GreenPeace finds faults in maintainance of Radioactive reactors in India

On 14th May 2010, Greenpeace radiation safety experts conducted a survey of the area near shop D-2/32 of Mayapuri scrap market, West Delhi. They found at least six ‘hotspots’ in which the radiation dose rate was between 200 and 500 micro sieverts per hour at ground level. Two of the hotspots gave a reading of 500 micro sieverts per hour: 5000 times the naturally-occurring background level.

An area near shop D-2/32 of about 40-60m wide was further identified as a contaminated zone, although the levels of gamma radiation here were lower. Analysis of the findings showed the source of the gamma radiation to be Cobalt-60.

Chhattisgarh Police arrested six Naxals for their role in the Tarmetala ambush

In a major breakthrough on Monday, Chhattisgarh Police arrested six Naxals for their role in the Tarmetala ambush which claimed the lives of 76 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police.

Among the arrested are Naxal commander Barsa Lakhma.

Briefing media about the arrests, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra said: "We have arrested six people in two different incidents, including Lakhma last night from Morpali, four kilometers from Chintalnar."

Maruti Alto with K-series engines to be introduced soon

India’s largest selling small car Maruti Alto is getting ready for a face lift and this time it will be its engine. The company is planning to give a whole new 1000cc engine from K-Series to its favorite and hottest selling car, the Alto.

In its quest to be in tune with the latest technology for its hot models Maruti has planned to launch a refined version of the Alto by giving it 1 litre petrol engine derived from K Series. Very recently Maruti Suzuki India had launched its Alto with BS IV complaint 800cc F series engine and now the company wants to give the Alto the latest K series engine.

Ambani Bros agreement would benefit the Shareholders of the Ambani group of Companies

Welcoming the Ambani brothers agreement to smoke the peace pipe by terminating the non-compete agreements between them, market analysts termed the development as a harbinger of good times for both RIL and ADAG companies and their shareholders.

Market experts gave an upbeat reaction to the Ambani brothers agreement to cancel all the existing non-compete pacts between the two groups executed in January 2006.

"It is a very positive development for both the groups as they will be able to deploy their energies in more productive areas now. The move will also drive the shares of the two Ambani groups northwards," Purpleline Investment

British Airways Cabin crew union on a 5 day strike

Thousands of British Airways cabin crew began a five-day strike on Monday, though the airline claimed it will still be able to carry 70 percent of passengers who have booked flights.

The walkout in the increasingly bitter feud follows the failure of weekend talks between the Unite union and the airline. A key issue is the union's demand that the airline restore employee travel benefits which the airline suspended following an earlier strike.

The union's joint leader, Tony Woodley, says BA already has secured its aim of cutting 1,700 jobs. Woodley said the dispute has turned personal because he believes the airline dislikes the cabin crew's Unite union branch, the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association.

Govt expects Rs 15,000 crore through the broadband wireless spectrum auctions (BWA)-A.Raja

Telecom Minister A Raja on Monday said the government expects Rs 15,000 crore through the broadband wireless spectrum auctions (BWA).

The BWA auction has started today and it comes just days after the auctioning of airwave for third-generation mobile-phone operations that fetched the government over Rs 67,000 crore.

Eleven telecom companies, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, RCom, the Tatas and Qualcom are in the fray for two slots of spectrum. Telcos are expected to participate in the auction aggressively.

The reserve price is Rs 1,750 crore for a pan-India BWA spectrum licence. After experiencing success in 3G spectrum auction the government is now hopeful that the BWA auction would also bring higher revenue windfall. The government expected just Rs 35,000 crore from the sale of both 3G and BWA spectrum.

3G subscriber base would touch 100million by 5 yrs

Research firm Crisil today said that the 3G services industry subscriber base is likely to touch the 100-million mark by the end of its fifth year in operation.
   
The firm also said that it expects an investment of around Rs 2.6-lakh crore into the segment over the next five years.

"We expect the 3G services industry subscriber base to touch the 100 million mark by the end of the fifth year of operations. Besides this, we are also expecting an investment of Rs 2.6 lakh crore over the next five years, of which 50 per cent would take place by 2010-12," Crisil Research director Nagarajan Narasimhan told reporters here.
   

"I have been given a work and it is incomplete yet; and till I complete it, there is no question of my retirement"

Ruling out retirement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday forecast an economic growth rate of 10 per cent in mid-term and underlined his resolve to improve relations with Pakistan, saying better ties with neighbours were necessary to realise India's development potential.

