India Inc said the Foreign Trade Policy would give a significant push to manufactured goods and agriculture- and labour-intensive exports.

Nimbus Sport International Pvt. Ltd on Tuesday announced that Joost, a global online television platform had acquired the on-demand internet clip rights for the Barclays Premier League in the Indian subcontinent.

Hotlines between New Delhi and Addis Ababa, the headquarters of the African Union, are working overtime to make next month's India-Africa summit as big a success as a similar event organised by China last year. New Delhi's intention to give a new thrust to its relations with Africa was evident when it announced a hike of 60 per cent in its aid to the continent for the next financial year. The 2008-09 Budget presented in Parliament last week, enhanced aid to Africa.

Though India is ranked way down in the FIFA rankings, African footballers see the country as a springboard to their European aspirations.

The Dakar Rally was cancelled for the first time in its 30-year history due to security concerns in Mauritania where four French tourists were killed last month.

Reliance Industries, India's most valued company, and state-run gas firm GAIL India have identified 10 countries including Qatar, Australia and Russia for setting up a multi-billion-dollar petrochemical plant.

The problem is not just India's. China, too, must deal with a commercially resurgent Russia. Beijing had signed, in 2005, a $1-billion order for 34 giant IL-78 transport planes and 4 IL-78 refuelling aircraft. Now Russia has realised that it cannot meet its own as well as Beijing's requirements. That contract is being renegotiated at a higher price.

Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company, and state-run gas firm GAIL India on Tuesday joined hands to set up a multi-billion-dollar petrochemical plant in gas-rich Middle-East, Central Asia or Russia.

World champions Italy face a tough task if they are to add the European title to their world crown after being grouped with the Netherlands, France and Romania in the finals of Euro 2008 on Sunday. The draw, made at Lucerne's Congress and Culture Centre, was not particularly kind to either of the co-hosts either with Switzerland facing the Czech Republic, Portugal and Turkey in their group while Austria meet Croatia, Germany and Poland.

Any weakening of army support would spell doom for Musharraf. The Pakistani army's image is much dented and it is doubtful if it can withstand a civil war with the Taliban.

The Palestinian information ministry said that PA and other countries would urge the sponsors of the conference to also invite India, South Africa, Brazil, Greece, and Spain.

The decision was taken during a ministerial meeting of the four countries on Monday on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly session.

World champions Italy have returned to the top of the rankings after leaping above Argentina and Brazil.

The beleaguered Dabhol power plant in Maharashtra is likely to start generating electricity, using gas as feedstock from the second week of August once promoters sort out payment issues.

The transcript of the Professor Hoodbhoy chat.

Al Qaeda not only looks upon India as a close associate of the US similar to the UK, but also as providing favourable conditions for its overseas operations directed against US nationals and interests in Indian territory.

The company, which has set an export target of around 2,20,000 units by 2010, is spreading into new markets like the UAE,Philippines and Indonesia.

India's bumper sugar production has caused ripples in the global market with other producers wondering whether the Indian commodity will reach their export markets in the world.

India will send a 17-member team to represent Asia in the second Afro-Asian Games, to be held in Algiers from July 28 to August 6.

The State Department's annual report on human trafficking released worldwide on Tuesday, ranked India for a fourth consecutive year in the report's second-worst category, the so-called Tier 2 Watch List.

Production by the 10 member countries, excluding Iraq and Angola which joined the group this year only, increased by 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 266.4 lakh bpd from 265.7 lakh bpd in April.

Argentina put behind a dismal first half to beat Algeria 4-3 in a friendly international.

'The citizen jihadis see no television, Internet and video players which they regard as evil. They are being influenced by what they hear on the hundreds of FM radio stations operating in the tribal areas.'

Indian Muslims should refuse to be intimidated by such elements and the government should give them all the protection they need to enable them to resist these jihadi elements

GAIL (India) Ltd is in talks with US energy major Exxon for importing 5 million tons of liquefied natural gas at Dabhol, company chairman U D Choubey said on Wednesday.

Iraq has invited Indian Oil Corporation, the country's largest oil refiner, to set up refineries in the war-torn country, and also participate in other downstream projects, a government statement said.

Iran on Thursday made no firm commitments of honouring the $22-billion deal to export LNG to India but said will look at "ways" for early implementation of the two-year-old contract.

India will make another attempt to salvage the $22-billion deal to import LNG from Iran when Petroleum Minister Murli Deora meets the Islamic country's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran on Thursday.

Petronet LNG Ltd will begin supplying liquefied natural gas imported from Qatar, Egypt, Algeria and Oman to the beleaguered Dabhol power plant once a small 15-km stretch of pipeline is completed, a company official said.

A look at the highs and lows of the festival.

Sweden, Singapore and Finland follow, while the United States loses ground in networked readiness, falling 6 places to 7th position.

With efforts intensifying to generate a new momentum in the stalled Middle East talks, a four-member delegation led by Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed will be participating at the summit.

Now, Hyderabad will have its own film festival.

Deepa Mehta's film loses out to Germany.

Deepa Mehta's film has made it big, but the Oscar win is another challenge.

Aamir Khan is second time unlucky.

Zinedine Zidane was warmly welcomed by a nation that has long seen the player of Algerian ancestry as an icon.

Essar Oil's 10.5-million-tonne-per-annum refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat went onstream on Friday, with its first product, LPG, expected to roll out by Saturday.