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9 Oct, 2015

Hindu nationalist MPs attack Kashmir assembly member for serving beef at party – The Guardian

Politicians from India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party in Kashmir kicked and punched an independent member of the state assembly on Thursday for hosting a party where he served beef. Inside the Indian village where a mob killed a man for eating beef Read more Bharatiya Janata party members beat Rashid Ahmed, a Muslim, in the […]

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7 Oct, 2015

Indian poet Ashok Vajpeyi also returns Sahitya Akademi award – The Hindu

A day after writer Nayantara Sahgal returned her Sahitya Akademi award against what she described “unmaking of India, poet Ashok Vajpeyi also handed back the prestigious literary honour to the government, criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not speaking up against the recent spree of violence. Mr. Vajpeyi said that “it’s high time that writers […]

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7 Oct, 2015

People being killed for not agreeing with “ruling ideology”, says Indian writer – The Hindu

Noted Indian writer Nayantara Sahgal has returned the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in protest against what she called the “vanishing space” for diversity. In a telephonic interview, the niece of the former Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru also said people were being “killed for not agreeing with the ruling ideology.” Excerpts: What made you take this […]

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7 Oct, 2015

How No-Fly Lists Are Used to Punish Political Protesters | Alternet

It was August 2002. My partner Jan Adams and I were just beginning our annual pilgrimage to Massachusetts to visit my father and stepmother. At the check-in line at San Francisco International Airport, we handed over our driver’s licenses and waited for the airline ticket agent to find our flight and reservation. Suddenly, she got […]

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7 Oct, 2015

Violence as the new normal – The Hindu

In directing States to show “zero tolerance” to attempts to “weaken the secular fabric” of the country, the Union Home Ministry was voicing its concern at the widening social acceptance of communal violence as a normal part of everyday life. The lynching in Dadri of Mohammad Akhlaq for “eating beef” was an extreme case, but […]

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6 Oct, 2015

Rationalist thinkers under attack in India | Asia Times

Rationalists in India are under fire from Hindu right wing organizations. A little over a month ago, noted litterateur and rationalist, Malleshappa M Kalburgi was shot dead at point-blank range at his house in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Kalburgi had several run-ins with Hindu groups over his remarks on idol worship.] Youth Congress […]

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6 Oct, 2015

India witnessing a return to medieval Brahminical values – The Hindu

Ever since Mandal and Mandir in the early 1990s, conflicts arising from caste politics and from religious politics have been treated as separate types of problems, with distinct causes, logics and effects. This separation of “casteism” and “communalism” can be seen both in the specialist discourses of social science and in popular perception. So we […]

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6 Oct, 2015

Holy cow, unholy violence – The Hindu

If you love cows and care for them, you have three choices: Choice A: Build goshalas or cow shelters where the animals can be taken care of. But this is an expensive proposition. There is heavy investment and no returns whatsoever, despite all the talk of the great medicinal value of cow urine and cow […]

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6 Oct, 2015

India clamping down on critics of Modi, activist groups

NEW DELHI: It takes courage to accuse a powerful politician ─ a man who would go on to become India’s prime minister ─ of encouraging riots against a minority. Police officer Sanjiv Bhatt did just that. And he says he is paying the price for it. Bhatt was arrested months after he filed an affidavit […]

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6 Oct, 2015

How to be a whistleblower – Sydney Morning Herald

It takes a lot of guts to be able to stand up at your place of work and make a call that something’s not quite right. For most people, it’s a seriously career-limiting move. But not for Sylvain Mansotte​, CEO of Fraudsec, an app that lets staff report internal fraud anonymously. Sylvain’s is an example […]

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5 Oct, 2015

BJP leader’s son held in Dadri lynching case – The Hindu

Five days after Mohammad Akhlaque Saifi was lynched over rumours about cow slaughter in this Uttar Pradesh village, Vishal, accused of inciting the mob, was arrested on Saturday. Vishal is the son of Sanjay Rana, a local BJP leader associated with the party for the past two decades. Mr. Rana is reportedly close to Union […]

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4 Oct, 2015

Liberal Hindus, arise: Reclaim your faith from extremists – TOI Blogs

The brutal Dadri lynching, the unspeakably tragic, numbing, and horrifying death of the innocent Akhlaq and the grievous injury to his 22-year-old son Danish should make every Hindu bow his head in shame, to cry out loud, to scream in anguish and demand to know, what is happening to Hinduism? Where is the philosophy of […]

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26 Sep, 2015

Rabin in 1976 Interview: Settlements Are a Cancer – Ha’aretz

Former (Israeli) Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called the settlers “a cancer” and warned against Israel’s becoming an apartheid state in an interview recorded during his first term as prime minister in 1976. The recording was included in segments of a new film, titled “Rabin in His Own Words,” which were screened on Israeli TV on […]

