Saturday, September 12, 2009 TOKYO: A tourist has spent eight years travelling across 37 countries with the equivalent of $2, relying on his bicycle for transport.Keiichi Iwasaki, 36, left his Japanese home in 2001 with just 160 Yen ($2) in his pocket after becoming bored with his air-conditioning job, the UK's Telegraph reports. After cycling the country for a year he decided to extend his journey to South Korea and, eventually, 25 other countries. During his trip Mr Iwasaki was attacked by a rabid dog in Tibet, robbed by pirates and was even arrested in India. He cycled over 45,000 kilometres during his marathon adventure and become the first Japanese man to climb Mount Everest from sea level without using any transportation. Mr Iwasaki said he raised funds from performing tricks, and only his “strong will” has kept him on his bike. He chose to avoid air travel and opted for cycling or ferries for transport in order to soak up the atmosphere. ''I didn't want to use aeroplanes because I wanted to see and feel everything with my own skin. With bicycle, I can always feel the air and atmosphere of the place.'' Mr Iwasaki is in Switzerland and hopes to climb Mount Blanc, Europe’s highest peak, before travelling to Africa and the US over the next five years. He plans to write a book about his adventure.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
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