Six years into the top job, the 77-year-old economist-prime minister said he was ready to make way for younger people like Rahul Gandhi, the Congress general secretary who is widely considered to be a prime minister-in-waiting, but added that the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition remained a work in progress and could do much better in the coming years.

Japan to consider sanctions to DPRK

The Japanese government said Monday it was ready to take punitive action against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over the sinking of a South Korean warship in March, Kyodo News reported.

The move would be taken in consultation with South Korea and the United States, the report said.

Earlier in the day, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama instructed cabinet ministers to consider additional sanctions on the DPRK over the South Korean warship issue at a high-level national security meeting.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano told reporters Japan would offer support if the South Korean government referred the incident to the UN Security Council for punitive measures against the DPRK.

WestBengal Govt ordered CID probe in Tamang Murder

West Bengal Government on Monday ordered a CID inquiry into the brutal murder of Gorkha leader Madan Tamang, as ten top members of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), spearheading the agitation for a separate Gorkhaland, resigned from the party in protest against the killing.

Director-General of Police Bhupinder Singh said a CID probe had been ordered into the All India Gorkha League (AIGL) president's killing on Friday. He said Special IGP Pankaj Dutta has been sent to Darjeeling and IGP (CID) NN Pande will leave on Tuesday in connection with the probe.

In a setback to the GJM, ten central committee members, including Morcha press secretary Harka Bahadur Chhetri resigned over the killing.

3G in India soon; global trend to be watched

In about six months' time, at least four telecom companies in your area are going to come to you asking you to sign up for their third generation (3G) mobile services. The operators who will approach you are not new — but what they are about to offer you will be new.

These operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar and Tata Teleservices, have emerged winners in the recently concluded auction that lasted for 34 days. Together, they have agreed to pay as much as Rs 67,718 crore to the Government for buying the spectrum that's required to offer 3G services. For example Vodafone will cough up nearly Rs 11,500 crore for air waves in nine circles while Reliance Communication has won spectrum in 13 circles for Rs 8,585 crore. (see table) But the worry now is whether these operators, in their desperation to get more spectrum, have overbid and as a result will consumers have to pay out a higher fee for availing all the goodies that 3G technology brings? The concerns are not unfounded because similar auctions conducted earlier in Europe ended with operators quoting astronomical amounts resulting in high tariffs.

Don Wales broke the world land speed record for a lawnmower

To most people a lawnmower conjures up the monotonous back-and-forth across a suburban garden. But for one man, a souped-up, custom-built gardening machine has landed him a place in the Guinness record book after racing it to speeds in excess of 87mph.

Don Wales broke the world land speed record for a lawnmower twice this weekend at Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, hitting 86.069mph on Saturday then 87.833mph yesterday. The record had been 80.792mph, set in 2006 at Bonneville flats in America.

"We are very excited and very pleased to have beaten our own record today," said Clare Hansley-Boyd, a spokeswoman for the British team. "We have finished the weekend as world record holders and have improved on yesterday's speed – so we are happy with that."

For the record attempt to qualify, challengers have to use a machine that is certified to be built primarily from lawn mower parts. Proof that it is a mower also has to be produced before the speed attempt, with a public grass cutting demonstration.

The team had hoped to break 100mph, but in the end settled for 87mph. "They're very tired after the efforts they put in over the weekend," Hansley-Boyd said. "It's a bit early to say where we'll be going from here, but I think the 100mph target is something everyone will be aiming at for the future."

Wales is the grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell, who broke the world land speed record driving a car at the same spot in 1924.

Google finally sets regultors permisson to acquire AdMob

The US antitrust regulator has given Internet search engine Google the nod to acquire mobile display ad technology provider AdMob, saying the buyout is unlikely to “harm competition” in the market.

The two companies have a significant presence in India.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it had closed its investigation of Google’s proposed $750-million acquisition of AdMob after reviewing the deal and concluding that it is unlikely to harm competition in the emerging market for mobile advertising n etworks, it said in a statement.

The regulator said it was concerned that the two leading mobile advertising networks were combining, but technology titan Apple Inc’s entry into the business would lessen the effects of the Google-AdMob deal.

