30 Sep, 2013

Are branding gurus driving confused cabbies crazy?

by Punam Mohandas

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So spake my ole pal, Shakespeare. Ahh, but he didn’t have to do battle with cabbies in Bangkok or Mumbai now, did he?! Cab drivers know all the little back alleys and short cuts and are kings […]

30 Sep, 2013

Involvement in the arts has wide-ranging benefits for young people – Research Study

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Canberra, 27 September 2013 (Australian Council for the Arts) – Students who are involved in the arts have higher school motivation, engagement in class, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, researchers discovered. The results, published in the latest issue of the prestigious Journal of Educational Psychology, found students who participate in dance, drama, music, and visual arts […]

30 Sep, 2013

Islam Thrives in the Alpujarras Mountains of Spain

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 30 September 2013 (24 Dhul Qa’dah 1434). Pls click on any of the headlines below to go to the story.

30 Sep, 2013

Strong tourism season gives Europe an economic boost and much needed jobs

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Brussels, 27 September 2013, European Commission Press release – Despite the economic crisis, Europe remains one of the favourite destinations. International tourist arrivals in Europe grew by 5 % during the first half of 2013, with best results recorded in Central and Eastern Europe (+ 9 %) and Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+ 6 %)1. […]

29 Sep, 2013

Smoking costing U.S. employers $278 billion annually in absenteeism, healthcare

by Dan Witters and Sangeeta Agrawal

WASHINGTON, D.C. -September 26, 2013 – Gallup Polls – Workers who smoke cost the U.S. economy an estimated $278 billion annually in lost productivity due to absenteeism and extra healthcare costs. This figure is based on an analysis of the cost of extra missed workdays due to poor health, partial absenteeism due to smoke breaks, […]

29 Sep, 2013

Schiphol Airport to relieve traveller hassles by ending security checks at individual gates

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Brussels, 27 Sept 2013 (Europa media release) –  The European Investment Bank (EIB), Europe’s long-term lending institution has agreed to provide a EUR 200 million loan to Schiphol Group to finance significant transformation of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. This will improve passenger experience at the airport through construction of a central security screening facility, ending the […]

29 Sep, 2013

India Expands Inter-City AC Double Decker Train Services

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Ministry of Railways, 27-September, 2013 – The AC Double Decker train between Habibganj and Indore, the first ever such train service in the state of Madhya Pradesh, was flagged off by the Minister of State for Railways Mr Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury at Habibganj railway station in Bhopal on 27 September 2013. This LHB AC Double […]

29 Sep, 2013

Chinese Golden Week Travel: Bangkok leads top 10 searched destinations

By Xu Lin

Beijing, 2013-09-26 (chinadaily.com.cn) – As the National Day week-long holiday period approaches, travel search site Tianxun.cn released findings about popular searches from Aug 1 to Sept 30 over the past three years. It shows that Bangkok remains at the top of searched destinations for the third year running, but Taipei, Los Angeles and Singapore have […]

29 Sep, 2013

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

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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

Gallup Poll: Globally, Men Twice as Likely as Women to Have a Good Job

by Jenny Marlar and Elizabeth Mendes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 27, 2013 — In every region of the world, men surpass women when it comes to having a “good job” — that is, full-time work for an employer, or what Gallup refers to as the Payroll to Population (P2P) employment rate. Worldwide, the P2P employment rate for men is 34%; it […]

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

Geopolitical instability tops the list of risks to growth: McKinsey Global Survey results

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September 2013  (McKinsey & Company) – Global executives are increasingly positive about the direction of the world economy, though in our latest survey on economic conditions,1 the source of their optimism has shifted away from emerging markets and toward the developed world. For the first time since we posed the question 18 months ago, respondents […]

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

As support grows for internal overhaul, PATA comms manager exits

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – The communications manager of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, Ms Halona Padiachy, has resigned after only four months in the job. Her departure, effective immediately, comes just weeks after PATA CEO Martin Craigs publicly declared at the UN World Tourism Organisation General Assembly in Zambia that “the media must be confronted”. Ms Padiachy […]

