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Bhutan is a tiny, remote and impoverished kingdom nestling in the Himalayas between its powerful neighbours, India and China.

Almost completely cut off for centuries, it has tried to let in some aspects of the outside world while fiercely guarding its ancient traditions.

The Bhutanese name for Bhutan, Druk Yul, means "Land of the Thunder Dragon" and it only began to open up to outsiders in the 1970s.

The Wangchuck hereditary monarchy has wielded power since 1907. But Bhutan became a two-party parliamentary democracy after elections in March 2008. This gave a landslide victory to the pro-monarchy Bhutan Harmony Party of former prime minister Jigme Thinley. The opposition People's Democratic Party also supports the monarchy.

Bhutan's ancient Buddhist culture and breathtaking scenery make it a natural tourist attraction.

Tourism is restricted; visitors must travel as part of a pre-arranged package or guided tour. Backpackers and independent travellers are discouraged.

King Jigme Singye Wangchuck – the father of the present monarch – went to great lengths to preserve the indigenous Buddhist culture of the majority Drukpa people. This ethnic group has a common culture with the Tibetans and other Himalayan peoples.

National dress is compulsory – the knee-length wrap-around "gho" for men and the ankle-length dress known as the "kira" for women.

The Bhutanese monarchy has also promoted the philosophy of "Gross National Happiness" (GNH), which strives to achieve a balance between the spiritual and the material.

But by the 1990s, attempts to stress the majority Buddhist culture and the lack of any political representation had led to deep resentment among the ethnic Nepali community in the south.

Violence erupted and tens of thousands of Nepali speakers fled to refugee camps in Nepal.

Some 100,000 refugees live in UN-supervised camps in Nepal. Out of this refugee population have sprung a number of insurgent groups – the Bhutan Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist), the Bhutan Tiger Force and the United Revolutionary Front of Bhutan.

The Bhutanese security forces believe they are behind the wave of bombings that rocked the kingdom in the run-up to the 2008 parliamentary elections.

The leaders of Nepal and Bhutan had promised to try and repatriate the refugees before the elections. However, there has been little progress on this front.

India does not allow the refugees onto its territory which lies between Bhutan and Nepal, and although the US and some other countries have agreed to accept tens of thousands of the refugees, some refugee leaders say that the only acceptable path is complete repatriation to Bhutan.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – French actor Olivier Martinez has confirmed that he and Oscar winner Halle Berry are engaged to be married, the Miami Herald reported.

“Yes, of course it’s true,” Martinez told the newspaper in an article posted online on Saturday, referring to engagement rumors that have been swirling around the couple.

Martinez, who was in Miami for the opening of his South Beach restaurant, Villa Azur, also took the opportunity to set the record straight on the designer of the engagement ring Berry has been wearing since January.

Contrary to reports that the emerald ring is Gurhan-designed, it’s the creation of jeweler Robert Mazlo from the actor’s native Paris, he said. The Mazlo jewelers have been designing jewelry for “kings and queens for many centuries,” Martinez told the paper.

Berry and Martinez have been dating since 2010, when they worked together on the film “Dark Tide,” due for release this year.

This would be the third marriage for Berry, 45, who won a best actress Oscar for her role in 2001 film “Monster’s Ball.” She was married to former baseball player David Justice from 1993 to 1997 and to singer Eric Benet from 2001 to 2005. She had a daughter Nahla, who turns 4 this month, with French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry.

For Martinez, 46, the wedding would be his first. He has been involved with a number of high-profile women, among them actresses Mira Sorvino and singer Kylie Minogue.

(Reporting by Sheri Linden: Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis)

The social democrat opposition in Slovakia has won the general election but has fallen short of an overall majority, exit polls suggest.

The party, led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico, won just under 40% of the vote according to two television polls.

At most, this would give Mr Fico's Smer party, which advocates higher taxes, half the seats in parliament.

The outgoing centre-right government of Iveta Radicova was plagued by a financial scandal.

Anti-corruption protesters clashed with police in Bratislava on Friday.

Protest organisers called on Slovaks not to vote for the established political parties, which they say have all been tainted by scandal.

About 300 demonstrators pelted police with stones and eggs as officers used tear gas to keep them from storming parliament.

The election comes two years early after the governing coalition collapsed last October when one of its junior members refused to back the expansion of the eurozone's bailout fund.

However, at the heart of the recent unrest is a file known as "Gorilla" – allegedly compiled by Slovakia's spy agency – that appeared on the internet in December suggesting that the financial group Penta had bribed most of the parties in the 1998-2006 centre-right government of then-Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda.

INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – Ana Ivanovic gained a measure of revenge for her early exit from last year’s French Open by crushing Johanna Larsson 6-1 6-2 in the second round of the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Saturday.

The former world number one, who lost to the Swede in three sets in the opening round at Roland Garros, delivered a ruthless display at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to seal victory in just over an hour.

In dazzling desert sunshine, Serb Ivanovic broke Larsson three times in the opening set and twice in the second to reach the third round of an event she won in 2008.

“I’m definitely happy about that,” a beaming Ivanovic told reporters after ending the match with consecutive aces. “I had a little bit of that (French Open) match in my mind.

“I didn’t play good at the French Open, so I knew I had a better chance this time around. I felt it was a bit of an awkward match against her but I’m still so happy to get that revenge and win.”

