Paes-Hanley pair gets first-round bye in Barcelona

Leander Paes and his Australian partner Paul Hanley got a first-round bye in the Euro 888,000 Open Sabadell Atlantico tennis tournament in Barcelona.

The sixth seeds will now take on the winners of the match between the Argentine-Uruguayan pair of Juan Ignacio Chela and Pablo Cuevas and Spanish wildcards Guillermo Alcaide and Albert Montanes in the second round of the clay court event.

Paes and Hanley were ousted in the second round of last week's Monte Carlo Masters.

NDTV 24x7 brought this news to me. It is an excellent news channel for NRIs. This channel is available in the US through DirecTV. You can now receive the latest news about India.

Americans seek employment in India

Though, India might still not be a hot destination for foreigners like the US is for Indians for jobs, applications for work visa has been gradually increasing. From what used to be a rare category of visas a couple of years ago, hardly a day passes when the Consulate in New York does not receive at least one such application in this regard.

In the past two years, the New York Consulate has issued work visa to more than 900 people. In 2006 the New York Consulate issued 335 employment visas while in 2007, more than 430 employment visas were issued. If the trend of the first three months is of any indication, 2008 could well break all previous records.

This is widely being attributed to the recent economic recession here which has resulted in job loss in thousands, wherein US multinationals have shifted their work oversees mainly to countries like India and China.

India’s economy is certainly growing by leaps and bounds. NDTV 24x7 has been continually covering India’s economic growth. This channel provides great coverage to all India related stories from all over the world. NDTV 24x7 is indeed a very good channel for NRIs and is available in the US through DirecTV.

World's youngest director

He might just be 12, but he has more cinematic success than many older professionals. Meet Kishan Shrikant, who's in the Guinness Book for being the world's youngest director. And the icing on the cake? He's just bagged 3 awards at the Cairo International Film Festival for his film on street children.

While most children his age spend time watching movies, 12-year-old Kishan Shrikanth of Bangalore prefers to call the shots from behind the camera.

The Guinness book of records calls him the youngest movie director. Kishan's feature film Care of Footpath has now bagged 3 awards at the Cairo International Film Festival.

The film won the Children's Jury Award, the Special International Jury's Award and a third special achievement award.

In the past such awards have been given to superstars such as Amitabh Bachchan.

It’s a proud moment for me as an Indian that Kishan Shrikant was recognized by Guinness Book as the youngest director. I saw this news on NDTV 24x7. This news channel provides the best coverage of India related news stories for NRIs. DirecTV brings this news channel to the US.

Stamp released in Madhubala's name

NDTV 24x7 brought to me the news of the most beautiful heroine in the history Bollywood. Madhubala, one of the most charismatic actresses of all time, is still considered by many as the benchmark of beauty and talent.

The postal department has revived memories of Madhubala once again in the hearts of millions by issuing a stamp in her name. The stamp was launched by none other than son of the soil, veteran star, Manoj Kumar.
"You can just have one queen of beauty and emotion and Madhubala was one," said Manoj Kumar.

For family and friends it was an emotional moment. "We are actually quite surprised that my sister has been given such an honour. We are very happy," said Shashikala, sister.Madhubala now joins the league of legends like Kishore Kumar and Guru Dutt, people who already feature on postage stamps and with whom she gave two of her hits Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi and Mr and Mrs 55.

NDTV 24x7 covers all sort of India-centric news. Be it politics, sports, films or international events. The channel is available in the US only through DirecTV.