Inhuman cargo
The hostage crisis has exposed a thriving racket in human smuggling. Indians from this region are the prime victims as well as profiteers in the global network of this predatory business that respects neither lives nor borders. Prabhjot Singh reports.
The plight of "aliens" languishing in jails in Greece, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan was brought to light after seven workers of Kuwait Gulf Links, a transport company, were taken hostage in Iraq.

Hamburg, a port for all tastes
The cosmopolitan character of the city of Hamburg is evident from the choices it offers to the good, the bad and the naughty. Mohinder Singh writes on the city’s varied attractions.
Hamburg, termed a free city, has a free wheeling, upbeat, liberal atmosphere. Its residents never fail to point out that their city is an independent part of Germany.

‘Film fests can do without govt patronage’
Amitabh Srivastava
The recently concluded Asian Film Festival in Delhi (July 14 to 25) was an eye-opener in many ways. To film buffs and the media alike it was a miracle that a programme held on such a large scale with the participation of over 90 films from 30 countries and 100 film personalities with seminars, lunches and dinners thrown in could be held without the participation of the government.

Comedy is serious business
V. Gangadhar wonders whether Indian films, known for their in-your-face humour, will ever attain the sophistication of Hollywood comedies.
The fat man bends down and his trousers split at the back. Howls of laughter follow. Another fat man slips on a banana peel and falls flat on his back. More laughter. 

Money matters in Bollywood
Devinder Bir Kaur
Amisha Patel is in the news for reasons other than professional. The actress has sued her father, Amit Patel, for swindling Rs 12 crore from her. In a legal notice sent to her father last fortnight, Amisha accused him of mismanaging her accounts and squandering away money.

Nazi ties tainted her art
Vikramdeep Johal
A plane descends from a mass of clouds on a city, its shadow resembling a cross. As it lands, accompanied by deafening music, it seems as if Christ is returning to earth. Out of the plane emerges Adolf Hitler, haloed by the sun, facing a mammoth crowd. Hordes of blonde Aryan youths exclaim in unison, "Heil Hitler!"