12 Dec, 2013

40% Indian women say co-passengers have flirted with them: Survey – Indian Express

HolidayIQ.com had recently conducted a survey ‘Confessions of Indian Train Travellers’, which saw more than 2300 travellers from over 140 cities participate. Key findings of the survey: * Most hated co-passengers: 37 per cent travellers said they hated ‘loud passengers’, snorers were the second most hated lot with 21 per cent, followed by ‘window seat […]

12 Dec, 2013

FAO calls for increased mountain family farming to alleviate malnutrition

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11 December 2013, Rome (FAO media release) – Securing land tenure, providing access to resources for mountain family farms, and improving basic infrastructure in mountain regions are among the key solutions to improving the livelihoods and food security of mountain and lowland communities, FAO said today. Around 40 percent of mountain populations in developing and […]

12 Dec, 2013

One in three children under-five do not officially exist – UNICEF

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NEW YORK, 11 December 2013 (UNICEF media release) – On UNICEF’s 67th birthday today, the organization released a new report showing that the births of nearly 230 million children under-five have never been registered; approximately one in three of all children under-five around the world. “Birth registration is more than just a right. It’s how […]

12 Dec, 2013

UK Spy Chief will not answer to MPs on Snowden claims | theguardian.com

The request for the head of MI5, Andrew Parker, to appear before a powerful Commons committee next week to justify his claim that the Guardian has put national security at risk in publishing the Snowden files has been rejected. The home secretary, Theresa May, told the home affairs committee chairman, Keith Vaz, that she had […]

12 Dec, 2013

Writers “expose tyrannies, opportunists and killers” – Winner of Egyptian Literature Prize

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Cairo, Ahram Online, Wednesday 11 Dec 2013 – Ahram Online publishes the full speech of the Syrian writer and novelist, Khaled Khalifa, the winner of the 2013 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, granted by the American University in Cairo. Khalifa wrote his winning novel about the price that the Syrians paid under the rule of […]

12 Dec, 2013

$50 Billion Greater Mekong Plan to Focus on Building Economic Corridors

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VIENTIANE, Laos, 12 December 2013 (ADB media release) – Member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) have agreed to draw up a $50 billion pipeline of potential projects under a new Regional Investment Framework (RIF), including investments in non-traditional areas like railways and multisector projects to be made over the next decade. “The next generation […]

12 Dec, 2013

ASEAN businesses see integration as opportunity, not threat: survey

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JAKARTA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) — Business communities in the 10 member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hold that the upcoming regional economic integration would not disrupt their business, saying it would even give them opportunity rather than threat. It was learned from the results of a recent survey carried out by ASEAN […]

12 Dec, 2013

UN Awards Human Rights Campaigners for Standing Up to Abuses and Injustice

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United Nations, 10 December 2013, Department of Public Information – The 2013 United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights was awarded today to five individuals and one judicial body at the General Assembly’s commemorative meeting to mark the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 2013 recipients were Biram Dah […]

12 Dec, 2013

Firms slam NSA snooping but profit from personal data | The Japan Times

SAN FRANCISCO – Even as Silicon Valley speaks out against the U.S. government’s surveillance methods, technology companies are turning a handsome profit by mining personal data and peering into people’s online habits. The industry’s profit machine has become tarnished by revelations that the National Security Agency digs deep into the everyday lives of Web surfers. […]

12 Dec, 2013

Heavy hit: airline’s ‘pay what you weigh’ scheme a success – Sydney Morning Herald

The head of a tiny Pacific airline that pioneered a fare system based on passengers’ weight said Wednesday the move had been so successful the carrier is upgrading its fleet. Samoa Air introduced its world-first system late last year, when it began charging passengers fares based on how much they weigh, rather than a set […]

12 Dec, 2013

NSA uses Google cookies to pinpoint targets for hacking – Washington Post

The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using “cookies” and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance. The agency’s internal presentation slides, provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, show that when companies follow consumers on the Internet to better […]

12 Dec, 2013

Marketing Modi: The product that the PM hopeful sells best is himself : Jug Suraiya’

Even as the Congress party`s Akbar Road headquarters were shrouded in gloom following the results of state elections, the business community, not just in India but across the world, celebrated what was seen as a step forward for Narendra Modi in his march to claim the prime ministerial gaddi in Delhi. Indeed, even before the […]

12 Dec, 2013

PressTV – Canada set up spy posts for NSA

Imtiaz Muqbil

Canada has set up covert spying posts around the world and spied on trading partners at the request of the US National Security Agency (NSA), a report says. Canadian broadcaster, CBC News, published the report on Monday, revealing that the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) is involved in espionage activities with its US counterpart in […]

