Irish spend most on hotels in Europe (Ireland Business World)

Irish people are willing to spend more on a night's hotel accommodation than anyone else in Europe, according to fresh data from the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI).

ICICI CEO-designate Kochhar to get Rs 36-lakh hike (Express India)

ICICI Bank's CEO-designate Chanda Kochhar is all set to get a Rs 36-lakh annual hike, while her predecessor K V Kamath would get a total salary of Rs 20 lakh a year after he becomes non-executive Chairman in May.

Mary Dejevsky: An ageing society isn't all bad news (Independent)

In the space of a week, the writer and long-time editor, Diana Athill, has notched up a brace of distinctions. She received an OBE in the New Year Honours List for services to literature, and last night she won the Biography category of the Costa Book Awards with her memoir, Somewhere Near the End, which makes her a contender for the Book of the Year prize when the results are announced later ...

Rich Indians eyeing second homes abroad (The Times of India)

NEW DELHI: The realty industry is one of the worst-hit sectors globally following the financial meltdown, but for the well-heeled in India, this is excellent tiding. With real estate prices at an all-time low across borders, buying property abroad is suddenly making sense to affluent Indians.

Another Depressing Year for Central Asian Media (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)

Familiar patterns of harassment and obstruction, with new focus on curtailing internet. Media-watchers in Central Asia say 2008 was a period of stagnation, with many of the remaining independent press, broadcast and internet outlets under mounting pressure from national governments.