10 Aug, 2013

Indigenous canoe trip celebrates 400-year-old peace treaty

UN News Centre

United Nations, 9 August 2013 – More than 200 indigenous and non-indigenous canoe paddlers arrived in Manhattan today, after having travelled for almost two weeks down the Hudson River from upstate New York, to take part in an event at the United Nations to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Aug […]

9 Aug, 2013

Johannesburg Tops African Millionaires List

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JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) –Johannesburg, the commercial capital of South Africa, is home to far more dollar millionaires than any other city in Africa, research has found. The “city of gold” topped the continent’s rich list with 23,400 millionaires at the end of 2012, according to New World Wealth, a consultancy based in Oxford in […]

9 Aug, 2013

HR Chiefs Recount Best and Worst of Job-Seekers’ Tactics and Antics

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CHICAGO, Aug. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ –Would you hire job seekers who sang their interview, dressed as a clown, or printed their resume on a chocolate bar?  CareerBuilder asked 2,076 hiring managers and human resource professionals nationwide to share the most memorable methods candidates have used to stand out from the crowd, and whether their creativity […]

9 Aug, 2013

Chinese analyst: U.S. “goof-up” in Egypt will create more trouble for years

By Chu Zhaogen (China Daily)

Beijing, 2013-08-09 – Violence in Egypt has escalated since the army moved ousted president Mohamed Morsi to a secret location, where he is being held on accusations for having “conspired” with Gaza-based Hamas to carry out “hostile acts” inside Egypt. The bloodshed in late July, which followed by nationwide protests and clashes between Morsi’s supporters […]

9 Aug, 2013

Four shot in Texas in another U.S. homegrown terrorist rampage

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DALLAS, 2013-08-08, (Agencies) — A suspect in the fatal shootings of four people in two Dallas-area homes was in custody Thursday as police tried to determine what prompted the attacks just minutes apart and whether an explosive was used. Four people were wounded in the late Wednesday shootings. Investigators arrested Erbie Bowser at the second […]

9 Aug, 2013

China’s slowdown worries “overblown”

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Beijing, (Xinhua)  August 09, 2013 – Worries triggered by the recent slight slowdown in China’s economic growth are “overblown,” but Chinese policymakers need to continue pushing forward key reforms to facilitate its economic restructuring, a China expert said Thursday. China is still among the fastest growing economies in the world, and only a handful of […]

9 Aug, 2013

Chinese security expert: U.S. exaggerating “terrorism” threat

(People's Daily Online)

Beijing August 09, 2013 – The U.S. recently announced the closure of a number of its embassies in the Muslim world until the end of Ramadan, claiming that it faced “the most serious terrorist threats since September 11 attacks”. It is standard procedure for the U.S. to issue occasional alerts to its overseas agencies. But […]

9 Aug, 2013

T-Mobile faces lawsuit over Geolocation of Cell Phones Patent

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NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — North South Holdings Inc. (“North South”) — an intellectual property development company, today is announcing that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Guidance IP LLC, filed a complaint against T-Mobile USA, Inc. for alleged patent infringement. The complaint is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District […]

9 Aug, 2013

Privacy Int’l to challenge telecoms firms over surveillance cooperation | The Guardian

BT and Vodafone are among seven large telecoms firms which could be pulled into a legal challenge under human rights law for cooperating with GCHQ’s large-scale internet surveillance programs. Lawyers for the group Privacy International, whose mission is to defend the right to privacy, have written to the chief executives of the telecoms companies identified […]

9 Aug, 2013

China’s obesity rate growing

By Sun Xiaochen and Lei Lei (China Daily)

Beijing, 2013-08-06 – More Chinese people aged 20 to 39 are becoming overweight and their athletic ability is declining, according to a national survey released on Monday. The survey of more than 43,000 adults found that more than 11 percent of people aged 20 to 39 are obese, an increase of 2 percentage points since […]

9 Aug, 2013

Index shows rise in global acceptance of Chinese yuan

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Beijing, 2013-08-07 – A major index measuring global acceptance of the Chinese currency rose 4.8 percent in June from the previous month. The Standard Chartered Renminbi Globalisation Index reached 1,050 in June, up 65 percent year-on-year, withstanding macro and market uncertainties, the bank said on Wednesday. The bank said the rise was mainly driven by […]

9 Aug, 2013

Report outlines state of Aussie public health & welfare

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Canberra, 08 Aug 2013 – Australians are living longer, are better educated and extending their stay in the workforce, but some people continue to be disadvantaged, according to the latest welfare report card from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). From the latest figures available, Australian governments spent an estimated $119 billion on […]

