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...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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