Top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis entered the final at the Madrid Open after a crushing 6-2, 6-0 victory over Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva on Friday. It is the second successive final for the Indo-Swiss pair following the runners-up finish in Stuttgart.

'Human rights violations are there in rural areas and in cities. In rural areas it is crude and in the open. In urban areas it is well hidden.' 'Awareness has grown several fold. India has 160 national and state human rights institutions. No other country in the world has this.' 'Unfortunately the right to association, right to assembly, freedom of expression, right to protest and discuss are all being curtailed systematically one by one.'

While Mussoorie is the nerve point with all the hustle bustle of the tourist activities, Landour lies quietly reminiscent of a 19th century British suburb.

A round-up of results from Davis Cup matches played on Saturday and Sunday

Sandeep Shanbhag, a chartered accountant and director of Wonderland Consultants, a tax and financial advisory firm, discussed the impact of Budget proposals in a chat with Rediff.com's readers.

Australia returned to the top of the Test world rankings on Wednesday after Steve Smith and Adam Voges steered the tourists to victory in the second Test against New Zealand to seal a comprehensive 2-0 series win.

Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja reduced Australia's victory target to 131 runs with nine wickets in hand at the end of the fourth day of the second Test against New Zealand at Hagley Oval on Tuesday.

James Pattinson grabbed three wickets to brighten Australia's prospects of a comprehensive victory in the second Test against New Zealand with the hosts reeling at 121 for four by the end of the third day on Monday.

Brendon McCullum blasted the fastest Test century to rescue New Zealand before Australia were reduced to 57 for one by the close of day one of the second Test on Saturday.

James Pattinson has been recalled to Australia' starting side for the second Test against New Zealand on Saturday, replacing his injured Victorian team mate Peter Siddle.

Lionel Messi passed up the chance to net his 300th La Liga goal and instead put a hat-trick on a plate for team mate Luis Suarez with an outrageous penalty routine.

Australia can take the top Test ranking from India with a series victory

Brendon McCullum's dismissal in the final over of the day put Australia firmly in control of the first Test in Wellington on Sunday, as New Zealand were reduced to 178-4, still 201 runs behind the tourists' mammoth first innings of 562.

Swing and seam friendly conditions, a lack of truly scary Australian bowlers and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's retirement are all themes that will resonate when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday.

Incisive Editor, brilliant scholar on Islam, and now BJP leader, M J Akbar is at his intellectual best when he dissects the Muslim world and its problems, and offers up a solution from his unique perspective, as he did in this recent speech at the 10th R N Kao Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.

'Small bands of terrorists believe they can destabilise superpowers if they are ready to become martyrs.' 'Since the road to paradise is under the shade of swords, it is a win-win situation for those ready to die for the cause of Allah.'

Matt Henry shrugged off the disappointment of missing out on selection for next month's World Twenty20 with a hostile spell of pace bowling that helped New Zealand ease to a 159-run win over Australia in the first one-day international on Wednesday.

From a Sri Lanka cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara's final Test innings, Virender Sehwag's felicitation ceremony, FC Barcelona's Luis Suarez celebrating the La Liga title with his family, these and many more scintillating moments are frozen in time in this beautiful photo-feature.

Paris St Germain continued their irrepressible march towards a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title with a 5-1 home win against Olympique Lyonnais to move 17 points clear at the top.

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.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history while Bayern Munich set a record for the greatest number of successive wins at the start of a season in the Bundesliga this weekend.

It is significant that the PM's appeal to invest in India comes at a time when the global economy is facing a difficult phase

The win lifted Hamburg, who needed a relegation playoff to stay up last season, to seventh on six points.

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney did not have the faintest idea who Anthony Martial was when the Monaco forward was linked with a move to Old Trafford earlier this week, according to team mate Morgan Schneiderlin.

A lowdown on what's happening in Hollywood.

The threat from terrorism continues to be as real as it was ten years ago, but Britian will never cowed by it, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday.

Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Andy Murray were the big names to win on Monday and advance to the quarter-final of the Wimbledon.

- At 18 years and 109 days, Bencic is the youngest player to win a premier-level title since Caroline Wozniacki won in New Haven almost seven years ago - Uzbek Istomin wins men's title

Jonny Bairstow bludgeoned a brilliant 83 not out in Durham to lead England to a three-wicket win over New Zealand on the Duckworth-Lewis method on Saturday, earning a 3-2 victory in the five-match series of one-dayers.

Mexican striker Matias Vuoso and Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal both scored twice in a game that roared from end to end and never let up in intensity.

Ben Stokes took two wickets in two balls to inspire England to victory over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord's.

Contrasting centuries by a relentless Alastair Cook and an inspired Ben Stokes lifted England to 429 for six at the close of a compelling fourth day of the first Test against New Zealand on Sunday.

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell, England's two most experienced batsmen, withstood a fearsome working over by the New Zealand pace attack in a gripping final session of the third day of the first Test on Saturday.

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell survived a torrid final hour to guide England to 74 for two at the close on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday.

Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor mastered a lifeless England attack to lift New Zealand to 303 for two at the close on the second day of the first Test at Lord's on Friday.

Ben Stokes provided the gloss and Joe Root the glue as England recovered from a terrible start to reach 354 for seven at the close on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's on Thursday.

With an eye on the final spot, two-time champions Chennai Super Kings face high-flying Mumbai Indians in their first qualifier in the Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.

'Vietnam has become an adjective as well as a verb -- the Americans, for instance, were driven by the passion to do a 'Vietnam' on the Soviet Union when that country invaded Afghanistan in 1979.'

Rediff.com looks at some prominent leaders in our past who evinced an affection for the words of Shakespeare. An anniversary special.

'That was the key to a game where, on paper, there is nothing to separate the two sides: Intensity. From the first ball of the innings to the run out of Southee, the Australian bowlers and fielders buzzed around like predatory yellow-jacketed wasps.' 'Adding teeth to the bowling and relentless fielding is the captaincy of Michael Clarke, leading in his last one day international. His body may require an entire college of medical specialists to maintain, but his mind is scalpel-sharp, cutting through the complexities of the game to hit on simple solutions.'