27 Sep, 2013

Australia ends “nasty surprises” for its citizens using int’l mobile roaming

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Canberra,  (Australian Communications and Media Authority) – From Friday 27 September 2013 there will be fewer surprises for Australian consumers using international mobile roaming services. The Australian Communications and Media Authority’s International Mobile Roaming Standard takes effect from this date, although the implementation of the standard’s various components is staged. From tomorrow, all Australians travelling […]

27 Sep, 2013

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

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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

Incheon Airport Breaks Ground on Terminal 2, will set global benchmark in traveller comfort

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INCHEON, South Korea, Sept. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Incheon International Airport  (ICN), the country’s busiest airport, and the only airport in the world to be voted best in the world by Airports Council International for eight consecutive years, breaks ground on Terminal 2. Gensler, as the collaborating design architect with the HMGY (Heerim-Mooyoung-Gensler-Yungdo) Consortium, designed […]

26 Sep, 2013

Study: Average Restaurant Patron Waits 23 Minutes During Busy Times

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Dallas, TX (PRWEB) September 26, 2013 – Restaurants have wait lists an average of 6.6 hours per week, with parties waiting nearly half an hour on average for a table, according to data from a new study. The survey of 267 restaurant owners and managers was released today by Long Range Systems, LLC (LRS), a […]

26 Sep, 2013

How to Beat the Debt Problems That College Students Usually Face

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Dallas, TX (PRWEB) September 26, 2013 – As if student loans are not enough, National Debt Relief reveals that there are actually two debt problems that college students usually face. The leading debt settlement company released an article on their website last September 22, entitled “2 Debt Problems Your Child Have To Deal With In […]

26 Sep, 2013

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

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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

Create cinema which builds a tolerant, harmonious India, President tells Indian film industry

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President’s Secretariat, 24-September, 2013 – The President of India Mr Pranab Mukherjee called upon the film industry to create Cinema which contributes to social transformation and moral upliftment. He was speaking on the occasion Centenary celebrations of Indian Cinema organized by Government of Tamil Nadu and South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce today (September 24, […]

25 Sep, 2013

UNCTAD Report Urges Harmonised Steps In ASEAN To Reap Potential Of E-Commerce

UNCTAD Media release

Geneva, 25 September 2013 – Countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), already well advanced in using e-commerce, should boost the development payoff of these technologies by taking steps to build consumer trust (see table 1 below), address payment fraud, and overcome difficulties in assessing the quality of products offered online, a […]

25 Sep, 2013

New study of professional creatives finds stress is stagnating or killing creativity

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NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Professional creatives are struggling to produce creative and effective campaigns in an increasingly stressful work environment, according to a new survey released today from iStock by Getty Images during Advertising Week 2013 in New York City. One in two (48 percent) creatives believes levels of creativity in their industry […]

25 Sep, 2013

U.S. TSA $6.8m Contract Just for Bottled Liquid Scanners at Airports

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EDGEWOOD, Md.-September 23, 2013-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Smiths Detection has won a contract award for $6.8 million to supply RespondeR Bottled Liquid Scanner (BLS) units to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for use at U.S. airport passenger screening checkpoints. RespondeR BLS is a compact system that uses Raman spectroscopy technology to identify hazardous liquids in sealed bottles. The […]

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

Sinister Motive Behind Uptick in Communal Riots – Indian Home Minister

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NEW DELHI, Sept 23 (NNN-PTI) — Voicing concern over rise in incidents of communal violence, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said frequency of riots has suggested that there is a sinister motive behind such clashes and attempts are being made to polarise the society. He said statistics on the communal violence show an increasing trend in […]

24 Sep, 2013

FREE Download: Report tracks how I.T. can transform lives of the disabled

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Geneva/New York, 24 September, 2013 – A new report released today demonstrates how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), have become a positive force of transformation and a crucial element of any personal development, empowerment and institutional framework for inclusive development. While the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) represent a concerted effort to address global poverty, there is […]

24 Sep, 2013

Thailand Chapter Chief Calls for PATA Overhaul to Put Chapters in Driving Seat

Imtiaz Muqbil

BANGKOK – The chairman of the PATA Thailand chapter, Mr. Bert van Walbeek, has called for an overhaul of the PATA management and administrative structures in order to better prepare the association for the challenges of rapidly changing times. “I don’t think that those who had the foresight to move the headquarters to Asia (in […]

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

Gallup Poll: Americans’ Belief That Gov’t Is Too Powerful at Record Level

by Joy Wilke

PRINCETON, NJ, (Gallup Polls) September 23, 2013 — Six in 10 Americans (60%) believe the federal government has too much power, one percentage point above the previous high recorded in September 2010. At least half of Americans since 2005 have said the government has too much power. Thirty-two percent now say the government has the […]

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

Free Muslim Hospital Offers Hope in Burma

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 23 September 2013 (18 Dhul Qa’dah 1434). Pls click on any of the headlines to go to the story.

