1,200 Indian workers held hostage in Angola
One thousand and two hundred Indians working at a cement factory near Sumbe city of Angola in Africa have been held captive in a factory. While some who have fled to the nearby jungles, continued to suffer in silence with no end in sight to the six-day-old crisis.
Brent Council leader ousted by deputy leader over local concerns
The leader of Brent Council, Ann John OBE, has been ousted by her deputy Cllr Mohammad Butt.
Cllr Butt was elected as the leader of the Labour-run administration at a Labour AGM on Friday (May 11). He won against Cllr Ann John OBE by 21 votes to 19.
London's Orbit tower ready for the Olympic show
The Arcel or Mittal Orbit tower, a 115-metre looped and twisting steel tower beside London's new Olympic Stadium that will give visitors panoramic views over the city, funded by the Mittal's (£22.7 million) and designed by Anish Kapoor is finally complete and ready for the public view.
Queen requested to drop ‘empire’ from honours
Those who advise the Queen on who should receive honours, have said the continued use of the word empire is “inappropriate”
The removal of the word empire from appointments such as the CBE and OBE has been discussed by the Queen’s lords lieutenant.
Pregnant Briton caught smuggling heroin in Pakistan
A pregnant British woman could face the death penalty in Pakistan after she was caught trying to smuggle heroin worth £3.2million, the Daily Mail has reported.
Khadija Shah, 25, was attempting to return to Birmingham with her two children when she was arrested by police officers who uncovered 140lb of the drug concealed inside clothes in three suitcases.
Bafta winning actress sentenced to community service
A Bafta-winning actress lauded for her portrayal of a young offender was herself sentenced to community service for a drunken racial assault on an Asian taxi driver. Lauren Socha, 21, pictured, who played foul-mouthed Kelly Bailey in the Channel 4 show Misfits, admitted she hit Sarkander Iqbal in the face while screaming racist abuse after a nine-hour wine and lager binge in October.
Ministers promise relaxing passport control
Theresa May is considering relaxing passport controls to ease serious queues at Britain’s borders in an embarrassing about-turn. More than 500,000 people were allowed into Britain without being thoroughly checked.
The Home Secretary signalled the move during crisis talks with airlines as figures showed that passengers faced queues of up to three hours at Heathrow.
Financial News
RBI cuts CRR by 50 bps, shifts focus to growth
The Reserve Bank of India cut cash reserve requirements for banks by 50 basis points on Tuesday to ease tight liquidity, signaling a policy shift towards reviving growth after nearly two years of fighting inflation.
Vodafone wins `110 billion tax case in India
In a major victory to Vodafone International Holdings, India’s Supreme Court set aside the Bombay high court judgment asking the company to pay income tax of Rs 110 billion, holding that tax authorities do not have jurisdiction on an overseas transaction.
Kingfisher asks govt for financial help
Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines has told aviation minister Ajit Singh that it will not be able to maintain normal operations without a temporary bank overdraft, reports said.
Deepika gets romantic with 'reluctant' Rajini
Recently, Deepika Padukone flew to Chennai to shoot a romantic song with Rajinikanth. The number, an ultra-romantic love duet was choreographed by Saroj Khan. And we hear Ms Khan, known to make screen-couples sizzle on screen with their chemistry, had planned some scorching-hot moves between the two. Apparently, Rajinikanth after his illness has become acutely conscious of his age and the age-difference with his leading lady.
I am dating Siddharth Roy Kapoor: Vidya Balan
National award winning actress Vidya Balan has finally come out about her relationship with UTV head Siddharth Roy Kapoor but says she is in no hurry to get married to him.
“I don't have any plans yet... and there is no engagement ring yet. It's a while away and I am in no hurry. But it's on my mind and there is a plan at some point. There is someone in my life,” Vidya said.
Kareena, Ranbir in Zoya Akhtar's next
Real life cousins Kareena Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor have finally agreed to come together for a film. Only a strong script could get their nod and Zoya Akhtar managed to do just that. The two will reportedly be seen playing brother-sister on screen. Zoya has been busy with the script of the film for some time now and only recently managed to convince Ranbir and Kareena to portray the lead roles.
