14 Oct, 2013

Mums develop their nose for business – Sydney Morning Herald

More women with successful careers are starting their own business or working for themselves from home after having children. The ”female” economy is fast growing and one that the big banks are keen to reach. Women have spent a lot of time and effort building their careers, says Larke Riemer, director of women’s markets at […]

13 Oct, 2013

Snowden: US spying program making people less safe – Arab News

MOSCOW: The former National Security Agency systems analyst, Edward Snowden, said that the mass surveillance programs used by the United States to tap into phone and internet connections around the world are making people less safe. In short video clips posted by the WikiLeaks website on Friday, Snowden said that the NSA’s mass surveillance, which […]

13 Oct, 2013

PressTV – Pentagon admits to holding phony arrival ceremonies for soldiers’ remains

The Department of Defense unit charged with recovering servicemembers’ remains abroad has been holding phony “arrival ceremonies” for seven years, with an honor guard carrying flag-draped coffins off of a cargo plane as though they held the remains returning that day from old battlefields. The Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday that no honored dead were in fact […]

13 Oct, 2013

U.S. restaurant workers’ stolen wages in the spotlight – Al Jazeera English

In September 2012, about 20 restaurant workers protested in front of the popular David’s Cafe in Miami Beach, a restaurant owned by their former employer, Adrian Gonzalez. They give you cheques, three or four, you go to the bank and there is no money. The bank says that is a crime so you go to […]

13 Oct, 2013

Asia Times Online: Homeland Security set for next Wall St collapse

Reports are that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is engaged in a massive, covert military buildup. An article in the Associated Press in February confirmed an open purchase order by DHS for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. According to an op-ed in Forbes, that’s enough to sustain an Iraq-sized war for over 20 years. […]

13 Oct, 2013

Yitzhak Rabin memorial rally draws thousands – Haaretz

Thousands of people gathered Saturday night for a rally marking 18 years to the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The rally, which was scheduled to commence at 8 P.M., took place at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, where the prime minister was assassinated on November 4, 1995 by right-wing extremist Yigal Amir. The site, […]

12 Oct, 2013

Reserve at least 3% jobs for disabled: Apex court – Indian Express

A marathon legal struggle for a level playing field brought something to cheer about for at least 4 crore people with disabilities in India as the Supreme Court Tuesday ruled in favour of a minimum 3 percent reservation for them in all central and state government jobs. This, the court said, would “ensure proper implementation […]

12 Oct, 2013

Tokyo Metro government to extend hours of arts, sports facilities | The Japan Times

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will move up or extend business hours at its arts and sports facilities this fall and winter to accommodate more diverse lifestyles. “I believe the efforts will lead to increased consumption and revitalize the economy by supporting people’s various lifestyles, with working hours not limited to 9 to 5 anymore,” Gov. […]

12 Oct, 2013

Big data has made privacy obsolete – The Japan Times

LONDON – Watching the legal system deal with the Internet is like watching somebody trying to drive a car by looking only in the rear-view mirror. The results are amusing and predictable but not really interesting. On the other hand, watching the efforts of regulators — whether British ones such as Ofcom, or multinational, like […]

12 Oct, 2013

Are invisible forces orchestrating Myanmar’s anti-Muslim violence? – Al Jazeera

Myanmar’s president made his first trip to the violence-hit town of Thandwe last week, days after a 94-year-old Muslim woman was slain by Buddhists in a nearby village. Spurred on by an unrelated argument between a Muslim political leader and a Buddhist taxi driver two days prior, a mob approached her home in a nearby […]

12 Oct, 2013

Bali Hotel occupancy drops during APEC Summit | The Jakarta Post

The average occupancy rate of hotels in Bali, especially in Nusa Dua and the surrounding areas, has dropped quite significantly following the closure of Ngurah Rai International Airport during the ongoing APEC Summit. Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, chairman of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI), told Bali Daily on Saturday that the average […]

12 Oct, 2013

Indian Haj Centenarians completing a lifelong dream – Arab News

Believe it or not, at a time when younger people are becoming victims of even minor infections, three Indian pilgrims above the age of 100 have arrived in the Kingdom to perform Haj, and they are in perfect shape. Ismail from the north Indian state of Haryana, who has seen all of 107 summers, is […]

12 Oct, 2013

Meeting report: Hindu Economic Forum Explores Sustainable Ways to Strengthen Economy

Report issued by the organisers of the World Hindu Economic Forum

BANGKOK – The second meet of WHEF was held at Bangkok on 10th and 11th August 2013. Dr. Olarn Chaipravat, Former Deputy Prime Minister and the President of Thailand Trade Representative, inaugurated the conference. In his inaugural address, he emphasized that Thailand is re-shaping its future by improving its economy and growth and invited WHEF […]