9 Aug, 2013

Another Israeli Move to Wipe Palestine Off the Map – Al Jazeera English

Israel has given preliminary approval for the construction of more than 800 new homes in Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official has said. Guy Inbar, the spokesman for Israel’s military-run Civil Administration in the West Bank, said on Thursday that initial plans to build 800 new settler homes were approved a […]

8 Aug, 2013

Health & Wellness Update: Chiropractors Encourage Backpack Safety for Students

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BLOOMINGTON, Minn., Aug. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Over 79 million students carry a backpack to school each day. However, most students are unaware of the potential hazards such as neck and back problems that come with the improper use of backpacks. To avoid long-term injuries and prepare students for the fall, Minnesota chiropractors encourage families to […]

8 Aug, 2013

Ramadan a chance to reflect on charity, selflessness – William McKeith, SMH

By William McKeith For the first time in my life I have spent Ramadan working among the Muslim people of Lakemba. As a non-Muslim, who has lived and worked with mainly Christian and secular families, and had very little exposure to the Muslim faith, this holiest month in the Islamic Lunar calendar has concentrated my […]

8 Aug, 2013

Diabetes will soon be Australia’s number one killer – Sydney Morning Herald

Going blind. Getting your leg cut off. Kidneys packing up. Dying of a heart attack. The implications of being diagnosed with diabetes are shocking. Yet it seems many of us keep ignoring the alarm bells, with rates of diabetes soaring across the globe. This disease is big. It’s growing. It’s scary and it’s very expensive. […]

8 Aug, 2013

Survey reveals extent of social segregation in UK – The Independent

Just one in 10 Britons has a best friend from a different ethnic background, according to research which reveals that racial segregation is still a major issue in the UK. The polling for The Challenge Network, which aims to encourage integration through youth and community groups, found that Britons are in fact 8 per cent […]

8 Aug, 2013

A Fukushima fisherman’s tale: Radioactive Water Poisoning World’s Oceans – The Independent

Just 27 miles up the coast from this small harbour town, radioactivity from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant leaks into the ocean, and into the sardines, mackerel and squid that three generations of Mr Ichida’s family once caught. Engineers are fighting what appears to be a losing battle to stop the leaks from worsening. […]

8 Aug, 2013

India protests racial/ethnic profiling of travellers, cyber-intrusions

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New Delhi, 7 August 2013 (Press Information Bureau and Travel Impact Newswire) – The Indian government has protested the growing number of incidents involving the racial profiling and harassment of Indian travellers at airports around the world. It has also declared as “unacceptable” the “violation of Indian laws relating to the privacy of information of […]

7 Aug, 2013

Who wants to be a whistle-blower? – The Hindu

Both the verdict against Mr. Manning as well as the treatment meted out to him by the military since his May 2010 arrest leave troubling, unanswered questions about the Obama administration’s continuing belligerence towards not only free journalism in this country but freedom itself. Judge Lind’s decision to hand out a guilty verdict under six […]

7 Aug, 2013

10 Ways to Reduce the Threat of Terrorist Attacks on Americans | Alternet

10. Spend foreign aid money on education, healthcare and lifting people out of poverty. For a fraction of the money we keep wasting each month on the failed war in Afghanistan or supporting the already wealthy Israeli military, we could be building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, helping Yemenis find a solution to their water […]

7 Aug, 2013

Restaurants’ displays of fake food are real deal for tourists | The Japan Times

Alberto Pellegrini doesn’t speak or read Japanese, a deficit that threatened to leave the Italian tourist starving in a nation famous for its gastronomic delights. Fortunately for the hungry honeymooner, restaurants across this food-obsessed nation — where English menus range from sparse to nonexistent — often display their wares in the form of intricately made […]

7 Aug, 2013

Study: US debt is over $70 trillion, six times more than declared – RT USA

The United States has accumulated over $70 trillion in unreported debt, an amount nearly six times the declared figure, according to a new study by University of California-San Diego economics Professor James Hamilton. The unique aspect of Hamilton’s study is that he examines federal debt that has not been publicly released, specifically the government’s support […]

7 Aug, 2013

Survey: Most Travel Managers Not Adjusting Corporate Policy In Light Of “Terror Threat”

