8 Jul, 2014

Putin to Russian diplomats: “Potential for global conflict is growing”

On July 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in a conference of Russian Federation ambassadors and permanent representatives on protecting Russia’s national interests and strengthening the foundations and principles of international relations. Also taking part in the conference were the heads of the Government, both chambers of the Federal Assembly, ministries and agencies involved […]

8 Jul, 2014

Free time is good for boosting economy – Korea Times

Seoul – Free time is not a waste of time. Economists have pointed out that constructive use of it helps boost domestic consumption, on top of enhancing the productivity of workers. With export-led economic growth showing limitations, the government is encouraging leisure pursuits to enhance the growth vitality of the economy from the long-term perspective […]

8 Jul, 2014

UN Millennium Goals ‘scorecard’ spotlights successes, gaps and path towards ‘The Future We Want’

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United Nations, UN News Centre, 7 July 2014 – With the 2015 deadline for achieving the landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) less that 550 days away, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today launched the final push towards the United Nations targets – many of which have been met or are within reach – and urged a strong, […]

8 Jul, 2014

Thailand unveils post-crisis tourism marketing agenda

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – In what could be a global first, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has veered away from fixing tourism targets in terms of arrival numbers and shifted to expenditure stats. It has also dropped the short-lived marketing campaign slogan “It Begins with the People” and replaced it with “Amazing Thailand – Happiness Within.” And […]

8 Jul, 2014

Wealth of seven richest Australians exceeds that of 1.73 million households – SMH

The wealth of the seven richest people in Australia is greater than the nation’s bottom 1.73 million households combined, and policies in the federal government’s budget will only make that gap grow larger, the Australia Institute has warned. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the bottom 20 per cent of households own roughly $54 billion […]

8 Jul, 2014

Newswire Editor’s Lectures Strive to Help Bangladesh Boost Image, Grow Arrivals

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Dhaka – Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil delivered two lectures on June 19-20 to senior executives of the travel industry and travel media in Bangladesh, a rapidly-emerging destination on the Asia-Pacific travel & tourism stage. The topics, ‘Presenting Bangladesh in the Positive Way’ and ‘Stakeholders Role in Destination Marketing’, allowed a powerful interchange […]

7 Jul, 2014

Non-Muslims Attempt Ramadan fast in Turkey

Compiled by Imtiaz Muqbil & Sana Shamsi

A compilation of progressive, positive, inspiring and motivating events and developments in the world of Islam for the week ending 07 July 2014 (09 Ramadan 1435). Pls click on any of the headlines below to go to the story. ============ RAMADAN MUBARAK TO ALL MY READERS Islamic Travel Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil and Assistant […]

6 Jul, 2014

Flight 370 Passenger Managed to Send Photo From Hidden iPhone

(Colombo Lankapuvath) According to freelance journalist Jim Stone, one of the American passengers, Phillip Wood, a technical storage executive at IBM, who was aboard the now missing Malaysian Airlines flight, keystered his iPhone 5 in his anus after the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people was hijacked by military personnel while on route to China. Amazingly, […]

6 Jul, 2014

Russian Parliament Speaker: US Policy World’s Main Destabilizing Factor – RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, July 4 (RIA Novosti) – US foreign policy is the main cause of instability in the world, Russia’s lower house speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Friday. “We are very concerned by attempts to revise international law as well as by the instability of its institutions, which are prone, as it seems to us, to excessive […]

6 Jul, 2014

EU mulls cyber defense against US surveillance – DW.DE

As a key component of its official cyber security strategy, the European Union has explicitly emphasized the importance of protecting basic rights as its member states and the private sector bolster defenses against digital attacks. Written in the pre-Snowden era, the document does not address the potential risk posed to EU citizens’ personal data by […]

6 Jul, 2014

New UN forum seeks to chart post-2015 global development agenda

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United Nations, UN News Centre, 30 June 2014 – As countries ramp up their efforts to achieve the set of anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead of the 2015 deadline, a new United Nations forum seeks to spur them on as well as to help them create the foundation for new […]

6 Jul, 2014

UN unveils roadmap to boost small-scale, family forest producers

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UN News Centre, 30 June 2014 – If small-scale forest and farm producers joined to form producer organizations, they could increase forest productivity and improve livelihoods of local communities, the United Nations agricultural agency and its partners today reported. In two separate co-publications, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) wrote that indigenous peoples, local […]

