Dilip Kumar, Bollywood’s great ‘Tragedy King,’ dies at 98

Bollywood icon Dilip Kumar, hailed as the “Tragedy King” and one of Hindi cinema’s greatest actors, died Wednesday in a Mumbai hospital after a prolonged illness. He was 98.

The “Tragedy King” title came from Kumar’s numerous serious roles. In several, his character died as a frustrated lover and a drunkard. He also was known as Bollywood’s only Method actor for his expressive performances identifying a character’s emotions.

Kumar was hospitalized twice last month after he complained of breathlessness, and his family tweeted “with a heavy heart and profound grief” the announcement of his passing. “Dilip Kumar will be remembered as a cinematic legend. He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled. His passing away is a loss to our cultural world,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet. “An institution has gone,” Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan tweeted. “Whenever the history of Indian Cinema will be written, it shall always be ‘before Dilip Kumar, and after Dilip Kumar’ ..”

Indian theater actor Tom Alter has died at age 67

Tom Alter, a well-known Indian theater, television and Bollywood actor of American descent, has died in Mumbai of cancer. He was 67.

A statement issued by his family on Saturday says Alter died Friday night at home with his family around him in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital. He had been diagnosed with skin cancer last year.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief and recalled Alter’s contribution to the film world and theater.

Stampede on crowded Indian pedestrian bridge leaves 22 dead

A stampede broke out on a crowded pedestrian bridge connecting two railway stations in Mumbai during the Friday morning rush, killing at least 22 people and injuring 32 others, Indian officials said.

Police were investigating what caused the stampede on the bridge, which led some commuters to leap over the railing. Others were crushed or fell underfoot and were trampled.

“There were too many people on the bridge, and the people were in hurry and wanted to move out,” said Brijesh Upadhyay, one of the many caught in the crowd. “There was nobody helping, it was very suffocating, and we just wanted to get out of there — and fell on each other.”

India, Japan start work on high-speed train during Abe visit

India and Japan launched work on a high-speed train line in the western Indian state of Gujarat on Thursday during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The “bullet train” will link Ahmadabad, the main commercial city in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s native state, to India’s financial capital of Mumbai.

The 500-kilometer (310-mile) project will be financed by a Japanese credit of $17 billion and is expected to be completed by 2022. The loan carries a nominal interest rate of 0.1 percent to be paid over the next 50 years.

Indian court sentences 2 men to death in 1993 Mumbai blasts

An Indian court on Thursday sentenced two men to death and two others to life in prison for a series of bombings that killed 257 people in Mumbai in 1993. A fifth man was given 10 years in prison.

The five men were convicted earlier of criminal conspiracy and murder in the planting of 12 powerful bombs in cars, scooters and suitcases around India’s financial capital.

The sentencing ended a second trial related to the bombings. An initial trial ended in 2007 with more than 100 people convicted, of whom 11 were sentenced to death and the rest to various terms in prison.

A singular storm in Houston; a recurring nightmare in Mumbai

Two massive, rain-soaked cities on opposite sides of the world are struggling with swirling, brackish waters that have brought death and devastation. For Houston, it’s unprecedented. For Mumbai, it’s painfully common.

For India’s financial capital and other South Asian cities and farmlands, floods are regular, cataclysmic occurrences made worse by breakneck urban development and population booms that will only become more challenging as climate change increases disaster risk.

Torrential rains bring India’s financial hub to a halt

Torrential monsoon rains paralyzed India’s financial capital Mumbai for a second day Wednesday as the streets turned into rivers and people waded through waist-deep waters.

On Tuesday, the city received about 5 inches (127 millimeters) of rain and it’s already hamstrung infrastructure collapsed. Public transport stopped and thousands of commuters were stranded in their offices overnight.

Train derails in India’s third rail accident in 10 days

A passenger train derailed Tuesday in western India, the third rail accident in the country in 10 days.

Rescuers were working to pull out people who were trapped in the toppled train engine and seven coaches lying on their sides. No casualties or injuries were reported, railway spokesman A.K. Jain said.

The train had 18 coaches and was headed from the central Indian city of Nagpur to Mumbai, capital of Maharashtra state.

5-story building collapses in India, killing at least 12

A five-story building came crashing down Tuesday in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital, killing at least 12 people and injuring 12 others, police said. Another dozen people were feared trapped under the rubble.

The cause of the collapse of the building, which housed 15 families, was not immediately known.

Rescuers have been digging through the rubble in search of more victims since Tuesday morning and will continue during the night, police officer Lal Bhandari said.