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25 Sep, 2015

Virgin Australia rewards flight attendants with big pay increases

Virgin Australia’s short-haul cabin crew will receive generous annual pay rises ranging from 4 per cent to nearly 10 per cent over a four-year period, after voting in favour of an enterprise bargaining agreement the Transport Workers’ Union says will make the airline better and more sustainable. The airline, which reported a $49 million pre-tax underlying loss in the last […]

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25 Sep, 2015

Modi embraces modernity everywhere but India – Victor Mallet, Financial Times

Narendra Modi is India’s first tech-savvy, social media-enabled Prime Minister. He has 15 million followers on Twitter. He won last year’s election with the help of 10-feet holograms that allowed him to make live addresses to more than 100 election rallies simultaneously in the world’s largest democracy. This week, he will be the first Indian […]

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25 Sep, 2015

Modi’s new India emerges – Al Jazeera English

Behind the extraordinary transformation of India’s landscape promised, but not yet delivered, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a parallel development is taking place. It is an alteration in what might be called “the common-sense of the republic”, and if not exactly presided over by Modi, it has been greatly enabled by him. The relationship is […]

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24 Sep, 2015

India’s Freedom of Speech Under Siege – TOI Blogs

Seven months after CPI leader and social activist Govind Pansare was gunned down in Kolhapur Samir Gaekwad, a member of a fundamentalist organisation called Sanatan Sanstha, has been arrested in connection with the crime. According to the police, senior journalist Nikhil Wagle is also on the Sanstha’s hit list. This is a sobering reminder, if […]

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23 Sep, 2015

Indian widow fights Modi in “final” court battle over deadly Gujarat riots

AHMEDABAD: Zakia Jafri, a frail 76-year-old, has begun what may be the last legal battle to pin blame on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deadly riots that shook the state of Gujarat when he was chief minister, and claimed her husband’s life. Modi denies any involvement in the 2002 unrest, one of the worst […]

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22 Sep, 2015

Meet the first international Muslim hijabi model | MENAFN.COM

(MENAFN – Daily News Egypt) A week ago, the world woke up to an exceptional image, a beautiful young lady elegantly posing with her veil. The image in itself was not shocking; yet, the fact that it was included in the highly anticipated international H&M look-book almost stopped the world spinning. The international high-end fashion […]

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22 Sep, 2015

Google employees can donate vacation time to each other

Business Insider, Sep 16, 2015 – Although Google has some pretty cushy perks, it’s vacation policy is more-or-less standard among big tech companies. First through third-year employees get 15 days off, fourth year employees get 20 days off, and people who’ve worked there for six years or longer get 25 days. But there is one […]

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22 Sep, 2015

Indian IT companies among world’s worst paymasters

NEW DELHI, Sept 21, 2015: Indian IT companies are among the 10 worst paymasters in the world, says a survey — a mid-level IT manager draws an average salary of $41,213 while his Swiss counterpart gets over four times more. According to recruitment platform MyHiringClub.com’s Worldwide IT Salary 2015 survey, India was ranked 7th on […]

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21 Sep, 2015

PSC Thailand protests to British Embassy about Israeli Prime Minister’s visit to UK

Bangkok – On Tuesday 15 September 2015, a delegation from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) Thailand, including Chairperson Nick Ferriman, Secretary Ian Hollingworth, and BDS Co-ordinator Ghislain Poissonnier, delivered a letter of protest to Second Secretary Daniel Fieller at the British Embassy in Bangkok. The letter, addressed to the UK Foreign Minister Phillip Hammond, denounced […]

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20 Sep, 2015

Night out for girls not in our culture, says Indian culture minister – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: After his remark on APJ Abdul Kalam that the late former President “was a nationalist despite being a Muslim’ created a row, Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma has stoked another controversy by saying that girls wanting a night out is not acceptable in India. “Girls wanting a night out may be all right […]

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20 Sep, 2015

“Nasty breeze” of intolerance sweeping across India – Hindustan Times

There’s a nasty breeze blowing across the country these days. Wherever you look, exclusion is the mantra; intolerance is the watchword; and banning, bullying and browbeating, the operating principles. One day it’s a minister quoted as saying that a former president was a good nationalist despite being a Muslim; on the other, there is an […]

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20 Sep, 2015

FTII Strike 100th Day: A Battleground To Preserve The Secular Polity Of India

Today is the 100th day of the heroic strike of the Film and Television institute of India (FTII), Pune students. For the last nine days three students are on hunger strike. Their hunger strike is now on for 200 hours. Lives are at stake, yet the Government of India doesn’t move. The strike started by […]

