Dr Vivek Shah an orthopaedic surgeon who works at the New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, was about to cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon, when he and his mates heard a loud boom, followed by another.

Shah ran towards where he heard the sound, concerned for his entire family who were all at the finish line, when he came upon the awful scene.

Shah said people with traumatic amputations were in shock. He tried to see if anyone needed emergent care and had excessive bleeding and put makeshift tourniquets on them. In minutes emergency physicians were on site attending to the victims. When he saw the area was stable with emergency personnel, he tried to find his family, who, thankfully were fine. They did not leave the area even though they were told to evacuate. They were just 25 yards from where the last blast happened.

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Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Indian community in the country has a big role to play because their percentage as voters in most constituencies could be the determining factor in the upcoming general elections, even though the community does not form the majority in any parliamentary seats or state constituencies.

He said Indian voters could ensure the overall victory of a certain party especially in states such as Selangor, Perak, Penang, Johor, Negri Sembilan and Kedah.

The PM also said ultimately what is important is not individuals but the party, which will be forming a government and the person who is chosen to be prime minister.

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A group of Kesri Lehar Sikhs in London protested outside the Houses of Parliament as part of a campaign to end the death penalty in India. They condemn the death sentences imposed on four Sikhs. The threat of execution is seen by some Sikhs as a key part of oppression against them.

The protest was aimed to draw attention to the fate of Bulwant Singh Rajoana who was sentenced to death in 2007 for his role in the assassination of Beant Singh, the chief minister of Punjab in 1995.

One leading academic has warned that continuing demonstrations focused on conditions in Punjab could alienate young Sikhs and undermine the creation of a well integrated British Sikh identity, something the Sikh Council denies.

The Indian High Commission in London said the death penalty has been challenged repeatedly, but was found by the Supreme Court to be valid under the country's constitution.

Executions are comparatively rare in India.

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In the wake of the Europe horse meat scandal, it emerged that over a third of Scottish curry restaurants could be using cheaper meat such as beef in dishes that claimed to be lamb.

As a consequence Hindu groups in the UK have called on the government to enforce stricter disclosure rules and according to the director of the Hindu Council, UK, the issue raises religious concerns as some Hindus who may eat meat, would prefer not to eat beef as cows are considered sacred in the religion. They also demanded that the premises serving beef as lamb be identified to allow customers to make their own choices.

The Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee carried out tests in 129 Indian restaurants where curry is popular and claimed that cheap beef was passed off as lamb in 46 premises.

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Dr Rajan Batra, watched the new Steven Spielberg movie 'Lincoln', in Jackson, Mississippi, where he is a professor of neurobiology and anatomical sciences at the University Medical Center. The movie ends with the US Congress passing the 13th Amendment ending slavery.

Curious Batra went online to learn the history of how the states voted on the Amendment, when he discovered that the 13th Amendment was ratified by the states except Delaware, Kentucky, New Jersey and Ole Mississippi, down south.

In the years that followed states continued to ratify the amendment even as the urgency receded. The other states each ratified the amendment in the years going forward, and Mississippi finally joined in by 1995. But, by some act of omission, neglect or pure mistake, Mississippi never did notify the ratification to the US Archivist, without whose imprimatur it is not considered official.

Batra ran his discovery by a colleague Ken Sullivan, who had run state office and when Sullivan checked with the National Archives he found it had never received a copy of the 1995 Mississippi Senate resolution that had passed unanimously. More delays were enacted before the paperwork was filed in January this year and just a few weeks ago Charles Barth, director of the Federal Register, acknowledged receipt of the ratification and confirmed that 'with this action', the State of Mississippi has ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, turning Indian born Batra into an unlikely star.

Sullivan remarked on the odd circumstance that it took the unlikely pairing of an immigrant from India and a life-long southerner working together to resolve the longstanding oversight.

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