Women ‘more avid book readers'
London : After diamonds, it seems, books are girls’ BFFs (Best Friend Forever). A new study has found that females are more avid readers of books than men – in fact, they can’t put a book down once they begin it.According to the UK survey of reading habits, which asked 2,000 adults, almost half of women are ''page turners'' who finish a book soon after starting it compared to only 26 per cent of men, reports The Telegraph. The research also found those who take a long time to read books and only managed one or two a year were twice as likely to be male than female. The only likeness between He and She came among those who have two books on the bedside table at once and who start one book on the middle of reading another, switching easily. Twelve per cent of women were in this category – exactly the same number as men. A similar survey carried out in December found half of men and one third of woman have lied about what they have read to try and impress friends.
ultra-cheap Nano car launch
Mumbai : Tata Motors said it will launch its ultra-cheap Nano car in Mumbai on Monday - a vehicle meant to herald a revolution by making it possible for the world's poor to purchase their first car. But few predict the snub-nosed Nano will be able to turn around the company, which has been beset by flagging sales and high debt, anytime soon. The Nano, which is priced starting at about 100,000 rupees ($2,050), is a stripped-down car for stripped-down times: It is 10.2 feet long, has one windshield wiper, a 623cc rear engine, and a diminutive trunk, according to the company's Web site. It does not have air bags or antilock brakes - neither of which is required in India - and if you want air conditioning, a radio, or power steering, you'll have to pay extra. Tata Motors has been hard-hit by the global downturn. Commercial vehicle sales, its core business, have been decimated as India's growth slows, and consumers have had trouble getting affordable car loans. The company declared a loss of 2.63 billion rupees ($54 million) for the October to December quarter, and it has been struggling to refinance the remaining $2 billion of a $3 billion loan it took to buy the Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford Motor Co. in June. Even the launch of the Nano has been scaled back. The car is arriving six months late because of violent protests by farmers and opposition political party leaders over land, which forced Tata to move its Nano factory from West Bengal to the business-friendly state of Gujarat. Company officials have said it will take at least a year to complete the new factory, and until then, Tata will only be able to produce a limited number of Nanos from its other car plants in India. Tata Motors hasn't yet given details on production volumes, but most analysts doubt the company will be able to make more than about 50,000 cars in the next year - a far cry from the 250,000 the company had planned to roll out initially. Vaishali Jajoo, auto analyst at Mumbai's Angel Broking, said even if Tata Motors manages to sell 250,000 Nanos a year, it will only add 3 percent to the company's total revenues. "That doesn't make a significant difference to the top line. And for the bottom line, it will take five to six years to break even," Jajoo said. Still, in this new age of global thrift, the Nano sounds appealing to more than just the struggling farmers and petty businessmen across India that Tata initially had in mind for the car. "What do you think the chances are that the Nano will come to America? Personally, I'd love one," Steven Smith, whose first car was a Volkswagen Dune Buggy, wrote recently on the Nano Facebook page. Tata Motors unveiled the Tata Nano Europa, a slightly more robust version of the Indian model, at the Geneva Motor Show this month, with a planned launch of 2011. But the company has no plans to bring the Nano to America anytime soon.
Japanese Man Certified Bomb Victim
TOKYO : A 93-year-old Japanese man has become the first person certified as a survivor of both U.S. atomic bombings at the end of World War II, officials said Tuesday.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi had already been a certified "hibakusha," or radiation survivor, of the Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing in Nagasaki, but has now been confirmed as surviving the attack on Hiroshima three days earlier as well, city officials said.
Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on Aug". 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the city. He suffered serious burns to his upper body and spent the night in the city. He then returned to his hometown of Nagasaki just in time for the second attack, city officials said.
"As far as we know, he is the first one to be officially recognized as a survivor of atomic bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Nagasaki city official Toshiro Miyamoto said. "It's such an unfortunate case, but it is possible that there are more people like him."
Certification qualifies survivors for government compensation — including monthly allowances, free medical checkups and funeral costs — but Yamaguchi's compensation will not increase, Miyamoto said.
Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic bomb attacks. About 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 70,000 in Nagasaki.
