The Sino-Pakistan nuclear pact highlights the growing assertiveness of China in global politics and its willingness to take on Washington. It also showcases China's penchant for viewing Pakistan as an important asset in countering India, writes Harsh V Pant.

A New York-based institute seeks to empower new economists to challenge outdated approaches with innovative and ethical economic strategy and Indian policy makers must take note of it, says Rajni Bakshi.

Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep may be favourites but we look at all the the actors in the running.

If the decade gone by was one that redefined the contours of global politics in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, it was also a decade that witnessed Indian foreign policy coming into its own, writes Harsh V Pant

Avatar now ranks number four among the top global grossers of all time.

Eight acclaimed professors tip you off, right from politics to picking the right teacher.

The actor promotes his film Aage Se Right by firing from his pistol!

Consumers who had deferred purchases or preferred to stretch their money at discount retailers look all set to splurge again. The latest round of the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey reveals a sharp increase in confidence levels, Indians being the second most optimistic.

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The cooling of the strategic partnership built by the Bush administration, which conferred on India the de facto nuclear weapon state status, introduces new uncertainties in Asia.

Former US national security adviser Mark Pfeifle said that more than 220,000 Iran tweets were sent through Twitter every hour at its peak, helping document the crisis in Iran following the contested presidential election results last month. 'It became the assignment desk, the reporter and the producer. And, because of this, Twitter and its creators are worthy of being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize,' he wrote in the Christian Science Monitor.

Malayalam actor Jayasurya talks about life after Ivar Vivahitharayal and more.

The onset of monsoons in Jalpaiguri in West Bengal raised hopes for the farmers waiting to sow their crops. The region received almost 300 mm of rainfall in the past two days.

Several low-lying areas in the city and suburbs were water-logged after overnight heavy showers

Meet Pooja Kanwal, a dancer who plays Pavani, a girl who dreams of becoming an Olympic runner in Sony TV's new show, Palampur Express.

A strident bill concerning US work visas for non-US citizens has been re-introduced before the US Senate. A look at the bill.

During the last five years, of the 12.39 lakh (1.239 million) people who have migrated from other states to Maharashtra, 4.23 lakh (423,000) are from Uttar Pradesh, as per the Economic Survey of Maharashtra for 2008-09 which was tabled in the state Legislature on Wednesday.

Bankruptcies of automakers General Motors and Chrysler could cost as many as quarter million people their jobs over the next year and a half, a media report says.

Will Smith continues to be the most bankable star in Hollywood, according to the entertainment database company The Ulmer Scale

An exceptional bowling performance helped Chennai Super Kings make up for some sordid batting and thrash Kings XI Punjab by 24 runs in a low-scoring Indian Premier League match at Kingsmead, Durban on Wednesday and confirm second place in the league table.

Ranjith Shankar talks about directing his latest Malayalam movie Passenger.

Kanyakumari has the highest per capita income in Tamil Nadu and the second highest literacy rate. There are 23 candidates the fray.

Prequel to take you where no Star Trek has gone before.

It would be exceedingly short-sighted of the Obama administration to ignore India in searching for a balance of power in Asia. India, however, needs to put its own house in order before crying hoarse over the changing winds in Washington. Global reassessment of India is primarily predicated on its recent economic rise, but India's rise will remain incomplete in the absence of a credible vision with a larger purpose.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday hosted a delegation of lawmakers, civil rights activists and some of this country's leading musicians, including jazz great Herbie Hancock, on the eve of their setting off on a trip to India to retrace the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr's visit 50 years ago, and to commemorate the influence Mahatma Gandhi had on this civil rights icon and the passive resistance movement he founded.

Britain's richie-rich club saw their wealth melting away by more than half to 200 billion pounds in a year marked with a severe economic downturn, while Indian-origin steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal took the biggest hit.

President-Elect Obama has shown poise in the face of great challenges personally and to the country he has sworn to serve. His judgment and decision-making have shown wisdom beyond his years. But his greatest trait to me, one that he shares with the leaders mentioned earlier, is his ability to inspire all different kinds of people.

An American working in India is still optimistic about his country's prospects.

The stars are with Barack Obama, says an Indian astrologer in the United States. "Whatever the polls may convey, the cosmic timetable and the karmic events all seem to point in favor of Barack Obama to occupy the Presidential seat in January 2009," Malini Parthasarathy, a former senior management specialist at the World Bank, and an astrologer, says.

Time was, celebrities who enjoyed geeky pastimes, such as comic books, video games, computer programming and gadgets, kept their proclivities hidden. These days, stars like Nicolas Cage and Rosario Dawson are letting their geek flag fly.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should meet United States President George W Bush in Washington next week but he should not sign the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement, according to Lalit Mansingh, former ambassador to the US and a staunch supporter of the nuclear deal.

Loss incurred in F&O transaction is considered as speculation loss and this can be carried forward to subsequent years, provided you file your return within the due date, says direct tax expert Vikas Gandhi.

Popular Indian American actor Kalpen Modi alias Kal Penn, a surrogate for the Obama campaign, has argued that South Asian Americans can be the swing vote in November's presidential election and help assure that the presumptive Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama is elected President.

Obama repeated what he has been saying since last August in an interview on CNN stressing that in order to effectively deal with Al Qaeda, the US has to have a stronger relationship with the new government in Pakistan unlike the way the Bush administration had placed all the eggs in the basket of President Pervez Musharraf.

'Youngsters, it's clear, are voting for Obama. Not only that, they canvass for him, add him to their Facebook and MySpace profiles, and talk about him over coffee and classwork. Should he win, he will be inexorably linked with my generation.'

Pankajam Thirumalai, then 14, recalls how she met the Father of the Nation

Wishful thinking often masquerades as assessment. Iran should not be different. Driven by short term gains, India is rolling out red carpet welcome to Ahmadinejad.

The concept is super. The questions truly excite. And the program does qualify to educate. It's a great interactive experience -- for kids and adults alike. But quizzing alone doesn't make a show a hit. What Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain needs to work on is its wit, spontaneity and reality while blending enlightenment with entertainment.

The sheep will have a focussed and forward mindset in 2008.

"In the current, weak-Dollar situation," says German economist Peter Bofinger in an interview with Der Spiegel, "a treaty should be signed by the central banks of China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and other countries that have huge Dollar reserves...so that they don't dump massive amounts of dollar onto the market.