Source: News India Times LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, April 2, 2001: Hand-rolled cigarettes called bidis are becoming popular in mainstream America especially among teenagers and college students. Behind the strawberry, cinnamon, orange, and chocolate flavours lurks a higher nicotine and tar content. A study conducted in conjunction with the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed eleven out of twelve brands to have…
GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, March 6, 2001: The Chinmaya Movement is completing 50 years in 2001 and preparations are on in full swing for the Chinmaya Vishwa Sammelan to be held in Mumbai in December 2001. The Sammelan promises to be a grand Chinmaya family get-together. Over 1,000 delegates have registered from all over the world. They have launched…
GO TO SOURCE AGARTALA, INDIA, April 01, 2001: The Methodist Church-backed NLFT militants have continued interfering in the religious rites of the people, banning the use of traditional musical instruments for performing kirtans (devotional songs) by Hindu tribals. This has triggered panic among the Hindu tribals living in the interior areas of Northeast India such as Borakha, Patni, Barkathal and…
Source: The Hindu BHADRACHALAM, INDIA, April 3, 2001: Sitarama Kalyanam was performed in the temple town of Bhadrachalam with pomp and gaiety, witnessed by devotees including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Naidu and his wife. At a press conference, the CM announced a plan formulated for the development of 20 temples with an annual income of more than US$217,391 in the…
Source: World Organisation Against Torture COIMBATORE, TAMIL NADU, April 2, 2001: Since 1986 when the Coimbatore Zoological Park was formed with the intention of establishing a conservation centre 30 kilometers from Coimbatore City, tension has existed between this group and the tribal people. The area allocated for the park, known as the Poramboke lands, is the very land that the…
GO TO SOURCE DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, April 3, 2001: United Arab Emirates (AP) — Three Americans were arrested for distributing compact discs and videotapes promoting Christianity, the Al-Khaleej newspaper reported Tuesday. The Sharjah daily quoted Dubai’s prosecutor general. Calls to the prosecutor’s office were not returned Tuesday, and the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi said it was aware of…
GO TO SOURCE VADODARA, INDIA, April 02, 2001: The Indian Archaeological Society (IAS), a Delhi-based organization, has approached the Gujurat State with proposals to restore eight state-protected monuments damaged in the recent earthquake. They have estimated a cost of about US$3.2 million for the restoration. AIS archeologist D. I. Krishnani said monuments included the Navlakha temple in Ghumli (Jamnagar), four…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4, 2001: A joint letter submitted to the US President George Bush president by more than 100 consumer, agriculture and environmental groups from around the world, including seven from India, have urged suspending further export of American corn and corn-products suspected to be unsafe for human consumption. The U.S has to guarantee that they…
GO TO SOURCE Karunamayi Sri Sri Sri Vijayeswari Devi will be visiting 20 cities across the United States as part of her 2001 World Tour. Evening programs, consisting of Sri Karunamayi’s spiritual discourse, devotional singing, meditation and individual blessings, will be held in each city. In addition, fire ceremonies will be held in certain cities. Please visit “source” for more…
GO TO SOURCE BAMIYAN, AFGHANISTAN, April 02, 2001: Several truckloads of rubble clearly identified as having come from the ancient giant statues of Buddha blown up by the Taleban authorities in Afghanistan last month, is said to have turned up in Pakistan and is being offered for sale. The reports have led to heavy criticism of the trade from academics…