LONDON, May 14, 2012 Protests were held across Europe on Sunday as anti-capitalist “Occupy'' campaigners took to the streets amid growing anger over their governments' market-driven policies that have resulted in millions of job losses and plunged the continent into its worst post-war economic crisis. Rallies were also held in other world capitals and major cities, including Moscow and New York, as part of a “day of global action'' against rampant capitalism. Protesters, ...
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Yangon, Myanmar, April 29, 2012 The European Union opened an office in Yangon on Saturday in recognition of the democratic progress made in Myanmar and to offer support for further reforms. Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, presided over the inauguration of the office with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Yangon Chief Minister Myint Swe. Ms. Ashton said the new office will help the EU “engage and support Myanmar’s political process.” The EU, ...
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MOSCOW: The Russian capital remains the city with the most expensive hotels in Europe despite a decrease in prices from 2011, a prominent hotel booking service said. Travellers had to shell out an average of 7,227 rubles (around $250) for one night's stay in Moscow in February, according to Hotel.info. The runner-up, Oslo, averaged 6,334 rubles ($216) per night, while hotel rooms in London, which came third, cost 6,236 rubles ($212), the service said in a survey. Stockholm, Helsinki, ...
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NEW DELHI: India joined 40 countries to condemn "sharply escalating" and widespread violations committed by government forces in Syria on Friday, a day after voting against Sri Lanka. India's stand against Sri Lanka and Syria has come in for unqualified praise from human rights organizations. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), a global human rights body, said India did the right thing and would be on the right side of history. "Sri Lanka has been in denial about ...
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LONDON, March 3, 2012 India-born pop veteran Engelbert Humperdinck, dubbed the “King of Romance'', will represent the United Kingdom in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 26, the BBC announced on Friday prompting a mixture of delight, surprise — and hope that after 15 years Britain might finally be able to pull off a win. At 75, Humperdinck whose real name is Arnold George Dorsey and who last had a top 20 hit in 1972, will be ...
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BEIJING, February 15, 2012 Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told visiting European Union leaders on Tuesday that China was ready to play a bigger role in supporting debt-hit Europe, but stopped short of revealing either the scale of likely investment or how Beijing would back the proposed bailout funds. Chinese State media outlets, however, played down rising expectations of Beijing emerging as the EU's saviour, with the official People's Daily saying in a commentary “there is thus ...
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BRUSSELS, February 10, 2012 Just hours after Greece gave in to painful new job and spending cuts, European Ministers declared Thursday that Athens didn’t go far enough and demanded more within a week in exchange for a 130 billion ($170 billion) bailout to stave off bankruptcy. The Ministers gave the debt-ridden country until the middle of next week to find an extra 325 million ($430 million) in savings, pass the cuts through a divided parliament, and get written guarantees ...
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BRUSSELS, February 10, 2012 Just hours after Greece gave in to painful new job and spending cuts, European Ministers declared Thursday that Athens didn’t go far enough and demanded more within a week in exchange for a 130 billion ($170 billion) bailout to stave off bankruptcy. The Ministers gave the debt-ridden country until the middle of next week to find an extra 325 million ($430 million) in savings, pass the cuts through a divided parliament, and get written guarantees ...
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BEIRUT, February 9, 2012 The European Union will impose harsher sanctions on Syria, a senior EU official has said, as Russia tried to broker talks between the vice president and the opposition to calm violence. Activists reported at least 50 killed in the regime’s siege of the restive city of Homs. Russia, a close ally of Syria, and the West are pushing down starkly different paths in trying to deal with Syria’s nearly 11 months of bloodshed. After blocking a Western and ...
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NEW DELHI, February 9, 2012 Fearing for the personal liberty of the deposed Maldives President, Mohamed Nasheed, close aides said some of his Ministers had sought Indian military assistance when the “coup” was under way on Tuesday but none came. “Some Cabinet Ministers told us that India had gunboats in the vicinity and would intervene,” Mr. Nasheed's aides told The Hindu from an undisclosed location as they feared arrest. But highly placed sources here ...
