Calcutta remains out of the radar of international flights

Jet Airways has plans to connect three metros directly to Europe but Calcutta is not one of these. According to the aviation industry, little had changed in terms of Bengal's economic potential for airlines to consider starting direct flights between Calcutta and Europe.
There is no doubt that Calcutta has recorded an increase in the number of passengers flying to Europe. They are mostly tourists, students and people who are visiting friends and relatives. Airlines need passengers for corporate travel because that is what makes a route viable.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 24 June 2017.

The new routes announced by Jet Airways are a direct flight from Chennai to Paris and one from Bangalore to Amsterdam. The inaugural flights on these routes are scheduled for October 29. There are already direct service to Amsterdam from Delhi and Mumbai and the airline also has a direct flight between Mumbai and Paris. It is also exploring possibilities of starting one more daily flight between Mumbai and London from the same month.
Calcutta, unfortunately, is not on the radar because there are direct flights to Europe from other cities and Calcutta is connected to these cities by a network of its own domestic flights.
Air India had plans to reintroduce a direct flight from Calcutta to London but, has postponed the plan now. According to sources in the aviation sector, there has been no improvement in the viability of passenger load, especially of corporate travellers.


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900 migrants rescued off the coast of Libya by coast guards

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Araku coffee from Andhra to make its debut in Paris

Araku Valley of Andhra Pradesh has come up with a unique project under the blessings of four business leaders. It is the outcome of an agri enterprise by the tribal farmers who are growing top-notch quality coffee that is set to make its debut in Paris.
The men behind this project are Anand Mahindra (chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra), Kris Gopalakrishnan (co-founder, Infosys), Satish Reddy (chairman, Dr Reddy's Laboratories) and Rajendra Prasad Maganti (chairman, Soma Enterprise, a construction company).
This will give a boost to the 150-odd tribal communities who live in the Maoist-infested belt.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 20 February 2017.

Coffee cultivation in Araku Valley is not new — the British did it and the government continues to grow the beans under its own brand doing it on a large scale has been done by the tribals only now. From 1,000 acres some years ago, the land under coffee production has gone up to 20,000 acres and the four investors have stepped in to assist them in increasing bean production by roping in global experts.
The Araku coffee will be sold under five variants with the most expensive stock priced around Rs 7,000 a kg. It has already obtained the geographical indication (GI) tag, which authenticates the unique properties a region can offer to a product. The next set of retail stores would come up in New York and Tokyo - obviously, Araku coffee will compete with world famous Columbian and Sumatra coffees.


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Barack Obama enters the league of top US Presidents with ranking of 12

Public tours of the White House will begin again from March 7

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ISIS carries out car bombing in Baghdad - kills at least 55

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Explosion in French nuclear power plant in a non-nuclear zone

There was an explosion in the engine room of the Flamanville plant on the English Channel coast and several people are believed to have suffered "intoxication". The setup is about 20 miles from Jersey, 25 miles from Guernsey and close to Cherbourg.
There was no triggering of any emergency plan of action because there was no nuclear risk. The incident happened in an area outside the nuclear zone.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 9 February 2017.

It is certainly a significant technical event but not a nuclear accident. Five people have suffered intoxication but they are not injured. Paris headquarters of EDF, which runs the plant, have confirmed the incident and hasve also claimed that the fire was "under control" and there had been "no injuries and no safety or environmental consequences".


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New luxury cruise liner Seabourn Encore is labeled as 'sexiest ship at sea'

Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi at Rajghat gets a new look

200-year-old banyan tree uprooted by cyclone Vardah replanted in Chennai


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Moody on UFO, Mangalyaan and Moon Mission for monkey baat (satire)


Naomie Harris gets Oscar nomination in the best-supporting actress category for Moonlight

Nicole Kidman could earn $8 million if she writes her autobiography

Sets of the film Padmavati in Jaipur vandalised, Bhansali cancels shooting


Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city

Militants in Indonesia looking for women terrorists

Six people shot dead by gunmen in a mosque in Quebec City during evening prayers

Wolves invade Paris - paw prints and wolf droppings are evidence

Wolves have invaded Paris and their paw prints and droppings are evidence that shows that they are making their home in the Paris region - their late-night howls are often heard in the southern suburbs. The president of the wolf-watching group Alliance Avec Les Loups has indicated that wolves have been in circulation since April last year, there was one couple and another lone wolf.
Wolves are not interested in eating people - they only eat four-legged animals and not the two-legged ones.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 17 January 2017.