12 Oct, 2013

We Lost 10 Years to the “War on Terror,” It’s Time We Admit It

When you look at the entirety of events over the last twelve years — 9/11, the wars, our degenerating politics, broken government, and economic catastrophes — the picture is bleak. We’ve watched our country sputter and fail at home and abroad, and the truth is undeniable: We haven’t learned from, admitted, or understood our mistakes, […]

12 Oct, 2013

Converting to Islam: British women on prayer, peace and prejudice

Around 5,000 British people convert to Islam every year – and most of them are women. Five of them talk about prejudice, peace and praying in car parks Read the rest: Converting to Islam: British women on prayer, peace and prejudice | World news | The Guardian.

12 Oct, 2013

Pope signals start of new war on Vatican corruption – The Independent

In a clear sign that he wants to be seen to be tackling endemic corruption at the Vatican, Pope Francis welcomed the Church’s highest-ranking whistleblower to a special audience today. The Pontiff last night met Monsignor Carlo Maria Vigano, the Holy See’s ambassador to the US, whose letters provided the most explosive evidence to emerge […]

12 Oct, 2013

Editors on the NSA files: ‘What the Guardian is doing is important for democracy’

On Thursday the Daily Mail described the Guardian as ‘The paper that helps Britain’s enemies’. We showed that article to many of the world’s leading editors. This is what they said: Read the rest: Editors on the NSA files: ‘What the Guardian is doing is important for democracy’ | World news | The Guardian.

12 Oct, 2013

Skype under investigation in Luxembourg over link to NSA – theguardian.com

Skype is being investigated by Luxembourg’s data protection commissioner over concerns about its secret involvement with the US National Security Agency (NSA) spy programme Prism, the Guardian has learned. The Microsoft-owned internet chat company could potentially face criminal and administrative sanctions, including a ban on passing users’ communications covertly to the US signals intelliigence agency. […]

12 Oct, 2013

The Devastating Impacts of IMF-World Bank “Economic Medicine”

As the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund hold their annual meeting in Washington 11-13th October 2013 it is necessary to take a look at the state of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). |1| The history of economic development is strewn with attempts to correct the “mistakes” of development policy. The preferred method is […]

12 Oct, 2013

PressTV – US continues to gag, murder 9/11 truth-seekers

Is the US government using assault, intimidation, even murder – and killing free speech worldwide – to cover up the insider crimes of September 11th, 2001? One of the leading scientists challenging the US government’s version of 9/11, Dr. Crockett Grabbe, has gone on the record charging 9/11 cover-up forces with a series of murders […]

10 Oct, 2013

Shanghai free trade zone heralds new strategy of reform and opening-up

By Zhang Monan

Shanghai, 2013-10-08 (China Daily) – The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, which was officially launched on Sept 29, is another strategic move in China’s latest round of efforts to boost its process of opening-up through further reform. Since China embarked on the voyage of reform and opening-up more than 30 years ago, every decade […]

9 Oct, 2013

UK e-borders scheme failing to make immigration checks – The Guardian

The Home Office’s flagship “e-borders” programme, which has taken 10 years to develop and has so far cost more than £500m, has yet to deliver significant benefits to controlling immigration and has had only a limited impact on tracking terrorists, an official watchdog has concluded. John Vine, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, […]

7 Oct, 2013

Ending injustice only way to fight terrorism – Arab News

In the aftermath of the (Nairobi) attacks, the media, old and new, have provided round-the-clock coverage. The Nairobi event received special attention because it lasted for three days and also because many of the victims were Westerners. As their identities became known interviews were conducted with their distraught relatives. Heartbreaking stories were told of young […]

7 Oct, 2013

Who leads the 21st century Asia-Pacific? Certainly not the US – Jakarta Post

Events over the past week and the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders summit have confirmed what most people already knew but were hesitant to openly admit: It is China, not the United States, who is the leader of the Asia-Pacific region in the 21st century. We expect no game-changing outcomes from the APEC Summit, […]

6 Oct, 2013

U.S. Gov’t shutdown leaves some tourists stranded near Yellowstone – Yahoo News

About 15 tourists are staying in Cooke City, one of several tiny gateway towns leading into Yellowstone National Park. Hopefully, they are enjoying their visit in the scenic area. That’s because thanks to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the tourists are literally trapped inside Cooke City. “We’re trapped,” Bill Anderson, 70, told the Bozeman Daily […]

4 Oct, 2013

Thai King’s ‘Sufficiency Economy’ theory goes global – The Nation

It has taken a long time for people at home and abroad to understand and appreciate His Majesty The King’s “Sufficiency Economy” theory. The term in English is oblique; in Thai, as in “Por Pieng” literally translated as “Just enough”, it is misleading. “Just enough” for whom? Is it anti-capitalist, anti-wealth, anti-progress or and anti-modernity? […]

4 Oct, 2013

Exclusive: Iraq still using bogus bomb detectors – and thousands pay the price – The Independent

Bogus bomb detectors are still being used in Iraq five months after a British businessman who supplied the devices was found guilty of fraud. More than 4,500 people are estimated to have been killed in Iraq – 979 of them in September alone – since James McCormick, a former policeman, was convicted at the Old […]

4 Oct, 2013

Security “threats” creating Israeli military millionnaires | The Guardian

Demobbed geeks once overshadowed by gun-toting commandos have made the most of their expertise in cybersecurity, data storage, mobile communications and analytical algorithms to help transform the basis of Israel’s economy from orange groves to mobile-phone apps. Israeli inventions include instant messaging, the USB memory stick, the firewall and the secure data links that enable […]

3 Oct, 2013

US retailers withdraw ‘Osama bin Laden’ costume after Sikh complaints – The Independent

US retailers including Amazon and Walmart have pulled a turban-and-beard Halloween costume off the shelves after complaints that it looked like an Osama bin Laden costume. The decision to remove the costume followed complaints by the Sikh Coalition, a US-based Sikh advocacy group which sent letters and made phone calls to the retailers asking them […]

3 Oct, 2013

British passport is No.1 for visa-free travel – The Independent

The British enjoy the widest range of visa-free travel on the planet. Along with citizens of Finland and Sweden, holders of UK passports are able to visit 173 of the world’s nations without applying for a visa. The annual 2013 Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index ranks countries according to the number of nations their […]

3 Oct, 2013

US govt shutdown: Germany, UK issue ‘travel warning’ Obama cancels Asia trip – Times of India

WASHINGTON: Germany and Britain became the first countries to issue a “travel warning” for the United States as the government shutdown in America entered the second day on Wednesday with no sign of resolution. Feisty Democrats and hardline Republicans stuck to their guns, the former rejecting proposals from conservatives to fund re-opening of just parts […]

3 Oct, 2013

Newport Beach Police Bosses Used Island Hotel As Free Partying Pad: Lawsuit

Orange County billionaire Don Bren’s Island Hotel gave multiple command-staff officers at the Newport Beach Police Department (NBPD) free suites, massages, spa services, booze and food, as well as agreed to erase hotel-surveillance footage when the cops didn’t want any record of who they were partying with in rooms. Those allegations are contained in a […]

29 Sep, 2013

Chinese govt departments adopt more frugal meetings to cut waste, extravagance

=========

Beijing, 2013-09-25, (China Daily) – In a fresh show of resolve to fight extravagance and promote frugality, central Party and government departments will have to cut their cafter a new regulation comes into effect on Jan 1. A regulation issued by the Ministry of Finance on Monday sets stricter standards for the size, duration and […]

29 Sep, 2013

N.S.A. Gathers Data on Social Connections of U.S. Citizens – NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — Since 2010, the National Security Agency has been exploiting its huge collections of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans’ social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with officials. The spy agency began […]

29 Sep, 2013

BBC News – Americans giving up citizenship to flee the taxman

Goodbye, US passport. That’s not a concept that Americans contemplate lightly. But it’s one that many of them seem to be considering – and acting on. The number of expatriates renouncing their US citizenship surged in the second quarter of 2013, compared with the same period the year before – 1,131 cases to 189 in […]

28 Sep, 2013

Philippines 45-day gun ban starts Sept 28 | Manila Bulletin

Authorities have imposed a 45-day gun ban starting Sept. 28 to Nov. 12 for the coming barangay elections on Oct. 28. The gun ban period covers 30 days before and 15 days after the elections. Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said they will also set up check points nationwide. He said individuals who […]

28 Sep, 2013

Seymour Hersh: Story About Killing Osama Bin Laden is One Big Lie | Alternet

September 27, 2013 | Seymour Hersh has got some extreme ideas on how to fix journalism – close down the news bureaus of NBC and ABC, sack 90% of editors in publishing and get back to the fundamental job of journalists which, he says, is to be an outsider. It doesn’t take much to fire […]

28 Sep, 2013

MoD study sets out how to sell wars to the public | The Guardian

The armed forces should seek to make British involvement in future wars more palatable to the public by reducing the public profile of repatriation ceremonies for casualties, according to a Ministry of Defence unit that formulates strategy. Other suggestions made by the MoD thinktank in a discussion paper examining how to assuage “casualty averse” public […]

27 Sep, 2013

Yet another doctored riot – Hindustan Times

By Harsh Mander, Director, Centre for Equity Studies People of diverse faiths who live together do not spontaneously turn against each other. There are three requisites for mass communal violence to occur. The first is the deliberate manufacture of hatred. The second is the manufacture of a ‘riot’. The third is a complicit State: no […]

27 Sep, 2013

Most pilots admit they have fallen asleep on duty – The Independent

Of the 500 commercial pilots polled, 43 per cent said they believed their abilities had been compromised at least once a month in the last six months by tiredness, with 84 per cent saying it has been compromised at some stage during the past six months. Also, 31 per cent did not believe their airline […]

27 Sep, 2013

Asia falls in global wealth list | The Japan Times

HONG KONG – Some 300,000 people joined Asia’s millionaire ranks last year, according to a new world wealth report that also found the region slipped behind a rebounding North America. The report, released Wednesday by CapGemini and Royal Bank of Canada, is the latest of several recent surveys highlighting the strong rise in the region’s […]

27 Sep, 2013

More nations to get visa breaks | The Japan Times

The Abe administration plans to relax visa requirements for Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos by the end of the year to help increase tourism, government sources said. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to unveil the plan next Tuesday at the same time he announces his decision on raising the consumption tax to 8 percent, the […]

27 Sep, 2013

The reason why Nokia and BlackBerry died – Times Of India

Nokia and BlackBerry are finished. The BlackBerry and Nokia that you and I knew are gone. They had their glory days. They ruled the market. They sold products that millions used. Those days are gone. So what killed Nokia and BlackBerry? I am sure books will be written on their demise and they will be […]

27 Sep, 2013

Goa, Kerala most advanced states; Gujarat among ‘less developed’ – Hindustan Times

The Raghuram Rajan panel report has made a case for ending the ‘special category’ criteria for providing additional assistance to poorer states, as it ranked Goa and Kerala as the most advanced states and Odisha and Bihar the least. The committee, headed by the then chief economic advisor Raghuram Rajan (now RBI governor) which was […]

27 Sep, 2013

The Palestinian village Israel has wiped off the map – The Independent

On 16 September the army destroyed Makhul at 5am, ordering residents to vacate so that the bulldozers could demolish the corrugated-metal dwellings and animal sheds. Some residents trace their presence at the site to before Israel’s victory in the 1967 war, though Israeli officials said most had dwellings in other locales and lived there just […]

27 Sep, 2013

The most honest cities in the world – The Independent

Would you hand in a lost wallet or would you keep it? According to the results of a new experiment, more people are likely to hand in a wallet in Helsinki, Finland than in any other city in the world. Eleven out of 12 wallets were returned to their owners in the Scandinavian city. As […]

27 Sep, 2013

2020 Olympics Games planners target airport access | The Japan Times

Sep 23, 2013 – Before hosting the 1964 Summer Olympic Games, Tokyo carried out an unprecedented upgrade of its transportation system that gave the capital a bullet train system, elevated highways and a monorail connecting the city with Haneda airport. Giving a similar boost to the infrastructure before the 2020 Games may be tricky, as […]

27 Sep, 2013

Ageing population looms as 400 Beijing citizens turn 60 every day: report

=========

Beijing, (Xinhua) September 25, 2013 – Beijing is faced with rapid growth in its elderly population, with 400 more people reaching the age of 60 every day, according to a report by the city government. The capital will see an estimated increase of 100,000 senior citizens every year until 2020, which highlights the huge challenge […]

26 Sep, 2013

Survey: MillionaireMatch Men Prefer to Date Non-Millionaires, While Millionaire Women Prefer Rich Guys

=========

Los Angeles (PRWEB) September 26, 2013 – In a random sample of nearly 15,000 survey respondents from the luxury dating site MillionaireMatch.com, a new survey reveals that millionaire men are much more likely to seek out non-millionaires; only 8.2% preferred millionaires and 12.2% had no preference either way. But, interestingly, 84.5% of millionaire women prefer […]

26 Sep, 2013

Syria war a lucrative business for gun merchants

Damascus, 25 September 2013 (IINA) – While most Syrians get poorer with every day of war, Aleppo’s main gun seller Abu Mohammad is doing just fine by selling firearms, including rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and even swords. “War is great business,” said the northern city’s only gunshop owner, as he laid several hand grenades out on […]

