Olympics: Indian contingent greeted with huge cheers

Huge cheers welcomed the colourful Indian delegation into the Olympic Park Friday night during the opening ceremony of the London Games.The 81-strong Indian contingent, the biggest ever, was led by wrestler Sushil Kumar, a bronze medallist in the 2008 Beijing Games.It was a smartly dressed Indian contingent. The men wore yellow safas, navy blue blazers, cream-coloured trousers, off-white shirts and ties, and the women were dressed in elegant sarees.Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary-general Randhir Singh waved at the contingent from the VIP box.Indians will take part in 13 disciplines. Four years ago, India won three medals, gold for shooter Abhinav Bindra and bronze medals for Sushil and boxer Vijender Singh.(IANS)

Sushil Kumar of the India Olympic wrestling team carries his country's flag during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England

India's flag bearer Sushil Kumar holds the national flag as he leads the contingent in the athletes parade during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium July 27, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Blake

India's flag bearer Sushil Kumar holds the national flag as he leads the contingent in the athletes parade during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium July 27, 2012.

India's flag bearer Sushil Kumar holds the national flag as he leads the contingent in the athletes parade during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium July 27, 2012. 

Acting Indian Olympic Association President Vijay Kumar Malhotra (C), his wife Krisha Malhotra (R) and guest Gurmit Singh (L) of India try on their glasses as they sit in the VIP box before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium July 27, 2012

Ravi Das, his wife Geeta Das and cousin Rahul Das watch the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony at Ravis Das' home in Sobroto Park on July 28, 2012 in Delhi, India. 

Eminent Indians detained at US airports

From actors to politicians and bureaucrats here's a list of people who have been detained at various airports in USA

The reasons vary from caste to what they wear and skin colour. The list

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was detained at a New York airport for over two hours by immigration officials after arriving from India in a private plane with Nita Ambani, to address students at Yale University here. This, is not the first time that SRK has been detained. He was grilled for more than 2 hours way back in 2009

In 2002, Aamir Khan was detained for interrogation at the Chicago Airport.

The authorities could not believe that Neil was an Indian - because he was so fair. Neil was in US for the shooting of the movie New York

Irrfan Khan has been detained too - twice. And both times, when he went to receive awards.

John Abraham was detained for having Afganistan as one of the countries he has visited in his passport.

Mammootty was stopped at the airport too - for having his real name Mohamad Kutty Ismail in his passport.

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam was detained and frisked at JFK airport in New York

Indian envoy Meera Shankar was detained and frisked at a Mississippi airport.

Aviation Minister Praful Patel was frisked down too at Chicago

Hardeep Singh Puri was detained for not agreeing to remove his turban

One year on, a look at Japan’s progress

March 11, 2012 marks one year since a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, triggering a devastating tsunami that slammed into the island nation, killing thousands of people. More than 300,000 people are still homeless and around 3,300 others are unaccounted for. The tsunami also sparked a nuclear reactor meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, resulting in the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. One year on, the streets have been cleared and the wreckage removed from town centres. Here’s a look at how much has changed in 12 months.