6 Jul, 2014

Israel wants occupation, not peace – Full text of brilliant speech by Gideon Levy

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Speech delivered by Haaretz Columnist Gideon Levy at the Israel Conference on Peace, Tel Aviv, 06 July 2014 Israel does not want peace. There is nothing I have ever written that I would be happier to be proved wrong about. But the evidence is piling up. In fact, it can be said that Israel has […]

6 Jul, 2014

Hakuhodo Survey: People of ASEAN Share Four Holistic Lifestyle Attitudes

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BANGKOK, July 2 (ANTARA/Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet/Travel Impact Newswire) — In preparation for the integrated ASEAN Community in 2015, Japan’s second largest advertising agency Hakuhodo Inc has set up the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN (HILL ASEAN), in Bangkok to get deeper, more holistic insights into the minds of ASEAN consumers. Preliminary results of the […]

6 Jul, 2014

India Pursues Improved Livelihoods for Persons with Disabilities

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New Delhi, Press Information Bureau, 05-July-2014 – The Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Mr Thaawar Chand Gehlot inaugurated the 13th National Meeting of the State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities to review implementation of PWD Act here today. The Minister said in his address to the State Commissioners from 32 States/UTs that the […]

6 Jul, 2014

Gallup Polls: Americans Sense Diminishing Freedoms, Growing Corruption

by Jon Clifton

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 1, 2014 (Gallup Polls) — Fewer Americans are satisfied with the freedom to choose what they do with their lives compared with seven years ago — dropping 12 percentage points from 91% in 2006 to 79% in 2013. In that same period, the percentage of Americans dissatisfied with the freedom to choose […]

5 Jul, 2014

Kobe to give visitors free Wi-Fi access

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KOBE, Kyodo, Jul 4, 2014 – Officials in Kobe said Friday the city will launch a free wireless Internet service for foreign tourists from the end of this month. The service is aimed at improving services for tourists visiting the city while encouraging them to share their experiences instantly on social networking services. From July […]

5 Jul, 2014

Take advantage of Ramadan to quit smoking | GulfNews.com

Al Ain: People who smoke after fasting all day are putting their hearts at risk, doctors have warned. They advise smokers to take advantage of Ramadan to try to quit the habit. Smoking when a person has not eaten all day is “a highly dangerous act,” Dr Riaz Ahmad Minhas, an expert in internal medicine […]

5 Jul, 2014

World Cup 2014 : Made-in-India condoms score in Brazil – Hindustan Times

Pakistan might be manufacturing soccer balls for the FIFA World Cup, but India is not too far removed from the action either. India condom maker HLL Lifecare, which supplied 342 million pieces to Brazil in 2013, claims, this year demand has spiked. This year, so far, HLL has exported 400 million pieces to Brazil. Read […]

5 Jul, 2014

Brazilians doubt impact of World Cup on economy, but see big tourism dividend

by Jan Sonnenschein

WASHINGTON, D.C. July 4, 2014, (Gallup Polls) — Brazilians’ hopes are likely high Friday as their national team faces Colombia in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Shortly before the tournament began, however, the Brazilian public was rather skeptical about the economic benefits of hosting the most expensive World Cup in history. In May, 55% […]

5 Jul, 2014

Spook state: Uncle Sam is keeping a watch on you – Hindustan Times

From the documents leaked over the last two years, it is clear that the NSA used several measures for its global spying programmes. It has established secret relationships with over 80 major US corporations to access sensitive communications. These corporations are telecom giants that have access to undersea cables carrying the world’s data, software companies […]

4 Jul, 2014

Most Americans think the U.S. is great, but fewer say it’s the greatest | Pew Research Center

As Americans prepare to celebrate the country’s birthday, a clear majority considers the U.S. to be one of the greatest countries in the world. But the view that the U.S. is exceptional – standing above all other countries in the world – has declined 10 points since 2011. About three-in-ten (28%) think that the U.S. […]

4 Jul, 2014

Flawed research on APD “success story” does PATA a disservice

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – The Pacific Asia Travel Association has produced a special edition of Issues & Trends to discuss the subject of travel taxes, with a particular focus on the UK Air Passenger Duty. Drawing upon a number of studies by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the International Air Transport Association, the World Travel & Tourism Council, the Tourism & […]

4 Jul, 2014

Orwell’s Dystopian Future Is Almost Here: A Conversation With Glenn Greenwald – Truthdig

Investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald, best known for his reporting on the U.S. surveillance state, told me that in the year since he first met whistle-blower Edward Snowden, he went back and re-read Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.” In an interview on Uprising, Greenwald said that what surprised him the most about re-reading the ominous story was […]

4 Jul, 2014

Algeria to donate $9m World Cup prize money to people of Gaza – The Independent

The Algerian national football team are to donate their entire World Cup prize fund to the embattled people of Gaza, it has been reported. According to quotes attributed to Algeria’s star striker Islam Slimani, the team will give up all of the estimated $9 million (£5.25 million) they received as valiant losers in the round […]

4 Jul, 2014

For Palestinians, This Week’s Deaths Highlight the Asymmetry of Power | Alternet

July 2, 2014 – The kidnapping and killing of three young Israelis – whom Palestinians regard as settlers – and the death of a Palestinian teenager in East Jerusalem have reopened some of the deepest wounds on both sides of the ongoing conflict and are now threatening to engulf Palestinian-Israeli relations. It is not hard […]

3 Jul, 2014

Exclusive: 2013 Thai Visitor Profile Stats Show 22.7% Surge in Female Arrivals

Imtiaz Muqbil

BANGKOK – Female visitors to Thailand surged by 22.7% to a record high of 11,426,411 in 2013, according to a full profile of the arrivals for last year released by Tourism Authority of Thailand this week. While the total number of arrivals are released every month, a detailed analysis of the profile and expenditure usually […]

3 Jul, 2014

McDonald’s Burgers Named Worst in America in Consumer Reports’ New Fast-Food Survey

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YONKERS, NY (PRWEB) July 02, 2014 – The burgers that made McDonald’s famous have been deemed the worst-tasting of all the major U.S burger chains by Consumer Reports’ readers. And when it comes to the most satisfying fast-food dining experience, biggest isn’t always best ― KFC and Sbarro earned some of the lowest scores in […]

3 Jul, 2014

Gallup Polls: Americans Losing Confidence in All Branches of U.S. Gov’t

by Justin McCarthy

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 30, 2014 (Gallup Polls) — Americans’ confidence in all three branches of the U.S. government has fallen, reaching record lows for the Supreme Court (30%) and Congress (7%), and a six-year low for the presidency (29%). The presidency had the largest drop of the three branches this year, down seven percentage points […]

3 Jul, 2014

Beijing vows tax refunds to lure foreign visitors

By Zheng Xin

Beijing (chinadaily.com.cn), 2014-07-01 – Beijing has vowed to institute a tax refund program this year to attract more overseas travelers. “Beijing will introduce the tax refund program within this year, to attract more visitors from abroad,” said Song Yu, head of the Beijing Tourism Development Commission. The program would allow foreign travelers to claim tax […]

3 Jul, 2014

Sri Lanka must do more to curb hate speech, faith-based violence – UN rights experts

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United Nations, UN News Centre, 2 July 2014 – Aiming to stem the tide of violent attacks and recrimination against Sri Lanka’s Muslim and Christian communities, a group of United Nations human rights experts called today on the Government to adopt urgent measures to stop the promotion of racial and faith-based hatred and end “the […]

3 Jul, 2014

European countries fight for Chinese tourists

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Beijing, (People’s Daily Online), July 02, 2014 – Many European countries have relaxed or simplified visa application procedures for China this year. This is mainly due to increasingly close political relations between China and the EU. Eager to put the financial crisis behind them, EU countries also hope that opening the door to more Chinese […]

2 Jul, 2014

Georgetown Institute Research: How Americans Will Celebrate July 4

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WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 01, 2014 – The Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research recently polled consumers about their plans for this July 4 holiday – ranging from activities, to food choices, to the average amount of money people are willing to spend, finding preferences for barbecues, burgers, sparklers, and a bipartisan sentiment for governments hosting fireworks displays. […]

2 Jul, 2014

US$225 million ADB loan to help Bangladesh tackle river erosion

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Dhaka, 1 July 2014, (ADB media release) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will fund state-of-the-art riverbank protection measures in Bangladesh to prevent land erosion, which is destroying livelihoods and costing the economy an estimated $250 million a year. An ADB multitranche loan financing facility of $255 million will help put in place riverbank protection […]

