Planetarium named after Kalpana Chawla attracts hundreds
By Jaideep Sarin

Kurukshetra (Haryana), Jan 4 (IANS) In the land of Kurukshetra, better known for its famous battle in the epic Mahabharata, there's a new attraction for pilgrims and visitors that is emerging as a sort of 21st century pilgrimage centre.

Be it students, teachers, entrepreneurs, non-resident Indians (NRIs), pilgrims coming to this holy town, VIPs and villagers, there is a new must-see for everyone - a planetarium set up by the Haryana government in the ... Read More

Swimming champion drowns while paying homage to 26/11 victims
Mumbai, Dec 30 (IANS) Maharashtra swimming champion Vinod Ghadge, who was swimming in the Arabian Sea early Tuesday to pay homage to the victims of the Nov 26 Mumbai terror attacks, got entangled in fishing nets and drowned, police said.

Ghadge, 50, plunged into the cold water of the Arabian sea at Dharamtar village in Raigad, about 36 km from here, at about 2.30 a.m. He intended to swim to the Gateway of India.

However, around ... Read More

Singer, actress Eartha Kitt dies at 81
Washington, Dec 26 (DPA) Eartha Kitt, the sultry singer and actress who played the popular character of Catwoman in the Batman television series, has died at the age of 81 in New York, her publicist said Thursday.

Kitt was being treated for colon cancer, her publicist Patty Freedman told broadcaster CNN. Her daughter Kitt Shapiro was with her at the time.

Kitt, who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance ... Read More

A year on, Bhutto killing unresolved
By Muhammad Najeeb

Islamabad, Dec 25 (IANS) The mystery of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination remains unresolved as her first death anniversary approaches, though police and Scotland Yard experts say she died after her head hit the sunroof lever of her costly and bomb proof Toyota Land Cruiser.

Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack Dec 27 last year when she was leaving after addressing an election rally in the adjacent garrison town Rawalpindi. ... Read More

PM condoles death of former Tripura chief minister
New Delhi, Jan 5 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday condoled the death of former Tripura Chief Minister Sudhir Ranjan Majumdar, describing him as a politician who set “high standards for political debate” and actively worked to promote “good governance”.

“In his death the country has lost a well known personality whose contribution to public life, particularly in the north-eastern parts of the country, would be long remembered,” said Manmohan Singh in his condolence message.

“He ... Read More

Former Tripura chief minister dies
Agartala, Jan 4 (IANS) Two prominent leaders of Tripura, former chief minister Sudhir Ranjan Majumder and veteran Communist leader Swaraijam Kamini Thakur Singh, died Sunday.

Majumder, 74, is survived by his wife. Elected to the Tripura assembly four times and to the Rajya Sabha once, he was suffering from diabetes and old age ailments.

He headed the Congress-Tripura Upajati Juba Samity (TUJS) coalition government in 1988-92.

Singh, a veteran leader of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) ... Read More

Olympian footballer Mewalal is dead
Kolkata, Dec 27 (IANS) Former Olympian footballer Sahu Mewalal, revered for his scoring ability, died at a state-run city hospital early Saturday following old age complications.

A lethal centre forward in the five-strong attack formation of yore, Mewalal, 82, left behind his wife, a son and two daughters.

Mewalal turned out in the national colours in the London Olympics, 1948, and Helsinki Olympics, 1952, besides playing a key role netting four goals in the Indian team's ... Read More

Sheila showed the way
Dr. Sheila Basrur of Toronto was often called, very appropriately, the “diminutive dynamo” that helped to prevent thousands of deaths from SARS (a flu-like illness that forced a World Health Organization travel advisory against Toronto). Sheila, the daughter of Parvati from Kerala and Vasant Basrur from Karnataka became a hero in the war against SARS though unfortunately she could not win her battle against cancer.

The Ontario Ministry of Health is to honour the memory of ... Read More