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19 Sep, 2015

Stetson student wins first place for her essay on domestic violence in America

GULFPORT, Fla. (PRWEB) September 17, 2015 – Stetson University College of Law student Samantha R. Sobel won first place in the Yanez & Associates Law Scholarship Essay Contest and Scholarship Program for her paper, “Should parents convicted of domestic violence have their parental rights terminated?” Samantha R. Sobel The essay focused on domestic violence in […]

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18 Sep, 2015

PressTV – ‘US banks rigged $12.8 trillion market’

Dealers including top American banks which control the $12.8 trillion US Treasury market rigged bond auctions for years, Bloomberg reports. Citing a federal antitrust lawsuit, the financial data and news provider says the likes of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley coordinated to manipulate Treasury auctions. The 115-page lawsuit has been filed in Manhattan federal […]

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18 Sep, 2015

US tourist accuses 2 men of raping her in Dharamsala – Hindustan Times

An American tourist has accused two men of raping her in the popular Himalayan hill station of Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, the latest in a string of sex attacks involving foreigners. The 46-year-old woman filed a complaint at the women’s police station in Dharamsala on Thursday in which she said she was assaulted by two […]

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17 Sep, 2015

Bereaved brother’s appeal to leaders: “Australia is an alcoholic, needs to rethink the way it drinks”

It was the speech that moved a room of Sydney’s most powerful people to tears. Stuart Kelly, the brother of 18-year-old “one punch” victim Thomas Kelly, has revealed the moment he and his family learned their beloved Tom was on life support at St Vincent’s Hospital following an attack by an intoxicated stranger in Kings […]

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12 Sep, 2015

FBI says ‘Australian IS jihadist’ is actually a Jewish American troll named Joshua Ryne Goldberg

A young Jewish American man has been charged with pretending to be an Australian-based Islamic State jihadist after a FBI joint investigation with the Australian Federal Police based on information provided by Fairfax Media. Joshua Ryne Goldberg, a 20-year old living at his parents’ house in US state of Florida, is accused of posing online […]

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12 Sep, 2015

Modi blows his cover – and the loss is India’s | Asia Times

India recently witnessed a strange spectacle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues subjecting themselves to an intense scrutiny by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, the Hindu nationalist organization, regarding their ‘performance’ in office. Modi himself used to be an activist of the RSS. But an elaborate charade was kept so far […]

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11 Sep, 2015

The Israeli lobby in the U.S. has become the “noonday clown” – Mondoweiss

The rightwing Israel lobby has just doused itself in gas and set itself afire, with the assistance of Benjamin Netanyahu. The lobby will never be the same. They are no longer the nightflower, they’re the noonday clown. New York Magazine has a huge article about Sheldon Adelson trying to buy the election — New York […]

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8 Sep, 2015

Hate crimes against Muslims in London ‘up by 70%’, police figures show – The Independent

London’s Muslims have faced a 70% increase in Islamophobic attacks over the past year, according to figures from the Metropolitan Police. The Met’s statistics record a total of 816 Islamophobic hate crimes in the 12 months to July 2015, up from 478 over the same period in 2013-14. Racist and religious hate crimes in London […]

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5 Sep, 2015

Swiss resort launches special train for Chinese tourists due to ‘cultural differences’ – The Independent

A special train for Chinese tourists has been launched at a mountain resort in Switzerland, following tensions over cultural differences. Swiss newspaper Blick reports that some tourists visiting Mount Rigi in the Swiss Alps have become incensed with Chinese tourists crowding the corridors while taking pictures from the train. There are also reports of rudeness […]

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4 Sep, 2015

Iran, Russia sign MoU to advance cultural cooperation

Moscow, Sept 2, IRNA – Iran and Russia on Wednesday signed Memorandum of Understanding on organizing cultural exhibits with an aim to facilitate cultural cooperation. Managing Director of Iran’s Cultural Exhibitions Institute Amir Masoud Shahramnia and Head of Moscow International Book Fair Sergey Kaikin signed the MoU. According to the MoU the two countries undertook […]

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1 Sep, 2015

The problem with Modi’s ‘Team India’ – The Hindu

In his speech, while introducing the concept of ‘Team India’, Mr. Modi made two points: one, that the country is “moving ahead” only because of ‘Team India’; two, that ‘Team India’ comprises our entire population of 125 crore people. The two statements are patently untrue and mutually contradictory. Not every Indian is equally involved in […]

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28 Aug, 2015

India’s population growth slowing for all; on sex ratio, Muslims better than Hindus | The Indian Express

The fertility rate is falling faster in Muslims than in Hindus. Data from the last three National Family Health Surveys (NHFS) show that the gap between Muslim and Hindu fertility rates is narrowing — the difference came down from 1.1 in NFHS 1 (1992-93) to 0.4 in NFHS 3 (2005-06). But the difference in fertility […]

