Vodafone India to launch IPhone 4 soon

Now that the iPhone 4 has been officially revealed and is readying itself for launch in U.S., France, Germany, Japan and UK this very month, people in India were left perplexed whether it will ever make it to India any time soon.


With the iPhone 3GS having introduced just a few months ago in India, the launch of a new iPhone model in India looked unlikely. However, since Apple has stopped sales of the iPhone 3G (which was also sold in India alongside the 3GS), it is likely that the iPhone 3GS would take the place of its older brother relinquishing its post to make way for the iPhone 4.

Yahoo! to link Facebook updates to its Users

People can now link their Yahoo! and Facebook accounts to view and share updates, a move that will enable the search engine to reach out to a wide audience in the social networking space with its sites and services.

The partnership between the two online majors, announced in December last year, will help Yahoo! add networking features like status update and news feed from Facebook on its services like mail, messenger, Pulse, News, Sports and Finance services.

Mumbai Airport shows lack of preparedness for rain & power Failure

Flight operations at the city airport were severely affected on Wednesday due to the closure of main runway, coupled with water-logging at terminal 1-C and power cut.

There was a delay of one to one and a half hour across flights at Mumbai airport due to the closure of runway for over an hour, an airport source told .

At the top of it, there was power cut as well as water-logging of newly constructed terminal 1-C which further led to congestion at the airport, the source said.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said that the main runway 09x27 was closed for 50 minutes (0810 hours to 0900 hours) to clear glass pieces of runway edge light which were broken by a departing aircraft.

"Due to the closure, there was a long queue of aircraft at the runway awaiting clearance from the ATC," source said.

The source also said that following rains last night, there was water-logging at terminal 1-C leading to the closure of the area.

Chinese regulator approve ABC's plan for IPO

The Agriculture Bank of China on Wednesday earned regulatory approval for what might prove to be the world’s largest initial public offering. The world record is held by another Chinese bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which garnered $21.6 billion in an IPO in 2006.

ABC faces two challenges in its efforts to raise a large quantum of funds: a depressed market and low ratings by Fitch, which has allotted the lender its second lowest rating of “E”. But bank officials have assured potential investors that the public offering will not be delayed due to weak market situation, which is at a 13-month low. The offering is expected to take place late June or early July simultaneously in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Govt of India to list 35 PSU in nest 5 Yrs

The government on Wednesday said that it would list 35 public sector companies on stock markets over the next five years.

The move would generate about Rs 1.5 lakh crore in revenues for the Centre.

"In the next five years, we will list 35 PSUs....the government will get almost Rs 1.5 lakh crore as revenue from this listing," minister of state for heavy industry and public sector enterprises Arun Yadav told reporters here at a CII function.

SBI to raise Rs.20,000 Crores

State Bank of India is expected to launch a Rs 20,000 crore rights issue in the second half of 2010/11, Chairman O.P. Bhatt said on Wednesday.

The government's share in the state-run bank's rights issue is likely to be 60 percent, he told reporters.

Bhopal gas tragedy verdict under criticism

The Bhopal gas tragedy verdict has been hitting headlines across the world and angry reactions are coming in from everywhere.

Many see this as a case not just of justice delayed but also justice not delivered. And overwhelmingly, the international media holds the Indian government and judiciary responsible for the travesty.

On Monday, after over 25 years, eight people were convicted for the world's worst industrial disaster and sentenced to two years in prison. One of them died during the course of the trial. The other seven were granted bail. About 20,000 people were killed in the Bhopal gas tragedy of December 2-3, 1984.

Acid attack on a women in Chandigarh

A single mother in Chandigarh was on Wednesday battling serious burn injuries after unidentified men threw acid on her for allegedly having an affair with her employer, police said.

Nisha, 32, who is divorced and lives with her father, was attacked on Tuesday night while she was going to the market on her scooter.

"Some unknown persons chased Nisha, who was going towards a market on her scooter, in a Maruti car. After reaching close to her, they threw acid on her," a police official said.

Nisha was rushed to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in a serious condition. She sustained burn injuries on her face, arms, feet and eyes.

"She has a five-year-old daughter, who also lives with her. From the preliminary investigations, it seems her illicit relations with her employer could be a reason behind the attack," the official said.

