India

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Mumbai Slums Cheer Millionaire
 Mumbai Slums Cheer Millionaire 
Feb 23, 2009 8:07 AM CST

Mumbai Slums Cheer Millionaire

(Newser) - Children broke into Bollywood dance numbers in the narrow lanes of a teeming Mumbai slum today, as they gathered to watch Slumdog Millionaire's domination of the Oscars. Two of Slumdog's child actors, Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, hail from this desperately poor neighborhood, and their every appearance elicited squeals...

Slumdog Kids Are Oscar-Bound

(Newser) - A world away from the slums where they live, the young stars of Slumdog Millionaire cruised Mumbai in an air-conditioned Toyota today, doing last-minute shopping and getting advice on the unimaginable: air travel. The Slumdog kids had just got the good news—they were going to the Oscars. "I...

Heirs Decry 'Immoral' Sale of Gandhi's Stuff

'Insult' to India 'must be stopped,' says great-grandson

(Newser) - Mahatma Gandhi’s heirs have slammed a New York auction of his few belongings, calling it “immoral,” the Daily Telegraph reports. “It must be stopped," said Gandhi’s great-grandson. "It would be a grave insult to the nation if these items”—including sandals, pocket...

Indian Women Fight Back With Pink Panties

Women fight back after Hindu extremists vow to disrupt Valentine's Day

(Newser) - An extremist group opposed to young couples in India celebrating Valentine's Day is being deluged by pink panties, reports Radio Netherlands. The protest—organized after members of Sri Ram Sena attacked women drinking in pubs and vowed similar action today—seems light on the surface but actually is a sign...

Gandhi's Spectacles for Sale
 Gandhi's Spectacles for Sale 
Feb 12, 2009 10:16 PM CST

Gandhi's Spectacles for Sale

Glasses and other items to be auctioned

(Newser) - Mahatma Gandhi's handful of possessions—his signature round-lens eyeglasses, simple sandals, bowl, plate, and pocket watch—are to be sold at auction in New York next month. Although he had far fewer possessions than Jackie O, the BBC reports the auction is likely to attract just as much attention as...

India to Sell Cow Pee Soda

 India to Sell 
 Cow Pee Soda 
Feb 12, 2009 11:56 AM CST

India to Sell Cow Pee Soda

Nationalists push drink as Coke, Pepsi rival

(Newser) - India's largest Hindu nationalist group is taking on Coke and Pepsi with a native brew that's a little, uh, earthier: a soft drink made from cow urine. "Don't worry, it won't smell like urine and will be tasty, too," its maker assures the Times. The so-called cow water—...

Pakistan Admits Mumbai Attack Plot; Prosecutes 8

Minister prepares to prosecute 8 suspects

(Newser) - Pakistan's interior minister conceded today that last year's Mumbai attacks were at least partly planned in his country, reports the BBC. At a news conference, Rehman Malik said he had begun legal proceedings against eight suspects, two of whom remain at large. While the minister admitted that "some part...

A Kiss Is Not Just a Kiss: Indian Court

Criminal charge against couple dismissed

(Newser) - A married couple accused of obscenity for allegedly kissing in public have been cleared by a judge in Delhi, reports the BBC, where public displays of affection are considered scandalous. The couple was arrested at a railroad station where they claim they were photographing themselves with a cellphone. A conviction...

India to Unveil $10 Laptop
 India to Unveil $10 Laptop 
Feb 2, 2009 2:06 PM CST

India to Unveil $10 Laptop

Low-cost computer is part of plan to update nation's colleges

(Newser) - India’s government will launch an ultra-cheap laptop computer tomorrow as part of a new initiative to update the nation’s educational system, the Guardian reports. The Sakshat will sell for $10 (500 rupees), a price India hopes will be accessible for most students. The laptop is the centerpiece of...

Slumdog Makers Say Kids Weren't Exploited

Filmmakers deny they underpaid children

(Newser) - The creators of Slumdog Millionaire are taking the offensive to rebut accusations that the young Indian actors in their film were exploited, People reports. Claims surfaced earlier this week that two of the child actors, still living in the slums of Mumbai, got a raw deal. But director Danny Boyle...