11 Dec, 2013

Indian Studies Prove Radiation Effect of Long-term Mobile Phone Use

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New Delhi, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, 10-December-2013 – Recently two reviews have been published from the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi regarding effect of mobile phone radiation. Both the reviews are based on the review of published studies conducted on animals and in in-vitro system. Giving this information in […]

11 Dec, 2013

First ADB US$60m Loan to Myanmar to Grow Nationwide Electricity Grid

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09 December 2013, ADB media release – Some 480,000 households in four regions in Myanmar will have better access to a more reliable supply of electricity to support their daily activities with a $60 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the first project loan since re-engaging with Myanmar, which will rehabilitate sections of […]

11 Dec, 2013

Top Women Leaders Associated with Higher Revenue and Profits, UC Davis Grad School Study Says

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DAVIS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–December 06, 2013 – While women hold only one in eight of the executive and board positions in California’s top 400 public companies, an annual University of California, Davis, study shows incremental progress—the percentage of women in these top decision-making posts has increased, and the number of companies with no women executives and […]

11 Dec, 2013

Calls to boycott Israel grow on US campuses – Al Jazeera

On December 4, the council of the American Studies Association (ASA) voted unanimously to endorse the call from Palestinian civil society for an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions (USACBI), becoming only the second academic association in the US to do so. The decision was described by the ASA as an “ethical stance”, which “represents […]

11 Dec, 2013

Muslims masquerade as Hindus for India jobs – Al Jazeera

After taking off her silver armband embossed with the word “Allah” in Arabic, Ayesha Begum puts red-and-white conch bangles on her wrists and vermillion powder on her forehead – the signs of a traditional Hindu woman in eastern India. Begum, a Muslim, changes her appearance every morning before she leaves her home, 50km east of […]

11 Dec, 2013

Travel one of many sectors feeling ripple-effect of China’s high air pollution

By Wang Zhenghua

Shanghai (China Daily) December 10, 2013 – Heavy air pollution is taking its toll on Shanghai’s department stores and shopping malls as people reduce their outdoor activities. By contrast, the number of tourists opting for vacations on islands and in forests that promise fresh air away from the suffocating haze is on the rise. Following […]

11 Dec, 2013

China initiates shift away from GDP-obsessed economic path

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BEIJING – 2013-12-10 (Xinhua)  China has promised to cut the weight of GDP when assessing the work of local governments, but the country has not scrapped economic development, central authorities said Tuesday. The Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee issued a document on Monday promising to shift away from GDP-obsessed […]

11 Dec, 2013

Western holiday consumption lifts China’s exports, but pressure remains

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BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — China’s exports grew faster in November thanks to Christmas consumption in Western countries and a recovering global economy, but pressure remains for future growth, experts said. The country’s trade surplus hit 33.8 billion U.S. dollars in November, the highest since 2008, as exports gained 12.7 percent year on year and […]

11 Dec, 2013

FREE Download: Middle East’s 157 Billionaires Dominate Region’s Wealth

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SINGAPORE, Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The Middle East’s billionaires – with a combined net worth of US$354 billion – hold a higher percentage of total wealth than in any other region in the world, findings from the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2013 show. Forty percent of the Middle East’s ultra high net worth (UHNW) […]

11 Dec, 2013

Pakistani Economist To Head UN’s Asia-Pacific Regional Development Arm

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United Nations, (UN News Centre) Dec 10 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed seasoned economist Shamshad Akhtar of Pakistan as the new head of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Ms. Akhtar will succeed Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore, who will continue to serve as Special Adviser of […]

11 Dec, 2013

New Thai-Laos Bridge Opens, Completing ‘Missing Link’ in North-South Regional Corridor

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11 December 2013, Asian Development Bank media release – A new bridge straddling the Mekong River between Thailand and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) is open for business, signaling completion of physical works along one of the Greater Mekong Subregion’s (GMS) most critical economic corridors. The opening of the Houayxay-Chiang Khong bridge completes the North-South […]

11 Dec, 2013

Pakistan Assembly unanimous resolution against US drone strikes – DAWN.COM

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution against US drone strikes in Pakistan, calling them a violation of “the charter of the United Nations, international laws and humanitarian norms.” The resolution, jointly moved by Naeema Kishwer Khan, Maulana Ameer Zaman, and Shania Akhtar Ali, condemned the strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas, calling […]

10 Dec, 2013

Roger Waters compares Israeli policy to Nazi Germany, slams ‘powerful Jewish lobby’ – Haaretz