Hotmail Revamped

Is your email inbox a virtual mall — a one-stop shop for all your web needs and operations? Going by the latest upgrades rolled out by Microsoft for its free email client Hotmail, and Google's attempts to steal its thunder by providing API that allows third-party applications to integrate with Gmail, the focus has shifted from storage and in-built messengers to making your inbox the centre of your web universe.

So earlier this week, Hotmail — that old email client that introduced many of us to the world of instant communication — got a makeover. Years after the email client with a proud Indian connection (courtesy, founder Sabeer Bhatia) gave way to younger, roomier and feature-rich email client Gmail, Microsoft appears to have pulled out of its hat an upgrade that is in keeping with the times.

Bangkok Stock trade opens Cautiously

The stock market dropped sharply despite the state planning agency's forecast as Bangkok cautiously reopened for business after the mayhem. Analysts blamed increased political risk and the delayed effect of the euro zone crisis.

"Investors may be temporarily relieved that a semblance of normalcy has returned but the political risk remains high and investors will likely be cautious," said Warut Siwasariyanon, head of research at Finansia Syrus Securities in Bangkok.

"The big underlying conflict is still there and the wound is deeper than ever even as the roads have been wiped clean."

Insurance firms to shell out Rs.400 crores for Air India towards Mangalore Crash

Insurance firms are already feeling the heat with the national carrier, Air India, and relatives of the passengers who died in the ill-fated Mangalore air disaster set to claim compensation worth hundreds of crores of rupees in the coming days.

It is estimated that insurers may have to collectively shell out compensation claims to the tune of Rs 350-400 crore for loss of 158 human lives and the total destruction of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft that crashed.

The Air India (AI) Express aircraft was provided a comprehensive insurance coverage by four private sector general insurance companies led by Reliance General Insurance Co Ltd and co-insured by HDFC Ergo, Bajaj Allianz and Iffco Tokio. The entire AI fleet of 136 aircraft was insured for a total of $8.59 billion at an annual premium of around $24.3 million.

BJP withdraws its support in Jharkhand Govt.

Frustrated over JMM backtracking on its power-sharing deal in Jharkhand, the BJP has decided to withdraw support to the Shibu Soren Government tomorrow that it will plunge the state into another spell of political crisis.

"The BJP will withdraw support to JMM Government on Monday," state BJP spokesman Sanjay Seth said, a day after a defiant Soren asserted that he will continue as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand and was in touch with the Congress.

A BJP delegation led by Jharkhand deputy chief minister Raghuvar Das will meet Governor M O H Farrooq at 11.30 AM on Monday and hand over the letter of withdrawal of support to the JMM Government, Seth said.

Ambani Bros settled dispute in Gas pricing

In a major development, the two Ambani brothers--Mukesh and Anil—on Sunday decided to bury their differences and create an environment of harmony, co-operation and collaboration between their groups.

"All existing non-compete agreements between the two groups executed in January 2006 are cancelled," Anil Ambani group said in a statement.

The harmony comes within a few days of the Supreme Court declining to give any relief to younger brother in the gas dispute.

"A new, simpler non-compete agreement executed and limited to only gas-based power generation. RIL (Mukesh) and RNRL (Anil) will expeditiously negotiate gas supply arrangement as per the Supreme Court order and hope to conclude negotiations very soon," it added.

"I hate goodbyes..but I guess it's time" Message on day before Mangalore Aircrash

All the six crew members aboard the Air India flight which crashed in Mangalore on Saturday morning died. Among them were airhostesses, who had just started living their dreams.

"I hate goodbyes..but I guess it's time," was the haunting message left by Sujata Survase on Orkut a day before she left on the ill-fated flight. Sujata had returned to work after a long vacation and her networking profile reveals how much she enjoyed being home in Mumbai.

Sujata who had worked with Air India for three years had also written about how she hated flying on the KWI sector faced with bad weather and delays which she described as quick death.

How safe is it to fly in India?

Mangalore crash raises the obvious question: How safe is it to fly in India? "After a crash, if the pilot is alive, nail him. If he is dead, blame him," goes a saying in our circles. The blame game has already begun even as vital safety deficiencies get swept aside.

* After the crash, the chairman of AAI went on record to say that the Mangalore runway and the airport met International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards. But the aiming point (the point where the undercarriage of the aircraft is supposed to touch down on the runway while landing) on the runway does not conform to ICAO standards. Also, if the overrun area had 90 metres of sand laid out as per ICAO specifications for the runway-end safety area, then isn't it strange that the aircraft did not slow down? Are all the other airports in India in a similar state of (un)preparedness for a possible accident?

