29 September 2015

India's central bank cuts key lending rate to 6.75 percent

An Indian roadside vendor sits between trucks to sell fruits at a wholesale market in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. India's central bank on Tuesday cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point, aiming to spur economic growth as inflation cooled to the lowest since November.
India's central bank on Tuesday cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point, aiming to spur economic growth as inflation cooled to the lowest since November.
The reduction in the repo rate to 6.75 percent was the fourth rate cut this year.

Life on Mars? NASA says planet appears to have flowing water

This undated photo provided by NASA and taken by an instrument aboard the agency's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks on the surface of Mars that scientists believe were caused by flowing streams of salty water. Researchers said Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, that the latest observations strongly support the longtime theory that salt water in liquid form flows down certain Martian slopes each summer.
Mars appears to have flowing rivulets of water, at least in the summer, scientists reported Monday in a finding that boosts the odds of life on the red planet.

"Mars is not the dry, arid planet that we thought of in the past," said Jim Green, director of planetary science for NASA.

28 September 2015

India successfully launches its first space observatory

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C30) lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, South India, Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. PSLV-C30 mission included the launching of India's space observatory satellite. ASTROSAT.
India successfully launched its first space observatory and six satellites into orbit on Monday, officials said, the latest step forward for a country looking to become a major player in the lucrative space market.

Modi touts social media, tech development in Facebook visit

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, left, speaks next to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook in Menlo Park, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015. A rare visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend has captivated his extensive fan club in the area and commanded the attention of major U.S. technology companies eager to extend their reach into a promising overseas market.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi touted the power of social media and his own goals for developing India's tech economy on Sunday, speaking to a global audience from a "town hall" meeting at the headquarters of the world's largest social network.

27 September 2015

Peter Dundas underlines brand's ease in Cavalli debut

Models wear creations for Daizy Shely women's spring-summer 2016 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.
The fourth day of Milan Fashion Week belonged to ex-Pucci designer Peter Dundas, who made his celebrated debut as creative director for Roberto Cavalli.

26 September 2015

Odd partnership: Ties warm between India and North Korea

In this Monday, April 13, 2015 file photo, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, right, shakes hands with North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong in New Delhi, India. Ties are warming between New Delhi and Pyongyang, with mineral-hungry India looking to boost trade while North Korea, facing sometimes-rocky relations with China, searches for new friends. The goodwill began earlier this year, when North Korea dispatched Ri on a three-day trip to India, just a few weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to Seoul for meetings with South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
It's not the most obvious international friendship. On one side is the world's largest democracy, with its riotous collection of battling political parties and a freewheeling media with thousands of newspapers, TV stations and websites. On the other is a deeply isolated nation, a country with no political opposition and a media that does not question the long-ruling family. Access to the Internet, except for a handful of government-approved websites, is restricted to a tiny elite.

Saudi Arabia accused of neglect over deadly disaster at hajj

Pilgrims walk by the site where pilgrims were crushed and trampled to death during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. The crush killed hundreds of pilgrims and injured hundreds more in Mina, a large valley on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca, the deadliest tragedy to strike the pilgrimage in more than two decades.
Saudi Arabia faced new accusations of neglect Friday in the hajj disaster that killed over 700 people, the second tragedy at this year's pilgrimage overseen by the kingdom's rulers who base their legitimacy in part on protecting Islam's holiest sites.
Leading the criticism was regional Shiite powerhouse Iran, which always seeks an opportunity to undermine its Sunni adversary.

Rare visit by Indian prime minister enthralls Silicon Valley

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Sustainable Development Summit 2015, Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 at United Nations headquarters.
For a change, Silicon Valley is buzzing about something besides a sleek new device, mind-bending breakthrough or precocious billionaire.
A rare visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend has captivated his extensive fan club in the area and commanded the attention of major U.S. technology companies eager to extend their reach into a promising overseas market.

25 September 2015

AP Interview: India says reducing poverty is climate justice

Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar speaks during an interview with an Associated Press correspondent in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. India will confirm plans next week for a staggering 175 gigawatt growth in its renewable energy portfolio, Javadekar said Thursday. But it will continue to champion poor countries in demanding that industrialized nations assume the brunt of responsibility for decades of climate-warming emissions and help others cope with the consequences.
India will confirm plans next week for a fivefold increase in renewable energy by 2020, the environment minister said. But it will continue to champion poor countries in their demand that industrialized nations assume the brunt of responsibility for decades of climate-warming emissions.

18 September 2015

Fashion Week: Really big band, really big show for Jacobs

The Proenza Schouler collection is modeled during Fashion Week, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015, in New York.
The Associated Press is all over New York Fashion Week, from the runways to celebrities as eight days of spring previews entered their final day Thursday.