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26 Aug, 2015

Is U.S. Taxpayer Money Subsidizing Jewish Terrorism Against Arabs? – Haaretz

JTA – Taxpayer dollars in the United States and Israel are subsidizing Jewish terrorism against Arabs, a complaint filed with the New York state Attorney General’s Office alleges. The accusations follow a recent expose by Israel’s Channel 10 about the work of the 13-year-old Israeli nonprofit Honenu, which provides financial support to Jews convicted of […]

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24 Aug, 2015

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare releases snapshot of Aussie lives

Is life getting better in Australia? Cabinet leaks and fake Twitter accounts aside, isn’t that what it’s all really about? As our politicians huffed and puffed about gay marriage and fear-mongered over Chinese workers, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released its biennial (every two years) snapshot of the nation’s welfare this week. Its […]

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20 Aug, 2015

Tobacco company wants schools survey for insights into children and teens

Sydney – A global tobacco giant is using freedom of information laws to obtain data from surveys by thousands of Victorian school children and teenagers that reveal their attitudes to smoking and alcohol. Public health advocates believe “Big Tobacco” may use the data to hone their marketing of cigarettes to teenagers, as well as to […]

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20 Aug, 2015

Malayalam gets global push, new status in Germany – The Times of India

Malayalam is set to get its first big global push. In October, the University of Tubingen in Germany will be setting up a chair dedicated to the teaching of and research in Malayalam. It is being named after Hermann Gundert, a missionary scholar who lived and worked in Tellichery in the 19th century and did […]

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20 Aug, 2015

It’s Time to Admit It. Israeli Policy Is What It Is: Apartheid — Bradley Burston, Ha’aretz

By Bradley Burston Aug 17, 2015 What I’m about to write will not come easily for me. I used to be one of those people who took issue with the label of apartheid as applied to Israel. I was one of those people who could be counted on to argue that, while the country’s settlement […]

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20 Aug, 2015

Short commutes better than sex, Londoners say — The Independent

It turns out having a short commute is more important to Londoners than pretty much everything, including sex or their earnings. According to a survey of over 10,000 Londoners by Time Out, one of the largest factors that related to improved wellbeing was a short commute. Wellbeing was on average 8.3 per cent higher among […]

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20 Aug, 2015

FDA approves first pill to boost female libido but warnings persist

Washington — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first prescription drug designed to boost sexual desire in women, a milestone long sought by a pharmaceutical industry eager to replicate the blockbuster success of impotence drugs for men. But stringent safety measures on the daily pill called Addyi mean it will probably never […]

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19 Aug, 2015

South Korea to lure tourists with tax breaks on breast augmentation

SEOUL, BLOOMBERG, AUG 18, 2015 – South Korea is taking duty-free shopping to a whole new level, with plans to exclude face lifts, breast enlargements and liposuction from value-added tax for tourists. Desperate to boost tourism after an outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus hurt the economy, the country will give tourists […]

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18 Aug, 2015

Paris deluxe hotels counting the cost of the Airbnb revolution – The Independent

Well-to-do holidaymakers are streaming out of Paris’s grandest suites and in to luxury flats: or so say France’s oldest and most prestigious hoteliers. They have declared war on Airbnb for taking their customers in the world’s most visited city and say the flat-sharing site is not playing by the same rules. “It’s an unfair competition,” […]

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15 Aug, 2015

Airbnb Horror Story Points to Need for Precautions – The New York Times

Early in the evening of July 4, Micaela Giles’s mobile phone started sounding alerts, and a series of messages straight out of a horror movie began scrolling down her screen. Her 19-year-old son told her that his Airbnb host in Madrid had locked him in the fourth-floor apartment where he was supposed to be staying […]

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15 Aug, 2015

Indian rapper ‘overwhelmed’ by success of protest song against Unilever – The Guardian

A rapper whose protest song about corporate pollution in an idyllic hill town in southern India has dragged the issue into the spotlight says she is totally overwhelmed by its phenomenal success, which has prompted a personal response from the CEO of Unilever. Sofia Ashraf’s skit Kodaikanal Won’t – named after a tourist resort in […]

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15 Aug, 2015

The brothers who funded Blair, Israeli settlements and Islamophobia

Tony Blair is again in the headlines, this time after Labour leadership frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn publicly voiced the opinion of millions of British citizens: that the former prime minister should stand trial on charges of war crimes if the evidence suggests that he broke international law during the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. Blair’s […]

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14 Aug, 2015

UN report: ‘Unprecedented’ rise in infant mortality in Israeli-blockaded Gaza

United Nations, (UN News Centre) 13 August 2015 – A new study carried out by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has revealed that the infant mortality rate in the Gaza Strip has risen for the first time in 50 years, with the agency’s health director […]