Yamaguchi is one of about 260,000 people who survived the attacks. Bombing survivors have developed various illnesses from radiation exposure, including cancer and liver illnesses.
Details of Yamaguchi's health problems were not released.
Thousands survivors continue to seek official recognition after the government rejected their eligibility for compensation. The government last year eased the requirements for being certified as a survivor, following criticism the rules were too strict and neglected many who had developed illnesses that doctors have linked to radiation.
Israel Ends in Clashes With Arabs
Israel : A march by Jewish activists Tuesday through an Israeli-Arab town to demand residents show loyalty to Israel set off stone-throwing protests by Arab youths that led police to use stun grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds. The clashes in the northern Israeli town of Umm el-Fahm came at a time of increasing tensions between Israel's Jewish majority and its Arab minority, and residents said the march was a provocation. The leader of the Israeli demonstrators, settler activist Baruch Marzel, has been involved in violent attacks against Palestinians.No serious injuries were reported.Dozens of Arab youths, th"""eir faces covered with checkered Palestinian scarves, heaved rocks at heavily armed black-clad police holding up shields, who responded by lobbing back tear gas. AP Television News footage showed a riot policeman firing a tear gas canister at a rooftop where a group of women were shouting pro-Palestinian slogans.Some of the protesters carried large Palestinian flags, running and weaving between cars.
Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said 16 policemen were lightly wounded and ten protesters were arrested. Another 15 protesters were lightly wounded, said the town's deputy mayor, Mustafa Suheil. The violence erupted after police tried to push back protesters attempting to block a bus filled with the Israeli demonstrators, Suheil said.
Right-wing Jews carrying large Israeli flags and flanked by security forces marched on the outskirts of the town, apparently targeted because it is one of Israel's largest Arab communities and is known for Arab nationalist sympathies and as a stronghold of the radical Islamic Movement.
"We came to say that the state of Israel is a Jewish state. We came in a show of loyalty and to say whoever is loyal, welcome. But people who flout the law should get out of here," said Itamar Ben-Gvir, a Jewish ultranationalist who helped lead the event.The police stationed some 3,000 officers in town, fearing clashes.
London : After diamonds, it seems, books are girls’ BFFs (Best Friend Forever). A new study has found that females are more avid readers of books than men – in fact, they can’t put a book down once they begin it.According to the UK survey of reading habits, which asked 2,000 adults, almost half of women are ''page turners'' who finish a book soon after starting it compared to only 26 per cent of men, reports The Telegraph. The research also found those who take a long time to read books and only managed one or two a year were twice as likely to be male than female. The only likeness between He and She came among those who have two books on the bedside table at once and who start one book on the middle of reading another, switching easily. Twelve per cent of women were in this category – exactly the same number as men. A similar survey carried out in December found half of men and one third of woman have lied about what they have read to try and impress friends.
ultra-cheap Nano car launch
Mumbai : Tata Motors said it will launch its ultra-cheap Nano car in Mumbai on Monday - a vehicle meant to herald a revolution by making it possible for the world's poor to purchase their first car. But few predict the snub-nosed Nano will be able to turn around the company, which has been beset by flagging sales and high debt, anytime soon. The Nano, which is priced starting at about 100,000 rupees ($2,050), is a stripped-down car for stripped-down times: It is 10.2 feet long, has one windshield wiper, a 623cc rear engine, and a diminutive trunk, according to the company's Web site. It does not have air bags or antilock brakes - neither of which is required in India - and if you want air conditioning, a radio, or power steering, you'll have to pay extra. Tata Motors has been hard-hit by the global downturn. Commercial vehicle sales, its core business, have been decimated as India's growth slows, and consumers have had trouble getting affordable car loans. The company declared a loss of 2.63 billion rupees ($54 million) for the October to December quarter, and it has been struggling to refinance the remaining $2 billion of a $3 billion loan it took to buy the Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford Motor Co. in June. Even the launch of the Nano has been scaled back. The car is arriving six months late because of violent protests by farmers and opposition political party leaders over land, which forced Tata to move its Nano factory from West Bengal to the business-friendly state of Gujarat. Company officials have said it will take at least a year to complete the new factory, and until then, Tata will only be able to produce a limited number of Nanos from its other car plants in India. Tata Motors hasn't yet given details on production volumes, but most analysts doubt the company will be able to make more than about 50,000 cars in the next year - a far cry from the 250,000 the company had planned to roll out initially. Vaishali Jajoo, auto analyst at Mumbai's Angel Broking, said even if Tata Motors manages to sell 250,000 Nanos a year, it will only add 3 percent to the company's total revenues. "That doesn't make a significant difference to the top line. And for the bottom line, it will take five to six years to break even," Jajoo said. Still, in this new age of global thrift, the Nano sounds appealing to more than just the struggling farmers and petty businessmen across India that Tata initially had in mind for the car. "What do you think the chances are that the Nano will come to America? Personally, I'd love one," Steven Smith, whose first car was a Volkswagen Dune Buggy, wrote recently on the Nano Facebook page. Tata Motors unveiled the Tata Nano Europa, a slightly more robust version of the Indian model, at the Geneva Motor Show this month, with a planned launch of 2011. But the company has no plans to bring the Nano to America anytime soon.
