From Bolivia to Siberia, roads that weren't made for a leisurely Sunday drive.

The excitement is building in Germany which has about 2.7 million people of Turkish origin, more than in any other country in western Europe.

"The Australian government fully appreciates how central India is to our future," Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in a speech at the University of Western Australia, his alma mater, while making a strong push for closer ties in social, economic and defence sectors.

A large number of Gujjar protestors including women disrupted train movement by squatting on the tracks at a bridge over Banganga river in Bandiqui area in Dausa district, where 14 people were killed in police firing and clashes on May 24, officials in the adjoining district of Bharatpur said. Rail commuters were stranded in Jaipur, Dausa, Kota, Jhalawar and other stations with trains either been cancelled or diverted in the wake of the Gujjar stir for ST status.

Australia's triangular one-day cricket series, which has been played since the 1979-80 season, has been scrapped in favour of two five-match series against the visiting New Zealand and South African sides. CA chief executive James Sutherland said he expects the two five-match series to generate immense public interest, even if the fourth and fifth matches are dead rubbers.

General Nirmal Chander Vij, former Chief of Army Staff, wrote a letter in anguish to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against the adverse implications of the sixth pay commission on the armed forces. The letter written on April 17, 2008, speaks volumes about the armed forces' dissatisfaction, which no government can ignore.

It would be rather surprising if the CIA was not taking more than just a passing interest in Tibet. That is after all what it is paid to do.

Two training ships of the 1st Training Squadron of the Indian Navy -- INS Krishna, a frigate, and INS Tir, with about 300 cadets, sailors and officers onboard were participating in the exercise. Capt N N Rao, the Commander of INS Tir, will be the overall supervisor on the Indian side. On the German side, three visiting warships belonging to the 2nd Flotilla -- with Captain Michael Budde as the Commander Task Force -- are taking part.

Pune-based St Laurn group will establish 11 business hotels in Pune, Bangalore, Jaipur, Shirdi and Ahmedabad in two years. The company has already set up two five-star hotels in Pune and is about to finish the work of a five-star hotel in Ahmedabad and a star resort in the pilgrim town of Shirdi.

Tension prevailed in Sisoli village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh after supporters of Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Mahender Singh Tikait clashed with police trying to arrest him for allegedly making derogatory remarks against state Chief Minister Mayawati, leaving a dozen policemen injured. Uttar Pradesh government has sounded an alert in all the districts of Western Uttar Pradesh and paramilitary forces rushed to the area to avoid any untoward incident.

Ladakh MP Thupstan Chhewang on Chinese incursions, the environment and effects of global warming in Ladakh and the relations between the Muslim and Buddhist populations.

As they have for millennia, the world's holy sites continue to exert a powerful draw over the faithful and the curious.

A year before Mahatma Gandhi's return from South Africa to India, a cry for India's freedom was heard from the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Medvedev, who will be the youngest elected Head of the nation in Russian history, is expected to continue the policy of developing strategic ties with India with focus shifting to economy. Medvedev represents a new generation of post-Soviet politicians, but his election ensures that Putin, who is not eligible to return to office after serving two successive terms as president, continues to wield power in the Kremlin.

A meeting with Tarun Khanna, who writes about entrepreneurship, globalisation and mutual ignorance in China and India.

Here is a list of 27 affordable beach resorts; perfect sandy escapes that won't break the bank.

They burnt Valentine's Day cards, and shouted slogans against the 'Western' concept. They also burnt an effigy of St Valentine, the priest of love.

That garden stone, handmade carpet or embroidered T-shirt you just bought was probably made by child labor.

New Delhi's facelift is aimed at making the city safer and easier to traverse, less polluted and all-around more tourist friendly.

Columnist Sidin Sunny Vadukut gives us his take on the hue and cry the Indian moral police are forever raising over minor issues.

Sidin documents his intial forays into the SENSEX. Don't miss!

Forget everything you think you know about India. This is Kochi, the southern coast's sybaritic retreat. Tad Friend explores lush backwaters, dabbles in local cooking, and expands his mind through the ayurvedic treatment sirodhara.

In a chat with rediff.com readers, Dr Srikanth Kondapalli, Associate Professor in Chinese Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, analysed the prime minister's trip and offered his opinion on whether the trip was worth all the hoopla.

In a veiled reference to events in Pakistan and perhaps forces at home, Dr Singh said the rise of non-state actors, often based on intolerance, and narrow conceptions of identity, was a threat to all civilised nations.

Adam Gilchrist's decision to move states and stay behind the stumps 13 years ago was rewarded on Saturday when he replaced Ian Healy as Australia's most successful Test wicketkeeper.

India's Ratan Tata aims to transform his once-stodgy conglomerate into a global powerhouse. But can it thrive after he steps down?

Worldwide food demand is growing, and continued economic growth around the world is only going to spur more and more food demand. Once you add the growth in the world population to the mix, you've got one heck of an investment opportunity cropping up (pardon the pun) in the agricultural industry.

Reforms started by Manmohan Singh in 1991 concentrated on things that would help large firms in the private sector. But these moves did not help the poor, says author Rafiq Dossani.

Oxford-educated Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto's clumsy speeches in Urdu, sprinkled with English words, have become a good way to pep up party conversations in Pakistan.

Tata Motors is hot on Renault's heels in a drive to produce and distribute the world's most affordable car in the fast-growing India market.

The organisers said they were expecting Brian Lara, captain of Mumbai Champions, later this week.

Over 1,000 people were feared killed and thousands of others went missing in Bangladesh as one of the deadliest cyclones battered the country's south-western coast, flattening houses and disrupting power supply plunging almost the entire country into darkness.

The Indian ace crushed qualifier Sachin Jadhav 9-2, 9-1, 9-1 to enter the quarter-finals at the Western India Open Squash Championship.

Golconda, and later Hyderabad, is one of the few landlocked urban centres of this sub-continent that reached great heights of prosperity without a major river system or a port next to it.

Written by experts in management, business and strategy, these books promise to be inspiring, informative and educational. Some of them may even be fun reads.

A humourous look at the growing influence of the cultural and moral police.

The way forward is management innovation: new ways of mobilising talent, allocating resources and building strategies.

Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University invites applications for admission to the following academic programme: Five Years BA LLB (Hons) Programme

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday the vibrant western Indian state has become India's special economic zone, attracting both foreign and domestic investors.

IT company Mastek has been commissioned to evolve a toll system that would make it mandatory for motorists to pay a premium for using the road infrastructure during busy times.