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14 Aug, 2015

Israel’s new face of Jewish extremism is a 20-year-old mother – The Independent

Aviya Morris is the fresh new face of Jewish extremism. A soft-spoken young mother who wants to see the Muslim walls tumble down and a new Israel rise. This is her dream. She admits that it could “lead to world war”. That would be the fault of Arabs and the international community, she says. Ms […]

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13 Aug, 2015

Nearly 40,000 sign UK Petition Demanding Arrest of Netanyahu for War Crimes

LONDON, August 12, 2015 (WAFA) – Some 39,000 Britons have signed a petition that calls on their government to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon his arrival in the UK next month. The petition entitled “Benjamin Netanyahu to be arrested for war crimes when he arrives in London” has been made available at a […]

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13 Aug, 2015

Why We’re Sick and Tired of Wellness | Alternet

By Kali Holloway / AlterNet August 11, 2015 In big-picture terms, wellness sounds like a pretty good idea right about now. Around the world, obesity rates are climbing (astoundingly, the planet’s “1.6 billion overweight and obese now outnumber the malnourished by nearly 2-to-1”). Noncommunicable illnesses such as heart attack and diabetes have supplanted starvation and […]

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13 Aug, 2015

U.S. Congress and Its Leaders Suffer Continued Low Level of Public Approval – Gallup Polls

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Now on August recess, members of Congress returning to their districts may receive a skeptical reception from constituents, as 14% of U.S. adults approve of the job Congress is doing, down slightly from 17% in July. These results come from a Gallup poll conducted Aug. 5-9. Congressional leaders can point to a […]

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13 Aug, 2015

Israeli arms exports under scrutiny for ‘helping to fuel conflict in South Sudan’ – The Independent

For years there have been persistent reports of Israel selling arms to regimes with records of egregious human rights abuses without the issue being discussed or questioned at home. But that is changing. Eitay Mack, a young lawyer, is trying to break through the wall of secrecy around Israeli weapons exports and is pressing for […]

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13 Aug, 2015

As Barcelona has found, it’s possible for a city to have too many tourists – The Independent

Can tourism be too much of a good thing? When all the undoubted benefits are outweighed by the sheer aggravation, when numbers and money, the measurable things, are eclipsed by less quantifiable downsides, such as congestion, jobs that remain low-paid and insecure, and a deterioration in life quality for permanent residents? One European city thinks […]

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12 Aug, 2015

Saudi tourists advised to exercise caution, set good example | Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi nationals on vacation during summer or intending to spend a few days away from home, either in other Gulf countries or European nations have been advised to exercise caution and know the culture and basic rules of those countries. Local tourism industry player Bandar bin Khalid Al-Hokair said Saudi nationals should preserve the […]

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12 Aug, 2015

Australia needs to figure out its own place in Asia | The Jakarta Post

Australia is struggling with existential uncertainty. Is it part of Asia? Does it want to become part of Asia? Its economic future and hence prosperity, is increasingly tied to Asia. China is by far its largest trading partner and Australia is also trading more and more with its Asian neighbors. But that is probably as […]

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11 Aug, 2015

Saudi Arabia may go broke before the US oil industry buckles – Sydney Morning Herald

If the oil futures market is correct, Saudi Arabia will start running into trouble within two years. It will be in existential crisis by the end of the decade. The contract price of US crude oil for delivery in December 2020 is currently $US62.05, implying a drastic change in the economic landscape for the Middle […]

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11 Aug, 2015

Rogue drones a growing nuisance across the U.S. – The Washington Post

By Craig Whitlock Rogue drone operators are rapidly becoming a national nuisance, invading sensitive airspace and private property — with the regulators of the nation’s skies largely powerless to stop them. In recent days, drones have smuggled drugs into an Ohio prison, smashed against a Cincinnati skyscraper, impeded efforts to fight wildfires in California and […]

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11 Aug, 2015

Why Mysore (Mysuru) topping India’s clean city rating is no surprise | The Indian Express

The emergence of the heritage city of Mysuru as the cleanest city in the country in the pre-Swacch Bharat rankings released last week is testimony to the importance of imbibing a culture of cleanliness over decades and generations. The number one rank for Mysore among 476 evaluated cities in India comes as no great surprise […]

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9 Aug, 2015

US teens start school too early, need more sleep: study

Most teenagers in the United States start the school day too early each morning, robbing them of the sleep they need to concentrate properly and remain healthy, according to a study published Thursday. Fewer than one in five middle and high schools in the United States start at 8:30 am or later, as recommended, according […]

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9 Aug, 2015

UK airport VAT scam: Retailers pocketing millions from duty-free discounts – The Independent