Some Call centres in India sell Banned Drugs

Online pharmacies, mushrooming across the country and cashing in on the increasing demand for controlled psychotropic drugs in countries like the US and Canada, have found competition. The Narcotics Control Bureau has stumbled upon a major call centre in Hyderabad doing illegal business in selling psychotropic substances. The NCB cracked down on this call centre, Limra IT Solutions, and arrested its MD Imran Khan.

NCB sources in Chennai said many such call centres are active in Hyderabad and Bangalore and a few in Chennai are under its scanner. They said spurious drug manufacturers, along with agents and call centres, have turned the sale of controlled psychotropic drugs into a hugely profitable business model. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the US agency for regulation of sales and licencing of pharmacies in that country, has been providing information regarding this in India.

Godrej acquires Issue Group to emerge as the hair colour, leader in 19 countries across the world

Godrej group company Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) on Sunday announced its sixth global acquisition, this time in Latin America, to emerge as the hair colour leader in 19 countries across the world.

GCPL said it has entered into an agreement to acquire the entire stake of the promoters in Laboratoria Cuenca, Consell SA, Issue Uruguay and Issue Brazil, which is collectively referred to as the Issue Group. TOI reported in its edition dated April 19, 2010, GCPL's move to buy out the Issue Group from its founders, Roberto Hlace and Oscar Villalba.

Did the pilot of Air India plane IX 812 attempt a last-minute take off?

Crucial evidence that could finally unravel the mystery behind Saturday's crash in Mangalore that left 158 people dead has been found and investigators are now trying to find answers to questions like these as they look into what could have possibly gone wrong.

According to sources, the throttle in the cockpit, extricated from the debris, was found in a forward position suggesting that the pilot may have attempted a final thrust to take-off seconds before the crash.

CB-CID Chennai arrests two on Net-Banking fraudulent transactions

The CB-CID's cyber crime wing on Saturday arrested two Mumbai men for withdrawing Rs 26.55 lakh and Rs 75,510 respectively through fraudulent means from two separate accounts of two Tamil Nadu-based persons using net banking. The arrested, S Vinayak Shivaji Khandare (20) and I Ibrahim Ansari (25), have been brought to Chennai and remanded in judicial custody at the Puzhal prison.

On November 5 2009, Tiruchi-based businessman S Salahudeen from Tiruchi noticed an illegal transaction from his account through net banking and alerted the police and bank officials, the police said. The transaction was found to be done by couriers. Cyber cell officials found involvement of eight couriers in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Sangli in Maharashtra.

Change in working style for Traffic policemen in North Indian cities

The summer has forced the men in white to change shifts and style of working. Personnel of city police's traffic branch will soon get parasols (large umbrella) at junctions and protective gear to beat the heat.

According to senior traffic branch officials, the summer is taking a toll on personnel deployed on the road due to prolonged exposure to heat. After several reported incidents of fainting and dehydration, the officials have relaxed working hours.

"We have asked all personnel to consume as much liquid as possible on duty. They have also been asked to stay in shade during lean hours or take rounds in nearby areas to reduce chances of a heat stroke," said Mohan Jha, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

Black Box of the crashed flight in Mangalore found

According to Airline sources, Black Box of the crashed Air India Express aircraft has been recovered.

The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) of the illfated Air India Express plane were recovered earlier from the crash site and are expected to provide vital clues about the cause of the accident that left 158 passengers and crew dead.

The CVR, which provides conversation details between the pilot and air traffic control and within the cockpit, and the FDR or the 'Black Box', containing technical data, were removed from the wreckage of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, the airline sources said.

Teams, probing the worst air tragedy in the country in a decade, had begun their operations early in the morning to locate the CVR and the FDR.

Certain other instruments and aircraft portions, which would be of help in the investigation, have also been extricated from the plane's debris.

Mangalore airport is in the list of Classified Airports in India

India has many airports that come with a `special tag' due to peculiarities and complexities involved in the landing and take-off procedures for aircraft at these airports.

Typically, airports located in hilly and mountainous regions, and those adjacent to water bodies like rivers and seas are classified as `special'.

The Mangalore airport is one among the list of such airports. Others include the ones in Srinagar, Leh, Port Blair, Calicut, and Agatti in Lakshadweep. The Vizag airport used to be on this list up until a new airport was built.