Roger Waters, the legendary former front man of Pink Floyd and outspoken supporter of the BDS movement, has equated Israeli policies to those of Nazi Germany and slammed the “extraordinary” power of the Jewish lobby in the United States. “The Jewish lobby is extraordinary powerful here and particularly in the industry that I work in, […]

10 Dec, 2013

Xbox Live among game services targeted by US and UK spy agencies – The Guardian

To the National Security Agency analyst writing a briefing to his superiors, the situation was clear: their current surveillance efforts were lacking something. The agency’s impressive arsenal of cable taps and sophisticated hacking attacks was not enough. What it really needed was a horde of undercover Orcs. That vision of spycraft sparked a concerted drive […]

10 Dec, 2013

Amnesty International brings claim against UK over state surveillance

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9 December 2013 – Amnesty International has today announced it has issued a claim against the UK over concerns that the organization’s communications have been unlawfully accessed by the UK intelligence services. In June disclosures made by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the USA was routinely accessing the communications of millions of people […]

10 Dec, 2013

Tech companies call for new curbs on surveillance | Fox News

Eight of the nation’s largest technology companies have called on President Obama and Congress to impose new curbs on surveillance after a series of revelations detailing how the National Security Agency (NSA) accessed and collected user data from their customers. The eight companies — Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yahoo, AOL and Twitter — called […]

10 Dec, 2013

Google and Facebook call for end to US spy agencies’ data mining – FT.com

Leading US technology companies, including Apple, Google and Facebook, have called on Washington to stop spy agencies from collecting huge amounts of telephone and internet data and to limit the powers that compel them to hand over such information. The unusual joint letter, published on Monday, puts the companies on a collision course with the […]

10 Dec, 2013

International bill of digital rights: call from 500 writers around the world | The Guardian

A stand for democracy in a digital age In recent months, the extent of mass surveillance has become common knowledge. With a few clicks of the mouse the state can access your mobile device, your email, your social networking and internet searches. It can follow your political leanings and activities and, in partnership with internet […]

10 Dec, 2013

State surveillance of personal data is theft, say world’s leading authors | The Guardian

More than 500 of the world’s leading authors, including five Nobel prize winners, have condemned the scale of state surveillance revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden and warned that spy agencies are undermining democracy and must be curbed by a new international charter. The signatories, who come from 81 different countries and include Margaret Atwood, […]

10 Dec, 2013

Edward Snowden voted Guardian person of the year 2013 | The Guardian

For the second year in a row, a young American whistleblower alarmed at the unfettered and at times cynical deployment of power by the world’s foremost superpower has been voted the Guardian’s person of the year. Edward Snowden, who leaked an estimated 200,000 files that exposed the extensive and intrusive nature of phone and internet […]

10 Dec, 2013

Gurdwaras-turned-food banks: Sikh temples are catering for rise in Britain’s hungry – The Independent

It is lunchtime at the Karamsar Gurdwara, where worshippers are tucking into the free food. But Sikhs are not the only ones enjoying the temple meals. Religious leaders report that an increasing number of non-believers are visiting their place of worship to eat, treating them as food banks while the effects of austerity and economic […]

9 Dec, 2013

Australian spies ‘used East Timor aid program as cover’ – Sydney Morning Herald

East Timor’s government believes it has identified the members of a team of four Australian spies who allegedly bugged its government offices, describing it as “very disturbing” that they apparently used the cover of an aid program. The revelations came as intelligence and development experts expressed their deep misgivings that aid was apparently used as […]

9 Dec, 2013

PR Newswire Survey: Companies in China Assess Content Marketing Trends, ROI Impact

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BEIJING, Dec. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — PR Newswire today released its annual survey report, “Content Marketing Trends and ROI Impact Assessment by Companies in China”. The pool for this year’s survey was made up of a fixed list of corporate brand PR specialists, marketers and C-suite corporate executives, all of whom received invitations to complete […]

9 Dec, 2013

FREE Download: Women in Europe still work 59 days ‘for free’, Gender Pay Gap Report finds

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Brussels, 9 December 2013, European Commission Press release – 16.2%: that’s the size of the gender pay gap, or the average difference between women and men’s hourly earnings across the EU, according to the latest figures released today by the European Commission. The figure has not moved an inch in the space of a year. […]

9 Dec, 2013

EU relaxes use of electronic devices on aircraft

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Brussels, 9 December 2013, European Commission Press release – The EU’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has today updated its guidance on the use of portable electronic devices on board (PED), including smartphones, tablets and e-readers. It confirms that these devices may be kept switched on in “Flight Mode” (non-transmitting mode) throughout the journey (including taxiing, […]

9 Dec, 2013

$20K Touch of Genius Prize Offer for Innovation in Braille and Literacy for the Blind