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August 6, 2013, RADNOR, PA, (Press Statement): The Business Travel Coalition (BTC) today released results of a survey of travel managers designed to determine what travel policy changes and other support travelers are receiving in light of news of a major terror threat. Introduction Given the new intelligence suggesting that Al Qaeda may launch attacks […]

7 Aug, 2013

Health & Wellness Update: WHO releases guidance on managing post-trauma stress

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6 August 2013 | GENEVA – (World Health Organization) WHO is releasing new clinical protocols and guidelines to health-care workers for treating the mental health consequences of trauma and loss. Mental disorders are common, disabling and usually untreated, and WHO’s “Mental Health Global Action Programme (mhGAP)” was developed in 2008 to scale-up care for mental, […]

7 Aug, 2013

Finalists named for Europe’s most inspirational, innovative regional projects awards 2014

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Brussels, 6 August 2013, European commission media release – The finalists for the RegioStars 2014 awards which honour Europe’s most inspirational and innovative regional projects were published today in Brussels. The RegioStars Awards Jury singled out 19 finalists from 80 projects supported by EU Regional Funds on the basis of four key criteria: innovation, impact, […]

7 Aug, 2013

Across Europe, phone call rates differ by 774%!!

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Brussels, European Commission Press release, 6 August 2013 – Mobile users across the European Union face huge price differences for the same services. The biggest price difference is in domestic mobile calls – a 774% difference between Lithuania, the cheapest country, and Netherlands, the most expensive. These price differences cannot be explained by differences in […]

7 Aug, 2013

A Palestinian Speaks in Hiroshima: War is a way rich get richer at expense of the poor

Prof Mazin Qumsiyeh

Hiroshima, Aug 6, 2013 – I and Oliver Stone both spoke at Hiroshima on the anniversary of the first nuclear bombing in human history and we are slated to speak in two days at Nagasaki on the anniversary of the second nuclear attack. My speech is below. These remain the most starkest of acts of […]

7 Aug, 2013

Communist Party of China to maintain high pressure on corruption

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BEIJING, (Xinhua)  August 06, 2013  — For those questioning whether the Communist Party of China (CPC) is serious about its anti-corruption drive, the growing number of officials under punishment has shown the party’s zero-tolerance to such wrongdoing. Four court officials in Shanghai were suspended from their posts last week and investigated after alleged hiring of […]

7 Aug, 2013

Give Chinese overseas tourists a break

By William Daniel Garst

(China Daily), August 06, 2013 – If China’s media is to be believed, Chinese tourists visiting foreign countries have become the new “ugly Americans”. Hardly a day goes by without some report of boorish and culturally insensitive behavior on the part of Chinese traveling overseas. For example, some “rude Chinese tourist” stories published online go […]

6 Aug, 2013

ADB, Australia, Korea To Support New Transport Link in Mekong Delta

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5 August 2013 (ADB Media release)— The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will lend $410 million to Viet Nam to build sections of a second arterial highway connecting Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta and southern coastal regions. Lao Bao (Lao BaÒo) international checkpoint linking Viet Nam to Lao PDR. Photo: ADB “Viet Nam […]

6 Aug, 2013

Newly Expanded Colombo Port To Make Sri Lanka Into Competitive Shipping Hub

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COLOMBO, (ADB Media release) 5 August 2013 — The newly expanded Colombo Port formally opened for business today, a move that will allow Sri Lanka to regain its role as a leading South Asia trans-shipment hub. Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the port, which was also attended by Xiaoyu Zhao, Vice-President at the Asian […]

6 Aug, 2013

British Company Launches “Chocolate Tourism”

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London, United Kingdom (PRWEB) August 05, 2013 – The $100 billion global chocolate and culinary tourism industries are being collided together by British company City Delights Ltd with their creation, ‘Chocolate Tourism: Delivered to you’. The revolutionary concept of City Delights is to capture the experience of tasting the very best local hand-made chocolates, but […]

6 Aug, 2013

Surveillance backlash: U.S. cloud computing industry could lose $22-$35 billion

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Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) August 05, 2013 – The United States is the international leader in cloud computing, dominating every segment of the nearly $130 billion industry. However, recent revelations about the extent to which the National Security Administration obtains data from third-parties through the PRISM program, may lead to significant changes in the global cloud […]

6 Aug, 2013

Glenn Greenwald: Is the U.S. Exaggerating Terror Threat to Silence Critics of Surveillance? | Alternet

