Dead diva’s mum denied over $100,000 she wanted for holiday

May 16th, 2009 GHAZIABAD - A man wanted in over 25 criminal cases was shot dead here in a gunbattle with police early Saturday, officials said. 'At around 4.00 a.m.

March 13th, 2009 LONDON - He may have been affected by the global meltdown, but billionaire owner of the Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, has decided to fork out an astonishing 60 million pounds to buy a Caribbean estate. Abramovich is estimated to have lost two thirds of his 15 billion pound fortune, but has still "fallen in love" with the two-acre plot on St Barts.

March 9th, 2009 TEL AVIV - Israel is to close down access to and from the Palestinian territory of the West Bank for the duration of the Jewish Purim holiday, security authorities in Tel Aviv have announced. From midnight Sunday until early Thursday morning the Israel Defence Force (IDF) will implement a 'general closure', as the Purim holiday is, in its assessment, a 'highly sensitive period in terms of the security risk', the army said in a statement.

February 14th, 2009 LONDON - Pop divas Mariah Carey, Faith Hill and Gwen Stefani are sharing their love for music with fans on new, exclusive one-of-a-kind iPods. The divas have filled iPods with their own downloaded delights as part of a fundraising effort to benefit Music Rising, an organisation that replaces lost or destroyed instruments in the hurricane-affected Gulf Coast region, reports contactmusic.com.

February 10th, 2009 LUCKNOW - A criminal wanted by the police of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 19 criminal cases was Wednesday shot dead in a gun battle with police, an official said. Rinku Tiwari alias Satyendra Tiwari was gunned down by the sleuths of the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Uttar Pradesh Police, near Atrakhari locality in Varanasi district, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Brij Lal told reporters here.

February 10th, 2009 MUMBAI - Industrialist Vijay Mallya, chairman of Force India Formula Team, has roped in actress Deepika Padukone to be the face of his team. Deepika said, if she could manage time from her busy Bollywood schedule, she would love to be one of the team's 'speed divas' and travel around the world for the Formula One Grand Prix event 2009.

January 20th, 2009 TEHRAN - About 100,000 students have signed up in Iran to launch 'martyrdom seeking operations', Iran's IRNA news agency reported Wednesday. 'Based on latest statistics, 100,000 students have signed up the list in `Labayk Ya Khamenei' Martyrdom Seeking Battalions,' head of Student Basij Organisation Reza Seraj said while addressing a group of students outside the former US embassy in Tehran Tuesday.

January 18th, 2009 MUMBAI - People from Uttar Pradesh (UP) have been threatened once again by Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) - this time over the proposed celebration here of 'Uttar Pradesh Divas', the state's foundation day. MNS has put up posters in some parts of south Mumbai, indicating the consequences if people from Uttar Pradesh decide to celebrate UTTar Pradesh (UP) Divas here Saturday (Jan 24).

January 17th, 2009 GHAZIABAD - A man who was wanted by the Bihar police for cases of murder and extortion was shot dead in a gunbattle with the police near here early Sunday, officials said. 'Three men near Nizampur locality on National Highway 24, did not stop their car when signalled by the police at about 3 a.m.,' Superintendent of Police (Rural) Jagdish Sharma said.

January 11th, 2009 AGRA - A man wanted for the murder of a youth leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) was Monday shot dead by the police here. Sanju Pandit was killed in a shootout when he was entering Agra.

January 9th, 2009 CHENNAI - Mauritius will join South Africa in calling for India to have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. That was the firm view of the Mauritian President of the Global Organisation for People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) Mahendra Utchanah.

January 8th, 2009 CHENNAI - The following are some of the highlights of the seventh edition of the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas that concluded here Friday: - Nearly 1,500 delegates from 48 countries - Maximum number of 270 delegates from Malaysia followed by 127 from the US - Thirteen prominent Indians abroad presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman - The Global Indian Knowledge Network launched to create a virtual think tank by connecting the diaspora - Qualified professional holding overseas citizen of India card can soon practice in India - Smart card to be issued to all Indian workers immigrating from June 1 - Diaspora recognises that India's growth story remains positive and presents them opportunities for investing - Consensus for increased diaspora participation in health, education and rural development under public-private partnership - Chief ministers and senior cabinet members of six states outline opportunities during separate interactions with delegates

January 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - Security has been tightened here amid reports of a threat to top leaders attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the annual diaspora meet organised by the government from Wednesday. 'Though most threats are hoaxes, we take all information seriously.

January 4th, 2009 LUCKNOW - A man wanted in cases of murder, extortion and abduction was shot dead in a gunbattle with the police in Uttar Pradesh Monday, officials said. 'Sundar Pandit, who carried a reward of Rs.10,000 was shot dead in Muzaffarnagar district.

December 29th, 2008 PATNA - A village in Bihar's Gaya district remained tense Tuesday, a day after a group of Hindus stopped Muslims from burying two of their dead due to a dispute over the graveyard land, police said. Muslims of Madhav Bigha village in Gaya, about 100 km from here, were angry after two of their dead were denied burial in the graveyard by some Hindus Monday.