New Delhi, May 20 : India and China Monday stressed on maintaining peace and tranquility along their border and on boosting trade ties, including inviting Chinese firms to invest in India in infrastructure development and increasing banking and financial cooperation.

In a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, both sides reaffirmed that they view each other as "partners for mutual benefit and not as rivals or competitors".

New Delhi, May 20 : Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Monday met United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

The premier spent around 40 minutes at Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence, said a party source.

Earlier, opposition leader Sushma Swaraj called on Li. After meeting Gandhi, Li called on Vice President Hamid Ansari.(IANS)

New Delhi, May 20 : India and Britain have signed an agreement for cooperation in the health sector with specific focus on strengthening primary health care and technological development, an official said here Monday.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad and Britain's secretary for health Jeremy Richard Hunt Sunday evening at Geneva, the official said.

New Delhi, May 20 : The BCCI's anti-corruption unit head Monday met the Delhi Police chief seeking cooperation in the spot-fixing scandal and also requested the Rajasthan Royals franchise to file a First Information Report
(FIR) against the three tainted players.

Speaking to reporters after the half-hour meeting with Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) chief Ravi Sawani said the meeting was "successful" and the police chief had "assured cooperation".

New Delhi, May 20 : Text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement to the media Monday on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to India:

It is an honour for me to welcome Premier Li on his first official visit to India. It has been an immense pleasure to get to know him personally. I sincerely appreciate his reaching out to me on his first day in office and his choosing India as his first foreign destination as Premier.

New Delhi, May 20 : You wear gold bangles, necklaces and earrings, but how about drinking some gold? 51 Buckingham Gate, part of The Taj Group of Hotels, and Luxor Champagne, has introduced a 24 karat gold afternoon tea, which includes edible gold.

The special tea, launched in Britain, features half a bottle of sparkling wine Luxor pure gold 24 karat Brut Champagne, which includes flakes of 24 karat gold. The offering is targeted at London's afternoon tea aficionados, according to a statement.

New Delhi, May 20 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that India and China's relationship is essential for stability and prosperity in Asia and the world, while stressing the need "for an early resolution of the boundary dispute.

"There are many areas of convergence between us. We agreed that the relationship is of growing significance and essential for peaceful development and stability and prosperity in the region and the world," Manmohan Singh said after the two countries signed many economic agreements here on the first international visit of Chinese premier Li Keqiang.

New Delhi, May 20 : India and China do have "difficult issues left over from history" but are destined to exist together, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in a published article Monday.

Writing in The Hindu newspaper, Li warned that there would be no Asian century if India and China failed to live in harmony and achieve common development.

"There is no denying that China and India still have between them some difficult issues left over from history," he said in the article titled "A handshake across the Himalayas".

New Delhi, May 19 : Justice delayed is justice denied.  Nowhere this rings truer than in India where a staggering 30 million cases are said to be pending in the country's courts today.  And to tackle this intimidating problem requires comprehensive judicial reform, more judges of quality and improvement of the judicial infrastructure, jurists say.

"We need more quality judges who should be appointed through a transparent selection process and who are accountable for their actions," noted lawyer and transparency activist Prashant Bhushan said.

New Delhi, May 19 : Women find men with styled facial hair more attractive and look for partners with body grooming habits, underlined by the belief that excessive body hair is unattractive, says a survey conducted by Philips India in collaboration with research agency Hansa.

The survey was conducted among 600 respondents between the ages of 15 and 25 in New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Chandigarh.

New Delhi, May 19 : Armed with "scientific evidence" that the African cheetah is "not an alien species" and can survive in India, the government is planning to petition the Supreme Court to allow the import of the animal that became extinct 60 years ago.

The environment ministry's proposal comes after the apex court last month quashed the Rs. 300 crore project to import and re-introduce the Namibian cheetah in India. The court had termed the environment ministery's decision as "arbitrary and illegal" and a clear violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.

New Delhi, May 18 : The recent incursion by Chinese troops cast a "pretty dark shadow" on India-China relations, but the issue was handled "maturely" by both and probably Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will "get a chance to explain why, what happened" during his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources said Saturday.

New Delhi, 18 May 18 : Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar Saturday left for Belarus leading an Indian parliamentary delegation to the east European country.

According to an official release, the delegation will call on Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich and chairman of the house of representatives of the national assembly Vladimir Andreichenko.

Meira Kumar will address the faculty and students of the academy of public administration in Belarus.

New Delhi, May 18 : Arjun Kapoor-starrer “Aurangzeb” has drawn a decent response at the box office with an opening day collection of Rs. 3.75 crore.

The film, made on a budget of Rs. 25 crore has managed good business in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and East Punjab territory, said a statement.

"Aurangzeb", a film from Yash Raj Film's stable, tells the story about the land mafia.

Directed by Atul Sabharwal, it also features Jackie Shroff, Rishi Kapoor, southern actor Prithviraj Sukumaran and Amrita Singh. (IANS)

New Delhi, May 18 : Badminton Association of India (BAI) president Akhilesh Das Gupta was Saturday elected to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Executive Council by a record number of votes in the quadrennial elections at Kuala Lumpur.

Das Gupta, a former national player, received the highest number of votes among all the elected members of the council, registering 259 votes out of a maximum of 262.

New Delhi, May 18 : Gemfields, a global coloured gemstone producer, has collaborated with four Indian jewellery designers for a collection of bespoke pieces.

The international brand has collaborated with a total of 36 jewellers. Among these are four from India - Amrapali, Bina Goenka, Farah Khan Ali and The Gem Place. They have used Gemfields' emeralds, rubies and amethysts for special lines.

Amrapali has created a set of necklace and earrings using Gemfields' Mozambican rubies, pearls and diamonds set in yellow gold.

New Delhi, May 18 : Elections have become the biggest source of corruption in India, former chief election commissioner (CEC) S. Y. Quraishi has said, while stressing for the need for poll reforms.

"Elections have become the biggest source of corruption in the country," Quraishi said Friday while delivering a lecture at the British Council here.

"Political power is strong and competition bitter. Involvement of criminals and booth capturing are the challenges," he said.

New Delhi, May 18 : All issues would be on the table, including the India-China boundary question, when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Sunday evening.

Li, who arrives in India Sunday afternoon on a three-day state visit, and Manmohan Singh are also likely to discuss the proposed border defence cooperation agreement during their talks, sources said Saturday.

New Delhi, May 17 : An ever-increasing number of Indians want to indulge in adventure tourism but are deterred by high costs and lack of trust in operators managing such activities in the country, a survey revealed Friday.

'Adventure Travel Survey', conducted by online travel portal TripAdvisor, highlighted the evolving trends and preferences of the Indian traveller.

According to the survey, around 46 percent respondents are willing to try out extreme adventure sports, but 51 percent of them will not participate in adventure activities managed by Indian operators and 60 percent were deterred by high costs.

New Delhi, May 17 : India has told Sri Lanka not to dilute the autonomous powers granted to its Tamil-majority northern province ahead of provincial elections, official sources said Friday.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid also sought the early release of 31 Indian fishermen detained in Sri Lanka.

Khurshid made the observations during a telephonic discussion with his Sri Lankan counterpart G. L. Peiris.

According to the sources, the Indian minister demanded freedom for the 26 Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan prisons.