Urban foxes have been commonplace in the French capital, like many European cities, and now they are facing a challenge from their larger, fiercer canine cousins. Wolves have, for centuries, lived in the French Alps and in the Massif Central and were hunted to the point of extinction by the 1930s to become an endangered species. Hence, they got protection and their numbers have recovered.
They have now spread across France and come closer to Paris and have been spotted and heard within howling distance of the capital itself.


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CISF prevents students of Manipur from entering the Taj Mahal

Kolkata to soon get rice and fish curry for Rs 21 at selected outlets

Bhilai tries to set five world records in Yoga with one lakh people participating


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Avatar star Zoe Saldana in Ben Affleck's Live By Night

Vin Diesel and Deepika Padukone in Mumbai to promote XXX: Return of Xander Cage

Aamir Khan's Dangal expected to cross Rs 100 crore in first weekend


Migrant boat capsizes off Libya's coast - 100 feared dead

Defensive anti-aircraft missiles around Moscow in preparation for a war?

US army veteran shoots dead five persons in Fort Lauderdale airport, Florida

Iran attracting tourists and becoming a favorite tourist destination

Iran used to be, till recently, being considered out of bounds due to political pressure but, it is now emerging as a favorite destination for tourists. New direct flights from London and Paris to Tehran, coupled with the country's fascinating history and affordability, are positioning Iran as one of the hottest destinations to visit in 2017.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 15 September 2016.

British Airways launch direct flights from London to Tehran earlier this month after Air France relaunched its service in April and other airlines are expected to follow with direct flights. The competition could help to lower prices.
Of course, those traveling to Iran have to take care not to travel completely to border areas with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. As far as New Zealand is concerned, there is no direct flights to Tehran and passengers would have to change to other flights in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha.
The UK has relaxed its travel advisories, lifted sanctions and reopened its Iranian embassy in London and, consequently, more number of Britons are traveling to Iran.


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Disneyland bans 25 things including selfie sticks in all its locations

Hillary Clinton has pneumonia - she fell ill at September 11 memorial

Lord Ganesh's laddu weighing 21-Kg auctioned for Rs 14.65 in Hyderabad


Moody wants Gold medals from Olympics (satire)

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Suicide bomb attack in Pakistani mosque during Friday prayers kill at least 25

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29 people injured in an explosion in New York - no evidence of any terror link


Shah Rukh's 'Fan' and Salman Khan's 'Sultan' to be screened at Busan International Film Festival

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London-born singer Skepta wins the 25th Mercury prize fr his album Konnichiwa

UNESCO World Heritage Committee identifies 12 new sites in its 40th session in Istanbul

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has identified 12 new sites for the World Heritage List in its 40th session at Istanbul - the session had to be cut short due to the unrest that erupted in Turkey. With this, the number of sites added in the current session goes up to 21 and this finally adds up to a total of 1,052 sites in 165 countries.
The breakdown of these 21 newly added sites are - 12 cultural sites, six natural and three mixed ones.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 18 July 2016.

The session also discussed the state of conservation of 155 properties - five of these in Libya have been inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger along with one in Uzbekistan and another in Mali. Additionally, one site in Georgia was removed from the list of endangered sites, while the site of Nan Madol, or the Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia, was simultaneously inscribed on the World Heritage List and on the List in Danger.
The 40th session had started on July 10 and was cut short by four days due to the attempted coup in Turkey. The unfinished would be taken up at a separate meeting slated to be held in Paris later. The 41st session is scheduled for July 2017 in Krakow, Poland.


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Boost to religious tourism - 2.3-Km permanent bridge planned from Beyt Dwarka to Okha mainland

Boeing celebrates 100-years of manufacturing aircraft

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80 killed and over 100 injured in Nice as truck rams into revelers celebrating Bastille Day

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Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr rejoin to bring back the era of The Beatles

Novak Djokovic wins 2016 French Open beating Andy Murray in 4 sets

Novak Djokovic won the 2016 French Open by beating Andy Murray 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 in Paris. Murray, the world number two was trying to become the first British man to win the tournament since Fred Perry 81 years ago. However, in spite of a strong start, the Scotsman was unable to cope with the Serbian's top class form.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 5 June 2016.

