*NEWS TODAY* *[CLICK THE HEADINGS/IMAGE TO READ IN DETAIL]* ** [image: Pranab Mukherjee]<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_claims_about_90000_km_of_Indian_territory/articleshow/2820604.cms> *'China claims about 90,000 km of Indian territory'*<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_claims_about_90000_km_of_Indian_territory/articleshow/2820604.cms>
[image: The U.S. Defence Secretary, Dr. Robert M. Gates calling on Defence Minister, Shri A. K. Antony in New Delhi on February 27, 2008]<http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2008/February/subcontinent_February881.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=> *India, US hold talks to bolster defence ties*<http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2008/February/subcontinent_February881.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=> [image: MAJESTIC MOUNTAINS - Afghan National Security Forces conduct operations to disrupt the insurgents' ability to engage friendly forces from prepared fighting positions in Helmand Province of Afghanistan Jan. 20, 2008.]<http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/27/afghanistan/index.html> *Kidnapped American aid worker feared dead in Afghanistan*<http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/27/afghanistan/index.html> [image: Chickens - Industry - Poultry - chicken battery /aaeh]<http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23279721-12377,00.html> *Bird flu outbreaks in China, Pakistan*<http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23279721-12377,00.html> [image: Cigar - Smoking - Smoker - Cigarettes - Cigarette Butt - Environment - Health.(ps1)]<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=cancer-risk-up-in-japanes> *Cancer risk up in Japanese women exposed to smoke*<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=cancer-risk-up-in-japanes> [image: Lesbians and Gays march at the annual Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007, in Tokyo´s Yoyogi Park. About 3,000 participants took part in the march through Tokyo´s shopping and entertainment districts of Shibuya and Harajuku.]<http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4345654&page=1> *African Lesbians Demand Equal Rights*<http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4345654&page=1> *An **African* <http://www.africadaily.com/>* lesbian **group*<http://www.groups.com/> * onTuesday called on governments in the largely conservative continent to stop treating homosexuals like criminals. The Coalition of African Lesbians is holding a conference attended by about 100 people in **Mozambique*<http://www.mozambiquepost.com/> * to highlight **discrimination* <http://www.worlddiscrimination.com/>*against **...* ** [image: Thailand]<http://arabnews.com/?page=21§ion=0&article=107291&d=28&m=2&y=2008> *Thailand: Land of Freedom*<http://arabnews.com/?page=21§ion=0&article=107291&d=28&m=2&y=2008> [image: Happy girls at the village]<http://www.thestate.com/361/story/330763.html> *UN backs push to end female circumcision*<http://www.thestate.com/361/story/330763.html> [image: United States Nature]<http://www.examiner.com/a-1244555~Travelocity_signs_on_for_U_S__s_first_Web_site_devoted_to_tourism.html> *Travelocity signs on for U.S.'s first Web site devoted to tourism*<http://www.examiner.com/a-1244555~Travelocity_signs_on_for_U_S__s_first_Web_site_devoted_to_tourism.html> [image: Hillary Rodham Clinton. agm1]<http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080228/EDITORIAL02/254205962/1013/EDITORIAL> *Looking for Mr. Good Enough*<http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080228/EDITORIAL02/254205962/1013/EDITORIAL> [image: **FILE** Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. acknowledges the crowd at the state Democratic election celebration party in Manchester, N.H. in this Dec. 10, 2006 file photo. CNN apologized Tuesday Jan. 2, 2006 for mistakenly promoting a story on the search for Osam]<http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-obamas-shining-path-788497.html> *Letters: Obama's shining path*<http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-obamas-shining-path-788497.html> *[image: Heidi Klum, center, poses in a pool with models during a event promoting her special preview.]<http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/oscars-red-carpet-had-its-fashion-picks-pans/> * *Oscar's red carpet had its fashion picks, pans<http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/oscars-red-carpet-had-its-fashion-picks-pans/> * ** [image: Colin Farrell]<http://www.ohio.com/entertainment/movies/15826227.html> *Overdone end mars refreshing 'In Bruges'*<http://www.ohio.com/entertainment/movies/15826227.html> [image: Actress Kate Winslet poses on the press line at the BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia (dn1)]<http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/2/28/lifefocus/20046873&sec=lifefocus> *The allure of Kate Winslet*<http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/2/28/lifefocus/20046873&sec=lifefocus> <http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1600725> [image: John Abraham Bipasha Basu]<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/India_Buzz/John_Bipasha_Take_flight_/articleshow/2814817.cms> *John, Bipasha: Take flight!