Nisha was working at a gas agency in Sector 47 for the last eight years.

In her statement to the police, Nisha said that before throwing acid on her, one of the accused said: "Now your relationship with Raman is over."

Another top Cop in Haryana booked on molestation charges

Former DGP Haryana SPS Rathore is not alone in the hall of shame of Haryana Police officers. Now a former Inspector General, MS Ahlawat, has been booked for threatening and molesting a widow in Yamunanagar in 2001 when he was Superintendent of Police (SP) of the area.

For nine years police did not take any action on the complaint. It was only after the woman sat on a protest outside the DGP office last year that an inquiry was ordered. Now police has initiated action against the former IG who retired few months ago.

Napier bridge to be lit up soon

The historic Napier Bridge in Chennai will soon be bathed in ethereal light to accentuate its iconic concrete arches and create the illusion of a floating edifice, thanks to an Australian company.

The Corporation of Chennai is upgrading the nightscape of the south Indian metropolis, including the Promenade and the City Centre. It has engaged the Sydney-based Lighting Design Partnership (LDP) with its local collaborators, GA Architects, to light up Napier Bridge.

The bridge at the mouth of the Coovum river estuary - also known as the Iron Bridge - forms a natural gateway to the famous Marina Beach, which has now been given a facelift.

Another AirPlane disaster averted in Hyderbad

A Hyderabad-bound Jet Airways flight with 36 passengers on board had a close save after the nose wheel of the aircraft broke off while landing at the Raja Bhoj Airport here today, airport sources said.

"The nose wheel of the plane approaching the runway suddenly broke off. However, the pilot managed to land the aircraft safely," said the sources.

The flight, which arrived here at approximately 9 am and was scheduled to take off at 9:35 am, has been cancelled. The passengers were accommodated in other flights, the sources said.

Jet Airways, however, denied that the aircraft's nose wheel broke and said it was a technical snag which delayed the flight.

"A technical snag was reported in the Jet Airways flight 9W 2509 which arrived here from Ahmedabad via Indore and was on its way to Hyderabad via Raipur, following which it was stranded at the Bhopal Airport," a Jet Airways spokeswoman said.

"The aircraft was taken to the parking bay in Bhopal for inspection," she said.

Afghan's Opium is deadliest than their Bullets- UN

A top United Nations official says that the annual number of people killed by Afghan heroin in Western Europe exceeds the total death toll of NATO troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

Some 1,800 international coalition troops have been killed in Afghanistan, including 1,100 Americans.

Speaking at an anti-drug conference in Moscow, the head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, said that the world's largest consumer of Afghan drugs is Russia, where more than 70 metric tons of heroin are sold annually.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told the conference that heroin is seen as a "serious threat'' to Russian youth.

India & Lanka signs 7 pacts

India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday inked seven pacts, ranging from security to development, and discussed steps being taken to rehabilitate displaced Tamils, a process which New Delhi wants to be expedited.

During wide-ranging talks here, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about his government's efforts to resettle nearly three lakh Tamils displaced due to the war with LTTE.

Singh is understood to have emphasised on speeding up the process of resettlement and devolution of political powers to ethnic Tamils.

Police Brutality ,a growing menace in India

In a shocking tale, police officers, including a woman constable in Delhi, allegedly asked a woman to strip and have sex with her son, a juvenile accused, inside a police post.

The victim, a resident of Delhi's Mayapuri area, alleges that she and her husband had rushed to the local police station after her two sons were detained by the police on charges of theft.

"While returning home from the Mayapuri police station with my wife, I saw a crowd outside our house. While entering I saw a male and a female cop ransacking the place. When we objected and asked about our sons, the cops started hitting us," said the victim's husband.

Warren Anderson, now refocused on Bhopal issue

Perhaps the biggest fallout of this week's verdict in the Bhopal gas tragedy has been the refocusing of attention on Warren Anderson, and the fact that he has not been tried for his role as the senior-most executive of the company that caused the world's biggest industrial disaster.

Anderson, who was Chief Executive Officer of Union Carbide Corp in 1984, flew into India after the gas leak from a Carbide plant choked Bhopal on the 2-3 of December. He was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Yet, just four days after the tragedy, Anderson flew out of Bhopal on the official plane of Arjun Singh, who was at the time the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.