Some of Britain’s top retailers are facing calls to be more honest with airport customers as they pocket millions of pounds in VAT discounts on duty free items without passing on the savings. Many stores in airports across the UK now demand that passengers present their boarding cards at checkouts before paying for any goods. […]

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7 Aug, 2015

Elderly make up 80% of Japanese fraud victims, police say

Tokyo, Kyodo, Aug 6, 2015 – Elderly people accounted for nearly 80 percent of all victims of confirmed fraud cases in the first half of 2015, according to provisional data released by the National Police Agency. “Special fraud” cases, including swindling the elderly by impersonating their children over the phone and asking for urgent money […]

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2 Aug, 2015

Average of 22 dowry deaths per day in India over last three years: Govt – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: A total of 24,771 dowry deaths have been reported in the country in past three years with maximum of them occurring in Uttar Pradesh with 7,048 deaths. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, women and child development ministry Maneka Gandhi said that 8,233, 8,083, and 8,455 cases were registered under section 304B […]

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31 Jul, 2015

China to launch national survey of senior citizens

Beijing, (People’s Daily Online) July 29, 2015 – China will launch a massive sample survey of senior citizens on August 1. This survey, the fourth China has made on the living situation of senior people in rural and urban areas, will last about one month with the effort of 40,000 census-takers, according to a press […]

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31 Jul, 2015

Jewish extremist stabs six people at Gay Pride march in Jerusalem

Jerusalem: An Orthodox Jewish assailant stabbed and injured six participants of an annual Gay Pride march in Jerusalem on Thursday. It was the worst attack in years on the event in Jerusalem, a city where the religious population is more prominent than in other parts of Israel. “I saw an ultra-Orthodox youth stabbing everyone in […]

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31 Jul, 2015

General Motors to pull out of Gujarat to stem mounting losses | The Indian Express

In a bid to stem mounting losses, US-based auto major General Motors on Wednesday said it will restructure operations at its Indian subsidiary by ceasing operations at its facility in Halol, Gujarat and instead invest in consolidating operations at its other unit in Talegaon, Maharashtra. GM is the first major auto maker in the last […]

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29 Jul, 2015

India: All upcoming Metro stations to have toilets

NEW DELHI, July 23 (NNN-Bernama) — All upcoming metro stations including 32 of them under the Delhi Metro will have toilets, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha, was informed on Thursday, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. Direction has been issued to all metro companies implementing metro projects under 50:50 joint […]

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29 Jul, 2015

Australian Opposition Party signals intent to recognise Palestine statehood

Melbourne (IINA) 28 July 2015 – The Australian Labor Party (ALP), currently in opposition, agreed Sunday on a resolution to consider recognizing a Palestinian statehood if peace talks remain deadlocked. The resolution, put forward on Monday at the ALP’s three-day national conference held in Melbourne, stipulated that “If … there is no progress in the next round […]

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29 Jul, 2015

Israel Demolishes Residential, Commercial Structures in East Jerusalem Neighborhood

JERUSALEM, July 28, 2015 (WAFA) – The Israeli authorities early Tuesday demolished Palestinian owned residential and commercial structures in East Jerusalem’s town neighborhood of Silwan. WAFA correspondent and Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that Israeli troops accompanied two bulldozers into the Silwan area of ‘Ayn al-Lawza, where they proceeded to demolish stores and residential facilities […]

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29 Jul, 2015

Saudi women on the move after being cleared to travel without male escorts – Arab News

ABHA: Several Saudi businesswomen started traveling with a group of friends after recent regulations which allow women to travel without their mahram. These women said they find great fun to travel as a group with their friends and their children, where they can achieve their goals of travel. Travel and tourism offices said many Saudi […]

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29 Jul, 2015

Greater Jakarta Islands ask tourists to ‘dress modestly’ – The Jakarta Post

The Thousand Islands regency administration has asked that tourists, both locals and foreigners, who visit the island to “dress modestly”. Thousand Islands’ Tourism and Culture Agency head Irfal Guci said that more and more tourists had visited the island over the years. Thus, he said, the office felt the need to encourage tourists to dress […]

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29 Jul, 2015

Accenture to scrap annual performance reviews – The Independent

As of September, one of the largest companies in the world will do all of its employees and managers an enormous favor: It will get rid of the annual performance review. Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme told The Washington Post that the professional services firm, which employs hundreds of thousands of workers in cities around the […]

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28 Jul, 2015

Chris Hedges: Why I Support the BDS Movement Against Israel – Truthdig

The Palestinians are poor. They are powerless. They have no voice or influence in the halls of power. They are demonized. They do not have well-heeled lobbyists doling out campaign contributions and pushing through pro-Palestinian legislation. No presidential candidate is appealing to donors—as Hillary Clinton did when she sent a letter to media mogul Haim […]

