Atul Keshap would be 'a superb fit for Sri Lanka as he knows the ins and outs of the politics there and all the political players, including the new disposition in Colombo intimately,' US diplomatic sources in Washington, DC told Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com

It's all about the family at the Academy awards.

'The real test will be in defence-related deals, for instance the Javelin anti-tank missile: Is the US willing to co-develop something with India, on terms that will support the 'Make in India' initiative? Is there defence technology transfer? Or will it dump old junk on India?' asks Rajeev Srinivasan.

Simona Halep shrugged off any expectations or feelings of additional pressure ahead of the Australian Open.

The baby girl has been named Nia.

Lu Shanglei of China defeated Aleksander Indjic of Serbia and was crowned World junior chess champion at Hotel Hyatt, in Pune, on Sunday. In the girls' section, 16-year-old Alexandra Goryachkina successfully defended her title with a round to spare on Saturday.

China's Lu Shanglei and Wei Yi emphatically exhibited their rising chess prowess with convincing victories over Russians Vladimir Fedoseev, the top seed, and Mikhail Antipov, in the 10th round of the World Junior Chess Championships at Hotel Hyatt, in Pune, on Thursday. The victories ensured that the Chinese maintained joint-leader status with eight points each.

The sight and sound of the Liril Girl set the tone for ads that work at a subliminal level, and captivates viewers even to this day.

Padmini Rout's unbeaten run was halted by top seed Aleksandra Goryachkina in the eighth round of the LIC World Junior Chess Championships, at the Hotel Hyatt, in Pune, on Tuesday. After a day's rest, the girls' section was dominated by the higher-rated Russians in the fray, with Daria Pustovoitova defeating Anna Iwanow of Poland. Both the Russian girls and Anna Iwanow of Peru jointly lead the girls' section in the 77-player event with 6.5 points each.

Padmini Rout is well-placed along with four foreigners atop of the points' table after seven rounds in the LIC World Junior Chess Championships, being played at Hotel Hyatt, in Pune. With six rounds left in the tough 13-round Swiss league event, the players in both sections are tightly bunched, making the hunt for the title quite open.

India's Padmini Rout scored an impressive victory with plenty of fireworks to maintain her joint lead in the Girls section but favourite Viddit Santosh Gujrathi suffered a shock loss in the sixth round of the LIC World Junior Chess championship in Pune.

Lesser-fancied Indians again stole limelight in the LIC World Junior Chess Championships, being played at Hotel Hyatt, in Pune, on Friday. Nandhidhaa PV created a sensation in the fifth round, upsetting IM Meri Arabidze of Georgia, who is rated and titled higher than her, while 15-year-old Maria Ivana Furtado shocked Nguyen Thi Mai Hung to emerge joint leaders.

S L Narayanan, a regular visitor to Pune for the Maharashtra Chess League, has a reputation for shocking seeded players. On Thursday, in the fourth round of the LIC World Junior Chess championships, at the Hotel Hyatt, the teenager from Kerala played true to his reputation and stunned Polish Grandmaster Kamil Dragun.

On Tuesday, the 20-year-old Woman Grandmaster was among the quickest finishers in Round 2 of the World Junior Chess Championships at the Hotel Hyatt, in Pune.

Deal to bolster firm's position in healthcare IT.

Kolkata-born British author Neel Mukherjee's latest novel The Lives of Others, set in troubled Bengal of the 1960s and centres around a dysfunctional family, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize 2014, in its debut as a global literary award.

A new generation of scholars -- this time, sociologists and anthropologists, who hitherto have been busy with researching social practices of primitive tribes and social structures like India's caste system -- are starting to cast their eyes on the financial sector.

The Hundred-Foot Journey treats its Indian characters with respect, discovers Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com

Here's what your favourite Bollywood celebrities are tweeting.

'He is in a wheelchair, his joints are swollen and he is in great pain.' A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com speaks to colleagues and students of the polio-afflicted Delhi University Professor G N Saibaba, who was arrested on May 9 for alleged Naxalite links.

George Clooney's much talked about bachelor life has seen many pretty faces tumble in and out of it. Until Amal Alamuddin came along and hooked him for good.

Oculus could have done better with tighter editing, says Paloma Sharma.

18-time Oscar nominee Meryl Streep towers over everybody else in the film - thanks to her unparalleled acting prowess and the sheer intensity of the character she plays.

US-based IT services major Cognizant on Wednesday reported a 16.3 per cent rise in net profit at $324.3 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, helped by broad-based growth across industries and geographies.

Rohan Bopanna returned to the country's Davis Cup squad after a two-year gap as AITA named a six-member team on Saturday, for the Asia/Oceania Group I contest against Chinese Taipei, starting January 31 in Indore.

The ace photographer launched his annual calendar with much fanfare.

India's singles challenge came to a tame end after Yuki Bhambri lost 3-6, 3-6 to fifth seeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil, in the quarter-final of the ATP Chennai Open on Friday.

Indian wild card entrant Jeevan Nedunchezhian crashed out of the Chennai Open after a bright start soon after Ramkumar Ramanathan stormed into the singles main draw with a superb win over higher-ranked Slovakian Norbert Gombos in Chennai.

Somdev Devvarman would be India's while Yuki Bhambri is expected to carry his good from into the new season which is full of new challenges for the Indian players as ATP Aircel Chennai Open begins on Monday.

The ruling by US Judge Steven Rhodes, who cited the city's dismal finances and $18 billion owed to a multitude of creditors in support of his decision, marks a watershed in the history of Detroit.

Atul Keshap, a senior Indian American career diplomat and one of the rising stars in the United States foreign service, has been picked by Nisha Desai Biswal, the newly appointed assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, to be her deputy.

A Soyuz capsule carried an International Space Station crew of three back to Earth on Monday along with an Olympic torch that was displayed in open space as part of Russia's preparations for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

At least two people, including a woman were killed and 22 others wounded when gunfire erupted at a birthday party in Houston, United States, triggering panic, police said on Sunday.

US President Barack Obama's administration has faced extensive criticism for its failure to prosecute bankers criminally for behavior that led to the financial crisis.

For over 10 days now, 3,700 firefighters have been battling the massive wildfire near California's Yosemite National Park. The Rim Fire has scorched 134,000 acres, an area approximately the size of Chicago. The fire continues to grow in size, but firemen claim to have been making progress. As of now, 20 per cent of it has been contained. So huge is the fire that NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg is keeping track of it from outer space. A look at the biggest wildfire on record in California's history, in pictures.

The Guardian reported that accounts filed in Dublin showed that in 2009 Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs settled a dispute with the British telecoms provider over its Irish tax returns.

Boston marathon bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to all charges in his first appearance in a federal courtroom on Wednesday.

Generic drugmakers cannot be sued under state law for adverse reactions to their products.

BA parent could order around 20 Airbus A350-1000s.

New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder told police he has no memory of the vicious attack that left him critically injured in hospital last week.