realise that they can beat the world," said Jung, who had won five gold medals at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, earning him the sobriquet 'Goldfinger'.
"It is the beginning of their journey as they are just 18, 19 or 20-years-old. They have a long way to go but this Asian Games would be the milesto

India's Sarabjot and Divya win silver in Mixed Team 10m air pistol event. Photo: SAI

Asian Games 2023

The combined market valuation of five of the top 10 most valued firms declined by Rs 62,586.88 crore last week, with IT majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys taking the biggest hit, amid an overall bearish trends in equities.
Last week, the BSE benchmark fell 180.74 points or 0.27 per cent, and the Nifty declined 35.95 points or 0.18 per cent.
The market valuation of TCS plunged Rs 26,308.58 crore to Rs 12,91,919.56 crore.
Infosys witnessed an erosion of Rs 25,296.43 crore from its valuation which was at Rs 5,95,597.10 crore.
The market valuation of Reliance Industries fell by Rs 5,108.05 crore to Rs 15,87,553.37 crore and that of Hindustan Unilever declined by Rs 3,865.08 crore to Rs 5,79,373.96 crore.
The market capitalisation (mcap) of HDFC Bank dipped Rs 2,008.74 crore to Rs 11,57,145.86 crore.
However, the mcap of Bajaj Finance jumped Rs 20,413.41 crore to Rs 4,73,186.41 crore.
Bharti Airtel added Rs 8,520.13 crore to Rs 5,19,279.14 crore in its valuation while

Even if generative artificial intelligence has been overhyped, it's safe to assume that ChatGPT-type bots will only get better at routine tasks like writing computer software

jobs, IT jobs, IT industry, AI

Half of India's population between the age of 30-55 years believes 59 years should be the age of retirement and thirty-two years is when one should ideally start retirement planning,

investment,saving, money, retirement, rupee

As the festival season approaches, followed by elections, state and national, there will be pressure on liquidity since cash with the public will rise

Banks credit growth

Bidhuri may be a small fry in the larger calculus of the party. Yet, in his blundering and uncultured way, he was voicing in Parliament what has already been normalised on the streets

Bidhuri

India Inc's financial health measured by the credit ratio, or the proportion of rating upgrades to downgrades, moderated in the first half of current fiscal year and is set to dip marginally further in the second half, Crisil Ratings said on Tuesday.
Crisil, which rates 6,500 companies, however, made it clear that the credit ratio will stay above 1 going forward as well, which means the number of upgrades will outpace the downgrades.
In April-September FY24, there were 443 upgrades as compared to 232 downgrades, the agency said, adding that the credit ratio moderated to 1.91 from 2.19 in the preceding six months.
It said the upgrades are much higher than the decadal average, but the downgrades are inching up lately, largely due to difficulties faced by export-linked sectors due to slowing growth in the world.
Crisil's Managing Director Gurpreet Chhatwal said the moderation in the first half was along expected lines, and the government's infrastructure push and spending are helping 

India Inc credit quality

State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on Tuesday announced that it has sanctioned Rs 15,000 crore loans for various projects and also forayed into funding of airport projects.
"To reaffirm its commitment towards developing the power sector of the North Eastern Region, PFC held its recent board meeting in Shillong, Meghalaya," a BSE filing said.
PFC has sanctioned loans amounting to Rs 15,000 crore for various projects during its board meeting, it stated.
As part of its diversification strategy and funding for infrastructure projects, PFC sanctioned its maiden financing for a greenfield airport project in Andhra Pradesh, it added.
PFC's board of directors also reviewed strategic agendas pertaining to the company's business diversification strategy, including exploring avenues for expanding the business into new market segments and accelerating the funding in the renewable space, the current domestic and international market scenario and its impact on PFC's borrowing cost, and 

Greenfield Airport

Renaissance Solar and Electronic Materials on Tuesday announced its solar manufacturing venture and a plan of USD 300 million investment in India.
"Renaissance Solar and Electronic Materials (RSOLEC), an innovative solar enterprise with operations in India and the USA, today announced its official launch and establishment, accompanied by a significant planned investment of about USD 300 million," a company statement said.
With global reach and expertise in differentiated solar and electronic materials manufacturing, RSOLEC is set to revolutionise the industry with a strategic focus on Solar Crystal Growth and Wafering, it stated.
The launch of RSOLEC aligns with India's "Atmanirbhar Bharat" mission, showcasing the country's capabilities in the state-of-the-art solar value chain.
The company's primary focus for the next five years will be on crystal growth and wafering in India, contributing significantly to the country's strategic solar manufacturing capacity, it stated.
Over the 

Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Green Energy

The product will be manufactured at Marksans Pharma's formulation manufacturing facility in Goa, India

pharma, medicine, drugs

Experienced striker Vandana Katariya, vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka and Deepika slammed a hat-trick each as India stormed into the semifinals of the women's hockey competition at the Asian Games with a 13-0 drubbing of Hong Kong in their final pool match here on Tuesday.
Vandana (2nd, 16th, 48th minutes) scored three field goals, while Deep Grace (11th, 34th, 42nd) converted three penalty corners for India. Deepika (4th, 54th, 58th) was not to be left behind as she also emulated the feat of her senior teammates in India's rout of Hong Kong.
Sangita Kumari (27th, 55th), Monika (7th) and Navneet Kaur (58th) also registered their names on the scoresheet.
India are on top of Pool A with 10 points from four games and have much superior goal difference than second-placed side South Korea who have seven points with a match in hand. South Korea take on Malaysia in their final group league match later on Tuesday.
Two teams from each pool qualify for the semifinals.
It was a complete dominat

comic books

Bulgarian writer wins Int'l Booker Prize for darkly comic memory novel

Superman to Pooh: Comics characters that became the face of protests

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Self-publishing picks up among children, young adults; few go mainstream

Up, up and they pay: $2.6 mn winning bid for Superman no. 1 comic

Tintin comic book art by Herge breaks auction record at $3.1 million

Albert Uderzo, 92, co-creator of French comic series Asterix, dies

The fantastic, multi-layered and sometimes political world of comics

A collector's guide to rare and vintage comic books