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BOSTON, Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — National Braille Press (NBP) announced today, that it is now accepting applications for its 2013 Louis Braille Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation that will reward the recipient with up to $20,000. In keeping with NBP’s mission, projects submitted this year must be focused on software or application development that […]

9 Dec, 2013

Visit Malaysia Year 2014 set for Jan 4 Launch

Compiled by Imtiaz Muqbil & Sana Muqbil

A compilation of progressive, positive, inspiring and motivating events and developments in the world of Islam for the week ending 09 December 2013 (05 Safar 1435). Pls click on any of the headlines to go to the story. VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR SET FOR LAUNCH ON JAN 4, 2014 Visit Malaysia Year 2014 is the nation’s […]

9 Dec, 2013

Secrecy surrounds Trans-Pacific Partnership talks – Sydney Morning Herald

The government has refused to give the Senate access to the secret text of the trade deal it is negotiating in Singapore, saying it will only be made public after it has been signed. As the final round of ministerial talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership resumed on Sunday, Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz wrote to […]

9 Dec, 2013

How the West lost respect for international law – Robert Fisk – The Independent

Odd Karsten Tveit was always a very obsessional chap. Every story he covered, he always wanted to dig deeper, study further, hear one more tale of horror, one more joke, one more historical fact. We all covered the story of Israel’s wars in Lebanon, in 1978, in 1982, in 1996, in 2006. Over the years, […]

9 Dec, 2013

David Simon: ‘There are now two Americas. My country is a horror show’ | The Observer

America is a country that is now utterly divided when it comes to its society, its economy, its politics. There are definitely two Americas. I live in one, on one block in Baltimore that is part of the viable America, the America that is connected to its own economy, where there is a plausible future […]

7 Dec, 2013

Survey Reveals Business, Personal Impacts of Oct 2013 U.S. Federal Government Shutdown

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HERNDON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–December 03, 2013 – The 16-day shutdown of the U.S. government in October 2013 had widespread business and personal impacts that reached far beyond the federal sector and well outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, according to findings of a survey released today by ORI, a market research and strategic business intelligence firm. […]

7 Dec, 2013

European Commission: Five festive season tips to avoid on-line fraud

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Brussels, 6 December 2013, European Commission Press release – 12% of internet users across the EU have already fallen victim to online fraud. 8% have had to deal with identity theft. A new report by the European Consumer Centre Network (ECC-Net) takes a look at the scams faced by consumers when shopping online. The report […]

7 Dec, 2013

Brilliant Speech by Indian PM: Tackling the “Revolution of Rising Expectations”

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New Delhi, Prime Minister’s Office, 06-December-2013 – Following is the text of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s address at the Hindustan Times Summit, 2013, in New Delhi: “I am glad to be amidst you today, but we meet in rather sad circumstances, the demise of President Nelson Mandela. He represented the conscience of the […]

7 Dec, 2013

European Commission Assesses a Year of Progress in Battle Against Tax Evasion, Avoidance

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Source: European Commission Brussels, 5 December 2013 Why has the Commission made fighting tax fraud and evasion a priority? Every year, billions of euros of public money are lost in the EU due to tax evasion and tax avoidance. As a result, Member States suffer a serious loss of revenue, as well as a dent […]

7 Dec, 2013

Who is monitoring covert operations of global spy agencies?

Not since the infamous Sheraton Hotel incident in Melbourne 30 years ago, when weapons-brandishing spies bungled a mock hostage rescue exercise, has the Australian Secret Intelligence Service wound up with so much egg on its face. In that escapade, ASIS trainees broke down a guest-room door with a sledgehammer, terrorised the hotel manager and pulled […]

7 Dec, 2013

Australian PM gets tough on travel costs – Sydney Morning Herald

The Prime Minister Tony Abbott has ordered cabinet ministers and top public servants to personally approve the airfares and hotel bookings of tens of thousands of bureaucrats as part of a crackdown on government travel costs. Fairfax Media has learnt that on November 18, Mr Abbott issued a directive designed to clamp down on official […]

7 Dec, 2013

Nelson Mandela: A Jewish Perspective by Rabbi Michael Lerner

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Jews love and loved Nelson Mandela. He inspired us with his insistence that the old regime of apartheid would crumble more quickly and fully when faced with revolutionary love and compassion than when faced with anger and violence. Mandela also challenged us to think deeply about whether the current situation in Israel/Palestine reflects the ethic […]

6 Dec, 2013

Asians 11 times more likely to be stopped at UK borders, analysis finds – theguardian.com

Fresh concerns that Asian people are more than 11 times more likely than white people to be stopped at British airports and ports and questioned under counter-terrorism powers have been raised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). A new experimental pattern of analysis of the ethnicity of the 50,000 people a year who […]

6 Dec, 2013

Time is up for Qantas – Sydney Morning Herald

Time is up for Qantas. The government cannot fix the commercial disaster that the national carrier faces. The airline is in crisis and in need of radical surgery and the first partial limb to be harvested and auctioned to the highest bidder will undoubtedly be its lucrative Frequent Flyer program. The next might be the […]

6 Dec, 2013

Australian Police, Banks release tips to safeguard against festive season scams, frauds

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December 05 2013, Australian Bankers Association / Australian Federal Police Joint media release – With Christmas shopping lists being made and holidays with friends and families being planned, banks and police are providing some security tips so that fraudsters don’t spoil your festive season. More and more consumers are shopping online because it’s convenient, provides a […]

6 Dec, 2013

American fast-food workers to strike again – Sydney Morning Herald

Washington: The United States was facing a wave of strikes by its fast-food workers on Thursday, a day after Barack Obama warned that inequality in the country had reached to the point that it posed “a fundamental threat to the American dream”. Low-paid workers in McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and other fast-food outlets in 100 […]

6 Dec, 2013

East Timorese stone Australian embassy – Sydney Morning Herald

About 100 protesters in East Timor have thrown rocks at the Australian embassy, with police responding with tear gas as a spying row intensifies. East Timor has expressed outrage over reports that Australia secretly bugged ministerial deliberations in Dili in 2004 to gain leverage in negotiations on an oil and gas revenue-sharing deal. The protest […]

6 Dec, 2013

U.S. Public Feels Country Losing Global Respect, Power and Prestige – Pew Research Report

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WASHINGTON DC, (Dec 3, 2013) Pew Research Centre – Growing numbers of Americans believe that U.S. global power and prestige are in decline. And support for U.S. global engagement, already near a historic low, has fallen further. The public thinks that the nation does too much to solve world problems, and increasing percentages want the […]

6 Dec, 2013

8,500 Students to Benefit from “Connect a School” project launch in Sri Lanka

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Geneva, 5 December 2013 – The International Telecommunications Union has selected Sri Lanka as one of five countries for the ‘Connect a School, Connect a Community’ project. Following the completion of a ‘Connect a school, Connect a Community’ project in Akuressa, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) initiated this project with ITU to extend […]

6 Dec, 2013

TSA made half a million dollars last year from loose change – Washington Post

The next time you go through airport security, check those grey and white bins where you unload your pockets. Last year, the Transportation Security Administration collected $531,395.22 in change left behind at checkpoints. Federal law requires the TSA to report the amount of unclaimed money they keep every year to Congress. The Fiscal Year 2012 […]

5 Dec, 2013

Wake up John Kerry, a global intifada is erupting | The Electronic Intifada

If US Secretary of State John Kerry had any sense he would act now to avert a looming disaster. He would lay the groundwork to a peaceful transition of power from the exclusive Jewish-Zionist regime to a democratically elected government that represents all people living in Palestine/Israel. He would explain to the current Israeli regime […]

5 Dec, 2013

Snowden learnt ethical hacking, Java programming in India – Hindustan Times

Edward Snowden, who worked as a cyber security contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA) and stole thousands of sensitive documents containing details of the worldwide snooping operations of the NSA, spent six quite and cautious days in India 2010 learning about ethical hacking and core Java programming. “Snowden had told us that he […]

5 Dec, 2013

Facebook’s Future Plans for Data Collection Beyond All Imagination | Alternet

“The amount of information gathered from users,” explain Facebook programmers Justin Voskuhl and Ramesh Vyaghrapuri in their patent application, “is staggering — information describing recent moves to a new city, graduations, births, engagements, marriages, and the like.” Facebook and other so-called tech companies have been warehousing all of this information since their respective inceptions. In […]

5 Dec, 2013

FREE Download: Social Recruiting Predictions 2014

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San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) December 04, 2013 – Today, Identified released its latest complimentary eBook featuring tips, trends and predictions from 22 recruiting industry leaders. Social Recruiting Predictions and Trends for 2014 is a compilation of insights from social media thought leaders such as “LinkedIn Diva” Lori Ruff, best-selling author Lou Adler, and Jobcast CEO […]

5 Dec, 2013

Another NSA Whistleblower Warns of Surveillance, Hidden Traps in TPP Deal

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MOSCOW–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Edward Snowden was not the first major whistleblower the National Security Agency has faced. Before him, there was former senior executive with the NSA Thomas Drake who made major headlines of his own. In a new exclusive interview with the Voice of Russia, Drake, a former senior executive with the NSA, spoke about his […]

5 Dec, 2013

FREE Download: FAO Report to help strengthen forest producer organizations

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25 November, 2013, Guilin/Rome (FAO Media release) – Strengthening forest producer organizations should contribute significantly to reducing poverty, improving livelihoods and enhancing economic development of smallholder forest owners and farmers, FAO said today at the International Conference on Forest Producer Organizations, taking place in Guilin, China, 25-28 November 2013. Being part of a producer organization […]

5 Dec, 2013

ITU Moves to Boost Critical Radio Communication Links During Disasters, Crises

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Geneva, 29 November 2013 – ITU held a Workshop on Emergency Broadcasting to highlight the importance of international cooperation needed to enhance the reach of broadcasting in emergency situations, such as in the Philippines, which was recently devastated by Typhoon Haiyan and the cyclones that have battered the coastal districts of eastern India. A new […]

5 Dec, 2013

No easy death: Ageing populations will need to work longer, save more – OECD report

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Paris, (OECD News release) 26/11/2013 – Recent reforms of pension systems have helped to contain the rise in future costs resulting from ageing populations and increasing life expectancy. Governments now need to do more to encourage people to work longer and save more for their retirement to ensure that benefits are adequate enough to maintain […]

5 Dec, 2013

European Commission names and shames banking giants for collusion, rigging, misconduct

Source: European Commission

Brussels 4 December 2013 – Introductory remarks by Joaquín Almunia, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Competition Policy at a Press conference on cartels in the financial sector.  Today the Commission has taken decisions in two cartel cases in the financial sector. We have reached settlements with 8 financial institutions which violated EU antitrust rules […]

5 Dec, 2013

Model cities to rise in typhoon-hit areas | Manila Bulletin

December 4, 2013 (updated) Manila, Philippines – The rise of model cities in areas hit by super-typhoon “Yolanda” could be the silver lining that the country can expect from government’s determined reconstruction efforts in Leyte, Samar, and even in Iloilo. Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez, chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban […]

5 Dec, 2013

Australian intelligence watchdog accused of failing to act on claims of East Timor bugging – Sydney Morning Herald

The former senior spy who blew the whistle on alleged Australian bugging of East Timor’s government took his case to the intelligence watchdog but it did not investigate and advised him to get a lawyer if he wanted to take the matter further. Lawyer and former ACT attorney-general Bernard Collaery – whose office was raided […]

5 Dec, 2013

Thousands of ‘Yolanda’ women, kids risk being human trafficking victims | Manila Bulletin

December 5, 2013, Washington – Thousands of women and children in the Philippines risk falling prey to human traffickers in the aftermath of last month’s catastrophic typhoon, lawmakers and the chief US aid agency warned Tuesday. A US congressman returning from a visit to the storm-ravaged Visayas regions in the Philippines said that while Filipino […]

5 Dec, 2013

FREE Download: UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport 2013

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Geneva, Switzerland, (05 December 2013) – Driven by rising domestic demand in China and by increased intra-Asian and South–South trade, international seaborne trade performed relatively well in 2012, with volumes increasing by 4.3 per cent, reaching 9.2 billion tons for the first time ever, UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2013 (RMT13)1  reports. World container port […]

5 Dec, 2013

Infographic: Wiping Palestine Off the Map – Al Jazeera English

Twenty years have passed since the signing of the Oslo Accords, the first agreement between Israelis and Palestinians since 1948. The accords led to Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s mutual recognition of one another, stipulated the withdrawal of Israeli forces from some Palestinian territory, and created the Palestinian Authority to govern the West Bank […]

5 Dec, 2013

Australian spies raid home of East Timor lawyer | Jakarta Post

Australia’s secret service has raided the Canberra homes of a lawyer and a former spy who intend to allege in an international court in The Hague that Australia bugged the East Timorese Cabinet ahead of sensitive oil and gas revenue-sharing negotiations. East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on Wednesday condemned Australia’s actions as “counterproductive and […]

5 Dec, 2013

Figures reveal financial insecurity for India’s elderly – The Hindu

Activists of Pension Parishad, continue to campaign for universal pension system and are pressing for a minimum monthly pension not less than 50 percent of minimum wage or Rs.2,000 per month, whichever is higher. Retirement remains a luxury few among the poor in India can afford. The latest Census reveals that India is home to […]

5 Dec, 2013

Disability no barrier to one Chinese young boy’s can-do spirit

By Nick Compton

Beijing, (China Daily) 2013-12-03 – When he talks about his disability, Yi Xiaoyuan has a serious look on his face. His voice doesn’t halter and his gaze doesn’t wander. He has been in a wheelchair for 10 years, since he was 11 years old and his rheumatoid arthritis worsened. With his mother sitting next to […]