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27 Jul, 2015

Secrecy of TPP talks fuels concern about influence of corporate property lobby

AFP-JIJI, Jul 26, 2015, WASHINGTON – Higher costs for needed generic drugs. Longer copyright protections than the global standard. Foreign investors empowered to overrule governments. A more tightly-regulated Internet. Those are just some of the potential pitfalls from any deal that could emerge from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-nation free trade and investment pact shrouded […]

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26 Jul, 2015

“Bajrangi Bhaijaan” writer says film can build India-Pakistan bridge – Times of India

Koduri Ventaka Vijayendra Prasad’s pen has delivered cross-border magic, with Bajrangi Bhaijaan becoming a big hit in both India and Pakistan. Now this isn’t a film about dinosaurs or dancing or a wedding. It’s about a desi Hanuman bhakt reuniting a young Pakistani angel with her family in PoK. Here’s a message as big as […]

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26 Jul, 2015

Teesta Setalvad: Activists face dark future under Modi govt – The Hindu

In an interview to The Hindu a few days ago, she said that under the Modi regime the future is dark for activists. Arguably the face of the fight for justice for the victims of the Gujarat riots in 2002, Teesta Setalvad has tirelessly fought scores of cases, provided legal aid to the survivors through […]

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26 Jul, 2015

San Francisco could be hit by massive earthquake ‘any day now’, says USGS scientist – The Independent

The San Francisco Bay Area could be struck by a major earthquake “any day now”, says a scientist with the US Geological Survey.The Hayward fault historically causes a huge earthquake every 140 years and it has been 147 years since the last major quake on the fault.Hayward caused a magnitude 4.0 earthquake on Tuesday that […]

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25 Jul, 2015

Especially for those Americans who think Islam is a violent religion…

Just hours before a gunman entered a cinema in Louisiana killing two people and injuring nine others, Barack Obama spoke out yet again about the US’s gun laws. Speaking to the BBC, the president said: “The United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which we do not have sufficient common […]

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25 Jul, 2015

How one homeless child inspired this Bangladeshi to help hundreds – The Guardian

It was a day playing with plastic bottles that changed Korvi Rakshand’s life. Named one of 10 inspirational Bangladeshis last year, Rakshand was born to a wealthy family. But he turned his back on money and for the past eight years has been running an NGO in one of Dhaka’s biggest slums. He talks freely […]

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22 Jul, 2015

New app to help non-drinkers find alcohol-free friends and colleagues

By Kristina Sperkova I am so proud and excited about the fact that we in IOGT International have just built a partnership with SoberGrid – the Number One Sober App that was officially launched just a few hours ago. We believe in the App and in the people behind it. We know it will provide […]

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22 Jul, 2015

Chinese commentary: Bank account freeze of Russia Today exposes West’s hypocrisy over free press

BEIJING, July 17, (Xinhua) — Barclays’ freeze of the account of Russia’s Rossiya Segodnya, commonly known as Russia Today (RT), once again shows the West’s double standards over free press. The British bank on Monday announced the freeze of the account of RT’s representative office in London with neither details nor explanation, according to Sputnik, […]

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22 Jul, 2015

PH is Airbnb’s fastest growing market – Manila Bulletin

Manila — The Philippines posted an exponential 300 percent growth year on year for travelers using the Airbnb platform, a website for people to rent out lodging, making it the fastest growing market in the ASEAN region. Jia Jih Chai, Airbnb managing director for Southeast Asia and India, told reporters in an interview at the […]

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21 Jul, 2015

Chicago’s Rebel Rabbi Standing with Palestinians: “We Must Stand with the Oppressed”

By standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, I believe I am fulfilling one of the central spiritual directives of my religious tradition – namely that we must stand with the oppressed and call out the oppressor. It’s really that simple. Now of course, I’m not so naïve as to deny the enormous complexities that […]

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19 Jul, 2015

The Revolt Against Tourism — New York Times

COPENHAGEN — AS we glide under a bridge on the city canal tour, our guide announces that we have entered a quiet zone. “This is a residential area,” she says, nodding toward balconies where Danes are enjoying coffee, or maybe wine. “I’ll resume talking in five minutes.” Denmark is one of the world’s top destinations […]

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19 Jul, 2015

Washington Post publishes “25 Most Moving Photos from Ramadan”

In a remarkable tribute to the beauty and grandeur of the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, the Washington Post has published a special photographic section entitled, “The 25 most moving photos from Ramadan”. Click here to see the beautiful photographs: The 25 most moving photos from Ramadan – The Washington Post

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19 Jul, 2015

The end of capitalism has begun – The Guardian

By Paul Mason The red flags and marching songs of Syriza during the Greek crisis, plus the expectation that the banks would be nationalised, revived briefly a 20th-century dream: the forced destruction of the market from above. For much of the 20th century this was how the left conceived the first stage of an economy […]