Chile confronts major quake with fortified buildings, alerts

A car is surrounded by debris in a flooded street after an earthquake-triggered tsunami hit Concon, Chile, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. Several coastal towns were flooded from small tsunami waves set off by late Wednesday's magnitude-8.3 earthquake, which shook the Earth so strongly that rumbles were felt across South America.
Parts of this port city were a disaster zone Thursday after an 8.3-magnitude quake hit off the coast, killing at least 12 people and likely causing billions in damage. Overturned cars and splintered boats sat in mud next to furniture, toppled adobe homes and fishing nets tangled in trees.

17 September 2015

8.3-magnitude quake rattles north Chile, 1 million evacuate

Police patrol a debris strewn street in Valparaiso, Chile, after a tsunami, caused by an earthquake hit the area, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. A magnitude-8.3 earthquake hit off Chile's northern coast, causing buildings to sway in Santiago and other cities and sending people running into the streets. Authorities reported one death in a town north of the capital.
Thousands of residents of this small city in northern Chile were sleeping outside Thursday after a powerful earthquake destroyed their homes, a tremor that also forced more than 1 million to evacuate and killed eight people in the quake-prone South American nation.

Five highlights from the Frankfurt auto show

The new Ferrari 488 Spider is displayed on the first press day of the Frankfurt Auto Show IAA in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015. The car show runs through Sept. 27.
Car sales are growing in Europe and the U.S. and automakers are responding with something for every driver class at the Frankfurt auto show.
After years of more conservative launches, automakers here are letting the R&D horses out of the stable with everything from mass-market cars with once-premium features to speedy supercar convertibles.

Study: Air pollution kills 3.3 million worldwide, may double

In this Sept. 10, 2015 file photo, a man covers his nose during a hazy day in Singapore. Air pollution is killing 3.3 million people a year worldwide, according to a new study that includes this surprise: Farming plays a large role in smog and soot deaths in industrial nations.
Air pollution is killing 3.3 million people a year worldwide, according to a new study that includes this surprise: Farming plays a large role in smog and soot deaths in industrial nations.
Scientists in Germany, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia and Harvard University calculated the most detailed estimates yet of the toll of air pollution, looking at what caused it. The study also projects that if trends don't change, the yearly death total will double to about 6.6 million a year by 2050.

16 September 2015

Airline grounds over 100 flight attendants for being ‘overweight'

Air India has permanently grounded about 130 flight attendants, most of them women, for exceeding body-mass index standards.

Critics condemned the move as “shockingly sexist.”
BMI is a measure of body fat versus height and weight. Earlier this year, Air India gave about 600 cabin crew members six months to get their weight under control or risk reassignment to jobs on the ground. All were placed on a program to alter diet and exercise and were monitored by airline staff.

Indian hospitals warned not to turn away dengue patients

A woman covers her face as a municipal worker fumigates a residential area to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. New Delhi has been hit by an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease, dengue fever. Nearly 1,900 cases have been recorded in the city's hospitals.
As India's capital struggles with its worst outbreak of dengue fever in five years, officials threatened Wednesday to cancel private hospitals' licenses if they turn away patients.
More than 11 people have died from the mosquito-borne disease in New Delhi this year and about 1,900 cases have been recorded at city hospitals.

Indian composer: Music for Prophet film done in good faith

In this Feb. 22, 2009 file photo, A.R. Rahman holds the Oscars for best original score and for best original song "Jai Ho" for his work on "Slumdog Millionaire" during the 81st Academy Awards in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Indian music composer A.R. Rahman has said that he did not intend to offend anyone when he composed the music for an Iranian film on the Prophet Muhammad.Rahman was responding to a religious edict, or 'fatwa,' by a Muslim organization against him and the Iranian director of the film.
Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman has said that he did not intend to offend anyone when he composed the music for an Iranian film on the Prophet Muhammad.
Rahman, who is hugely popular in India, was responding to a religious edict, or 'fatwa,' by a Muslim organization against him and the Iranian director of the film, Majid Majidi.

13 September 2015

Indian police look for man blamed for blast that killed 90

Onlookers and people looking for their missing relatives gather at the site of Saturday’s explosion in the town of Petlawad in central Madhya Pradesh state, India, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015. Police in central India on Sunday were looking for a man who was being blamed for a massive explosion at a restaurant that killed dozens, as angry residents protested the way the authorities were handling the case.
Police in central India were looking Sunday for a man who was being blamed for a massive explosion at a restaurant that killed 90 people, as angry residents protested the way the authorities were handling the case.

Mayweather decisions Berto in last fight to remain unbeaten

Floyd Mayweather Jr. hits Andre Berto during their welterweight title boxing bout Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Las Vegas.
His career winding down to its final seconds, Floyd Mayweather Jr. took a victory lap around the ring, his fist raised in triumph.