For eight straight years, literally, Democrats, every time there was a terrorist alert or a terrorist advisory issued by the United States government in the middle of a debate over one of the Bush-Cheney civil liberties abuses, would accuse the United States government and the national security state of exaggerating terrorism threats, of manipulating advisories, […]

6 Aug, 2013

US gurdwara attack victim’s son bonds with repentant racist – Hindustan Times

Six weeks after a white supremacist gunned down Pardeep Kaleka’s father and five others at a Sikh gurdwara in the US last year, Kaleka was skeptical when a former skinhead reached out and invited him to dinner. But Kaleka accepted, and he’s grateful he did. Since then, the grieving son and repentant racist have formed […]

6 Aug, 2013

2nd World Hindu Economic Forum to be held in Bangkok, Aug 10-11

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Bangkok – The 2nd World Hindu Economic Forum will be held in the Thai capital during August 10-11, 2013 under the theme, “Making Society Prosperous – Strengthening Economy and Shaping Future.” World Hindu Economic Forum is an initiative to create and synergize positive and mutually beneficial networking among Hindu entrepreneurs, investors, industrialists, businessmen, professional, bankers, […]

6 Aug, 2013

China People’s Daily: Time to break the hegemony of western discourse

Edited and translated by Zhang Qian, People's Daily Online

(People’s Daily Online), August 05, 2013 – Reading the recent policy speeches of western leaders might create the impression that most of the content concerns the domestic economy, the management of which is indeed a current and pressing task. However, closer inspection reveals an ongoing insistence on promoting ‘western values’ to the world. What lies […]

6 Aug, 2013

Ex-spy ‘Falcon’: Surveillance state only just beginning to flex its muscles – CNN.com

Transparency, public disclosure, and open debate will be stifled as America becomes the world’s first cyber-superpower. And politicians of both parties will go on fearing to resist lest they be blamed should a cyber-attack happen. Our surveillance state is only just beginning to flex its technological muscles. We have nothing to lose but our civil […]

6 Aug, 2013

Opinion: We’re living ‘1984’ today – CNN.com

CNN — It appears that the police now have a device that can read license plates and check if a car is unregistered, uninsured or stolen. We already know that the National Security Agency can dip into your Facebook page and Google searches. And it seems that almost every store we go into these days […]

5 Aug, 2013

Japan Tourism agency wants to make food, cosmetics duty-free | The Japan Times

The Japan Tourism Agency will propose adding food and cosmetics to the list of duty-free items for foreign travelers as part of its fiscal 2014 reform plan, agency sources said Sunday. The proposal is aimed at attracting travelers to mitigate the impact of the first stage of the sales tax hike planned for next April. […]

5 Aug, 2013

Ahead of Youth Day, UN chief hears concerns from young people worldwide

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United Nations, (UN News Centre) 5 August 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today held an interactive dialogue with young people across the world and launched an online United Nations Platform for Youth in conjunction with his Special Envoy on this issue. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas “Your generation is the largest the world has ever known,” Mr. […]

5 Aug, 2013

Punk Rockers break Myanmar’s silence on anti-Muslim attacks – The Hindu

Punk rockers draw double-takes as they dart through traffic, but it’s not just the pink hair, leather jackets or skull tattoos that make these 20-somethings rebels- It’s their willingness to speak out against Buddhist monks instigating violence against Muslims while others in Myanmar are silent. “If they were real monks, I’d be quiet, but they […]

5 Aug, 2013

U.S. foreign policy: You reap what you sow – pravda.ru

So the big picture these days is the lobbies, whose foot-soldiers are NATO and whose general command is the FUKUS Axis, centred on Washington using proxies to conduct their policies, funding and harbouring terrorists on their own lists of proscribed groups, using these to destabilize sovereign states. It is illegal, under international law. This is […]

5 Aug, 2013

Asian tourism market worth A$20 bln for Australia by 2020

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CANBERRA, August 4 (Xinhua) — The Asian region could collectively be worth more than 20 billion AU dollars (17.8 billion U.S. dollars) to Australia’s tourism industry by 2020, a media release by Tourism Minister Gary Gray quoted him as saying on Sunday. Gray said Tourism Australia would receive 12.5 million AU dollars (11.1 million U.S. […]

5 Aug, 2013

Regal Riverside Hotel Hong Kong Launches New Halal Kitchen

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Hong Kong – Regal Riverside Hotel has announced that its newly launched Halal kitchen in L’Eau Restaurant has been awarded the Halal Certificate by The Incorporated Trustees of The Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong. After several rounds of inspection and verification, the newly built kitchen has met the criteria for certification as Halal.  It […]

5 Aug, 2013

Truthdigger of the Week: Bradley Manning – Truthdig

Is there anything to envy about someone who sacrifices all the worthwhile possibilities of life for the chance to save the rest of us? In the future, American justice decrees, Manning will never know the pleasures and terrors of dating in what remains of his 20s. He won’t enjoy long walks and leisurely picnics, the […]

5 Aug, 2013

Bill Blum: The Surveillance State Is as Strong as Ever – Truthdig

The harsh treatment of whistle-blowers will likely continue into the foreseeable future in pace with the needs and expansion of the surveillance state itself. In the aftermath of last month’s defeat of a proposed amendment to the Patriot Act that would have placed new limits on the National Security Agency’s ability to track phone records, […]

5 Aug, 2013

Booz Allen Gets More Multi-million Dollar Surveillance, Reconnaissance Contracts

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MCLEAN, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– August 02, 2013 – Booz Allen Hamilton today announced it has now won four of the Full and Open Pillar contracts involving a range of full system lifecycle support activities for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic (SCC Atlantic). Most recently, the firm won a contract with a total ceiling […]

5 Aug, 2013

Turkish Immigrant Develops Prayer Mat for Knee Problems

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 05 August 2013 (28 Ramadaan 1434). Pls click on any of the headlines to go to the story.

4 Aug, 2013

Chomsky: America’s Imperial Power Is Showing Real Signs of Decline | Alternet

Like Snowden, Manning committed the crime of revealing to Americans—and others—what their government is doing. That is a severe breach of “security” in the operative meaning of the term, familiar to anyone who has pored over declassified documents. Typically “security” means security of government officials from the prying eyes of the public to whom they […]

4 Aug, 2013

Shabnam Hashmi challenges Gujarat’s claim of being a model State – The Hindu

Human rights activist Shabnam Hashmi has called for close scrutiny of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s claims, that his State is a ‘model for development’, in the run-up to the 2014 general elections. Speaking at a seminar here on Saturday, Ms. Hashmi said ground realities were far from the rosy picture Mr. Modi and his […]

3 Aug, 2013

Huge leak of tritium feared in Fukushima | The Japan Times

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday that an estimated 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of tritium from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean since May 2011. The utility reported the estimate Friday to the Nuclear Regulation Authority after recently admitting that toxic water from the emergency cooling […]

3 Aug, 2013

Fasting to highlight plight of the Guantánamo hunger strikers | The Guardian

For the last week I have been fasting in solidarity with the men on hunger strike in the US prison at Guantánamo Bay, forgoing all food and taking only liquids. I began day one thinking about a book I had recently read: former detainee Ahmed Errachidi’s The General. Errachidi had worked as a chef in […]

3 Aug, 2013

China’s Economic Boom Creating Huge Ecological Pressure – UNEP report

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Kubuqi (China) /Bangkok, 02 August 2013 – China has surged ahead of the rest of the world in material consumption, creating intense environmental pressures, but the country also remains among the most successful in the world in improving resource efficiency, according to a new report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today. The […]

3 Aug, 2013

Climate change linked to violent behaviour | theguardian.com

Bring on the cool weather – climate change is predicted to cause extreme weather, more intense storms, more frequent floods and droughts, but could it also cause us to be more violent with one another? A new study from scientists in the US controversially draws a link between increased rates of domestic violence, assault and […]

3 Aug, 2013

Madrid’s chief rabbi: Gays are ‘deviants’ who need re-educating – Haaretz

Madrid’s chief rabbi, Moshe Bendahan, called gays “deviants” who should be re-educated and said same-sex marriages are “monstrous.” “Homosexuality is a deviation from nature,” Bendahan is quoted as telling the online news site Religion Digital in an interview published Wednesday. “It’s an anti-natural tendency and a sin. Contemplating allowing, consenting to what is known as […]

3 Aug, 2013

Breastfeeding: World’s most effective, inexpensive life-saver – Times of India

NEW DELHI: In 2011, more than 6.9 million children died before their fifth birthday. Over 98% of these deaths occurred in developing countries. India accounted for 1.6 million deaths. Pediatricians and public health experts say exclusive breastfeeding for six months can save many such children. According to the United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF), breastfeeding is […]

