Border trade comes as boon for Tripura
The border trade between India and Bangladesh has come as a boon to people in land-locked Tripura, who were at a disadvantageous position compared to people in other states when it comes to availability of goods.
Kolkata is 1,700 km from Agartala, while Dhaka and Chittagong are within 140 km range of Tripura. Goods from these two cities are made available in Tripura through Land Customs Stations.
“We can take the advantage of proximity and therefore reduced transport cost to get the commodities here easily,” Prashanta Bhattacharya, President of Indo-Bangla Chamber of Commerce, Tripura Chapter, said.
Plane ‘crashes near Iranian airport’
More than 40 people were killed when a small passengers plane crashed near an airport in the Iranian capital Tehran, Iranian state media report.
The aircraft went down at Mehrabad airport, in the west of the city, on Sunday morning, state media said.
The plane was reportedly heading to the eastern city of Tabas when it crashed at 04:48 GMT.
Iran has suffered a series of plane crashes, blamed on its ageing aircraft and poor maintenance record.
There have been more than 200 accidents involving Iranian planes in the past 25 years, leadin...
India anger at ‘rape’ fashion shoot
An Indian fashion shoot showing a woman being groped on a bus has caused anger, with social media users saying it glamorises the 2012 Delhi gang rape.
Photographer Raj Shetye’s images show a model fighting off men on a bus, in a scene reminiscent of the rape and murder that shocked India.
Many social media users said they found the photos “disgusting” and “horrible”.
Mr Shetye said the shoot was “just a depiction of the situation of women in our country” and not based on the rape.
The photos were taken down from the Behance site after angry reactions on Twitt...
Photographer Raj Shetye’s images show a model fighting off men on a bus, in a scene reminiscent of the rape and murder that shocked India.
Many social media users said they found the photos “disgusting” and “horrible”.
Mr Shetye said the shoot was “just a depiction of the situation of women in our country” and not based on the rape.
The photos were taken down from the Behance site after angry reactions on Twitt...
Warsi quits protesting British policy over Gaza
Baroness Warsi, the senior Foreign Office minister, has resigned from the government in protest at its policy on Gaza, describing it as “morally indefensible”.
Warsi announced her departure on Twitter yesterday, saying: “With deep regret I have this morning written to the Prime Minister & tendered my resignation. I can no longer support Govt policy on Gaza.”
In her resignation letter, Warsi said the government’s “approach and language during the current crisis in Gaza is morally indefensible, is not in Britain’s national interest and will have a long term detrimental impact on our reputation internationally and domestically”.
UK involvement in arming Israel revealed
Recent documents reveal that the British government is participating in arming the Israeli army which has killed thousands of Palestinians since the beginning of its offensive against Gaza nearly a month ago, the British daily news website the Independent reported Friday.
The documents, which were obtained by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) under the Freedom of Information Act, showed that the weapons used by Israel against Gaza contain British-made components.
They also revealed that arms export licences worth more than $70 million (£42 million) have been granted to 130 British defense manufacturers since 2010 to sell military equipment to Israel.
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US Congress okays $ 225m for Israeli ‘Iron Dome’ system
The US Congress approved $225 million in emergency funding for Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system on Friday, sending the measure to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.
The House of Representatives approved the funding by a 395-8 vote late on Friday, several hours after the Senate passed it unanimously.
The money would be used to replenish Israel’s arsenal of Iron Dome interceptor missiles, many of which have been used to shoot down short-range rockets fired from Gaza into populated areas of Israel in the current three-week-long conflict.