26 Sep, 2013

Students offer practical ideas to boost tourism | The Japan Times

Creating a credit-card friendly market, providing round-the-clock public transportation and supporting travelers in multiple languages would go a long way toward increasing overseas visitors to Japan, international students advised the tourism ministry Wednesday. Speaking at the ministry’s first roundtable meeting of its kind, 12 students from eight countries presented their ideas to administration officials and […]

26 Sep, 2013

U.S. security agency bugged Indian missions in D.C., U.N. – The Hindu

Two of the most important nerve-centres of Indian diplomacy outside the country — the Permanent Mission of India at the United Nations and the embassy in Washington, DC — were targets of such sophisticated bugs implanted by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) that entire computer hard disks might have been copied by the American […]

26 Sep, 2013

Messiah Modi by Juggle-Bandhi : Jug Suraiya’s blog-The Times Of India

To his fans, Modi is like a Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, or a Baba Ramdev, but with the added attribute of political muscle which will haul this country out of the Kalyug into which it has been plunged and lead it to the promised realm of Ram rajya. This near deification of their hero is […]

25 Sep, 2013

US soldiers lose a nose for antiques? – English pravda.ru

The events in Syria are alarming not only for the oil market, but also antiques market participants who are familiar with the shocks that emerge in this market segment during invasions of U.S. forces in the Middle East. Pravda.Ru asked experts whether we should expect a collapse in prices for artifacts in connection with their […]

25 Sep, 2013

Russians Say Trips Abroad, Church Most Popular Trends – RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) – Taking vacations abroad, running a business, doing sports and going to church are the most popular trends in Russian society, an opinion poll showed Tuesday. Some 87 percent of Russians said that taking vacations abroad was a popular trend among their compatriots, alongside doing sports (75 percent) and martial […]

25 Sep, 2013

Neo-Nazis form expanding networks beyond national borders – DW.DE

The murder of Pavlos Fyssas seems to have served as a wake up call for the Greek authorities. An antifascist activist and rapper, Fyssas was stabbed to death on Wednesday (September 18) near Athens. The suspected offender was a member of the neo-Nazi political party Golden Dawn. The party, which gained nearly 7 percent of […]

25 Sep, 2013

‘Germany must wake up to neo-Nazi threat’ – DW.DE

Released in the midst of Germany’s federal election campaign, David Crossland’s “The Jewish Candidate” poses the timely question of whether or not the country is ready for a Jewish leader. While the page-turner affirms that it is, it also depicts an extremely violent, well-organized and well-financed neo-Nazi scene, which plans an assassination attempt on the […]

25 Sep, 2013

Breaking U.N. Protocol, Brazil Lambastes U.S. Spying | Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 24 2013 (IPS) – Throwing diplomatic protocol to the winds, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff launched a blistering attack on the United States for illegally infiltrating its communications network, surreptitiously intercepting phone calls, and breaking into the Brazilian Mission to the United Nations. Departing from a longstanding tradition of closed-door diplomacy on bilateral […]

25 Sep, 2013

Indian Police harassment of “The Hindu” continues – The Hindu

Police intimidation of The Hindu continued for the seventh consecutive day on Monday when they resolved to make the Resident Editor S. Nagesh Kumar run around the Punjagutta police station for as many times as possible. As the Punjagutta police had declined to receive his bail sureties on Sunday, Mr. Nagesh Kumar, along with his […]

24 Sep, 2013

NSA surveillance goes beyond Orwell’s imagination – theguardian.com

The potential of the surveillance state goes way beyond anything in George Orwell’s 1984, Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian’s editor-in-chief, told an audience in New York on Monday. Speaking in the wake of a series of revelations in the Guardian about the extent of the National Security Agency’s surveillance operations, Rusbridger said: “Orwell could never have […]

24 Sep, 2013

Too much time on social media may affect short-term memory – Indian Express

Always online? Take a break!People who spend too much time browsing social media could be squandering their memories or losing important information, a new study has warned. Contrary to common wisdom, an idle brain is in fact doing important work – and in the age of constant information overload, it’s a good idea to go […]

24 Sep, 2013

Why Modi is no panacea for India | Arab News

The school students who attentively listened to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi’s “never run after high position” sermon on Teachers’ Day must be a confused lot. Did they expect Modi, widely believed to be the Hindutva brigades’ talisman, to take a U-turn within days and lobby for his name to be […]

