The business of kidnapping

If one looks at the crime figures of Punjab for the past five years, cases of kidnapping and abductions have been around 500 a year. In 2002, there were 575 cases of kidnapping while in 2004, there were 513 kidnappings. Prabhjot Singh looks at how kidnapping for ransom has become the new fast-growing enterprise in northern India

Peak of adventure
Is it the thrill of conquest or a desire to be on top of the world looking down on creation? Whatever the reason, trying to scale the Everest brings out the best in adventure seekers. Never before has the interest in Everest peaked to the extent it did this summer.
IF four Iranian women became the first Muslim women to scale the Everest, for a Nepalese couple it was another first—they became the only ones to marry at such a height. Apa Sherpa, Mr Everest, was the one who made it to the hallowed peak 15 times and before you stop counting, the women from the Indian Army scored another first.