Ratan Tata exhorts youth to fight graft

At a time when Team Anna is piling up pressure on the government over the Lokpal Bill, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata today said the youth of India need to fight to root out corruption.

Tata, who generally maintains a silence over the issue at public platforms, tweeted: "The youth of today will need to recognise that they shoulder a great responsibility...They will need to fight for rooting out corruption, for ensuring that no one is above the law, and uniting the citizens of India as 'Indians first' instead of communal or geographic factions".

Stating that the youth of India can shape the country's future, he said they will need to strive for excellence while personally upholding high ethical standards and values.

Wishing the young citizens of the country "the very best for the New Year", Tata wrote on the social networking site Twitter, that the next decade can be the decade of the youth of India - their voice, their vigour and their energy could have a profound impact on the shape of India of tomorrow.

"One hopes the country will be driven by meritocracy, while being sensitive to the needs of the less privileged, and truly become a nation of equal opportunity for all," he said.

Tata would be hanging his boots in December 2012 when he turns 75 -- the retirement age fixed by the salt-to-software USD 80 billion Tata Group.

Tata Sons, the holding company of the Group has already announced Cyrus P Mistry, the 43-year-old Managing Director of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, to succeed Ratan Tata.

Ratan Tata is in the process of readying Mistry for the big role. Yesterday, he formally introduced Mistry to Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.

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Kingfisher not operating 175 daily departure flights

Kingfisher airlines was not operating 175 of the 418 daily departure flights approved for it during winter schedule 2011 leading to cancellation of its slots.

“Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued letters to Kingfisher for violation of Rule 140 A of aircraft Rules 1937," Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

“Kingfisher Airlines has informed that they have initiated reconfiguration of their aircraft due to which some of their aircraft are out of service for a few weeks," Singh told the House.

The slots alloted to Kingfisher had been cancelled, the Minister said.

In reply to another question, Singh said that Air India had increased the fuel surcharge on short haul domestic routes as well as on long haul flights within the country from November 20 this year.

“The fuel surcharge has been increased by Rs 200 on sectors less than 1400 km and by Rs 300 on sectors more than 1400 km," Singh said.

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US stocks spike on jobs news

US Stocks closing: Stocks are closing higher on encouraging economic reports. The number of Americans that applied for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since April 2008, in the latest sign that the job market is healing.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 62 points Thursday, or less than 1 percent, to 12,170.

The S&P 500 index rose 10 points, also less than 1 percent, to 1,254, while the Nasdaq was up 21, or less than a percent, at 2,599.

Applications for unemployment fell for the third week in a row. The Conference Board also reported that its measure of future economic activity had a big increase in November. It was the second straight gain, signaling that the U.S. economy was picking up some speed.

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NASA discovers Tatooine, but not in a galaxy far, far away

Astronomers say a bit of science fiction is now reality. They've spotted a planet orbiting two suns.

The discovery was made by NASA's planet-hunting telescope Kepler. Scientists describe the find in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

They are calling the new planet Tatooine after the fictional body in the Star Wars films that boasts a double sunset.

The alien world, about the size of Saturn, is frigid and inhospitable. It orbits two stars 200 light-years from Earth.

Though there have been past hints of the existence of other planets that circled double stars, scientists said this is the first confirmation.

Kepler was launched in 2009 to find out how common other planets – especially Earth-like planets – are in the universe.

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Hurricane warning issued for SE coast of Newfoundland

Hurricane Maria is racing towards southeastern Newfoundland and is expected to make landfall there as a hurricane on Friday afternoon.

A hurricane warning has been posted along the Avalon Peninsula, where gusts up to 120 kilometres an hour are expected by Friday afternoon.

By early Friday, the storm was centred about 1,030 kilometres southwest of Cape Race, Newfoundland and moving northeast near 70 km/h.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre says heavy rain is also expected, with some areas likely to receive 60 to 90 millimetres.

Environment Canada has also posted tropical storm warnings for Bonavista Peninsula, Burin Peninsula, the St. John’s area and Avalon Peninsula north.

A tropical storm warning means sustained winds of 63 km/h or more are expected in the warning zones within 24 hours.

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Cameron, Sarkozy on first European aid visit to Libya

The French and British leaders arrived in Libya on Thursday to congratulate the new rulers they helped install, but families fleeing besieged bastions of ousted strongman Muammar Gaddafi are a reminder that peace is still far off. The visit is a victory lap for Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron, who defied doubters at home to lead a Nato bombing campaign that succeeded in ushering in a victory by forces who swept away Gaddafi’s 42-year rule last month.

With security tight, spokesmen in Paris and London said the two had arrived in Tripoli. Cameron’s office said they would meet Libyan leaders before a news conference. The two men were expected to fly on to Benghazi later.

Both are popular on the streets of Libya, where “Merci Sarkozy” and “Thank you Britain” are common graffiti slogans. Both may hope to earn political dividends back home from what now appears to have been a successful

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6 ways Chinese firms swindle Indians

Alarmed by the growing instances of fraud being committed by Chinese companies, to which Indian small and medium firms are falling victim, New Delhi has swung into action and has — for the first time — done an analysis on the types of trade disputes.