Slumdog an Evasive Fantasy
 Slumdog an Evasive Fantasy 
OPINION
Jan 27, 2009 3:14 PM CST

Slumdog an Evasive Fantasy

Fairy-tale film's take on 'real India' has 'conveniently fluid notion of reality'

(Newser) - Slumdog Millionaire wants to be a portrait of the “real India” and a fairy tale at the same time, but director Danny Boyle’s combination is “dissonant to the point of incoherence,” writes Dennis Lim in Slate. It portrays life in the slums in brilliant color, and...

Indian Leader in ICU After Heart Surgery

PM's illness highlights lack of succession law, aging Cabinet

(Newser) - Indian PM Manmohan Singh is in intensive care as he recovers from heart bypass surgery, reports the Times of London, highlighting the country's lack of succession law and stoking fears about its preparedness for another terrorist attack. The foreign minister is acting as leader while a special committee has control...

Slum Dwellers Protest Slumdog
 Slum Dwellers Protest Slumdog 
Jan 22, 2009 12:56 PM CST

Slum Dwellers Protest Slumdog

Slum residents feel film's title is demeaning

(Newser) - Slumdog Millionaire has drawn widespread critical praise and earned 10 Oscar nominations today, but some residents of Mumbai slums find the title insulting, the AP reports. Protesters demonstrated outside the office of Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, who appears in the film, holding signs saying "Poverty For Sale" and "...

Heart 'Time Bomb' Ticking for 60M

1 in 100 have mutant gene that increases risk sevenfold

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a mutant gene carried by 1% of the population which almost guarantees heart disease in later life, reports the BBC. Some 60 million people have the genetic time bomb, including 4% of the total population of India. The gene increases the risk of heart disease sevenfold, according...

Delhi Bans Plastic Bags
 Delhi Bans Plastic Bags 
Jan 16, 2009 3:16 PM CST

Delhi Bans Plastic Bags

After time for plan to phase in, penalties will include 5 years in jail

(Newser) - Officials in Delhi have banned the “use, storage, and sale” of plastic bags, the Guardian reports, after Indian environmentalists warned about the dangers of the non-biodegradable bags. Violators could be imprisoned for up to 5 years and fined over $2,000. Plastic bags have become a staple in Delhi...

Pakistan Busts 124 Linked to Mumbai Attacks

Founder of group fingered in attacks among detained

(Newser) - Pakistan has arrested 124 people in a crackdown on groups linked to November's Mumbai terror attacks, reports AP. India has insisted that the days-long siege of its commercial capital that killed 164 was plotted in Pakistan. But Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said today that India needed to provide more...

'India's Enron' Imperils Booming Industry

$1B scandal threatens India's role as major outsourcing center for top companies

(Newser) - A $1 billion accounting fraud at Satyam is being described as India's Enron, and it could have a major impact on how Fortune 500 companies use Indian companies for outsourcing critical computer and IT functions, reports the Financial Times. The CEO of Satyam, India’s fourth-largest IT services company, resigned...

Pakistan Admits Mumbai Gunman Is Citizen

Concession comes after India shares 100-page evidence dossier

(Newser) - The Pakistani government finally admitted today that the lone surviving gunman from November’s Mumbai attacks is its citizen, the BBC reports. It’s the first time India’s rival conceded a connection to the terrorist siege, despite weeks of heavy US pressure to comply. The foot-dragging was partly to...

India Offers Evidence Tying Pakistan to Mumbai Attacks

Materials include talks with gunman, phone data

(Newser) - India gave Pakistan the most detailed evidence yet that, it says, ties the militants who attacked Mumbai to "elements" in Pakistan, responding today to weeks of demands from Islamabad for proof of such claims. India has blamed the November attacks that killed 164 people on Pakistani-based militants, but Islamabad...

Brit's Beau Meets Folks— or Is This a Hoax?

Sources place Sandip in US, but reports say it's all phony

(Newser) - It seems like only yesterday Britney was shaving her head and dating bad boys—now she’s (supposedly) cooking dinner and introducing her new boyfriend to her parents, the Daily Mirror reports. A source claims Bollywood choreographer Sandip Soparrkar flew to the US to spend New Year’s Eve with...

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