23 Sep, 2013

FREE Download: MasterCard Study Says Cash Heading for Extinction

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PURCHASE, N.Y.-September 23, 2013, -(BUSINESS WIRE)–MasterCard (NYSE:MA) today unveiled a new global report, “The Cashless Journey,” that tracks how 33 major economies are progressing from cash-based to cashless societies. The report, produced by MasterCard Advisors, identifies new technologies, government programs and consumer preferences as key factors that are driving this shift, creating more productive and […]

23 Sep, 2013

China Promotes Golf as a Game of Peace

By Gao Qihui

Beijing, 2013-09-19 (chinadaily.com.cn) – The consensus that sports can play an important role in promoting world peace was echoed by participators in a charity golf event on Wednesday in Beijing. The 14th “Peace Cup” International Golf Tournament, a non-professional event, attracted a lot of golf lovers from different circles and countries to promote world peace […]

23 Sep, 2013

FREE Download: Nielsen report on African-American consumer behavior, lifestyle trends

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WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–African-American buying power continues to increase and is expected to rise from its current $1 trillion level1 to $1.3 trillion by 2017, according to Resilient, Receptive and Relevant: The African-American Consumer 2013 Report. The report was released today by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, […]

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

Sikh Professor Beaten in U.S., Called ‘Osama,’ ‘Terrorist’

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(NEW YORK, N.Y., 9/22/13) — The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on state political and religious leaders to speak out against bias-motivated crimes after a Sikh professor was attacked Saturday night in Manhattan while being called “Osama” and “terrorist” by his alleged assailants. That same day, a Muslim […]

23 Sep, 2013

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

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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

HSBC global survey: 63% of retired people fear not having enough money to live on

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18 Sep 2013 (HSBC media release) – Nearly one in eight workers think they will never be able to afford to retire fully, according to HSBC’s latest report, The Future of Retirement: Life after work? Among those already retired, many have less money than they expected, and some feel they were too hasty in giving […]

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

American Express OPEN Launches CEO BootCamp for Women Entrepreneurs

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NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–September 20, 2013  – Today, American Express OPEN, the small business division of American Express, announced OPEN for Women: CEO BootCamp, a first-of-its-kind program that teaches women entrepreneurs some of the fundamental pillars for successful ventures – confidence, competence and connections as recognized by a number of renowned experts in entrepreneurship. According to […]

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

Never Too Late To Say Thank You On This Wife Appreciation Day

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(PRWEB) September 21, 2013 – Join millions of husbands around the world on Sunday, September 22, 2013, as they celebrate their wives on Wife Appreciation Day. Regardless of whether she works at home or in the office, this is a good time to thank her for all the things she has done, and with 3.6 […]

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

New rules to improve Chinese government transparency

By He Dan

Beijing, 2013-09-19 (China Daily) – The State Council, China’s Cabinet, on Wednesday announced that the procedures by which government information is disclosed will be improved. Government departments at all levels will be required to improve the quality of the spokesperson system, and to hold more media briefings to respond to public concerns, according to an […]

21 Sep, 2013

Americans Fault Mental Health System Most for Gun Violence – Gallup Polls

by Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ, September 20, 2013 (Gallup Polls) — Forty-eight percent of Americans blame the mental health system “a great deal” for mass shootings in the United States, unchanged from January 2011. At the same time, fewer blame easy access to guns now (40%) than two years ago (46%), making the mental health system the perceived top […]

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

Chinese MA60 aircraft set to fly Nepalese skies

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KATHMANDU, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese-made MA60 aircraft is all set to enter Nepali skies after the government of Nepal decided to issue the type certificate to it for the first time. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) last Tuesday formally decided to award the type certificate to Chinese MA60 aircraft. A type certificate […]