The government has also cautioned Indian companies against trusting business-to-business (B2B) sites before zeroing in on a Chinese partner. It has also asked the Indian missions in that country to help in establishing the authenticity of Chinese firms. There have been 66 disputes this year alone between January and July, the value of which exceeds $1.8 million. A majority of the disputes have taken place with companies based in Hebei province (29 cases) and Tianjin municipality (26 cases). The government is also circulating a list of 48 companies that committed fraud this year

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US consumer prices, jobless claims rise

US consumers paid more for a range of goods and services last month, and unemployment benefit applications jumped last week to the highest level in three months. The latest data offered a picture of an economy facing inflationary pressures and a depressed job market.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in August, the labour department said on Thursday. That followed a 0.5% increase in July. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, core prices increased 0.2%. Prices for food, energy apartment rents, and clothing all increased.

Separately, the labour department said applications for unemployment benefits rose 11,000 to 428,000 last week. The four-week average rose for the fourth straight week to 419,500, the highest level in eight weeks

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India Robot Olympiad 2011 Starts Off in First Timer Mumbai

It's that time of year again when the school children from across the country are gripped with robotics fervour. Techtronics Education (India) Limited brings the sixth edition of Indian Robot Olympiad (IRO) 2011, the annual national level robotics championship in association with LEGO, world's premier manufacturer of play and education materials.

This year's edition of the IRO kick starts in Mumbai at Ecole Mondiale World School on September 17th-18th, 2011, which will be followed by the competition reaching Chennai (September 23rd-24th, 2011), Bangalore (September 24th -25th, 2011) and culminating finally in New Delhi (September 30th - October 1st, 2011). This year the two cities Mumbai and Chennai are making their debut in the IRO itinerary along with an additional practice day before the main event day. The Olympiad is amongst many initiatives taken by Techtronics Education to promote the basic mantra of learning by doing in the Indian education system.

The Indian Robot Olympiad is held in three categories - Primary School, Junior High and Senior High where students aged between 9-17 years participate. In this showcase of talent and intellect, teams from over 600 different schools across India will be participating and the two winning teams from each category will get to represent India in the World Robot Olympiad 2011 to be held in Abu Dhabi from November 18th - 20th, 2011. Some of the prominent schools participating are Appejay School, ST John High School, The Galaxy School, Manav Rachna International School, Saupin's School, National Public School, GD Goenka Public School, Rajhans Vidyalaya, Venkat International School, Jamnabai Narsee School, RMS International School, Dhirubhai Ambani International, Amity School, Chennai Public School, Ecole Mondiale World School, Genesis Global School, Velammal International School, Canadian International School among others.

The IRO 2011 will follow the 2011 WRO Open Category theme: "Robots for Life Improvement". Under this theme the participants need to identify areas in which robotics may be able to contribute to improving our life and then develop a robotic solution that fulfils this contribution and present it, following the General Rules of the Open Category competition. Participant students demonstrate capabilities of their Robots, which are created using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education NXT kits.

Highlighting the objective behind the event Mr. Sudhanshu Sharma, MD Techtronics Education (India) Limited stressed on the importance of "Learning by Doing" - the inherent principle behind Techtronics Education. He said, "Techtronics Education in India is committed to the core cause of learning by doing in the education system in India. Globally, the developed world has risen to the use of robotics and automation technology. In India, we want to make children familiar with this technology at an early stage to prepare them to embrace this technology with enthusiasm as they enter the professional world. With this Olympiad, Techtronics education has written yet another successful chapter in Indian Robotics Education, with a commitment of many such more."

`Long time Lego enthusiast and Chief Judge - IRO 2010, Mr. Apurva Kalia added, "It's been our sincere effort to set highest benchmark each time with the India Robot Olympiad. Our ultimate aim is driven by the motive to produce world champions in international robotic competitions. I am also pleased to see that each year as we host the Olympiad, the existing benchmarks just go higher."

Notes to Editor

About Techtronics Education

Learning by Doing - is the mantra behind Techtronics Education. Started in 2006, Techtronics Education has tied up with world's leading learning solutions provider and manufacturer of products for hands-on, activity based learning - LEGO Education - as their partner and distributor in India.

Inspired by the "National Curriculum Framework" of NCERT, Techtronics Education has been unwavering in their efforts to give a wholesome activity based education to the students of classes 3rd to 12th, and prepare them for exciting careers in science and technology. Techtronics helps schools in setting up and running robotics activity clubs and teacher training programs all across India.

About LEGO

The LEGO Group is a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company is still owned by the Kirk Kristiansen family who founded it in 1932.

The LEGO Group is engaged in the development of children creativity through playing and learning. Based on the world-famous LEGO brick, the company today provides toys, experiences and teaching materials for children in more than 130 countries. The LEGO Group has approximately 8,000 employees, and it is the world's fifth largest manufacturer of play materials.

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