2 Jul, 2014

12 reasons why Bangladesh will be bigger than Myanmar

Imtiaz Muqbil

Dhaka – Although much of the buzz today is about Myanmar coming in from the cold, a country with even bigger future potential is Bangladesh. This editor visited the country between June 18-22 on invitation of the Bangladesh Tourism Board to deliver two lectures on strategies to balance negative media coverage and involve stakeholders in […]

2 Jul, 2014

Noam Chomsky: U.S. Govt Is Capable of Creating Total Catastrophe for Humankind

State power has to be protected from its domestic enemy; in sharp contrast, the population is not secure from state power. A striking current illustration is the radical attack on the Constitution by the Obama administration’s massive surveillance program. It is, of course, justified by “national security.” That is routine for virtually all actions of […]

2 Jul, 2014

World Press Trends: Print and digital together increasing newspaper audiences

Print and digital combined are increasing audiences for newspapers globally, but digital revenues are not keeping pace, posing a risk for newspaper businesses and the societies they serve, the annual World Press Trends survey released Monday by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) reveals. “Unless we crack the revenue issue, and provide […]

2 Jul, 2014

10 Big Fat Lies and the Liars Who Told Them | Alternet

June 29, 2014 – Investigative journalist Chuck Lewis joined Bill Moyers this week to discuss his new book, 935 Lies: The Future of Truth and the Decline of America’s Moral Integrity, that looks at the history of government officials and media pundits speaking and repeating (and repeating and repeating) untruths to shape public opinion and […]

2 Jul, 2014

Facebook manipulated users’ moods in secret experiment – The Independent

Facebook manipulated the emotions of hundreds of thousands of its users, and found that they would pass on happy or sad emotions, it has said. The experiment, for which researchers did not gain specific consent, has provoked criticism from users with privacy and ethical concerns. For one week in 2012, Facebook skewed nearly 700,000 users’ […]

2 Jul, 2014

PressTV – Brazilians stage anti-World Cup march in Rio

Brazilians have once again taken to the streets in Rio de Janeiro to protest the government’s spending on the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Some 100 protesters held a silent march along the Copacabana Beach on Saturday to denounce the costs of hosting the tournament and police repression in Brazil. The protesters accused the police of […]

1 Jul, 2014

U.S. Consumers League Study: Consumers Losing Trust in Businesses

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Washington, DC, June 30, 2014, National Consumers League – Today, the National Consumers League #DataInsecurity Project released a new survey of identity fraud victims which finds that Americans are urgently calling out for government action on the growing threat posed by data breach and identity theft. The study, conducted in partnership with Javelin Strategy & […]

1 Jul, 2014

Whistleblowers are increasing on Wall Street | New York Post

In the post-Dodd-Frank world, every Wall Street bank, it seems, has a rat. This year has marked a turning point for regulatory action against the country’s largest financial institutions, with federal and state agencies moving beyond the misdeeds of the 2008 financial crisis and devoting attention to other fraudulent schemes, including money-laundering, tax-dodging and predatory […]

1 Jul, 2014

Palestinian life is cheap and disposable, but Jewish life is sacrosanct – The Hindu

Although hundreds of Palestinian children are kidnapped, brutalized or killed by Israel, including several in the past two weeks, there is rarely, if ever, such a reaction from the world. Just prior to the disappearance of the Israeli settler teens, the murder of two Palestinian teens was caught on a local surveillance camera. Ample evidence, […]

1 Jul, 2014

Why China’s ‘admirable workers’ are dying at their desks – Sydney Morning Herald

Chinese banking regulator Li Jianhua literally worked himself to death. After 26 years of “always putting the cause of the party and the people” first, his employer said this month, the 48-year-old official died rushing to finish a report before the sun came up. China is facing an epidemic of overwork, to hear the state-controlled […]

1 Jul, 2014

U.S. summer travellers hope to become fit, but will most likely just relax – survey

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DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 30, 2014 – A new survey by Room Key finds that Americans aspire to engage in active pursuits when thinking about their summer vacations, but when it comes down to it, the intuitive desire to focus on leisure wins out. According to the study, which surveyed 1,023 nationally representative Americans aged 18 and […]

1 Jul, 2014

Foot baths to debut on Yamagata bullet train | The Japan Times

YAMAGATA – JR East unveiled on Monday a new “resort train” that will allow passengers on the Yamagata Shinkansen Line to soothe their feet. The carriage, which was shown to the media in the city of Yamagata, will make its debut July 19, allowing tourists to enjoy the landscape along the train line while soaking […]