India

Stories 961 - 980 | << Prev   Next >>

South Korea Scrubs Satellite Launch

(Newser) - South Korea scrubbed a planned satellite launch minutes before liftoff today, citing an unspecified technical error, reports the BBC. Seoul has been itching to join the Asian space race and has already produced 10 satellites for other countries' rockets. But the event had threatened to strain recently improved relations with...

Microfinance Bubble Traps Poor in Debt

Predatory lenders offer easy cash with gouging interest rates

(Newser) - Microfinance, loaning tiny sums to the world's poor to help start small businesses, began as an anti-poverty strategy but quickly became highly profitable for private equity firms and foreign investors. In India, writes the Wall Street Journal, poor neighborhoods are being bombarded with high-interest loan opportunities, resulting in a bizarre...

Climate 'Urgency' Takes a Backseat to Progress: Will

(Newser) - At their recent summit, the G8 nations vowed to cut emissions 80% ... within 41 years. That seems like a pretty lethargic response to a so-called “emergency,” but as Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi said, the effort is virtually futile while “5 billion people continue to behave as they...

Mumbai Gunman Says He's Ready for Gallows

(Newser) - The lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attacks said today that he is ready to go to the gallows and wants no mercy from the court for his role in terrorist assault, which left 166 people dead. "Whatever I have done, I have done in this world. It would...

Indian Woman Killed in Eclipse Stampede

(Newser) - A woman was killed early today in a stampede at the Ganges River where thousands of devout Hindus gathered to witness a total eclipse of the sun, AP reports. Millions poured outside to see the longest eclipse of the 21st Century. But many in the superstitious nation fearfully huddled indoors...

India Cowers Ahead of Total Solar Eclipse

(Newser) - Wednesday’s total solar eclipse is eliciting fear and speculation across the Indian subcontinent, AFP reports. A New Delhi gynecologist says caesarian sections scheduled for the day of the eclipse have been canceled. “This is a belief deeply rooted in Indian society,” he said. “Couples are willing...

Gunman Pleads Guilty to Mumbai Attacks

(Newser) - The only surviving gunman of the deadly terror attacks in Mumbai admitted his role in the November rampage in a dramatic courtroom confession today, reports the Times of India. "Sir, I plead guilty to my crime," Ajmal Kasab told the presiding judge, before describing how the attacks...

Clinton Urges India to Tackle Climate Change, Terrorism

Clinton says US, India allies in fight against terrorism

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton opened a visit to India today by urging the country not to repeat American mistakes in contributing to global pollution, the AP reports. "We acknowledge now, with President Obama, that we have made mistakes in the United States, and we, along with other developed countries, have contributed...

India Appeal Likens Gay Sex to Bestiality

Court ruling could recriminalize homosexuality

(Newser) - India’s gay and lesbian community celebrated the Delhi High Court’s decriminalization of homosexual sex last week with lavish parties, but festivities may have been premature, GlobalPost reports. India’s Supreme Court has signaled that it will consider an appeal of the verdict, the climax of an 8-year legal...

Slumdog Kid Gets New Home
 Slumdog Kid Gets New Home 
Jul 4, 2009 1:00 PM CDT

Slumdog Kid Gets New Home

(Newser) - Azharuddin Ismail, the child actor who played the main character’s brother in Slumdog Millionaire, moved into a new home in an upmarket Mumbai suburb today, the BBC reports. A trust set up by the film’s producers paid for the house and is hunting for a similar abode for...

India Legalizes Gay Sex
 India Legalizes Gay Sex 
Jul 2, 2009 3:57 AM CDT

India Legalizes Gay Sex

High court's decision hailed as 'India's Stonewall'

(Newser) - An Indian court has struck down a colonial-era law that declared gay sex an "unnatural offense" and made it punishable by up to 10 years in jail, the BBC reports. The court ruled that the 150-year statute violated the rights of citizens by criminalizing consensual acts. India's gay...

Indians Arrange Marriages Via Reality TV

(Newser) - In the distant past, Indian parents arranged marriages with the help of relations and local priests. These days, they’re turning to Rupert Murdoch. News Corp’s Star TV has launched a daily reality show called Star Vivaah, or Star Weddings, a kind of video personals for prospective brides, grooms,...

With US Help, India-Pakistan Tension Eases

(Newser) - Revamped leadership in India and Pakistan and some behind-the-scenes encouragement from the US could lead to negotiations over the disputed Kashmir region, the New York Times reports. But while there are shimmers of hope, the relationship is still strained. “I am happy to meet you,” India’s PM...

Indian Scientists Clone Buffalo

First clone died soon after birth

(Newser) - The buffalo has now joined sheep, camels, and wolves among the ranks of the cloned, Discover reports. Scientists at India’s National Dairy Research Institute first cloned a buffalo in February, but it died soon after its birth. They’ve now cloned another: Garima, a 95-pound female. The ability to...

Hue-Changing Frog Worshiped as God in India

(Newser) - A frog that changes colors from white to green to gold is being worshiped as a god in India, reports the Telegraph. The creature was discovered in a flower garden and has drawn hundreds of worshippers to its home in western India. "It seemed like a miracle to me...

Google Mentor Dead in Freak Swimming Accident

(Newser) - A Stanford computer science professor who mentored Google's founders has drowned in his swimming pool, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Rajeev Motwani, 47, who could not swim, drowned at his Atherton, Calif., home, leaving a wife, two daughters, and many admirers in Silicon Valley. “It's a rare combination...

Indian Parliament Elects First Woman Speaker

Kumar belongs to oppressed lower caste

(Newser) - India’s otherwise divided parliament unanimously hailed the appointment of the nation’s first female speaker today, the BBC reports. Meira Kumar, 64, is the daughter of a renowned politician and a longtime member of the Congress party, victorious in recent general elections. She’s also from a lower-caste community...

Pakistan Releases Mumbai Suspect, India Outraged

India unhappy with move

(Newser) - Pakistan has released the leader of a group who had been arrested in connection with November’s Mumbai attacks, the New York Times reports, enraging neighboring India. A Pakistani court deemed Hafiz Muhammad Saeed’s detention unconstitutional, said his lawyer, after concluding there wasn’t enough evidence to hold him....

Director Buys Apartment for Slumdog Kid

(Newser) - The makers of Slumdog Millionaire have bought a home for one of the film’s Indian child actors whose real-life shanty was demolished by the Mumbai government, Reuters reports. Azharuddin Ismail is now living in a “comfortable” apartment “in a good neighborhood near his school,” an exec...

Cyclone Kills 90 in Bangladesh, India

Hundreds of thousands flee as Aila lashes Bengal region

(Newser) - At least 90 people were killed when a cyclone ripped into Bangladesh and eastern India yesterday, Reuters reports. Tens of thousands of others lost their homes and crops as Cyclone Aila caused tidal waves and flooding. Troops in both countries are scrambling to rescue marooned people and deliver emergency supplies....

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