After 19 years of perfection in the ring, he deserved one final bow.
Mayweather capped a remarkable career with a typical Mayweather fight Saturday night, using his defensive wizardry to frustrate Andre Berto on his way to a decision so lopsided one judge gave him every round.

12 September 2015

89 people killed in explosions at central India restaurant

In this frame grab from video, people help at the scene after an explosion at a restaurant, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Petlawad, India. More than 80 people were killed when a cooking gas cylinder exploded and triggered a second blast of mine detonators stored illegally nearby, police said.
At least 89 people were killed at a restaurant in central India on Saturday when a cooking gas cylinder exploded and triggered a second blast of mine detonators stored illegally nearby, police said.

10 September 2015

Study: Bones in South African cave reveal new human relative

This March 2015 photo provided by National Geographic from their October 2015 issue shows a reconstruction of Homo naledi's face by paleoartist John Gurche at his studio in Trumansburg, N.Y. In an announcement made Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, scientists say fossils found deep in a South African cave revealed the new member of the human family tree.
Scientists say they've discovered a new member of the human family tree, revealed by a huge trove of bones in a barely accessible, pitch-dark chamber of a cave in South Africa.

First Look: What's inside matters in new iPhones

People look over the new Apple iPhone 6s models during a product display following an Apple event Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, in San Francisco. Apple staked a new claim to the living room on Wednesday, as the maker of iPhones and other hand-held gadgets unveiled an Internet TV system that's designed as a beachhead for the tech giant's broader ambitions to deliver a wide range of information, games, music and video to the home.
Don't let looks deceive you.

The new iPhones look the same as last year's models on the outside. But changes on the inside matter, from camera improvements to new sensors that enable quicker access to tasks.

9 September 2015

Shocking video shows journalist tripping, kicking fleeing migrants

Journalist kicking migrant
A Hungarian camerawoman has been fired after she was caught on camera kicking a fleeing migrant holding a child.

8 September 2015

Key milestones in Queen Elizabeth II's life

This is a Dec. 21, 1984 file photo of from left to right, the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, Prince Harry and the Prince and Princess of Wales after the christening ceremony of Prince Harry in London.
Queen Elizabeth II is set to become Britain's longest-reigning monarch on Wednesday, surpassing her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. Here are the key milestones in her life:

4 September 2015

Graffiti comes of age as elderly Portuguese try urban art

In this picture taken Sept. 2 2015, Lara Seixo Rodrigues, left, helps Maria do Ceu Pais, 92, stencil the shape of her hand on a wall during a street graffiti workshop in Covilha, Portugal. By the time they have learned enough to start spraying on a wall, they are raring to go. "They drop their crutches and put aside their walking sticks and jump to it," Lara says. "They are all capable of having a much more active life."
Some are hard of hearing or don't see well, others complain about stiff joints, one is 101 years old. All have become graffiti artists under a project to energize Portugal's elderly.
Learning how to paint graffiti — a form of urban art often associated with unruly adolescents — is bringing cheer and a can-do attitude to pensioners in this rural Portuguese city. Until late last century, Covilha was a thriving textile center but it now has an aged population as the industry declined and the young left to find work.

Image of dead child on beach haunts and frustrates the world

A paramilitary police officer carries the lifeless body of Aylan Kurdi, 3, after a number of migrants died and a smaller number were reported missing after boats carrying them to the Greek island of Kos capsized, near the Turkish resort of Bodrum early Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015. The family — Abdullah, his wife Rehan and their two boys, 3-year-old Aylan and 5-year-old Galip — embarked on the perilous boat journey only after their bid to move to Canada was rejected. The tides also washed up the bodies of Rehan and Galip on Turkey's Bodrum peninsula Wednesday, Abdullah survived the tragedy.
The photo of the dead 3-year-old Syrian boy on a Turkish beach is haunting.

It captures everything we don't want to see when we tap our phones or open our newspapers: a vicious civil war, a surge of refugees, the death of an innocent.
The image of little Aylan Kurdi is hammering home the Syrian migrant crisis to the world, largely through social media. Aylan died along with his 5-year-old brother and their mother when their small rubber boat capsized as it headed for Greece. The Associated Press distributed the photos to its subscribers. The photos were from the Turkish news agency DHA.

3 September 2015

China shows off rising power in marking WWII defeat of Japan

Chinese army personnel stand as invited guests watch a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015.
With fighter jets roaring overhead, China's leader presided Thursday over a massive parade of tanks, missiles and troops that displayed growing military might, but also pledged to reduce the army by 300,000 troops in a bid to show that his country poses no expansionist threat.
The spectacle through the heart of Beijing commemorated Japan's World War II defeat seven decades ago, with helicopters zooming across the sky in an array forming the number 70, but the event also underlined President Xi Jinping's determination to make China the pre-eminent Asian power.