About a decade ago, 2004 or thereabouts, I found myself at the media launch of a British certifying institute that was offering a staggering 250 courses ranging from Pitman’s Shorthand to oil exploration. The two Brits on stage waxed eloquent on how in a changing world, conventional degrees were not worth the paper they were […]
Jerusalem, April 6 (IANS) The Israeli military conducted airstrike on five targets in the Gaza Strip Sunday in retaliation to continued rocket fire towards Israel. Among the targets were five “terror sites” in Gaza, the army said in a statement, adding that pilots reported direct hits, reported Xinhua. The retaliatory airstrike, the second in three days, […]
Managua, April 6 (IANS/EFE) A 110-year-old Nicaraguan who knew Augusto C. Sandino, saw the rise and fall of the Somoza dictatorship, and lives in a deserted old station of his country’s defunct railway, revealed his secret of longevity: “knowing how to live.” Hector Gaitan, a former telegraph operator, miner, guerrilla, artist and railroad employee, said he […]
Bangkok, April 6 (IANS) Tens of thousands of people from across Thailand joined a pro-government rally in Bangkok Saturday to express their support for caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Bangkok Post reported. Shinawatra’s supporters gathered along Aksa Road in the capital’s Thawi Watthana district, where the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) intends to […]
Tehran, April 6 (IANS) A Pakistani fleet of warships docked in southern Iran is to hold a joint drill with the Iranian navy in the strategic strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian commander said Saturday. The flotilla arrived Saturday in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas where it will stay for four days, said Iranian […]
Cairo, April 6 (IANS) At least 23 people were killed and more than 30 others injured in overnight tribal clashes in upper Egypt’s Aswan province, official MENA news agency reported Saturday. The overnight gunfight erupted Friday evening and renewed early Saturday morning between two big tribes, Bani Helal Tribe (Halayla) and Nubian Daboudiya Tribe, in eastern […]
Sao Paulo, April 6 (IANS/EFE) Some 2,700 Brazilian troops seized control Saturday of the Mare slum complex, Rio de Janeiro’s last major drug-gang stronghold. The previously announced operation began at 5:00 a.m. when armored cars and tanks rolled into the main “favelas,” or shanty towns, that make up the complex, home to roughly 120,000 people. After […]
Amman, April 6 (IANS) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it will transfer $264 million to Jordan in April as part of a loan to the kingdom, the state-run Petra news agency reported Saturday. The amount is part of a $2.1 billion loan the IMF agreed to extend to Jordan to help it cope with an […]
Quito, April 6 (IANS/EFE) A powerful explosion in Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano kicked off an eruption lasting five minutes with emissions of pulverised incandescent rock and a column of ash that rose 10 km above the crater, the Geophysical Institute reported. The blast came at 6:10 p.m. Friday, and the pyroclastic flows of hot pulverised rock poured […]
Nairobi, April 6 (IANS) At least 13 people were killed and three others injured in a road accident early Saturday in eastern Kenya. Traffic police commandant Charlton Mureithi said the accident occurred when a minibus (matatu) plunged into a river on Machakos-Kitui road, Xinhua reported. “Thirteen people died while three others were injured in the road […]