29 deaths in last four days b'coz of heat in Ahmedabad

As the mercury continued to hover around 45 degrees celsius in city, many more fell prey to the heat. The rising mercury killed two more persons on Sunday, taking the total death toll due to heat in the city in last four days to 29.

The flow of patients suffering from heat-related ailments kept pouring in at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run VS Hospital, LG Hospital and Shardaben Hospital and at Civil Hospital. A senior AMC official said, "There has been a decrease in number of heat-related patients in comparison to last three days, we have received 19 cases in which two persons died."

The soaring temperatures coupled with prolonged dry spells for last few weeks with no humidity in air has made life difficult for people across the state and the coming days may not be any better.

Though it was a Sunday, people chose to stay indoors and most of the roads wore a deserted look while city malls recorded a decrease in footfalls.

Tired Cabin crew may be a cause for Mangalore Aircrash

Up to 78% of fatal air crashes are caused by human error, of which a majority are because of pilot fatigue, according to the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association. Could this also have caused the Mangalore crash?

The jury is still out on that one, but internal communications of Air India Express accessed clearly show that a shortage of staff was forcing cabin crew to exceed the limit on flying hours imposed by the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA). Besides, most airlines are going in for quick turn-around (QTA) flights at night, further raising pilots' stress and fatigue levels.

The crew of Flight IX 812 had left Mangalore at 8pm and flew more than four hours to reach Dubai. Soon, they were busy with walk-around inspections, fuel checks, and weather confirmation. By the time the routine checks were over, passengers were ready to board the flight for the return journey.

Bangalorians can file their complaints online soon

Get prepared for an e-revolution in civic life. You will not have to run around or make repeated calls for the fused streetlights, potholed roads, fallen trees or damaged electric poles in your area. Just come online, write about it and get it fixed by the concerned agency.

Finally, India's IT capital can boast of a holistic public complaint management system, one that integrates complaining civilians, acting civic agencies and the ruling government online.

The Times of India's Bangalore Patrol, conceived and managed by Janaagraha, is working on an online complaint management system where people can log in, locate their area, file their complaint and submit it online. These complaints will then be directed to the concerned authority. The agencies will also have an option to log in and update the complaint status online.

The idea is based on common man's experiences and careful studies of the various success models that have been adopted and implemented in many developed countries, including the UK and the US.

UK's http://www.fixmystreet.com is already doing it for many years now. So is the http://www.seeclickfix.com in US that equips the common man and the governing agencies on reporting and receiving issues across the various neighbourhood communities.

This facility will be made available online on the WISA portal, a month after the first report card for all the 198 wards is out.

Indian girl in the team that created Artificial living cell

A girl who passed out of a Bangalore college is now in global limelight for being part of the team that created the first synthetic cell. Radha Krishnakumar, now in her mid-thirties, did her BSc in microbiology, chemistry and zoology from Mount Carmel College, reads the J Craig Venter Institute website, where her work has created ripples in the institute where she works now.

When contacted some of the teachers at the college who worked during the late 90s, and flashed a photo of her, one of them recollected this "quiet, sweet girl".

"She was a very quiet, unassuming girl. I remember her as a clever and focussed child," said a thrilled Vimala C M, the present head of the department of Zoology, who has been teaching in MCC for the past 25 years.

RSS oppose caste-based census

RSS flag

Even as its political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party, is rooting for counting of the other backward castes (OBC), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sunday came out strongly against caste-based census.

Its general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said here on Sunday that any move to classify people on caste lines would deal a blow to social harmony and fabric.

"Since its inception, the RSS is striving for establishing a casteless society. But the recent demand for identifying people on caste basis, especially with a view to ascertaining OBCs strength, will cause social friction and nullify all efforts of RSS and other social organisations to bring about social harmony in the country," said Joshi.

India joins Elite group of Countries with indegenously developed LCH

LCH model on display

The maiden flight of the indigenously manufactured Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) on Sunday heralded India's entry into the select group of countries capable of developing their own combat helicopters.

The LCH, manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, took to the skies on Sunday in the presence of the defence secretary R K Singh, vice-chief of air staff, air marshal P K Barbora, chairman HAL, Ashok Nayak and senior officials of defence ministry and the forces. Chief test pilots Unni Pillai and Hari Nair put up a spectacular flying display of the LCH at the HAL airport in the city.