Japanese Man Certified Bomb Victim
TOKYO : A 93-year-old Japanese man has become the first person certified as a survivor of both U.S. atomic bombings at the end of World War II, officials said Tuesday.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi had already been a certified "hibakusha," or radiation survivor, of the Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing in Nagasaki, but has now been confirmed as surviving the attack on Hiroshima three days earlier as well, city officials said.
Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on Aug". 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the city. He suffered serious burns to his upper body and spent the night in the city. He then returned to his hometown of Nagasaki just in time for the second attack, city officials said.
"As far as we know, he is the first one to be officially recognized as a survivor of atomic bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Nagasaki city official Toshiro Miyamoto said. "It's such an unfortunate case, but it is possible that there are more people like him."
Certification qualifies survivors for government compensation — including monthly allowances, free medical checkups and funeral costs — but Yamaguchi's compensation will not increase, Miyamoto said.
Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic bomb attacks. About 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 70,000 in Nagasaki.
Yamaguchi is one of about 260,000 people who survived the attacks. Bombing survivors have developed various illnesses from radiation exposure, including cancer and liver illnesses.
Details of Yamaguchi's health problems were not released.
Thousands survivors continue to seek official recognition after the government rejected their eligibility for compensation. The government last year eased the requirements for being certified as a survivor, following criticism the rules were too strict and neglected many who had developed illnesses that doctors have linked to radiation.
Israel Ends in Clashes With Arabs
Israel : A march by Jewish activists Tuesday through an Israeli-Arab town to demand residents show loyalty to Israel set off stone-throwing protests by Arab youths that led police to use stun grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds. The clashes in the northern Israeli town of Umm el-Fahm came at a time of increasing tensions between Israel's Jewish majority and its Arab minority, and residents said the march was a provocation. The leader of the Israeli demonstrators, settler activist Baruch Marzel, has been involved in violent attacks against Palestinians.No serious injuries were reported.Dozens of Arab youths, th"""eir faces covered with checkered Palestinian scarves, heaved rocks at heavily armed black-clad police holding up shields, who responded by lobbing back tear gas. AP Television News footage showed a riot policeman firing a tear gas canister at a rooftop where a group of women were shouting pro-Palestinian slogans.Some of the protesters carried large Palestinian flags, running and weaving between cars.
Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said 16 policemen were lightly wounded and ten protesters were arrested. Another 15 protesters were lightly wounded, said the town's deputy mayor, Mustafa Suheil. The violence erupted after police tried to push back protesters attempting to block a bus filled with the Israeli demonstrators, Suheil said.
Right-wing Jews carrying large Israeli flags and flanked by security forces marched on the outskirts of the town, apparently targeted because it is one of Israel's largest Arab communities and is known for Arab nationalist sympathies and as a stronghold of the radical Islamic Movement.
"We came to say that the state of Israel is a Jewish state. We came in a show of loyalty and to say whoever is loyal, welcome. But people who flout the law should get out of here," said Itamar Ben-Gvir, a Jewish ultranationalist who helped lead the event.The police stationed some 3,000 officers in town, fearing clashes.
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