China Tries in Vain to Keep Bellies Buttoned up

Beijing has been on a manners kick for the last few years, but on the hottest summer days, there is no stopping men of all ages and shapes from rolling up their shirts and exposing their tummies. When temperatures soar, many Chinese men raise their shirts in an attempt to stay cool. The practice is increasingly considered rude but that hasn't stopped the "bang ye" -- or exposing grandfathers. (John...

To Curb Population Boom, India Tries Paying Couples Who Delay Kids

India Tries Using Cash Bonuses to Slow Birthrates By JIM YARDLEY SATARA, India — Sunita Laxman Jadhav is a door-to-door saleswoman who sells waiting. She sweeps along muddy village lanes in her nurse’s white sari, calling on newly married couples with an unblushing proposition: Wait two years before getting pregnant, and the government will thank you. Dr. Archana R. Khade, left, and...

After Hybrid Rice, Its Veggies For Nagaon

By Sarat Sarma What’s next? Nagaon, Aug 23 : Buoyed by a successful stint with hybrid rice farming, the Nagaon agriculture department now plans to go for large-scale cultivation of hybrid vegetables in the central Assam district. The initiative under the Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan states aims at involving around 10 groups of farmers in an area of 100 hectares. Each group...

Meeting on Bangla Border Fence Deadline

The border fence at Bhogdanga in Dhubri district.  Guwahati, Aug 23 : The Opposition’s rising pitch on non-implementation of the 1985 Assam Accord has prompted Dispur to call a meeting where all agencies involved in fencing the state’s border will thrash out solutions to meet the December deadline. Though the state’s Implementation of Assam Accord department had convened such review meetings...

5 Hottest Qwerty Phones

For those looking for a handset that is ideal for using messenger services or writing emails, full QWERTY cellphones offer the comfort of quick and easy typing. These new breed of phones not only come with dedicated buttons, but also offer spacious keyboard for drafting long messages and emails Here’s looking into top 5 full QWERTY handsets from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Acer, BlackBerry...

‘Private’ With a Price Tag

By Patricia Mukhim Dwindling Resources Among the indigenous community, forests, land, water and other natural resources used to be known as common property resources. Everyone could access land, foray into the forest to collect fuel wood and biomass and other non-timber forest products such as mushrooms, medicinal herbs, honey and resin. Women used these partly to earn some income for the...

Women's Problem Same Everywhere, says Agatha

By Nishant Sinha Patna, Aug 23 : "I was concerned when the flight in which I was coming along with other women delegates of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was being considered to be diverted to Kolkata due to inclement weather in Patna. However, thanks to the Almighty it did not happen and I did not miss the opportunity of coming to Bihar for the first time," said Agatha Sangma, the...

Mizo Student Body Doubts no of Bru Refugees in Tripura

Aizawl, Aug 22 : An influential Mizoram student body today expressed doubt over the number of Bru refugees in six relief camps in North Tripura who fled the state and said it has to be reassessed.The figure given by the Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF), which made a survey of Bru refugees, could not be accepted, a statement issued by the student federation, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) said....