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China warns Japan on economic fallout of island row

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China on Wednesday warned Japan that its decision to purchase disputed islands in the East China Sea would damage the bilateral trade between the two countries.

Japan’s move to purchase the islands called Diaoyu Islands by China and Senkaku by Japan will certainly affect and damage development of economic and trade relations between the two countries, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said today.

“It is not what we wish to see, for which Japan should take full responsibility,” MOC spokesman Shen Danyang told a media conference here.

Placed between India and China, Myanmar’s position unique: Suu Kyi

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Myanmar’s Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has noted that her country’s location between India and China makes it a key stakeholder in the region, and this factor which should be take into consideration in developing bilateral ties with Myanmar.

“Because we are situated between China and India, the two biggest powers in Asia, and because we are on the border of South and South-East Asia, our position is unique, and any relationship with Myanmar must take into consideration this situation,” Suu Kyi said yesterday in her first public appearance after her US arrival.

PM should step down, seek fresh mandate: TMC MP

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Asserting that the UPA government has lost its moral right to continue, Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh on Wednesday demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh step down and seek a fresh mandate.

“Before accepting the resignation of Trinamool Congres ministers, the Prime Minister should step down and seek a fresh mandate on whether the country is permitting his policies or not,” the MP said in a tweet.

No scope for compromise: TMC

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Although the Congress has made it categorically clear that there will be no going back on diesel price hike and FDI in retail, the Trinamool Congress appeared resolute on its decision to withdraw support to the UPA government.

Minutes after a meeting of the Congress Core Committee where the ruling party decided to stick to the forward steps it has taken on reforms front, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s close confidante and railway minister Mukul Roy said, “Yesterday Ms Mamatji has made it clear that the Trinamool Congress is against any hike in diesel, cap on LPG and FDI in retail.”

Nuke capable Agni-IV test-fired

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India today test-fired its nuclear-capable strategic missile Agni-IV with a strike range of about 4000 km from a test range off Odisha coast.

It was test launched with the help of a mobile launcher from launch complex-4 of ITR at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from here, at about 1145 hours, defence sources said.

A high performance on-board computer with distributed avionics architecture and high speed reliable communication bus and a full Digital Control System were used to control and guide the missile to the target.

I am happy that Sridevi likes my work: Deepika Padukone

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Deepika Padukone welcomed Sridevi`s praise of her work and said she admires the veteran actress, whose films she grew up watching.

Sridevi, who is set to make a comeback with English Vinglish, the debut directorial project of R Balki`s wife Gauri, had recently said she liked Deepika among the current crop of female stars in Bollywood.

“It is a huge compliment. She is someone I have admired. I grew up watching all her films. It is nice to know that she admires my work,” Deepika, who was given the Smita Patil Memorial Award for best actor by Priyadarshani Academy, said.

EC asks CBDT; I-T to monitor funding in polls

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The Election Commission (EC) has sought deployment of the investigation machinery of the Income Tax department for checking movement of illegal funds during the forthcoming assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which was written to by the Commission, has asked its probe Directorates based in Chandigarh (for Himachal Pradesh), Surat and Ahmedabad (for Gujarat) to deploy senior officials and staff as ‘expenditure observers’ for these polls.

Kejriwal’s party to be different path for same goal: Anna

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Affirming his views on not forming a political party, social activist Anna Hazare on Tuesday said floating a political outfit by his associate Arvind Kejriwal would mean “taking a different path” to reach the same goal of corruption free India.

“I have decided for myself not to form a political party or fight elections. But if Arvind floats one, it would mean taking a different path with the same goal of corruption free India,” Hazare told reporters here, when asked if creation of a political party by Kejriwal would mean a split between him and his mentor.

Al Qaeda threatens attacks on US diplomats

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Al Qaeda’s branch in North Africa is calling for attacks on US diplomats and an escalation of protests against an anti-Islam video that triggered a wave of demonstrations in Muslim countries.

In a statement released Tuesday, al Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb praised the killing of Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya, in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on September 11.

The group threatened attacks in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania in response to the movie.

Blow to Zardari as letter closing graft cases to be revoked

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Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the government has decided to withdraw a letter sent out during Pervez Musharraf’s tenure to close graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, a move that may lead to reopening of the corruption cases.

