Category: World

SHILLONG, India, June 25, 2006 (AFP) – It’s not that Rosanna Lyngdoh Mawphlang isn’t grateful that under her Khasi tribe’s matrilineal system she, rather than her brothers, will inherit the family’s sprawling 21-roomed home.It’s just that she’s not sure she wants all the responsibility that goes with it. “I know this is a privilege that […]

PARIS, June 23, 2006 (AFP) – Forget designer handbags and couture frocks, these days style-conscious women are spending big on the latest luxury accessory, human hair extensions. Hot on the heels of celebrity torchbearers like Victoria Beckham and Paris Hilton, women are paying up to 1,000 euros (1,250 dollars) to have someone else’s hair stuck […]

TEHRAN, June 23, 2006 (AFP) – Iran said Friday it will stop importing petrol in September and begin rationing it, ironic for a country that is OPEC’s number-two exporter of crude oil.“As there is nothing provisioned for petrol imports in the second half of this (Iranian) year’s budget …the imports will naturally stop and petrol […]

LONDON, June 22, 2006 (AFP) – A new list of the most common nouns in the English language published in the latest Oxford dictionary reveals that English speakers are obsessed with time, Oxford University Press (OUP) researchers said Thursday.The word “time” topped the list, with “year” in third place and “day” in fifth position and […]

LONDON, June 22, 2006 (AFP) – A new list of the most common nouns in the English language published in the latest Oxford dictionary reveals that English speakers are obsessed with time, Oxford University Press (OUP) researchers said Thursday.The word “time” topped the list, with “year” in third place and “day” in fifth position and […]

MUMBAI, June 21, 2006 (AFP) – India’s crowded commercial centre Mumbai drives the nation’s rapid economic growth but is far too busy to say “thank you,” making it the world’s rudest city, according to a survey.In a rudimentary study on shopkeeper behaviour, picking up fallen papers in the street and holding open doors, Mumbai comes […]

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21, 2006 (AFP) – Malaysia on Wednesday hotly disputed a global survey that found its capital Kuala Lumpur was the third rudest in the world, saying it was renowned for its friendly people.Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the widely publicised Reader’s Digest magazine survey of politeness levels in 35 cities could […]

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21, 2006 (AFP) – Malaysia on Wednesday hotly disputed a global survey that found its capital Kuala Lumpur was the third rudest in the world, saying it was renowned for its friendly people.Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the widely publicised Reader’s Digest magazine survey of politeness levels in 35 cities could […]

DHAKA, June 19, 2006 (AFP) – Bangladesh garment workers will stage a series of mass protests this week to demand a 30 percent salary hike amid continuing unrest, officials said Monday. The planned demonstrations follow rioting last month in which 16 factories were torched and hundreds ransacked by employees. At least two people were killed […]

GENEVA, June 19, 2006 (AFP) – The new UN Human Rights Council, which started its first-ever session here Monday, is made up of 47 nations who pledged before they were elected to respect international human rights standards.The body aims to be more effective than the widely-criticised UN Commission on Human Rights, which was disolved in […]

GENEVA, June 19, 2006 (AFP) – The new UN Human Rights Council, which started its first-ever session here Monday, is made up of 47 nations who pledged before they were elected to respect international human rights standards.The body aims to be more effective than the widely-criticised UN Commission on Human Rights, which was disolved in […]

NEW DELHI, June 14, 2006 (AFP) – An Indian state has decided to drop popular nursery rhymes like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep” from text books for first-graders for being too Western, reports said Wednesday.“We want our children to have value education in local color,” newspapers reported Narottam Mishra, minister of […]