TAMIL NADU — A number of bidders — including the original owner — are vying to breathe new life into debt-ridden Air India. Over the years, the government-owned national carrier has accumulated debt of over INR 58,000 ($7.8 billion). In addition to selling 100 percent stake in the stressed airline, the government is also unloading Air India Express as well as a 50 percent stake in Air India’s cargo and baggage handling service. Now, India’s largest conglomerate, Tata Group — which founded Air India as Tata Airlines in 1932 — is among the bidders for the beleaguered airline. Tata’s bid…
Author: zenger.news
KOLKATA — As an increasing number of Nepali citizens are entering India with unique Indian identification cards, known as Aadhaar, authorities are concerned about a breach of security. “We are noticing an unusually large number of people from Nepal possessing Aadhaar cards,” Himanshu Kafaltia, sub-divisional magistrate in Tanakpur near the border, told Zenger News. “This flags concern regarding the security. The issue has been raised before higher authorities.” The Aadhaar card, issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, assigns a 12-digit unique identification number to all residents. It captures demographic and biometric data such as a photograph, 10 fingerprints,…
KABUL — The shooting death of Afghan TV presenter Malala Maiwand last week underscores the vulnerability of journalists — particularly female journalists — in the war-torn country. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for killing Maiwand, a presenter for Enikass Radio and TV in Jalalabad, and her driver, Mohammad Tahir, about 150 km east of Kabul on Dec. 10. Maiwand had been outspoken about the difficulties faced by journalists — especially women — in Afghanistan. “It has become increasingly difficult for journalists to do their jobs in the country,” Kabul-based journalist Ekram Shinwari told Zenger News. “We all fear for…
OR YEHUDA, Israel — Colorectal cancer grows slowly and can be cured when detected early. Yet nearly 700,000 people die of the disease every year worldwide, mainly because it’s just so very unpleasant to provide a stool sample and undergo a screening colonoscopy. Now there’s an early screening device coming to the market that doesn’t require you to do anything but sit on the toilet. The OutSense IoT (Internet of Things) sensor clips onto the toilet and operates automatically, non-invasively, discreetly and without active user intervention. Using multispectral optical sensors, an illumination module and an autonomous controller with a Wi-Fi…
Ingrid Macher has 19 million followers on social media and is considered a guru in the Hispanic fitness and nutrition world across the U.S. and Latin America. But it wasn’t too long ago she was in the emergency room, fighting for her life. Beneath her triumphant smile and glamorous photos—and her YouTube channel, blog and social media—there is a story of courage and persevere. When Macher was 19 she left the cold of her native Bogotá in search of a better future. She landed in hot San Juan, Puerto Rico. She studied advertising and communication at the Sagrado Corazón University.…
In the presence of the Southern Cassowary, time stands still. The large, flightless bird is a spectacle of nature, with its fierce features, shaggy-feathered body and three-toed claws. For the first-time tourist, spotting a cassowary is a bewitching experience — but locals remain entranced, too. Pottering through World Heritage rainforests and backyards, the big bird is an illusive mascot for the Wet Tropics of Queensland. Despite being shrouded in mystery, there is one thing advocates and experts know: Cassowaries are on the brink of extinction. Only 1,200 to 1,500 cassowaries remain in the wild in Australia, with the highest concentration…
SAN FILIPPO DEL MELA, Italy — Six people including a terminally ill baby have a new start in life after receiving organs from a single donor. Giulia Ragini’s lungs were sent to a patient in Milan and her liver was divided among two patients, one part given to a 1-month-old newborn baby described as having “severe pathologies,” whose life was instantly saved after the transplant. Her heart was sent to Naples, and her two kidneys remained in her home region of Sicily, donated to patients in Catania and Palermo. Ragini’s family decided her organs should be donated to those in need…
PARAGUARI, Paraguay — Another mysterious monolith has been sighted, but locals in Paraguay think it’s a cheap imposter. A mysterious Morse Code message was attached but it’s unclear what it says. The strange object was discovered between the hills of Hu and San Rafael, located in Paraguari, Paraguay, 41 miles from Asunción, the country’s capital. The structure measured a reported 6.5 feet in height and was discovered by people who contacted a police unit that took it down. The discovery followed the first monolith found in the Utah desert in late November. A community called The Most Famous Artist,…
GABARONE, Botswana — An explorative study looking into the feasibility of drilling for oil and natural gas in the Okavango River Basin in Southern Africa’s Kalahari Desert is moving forward, despite opposition from environmental activists. Pressure group Alliance Earth is against the exploration of the area, which sits in Namibia and Botswana, for what it claims may be hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. This is the controversial process of firing a high pressure mixture of water, chemicals and sand into drilled ground to release any difficult to reach oil or gas. Its full environmental impact is not yet known.…
MUMBAI — India’s old age homes performed better in their response to the novel coronavirus compared with nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Western countries, a study by analysts from the Indian Institute of Public Health has found. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, was conducted with 44 care homes in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat, each of which has a high Covid-19 infection rate. “As the pandemic spread across the globe, many reports and studies pointed to a high infection rate and high mortality due to Covid-19 among the elderly population in the nursing homes…