5 Dec, 2013

China unveils plan for resource-dependent cities

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(Xinhua ) 2013-12-03, BEIJING – China on Tuesday unveiled a development plan for 262 cities it identified as resource-dependent — those that are rich in natural resources — in an effort to guide their growth onto a more sustainable track. The plan, the first national framework on sustainable development of resource-dependent cities, put the cities […]

5 Dec, 2013

About 75% of Chinese PwD’s unemployed

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Beijing (CNTV) December 04, 2013 – December 3rd marks the United Nations World Day for Persons with Disabilities. This year’s theme is: “Break Barriers, Open Doors.” But despite many reforms in China to boost their employment, opportunities for handicapped job-seekers in the world’s second-largest economy remain far from equal, with just over one in four […]

5 Dec, 2013

PwD’s Must Be Able To Reap Benefits Of Development, UN Officials Stress

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United Nations, (UN News Centre), Dec 3 2013 – Marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the United Nations is calling for global efforts to ensure that the more than one billion people worldwide who live with some form of disability can reap the benefits of development and fully participate in society. “We must […]

5 Dec, 2013

Accessibility Centre for PwD’s Inaugurated At UN Headquarters

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United Nations, (UN News Centre) Dec 4 2013 – Hailing a new facility that enables greater participation of persons with disabilities in intergovernmental processes at Headquarters as “a model of the digital United Nations we are are trying to create,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today the initiative showed the Organization is making strides towards creating […]

5 Dec, 2013

India Confers National Awards for Empowerment of PwD’s 2013

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Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, 03-December-2013 – Indian President Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities-2013 at a function organized by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment here today. Congratulating the awardees, the President said that this important day gives us an opportunity to reflect on our […]

5 Dec, 2013

Singapore hotel wins first Asia-Pacific award for dedication to Persons with Disabilities

Imtiaz Muqbil was the only travel industry journalist invited to cover this historic event.

Bangkok, Dec 3, 2013 – The Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre became the first hotel winner of a newly launched award to recognise Asia-Pacific companies creating meaningful jobs for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). Two other winners of the ESCAP-Sasakawa Award For Disability-Inclusive Business in Asia and the Pacific were the Indian information technology company […]

5 Dec, 2013

6 Signs Our Culture Is Sick With Greed | Alternet

By R.J. Eskow November 28, 2013 | The love of money for money’s sake is the social disease of our time. We see it all around us: in the celebration of ill-gotten stock gains, public admiration for the heads of criminal banks, the words of Kanye West, in the commercialization of charity and even spirituality. […]

5 Dec, 2013

Mahatma Gandhi’s march of 1913 re-enacted in South Africa – The Hindu

Hundreds of people in South Africa re-enacted the 1913 march led by Mahatma Gandhi against discriminatory laws to commemorate the centenary of the historic event. A special train was organised from Durban to Newcastle via Pietermaritzburg, Ladysmith and other cities on the way for this historic event.Hundreds of people began their journey at about 2 […]

5 Dec, 2013

Oligarchy in the Holy Land — Tiny Number of Families Dominates Israel’s Economy | Alternet

Israel’s gaping inequality is also manifested in housing policy. When the state was founded on the ruins of Palestinian villages, new towns were created in the periphery of Israel, and they came to be populated mostly by Mizrahi Jews. While the Mizrahi Jews served an important purpose for the state in building a demographic buffer […]

4 Dec, 2013

Waiting for Greenwald: Why India can’t stay mute on NSA spying – Hindustan Times

No person in recent memory has succeeded in creating one big misunderstanding within the global policy elite as Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower who has drawn attention to US’s spying activities across the world. These include gathering metadata about emails and phone calls, gaining access to personal communications of millions of users, breaking encryption that […]

4 Dec, 2013

India protests against US spying – Hindustan Times

India has ratcheted up its response to mass surveillance by the US National Security Agency as revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden, launching a formal diplomatic protest against what it regards as commercial and political spying. It is learnt that around the time of a quiet three-day visit to India late last month by NSA chief […]

3 Dec, 2013

Open letter from Carl Bernstein to Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger | theguardian.com

What is new and most significant about the information originating with Mr Snowden and some of its specificity is how government surveillance has been conducted by intelligence agencies without the proper oversight – especially in the United States – by the legislative and judicial branches of government charged with such oversight, especially as the capabilities […]

3 Dec, 2013

Indonesian Chartered flight business to see double-digit growth | Jakarta Post

The chartered flight services business is projected to flourish next year not only because of increasing demand from the travel market, but also due to the upcoming election period, which will see many people charter aircraft to assist their campaigns. Indonesian National Air Carrier Association (INACA) non-scheduled services division head Denon Prawiraatmadja said the business […]

