New Delhi - Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who was forced to leave India earlier this year, has returned to renew her visa which is due to expire on Tuesday.

Nasreen, author of controversial book Lajja (Shame), had to leave India in March after violent protests by sections of people in the eastern city of Kolkata, which she has made her home in exile for many years.

New Delhi, August 9 : Huang Qijun, the 45-year-old maker of the Xiangyun (lucky clouds) torch, actually heaved a sigh of relief when it lit the Olympic cauldron on Friday night.

He was the one who produced the safety lantern and community cauldrons used in every relay, and accompanied the torch from Greece to Beijing.

"I instantly felt relaxed. I was exhausted, but also excited. My job is done," the China Daily quoted him as saying during an interview, after the cauldron was ignited.

Throughout the torch’s journey from Greece to Beijing, Huang kept the lowest profile.

New Delhi, August 9 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday blamed the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-led Congress government for the ongoing row over the controversial revocation of the forestland allotted to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

Addressing a party rally in New Delhi on Saturday, senior leader L. K. Advani alleged that the decision of the Jammu and Kashmir government to rescind the allotment of forestland to SASB was not its own but it was taken on the directions of the Central government.

New Delhi, Aug 9: An all-party delegation led by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil will visit Jammu and Srinagar today to end the Amarnath land transfer row.

The visit is being undertaken after deliberations in the all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The all-party meeting had issued a joint appeal for the restoration of peace and normalcy in the State and to create an environment for the suspension of the agitation.

New Delhi  - India's Supreme Court Friday approved two controversial mining and steel projects in the eastern state of Orissa that were delayed owing to protests from tribal people and farmers, media reports said.

The court in New Delhi allowed British metal and mining group Vedanta Resources to go ahead with its 800-million-dollar bauxite mining project in the Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district in south-western Orissa, the NDTV network reported.

The apex court had barred the company from mining in November following protests by the Dongria Kondh tribe who consider the Niyamgiri hills sacred.

New Delhi, August 8 : Police detain hundreds of angry Tibetan refugees attempting to storm Chinese embassy in New Delhi.

Police detained hundreds of angry Tibetan refugees attempting to storm Chinese embassy in New Delhi on Friday, coinciding their protest with the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Scores of Tibetans shouting anti-China slogans braved heavy rains to protest against the Olympics being staged by China.