Curfew grips Indian Kashmir town after two die
SRINAGAR, India / Jammu and Kashmir, Aug 10 (AFP) -A town in the south of Indian Kashmir was under curfew for a second day today after two people were killed and dozens wounded in Hindu-Muslim clashes in the disputed Himalayan region, police said. Stores and buildings were torched in the clashes on Friday, which erupted [...]
Fifty shades of Cara
Supermodel ‘auditions for role’ in film adaptation of E.L. James’ book British model Cara Delevingne may have struck gold – or grey- with her latest move. The 20-year-old has reportedly auditioned for a highly coveted role in the hotly anticipated Fifty Shades Of Grey movie. Cara, who has seen her star rapidly rise this year, apparently impressed [...]
US to reopen all Mideast embassies except Yemen
WASHINGTON, District of Columbia, Aug 10 (AFP) -The United States said Friday it would reopen all of the embassies it shut this week except the one in Yemen, after re-assessing the Al-Qaeda threat. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington would also keep its consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore closed, after pulling out staff [...]
Keeping the faith: Religion vs. test-tube burgers
PARIS (Reuters) – When the world’s first test-tube beef burger was cooked and eaten this week, food critics all asked about its taste. For many Jews, Muslims and Hindus, the first question was whether their faith allowed them to try it. Religious websites were abuzz with questions and opinions this week after biologist Mark Post of [...]
Drinking hot chocolate may help ageing brains
BOSTON (AFP/Relaxnews) – New research out of the US gives chocoholic seniors new reason to enjoy their guilty pleasure, after scientists found that drinking two cups of hot chocolate a day could help sharpen some seniors’ cognitive skills and keep their brains healthy. For their study, published in the online issue of Neurology this week, [...]
The new publishing revolution
The last few days have seen a flurry of purchases of ailing print journalism flagships. The Boston Globe was sold. Newsweek changed hands again. And, most spectacular of all, the Washington Post was bought for chump change. Meanwhile, the Tribune group – publisher of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune – is readying [...]
China’s maritime ambitions making waves in Pacific
BEIJING (AFP) -China’s communist rulers are making waves in the Pacific as they extend their naval strength and reach while Japan and the Philippines bolster their own fleets, increasing the risk of a maritime conflict, analysts say. Five warships completed China’s first circumnavigation of Japan last week in a clear show of force. Other vessels regularly [...]
Dicing with death for a moustache
PESHAWAR, Pakistan / Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (AFP) -Pakistani businessman Malik Amir Mohammad Khan Afridi has been kidnapped, threatened with death, forcibly displaced and lives apart from his family: all because of his enormous moustache. Impeccably trimmed to 30 inches (76 centimetres), Afridi spends 30 minutes a day washing, combing, oiling and twirling his facial hair into two arches [...]
Monasteries decline as TV and smartphones grip Bhutan
THIMPHU, Bhutan (AFP) – Kencho Tshering, a red-robed Buddhist monk, takes a call from the King of Bhutan’s office, then duly dashes off to start a ceremony praying for a break in the monsoon rains. But while he may be on speed dial for royal requests, the clout of his fellow monks is on the wane [...]
DCD in Milk: New Zealand a victim of its own success
“Pure milk brought to you by healthy cows grazing on green pastures running with clean waters in New Zealand” was Fonterra’s unmistakable brand proposition. How can we ever forget the heavenly images of their lush meadows brimming with fat-patched cows carved into our brains over and over through their long commercials? But the dairy giant’s [...]
Camels become prime suspects in deadly Saudi virus outbreak
LONDON (Reuters) – People infected with a deadly virus that emerged in Saudi Arabia last year may have caught it from one-humped camels used in the region for meat, milk, transport and racing. In a study into what kind of animal “reservoir” may be fuelling the outbreak in humans, scientists said they had found strong evidence [...]
British media and their pretence to infallibility
In recent years the British media have, with lavish abandon, accused Sri Lanka of multiple crimes. Often these have remained mere assertions not backed by corroborative evidence or sources which good journalism requires. What is particularly galling is that British media, in the main, are unwilling to be corrected when inaccuracies and misleading statements are pointed out, [...]
Manning will inspire others to seize their moment of truth
The critical moment in the political trial of the century was on February 28 when Bradley Manning stood and explained why he had risked his life to leak tens of thousands of official files. It was a statement of morality, conscience and truth: the very qualities that distinguish human beings. This was not deemed mainstream [...]
Many Americans have no friends of another race: poll
NEW YORK (Reuters) – About 40 percent of white Americans and about 25 percent of non-white Americans are surrounded exclusively by friends of their own race, according to an ongoing Reuters/Ipsos poll. The figures highlight how segregated the United States remains in the wake of a debate on race sparked by last month’s acquittal of George [...]