By virtue of his maiden French title, Novak Djokovic (29) has joined the rank of tennis greats and is now only the third man after Don Budge and Rod Laver to hold all four grand slams at the same time - he has already taken the Wimbledon, US and Australian open titles. Andy Murray, also 29, suffered an eighth major final defeat in 10 appearances and, five of these have been at the hands of Djokovic.


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Floods in Paris - River Seine in spate

Fears of floods in Paris mounts as River Seine is in spate with floodwaters forecast to peak with the river due to reach 19 ft above its normal level. As a precautionary measure, the world-famous Louvre and Orsay museums have been closed so that staff can move priceless artwork to safety.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 3 June 2016.

Rainfall of up to 50 mm is expected to fall in some regions in just a few hours as indicated by the weather officials. In Paris, emergency barriers have been put up along the Seine, which has already burst its banks in places. The Rail operator SNCF has also closed a line that runs alongside the Seine in central Paris.
It seems nearly 25,000 people are without power in Paris and central France while in Nemours, 3,000 people have been evacuated from the town center. The levels of Loing river, a tributary of the Seine, have not seen since the devastating floods of 1910. The extent of rainfall is equivalent of six weeks` worth which has fallen in three days time in the Loiret department. It has led to submerging of roads with drivers forced to abandon their cars. It is forecast that the downpours will continue through the weekend.
President Francois Hollande could be declaring a state of natural disaster in the worst-hit areas.


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Was the EgyptAir crash an act of terrorism by the ISIS?

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EgyptAir Airbus A320 from Paris to Cairo crashes with 66 passengers and crew on board

It has been confirmed by officials of Egyptian aviation that an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. It was EgyptAir Flight 804 and it lost contact with ground radar while flying at 37,000 feet. the Airbus A320 had vanished 10 miles (16 kilometers) after it entered Egyptian airspace. A search has been started to locate the debris. The "possibility that the plane crashed has been confirmed," because it has not landed at any of the nearby airports.
French president Francois Hollande has spoken telephonically with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and assured to "closely cooperate to establish as soon as possible the circumstances" in which the EgyptAir flight disappeared.
This has been reported intimesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 19 May 2016.

Egyptian military aircraft were searching for the plane. It was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew members and its pilot had 6,000 flight hours. EgyptAir has said that those on board included 15 French passengers, 30 Egyptians, one Briton, two Iraqis, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Belgian, one Algerian and one Canadian.
It seems the pilot did not send a distress call, and the last contact was made 10 minutes before it disappeared from radar.
France continues to remain under a state of emergency after Islamic extremist attacks had killed 130 people in a spree of attacks in November - the ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attacks.


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Novel tractor protest by French farmers to highlight burning issues

French farmers have been hit hard by falling prices of livestock and dairy products and, they have resorted to a novel tractor protest to highlight the burning issues. Accordingly, hundreds of farmers with more than 1,300 tractors have converged on central Paris. The protest is against collapsing incomes. The protesters did block major arteries into the capital, but that has not caused any significant disruption in traffic.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 3 September 2015.

Livestock and dairy farmers have been hit by tough competition between supermarkets as well as a Russian embargo on EU food imports. The protest was a noisy, eye-catching, disruptive protest of farmers in the center of the capital.
The protesters want to pressurize President Francois Hollande's Socialist government because, in the opinion of the farmers, French agriculture is on the verge of collapse. The tractors were spray-painted with "Anger" or "Enough Bureaucracy" and they had come from all parts of the country to participate in the demonstration.
Dairy farmers have seen incomes collapse because of over-production on the world market coupled with changing dietary habits apart from slowing Chinese demand.
As far as pork farmers go, they face competition from the vast piggeries of Denmark and Germany, where production costs are much lower.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Mass grave with over 200 skeletons found below Monoprix supermarket in Paris

