Varanasi, Dec 11 : Varanasi, famous for silk, is fast emerging as a market for the traditional Tibetan robes.

Tibetan robes made of brocket cloth and peacock feather has been given a special place in Buddhist religion. The Buddhist monks consider it as a holy cloth and use it in every religious activity and ceremony.

According to the exporters, the demand of robes made of peacock feathers is high in foreign countries and fetch a good deal of foreign clients.

Gurgaon, Dec 11 : In a comprehensive study, the Everest Group has suggested that South Africa is emerging as credible offshore business destination.

Elaborating on the findings of the study, Nikhil Rajpal, Principal, Everest Group, said, "South Africa presents a significant opportunity for global financial services firms looking to expand their offshore footprint. It offers a 50-60 per cent operating cost savings potential over western markets. Further, we observed that the savings gap between Johannesburg and a low-cost offshore destination like Bangalore has decreased from 30 per cent in 2005 to 15 per cent in 2008 and could further decrease to just
8 per cent in 2012."

The Allahabad High Court has rejected the writ petition filed by Uttar Pradesh Sugar Millers Association regarding the fixation of state advised price (SAP) by UP government. The bench of Mr. Justice Arun Tandon and Mr. Justice Dilip Gupta said that millers have no substantial reason to establish that the prices fixed by the state are illegal. Now, millers will have to pay a SAP of Rs 137.50 per quintal for the rejected variety of cane, Rs 140 for the general variety and Rs 145 for the early variety, as fixed by the government.

Sonouli Border (UP), Dec 10: Despite the frequency of terror attacks in India, security along the Indo-Nepal border has largely gone unchecked.

Residents living in the Sonouli area along Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh say they are worried as there is no mechanism at the border to screen people crossing over into India.

Even after having so many policemen, the Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB), the custom and immigration check posts in the Indian area, tourists from Nepal sitting inside a bus can enter without being checked.

"We are ready to have luggage checked, but these security people demand money. When we ask them to just do their duty, they start abusing us," claimed Anwar Ali, a tourist.

Rampur, Dec. 7 : The old time moviegoers would recall the kind of impact Rampuri knives used to create in the Bollywood films of the 60s and 70s.

These Rampuri ‘Churis’ or knives’ gained nation wide popularity through the tinsel screen when popular Bollywood actors of Madan Puri, Pran, Jeevan, K N Singh, Ansari, Hira Lal, Sajjad and Sheikh Mukhtar flashed them during their unforgettable negative roles.

Agra, Dec. 7 : Taj Mahal, the historical monument of love in Agra city of Uttar Pradesh, has been one of the major tourist attractions not just for the domestic or foreign tourists but also for any world leader visiting India for the first time.

Over the years, the 17th century built Taj Mahal has witnessed a threat to its beauty from rising pollution. Environmentalists and others have expressed serious concerns about the Taj Mahal’s beauty getting affected by rising pollution-level on several occasions.