3 Aug, 2013

Wikipedia will go ‘secure’ to beat NSA surveillance – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Just days after reports revealed that National Security Agency (NSA) in the US actively looked at what people read on Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation announced on its website that it would implement HTTPS for logged-in users. The foundation, a non-profit organization, manages Wikipedia. The S in HTTPS stands for secure. Two days ago, Guardian […]

3 Aug, 2013

Bids called for “Beijing-Shenyang in two hours” high-speed rail link

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Beijing, (China Daily) 2013-08-02 – The long-overdue Beijing-Shenyang super high speed railway is expected to start construction with Xinghuo railway station as the starting point. A construction trading information website sponsored by Beijing municipal government published a notice on Tuesday calling for bids to build the line. The notice said the railway, with Xinghuo station […]

3 Aug, 2013

Beijing set to lure more visa-free transit tourists

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Beijing, 2013-08-03 – Beijing has vowed to step up promotion of its 72-hour visa-free policy, aiming to attract more foreign transit tourists following a drop in arrivals for overnight stays in the past six months. About 2.14 million tourists visited the capital during the first half of the year, a 14.3 percent decline compared with […]

3 Aug, 2013

Chinese FM calls for deepened, enriched China-ASEAN cooperation

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Bangkok, (Xinhua) August 02, 2013 – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday called on ASEAN countries to join hands with China to further deepen and enrich their cooperation following 10 years of strategic partnership. He made the remark at the opening ceremony of the High-Level Forum on the 10th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership […]

3 Aug, 2013

An artistic journey from New Delhi to Beijing – People’s Daily Online

Bharat Singh, 37, and his younger sister Gurjinder are busy creating a whale protection-themed statue. Molding of the stainless steel art work “Love”, which portrays two whales dancing around a mermaid, will be completed at the end of July. “Next month, we will bring it to the Ulsan International Whale Sculpture Exhibition in South Korea,” […]

3 Aug, 2013

Chinese Commentator: US crusade to “kill a chicken to warn monkeys”

By Chen Weihua (China Daily)

Washington DC, 2013-08-02 – It has become increasingly clear now why the United States government is so anxious to crack down on whistle-blowers, pursuing over 20 charges against Bradley Manning, a US soldier who gave secret government and military documents to WikiLeaks, hunting down former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden who revealed the NSA’s […]

3 Aug, 2013

Han Chinese Becoming Fluent in Uygur, Building Understanding, Culture

By Cui Jia in Urumqi (China Daily)

Xinjiang, 2013-08-02 (China Daily) It was after 10 pm in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Zhu Xiaomei had just finished her Uygur language evening class, which she has been attending after work for almost a year. A student reads a Uygur book at Xinzhou training school in Urumqi. Photos by Yao […]

3 Aug, 2013

South Africa: SABC Launches 24-Hour News Channel

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Thursday officially launched its 24-hour news channel. Officially launching the channel at the SABC studios in Auckland Park, President Jacob Zuma said it should take forward the constitutional right of citizens to have diversified news. Zuma said that South Africa’s Constitution allowed for freedom of expression, including freedom […]

3 Aug, 2013

Exposed: Facebook “likes” faked by ‘click farms’ in Bangladesh | The Guardian

How much do you like courgettes? According to one Facebook page devoted to them, hundreds of people find them delightful enough to click the “like” button – even with dozens of other pages about courgettes to choose from. There’s just one problem: the liking was fake, done by a team of low-paid workers in Dhaka, […]

3 Aug, 2013

Asia Times Online: How Britain turned tribe against tribe

In Define and Rule: Native as Political Identity, Mahmood Mamdani carries forward his pioneering, hefty contributions to (what I would call) an historical epistemology of world politics: this time by discussing (the European colonization of) not only Africa – his usual focus – but also India, the Malay States, and the Dutch East Indies. Mamdani […]

3 Aug, 2013

U.S. Taxpayer-Funded Drone Strike Killings in Pakistan: Bureau of Investigative Journalism

The Bureau is publishing in full a leaked internal document – titled Details of Attacks by NATO Forces/Predators in FATA – which contains the Pakistan government’s own estimates of how many people have died in specific CIA drone strikes. The summary report – obtained from three independent sources – covers the period January 13 2006 […]

3 Aug, 2013

Eugene Robinson: We Should Thank Edward Snowden

Washington, DC — Edward Snowden’s renegade decision to reveal the jaw-dropping scope of the National Security Agency’s electronic surveillance is being vindicated — even as Snowden himself is being vilified. Intelligence officials in the Obama administration and their allies on Capitol Hill paint the fugitive analyst as nothing but a traitor who wants to harm […]