23 Sep, 2013

Paedophile ring used boys home – Sydney Morning Herald

An ”organised ring” of paedophiles believed to include Anglican and Catholic clergy used a Sunday afternoon ”children’s Christian program” in the 1970s to sexually abuse boys at a church-run Wallsend boys home. ”These men just came, got the boys, used them, and put them back,” said a Hunter woman whose husband has told the Royal […]

23 Sep, 2013

‘Brazil Uncovered:’ CCTV America launches weeklong special on Brazil

=========

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — CCTV America, the US production arm of CCTV News, the global English Channel of China Central Television, from Monday, September 23rdwill feature a week of special, in depth, programming on Brazil, South America’s largest nation. China is its largest trading partner. In this special series, a team of CCTV […]

22 Sep, 2013

A fatal flaw when choosing the right leader – BBC – Capital

In the face of change, executives who stick to the same playbook that got them to the top is almost always a failing formula. The inability of senior executives to adapt and adjust is the real reason companies such as Blockbuster and Kodak went out of business — and the reason companies like Google and […]

22 Sep, 2013

Past present: Hegemons and hypocrisy – DAWN.COM

As the most powerful force in world history over the last four or five centuries, imperialism has carved up whole continents while oppressing indigenous peoples and obliterating entire civilisations. Related to power, it may be an individual endeavour where talent, skill and professionalism are deployed to achieve greatness and glory through conquests and occupation. An […]

22 Sep, 2013

Indian yoga guru stopped, questioned at Heathrow – Indian Express

Yoga guru Ramdev was today cleared by UK authorities following a second round of questioning at Heathrow Airport here, a day after he was detained and quizzed by customs officials for over six hours on landing in Britain. Though UK immigration cleared Ramdev and allowed him to carry on with his programmes in Britain, the […]

22 Sep, 2013

Hospitals may be forced to hand cancer patient information to state | Japan Times

JIJI, Sep 21, 2013 – A nonpartisan group of Diet lawmakers has drafted a bill that would oblige hospitals to provide the state with cancer patients’ personal information, including their condition, in an effort to improve treatment quality, sources said Saturday. The group, which includes members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, junior coalition ally […]

22 Sep, 2013

PressTV – Bolivia plans legal action against Obama over ‘crimes against humanity’

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales plans to file legal action against the US president for crimes against humanity, condemning Washington’s intimidation tactics after it denied Venezuelan presidential jet entry into US airspace. “I would like to announce that we are preparing a lawsuit against [US President] Barack Obama to condemn him for crimes against humanity,” President […]

22 Sep, 2013

Pakistan, India lawmakers back sustained dialogue – DAWN.COM

ISLAMABAD: Indian and Pakistani parliamentarians have called for a sustained dialogue process and expressed the hope that prime ministers of the two countries would meet in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. They were speaking at the concluding session of the fifth round of dialogue between parliamentarians of Pakistan and […]

22 Sep, 2013

Are currency speculators now manipulating the rupee? – The Hindu

We may be reaching a point where the artificial situation in which a country with a large current account deficit has a relatively stable and even occasionally appreciating currency because of large capital inflows cannot hold anymore. But the timing of the rupee’s collapse is not easily explained only by the conventional fundamentals. Enter, therefore, […]

22 Sep, 2013

BSP, BJP legislators arrested for inciting rioters in Muzaffarnagar – Times of India

LUCKNOW: A day after the arrest of BJP MLA Suresh Rana, two more MLAs, Sangeet Singh Som of the BJP and Noor Salim Rana of the Bahujan Samaj Party, were arrested for inciting communal violence in west UP. All three were sent to 14-day judicial custody by a Muzaffarnagar court on Saturday. The Muzaffarnagar administration […]

22 Sep, 2013

Indus water treaty talks begin today – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The much awaited Indo-Pak talks on the Indus Water Treaty will begin here on Sunday. During the four-day talks, both sides will discuss contentious issues of water sharing in the context of operational and proposed hydroelectric projects on Indian side. Pakistan’s objection on four hydroelectric projects (combined generation capacity of 2,018 mw) — […]

22 Sep, 2013

No Narendra Modi effect in Odisha as BJD sweeps civic polls – Indian Express

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday swept the civic polls in Odisha, winning 45 of the 66 urban local bodies. The opposition BJP could manage to win only one local body despite campaigning hard, with their billboards and other campaign material projecting the party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s face prominently. The results, […]

22 Sep, 2013

How ‘Big Data’ pings you as a spender – Sydney Morning Herald

You might think ”junk mail” but the pamphlet in your letterbox addressed ”to the homeowner” is probably there for a reason. It may not name you but the company behind the pamphlet trying to win your business knows about your suburb, and your spending habits. “Big Data” is the latest technological advance in how companies […]

