Orchid show stimulates tourism in Bolivia

September 25th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Kerala, which for the first time is participating at the International French Tourism Mart (IFTM) Top Resa in Paris that concludes Friday, has received 47 industry-related queries, the government said. "They include Fram, Escape Mandarin and La Route de Indes," said Kerala Tourism in statement issued here Friday, referring to three French tour operators interested in tapping the state's tourism sector.

September 24th, 2009 MUMBAI - Media company IBN18 Broadcast is seeking to raise fresh capital amounting to Rs.510 crore through a rights issue, the pricing of which will be decided later. The company is also planning to increase its authorised capital from the current Rs.40 crore to Rs.55 crore.

September 22nd, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - With Kerala's tourist season round the corner, the state's tourism department, in association with industry stakeholders, has kicked off an international road show in Brussels to promote its tourism potential, officials said here. Tourism Secretary V.

September 20th, 2009 US closing some programs in BoliviaLA PAZ, Bolivia — The U.S. Embassy in Bolivia says it is closing some democracy-promotion programs at the request of the Bolivian government.

September 12th, 2009 Bolivia to buy presidential plane from RussiaLA PAZ, Bolivia — President Evo Morales says Bolivia has decided to buy a presidential plane from Russia after Moscow offered to set up an aircraft maintenance center in the South American nation. Defense Minister Walker San Miguel announced in early August that Bolivia had agreed to purchase an Antonov presidential plane with satellite phone, Internet links and a meeting room from Russia for $30 million.

September 8th, 2009 LA PAZ - Nearly 2.5 million voters have registered for the Dec 6 general elections in Bolivia, the National Election Court (CNE) said. Some 60 percent of the eligible voters in the country are expected to register for the polls till Oct 15, when the process will conclude, CNE president Antonio Costas said Tuesday.

September 3rd, 2009 MELBOURNE - A Swedish man stimulates his own breasts with a pump every three hours in an attempt to produce milk. Ragnar Bengtsson, 26, of Stockholm, revealed that he began his experiment, being documented by Swedish TV8, on September 1.

September 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - A series of 'Incredible India' roadshows was held for the first time in the Scandinavian countries - Finland, Sweden and Norway - to promote India as a preferred holiday destination, the tourism ministry said Tuesday. An outdoor advertising campaign - through hoardings and banners at airports and main streets of Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo and Incredible India branding on buses, bus shelters, trams and taxis - was jointly organised by the tourism ministry and the Indian and Scandinavian chapters of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), a non-profit travel trade association.

August 20th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen ha, currently on a visit to India, has said that the Malaysia and India would intensify joint efforts to mutually promote the tourism industry. Yen also said that her meeting with Indian Tourism Minister Kumari Selja had been fruitful, where both countries decided to explore mutual avenues for promoting tourism products and investment opportunities in the hospitality sector, The Star online reports.he also informed that last year, about 22 million foreign tourists had visited Malaysia, including about 500,000 from India.

July 29th, 2009 Iran approves $280 million loan for BoliviaLA PAZ, Bolivia — Iran's top diplomat in Bolivia says the Islamic republic has approved a $280 million low-interest loan for President Evo Morales' government to use as it sees fit. Gas and oil exploration are possibilities.

July 19th, 2009 Bolivia coca growers back Morales re-electionLA PAZ, Bolivia — A leader of coca growers in Central Bolivia says the farmers are putting their controversial crop behind President Evo Morales' campaign for re-election. Asterio Romero tells the government's Patria Nueva radio station that each of his union's 45,000 members will donate a pound of coca to help Morales in the December election.

June 24th, 2009 Bolivia: 8 Mennonite men accused of raping womenLA PAZ, Bolivia — Eight men from a Mennonite farming community in eastern Bolivia have been accused of raping dozens of females at the settlement, a prosecutor said Tuesday, indicating at least one victim was an underage girl. Prosecutor Freddy Perez told The Associated Press that 60 women, from 11 to 47 years old, have accused the men of rape.

June 12th, 2009 LA PAZ - Twelve people have been killed and several others injured when the bus in which they were travelling veered off the road and fell into a deep ravine in Bolivia. The accident occurred Thursday in the central Bolivian region of Cochabamba.

May 14th, 2009 Bolivia: Peru ties 'at risk' over refugee decisionLA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivia's president says relations with Peru are at "high risk" after the neighboring nation gave refuge to two more former Bolivian officials accused in the 2003 army killings of dozens of protesters. Evo Morales says his government is considering its response to what he calls a "provocation and an open aggression" by his Peruvian counterpart, Alan Garcia.

March 31st, 2009 CHENNAI - The city-based bulk drug manufacturer Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals has purchased $12.1 million worth of bonds from the market and is in the process of extinguishing them to save on interest costs. This is the second such purchase in recent times by the company, which March 26 announced it had bought $25.7 million worth of bonds.