#Monoprix #Paris #ParisCatacombs #MassGrave #CarbonDating The management at the Monoprix supermarket in Paris wanted the basement cleared for redevelopment and, archaeologists while digging at the site unearthed a mass grave in which more than 200 skeletons were buried neatly.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 2 March 2015.
The supermarket is located above the site of a medieval hospital that had its own cemetery, but from appearances, it is felt that most of the bodies must have been shifted to the Paris Catacombs in the 1700s.
It is understood that the archaeologists found a total of eight pits. The first seven of these had around five to 20 bodies each while the last one held more than 150 bodies. These were piled head to toe in two rows up to six bodies deep. In the opinion of the lead archeologist, the bodies could be from a major mortality crisis like some sort of an epidemic. This cannot be ruled out because Paris had been hit by multiple plague epidemics between the 1300s and the 1500s, and later by smallpox struck in the 1600s.
There are plans to carry out carbon dating and DNA analyses on the remains to understand the situation better.

Three reporters of Al-Jazeera arrested for flying a drone in Paris

#drone #Paris #EiffelTower #Aljazeera #BastilleSquare The sightings of drones flying at night over important landmarks of Paris had the police in a real frenzy because the general presumption was that there was some ulterior motives, probably with links to terrorists.
The Paris police have now got hold of three Al-Jazeera reporters who were allegedly flying a drone just after drones in the night sky had sparked a terror alert in the city as reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 25 February 2015.
The three journalists from the Qatar-funded news network have been arrested in a park in Paris from where they had been operating a drone illegally. The arrested men are aged 70, 54 and 36 and the arrest was done after the police saw a drone flying in the Bois de Boulogne woods in western Paris. The first man was piloting the drone, the second one was filming and the third was watching.
The motive of flying the drone is still not clear. Incidentally, flying drones without a license in France is illegal and it carries a maximum one-year prison sentence and a fine of 75,000 euros.
It may be recalled that, in the recent past, drones had been seen in the vicinity of important landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Bastille Square, the U.S. embassy, the Place de la Concorde and the Invalides military museum, where Napoleon lies buried. Obviously, the police would check out whether there is any link.

Tourists are avoiding Paris after the Charlie Hebdo terror attack

#CharlieHebdo #Louvre #Paris #EiffelTower #touristsinparis If locals are to be believed, it appears that tourists are avoiding Paris as the French capital continues to reel from the Charlie Hebdo-related terror attacks. Even though the attacks happened nearly two weeks ago and, in spite of reassurances from the Paris tourist board, the tourists are staying away and the local vendors, especially in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower are a worried lot.
The tourist department does not have any data on the extent of drop in footfalls but, the Louvre has revealed that the Education Ministry has suspended school visits to the Paris region, including museums. The reason cited is that the capital was on 'attack alert' status since last week.
Incidentally, the Louvre normally receives several hundred schoolchildren every day, and their absence partly accounts for the thinner crowds. Moreover, mid-January is usually slow as festive tourists return home after their New Year celebrations.
However, with 10,500 troops deployed across the country, including 6,000 in the Paris region alone, the security is on the alert in view of the attacks on French soil.

Paris terror attack engineered by al-Qaida to go one-up on the ISIS

#CharlieHebdo #ISIS #alQaida #AQAP #Paris In the opinion of observers, the terror attack in offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, in Paris has left the West stunned beyond belief was a show of strength by the al-Qaida and an effort to go one-up over the ISIS which is, reportedly vying for the number one position in terrorism.
The attack is seen by some as an exercise in public relations to woo funds from extremist benefactors around the globe and Muslim radical conscripts who appear to be ready to kill and die on command.
Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has admitted that it was behind the Paris terror attack and had directed the jihadist brothers whose commando-style raid has left 12 dead at Charlie Hebdo. It would easily qualify as a coup for the older and more established terror network of al-Qaeda but which has been pushed into the shadows due to the momentum of Islamic State in 2014.
Incidentally, Charlie Hebdo had long angered Muslim extremists throughout the world by publishing demeaning caricatures of Prophet Muhammed. This had led terror groups and religious leaders to demand the ultimate punishment of death of its cartoonists. In the eyes of Muslim extremists, Charlie Hebdo was a high-value target.