The world being what it is, we cynics get little respite. Once in a while, though, something makes your heart soar. I felt that in April, when I saw a YouTube video called Collateral Murder. Now I&rsquo;d like to find Julian Assange and give him a big hug and a kiss. And maybe a sandwich and a clean t-shirt. And maybe donate my life savings to his website WikiLeaks.org, which this week was to Rolling Stone&rsquo;s general-slaying report what a nuclear bomb is to a firecracker.

A good man is hard to find

Business Standard

This is the time to rejuvenate and refresh the body, and steer clear of excesses.

Monsoon therapy

A tennis match at the Wagah Border may be a distant dream, but Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Quereshi are giving it their best shot.

Giving peace a chance

A member of a traditional business family writes her second novel, about a dysfunctional family in the mithai business.

Ties that gag and bind

Diego Maradona should have focused on the team and not on himself.

More antics than tactics

Ruth Rendell knows so many ways to tell a story you might count her as three or four writers. Her Inspector Wexford stories are probably her most popular works, especially after a long-running television series based on them. Her other mysteries are a bit more complicated, in that they usually have no fatherly detective to make it all better, and certainly no guarantee that a criminal will be identified or caught. You may get poetic justice, or you may not get even that.

Murder and more

Ruslan Ponomariov scored big when he took Dortmund with a +4,-1,=5 performance that equated to 6.5 points. Le Quang Liem was second with 5.5 points. The Vietnamese debutant was the lowest-rated participant.

CHESS #638

Cartoon Network, 9XM, BBC and AXN are among those channels gearing up to cash-in on the FIFA soccer mania.

Seeking to score a goal

The strategy of power branding, the art of identifying and backing a few strong products in a company's portfolio, has not always worked well with companies.

To do or not to do

It is possible to have a fully balanced diet that is entirely vegetarian, if you work it right. All you need to do is eat smart to make your meals as complete as possible.

Eating right for vegetarians

Swede spot

The world responded with a single voice to Israel&rsquo;s autistic behaviour earlier this week, when it applied the Bush Doctrine to a flotilla of Gaza-bound relief ships put together by its own allies and still sailing in international waters. &ldquo;We have a right to defend ourselves,&rdquo; said Israel. &ldquo;Are you out of your paranoid minds?&rdquo; yelled the world, outraged.

Jailbird

Think of German cars and what comes to mind? Technologically accomplished, luxurious and of course, pricey. American cars are always meant to be behemoths that drink copious amounts of fuel. Similarly, think of Japanese cars and you get images of reliable, economical, refined runabouts that are not really exciting to drive. Korean? Value for money cars with extended warranties and a good track record over the last decade. Chinese cars, till recently, meant copycat designs with questionable reliability, but most of us know that they have moved on in life and have become a force to be reckoned with.

The Nano effect

The king is gone and the Maoists are in the capital, yet Nepal&rsquo;s future remains unclear. Three new novels offer some clues.

Kathmandu calling

Unassuming yet timeless, Harper Lee&rsquo;s powerful work celebrates its 50th anniversary.

To celebrate a mockingbird

I am in the process of buying a car suitable for city driving conditions. I want a car that has a sporty feel along with exceptional mileage.

A-Star in the making

Writing the article about Nepal which you see on the left, I was left wondering what happens to idealism in times of war. In the case of Nepal, in these few books at least, idealism among the Maoist cadres &mdash; though triggered by poverty and inequality &mdash; where it survived appears to have been the result of a certain amount of brainwashing.

The buttered toast war

It could be small or expansive, carefully structured or riotously unplanned. What&rsquo;s important is to know what style you want for your garden, and then work towards creating it.

What's your garden style?

It&rsquo;s hard to leave Bangalore&rsquo;s quirky new One Stop Psy Shop.

The pull of the Psybabas

Kaustubh Srikanth goes everywhere on his bicycle. He came to meet us riding one, which is unusual, to say the least, since very few &mdash; with the exception, perhaps, of the milkman and the newspaper vendor &mdash; ride bikes in the Capital.

Pedal power

The first in a monthly series that will explore lesser known aspects of some of the world&rsquo;s best known cities.

Taking a detour

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