3 Dec, 2013

Indonesia strengthens national defenses in wake of Australian spying | Jakarta Post

The government is drawing up new strategies to reinforce national defense in the wake of the spying scandal that has led to a diplomatic row with neighboring Australia. Among the moves is the procurement of a new satellite that will be operational next year to prevent future spying by Australia or other foreign agencies. Defense […]

3 Dec, 2013

Australian espionage and the history of foreign intervention in Indonesia | Jakarta Post

Indonesia emerged as a modern nation in the wake of World War II, when Japanese troops ousted the Dutch, who had subjugated and exploited the country for centuries. After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Indonesia’s founding president Sukarno declared independence. The new republic lay within the American-dominated Southwest Pacific Area and was soon handed […]

3 Dec, 2013

Revealed: Australian spy agency offered to share data about ordinary citizens | The Guardian

Australia’s surveillance agency offered to share information collected about ordinary Australian citizens with its major intelligence partners, according to a secret 2008 document leaked by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden. The document shows the partners discussing whether or not to share “medical, legal or religious information”, and increases concern that the agency could be operating […]

3 Dec, 2013

Increasing Chinese tourists embrace fear of extreme and outdoor sports

By Xu Yanyan and Song Dan

MELBOURNE, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) — The cabin door opened when the green light was flashing, Liu Kang moved forward to sit at the edge of the door with his tandem master. Everyone was pretty scared, and they stepped out of the plane after someone behind Liu was shouting “embrace the fear”. With a 60-second free […]

3 Dec, 2013

FREE Download: Pacific Region Faces Rising Fiscal Challenges in 2014 – ADB Report

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WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND, 2 December 2013 – Fiscal pressures are expected to increase in the Pacific in 2014, according to the latest issue of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Pacific Economic Monitor, launched today at the offices of the New Zealand Aid Programme. Public spending for post-cyclone recovery in Samoa is likely to slow progress […]

3 Dec, 2013

China’s tea growers take the less travelled road in Africa and Europe

By Todd Balazovic and Li Aaoxue

2013-12-02 (China Daily) – What started 5,000 years ago with a haphazard gust of wind dropping foliage into the boiling pot of a wandering Chinese emperor has brewed into a cultural cornerstone worth billions in any currency. China may be the world’s largest tea producer — growing about 2 million tons annually — but international […]

3 Dec, 2013

China’s General aviation sector ‘set for takeoff’

By Ma Lie and Wang Wen

Beijing 2013-11-30 (China Daily) – The general aviation industry in China is poised for a boom, with the authorities encouraging its development, but the money pouring into the sector may lead to a bubble, industry experts said. The Civil Aviation Administration of China and the General Staff Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army jointly released […]

3 Dec, 2013

How Spiritual Tourism Might Change the World | Ben Bowler

One of the first challenges for those interested in “spiritual tourism” is defining exactly what it is. Believers taking part in religious pilgrimages such as Muslims doing the Hajj or Buddhists visiting the four sacred sites in India and Nepal are plainly recognised as “spiritual tourists” as are the 500 000 people belonging to various […]

3 Dec, 2013

FREE Download: Asia-Pacific Statistical Yearbook 2013

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Bangkok (UN ESCAP Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section) 3 December 2013 –  The development community must work together to place statistical capacity building at the center of the post-2015 development agenda to ensure that high quality data and information are available to people and governments to support more effective decision-making, the United Nations said today. Reflecting on […]

2 Dec, 2013

The Price of War: Imaging Shows Impact of Blast-induced Brain Injuries in Veterans

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CHICAGO, Dec. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Using a special type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers have found that soldiers who suffered mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) induced by blast exposure exhibit long-term brain differences, according to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Recent […]

2 Dec, 2013

Alarm as HIV cases soar among gays

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Beijing, (People’s Daily Online)  December 01, 2013 – Programmatic coverage for men having sex with men remains inadequate across the Asia and the Pacific region, Director of UNAIDS Asia and the Pacific Steven Kraus told People’s Daily Online on Sunday. Male-to-male sex becomes the prominent contributing factor to new HIV infections, pointed out by UNAIDS […]

2 Dec, 2013

Confucius classroom hubs opened in Northern Ireland

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(Xinhua) November 30, 2013 – Eight Confucius Classroom Hubs under the Confucius Institute at Ulster University opened Friday in Northern Ireland to meet children’s needs in learning the Chinese language and culture. “Northern Ireland has maintained good relationship with China,” said Peter Robinson, the first minister of Northern Ireland, who attended the opening ceremony at […]