Acknowledging that India is "inching closer" to get membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Chinese official media on Thursday said if New Delhi is admitted into the elite grouping, "nuclear balance" between India and Pakistan will be broken. Stating that India's entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will "shake strategic balance in South Asia and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region", an article in the state-run 'Global Times' however said China could support India's inclusion in the 48 members nuclear club if it "played by rules". Written by Fu Xiaoqiang research fellow with the state-run think tank China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, the article a second in as many days by the same daily highlights China's strident and vocal opposition to India's entry into NSG and concerns that its all weather ally Pakistan will be left behind because "entry into the NSG will make it (India) a 'legitimate nuclear power'."

Andy Murray has lost the world number two spot to Roger Federer in the latest ATP rankings released on Monday, after his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Madrid Masters final. The Scot played well in Spain, but by failing to successfully defend his title, he drops below Federer ahead of the Italian Open this week. Djokovic, an 11-time major champion, retains his massive lead on his closest challengers at the top of the rankings after claiming a record 29th Masters title. Australian youngster Nick Kyrgios moves back into the top 20 thanks to his run to the quarter-finals in Madrid.

If Leicester's rise to the top of English soccer is the most bewildering aspect of this chaotic season in the Premier League, then the implosion of Chelsea runs a close second. A 3-2 loss to Sunderland on Saturday made it official: Chelsea will end the season with the worst title defense in the 24-year history of the Premier League. The Blues can finish no higher than ninth place and could still drop as low as 11th. That's much worse than Manchester United's seventh-place finish under David Moyes in his woeful 10 months in charge in 2013-14, which is some achievement in itself. And there's still one ignominy left in this sorry campaign for Chelsea: On Sunday, the team will give a guard of honor to Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri and his players when the new champions come to Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season. Ranieri was the coach fired by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in 2004 as he chased the signature of Jose Mourinho.

Germany recorded a steep decline in asylum seeker arrivals in April, official data showed Monday, after the closure of the popular route used by migrants through the Balkans. Some 16,000 migrants arrived in April, down almost a quarter from 20,000 in March, and nearly a 90-percent plunge from December when 120,000 arrivals were recorded. Syrians made up the biggest group of newcomers, with 2,724 applicants in the month. Afghans were the second largest group with 2,063 migrants, followed by Iraqis with 1,853 arrivals.

Rescuers are trying to save about 35 workers who have been buried under massive rocks and debris at the site of a hydroelectricity project in Fujian province. The accident happened Sunday morning, and is believed to be the result of a landslide. Reports reaching here suggest that chances of rescuing most of the workers, trapped at the site in a mountainous area of Taining county are slim. An estimated 100,000 cubic meters of mud and rock came tumbling down from a nearby hillock, burying the construction site. Trapped workers were apparently asleep at 4.46 am when the landslide buried their dormitory and an office building, reports said. So far, rescuers have been able to save seven workers.

Defending champion Kei Nishikori extended his unbeaten run at the Barcelona Open to 11 matches with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win over the Netherlands' Thiemo de Bakker on Wednesday. The Japanese needed just over an hour to dispose of the world number 102 as he broke in the first game of each set and held serve throughout to win his first match of the season on clay.

Barcelona bounced back from their worst run of La Liga defeats for 13 years in emphatic fashion as Luis Suarez scored four in an 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo la Coruna on Wednesday. Ivan Rakitic, Lionel Messi, Marc Bartra and Neymar were also on target as Barca reasserted their control on the Spanish title race. Victory moved Barca back three points ahead of Atletico Madrid and four clear of third-placed Real Madrid with both sides from the capital in action later on Wednesday against Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal respectively. Barca had taken just one point from their last possible 12 in the league and been dumped out of the Champions League amidst a run of just one win in six games that threatened to derail their season.

While the beauty queens are known for heading straight to Bollywood, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan chose to be different. The actress already had four films in her kitty when she was chosen for the Miss India pageant. The diva was set to make her Bollywood debut with Raja Hindustani opposite Aamir Khan but chose to participate in the pageant, which got her the Miss World crown. She was director Dharmesh Darshan's dream girl for the role, as he found her to play the perfect city girl against the village boy, played by Aamir. But as luck would have it, Aishwarya made a tough choice, paving way for Karisma Kapoor who went on to became the heroine of the blockbuster.