21 Sep, 2013

German Far-right party calls on immigrants to “go home” – DW.DE

“Heimwandern statt einwandern,” which translates to “go home instead of immigrating,” read the headline of a recent letter sent out by the German right-wing extremist party National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). The letter was sent to candidates for German parliament who have a migration background as a means of intimidation. “Your political influence on […]

21 Sep, 2013

Why are so many Westerners homeless in Thailand? – The Independent

Steve is homeless. The 59-year-old isn’t living rough on the streets of London or his home town of Manchester though. He’s sleeping rough thousands of miles away in Thailand. For most people, spending months on a Thai beach sounds too good to be true. But the dream has turned sour for some foreigners in this […]

21 Sep, 2013

Venice residents to stage canal-bank protest over cruise ship invasion – The Guardian

Residents of the beautiful, fragile city of Venice are preparing to stage a canal-bank protest on Saturday over an invasion of up to 13 cruise ships in the space of 24 hours, which they say will turn St Mark’s Basin into a motorway. The particularly busy weekend, apparently caused by a quirk in the cruise […]

21 Sep, 2013

Asia Times Online: Arab society fails to grasp its destiny

The Arab world needs to come to its senses and realize that the changing world will usher in surprises more catastrophic than what the Crusaders brought few a centuries earlier. The foreign plan is designed to ensure Arab people do not gain any unity of purpose. All the Arab states, have strong military institutions trained […]

20 Sep, 2013

Fragility of tolerance in India – Indian Express

The logic of communal politics is gathering momentum. There have been major clashes across UP. But worryingly, this trend is beginning to appear, albeit at a low level, in Bihar as well. There has been much discussion of the immediate political antecedents of the violence in UP: the deadly combination of criminality, communalism and administrative […]

20 Sep, 2013

Gathering saffron storm and a confused Congress – Arab News

Interestingly, in the excited debate in the run up to Modi’s anointment and ever since, few in what Amit Baruah calls the Television India appear troubled by the troubling past of their hero. It’s understandable considering Television India is in the pocket of the Corporate India, which is indebted to the man who grants them […]

19 Sep, 2013

After Amartya Sen, author Amitav Ghosh says his vote won’t go to Modi

Amitav Ghosh: What happened in Gujarat in 2002 is absolutely… it was a defining moment. It was horrifying to see what happened. It was one of the moments again when the whole world looked on and was completely appalled and I was completely appalled by what happened there. How much of that responsibility devolves on […]

19 Sep, 2013

Greece’s Birthrate Decreases as Austerity Measures Increase – Truthdig

The number of live births has fallen by a whopping 10 percent in Greece in the last four years as the country suffers the worst economic conditions in the entire European Union, and continues to exercise austerity in order to receive loans from the likes of the European Bank and the IMF. Because of these […]

19 Sep, 2013

Chris Hedges: The Dead Rhetoric of War – Truthdig

The intoxication of war, fueled by the euphoric nationalism that swept through the country like a plague following the attacks of 9/11, is a spent force in the United States. The high-blown rhetoric of patriotism and national destiny, of the sacred duty to reshape the world through violence, to liberate the enslaved and implant democracy […]

19 Sep, 2013

Revealed: Extensive Koch Links to New Right-Wing $250 Million Mega Fund

Freedom Partners (FP) — a funding group previously unheard of before it shared exclusive and highly selective details about itself with Politico last week — has extensive hidden connections to Koch Industries and to charities connected to Charles Koch, according to new research by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). Politico reporters Mike Allen […]

19 Sep, 2013

Is Opposition to Syria Attack an Opportunity to End American Empire Responsibly? – Truthout

In 2003 in the run-up to the Iraq War, tens of millions protested around the world. The New York Times was forced to take note and acknowledge there were two superpowers in the world – the United States and the people. The people failed to stop that war, but the people are playing a critical […]

19 Sep, 2013

Mischa Hiller brings Palestinian heroes alive in stylish spy thriller | The Electronic Intifada

There are few works of fiction about Palestine or Palestinians that compare in quality, purity and control as those written by Mischa Hiller. Shake Off is the accomplished second novel of a writer who won a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for his equally haunting debut Sabra Zoo. In both Sabra Zoo and Shake Off worlds of […]

19 Sep, 2013

Farmer in Palestinian “breadbasket” works in Israeli settlement to survive | The Electronic Intifada

