India

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in India to push ahead with talks on a natural gas pipeline to New Delhi, despite U.S. objections to the project.

The Iranian leader is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the $7.5- billion project. The proposed pipeline would stretch from Iran to Pakistan and India to boost economic development in the South Asian nations.

The United States has opposed the pipeline deal in an effort to isolate Iran for its disputed nuclear program and alleged support of terrorism.

In the most conspicuous sign yet of India's unprecedented prosperity, the country's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is building a new home in the financial hub of Mumbai: a 60-storey palace with helipad, health club and six floors of car parking.

The building, named Antilla after a mythical island, will have a total floor area greater than Versailles and be home for Mr Ambani, his mother, wife, three children and 600 full-time staff.

Draped in hanging gardens, the building will have a floor for a home theatre, a glass-fronted apartment for guests, and a two-storey health club. As the ceilings are three times as high as a normal building's, the 173m (570ft) tower will only have 27 floors.

With property prices rocketing, the building is already worth more than £500m. It is expected to be ready for the Ambanis to move in next year. The family currently live in a 14-storey building, Sea Wind.