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19 Jul, 2015

India will be a Hindu nation by 2020, world by 2030: Extremist group patron

Calling the victory of the BJP-led alliance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as initiation of a “revolution” in the country, VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) patron Ashok Singhal on Saturday said by 2020, India would be a Hindu nation. “I was at the Sai Baba Ashram where Sai Baba told me by 2020 the entire […]

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19 Jul, 2015

Anti-Muslim group to rally in Sydney – Sydney Morning Herald

Reclaim Australia protesters will descend on Sydney’s Martin Place on Sunday after similar rallies ended in violence in Melbourne. The protesters will gather in Martin Place between Macquarie and Phillip Streets at 10.30am tomorrow protesting against what Reclaim Australia calls the “Islamisation of Australia”. In Melbourne about 50 Reclaim Australia protesters were met by anti-racism […]

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16 Jul, 2015

Five reasons why Lifebuoy’s Ramzan ad is the best of the lot – Aurora

As part of its #GermfreeRamazan activation campaign, Lifebuoy recently released a video that created a whole lot of positive buzz on social media in Pakistan. Here are five reasons why this is one of the best Ramazan ads in a long time. Read the rest: Five reasons why Lifebuoy’s Ramzan ad is the best of […]

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16 Jul, 2015

Study: Afghan war costs American taxpayers $4 million per hour — RT USA

New data shows that America’s war in Afghanistan is costing taxpayers roughly $4 million an hour, despite the Obama administration’s drawdown of troops leaving only 10,000 soldiers in the country. Despite the colossal cost, the Obama administration and Afghan leadership both recognize the war will only end with peace negotiations, according to observers. More than […]

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16 Jul, 2015

2 million worshippers pray at Grand Mosque on 27th Ramadan night – Arab News

JEDDAH: More than two million worshippers offered Isha and taraweeh prayers on 27th night of Ramadan at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, in a highly spiritual atmosphere. The government led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has ensured elaborate security as well as comfort by providing all necessary services to the guests […]

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16 Jul, 2015

British Muslims in Newcastle invite locals for Iftar

Newcastle, England (IINA) 13 Jul 2015 – In the spirit of Ramadan, a Muslim community in Newcastle, England, invited their local community to break their fast together, World Bulletin reported. The Islamic Diversity Centre (IDC) has held an annual Iftar event which took place last week in suburban Walbottle, Newcastle. As reported in the Chronicle […]

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16 Jul, 2015

Drones and phones to tackle Indonesian Eid ul-Fitri holiday road chaos – The Jakarta Post

From drones to smartphone apps, Indonesia is harnessing technology to tackle traffic chaos during the annual mass exodus before the Muslim Eid ul Fitri holiday, when the potholed roads of overpopulated Java become clogged with millions of slow-moving cars and crashes are frequent. Cities in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country empty every year at […]

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16 Jul, 2015

Klu Klux Klan distributes fliers in black South Carolina neighbourhood – The Independent

When the Klu Klux Klan distributed fliers in a predominantly black neighbourhood, residents reponded in a way that the KK might not have been expected – by producing their own posters showing a white and black hand clasped in a handshake. What made the response all the more telling was that the incident took place […]

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16 Jul, 2015

How Iran got the hegemon to lift sanctions

Now that Iran nuclear deal is completed, the attention of western news media and political commentators is predictably focused overwhelmingly on the opposition to the agreement within the US Congress and from Israel and the Saudi-led Sunni Arab coalition. That media lens misses the real significance of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is […]

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15 Jul, 2015

Hotel ‘staffed’ entirely by robots unveiled in Japan – Al Jazeera English

A businessman in Japan has unveiled a hotel run by robots, insisting the move is not a gimmick but a serious attempt at reducing costs. People and Power – The Tech Threat Henn na Hotel, as it is called in Japanese, was shown to reporters on Wednesday, complete with robot demonstrations, ahead of its opening […]

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15 Jul, 2015

Jandial — a Zoroastrian temple in heart of Buddhist civilisation – DAWN.COM

Jandial — a Zoroastrian temple in heart of Buddhist civilisation Amjad Iqbal — Updated 3 days ago Base of the column of sandstone placed in front of Jandial temple. Taxila is known as the cradle of Buddhist civilisation, with numerous Buddhist sites. But few know that in heart of the great Buddhist civilisation there stands […]

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15 Jul, 2015

Australian Federal Police cancel Eid dinner after backlash from Muslim community

The Australian Federal Police has cancelled an annual Ramadan dinner after Muslim community leaders vowed to boycott the event. In a sign of deepening fractures between the Muslim community and Australian authorities, a petition was circulated on July 2, urging imams and other representatives to boycott dinners in Sydney and Melbourne because they were a […]

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