CHENNAI, India
A ring-tone that sings "condom, condom, condom" has attracted over 270 000 downloads since its launch last month and has spread the message of safe sex to many more cellphone users in India and abroad. The innovative "Condom a Capella" ring-tone that has the word "condom" sung in many overlapping melodies is the work of an Indian duo, Rupert Fernandes and Vijay Prakash. The website http://www.condomcondom.org, where the ring-tone can be heard, has had over 2 million hits. According to latest figures, 2,4 million people are living with HIV in India.
MUMBAI, India
Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan has sought to defuse a simmering language row involving his wife, Jaya, insisting that neither he nor his family would ever insult Marathi speakers. Nationalist politician Raj Thackeray urged his supporters to boycott the family's films and the products they advertise after Jaya Bachchan said that she preferred to speak Hindi to the local language here. That led to stones and mud being thrown at advertising hoardings publicising Amitabh Bachchan's new film and the products he promotes. In a lengthy entry on his website, the 66-year-old actor wrote that his wife had not meant to cause offence.
CHENNAI, India
In a new gesture, all life-convicts over the age of 60, who have completed five years in prison, have been ordered to be released by the Tamil Nadu government. " Since senior citizens over the age of 60 years do not pose any danger, those beyond that age and have served five years of a life sentence have been ordered to be released," R. Nataraj, director general of police (prisons) said. All those who have served over seven years without remission will walk out free Sep 15.
DHARMSALA, India
The exiled spiritual head of Tibetan community, the Dalai Lama, has cancelled his visit to Europe next month on the advice of his doctors. Earlier, the Dalai Lama had cancelled two trips to Mexico and Dominican Republic after complaining of fatigue. The Nobel laureate has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese occupation. His government-in-exile is not recognised by any country. There are over 100,000 Tibetan refugees living in India.
KOLKATA, India
At least 50 percent of Indians do not wash their hands after coughing and sneezing, a joint study by the makers of Dettol liquid antiseptic as revealed. ccording to the study's findings, which were released here Friday, about 78 percent of the surfaces in the Indian homes were found to be unsatisfactory in terms of the level of bacterial contamination. he study also pointed out that Indian homes are quite high in bacterial contamination, compared to other countries. Malaysia is the only other country with an equally high level of bacterial contamination on in-home surfaces.
KATHMANDU, Nepal
In a bizarre phenomenon, nearly 3,000 trees fell in quick succession in a community forest in western Nepal, eKantipur reported on its website.
The website quoted locals as saying they had noticed large cracks on the ground at the Shrikrishna Community Forest in Banke district, some 360 km west of Kathmandu, but the weather was calm last Monday when the incident took place. Unable to explain the incident, residents have attributed the incident to supernatural causes and labelled it as a bad omen.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
The 60th death anniversary of Pakistan's founder Mohamed Ali Jinnah was observed with devotion and reverence last week. For Pakistan, the day has a significant importance due to restoration of democracy with the pledge of his followers, including the present political leadership and the nation, to transform Pakistan into a progressive and enlightened country as envisioned by Jinnah. Various government and non-government organisations conducted seminars, walks and other programmes to highlight different aspects of the life of Jinnah.
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Bangladesh has closed down four websites accused of cheating to keep two of the country’s best tourism destinations, Cox’s Bazar and the Sundarbans, in the race for recognition as among the “Seven Natural Wonders” of the world. The organiser of the new seven wonders of nature competition, New7Wonders Foundation, had charged on September 3 that some websites were arranging multiple votes for the two tourist favourites using single email addresses. The Sundarbans, straddling both Bangladesh and India, is one of the largest mangrove forests in the world and is home to the Royal Bengal tiger. Cox’s Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh is one of the world’s longest beaches.
MUMBAI, India
In the latest sign of Bollywood’s expanding reach, one of the industry’s biggest stars opened a new acting school in London that will tutor aspiring actors who hope to break into Indian films. Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares school in Ealing, west London, will drill seven students in acting, dance, yoga, stage combat and vocal technique in just three months. Students will pay £4,000 each for three months of tutorials, as well as a visit to a Bollywood film set in Mumbai. At the end of the course, though, they will join the Actor Prepares talent agency.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has come in for tough criticism from Sri Lanka’s government, which accused him of unwittingly helping Tamil Tiger rebels. Ban had reminded the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of their obligations to ensure the safety of civilians.
Sri Lanka regularly views any criticism of its own rights record as support for the LTTE, which has been fighting for autonomy in the island’s north and east for minority Tamils since 1972. Fighting is now centered in the north, after forces wrestled the east of the island from Tiger control in July 2007.
