“First it was Preity’s darshan now I go for Priyadarshan,” joked Akshay Kumar from South Africa where after suddenly attending an IPL match he was off to Singapore to shoot with Priyadarshan.

If after vowing not to be any part of the IPL in South Africa Akshay Kumar was seen at the IPL match in Cape Town last Sunday it was because of Delhi.

Apparently Akshay had made it clear that he wouldn’t be any part of the games although pals Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty were involved.

But Delhi did the trick for Akshay.

Mumbai, Apr 24: Samajwadi Party (SP) General Secretary Amar Singh on Friday said his party would support Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar as Prime Minister.

“The NCP is expected to win at least 15 of 21 seats in Maharashtra. Nobody can become Prime Minister with support of 15 MPs. But Pawar is one such person who has friends and supporters in all political parties. The SP will extend support to Pawar as Prime Ministerial candidate,” Singh said during a roadshow here.

Srinagar, Apr 24: The Jammu and Kashmir horticulture department has introduced biodegradable bags for farmers in the Kashmir Valley to reduce pollution levels.

The initiative aims at making the orchards and agricultural lands pollution free. The department is distributing these eco- friendly bags among farmers and orchard workers, so that they can realize its benefits and use them more often.

New Delhi - Five members of a family were trampled to death on Friday by wild elephants that went on a rampage in a village in India's north-eastern state of Assam, a news report said.

Wildlife officials told the IANS news agency that two elephants strayed into a village in the western Dhubri district late on Thursday night.

"The elephants first tore apart a mud-and-thatch hut and killed a woman and her two children," Syed Isfaqur Rehman, a local offical told IANS.

Imphal, April 24 : Theatre art has been known for raising current issues and creating social awareness among people through entertainment.

In Manipur, theatre artistes are highlighting current issues.

This was witnessed recently on the occasion of World Theatre Day 2009 here, which was organised by Theatre Centre in partnership with the Public Theatre Artiste Association and Manipur State Kala Academy at Nambol Phoijing to promote and encourage the art form.

Kolkata, Apr 24 : Congress leader and Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma on Friday said that India wanted protection and safe passage only for civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka and not the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Sharma further said that while it was imperative that the Sri Lankan government paid heed to India's request regarding the safety of civilians, it was also important for the LTTE to allow safe passage to civilians.