21 Sep, 2013

Tougher penalties to hit Chinese outbound travel agencies

By Hou Liqiang

Beijing, (China Daily), September 20, 2013 – Travel agencies organizing overseas trips and group guides who buy fake admission tickets face stricter penalties, according to the China National Tourism Administration. The moves follow an incident where a group of Chinese tourists tried to use fake tickets to visit the Louvre Museum in Paris. In a […]

21 Sep, 2013

Tri-cultural Indian leaders say development impossible without communal harmony

Imtiaz Muqbil

New Delhi, 20 Sept 2013 – India’s top leadership is a unique blend of cultures. Its President Pranab Mukherjee is a Hindu, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is a Sikh and Vice President Prof M. Hamid Ansari is a Muslim. This tri-colour of cultures is also reflected in the Indian flag. No wonders that all […]

21 Sep, 2013

HRW Warning to Governments: Unchecked Mass Surveillance Threatens Human Rights

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Geneva, (Human Rights Watch media release), September 20, 2013 – Governments around the world should aggressively protect online privacy through stronger laws and policies as pervasive electronic surveillance increases. There is an urgent need to overhaul national surveillance practices to protect everyone’s privacy, or risk severely limiting the potential of the Internet. Global growth in […]

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

Cut Water Usage, Waste Disposal: Key Messages of World Tourism Day, Sept 27

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With one week left until World Tourism Day (WTD) on 27 September, preparations are on the final stretch in the Maldives, the host of this year’s official celebrations, and in many countries around the world around the 2013 theme, “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future”. As the most important international observance day for tourism, […]

20 Sep, 2013

FREE Download: ADB, ESCAP report can help travel & tourism meet MDGs by 2015 deadline

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With less than 1,000 days to go before the 2015 deadline for meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals, two of the Asia-Pacific region’s leading development organisations have issued a report assessing the “state of the union” and the work that still lies ahead in the limited time left. The report is relevant to the Asia-Pacific […]

20 Sep, 2013

Know Your Net: Internet Safety Education Campaign Launched

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Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 19, 2013 – The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) Wednesday announced a public awareness campaign to educate businesses and consumers about Internet safety, particularly with the expected addition of more than one thousand top-level domains – the text to the right of […]

20 Sep, 2013

World Migration Report: Immigrants work hard, create new businesses, remain optimistic

by Neli Esipova, Julie Ray, and Anita Pugliese

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 19, 2013, (Gallup Polls) — Some migrants may be born entrepreneurs. Migrants living in high-income economies are more likely than the native-born to have three characteristics that differentiate entrepreneurs from the rest: they feel optimistic even when things go wrong, they never give up, and they are willing to take risks. There are […]

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

Eco Trailblazers Awarded Top UN Prize for Inspirational Environmental Action

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New York, 18 September 2013 (UNEP media releases) – Pioneers and trailblazers whose work has had a significant and positive impact on the environment were given the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade, the Champions of the Earth Award, at a ceremony hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) at the Museum of Natural History in […]

19 Sep, 2013

China’s female billionaires on the rise

By WU YIYAO

Shanghai (China Daily), 2013-09-18 – Yang Huiyan, 32, has become China’s richest woman of 2013 with a fortune of 51 billion yuan ($8.33 billion), according to Hurun China’s Women Rich List 2013, released by the Hurun Research Institute in Shanghai on Tuesday. More than half of the world’s richest self-made female entrepreneurs are from China, […]

19 Sep, 2013

UNESCO DG deplores looting of museums, damage to cultural heritage in Egypt

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Paris, UNESCOPRESS- The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has expressed grave concern for Egypt’s cultural heritage following the reported looting of the Malawi National Museum in the Upper Egypt city of Minya, and the destruction of several monuments of religious importance, including churches and mosques, in Upper Egypt, Fayoum and Cairo. “I firmly condemn the […]

19 Sep, 2013

Australian hotel group’s ex-CEO convicted of submitting false info to Securities Commission

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Canberra, 18 September 2013 (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) – The former Chief Executive of West Australian hotel chain Compass Hotel Group Ltd (CHGL), Bryan Raymond Northcote, has been convicted of breaching directors’ duties and submitting false and misleading documents to ASIC. Mr Northcote was the chief executive and executive director of CHGL which floated […]

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 […]