Land for Amarnath Yatris triggers political tremors
Land allocation to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and subsequent politics as well as violence in Kashmir valley has once again brought to fore the deep communal divide in India, particularly among the political parties. While the Congress has tried to blame former governor S K Sinha for the turmoil, the main opposition BJP has got yet another political plank to be exploited during the forthcoming Loksabha elections. The poll battle is likely by the end of 2008, or in early 2009. more...

Plans for £1,000 cash bond for foreign relatives dropped
Ministers have ditched plans to force Britons to pay a cash bond for foreign relatives who visit the UK. more...

India’s War hero Sam Manekshaw passes away
India's former army chief Sam Manekshaw, considered one of the country's greatest war heroes whose victory over Pakistan in 1971 helped create Bangladesh, has died in hospital, officials said on Friday last. He was 94. more...

Appeal over suspicious fire death
Police are seeking information over the "suspicious" death of a woman whose body was found after a fire.
Kuldeep Kaur Sidhu, 25, was found "curled up at the bottom of the stairs" at her home in Quinton, Birmingham, West Midlands Police said. more...

Cold-blooded 'honour' killers shot man who married for love
A man and three contract killers he hired to carry out the cold-blooded execution of his sister's husband because she married for love against her family's wishes were jailed for life.
Arza Khan arranged the murder of Mian Shahid Mehmood, 29, - who was also his wife's brother - to punish his sister, Yasmin Bibi Rakha, for her refusal to marry her first cousin. more...

HFB’s five year plan supported by 120 delegates at Annual General Meeting
Over 120 delegates from Hindu organisations around the UK endorsed the Hindu Forum of Britain’s five-year plan at their Annual General Meeting held on 29th July at the Sanatan Mandir in Leicester. more...

India’s first ‘women-IIT’ being set up in Maharashtra
Even as there is talk about starting new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and increasing the number of seats in the existing ones, a move is afoot to open the country's first all-women engineering and technology-oriented institute in Amravati, President Pratibha Patil's hometown in Maharashtra. more...

IIM topper takes to green cart in Bihar
He is perhaps the smartest vegetable seller around with his IIM degree. Kaushilendra, the 2007 batch topper of the IIM, Ahmedabad, became a vegetable vendor to earn money and ensure quality prices to farmers and quality product to citizens. more...

Indo-US body to raise $10 mn for Obama
New York: A leading organisation of Indian Americans that backed Hillary Clinton's White House bid has now extended support to triumphant Democratic candidate Barack Obama and pledged to raise $10 million, giving a major boost to his campaign for the November Presidential election. more...

Nepal PM quits, says his ‘sorrow, burden’ over
Kathmandu: More than two months after constituent assembly elections, Nepal's embattled Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala last week tendered his resignation following mounting pressure by the Maoists, paving the way for a new government under the former guerillas. more...

Work underway on £2m Swaminarayan temple in NZ
Wellington: Work has already started on the impressive domed building in the heart of Wellingborough, which will serve followers of the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism. more...

Mittal mulling entering Rio takeover battle
Lakshmi Mittal is looking at entering the takeover battle for the Rio Tinto mining group, the Financial Times reported on Monday, quoting people familiar with the situation. Mittal, main shareholder in steelmaker ArcelorMittal as well as being chairman and chief executive, was keen to secure larger supplies of iron ore, said the newspaper. more...

India replaces China as top exporter to Bangladesh
India has regained its position as the number one import source for Bangladesh, beating China, in the first nine months of the financial year ending June 30, official figures said.
This is mainly due to large-scale imports of rice and onion from India after Bangladesh faced a series of natural calamities last year. more...

Pietersen switch-hit given all-clear
The MCC - the guardian of the laws of cricket - has concluded that the controversial left-handed shot that Kevin Pietersen successfully executed during the first ODI between England and New Zealand at Chester-le-Street on Sunday is "exciting for the game of cricket" and conforms to the laws of the game, and consequently will not be legislated against. more...

NZ take controversial last-ball thriller
On a day that ebbed and flowed dramatically, New Zealand held their nerve to squeeze a tense one-wicket win at The Oval, to sneak a 2-1 lead going into the weekend's series decider at Lord's. Like England earlier in the day, New Zealand stumbled twice either side of a brisk middle-order partnership between two men searching for form, and despite a controversial moment sure to occupy the airwaves and columns for days to come, chased down 246 from the last ball of the game. more...

Sourav is Asian Cricketer of the Year
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was adjudged the Castrol Asian Cricketer of the Year on Friday for his memorable comeback in the national team last year. more...

Bollywood

A Producer asked me to sleep with him: Vishakha
Her maiden film as an actress - "Hum Sey Hai Jahaan" bombed at the box office, but then pretty, dark and smart Vishakha Singh is not unduly perturbed by the fate of the film for the simple reason that even before "Hum Sey Hai Jahaan" was complete, she had bagged two more films - Abhijeet Sengupta's "Do Aur Do Paanch" and Venkatesh Naidu's "Coffee Shop," which are also being readied for an early release. more...

SRK brings ‘sunshine’ and Bollywood dreams to Rotterdam
Screaming fans from across Europe showered flowers, notes and trinkets as Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan performed at Ahoy, Rotterdam's large cultural and sports complex, to launch the world premiere of "Temptations Reloaded," a live song and dance show that saw a number of Indian stars descend on the city on last Saturday night. more...

Post IPL, Preity is Bollywood’s busy bee
Preity Zinta has put the highs and lows of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and her Mohali team behind and is busy with as many as four pending films and looks forward to the Bachchans' world tour.
She too needs a well-deserved break and is now raring to go. more...