New Delhi: Noted authors Keki N. Daruwalla and Amit Chaudhuri are among the four Indians nominated for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2010.  
Besides Daruwalla’s For Pepper and Christ and Chaudhuri’s The Immortals, authors Rana Dasgupta and Chandrahas Chowdhury have also been nominated for their books Solo and Arzee the Dwarf, respectively.

London: Lionel Jeffries, whose numerous film roles included Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, has died at age 83. Jeffries, who also wrote and directed the 1971 film The Railway Children, died on Friday morning following a long illness, according to his representative, the Liz Hobbs Group.

New Delhi: Diplomacy tends to be practised in a rather predictable way. But now, minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor has come up with a new concept — dance diplomacy. “I wanted to give diplomats a feel of our precious cultural heritage. Diplomacy tends to be practised in rather predictable patterns and I wanted to break free of the mould and try something different,” said the minister, who hosted an evening of Bharatanatyam dance at Ganesa Natyalaya in the capital on Thursday. “This is the first time I am experimenting with familiarising ambassadors with Indian culture, I hope it becomes a sustained process,” he said.   

Los Angeles: Music legend Elton John has stirred a controversy after claiming that Jesus Christ was gay.
In an interview given to America’s Parade magazine, the 62-year-old singer said, “I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.”
“Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don’t know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the West Asia, you’re as good as dead,” John added.

Mumbai ,FILM, TELEVISION and theatre actor Nirmal Pandey passed away after he suffered from a cardiac arrest on his way to Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri, Mumbai on Thursday. He was being taken to the hospital after he complained of a sudden uneasiness. He was 48 and is survived by his wife Archana Pandey.

London: Venice has a new tourist attraction now, none other than Hollywood’s first family Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie who have moved to the city along their colourful family of six children. After keeping a low-profile amid reports of an impending split, the couple have decided to shift base to Italy’s canal city for a three-month stint while Jolie films her new movie The Tourist there.

New York: India-born fashion designer and convicted rapist Anand Jon Alexander says his legal bills have exhausted his fortune, but Manhattan prosecutors aren’t so sure.

New York: Barbara Walters says her Oscar interview special in March will be her last, ending a 29-year tradition.
Walters made the announcement on Monday on her weekday talk show, The View. She says she feels like she has “been there, done that.”

London: Indians figure among the first ten in the list of the most attractive-looking people in the world while Americans top the chart, a new survey has found.

New York: Barbara Walters says her Oscar interview special in March will be her last, ending a 29-year tradition.
Walters made the announcement on Monday on her weekday talk show, The View. She says she feels like she has “been there, done that.”