Maoist rebels freed Italian tour guide Paolo Bosusco on Thursday, almost a month after kidnapping him in a remote part of Orissa in what was believed to be the first seizure of a foreigner by the leftist guerrillas. Also known as Naxals, the rebels have fought for decades in a swathe of central and eastern India, including many resource-rich regions, where tension runs high between poor farmers and industrial developers.

Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) will open its first coffee shops in India in August or September, a year later than originally planned, and aims to have 50 outlets by year-end through a tie-up with the Tata group, the country's biggest business house.

India is a mouth-watering gold mine of indigenous food with over 20,000 documented traditional recipes that have at least 200 varieties of dosas, the signature pancake from south India that has taken the world by storm, says celebrity chef Hemant Oberoi who recently came out with his first book "Masala Art". "Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra... the regional cuisine of India is so rich.

An Olympic boycott will not be on the agenda when the Indian Olympic Association meets next week, despite continuing outrage over Dow Chemical's high-profile sponsorship of the London 2012 Games, the IOA's acting president told Reuters on Monday. Many victims and activists now hold Dow responsible for compensating victims of a gas leak disaster which killed thousands in 1984 and injured hundreds of thousands more.

New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) Acclaimed Australian restaurateur, traveller, chef and writer Christine Manfield says unlike in the West, people in India live and breathe food and points out how different types of cuisines happily coexist in this country, promoting a culture of tolerance. "People live and breathe food unlike in the West.

Sikh athletes and spectators will be allowed to wear ceremonial daggers into London Olympic venues next year, despite the intense security arrangements, as part of a multi-faith approach to the Games. "We want to make sure the Games are accessible to everyone," a spokesperson for organisers LOCOG said on Monday.

Vijay Mallya has blamed government policy of forcingairlines to fly on some loss-making routes on the financial crisis at hisKingfisher Airlines. That, of course, is not the only reason why the airline isin bad shape and Mallya surely knows that. It is incumbent on all airlines tofly on some less profitable routes and there is no evidence to suggestKingfisher has had to bear a disproportionate share of the burden.