New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) Just five days before the union budget is to be presented, India Wednesday allowed state-run oil firms to increase prices of transport fuels, resulting in gasoline becoming dearer by Rs.4 per litre and diesel by Rs.2 per litre, following successive increase in global crude prices. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora told reporters [...]

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link opened to chaos on Wednesday morning, with bumper-to-bumper traffic not only on the swanky new bridge but also at the Worli end, the jams running through Haji Ali and Babulnath. The contractors and the government had promised the link would reduce travel time from Bandra to Worli from 40 minutes to seven. [...]

French legislators on Wednesday set up a panel to look into the spread of full burqas and niqabs among Muslim women in France and will hand in its report by the end of the year. President Nicolas Sarkozy said that burqas were not welcome in France because they are a symbol of the subjugation of women. [...]

The U.S. envoy coordinating financial, arms and other sanctions against North Korea under a recent U.N. resolution will visit Malaysia on Sunday after a trip to China, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, the U.S. coordinator for the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874, has arrived in Beijing for talks [...]

NEW DELHI, June 30 (APP): Nirupama Rao, India?s Ambassador to China was named on Tuesday as the next India?s Foreign Secretary to succeed Shivshankar Menon who will be retiring on July 31. Nirupama Rao will be the second woman Foreign Secretary after Chokila Iyer in India?s history. The 58?year old diplomat, who is a 1973?batch Indian [...]

One top option for your windows is bamboo window shades. With all your modern options though, you would naturally want to know why bamboo is a better choice. Here are some great reasons to settle for bamboo: Low Maintenance It doesn?t take much to keep a set of bamboo window shades. Because the material is naturally lightweight, [...]

Holidays or Vacations! Means enjoyment, adventure, amusement and above all relaxation to mind, soul and body. To attain such an environment means you need to be at a heavenly place where even God wants to come and cherish the beauty of mother nature. There can be no other place or no other way to fulfill [...]

ISLAMABAD, Jun 13 (APP): Following is the text of budget speech of Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar in the National Assembly here on Saturday: I rise to present the Budget for the Fiscal Year 2009-10. Madam Speaker! I have the honor to be the first woman in the history of Pakistan to [...]

Los Angeles, July 2 (DPA) Late singer Michael Jackson named fellow music great Diana Ross as the backup guardian of his three children in the event that his mother Katherine, 79, was unable to fulfil that role, according to his 2002 will, which was revealed Wednesday. According to the will, dated July 7, 2002, all of [...]

After 2008’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, it’s Yash Raj’s New York that’s made a big bang this year. Ever since its release on June 26, the film’s grossed Rs 35 crore worldwide over the weekend and has broken all earlier opening weekend collection records for 2009. The movie has also had an impressive opening across [...]

Ask anyone what their defining Michael Jackson moment was and chances are they’ll say it was when they first watched the Thriller video. A significant minority might also state that Heal the World is their favourite MJ song. But true fans know that there’s more to the musician than just those two songs. And even [...]

Mumbai, June 28 (IANS) The advance booking for Akshay Kumar’s lavishly shot ‘Kambakkht Ishq’, releasing Friday, is said to have started Sunday. ‘The buzz about the film was so big that Sabbir Khan (director), Sunil Lulla and Sajid Nadiadwala (producer) have decided to open advance bookings on Sunday and not Wednesday. The tickets are expected to [...]

Los Angeles, June 26, 2009 (DPA) Pop star Michael Jackson died Thursday following a cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles, officials said. He was 50. The King of Pop, whose life of stardom and scandal kept him permanently in the headlines, was found unconscious at his rented Bel Air mansion and was rushed to [...]