Category: Other
India mission to Mars blasts off successfully
NEW DELHI, November 5, 2013 (AFP) – India’s first mission to Mars blasted off on Tuesday as the country aims to become the only Asian nation to reach the Red Planet with a programme showcasing its low-cost space technology.A study of data from Curiosity published in September found the rover had detected only trace elements […]
Fears
COLOMBO, November 4, 2013 (AFP) – A media rights group Monday expressed fears for the safety of journalists in Sri Lanka after Colombo grilled two Australian activists and seized computer data before kicking them out.The Free Media Movement (FMM) said it expected a crackdown by the authorities following last week’s questioning of the two International […]
More Equal
LONDON, November 3, 2013 (AFP) – Britain is scrapping a plan to force visitors from six “high-risk” countries to pay a cash bond of £3,000 (US ,800, 3,500 euros), the interior ministry said on Sunday.Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, told BBC television in September that he was “absolutely not interested in a bond […]
Expelled
COLOMBO, November 1, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities on Friday wiped all the data from the computer of an Australian media rights activist as she and a colleague were kicked out of the country, a local rights group said.Jacqui Park and fellow Australian Jean Worthington were packed onto a plane that flew out of […]
Vast Antarctic sanctuary plans blocked by China, Russia
SYDNEY, November 1, 2013 (AFP) – Plans to create two vast ocean sanctuaries in Antarctica to protect the pristine wilderness failed Friday for a third time with Russia and China blocking the bids, delegates at multi-nation talks said.The proposals for two huge Marine Protected Areas were on the table at the Commission for the Conservation […]
Detained
COLOMBO, October 30, 2013 (AFP) – Immigration authorities raided a meeting of journalists in Sri Lanka’s capital Wednesday and detained an Australian activist on a charge of working without a visa, a local rights group said.The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) representative for the Asia-Pacific region, Jacqui Park, was taken into custody by immigration officials, […]
‘s top carmaker Maruti posts rise in profits
NEW DELHI, October 28, 2013 (AFP) – India’s top carmaker Maruti Suzuki Monday posted a nearly threefold jump in its quarterly net profit compared to the same period last year when production was hit by a labour dispute.Net profit was 6.70 billion rupees (9 million) for the three months ending September 30, compared with 2.27 […]
” discovered in remote Australia
SYDNEY, October 28, 2013 (AFP) – An expedition to a remote part of northern Australia has uncovered three new vertebrate species isolated for millions of years, with scientists Monday calling the area a “lost world”.buy cymbalta Canada buy cymbalta Tim Laman, a National Geographic photographer and Harvard University researcher who joined Hoskin on the expedition, […]
Workers Unite
MONTEVIDEO, October 26, 2013 (AFP) – Unions representing domestic workers met here Saturday to urge countries to ratify a year-old international convention that sets minimal labor standards for domestic workers.So far only 10 countries have ratified the International Convention on Domestic Workers, which went into effect a year ago in September. But Myrtle Witbooi, president […]
Maldives reschedules presidential vote for November
MALÉ, October 21, 2013 (AFP) – Maldives officials on Monday rescheduled the country’s presidential election, two days after police blocked the last attempt to hold a vote saying it was illegal.“Dear all, 1st round of the Presidential elections to be held on Nov 9th and 2nd round on Nov 16th,” the independent Elections Commission chief […]
” fears
COLOMBO, October 20, 2013 (AFP) – The Maldives embraced multi-party democracy in 2008 hoping to emerge a modern nation. Five years on, there are fears the honeymoon islands are becoming a “banana republic” ready to implode. The political crisis came to a head Saturday when police blocked elections designed to restore stability after the first […]
Maldives ex-leader demands fresh vote under caretaker
MALÉ, October 20, 2013 (AFP) – Maldivian opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed Sunday demanded fresh elections under a caretaker president, a day after police forced the postponement of a vote he was expected to win.Nasheed, a former president, told reporters in the capital island Male that the outgoing President Mohamed Waheed should step down immediately and […]