JIFTLIK, Occupied West Bank (IPS) – In the Jordan Valley, contrasts are stark. Lush agricultural fields and fenced-in greenhouses belong to the Israeli settlements that dot the landscape and benefit from the area’s abundant water supply. Yet Palestinian farmers, denied access to their lands and other resources by the Israeli authorities, struggle to cultivate the […]

19 Sep, 2013

Say goodbye to welfare state, Dutch king says – The Times of India

AMSTERDAM: King Willem-Alexander delivered a message to the Dutch people from the government Tuesday in a nationally televised address: the welfare state of the 20th century is gone. In its place will be a “participation society” in which people must save and invest to create their own social safety net with less help from the […]

18 Sep, 2013

Brazil plans to go offline from US-centric internet – The Hindu

Brazil plans to divorce itself from the US-centric internet over Washington’s widespread online spying, a move that many experts fear will be a potentially dangerous first step toward politically fracturing a global network built with minimal interference by governments. President Dilma Rousseff has ordered a series of measures aimed at greater Brazilian online independence and […]

18 Sep, 2013

Indian hospitality floors Pak students – The Hindu

A week-long stay in Delhi and Agra for these Pakistani students has been like a home away from home. They discovered that the two nations share the same culture, language and cuisine. For the 36-member Pakistani delegation that crossed over from the Wagah border on September 10, the parting gift was the birthday celebration of […]

18 Sep, 2013

Riots, violence and the power of perception -The Times Of India

Recently a town called Muzaffarnagar in Northern India has been torn apart by what is labeled Hindu-Muslim sectarian violence. Many people are outraged but sadly, behind a lot of the outrage are the calculations of people who already know how they want to view what happened. Therefore the sad fact is that the conversation about […]

18 Sep, 2013

Muzaffarnagar: Barber’s family with eight children adopts abandoned girl – Hindustan Times

A mother of eight, Rabia Begum of village Paldi near Shahpur, has adopted a few-days’ old baby girl she found abandoned in the bushes two days ago. “On September 15, just when police was removing barricades after the chief minister’s visit, I went to Shahpur for some work. As I was passing near the Basi […]

18 Sep, 2013

Who is the right Hindu and who is the wrong one – Hindustan Times

By Sitaram Yechury This column is being filed on Onam, the universal festival of all Keralites. The Aryavarta tradition informs us that Mahabali is the king of the Asuras, whose elimination was necessary for humans to survive. Hence, Vishnu descends as Vamana avatar to the audience of king Mahabali. The guest is accorded the warmest […]

18 Sep, 2013

Snowden in running for European rights prize – Indian Express

Fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden is in the running for a European human rights prize whose past winners include Nelson Mandela and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Snowden, who is in hiding in Russia, is one of seven nominations made by members of the European Parliament for the Sakharov Prize for freedom […]

18 Sep, 2013

9 of 10 Indian travellers prefer holiday over luxury spending: study

A study has shown that 90% of Indians would be willing to forego luxuries to fund their vacation, which is in line with global consumers’ willingness to make sacrifices in order to go on holiday (88%). But fewer Indian travellers are planning to increase their travel budget next year, compared to 2013, despite more than […]

18 Sep, 2013

Impact of 2008 global economic crisis on suicide: time trend study in 54 countries

There were an estimated 4884 (95% confidence interval 3907 to 5860) excess suicides in 2009 compared with the number expected based on previous trends (2000-07). The increases in suicide mainly occurred in men in the 27 European and 18 American countries; the suicide rates were 4.2% (3.4% to 5.1%) and 6.4% (5.4% to 7.5%) higher, […]

18 Sep, 2013

Cutting working week would improve well-being and boost economy, say experts – The Independent

It may be the excuse long-suffering commuters have been waiting for, as new research suggests that working fewer hours each week can be good for your health, protect the environment and even boost the economy. A group of economists believes the working week should be reduced from an average of 40 hours to just 30 […]

18 Sep, 2013

Spike in suicide rate in Europe and US linked to financial crisis – The Independent

Thousands of suicides are linked to the global financial crisis, with particularly high numbers of people killing themselves in countries suffering heavy job losses as austerity bites, an international study has concluded. The research found there were about 5,000 more self-inflicted deaths in Europe and North America in 2009 – the first year after the […]

17 Sep, 2013

Why’s Modi silent about Muzaffarnagar? Hindustan Times Blogs

Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind general secretary Mahmood Madani has already flagged the issue. He said it’s for Modi to reach out to the community to dispel the impression that he cared little for Muslim support. That Modi isn’t planning a visit to the riot affected areas was explicit in the way BJP made light of the PM’s visit […]