India News
8 from Mumbai, 5 from Chennai die in Nepal air crash
Eight people from Mumbai and five from Chennai were among 15 people killed when a Dornier aircraft crashed in Nepal on Monday. The relatives and friends of those from Mumbai have arrived in Kathmandu to take away their bodies after the postmortem is completed on Tuesday.
Army officers, jawans clash in Ladakh
In a shocking breach of discipline in the Indian Army, officers and jawans of an artillery regiment deployed in the Nyoma sector of eastern Ladakh violently clashed with each other last week.
Cracks surface in Team Anna
Over a week after activist Anna Hazare launched his state-wide campaign for a Lokayukta in Maharashtra, Team Anna members are conspicuous by their absence, indicating sharp differences within the group. Significantly, this comes at a time when Hazare has announced his intention to share the stage with Baba Ramdev despite deep reservations among the activists on the yoga guru’s credibility.
China training women to kill me: Dalai Lama
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has spoken of a threat to his life from Chinese agents, saying there were reports that Tibetan women are being trained to harm him.
The Dalai Lama’s office based in Dharamsala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is headquartered, confirmed that “there is a threat perception to his life.”
Former telecom minister of India Raja gets bail
Former communications minister of India A Raja, who has been in jail since February 2011, was Tuesday granted bail in the 2G spectrum allocation case but with the rider that he could neither visit the department of telecommunications (DoT) nor his home state Tamil Nadu.
World News
Museveni tells UWA, Nema to give land for Madhvani golf course
Kampala: President Museveni has pulled up Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) for denying land for Madhvani Group from developing a golf course in Queen Elizabeth National Park. He has given one month’s time for UWA and Nema to explain their stand.
India, China and ASEAN to surpass combined wealth of West by 2030
The combined national wealth of India, China and ASEAN could exceed that of the US and European countries put together in the next 18 years, the Asian Development Bank had said.
"These three region and countries (India, China and ASEAN) are on a path to significantly improve the quality of life of their citizens - in aggregate approaching half of the world's population by 2030," ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda had said.
Reserve Bank of India reaches out to expats to lift rupee
Buffeted by a sliding Indian rupee and surging dollar demand for imports, the Reserve Bank of India on Friday eased some curbs to attract dollars from NRIs and scrapped the interest rate ceiling on exporters' foreign currency credit. But the measures, aimed at taking the steam off the currency, may only provide temporary relief, analysts say.
François Hollande wins French presidential election
Paris: François Hollande has won power in France, turning the tide on a rightwards and xenophobic lurch in European politics and vowing to transform Europe's handling of the economic crisis by fighting back against German-led austerity measures.
Sports
Pietersen helps England whitewash Pakistan 4-0
Kevin Pietersen hit his second successive century to help a resurgent England beat Pakistan by four wickets in the fourth and final day-night international last week for a 4-0 whitewash.
England axe Eoin Morgan for Lanka tour
Eoin Morgan has been dropped by England for the tour to Sri Lanka and replaced by Samit Patel after the selectors announced two changes from the squad whitewashed in the Test series by Pakistan.
Irfan Pathan keen to fill all-rounder spot for India
Irfan Pathan said he was keen to fill in the position of the medium-pace bowling all-rounder in the Indian team that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni craves for all too often
India qualify for men's hockey in London Olympics
Eight-time champions India secured their place in the men's hockey event at this year's London Olympics after routing France 8-1 in the final of a qualifying tournament on Sunday.
Sania Mirza most searched tennis star
Sania Mirza was the most Googled female tennis player in 2011, leaving behind bigger names like Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic. Despite her lowly world ranking of 113, the 25-year-old tennis star can count on an army of fans in the subcontinent to cheer her on as she flies the flag for India on the women's tour. Mirza is married to Pakistan cricket star Shoaib Malik.