3 Aug, 2013

Israel advises Sri Lanka on slow-motion genocide | The Electronic Intifada

Israel has been a major arms supplier to Sri Lanka’s government, as well as providing it with strategic military advice. With permission from the United States, Israel has sold Sri Lanka consignments of Kfir jets and drones. Israel has also supplied the Dvora patrol boats to Sri Lanka, which have been used extensively against Tamils […]

3 Aug, 2013

Israeli army plan aims to incite Christian-Muslim tensions | The Electronic Intifada

Leaders of Israel’s Palestinian minority have accused the Israeli authorities of intensifying efforts to push Christian and Muslim communities into conflict, as part of a long-running divide-and-rule strategy towards the country’s Palestinian citizens. The allegations have been prompted by a series of initiatives to pressure Christian school-leavers into the army, breaking the community’s blanket rejection […]

2 Aug, 2013

Sen. Ron Wyden On NSA Spying: It’s As Bad As Snowden Says | Alternet

Last month, disclosures made by an NSA contractor lit the surveillance world on fire. Several provisions of secret law were no longer secret and the American people were finally able to see some of the things I’ve been raising the alarm about for years. And when they did, boy were they stunned, and boy, are […]

2 Aug, 2013

10 of the Worst Terror Attacks by Extreme Christians and Far-Right White Men | Alternet

From Fox News to the Weekly Standard, neoconservatives have tried to paint terrorism as a largely or exclusively Islamic phenomenon. Their message of Islamophobia has been repeated many times since the George W. Bush era: Islam is inherently violent, Christianity is inherently peaceful, and there is no such thing as a Christian terrorist or a […]

2 Aug, 2013

WSPA report: As industrialisation grows, cows fading from European landscape

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LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As cows disappear from the landscape of Europe at an increasing rate, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA (http://www.wspa-international.org/)) believes the trend is detrimental to the health and welfare of dairy cows. And it is not necessarily financially beneficial for dairy farmers, states a new report released on 31, July 2013. The […]

2 Aug, 2013

Half of Chinese businesses fail within five years

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Beijing, 2013-08-01, (China.org.cn) – Half of Chinese businesses fail within the first five years and are likely to encounter a bottleneck in three to seven years, according to a report from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce released on Tuesday. By late 2012, China had a total of 13.2 million businesses. 6.53 million businesses, […]

2 Aug, 2013

Indonesia Assures No Spying On Foreign Leaders During APEC Summit In Bali

From Ahmad Fuad Yahya

JAKARTA, Indonesia Aug 1 (NNN-Bernama) — Indonesia has given an assuarance that its intelligence services will not spy on foreign heads of state during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Bali in October. Spokesman for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Julian Aldrin Pasha said Indonesia as host of the summit would act ethically […]

2 Aug, 2013

E-payment launched for online booking of India’s Presidential Residence tours

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Presidents Secretariat, 01-August, 2013 – ‘E-payment gateway for e-management of visitors’ – a system for online collection of registration charges for booking of Rashtrapati Bhavan tours was launched on August 1, 2013 by Mrs Omita Paul, Secretary to the President. Nominal registration charges for Rashtrapati Bhavan tours will be applicable from September 1, 2013. The […]

2 Aug, 2013

U.S. National “Back to Church” Campaign Launched for Sunday, Sept. 15

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Colorado Springs, CO (PRWEB) August 01, 2013 – According to a Gallup poll released in May, a whopping 75 percent of Americans think the USA would be a better place to live if more people were religious–even though many of those surveyed reported they don’t attend church themselves. One suggestion being offered to help? Come […]

2 Aug, 2013

Fast friends: Japanese PM hosts ‘iftar’ party for Muslim nations

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Tokyo, Aug 1, 2013, (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hosted on Wednesday an “iftar” dinner party, inviting ambassadors and diplomats from around 40 Muslim countries to the prime minister’s office in Tokyo with the aim of deepening mutual understanding. In opening remarks at the dinner, Abe expressed a desire to visit more Muslim nations […]

2 Aug, 2013

Bali advised to reject World Tobacco Asia 2014 convention

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Denpasar, 2013-08-01, (Bali Daily) – The Bali Tobacco Control Initiative group from Udayana University’s public health department has called on the government to reject the World Tobacco Asia (WTA) conference, slated to be held in Nusa Dua next year. “The conference in Bali is against our commitment to encourage people to live healthily without cigarettes. […]

