The local government in Kolkata, once capital of British India, is to kick off plans Tuesday to transform the congested city into a "second London" replete with a London Eye ferris wheel.

Mamata Banerjee, the feisty newly elected chief minister of the state of West Bengal, made an election pledge to transform the dysfunctional and poverty-stricken Indian metropolis into a world class city.

Shoppers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among the wealthiest and most discerning in the world. Most major malls in Dubai, for instance, feature couture retailers usually associated in the United States with upscale fashion districts. It is not an uncommon sight to see shoppers with several large shopping bags, loaded into a cart just as a family buying groceries would, only the purchases being Gucci shoes and Louis Vuitton handbags. According to Business Monitor International, U.S.$31 billion worth of retail sales are expected this year in the UAE, and will top U.S.$41 billion in less than five years.

As there is more total retail space supply in the country than its entire population -- according to retail surveys, an estimated 5.75 million square meters by the end of 2014, or 1.27 square meters of shopping space for every UAE resident -- online retail has struggled to find room. Because of concerns about fraud, 45% of UAE shoppers said they would not buy online, according to a survey this year by MasterCard.

The lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 dead has approached the Indian Supreme Court asking for his death sentence to be overturned, a court source told Agence France Presse Friday.

The source said the request by Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab had been filed via jail authorities in Mumbai, where he has been held since the attacks, and lodged with the secretary general of the court.

U.S. auto giant Ford said Thursday it would invest $1 billion to build a second vehicle assembly and engine plant in India as it ramps up production to exploit the country's burgeoning car market.

India has become a battleground for global car manufacturers such as Ford, GM and Toyota which hope to offset sluggish domestic sales by steering towards India and China, seeing huge potential in their billion-plus populations.

Bollywood has had a better start to the second half of 2011 after a tough first six months of empty cinemas and postponed releases caused by clashes with major cricket tournaments, analysts say.

Long queues and "house full" signs have returned to cinemas in India's entertainment capital Mumbai and across the country since the start of June for a string of films that have proved a hit with audiences.

India's Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said on Wednesday that relations with Pakistan were "on the right track" after talks with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar in New Delhi.

Conceding that there were challenges that lay ahead, Krishna told reporters: "I can confidently say that our relations are on the right track."

In a country where cricket is so ingrained in the social fabric that it dwarfs every other sport and most other topics of conversation, Aayushman Chaturvedi made a decision that was almost unthinkable for his parents.

He chose football.

Indian detectives trawled for leads on Saturday to the triple blasts which rocked the country's financial hub, Mumbai, as the death toll from the coordinated explosions rose to 19.

Two men who sustained serious injuries in Wednesday's rush-hour bombings died in hospital, a home ministry statement said.

Indian detectives scrambled for a breakthrough on Friday into the Mumbai bombings that killed 17 people and left baffled police hunting for clues and suspects in the monsoon rains.

There were fears that the torrential downpours that have hit the country's financial and entertainment capital since the rush-hour blasts on Wednesday evening may hamper the probe, washing away vital forensic clues.

Indians are consuming more meat than ever before despite a strong culture of vegetarianism and a religious taboo about consuming beef, as diets change and hygiene improves in the processing industry.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says Indians' per capita consumption of meat is running at 5.0 to 5.5 kilograms (11 to 12 pounds) a year, the highest since it began compiling records, reflecting a wider taste for protein-rich diets in developing countries.