Chand Baori is a famous stepwell in the village Abhaneri near Jaipur in Indian state of Rajasthan. This step well is located opposite Harshat Mata Temple and is one of the deepest and largest step wells in India. It was built in ninth century and has 3500 narrow steps and 13 stories and is 100 feet deep.
The price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia as inflation has put other meat beyond the reach of poor people, according to Reuters.
A kilogramme of rat meat increased to around 5,000 riel (USD1.28) from 1,200 riel last year. It’s still cheaper than other meat though… beef for example costs about 20,000 riel a kilogramme.
Some communities in Asian and South American countries have long history of eating rats or other rodents, but food shortages and inflations have pushed others to try rat meat in recent years.
Earlier this month, a state government in eastern India encouraged its people to eat rats in an effort to battle soaring food prices and save grain stocks.
Sometimes it’s hard to relate to poverty around the world. Here we are, using high tech gadgets and surfing the web while at other corners on earth people are eating rats because they can’t afford other meat… and it’s far from being the worse scenario yet. It’s kinda sad actually.
Warner Bros has filed a lawsuit against Mumbai-based Mirchi Movies related to the title of its upcoming movie “Hari Puttar – A Comedy of Terrors”, which Warners feels is a bit too similar to its “Harry Potter” franchise [more on THR]
Hari is a popular Indian name while Puttar means son in the Punjabi language. It’s said that the storyline doesn’t relate to Harry Potter at all… and judging from the poster alone, I would have ruled that Mirchi is the winner for the lawsuit.
However, I can’t deny the probability that the Indian movie maker is being opportunistic for publicity, which they managed to get it now regardless of whether it was intentional at the first place.
The third season of The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) is set to premier on September 11 on AXN-Asia. The franchisee of the popular US reality TV show is growing in popularity across Asia since making its debut in late 2006 and is back for good.
Dayana Mendoza from Venezuela was crowned as Miss Universe 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 13.
Asians didn’t perform well in the 2008 contest with only one contestant making it into last 15. Riyo Mori from Japan was the 2007 winner, with another three Asians (India, Korea and Thailand) making it into the last 15 last year.
Musiri, a remote town in India’s Tamil Nadu state, has launched a scheme to promote hygiene in rural areas by paying residents to use public urinals.
People relieving themselves in the open is a common sight in India’s rural towns and villages, as basic sanitation still eludes millions. [Reuters]
Not really sure about the exact pay, but it’s reported that they would get close to USD1 a month for doing so. Sounds like a small sum, but it could mean something in poor areas… besides, no harm is done for using proper sanitary system.
MTV Asia Awards (MAA) 2008 is coming to Malaysia.
MAA, one of the most popular pop events in Asia, is making its debut in Malaysia. The show will be held at the Arena of Stars in Genting City of Entertainment, Malaysia, on August 2, and will be hosted by Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars.
There will be nine regional favourite artist awards and seven international awards to be presented. Among the nominees are Avril Lavigne & Justin Timberlake & Leona Lewis (International), Chris Li (China), Andy Lau & Eason Chan & Joey Yung (Hong Kong), Big Bang & Suju & Wondergirls (Korea), Nic Teo & Siti Nurhaliza (Malaysia), Stefanie Sun (Singapore), Jolin Tsai & S.H.E (Taiwan) etc.
As far as I know, none of the celebrities have confirmed their attendance yet, but judging from the past experiences, most of the winners were pretty supportive of the show… it’s one of the largest of its kind in Asia after all.
It’s not easy to get a ticket though; it’s something that money can’t buy. The fans have to get the tickets via contests by voting for their favourite artists [details]… the fans need some luck obviously.
Karen Mok is going to co-host the event with Jared Leto. Electrico, Jabbawockeez, Leona Lewis, Li Yuchun, OneRepublic, Panic at the Disco, Pussycat Dolls, Super Junior, Stefanie Sun, The Click Five and The Script have confirmed their appearances.
Update – the winners.
India’s Tata Motors has unveiled the world’s cheapest car on January 10th at New Delhi. The vehicle, called the Tata Nano, will sell for 100,000 rupees (USD2,500).
Company chairman Ratan Tata said that Nano is “a safe, affordable and all weather transport; a people’s car designed to meet all safety standards and emissions laws and accessible to all.”
Some environmentalist, as expected, are concerned that the car will lead to more air pollution from traffic congestions. Sounds true, but who are us to deny others the leisure to own their cars when we are driving one of our own? I bet that most of those environmental critics are car owners too.