Snowfall brought cheer to many Kashmiris.

Elana Meyer looks back on the disappointment of missing out on competing internationally because of the sporting boycott of South Africa in conversation with Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi.

Here's your weekly digest of odd photos from around the world.

Two young ski racers training with the US development-level ski team were killed in an avalanche in the Austrian Alps on Monday.

Beautiful movies, from across the world.

Decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Vikrant's voyage came to an end on Friday as workers at the Darukhana ship-breaking yard in Mazgaon docks in Mumbai began scrapping down the warship.

The quest for newer and better adventure destinations are always on the rise. Here are eight such destinations popular, especially among young couples.

The manager of comatose Formula One legend Michael Schumacher has said that there are ''encouraging signs'' in the process of bringing the former German racer out of a medically-induced coma.

Rediff.com has rounded up some of the top moments from the Sochi Winter Olympics. Take a look...

Two of the first six riders in Sunday's opening snowboard cross seeding run were taken away on stretchers after falling heavily, causing concern a day after Russian freestyle skier Maria Komissarova was seriously injured on the same course.

Norway's Kjetil Jansrud sped to Olympic gold in the men's Super-G alpine skiing on Sunday and Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic won the women's snowboarding cross on the testing course where a Russian skier broke her back a day earlier.

Russian Skicross racer Maria Komissarova has been seriously hurt in training with doctors making an immediate decision to operate, the Russian Freestyle Federation said.

Many Olympic ski jumpers have had to alter their routines to ensure they stay sharp for jumping events that start at 9:30 pm local time (1730 GMT) and often do not wrap up until well after midnight.

The International Ski Federation has no concerns about the ski jumps at the Sochi Winter Olympics, a federation spokesman said on Thursday, in the wake of two night-time training crashes, one of which sent an athlete to hospital.

Sochi Winter Olympics organisers are asking volunteers to fill some of the empty seats at venues during competition, they said on Monday.

World No 1 Kamil Stoch shrugged off a bout of sickness on Sunday to easily win the men's Olympic ski jump normal hill title, capturing Poland's first individual Winter Games title since 1972.

The new president of the International Olympic Committee, who will be elected next month, must ensure future Games' hosts comply with human rights according to the Olympic charter, human rights organisations said on Friday.

President Vladimir Putin dismissed a senior Russian Olympic Committee official on Thursday because of delays in construction work for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

President Vladimir Putin told Olympic chiefs on Wednesday that Russia would have its facilities ready in time to host the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, despite rising costs and concerns about corruption and humans rights abuses.

Zara Phillips has pulled her royal weight, helping put Britain in medal contention heading into Tuesday's show jumping final of the three-discipline Olympic equestrian eventing competition.

Chris Gayle smashed his way to an unbeaten 82 as Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed Mumbai Indians by nine wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Mumbai.

Maria Riesch could have been excused for indulging in wild celebrations after outshining Lindsey Vonn by capturing a second Olympic Alpine skiing gold medal on Friday. The modest German, however, refrained from yelling and jumping up and down too much in the finish area after braving awful conditions to claim the final women's event, the slalom.

Images from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Images from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Swiss Simon Ammann won the first gold medal of the Winter Olympics, taking advantage of a poor performance by his Austrian rivals to claim the individual normal hill ski jumping title on Saturday. It was the third Olympic gold for the diminutive 28-year-old Ammann, dubbed Harry Potter because of his owlish looks, who won both individual titles at the 2002 Games but flopped in 2006.

Ending their haggling, India and Russia have finalised a "mutually acceptable" price for Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, its exporter has said, claiming that the Indian navy would practically get a "totally new, state-of-the-art" ship that is seaworthy for 30 years.

In the festive fever ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, netizens have found a way of making the most of their winter holidays through online games.

That investment in the Tejas programme is rooted in the navy's plan to operate both light and medium fighters off its aircraft carriers. The Naval LCA will supplement the heavier Russian MiG-29K, which has already been ordered from Russia.

On Day Three of the Lakme Fashion Week, audience members were treated to an authentic salsa performance in between shows.

Wipro founder and chairman Azim Premji said on Friday that he was 'not hanging up his shoes in a hurry'. He was speaking to the doyens of Indian IT industry and entrepreneurs in New Delhi after receiving the Dataquest Lifetime Achievement Award 2009.

Find out what Cooking With Stella -- one of the Indian movie which is premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival -- is all about.

India's best director on winning his ninth national award.

Melbourne-born Dutch pacer Dirk Nannes said he found it "bizarre" after Australia named him in their Twenty20 team even as his wife was "jumping up and down" at the news.

Chelsea beat Manchester United on penalties to win the Community Shield on Sunday after a feisty 2-2 draw that offered few clues as to the destination of the far bigger prizes to be fought over during the next nine months.

The victim, a 14-year-old girl, was admitted to a hospital last month with symptoms of sore throat, runny nose and headaches, a government statement said.

"At several occasions our leadership has given public statements on the issue. Each and every step in the process of the refit of the aircraft carrier is monitored by Indian navy's technical team and they have never raised objections," Vyacheslav Davidenko, the official spokesman for the Rosoboronexport state corporation, told PTI in Moscow.

Indra Nooyi and Shantanu Narayen have been named among America's '25 Top Gun CEOs' for their outstanding role in turning around the fortunes of their companies during a recession.

An owner of a mechanical workshop in Bangalore has created a small car which needs less space to park. The most striking feature of the two-seater car is its upward opening doors\nwhich not only saves space but also gives protection from the sun and the rain.

Freshly painted in grey, the huge but sleek vessel proudly displaying its new name Vikramaditya in Hindi and English was shown by NTV channel carefully being propelled into the wet dock of the Severodvinsk-based Sevmash Shipyard, where the refit will be continued pending the final price negotiations.

Play in the same places where Olympic athletes made history.