Category: Other

PARIS, May 2 (AFP) – Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) is to mark international press freedom day Wednesday by naming five new “predators on the freedom of the press” to add to the 32 it has already identified.The names, made available Tuesday, are those of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, armed Tamil […]

GUWAHATI, India, May 1 (AFP) – The first edition of Bhutan’s only privately-owned newspaper sold out within hours of hitting the stands amid ongoing constitutional moves towards democracy in the Himalayan kingdom. The weekly Bhutan Times went on sale Sunday and was snapped up rapidly, according to the website of the Kuensel newspaper, the official […]

NEW DELHI, May 1 (AFP) – The Indian Air Force Monday retired its four ageing spy planes and said military satellites will take over the role of the Soviet-era aircraft, local media reported.“The nature of warfare is changing with satellites taking over the act of spying,” Air Chief Marshall S.P. Tyagi said at a ceremony […]

NEW DELHI, Apr. 30 (AFP) – India has emerged as the most attractive global retail destination for a second straight year, ahead of rival China which trails in fifth place, says a new study by global consultancy AT Kearney.“India is at the peak of attractiveness for retailers right now with a 350-billion-dollar retail market expected […]

LONDON, April 30 (AFP) – Police in London said Sunday they were hunting a racist serial firebomber after three apparently motiveless petrol bomb attacks on south Asian business premises in which one man died.“In the absence of any other possible motive, I’m working on the basis that these are racially-motivated attacks,” said Detective Superintendent Dick […]

JAKARTA, Apr. 29 (AFP) – Volcanic rocks have tumbled down from the peak of Indonesia’s rumbling Mount Merapi volcano but its “standby” status remains unchanged, a vulcanologist said Saturday.The avalanche of rocks created a thin layer of dust that fell on two hamlets located on the western slope of the 2,914-meter (9,560-foot) volcano Friday, said […]

MUMBAI, Apr. 29 (AFP) – Jet Airways, India’s largest private airline, said Saturday full-year net earnings rose 15 percent on air-traffic growth and profit from the sale and leaseback of planes.For the year ended March 31, the airline reported net profit of 4.5 billion rupees (101 million dollars).Full-year revenues rose 39 percent to 61.4 billion […]

JAKARTA, Apr. 29 (AFP) – Volcanic rocks have tumbled down from the peak of Indonesia’s rumbling Mount Merapi volcano but its “standby” status remains unchanged, a vulcanologist said Saturday.The avalanche of rocks created a thin layer of dust that fell on two hamlets located on the western slope of the 2,914-meter (9,560-foot) volcano Friday, said […]

MUMBAI, Apr. 29 (AFP) – Jet Airways, India’s largest private airline, said Saturday full-year net earnings rose 15 percent on air-traffic growth and profit from the sale and leaseback of planes.For the year ended March 31, the airline reported net profit of 4.5 billion rupees (101 million dollars).Full-year revenues rose 39 percent to 61.4 billion […]

PARIS, April 26, 2006 (AFP) – Embarrassed by that tattoo with the name of that former lover? Or those characters in Chinese that you believed meant “eternal love” but later found out to mean “penguin hairball”?Laser treatment is the solution for getting rid of these unwanted body markings, but it can take up to a […]

BANGALORE, India, Apr. 28 (AFP) – Tucked away in a nondescript building in india’s high-tech city, Nawal Gani sits in her drawing room drying coffee cups after yet another session of telling people’s fortunes.In Hindu-majority India, where most people consult astrologers for matters ranging from marriages, new business ventures and even what time to step […]

MUMBAI, Apr. 28 (AFP) – Indian shares staged a knee-jerk plunge Friday, then rallied after the stock market regulator cracked down on two dozen operators, alleging manipulation of initial public share offerings. Mumbai’s benchmark 30-share Sensex index plunged 490 points or 4.1 percent to 11,344.61 in the first minute of trading before recovering sharply. After […]