Mag touts barrier-breaking 'power of fashion;' 'downright distasteful,' others say
New York Times Sep 2, 08 12:07 PM CDT
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Vogue India is taking heat for a haute couture fashion spread that uses poverty-ridden locals for models, the New York Times reports. A toothless, barefoot man holding a $200 Burberry umbrella and a rumpled baby in a $100 Fendi bib are just two examples that have irked some critics in a country where 456 million live on less than $1.25 a day.
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Villagers turning desperate, living on uncooked rice and polluted water
Daily Telegraph (UK) Aug 30, 08 5:58 PM CDT
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Rescue helicopters are trying to save villagers in India after a dam flooded thousands of towns this month, killing 85, displacing 2 million, and wrecking a quarter-million acres of farmland, the Daily Telegraph reports. Torrential rain kept helicopters grounded for most of yesterday as one boat capsized, killing 20. “These are some of the worst floods in generations,” a UNICEF director said.
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Official: India killings underscore spread of 'Christianophobia'
Reuters Aug 29, 08 5:09 PM CDT
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The Vatican warned against the spread of "Christianophobia" today following attacks in India that left 13 Christians dead, Reuters reports. Thousands fled their homes this week as mobs rioted in retaliation for the murder of a Hindu leader. The Pope condemned the violence, and Italy's foreign ministry will demand India take "incisive action" to stop the killing.
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Baby born on flight from Hong Kong to Australia named for ocean and air
Associated Press Aug 28, 08 2:13 PM CDT
(Newser)
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An Indian newborn can claim his birthplace is miles in the sky after his mother gave birth during a flight from Hong Kong to Australia yesterday, the AP reports. Four doctors helped deliver the premature 6-pound boy. Mom—who was flying for the first time ever to reunite with her hubby—and baby were admitted safely into a hospital after the plane was diverted.
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Militants take family hostage, trade fire with Indian forces
Times (UK) Aug 27, 08 1:55 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Militants who snuck into Indian-administered Kashmir from neighboring Pakistan were holding a family hostage today in after killing several people yesterday, the Times of London reports. Tensions are high in Jammu, some 300 miles northwest of New Delhi; Muslim groups in the area have long agitated for independence from Hindu-dominated India, or a handover to Muslim-dominated Pakistan .
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CO2 emissions will double over next 12 years, think tank predicts
Washington Post Aug 27, 08 6:56 AM CDT
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Carbon emissions from China's mostly coal-fired electric power industry will exceed those of the US this year for the first time, the Washington Post reports. China's runaway economic growth means its power industry's carbon emissions will double by 2020, predicts the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank. Power generation accounts for 27% of all carbon emissions worldwide.
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Tata, having promised Oct. launch for $2,500 Nano, considers costly factory move
Der Spiegel Aug 26, 08 3:51 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The promised October launch of a $2,500 car by India’s Tata Motors is in jeopardy after massive protests at its West Bengal factory, Der Spiegel reports. Led by the state's opposition leader, 30,000 demonstrators promised a "fight to the finish" for land they say the government acquired illegally. Tata insists its Nano will be delivered on time even if the factory must move.
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Reuters Aug 23, 08 8:37 AM CDT
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Menopausal women who do yoga experience fewer hot flashes and have greater mental acuity than their non-practicing counterparts, suggests a new study conducted by a yoga university in India. The research compared results from a control group against women who did yoga or stretches five days a week for 2 months, Reuters reports. The experimental group also heard lectures on yoga and yoga-related topics, while the control group listened to talks on the effects of menopause and stress.
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Economic slump adds challenge for industry pondering next steps
Wall Street Journal Aug 20, 08 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The credit crunch that has shifted the US economy into neutral has slowed the growth of India’s tech sector, which once boasted growth rates of 40% in the overall strong economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The slowdown comes as the sector faces increasing competition from abroad and rising labor costs at home, and a weak dollar eating into profit margins.
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Adding rodents to menu pushed as solution to food crisis
Reuters Aug 18, 08 12:47 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Faced with high food prices and ebbing grain reserves, officials in the Indian state of Bihar have endorsed the consumption of rats, Reuters reports. The state government sees the strategy as a way to reduce the pest population as well as curb the demand for grain, and has even proposed that restaurants start offering the rodents.
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OLYMPICS
Olympic fever grips nation as local boy makes gold in marksmanship
New York Times Aug 12, 08 5:35 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A 25-year-old marksman became the first Indian ever to win a gold medal in an individual event yesterday, setting off an Olympic zeal rarely seen before in his country, the New York Times reports. By besting his Chinese and Finnish rivals in the nail-biting 10-meter air rifle finals, Abhinav Bindra erased memories of his disappointing performance in Athens.
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40 children among the dead in mountaintop pilgrimmage
BBC Aug 3, 08 8:58 AM CDT
(Newser)
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At least 140 people, including at least 40 children, were killed today in a stampede when a restraining rail gave way at a Hindu temple in northern India, the BBC reports. The pilgrims were attending a 9-day religious festival. Authorities used a cable car to remove the injured from the mountaintop Naina Devi temple, located about 100 miles from the Himalyan town of Shimia. It's the third deadly stampede to occur during a religious festival this year in India, though death tolls were a fraction of today's grim tally.
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Messages between militants and spy agency intercepted
New York Times Aug 1, 08 5:33 AM CDT
(Newser)
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American intelligence has determined that members of Pakistan's powerful spy agency helped to plan July's bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul, reports the New York Times . US authorities based their findings on intercepted messages between the attackers and Pakistani intelligence officers. American officials also obtained new evidence that the Pakistanis have provided information to militants, helping them to escape ahead of US air strikes.
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