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New Delhi, Feb 1, 2012 India on Tuesday selected the French Fighter Rafale over the Eurofighter Typhoon in a multi-billion dollar contract for the supply of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) — the country's largest defence deal to date. Click here for a .pdf of the graphic Interestingly, for a company that faltered at the start, with the Defence Ministry indicating that the Rafale was out of the race, Dassault made a comeback and went on to win the bid. ...
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BEIJING, January 31, 2012 Asian stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday as traders watched for a possible deal to cut Greece’s debts and Japanese factory output rebounded. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3 per cent to 8,817.9 after data showed December industrial activity rose 4 per cent over the previous month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.7 per cent to 20,303.9 and Seoul’s Kospi was up 0.8 per cent at 1,955.2. Traders watched Europe, a major export market, following ...
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Chicago, January 30, 2012 India, which imports 12 per cent of its oil from Iran, will not scale down its petroleum imports from Tehran despite US and European sanctions against the Islamic republic, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said. “It is not possible for India to take any decision to reduce the imports from Iran drastically, because among the countries which can provide the requirement of the emerging economies, Iran is an important country amongst ...
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DUBAI, January 24, 2012 With an eye on the dependence of recession hit economies of Greece, Italy and Spain on Iranian oil, Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) countries on Monday decided to shift the ban on oil imports on Iran to July 1. “As of July 1, we have a ban on the import of oil and oil products from Iran,” said Uri Rosenthal, the Dutch Foreign Minister in Brussels, after EU Foreign Ministers met on Monday to discuss their collective stance on ...
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SYDNEY, jan 1, 2012 Fireworks glittered and boomed as revelers in Australia, Asia and the Middle East welcomed 2012 and others around the world looked forward to bidding adieu to a year marred by hurricanes, tsunamis and economic turmoil. In Sydney, more than 1.5 million people watched the shimmering pyrotechnic display designed around the theme “Time to Dream” a nod to the eagerness many felt in moving forward after the rough year. Big crowds gathered Saturday under twinkling ...
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PARIS, December 30, 2011 Just three years ago, the euro was being praised as the can-do currency that had delivered unprecedented prosperity in Europe. Now, it’s widely derided as a hugely flawed experiment in the wake of a debt crisis that’s threatening its very existence an uncomfortable backdrop as the currency’s notes and coins hit their first decade in circulation on Jan. 1. The question is: Will it get to its 11th birthday, let alone 20th? In the euro’s ...
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Ludhiana, June 9: Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) today has transferred technology of soyabean products including milk and tofu to a local entrepreneur. The institute has standardized the technology for commercial scale production. Speaking on the occasion, CIPHET Director Dr R.T Patil said that there was huge market potential available for soya products. “But, entrepreneurs should only bring their products when they have full confidence on their ...
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ZAGREB, Croatia, June 4, 2011 (AP) Croatia is expected to learn this month or next if negotiations to join the 27—member EU bloc can be concluded. The long process has soured many on membership but Pope Benedict said Croatia’s entry was "logical, just and necessary." Pope Benedict XVI has given strong backing to Croatia’s bid to join the European Union but says he understands those who fear the EU’s “overly strong centralized bureaucracy.” The Pope made the comments ...
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Kathmandu, May 30, 2011. Record Mount Everest climber Apa Sherpa said will not climb the world’s highest peak again, local media reported Monday. “I have declared that from now onward, I won’t climb beyond the base camp,” the Republica quoted the 51-year-old mountaineer as saying. He made his first ascent of the 8,848—metre Mount Everest in 1990 and climbed the mountain for the 21st time earlier this month, raising his own record. “However, I will fully support the Eco ...
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Copenhagen, May 23, 2011 (AP) The main cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano swept north of Scandinavia on Monday, disrupting flights over Greenland, while a second, smaller plume stretched south toward the coasts of Scotland and Ireland European officials warned that ash from the Grimsvotn volcano could affect the airspace over western Scotland and Ireland starting on Monday but it was not immediately clear how many flights, if any, would be disrupted. The April 2010 eruption of ...
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