Ivanovic, one of six former champions in the field, was especially delighted with the clinical manner in which she swept aside Larsson.

“I really felt like I could break her at any time, which obviously gave me a little bit more confidence and I could go for a little bit more,” the elegant 15th-seeded Serb said.

“Overall, I’m just happy that I did what I had to do out there today.”

Ivanovic, who will next meet either 17th seed Peng Shuai of China or Kazakhstan’s Ksenia Pervak, has always enjoyed competing at Indian Wells.

“I really like this event, it’s very relaxed and it’s a nice environment to play in,” said the Serb, who also made the final in 2009 and the quarter-finals in 2006 and 2011 in addition to her 2008 triumph.

“I like playing in the desert. I like to play in the heat. It just suits me. I feel very comfortable here and I have big support here, too.”

(Editing by Julian Linden)

Published March 8th, 2012 – 10:37 GMTPress Release

Emirates Holidays and Visa announce a new partnership which allows Visa cardholders in the region to experience a host of global destinations for less, effective through March 2013.

Visa debit and credit cardholders can now take advantage of two exciting offers including a 15 per cent discount on select Emirates Holidays destinations over certain travel periods.

During March and April, Visa cardholders are invited to discover the beauty and culture of Czech Republic or the historic legacy of Hong Kong. Future destinations on offer include Egypt and France from 1 April to 31 May, and Brazil and South Africa from 1 May to 30 June.

In addition, Visa cardholders are also entitled to a five per cent discount on all Emirates Holidays destinations for a whole year until 31 March 2013. With over 35 countries on offer, travellers can choose from a wide variety of regions to explore. Whether they are looking for an adventurous safari excursion for the whole family in South Africa, an exotic Southeast Asia break in Singapore, or a romantic getaway to Italy, Emirates Holidays offers diverse tailor made packages to suit all tastes.

“This exclusive new partnership with Visa gives our customers even more opportunities to discover the many wonders of the world,” said Saeed Khalifa Bin Suleiman, Egypt Country Manager for Emirates Airlines. “With such a wide variety of destinations on offer throughout the year, Emirates Holidays has something to suit each and every taste. We hope that our customers take full advantage of this exclusive opportunity and choose their dream destination from over 35 countries on offer worldwide.”

“We know that Visa cardholders here in the Middle East are avid travelers, which is why Visa is delighted to join Emirates Holidays to offer all Visa debit and credit cardholders outstanding discounts on a wide selection of travel destinations,” said Karim Beg, Head of Regional Marketing for Visa in the MENA region. “Visa continuously aims to reward and offer additional lifestyle benefits to all our cardholders in areas which benefit the most, and this is certainly the case here”. 

The discounts are available from now for bookings on Visa debit or credit cards at the Emirates Holidays offices in the UAE and Emirates offices in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt or Lebanon, and apply to all destinations until 31 March 2013.

Travel packages include flight and accommodation (excluding taxes).

Skywards members will receive up to 20 per cent bonus miles when they book these packages. They can also redeem their miles for Skywards Gift Vouchers, which can be used towards payment of exclusive packages from Emirates Holidays. Terms and conditions apply. 

* Ups stake in New York Times Co to 8.1 pct from 7.5 pct

* NYT stock closes up 12.7 pct; down 39 pct yr-to-date

<span class="articleLocation”>Oct 6 (Reuters) – Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire who
loaned the New York Times Co (NYT.N) $250 million, has upped
his stake in the company for the third time in two months.

Slim now holds 8.1 percent of Class A shares of the New
York Times, up from 7.5 percent in August. [ID:nN1E77N0GL]

Through the fund Inmobiliaria Carso S A, Slim purchased
about 850,000 shares at prices ranging from $5.84 to $6.00 per
share on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, according to a U.S. regulatory
filing.

Shares of the New York Times closed up 12.7 percent at
$6.75 on Thursday. This year to date, the shares are down 38.8
percent.

The stocks of newspaper companies McClatchy (MNI.N) and
Media General (MEG.N) closed up 8.8 percent and 14.2 percent,
respectively.

The New York Times repaid a $250 million to Slim on Aug.
15, about five months earlier than expected.

Slim holds warrants to buy 15.9 million Class A shares of
the company that expire on Jan. 15, 2015.
(Reporting by Jennifer Saba; Editing by Gary Hill)

DUBAI UAE skipper Khurram Khan termed the victory against Scotland in the first one-dayer of the ICC World Cricket League Championship a very crucial one especially since the latter are unbeaten so far in the tournament.

"This was a very important match for us and it’s good for us to win since we earned some crucial points," said Khan.

UAE pulled off a thrilling win over Scotland giving them two points, which puts them level with Scotland with eight points. Both the teams have four wins from five matches with Ireland leading the table with five wins from six matches and 10 points. "It was a great effort by the boys. The bowlers did a wonderful job to put pressure early on the batsmen and that paid off," said the skipper, who bagged three wickets.

The UAE bowled brilliantly after putting the visitors to bat to get them all out for 167. Chasing a modest total, UAE invited trouble early on tottering at 35 for four at one stage but half-centuries from Shaiman Anwar and Swapnil Patil and a crucial 25 from Vikrant Shetty helped the hosts win in the 48th over.

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