CONCACAF big guns Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica all got off to winning starts on Friday in their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Though this time India's first astronaut remained earth bound, P Rajendran/Rediff.com finds out more about his journey off the beaten track along America's East Coast.

The Sensex ended lower on unfavourable cues.

The Credit Suisse report has estimated the middle class on the basis of their wealth rather than their income, says Prachi Salve ' IndiaSpend.

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand registered an easy draw with black against tournament leader Wesley So of America to stay joint second at the halfway stage of the Bilbao Masters Final chess tournament in Bilbao.

'It was not an agreement, this was his proposal and of course it (then) went to the vote at the (FIFA) executive committee'

With the release of HTC One A9, the company has brought forward a phone which has the capability to spoil Google Nexus 5X's party at the least. In fact, HTC CEO went ahead and even declared that HTC One A9 is a 'a good alternative to the iPhone'.

'We expect realisation will be flattish for the rest of the fiscal (year).'

'There are hundreds of items from Madhya Pradesh, Andhra, Rajasthan, Gujarat in Subhash Kapoor's loot. The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing wants to just prosecute Kapoor for three cases and close it. To me that's myopic.'

Argentina remain winless in South American qualifying for the 2018 World Cup after struggling to a 0-0 in Paraguay on Tuesday, while Uruguay and Ecuador both made it two wins from two games to top the group.

Overseas education consultant NNS Chandra tells you how to pick the right international college and course for you.

'It was only relatively recently that Subhash Kapoor was able to secure the sources in India, Afghanistan and Cambodia, that allowed him to get the really highest level objects, and that helped propel him in recent years up the ranks.'

'Even if the media is partisan, the BJP, governing at the Centre, has the most to lose if India descends into widespread communal violence.' 'Fanning the flames either by vested political interests or by partisan reports only plays into the hands of those seek a conflagration.'

Argentina and Brazil both lost their opening World Cup qualifiers on Thursday as the South American campaign for Russia 2018 started in unexpected fashion.

Quantico isn't a show Chopra happens to be on, but rather a show that belongs to Chopra, Raja Sen says.

Brazil's appeal against Neymar missing their first two South American 2018 World Cup qualifiers this month has been turned down, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Friday.

Higuain had a disappointing Copa America tournament in July, scoring two goals during the competition and missing his spot kick as Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in the final.

From earning Rs 5 a day as a farm labourer to starting an IT services company that is worth Rs 15 million, Jyoti Reddy's story of success is nothing short of an inspiring movie plot.

A major earthquake just offshore rattled Chileans, killing five people and shaking the Earth so strongly the tremor was felt in places across South America.

In spite of being wounded in battle, Lieutenant Colonel A B Tarapore fought for six days before meeting a hero's death on the battlefield in the 1965 war. A legend in the Indian Army, he is the highest ranking officer to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

Overseas education consultant NNS Chandra offers advice on how to pick the right course and college.

India golfer Anirban Lahiri turned in a creditable three-under 69 to be placed tied 16th after the first round of the Hotel Fitness Championship in the Web.com finals series at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club, in Fort Wayne, US.

Zenit St Petersburg striker Hulk scored after nine minutes when he muscled his way past a defender and fired home from 12 metres.

Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero struck two goals apiece in Argentina's 7-0 romp against an out-of-sorts Bolivia while Mexico were held 3-3 by Trinidad & Tobago in friendlies in the United States on Friday.

Overseas education consultant NNS Chandra tells you how to pick the right international university and course for you

Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana put on a brilliant display of front-running to win the women's 5,000 metres at the world championships on Sunday and deprive compatriot Genzebe Dibaba of an unprecedented double gold.

Ma and the other co-founders had finalised the name "Alibaba" after much research on its acceptability.

Get the latest from the World of football news and more on Rediff.com.

'India was in no position to wage another war in 1965, having suffered a morale-shattering defeat in 1962. The three services were in the middle of a modernisation and expansion phase and therefore not fully trained or battle-ready.'

Overseas education consultant NNS Chandra offers advice on how to pick the right international university.

Saif Ali Khan shares his dilemmas as an eager-to-experiment star actor and his kids' probable foray in Bollywood.

Rediff.com brings the latest news on English Premier League, results, and transfers around the world of soccer.

Many giving double-digit returns, with India up less than one per cent; even so, it has done much better than other emerging markets.

Anirban Lahiri, coming in after a short break following events in Europe, was hit by back spasms early in his first round as he carded a 77 in the World Golf Championships-Invitational in Akron, Ohio, United States.

Now that Jeremy has decided to try his hand at something new, we asked Top Gear's Top Fan Anywhere, Raja Sen, to give Mr C some advice.

Happy End' is a photo-project of 15 airplanes that had forced landings but all on board survived and were rescued.

FA Cup winners Arsenal beat champions Chelsea 1-0 in England's Community Shield season curtain-raiser at Wembley on Sunday to end a long wait for victory over their London rivals.

'As a nation we came up short, but that did not deter Kalam. He made it his life mission to exhort the young to greatness.'

Overseas education consultant NNS Chandra offers advice on how to pick the right international education.