Athens - Greek state carrier Olympic Airlines cancelled around 100 domestic and international flights on Thursday as air traffic controllers and flight crews launched a
24-hour strike in protest against government plans to privatize the airline.

The cancellations will cover approximately 100 flights to European destinations such as London, Rome, Brussels and Frankfurt, reports said. Some domestic flights will also be canceled.

Last month, the Greek government launched a tender to sell off the ailing airline, saying it would find new public sector jobs for its workers.

Officials have said Qatar Airways is among the investors interested in the sale but union leaders have pledged to halt the privatization.

Jakarta - Indonesia's parliament on Thursday passed an anti-pornography bill into law, which Islamic parties and organizations argued is needed to save the country from immoral behaviour.

Shouts of "Alhamdulillah" ("Thanks be to God") came from the balcony of the House of Representatives' plenary hall as the gavel was banged to mark the passing of the bill, witnesses said.

The bill, which outlaws pornographic acts and dissemination of overtly sexual images has been almost a decade in the making and has been watered-down on several occasions amid rows over the definition of pornography.

Washington, Oct 30: The first direct archaeological evidence of the consumption of hallucinogens in pre-Hispanic Andean populations has emerged in the form of Andean mummy hair.

Indirect evidence for psychoactive drug use in South America''s ancient populations abound, ranging from the discovery of drug equipment to the identification of hallucinogenic herb residuals in snuffing kits.

However, there wasn''t direct evidence that the ancient Andean people actually consumed mind-altering drugs.

Himachal Pradesh-based Himalya International has signed an agreement with US-based grocery chain ALDI to sell its products under "Himalya Fresh" brand name in America.

Under the arrangement, ALDI grocery stores would sell Himalya Fresh products like frozen vegetables, baby potatoes and breaded appetisers through 1,000 retail stores across the US, company Chairman Manmohan Malik said in a statement here.

The company is expecting exports to the US to grow by 60% and touch USD 10 million during the current financial year.

Popular Hollywood actress Hilary Swank has made an appeal to the women to donate their hair to help make wigs for women suffering from cancer.

Tokyo - Nintendo Co slashed its net profit and operating profit forecasts for the fiscal year that runs through March 31 after a stronger yen offset robust sales of game consoles, the company said Thursday.

The Japanese gaming company revised its net profit down by 16 per cent to 345 billion yen (3.54 billion dollars) and operating profit by 3 per cent to 630 billion yen from its August estimates.

But Nintendo maintained its sales forecast for the year at 2 trillion yen.

For the first half of this fiscal year, the company said it saw its net profit rise 9.4 per cent from the same period a year ago to 144.83 billion yen.