*<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/India_Buzz/John_Bipasha_Take_flight_/articleshow/2814817.cms> [image: Two AIDS patients, who did not want to be identified, rest in their room at a hospital (js1)]<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-admits-that-cases-of-hivaids-have-risen-45-per-cent-786175.html> * China admits that cases of HIV/Aids have risen 45 per cent* New cases of HIV/Aids in China soared by 45 per cent last year compared with 2006, the Health Ministry in Beijing has revealed. The staggering rise was put down to changing social attitudes and an improvement in data collection. The government had said late last year that 700,000 people were living with the virus, an increase from an earlier estimate of 650,000. The year before, China lowered its estimate to 650,000 from 840,000, despite warnings from international experts that the disease was spreading due to ignorance and because many people were too afraid or too poor to seek help. The ministry gave few details about the large percentage rise in sexually transmitted diseases or those passed through the blood. There was also a sharp rise of 24 per cent in syphilis cases. "It's been hard over the years to discover the number of Aids patients because of the social stigma," a ministry spokesman said. The disease is spreading fast in a country where information about Aids has long been suppressed. For many years, Chinese would say HIV/Aids was a disease that affected foreigners, and could be passed through shaking hands or sharing chopsticks. The government has finally acknowledged that it faces a battle in resolving the rise in HIV/Aids infections. The disease is now mainly sexually transmitted; before, it had been mostly caused by intravenous drug use. The United Nations has warned that China could have 10 million cases of HIV by 2010 unless it takes steps to educate the public and fight the epidemic. A major advance in breaking down the stigma attached to HIV/Aids came in 2003 when Premier Wen Jiabao became China's first senior leader to publicly shake hands with Aids patients, marking a significant change in government policy on the disease. President Hu Jintao has also been photographed embracing Aids patients. As well as the traditional routes of spreading HIV/Aids, such as prostitution and intravenous drug use, the disease in China has been spread by unsanitary, uncontrolled blood banks that travelled rural areas buying blood. About 70,000 people had been infected by contaminated transfusions. The Health Ministry survey also showed that even among better-educated city dwellers, nearly 60 per cent were "nervous" to have public contact with HIV-positive people. Against this kind of background, changing attitudes is an uphill battle, and the Health Ministry has come up with imaginative ways to deal with the problem. It has introduced a major TV campaign to promote condom use, with advertisements produced by the Oscar-winning Aids documentary maker, Ruby Yang. This is a significant advance in a country where talking about sex remains taboo. China's 200 million migrant workers are among the high-risk groups. Building workers can now attend lectures on the ways HIV/Aids is spread and the importance of condom use. "I came to know that Aids was not a disease exclusively belonging to sexually active Westerners," Chen Wei, 28, told the People's Daily after a session in the training school on a building site in Changsha in Hunan province. In 2006, the government issued new rules. Now no organisation or individual is allowed to discriminate against Aids patients or their families, and Aids patients will be entitled to free treatment. The Health Ministry data also showed scarlet fever and measles cases rose in 2007, though other diseases declined. There was just one death from plague last year, and none from cholera. <http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/PoliticsNation/Budget_should_address_women_farmers_concerns_Sonia/articleshow/2798084.cms> <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Top_US_senators_set_July-end_deadline_for_N-deal/articleshow/2798973.cms> <http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Oil__Gas/Sonia_Gandhi_lays_foundation_stone_of_petroleum_institute/articleshow/2798402.cms> <http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/02/20/wal_mart_to_source_more_it_activities_from_india> *[image: TinyPic image]* *[image: Click here to join powerupindiagroup] Click to join* <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/powerupindiagroup/join> * * ** **
