Indian-American hotelier plans Gandhi bid

Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal said Wednesday he plans to bid on several belongings of Mahatma Gandhi scheduled for auction in New York Thursday, with the goal of returning them to India. “The idea is to get them back as a community and donate [them] to India,” Chatwal told CNN, adding that he would welcome other members of the Indian community in the United States to join him in his auction effort. Chatwal said if he obtains the items, he plans to give them to the museum where some of Gandhi’s items are kept

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Collector to India: Make an offer

The California-based collector who plans to auction off Mahatma Gandhi’s belongings said he will meet with Indian government officials on Wednesday to try to settle a row over the rightful ownership of the items. James Otis told CNN that he hopes the Indian government is “willing to offer something very generous to India’s poorest in exchange for the donation of the items to the government.” “I would hope that the Indian government would offer something as great as Gandhi’s cause,” Otis said in Los Angeles.

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NZ PM’s mishap is lucky break for charity

An Internet auction to sell off the plaster cast that New Zealand Prime Minister John Key wore when he broke his right arm has raised close to NZ$ 20,000 for charity. The online auction ended Sunday with a winning bid of NZ$18,500 (US$ 9,362), according to the New Zealand shopping Web site TradeMe, which conducted the bidding. The prime minister broke his arm in two places on January 17 when he tripped on some stairs at a Chinese New Year event in Auckland

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