In a well choreographed job swap, Russian strongman Vladimir Putin is set to return as president for a third term in March 2012 after a key endorsement from incumbent Dmitry Medvedev who will run for premiership this year.
As Guinness World Records turns 60 this year, Rediff.com takes a look at some of the weirder records that are featured in the new edition.
Pakistan's powerful Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani told a top American diplomat that his establishment wanted the resumption of back channel talks with India, but President Asif Ali Zardari was against it, according to a secret United States cable leaked by WikiLeaks.
Paris tourist sites reopened, workers cleaned up broken glass and shop owners tried to put the city on its feet again, a day after running battles between yellow-vested protesters and riot police left 71 injured and caused widespread damage to the French capital. Take a look at the widespread damage caused to the city during the protests.
Karun Chandhok has a good chance of racing in next month's inaugural Indian Formula One Grand Prix, Team Lotus owner Tony Fernandes said.
He might be a pariah in West Indies cricket right now but explosive batsman Chris Gayle was the toast of the annual Players Association awards, walking away with the 'Cricketer of the Year' trophy along with another honour.
Secunderabad-born and raised Dr Sridhar Kota, 52, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has become American President Barack Obama's point man for developing policy on manufacturing in the White House.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had wanted to retain military ruler Pervez Musharraf's close aide Tariq Aziz as a key Pakistani interlocutor for India but the move was opposed by Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a United States diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks has said.
Former Australia Test cricketer Terry Jenner, who mentored spin-bowling great Shane Warne, died at the age of 66 on Wednesday.
Images from day two of the 2011 French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, on Monday.
Just two months before she was killed in a terror attack, former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto had approached the United States ambassador in Islamabad, asking for help to evaluate her personal security. But her request was ignored, the latest cables published by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks have revealed. Bhutto handed over a written request to US Ambassador Anne W Patterson two months before she was killed, asking her to carry out an evaluation of the security
'If the almost literally heart-stopping Suez block has any positive outcome, it is to be hoped that it will accelerate the setting up of a fab (perhaps Taiwanese) in India,' asserts Rajeev Srinivasan.
The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) has hit back at allegations of poor administration and a lack of controls by a former official, insisting the authority's practices meet global standards.
Eighth seed Petra Kvitova kept her nerve to outgun and outplay favourite Maria Sharapova and win the Wimbledon singles title for the first time with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory on Saturday.
He also said that India is in touch with other member countries of the multilateral body in this matter.
Former Australia Test cricketer Terry Jenner, who mentored spin-bowling great Shane Warne, died at the age of 66 on Wednesday.
Get your low down on what's happening in the world of Malayalam cinema, right here!
'Since when have our concert audiences become so intolerant?' the legend asks Subhash K Jha.
Star Indian woman basketball player Geethu Anne Jose, the first from the country to be invited to the WNBA for a tryout, managed to impress the coaches of all three teams she trialled for with her "fundamentals".
Writer-director Ranjith Sankar talks about his second Malayalam film.
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The star athlete recalled that during the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984, where she missed a medal by one-hundredth of a second, she was forced to eat just rice porridge with pickle at the Games Village.
The prime minister wrote on Twitter, 'Sir VS Naipaul will be remembered for his extensive works, which covered diverse subjects ranging from history, culture, colonialism, politics and more.'
Incredible images depicting the scientific world give a beautiful insight into the academic world. A shortlist of images from the Royal Photographic Society's science photographer of the year competition has been released and includes images from the macroscopic to the microscopic. The winning images will be revealed in October to coincide with the opening of the free exhibition. The Science Photographer of the Year exhibition will run at the Science Museum from October 7-January 5.
Former Wimbledon champion Anne Jones was among British sports personalities included in the United Kingdom's New Year's honours list on Monday.
Here's what your favourite Hollywood stars have been up to.
The dismal show by the Indian women'team continued at the FIH Women's Champions Challenge 1 hockey tournament in Dublin, Ireland as they lost 0-2 to South Africa in a 5-8 position match, on Saturday.
MPs Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker and Ann Coffey held a press conference in London to tell reporters that they would sit as a separate independent group within Britain's Parliament.
After a boring first half, Venom takes off after an alien organism named Venom takes over Tom Hardy's body, observes Namrata Thakker.
The GSA is the federal government's real estate and procurement manager, and as Regional Administrator, Kalayil will be responsible for an inventory of 128 federal buildings, 986 leased locations and 11 US land ports of entry on the Canadian border.
What is a migrant going through today on the walk home? What is it like to be a Muslim and watch the news on television every night in India? Is there a bureaucrat who is noting down the absurdity of what is announced and what is actually happening in her domain? A medical resident who has gone through three weeks of 12-hour shifts while her seniors abstain from coming to the Covid hospital? They may be our everyday experiences, but they are how history will understand what happened to us all in this strange and surreal time, points out Aakar Patel.
Members of the legislative assembly from the Bharatiya Janata Party and National Panthers Party staged a protest outside the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Friday morning against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's remarks over the state's accession to India
"We extend our deepest apology to Pakistan and the families of the Frontier Scouts who were killed and injured. Pakistan's brave security forces are our allies in a war that threatens both Pakistan and the US," Ambassador Anne Patterson said in a statement in Islamabad.
Anna Hazare's close aide and former 'super cop' Kiran Bedi tells Sriram Balasubramanian that their anti-corruption movement has just begun, and gives full credit to the youth and people of India who made it 'their' movement.
Munter, confirmed by the US Senate last week, would replace Anne Paterson in Islamabad.
The Malayalam film will see Augustine's daughter, Ann making her acting debut.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge will provide a much-needed lift for the troubled Commonwealth Games when he visits the site of the multi-sports gathering on Friday.
Get your lowdown on what's happening in the world of Hollywood, right here!
Usain Bolt negotiated a series of delays and a false start in his own race before easily winning his quarter-final of the 100m in 10.15 seconds at Jamaica's national championships on Friday.
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