Gurkha secessionist fire stoked by ‘Indian Idol’: The Darjeeling hills of India are rife with fresh demands for a separate state within India for the Gurkha people, with protests threatening the area’s renowned tea and tourism industries. Strangely, it was a television talent show, the Indian version of “American Idol,” that helped reignite calls for a Gurkhaland last September. [IHT]
Japanese manners squad will force you to give up that seat: There was a time in Japan when courtesy was second nature. If you saw an elderly person, a pregnant woman or somebody on crutches, you would leap up and offer them your seat. These days, you pretend to be asleep and avoid eye contact at all costs. [Times]
Signs of panic over ‘Chinglish’ in Beijing: For years, badly translated signs have had the Englishman abroad in stitches. But for tourism officials in Beijing, a city preparing for the arrival of millions of visitors for the Olympic Games in August, the problem is far from funny. [Telegraph]
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