1 Aug, 2013

PressTV – Israel, an “unsustainable and apartheid” entity

The story “hangs there,” a week now, no one will touch it other than the Times of Israel, their answer to “Veterans Today”, a publication run by former spies. American reporting of the talk carefully edited out General Mattis’ references to Israeli settlements and his use of the word “apartheid” entity. This wasn’t just any […]

1 Aug, 2013

Chinese tourists told to curb “improper behavior”

By Zheng Xin

Beijing, (China Daily) 2013-08-01 – Chinese authorities are aware of the serious consequences of improper behavior by fellow countrymen overseas and are working to provide better education for those abroad in the hopes of improving the tarnished image. A government-organized teleconference on Wednesday called on authorities to guide people to abide by public order and […]

1 Aug, 2013

China’s restaurants re-engineer, taste renewed growth

By Wang Zhuoqiong

Beijing, 2013-07-31, (China Daily) –  The growth slowdown in the country’s catering industry is over, with double-digit expansion to return in the current half-year, according to the China Cuisine Association. Growth will hit 10 percent from July to December, with industry revenue of 2.6 trillion yuan ($424 billion), the association said in a report on Monday. […]

1 Aug, 2013

China struggles to retain talent

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NANNING (Xinhua) 2013-07-30 – China’s continued loss of talented individuals is being widely discussed following a report from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) indicating that a record number of Chinese mainland students have applied to the university. The university said in a July report that a record 12,000 students from the mainland have applied […]

1 Aug, 2013

Long-living Japanese society needs better ‘quality of death’ | The Japan Times

A quarter of a million bedbound elderly people are kept alive in Japan, often for years, by a feeding tube surgically inserted into their stomach. A few months ago, my 96-year-old grandmother became one of them. Feeding tubes are so common in Japan that my family wasn’t initially consulted about the procedure, which is effectively […]

1 Aug, 2013

It’s time for conservatives of Japan to get over the war | The Japan Times

“And why shouldn’t we?” With a thumping Upper House election victory behind them, this question is likely on the minds of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his political allies as they contemplate a visit to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the day Japan commemorates the end of World War II. If they do visit […]

1 Aug, 2013

Panel plans strategy for overseas Japanese language education | The Japan Times

A panel of experts discussing ways to increase the number of Japanese language learners overseas proposed Wednesday promoting “Cool Japan” pop culture and online services to provide more opportunities for speaking the language. The panel stressed the importance of drawing young people to Japanese through popular culture, such as manga, anime, fashion, music and food. […]

1 Aug, 2013

Single Window Clearance Planned To Promote India for Shooting Movies

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New Delhi, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 31-July, 2013 – The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting will be working to mainstream a synchronized ‘Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)’ for obtaining permissions for films shooting in India for both Indian and foreign film producers. This would lead to institutionalization and standardized benchmarks for each critical stakeholder involved […]

1 Aug, 2013

135 U.S. Civil Rights Groups Call for End to Racial Profiling

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(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/31/2013) – The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) yesterday joined other civil rights leaders at a news conference to support the reintroduction of the End Racial Profiling Act of 2013 (ERPA). Introduced earlier this year in the Senate, this bill would eliminate profiling based on race, ethnicity, national origin, and religion by federal, state, local, […]

1 Aug, 2013

Spiffy (and Safe) Ways for a Single Female To Enjoy Bangkok

Punam Mohandas

BANGKOK – About the one thing you’ve gotta keep uppermost in mind as a single lady traveller through Thailand is the all-important S. Huh? Tsk, tsk, sunscreen of course, what were you whackos thinking?! There is actually this kindred spirit among the backpackers, where we pass on sunscreen tubes like a baton in a relay […]

1 Aug, 2013

“Just Metadata?” Think Again – American Civil Liberties Union

By Matthew Harwood, Media Relations Associate, ACLU One of the most disingenuous arguments in the aftermath of the NSA spying revelations is that the American people shouldn’t be concerned about the government hoovering up its sensitive information because it’s only metadata–or a fancy way of saying data about the data. “This is just metadata,” Senate […]

1 Aug, 2013

Sikhs plan rites to mark Wisconsin Gurdwara shooting – Indian Express

A year after six Sikh worshippers were shot dead by a white supremacist in a shooting rampage inside a Wisconsin Gurdwara, the community will commemorate the first anniversary of the incident with a series of events including solemn religious observances and candlelight vigil. “In the spirit ‘of Chardi Kala’ (a Punjabi term that refers to […]