SHIVA and Lina Gautam travelled from Kathmandu in 1996 with the lofty ambition of opening a Nepalese restaurant.

Madagascar Vanilla at one at the Terra Madre event.

The reaction of the major faiths to intimate acts ranges from the bizarre to the insane, writes Suzanne Harrington

Amy Winehouse's family and friends celebrated her life at her favourite jazz club last night.

THE grief-stricken father of singer Amy Winehouse told her to “sleep tight” as her family and friends said their last goodbyes.

Portraying a modern Venus with flowing tresses and a golden mini dress, supermodel Gisele Bundchen blew kisses to thousand of roaring fans as the featured performer of the Carnival samba club Vila Isabel.

A stampede at a temple in north India today left three women dead and at least 50 others injured.

More than a million devout Hindus plunged into the sacred waters of the Ganges River today, the last bathing day of a pilgrimage aimed at cleansing believers of their sins.

NEPAL plans to investigate whether a centuries-old tradition of worshipping a virgin girl as a “living goddess” or Kumari has violated the child’s human rights, a senior official said yesterday.

India test-fired its most sophisticated short-range missile in the east of the country today, a news agency reported.

India tested its most sophisticated short-range missile today, according to reports.

Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians make sense of great loss differently, writes Kenneth Woodward.

PAKISTAN-BASED Muslim militants were blamed for an ambush on Hindu pilgrims in Indian Kashmir that left at least nine dead and 27 injured yesterday.

At least eight people were killed and 12 seriously injured today when suspected Islamic militants lobbed a grenade and opened fire on a group of Hindu pilgrims in disputed Kashmir, Indian police said.

Two artists have depicted the Beckhams as Hindu deities.

Four ash-smeared warrior priests rode horses to the bank of the Ganges to mark one of the holiest days of the Hindu festival, the Kumbh Mela.