Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who will turn 77 on September 26, will celebrate yet another birthday mid-air, on board the Air India One, like he did in 2004.Dr Singh will celebrate his birthday in his special aircraft or at Geneva, the flight's stop- over, while on his way back from the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, United States. Once the G-20 summit gets over, Dr Singh will have a quiet family get-together on the eve of his birthday.
Two Silicon Valley firms - Nanostellar and Meraki - have been selected by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum as Technology Pioneers 2008. Both companies are headed by Indo-Americans - Nanostellar by Pankaj Dhingra, president and chief executive officer, and Meraki Inc by Sanjit Biswas, co-founder and chief executive officer.
India has made major scientific and technological contribution to this new atom smasher also called the Large Hadron Collider. LHC is expected to answer several facts of fundamental nature of the universe that remains a mystery, said the scientists of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
The governor of Indiana, who was returning from a campaign event in Iowa, was not hurt in the bumpy landing.
'What is there to worry about, he has asked, when there is so much freedom in the country?' 'Freedom can never be adequate, as Kher seems to think.' 'Its presence should be so pervasive that all citizens will feel secure and expect justice to be done if anything untoward happens,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
'We keep saying that we have a very close historical, cultural, linguistic and religious affinity with Nepal. Then why be so insensitive that we cannot find time to talk to them for more than 5-6 months'
Indians might be known for their hard work, but when it comes to their wages, they are paid nearly 20 times less than their counterparts in the developed nations like the United States and Switzerland.
India is not convinced that the new texts on agriculture and non-agricultural market access released by the World Trade Organization last Saturday would lead to consensus among members, though some of its concerns have been addressed with caveats.
Singapore retains the title of the world's most expensive city.
No other country can match the uncanny knack of the United States in pushing its agenda for trade negotiations. Recent inclusion of issues like remanufacturing into current WTO negotiations is a case in point.
It was always foolhardy to expect the US and the EU to want to genuinely open up at a time their economies are in deep trouble.
The UN working group on the use of mercenaries warned that private security company employees are often provided immunity and are only answerable to their employers. The report said that these 'militarily armed private soldiers' are deployed in war-torn regions such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Colombia, and are often responsible for serious human rights violations.
Alongside the mini-ministerial meeting beginning in Geneva from Monday, the World Trade Organisation is convening on July 24, a 'Singalling Conference' where countries would give indications of the kind of market they are willing to concede in services. It demanded that the conference should be held in serious negotiation mode. The domestic regulations acting as barriers to the supply of services by Indian professionals in the developed markets should be removed, it said.
On July 21, trade ministers from nearly 50 countries will converge at Geneva to finalise proposals on agriculture and non-agricultural market access (Nama) which are part of the Doha Round of world trade talks. World Trade Organisation Director General Pascal Lamy tells Business Standard why the ministerial is crucial.
India has performed poorly in international patent filings last year compared to its neighbour China, according to data released by the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation.
The Nano Europa will have a slightly longer wheelbase of 2.28 metres and will be powered by a 3-cylinder all-aluminum gasoline engine with 5-speed automatic transmission and electric power steering.
Ambassador Navtej Sarna chats with readers on his new book The Exile.
Formula One's governing body has proposed radical cost-cutting measures, including the possible use of standard engines from 2010, to help teams survive the global financial storm.In a letter to the 10 teams ahead of a meeting with International Automobile Federation (FIA) President Max Mosley in Geneva next week, the governing body put forward a five-year plan of action.
The Iraqi journalist, who threw shoes at outgoing US President George W Bush during a press conference in Baghdad last month, will seek political asylum in Switzerland, according to his lawyer.
A 16-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh allegedly committed suicide after watching news about the possibility of the end of earth, following the atom-smasher experiment in Geneva that began on Wednesday. Chhaya, a resident of Sarangpur town in Rajgarh district, consumed sulphos tablets (an insecticide) on Tuesday, her parents said.The girl was rushed to Indore's MY Hospital, where she passed away on Wednesday.
The announcement was greeted by thumping of desks by Pakistani lawmakers.
Ambassador Natarajan Krishnan and Ambassador Shankar Bajpai helped shape Indian foreign policy at a glorious, but difficult, time in history, recalls Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Of the three options on the table, India was likely to agree for a coefficient of 22, which would have required it to reduce tariff on industrial products by about 60 per cent. Under this proposal, India would have been able to shield its products to the extent of 10 per cent.
'If it is airborne -- and we don't know till what distance it can be airborne -- then the mask becomes a definite.' 'Just social distance is not enough.' 'You need a mask in addition to social distance.'
We live under the most liberal trade regime in history not because the WTO enforces it, but because important countries - rich and poor alike - find greater openness to be in their best interest.
After India filed its complaint at the WTO in 2012, the dispute settlement panel of the body in July this year had ruled in India's favour against the USA's imposition of higher duties on New Delhi's steel imports.
Highlighting a steep disparity in the pay hikes of executives and the labour force during the economic boom, Raymond Torres, director at the ILO's International Institute of Labour Studies in Geneva, pointed out that worldwide the average hike in executive pay was 10 per cent as compared to a mere 0.7 per cent for workers.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Singapore as the priciest ahead of Zurich, Hong Kong, Geneva and Paris.
The Nano is developed to meet all the safety features that are applicable for passenger cars in India -- which is not saying much. What we like is the fact that the car will be able to meet the upcoming safety norms too. Current norms stipulate that the cars sold in India should meet norms set for full frontal crash, head impact on steering wheel, body block impact on steering system and seat belt anchorage strength, etc.
The company has already unveiled the European version -- Nano Europa -- at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month -- which is likely to be fitted with a more powerful engine than the Indian version complying with Euro-V emission norms.
Somavia ran unopposed to continue his stint as the ninth Director-General in the Geneva-based agency's 89-year history, and will formally begin his new five-year term in March 2009. During his tenure, the ILO witnessed a huge increase in the number of ratifications in labour standards as well as its own adoption of a landmark Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation in June of this year.
Some 40,000 Rohingyas have settled in India, and 16,000 of them have received refugee documentation, the UN estimates.
The UK government today approved a grant of pound 27 million to Tata Group-owned Jaguar Land Rover
The Tata Europa is a jazzed-up version of the Nano that we got to see at the Auto Expo in India last year, but there are some important changes.
Astronomers have discovered a batch of three 'super-Earths' orbiting a nearby star, and two other solar systems with small planets as well, which suggests that Earth-like planets may be very common.
'For the Tamil Nadu protestors to openly ask popular film actor Vijay Sethupathi not to don Murali in 800 is a travesty in every sense. It may have given them a cause to tell the world, and the governments in New Delhi, Colombo and Chennai, that the Sri Lankan ethnic issue was still alive in the state -- more so, during the current run-up to two major events in the first half of 2021,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Not satisfied with the UPA's replies to their queries on the nuclear issue, the Left parties are likely to ask the government to finalise an India-specific safeguards agreement with International Atomic Energy Agency only after the 123 agreement with the US lapses.
India was elected last year and its term ends in 2010, but it would be eligible for re-election. Most members, including Pakistan and Bahrain, were elected despite opposition from the human rights groups who said that their record had been dismal.
Given all the risks in the world today, including the political instability, economic uncertainty, public health emergence and terrorism, there is not much buffer to absorb a significant change for the worse in the operating environment
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances