China 'ready for talks' on new UN sanctions on Iran

Iran's top nuclear official is holding talks in China amid signs Beijing may have relaxed its opposition to a new round of UN sanctions against Tehran. The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said China was ready to hold "serious" talks with Western powers on a new UN resolution. This would mark a policy shift for China, which has strong ties with Iran. China says it wants a peaceful outcome. Western powers claim Iran seeks nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. China has in the past expressed reluctance to see new sanctions imposed, and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, along with France, the US, the UK, and Russia, it has the power to veto such a move. US President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has said he hopes to have sanctions in place "within weeks".

Ayesha claims to have ‘Nikahnama’

India’s Ayesha Siddiqi has claimed that she can produce the wedding certificate and other relevant documents to prove her relationship with Shoaib Malik.  In an interview with an Indian TV, Siddiqi said she was hurt by the revelations made by Shoaib and his family about her. The allegations being leveled by the Shaoib’s family are totally baseless, the somber-looking lady said. “Shoaib himself accepted of being married with me, she said, adding he had sent Rs500 as a Haq Mehr to me.” “I want to get a formal divorce from Shoaib Malik.”  To a question, Siddiqi said she was not in contact with Shoaib Malik anymore, adding they she had spoken to the cricketer for the last time in 2007.  She also made a stunning disclosure that wife of former Pakistan skipper Muhammad Yousuf know about their relationship. “If Shoaib does not want to live with me. I am also not interested,” she added.

India unveils education scheme

The Indian prime minister has launched a programme to extend schooling to about 10 million children who are outside the education system. In a televised speech on Thursday, Manmohan Singh, pledged that financial constraints would not hold up the scheme, which is estimated to cost $38bn over five years. The central government has already reserved $5.6bn for the initiative. The majority of funding will come from India's states, the rest from the federal government and the private sector. The plan is not expected to affect the federal deficit. "The fundamental right to education, as incorporated in our constitution, becomes operative from today. This demonstrates our commitment to the education of our children and to the future of India," Singh said. Unicef, Unesco and the International Labour Organisation have welcomed the act, saying it would help the world achieve the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education.  However, critics say that the scheme might go the same way as other well-meaning pieces of legislation enacted in the liberal democracy, where the gap between legal rights and reality is often huge.

Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza wedding sets new heights in sporting relations

The union has come as something of a surprise to a certain Ayesha Siddiqui from Hyderabad, who claims the cricketer married her by telephone back in 2002. Which if nothing else, substantiates the groom's claim to be the world's leading all-rounder. But never mind the unproven complaints of spurned rivals, on the sub-continent huge significance is being attached to the wedding. Some commentators even suggest it could bring two perpetually hostile nations closer, the equivalent of the political marriages once forged between the ruling houses of Europe. If that is the case, it is an idea that could catch on, the ultimate in sporting diplomacy. It seems the pet attacked her master when he bent down to give her a good morning kiss. Which must be worrying for fans of Argentina, given their team boss's much chronicled dalliance with mind-altering substances. How out of it must he have been to have mistaken a dog – especially one which resembles a former Chancellor of the Exchequer – for his shaving mirror?