Chase pays off as Mumbai beats Sunrisers in IPL by 4 wickets

The chasing team at Wankhede Stadium won for the sixth straight Indian Premier League game as Mumbai Indians beat defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets on Wednesday.

Mumbai won the toss and opted to field in what turned out to be a wise decision, given the recent success of teams batting second at this ground. Sunrisers made 158-8 off 20 overs, with only openers Shikhar Dhawan (48) and David Warner (49) achieving significant scores. Man-of-the-match Jasprit Bumrah took 3-24 as Sunrisers' middle-order collapsed. Harbhajan Singh also did some damage with 2-23, including the important wicket of Warner, who had smashed seven fours and two sixes.

Renowned Indian classical singer Kishori Amonkar dies at 84

Singer Kishori Amonkar, renowned for her innovative interpretation of classical Indian music, has died, one of her students said Tuesday.

Amonkar, 84, died late Monday at her home in central Mumbai after a brief illness, said Gandhar Bedekar. Music students in India often live with their mentors, and Bedekar's mother was one of Amonkar's oldest disciples.

One of the leading lights of the Jaipur "gharana" or community of musicians, Amonkar was trained by her mother, Mogubai Kurdikar, who was also a well-known singer.

Popular Indian character actor Om Puri dead at 66

Noted Indian character actor Om Puri, who worked in films at home and abroad, has died in the western city of Mumbai. He was 66.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of leading movie stars tweeted condolence messages shortly after Puri's death was announced Friday morning.

"The artists will all miss him and it's a big loss to the industry. His name was taken along the great artists of the world, not just India," film director Prakash Jha said, as he joined several people from the Indian film industry outside Puri's Mumbai home.

Popular Indian character actor Om Puri dead at 66

Noted Indian character actor Om Puri has died in the western city of Mumbai. He was 66.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of leading movie stars tweeted condolence messages shortly after Puri's death was announced Friday morning.

"The artists will all miss him and it's a big loss to the industry. His name was taken along the great artists of the world, not just India," film director Prakash Jha said, as he joined several people from the Indian film industry outside Puri's Mumbai home.

Mumbai sets no-selfie zones as deaths linked to selfies rise

Look around in any major Indian city, and you will find someone with an arm outstretched, mobile phone in hand, smiling widely and clicking away. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embraced the medium, posting pictures online he's snapped with various world leaders.

But the pursuit of the most epic selfie can have lethal consequences.

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt freed from jail in weapons case

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt said freedom was "the most amazing thing" after he left prison Thursday upon completing his five-year sentence for illegal weapons possession in a case linked to the 1993 terror attack in Mumbai.

Dutt's wife Maanyata and noted filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani greeted the actor as he came out of the prison gate in the western city of Pune. He saluted the Indian national flag at the prison building and thanked fans, including some who came in person to see him, for their support. "There is no easy walk to freedom, my friend," he told reporters before leaving in a chartered plane.

Bollywood star Salman Khan acquitted in hit-and-run case

An appeal court acquitted Bollywood star Salman Khan on Thursday in a drunken-driving, hit-and-run case from more than a decade ago.

The Bombay High Court threw out an earlier conviction and five-year sentence given the 49-year-old actor.

"The trial court's verdict is quashed and set aside," Justice A.R. Joshi said in reading the verdict to a crowded courtroom, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. "Salman is acquitted of all charges."

Mumbai court bans joyriding in iconic horse-drawn carriages

The blingy joyrides will soon be ending in Mumbai.

Tourists hoping to roll down the city's cacophonous streets in one of its famed, horse-drawn carriages will have to do so before June 2016, when a court has ordered the carriages be banned, saying it was a form of animal cruelty.

Pakistan frees on bail alleged mastermind of Mumbai attacks

The suspected mastermind of the deadly Mumbai attacks in 2008 was released on bail Friday by a Pakistani court — a move likely to further strain relations with India, which has accused Islamabad of turning a blind eye to Islamic militancy.

The release of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who has been held since his arrest in 2009, drew expressions of concern from both India and the United States.

Pakistan court suspends detention of Mumbai attack planner

A Pakistani court Monday suspended a detention order keeping the alleged planner of the Mumbai terror attacks in jail, possibly paving the way for his release, officials said.

The prospect of Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi going free presents an embarrassing turn of events for the Pakistani government that has vowed to crack down hard on militancy following the Dec. 16 Taliban school attack in Peshawar that left at least 148 people dead, mostly schoolchildren. It also raises the prospect of a serious political conflict with India, which has long-accused Islamabad of being soft on its home-grown militants.

Lakhvi is one of seven men on trial in Pakistan in connection with the 2008 attack in the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people.