The creation of a new Telangana state, on Friday received the backing of film actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi's fledgling Praja Rajyam, thus mounting pressure on ruling Congress, the only major stakeholder in Andhra Pradesh resisting the popular demand.

Addressing a gathering at Jagityal in Karimnagar, a seat represented in the Lok Sabha by TRS Chief K Chandrasekhara Rao, Chiranjeevi said his party would not stand in the way of a long-standing demand. He is the latest politician to become a Telangana proponent, just days after TDP chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu also did a U-turn on the issue.

Responding to the well-wishes, prayers and neighborhood vigils, the Hudson family will hold an open community memorial in memory for actor Jennifer Hudson's slain mother, brother and nephew at Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church on 2nd November at 4:00 p. m. Hudson's aunt and owner of Chicago's Hudson Funeral Home, who is handling both the public and private services arrangements, said the service will be preceded by an hour-long private service at the church.

Terkel, popularly known as Studs Terkel, who won the Pulitzer prize for his oral history 'The Good War' in which he chronicled World War II, died aged 96 at his Chicago home. He was also famous for his narratives of US history through personal stories from a cross-section of society, in books like 'Working' and ' Division Street : America' . According to his son, Terkel led an eventful, tempestuously satisfying life, entertaining listeners for four decades on his Chicago based radio show.

With 'Fun and Games' as the theme stated by Chandigarh's home and tourism secretary Ram Niwas, the two-day Chandigarh Carnival will be celebrated on November 22 and 23.

The Carnival, a yearly feature, will be inaugurated by UT Administrator, General S F Rodrigues (retd), at 11 am on November 22 at Leisure Valley, Sector 10.

In a rare gesture, Shah Rukh Khan, SRK, has given start-to-finish dates to dear friend Karan Johar for the shooting of his forthcoming film 'My Name Is Khan'. The shooting is expected to begin early next year, and the film will be released in summer.

According to reports, King Khan has a jam-packed schedule next year, and the back-to-back dates have come as a big surprise!

After a long debate that spanned for years, the government has finally given its approval for the introduction of the Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2008. At the same time, however, the government has also conceded that the bill may not be passed by the present Lok Sabha owing to lack of time.

The Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, told news reporters on Friday that the decision of the approval of the bill was taken on the basis of the recommendation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to study the issue.