By Priyal Sanghavi

The Mumbai mafia is an integral part of Mumbai culture. It started in 1940 when Afghan gang lords opened whorehouses exclusively for the ruling British. Soon their activities included smuggling, extortion and contract killing. The mafia kept up with the changing city, rapidly establishing a hold over it with much blood spilt in the process.

By Spriha Srivastava

What cannot be removed must be covered – such is the policy of the Indian government towards the country's slums as Delhi gets ready to host the Commonwealth Games in October 2010. Government officials had initially said the games could benefit slum-dwellers as they would be provided with better homes ahead of the event. But on the ground, the reality seems to be different.

By Laurie Penny

For feminists, arguments about sex work have become an ugly, obstructive shibboleth. The debate about whether feminism can ever tolerate the sale of sex has raged for over five decades, and in recent years the question has opened old wounds in the fabric of feminist unity, leading to such embarrassing flashpoints as the verbal abuse and police intimidation of sex workers and their allies at the Reclaim the Night march in 2009.

By Stephanie King

Nah nah nah nah, Nah nah nah nah! Ariel Pink’s Round and Round grooves into being with squelchy synths and a decadent disco sound worthy of a Studio 54 mirrorball while channelling the richness of My Cherie Amour. But this is no party track. As with everything Ariel Pink does, something is off kilter.

By David Cronin

A short while ago, I got up close and personal with Tony Blair.

As the former prime minister made his way into a packed committee room in the European Parliament, I stepped up to him and laid my hand on his arm. “Mr Blair, this is a citizen’s arrest,” I said.

By Asif Akhtar

This just in - a Dutch website reports with some fascination that a Muslim entrepreneur in Amsterdam has decided to open an online store for halal sex toys for Muslims.