The court gave the Prime Minister time till Sep 25 to write to Swiss authorities to reopen the corruption cases.

A five-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, heard the show-cause notice for contempt of court against Ashraf over the NRO implementation case.

It’s time to break with Pakistan: US lawmaker

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Arguing that it is time to stop expedited supply of sophisticated US weaponry to Pakistan, a top lawmaker has introduced a bill in Congress seeking removal of “treacherous” Islamabad’s major non-NATO ally status.

Anti-Islam film: 2 dead in Pak protests, PM orders blocking of video

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Two persons died in violent protests against an anti-Islam film in Pakistan even as Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf Monday directed authorities to block YouTube for hosting “blasphemous material”, including clips from the movie.

A man was killed and two more were injured in a reported exchange of fire with police during a protest in Upper Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest.

A mob of nearly 1,000 people also set on fire a press club and a police station during the protest.

Sensex fails to hold 18,500 level; snaps 9-day gains

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Snapping a nine-day winning trend, the Sensex on Tuesday closed 46 points lower at 18,496.01 on double-digit retail inflation data for August and investors adopting caution after recent gains amid weak global cues.

After opening weaker, the BSE benchmark index witnessed choppy trade for most of the session. It touched the day’s high of 18,580.48 but failed to sustain gains with TCS, RIL and ICICI Bank falling in 1-3 percent range.

There was, however, good buying support in Bhel, SBI and Gail that rose in 3-5.5 percent range with PSU shares among the best performers today.

Banks not passing benefits of rate cut to borrowers: RBI

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Banks are not passing on the benefit of cut in policy rates to the borrowers, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty said on Tuesday while asking lenders to undertake reforms and bring down their operation costs.

“Within the interest rate structure, if banks increase their efficiency, interest rates will come down. What we call operational efficiency of the banks and that is one thing that should happen”, he said, while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

FM asks public sector banks to help SMEs tap market

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Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday asked public sector banks and rating agencies to handhold small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to enable them tap the capital market for raising funds.

He was speaking after launching the dedicated SME platform ‘Emerge’ of National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Currently seven companies are listed on the SME platform of BSE and one company (Thejo Engineering) got listed on NSE platform today.

Champions League: Chelsea vs Juventus – Preview

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Four months after winning the Champions League title, Chelsea will start afresh their defence when they take on Italian champions Juventus in a Group E encounter at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Despite the fact that Juventus are making their first appearance in the competition in three years, Roberto Di Matteo`s side should not take things lightly if they were to advance in the competition.

In Group H, Manchester United will also be seen in action on Wednesday against Galatasaray, who famously knocked them out of the competition in 1993.

ICC T20 World Cup 2012 kicks off today

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The high-profile ICC World Twenty20 gets underway on Tuesday with no clear favourites but inaugural champions India will fancy their chances on the slow familiar tracks of the island nation where they have played a lot of cricket in recent times.

Read Team Previews here: : INDIA » | PAKISTAN»| ENGLAND»| SRI LANKA»| WEST INDIES»| ZIMBABWE »| BANGALDESH»| SOUTH AFRICA»| NEW ZEALAND»| IRELAND»| AFGHANISTAN»

Now, get insured against social media hacking

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You may soon insure your Facebook and Twitter accounts against the nuisance of hacking as a UK-based company has launched the country’s first social media insurance.

The information privacy company is offering services to specifically protect against reputational damage, account jacking and ID theft.

Hacking of users accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites are quite common, where another user logs in and posts derogatory or offensive messages, and can cause huge damage to an individual or business’s image.

AITA used Paes to target me: Mahesh Bhupathi

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Indian tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi slammed All India Tennis Association for banning the player for two years from representing the country.

In response to AITA’s ban, Bhupathi accused Anil Khanna of misusing the power and carrying out personal vendetta against him and Rohan Bopanna. Bhupathi blamed AITA president of taking advantage of the rift between him and Leander Paes. “Anil Khanna used Paes’ shoulder to fire gun at me. He always enjoyed Paes-Bhupathi rift,” he told the media on Tuesday.

Russia launches European satellite

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Russia Monday launched a European weather satellite from its Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said.

A Russian Soyuz-2.1 rocket carried the MetOp-B satellite into space around 8 pm, RIA Novosti reported.

The 4,100 kg satellite is manufactured by Astrium to provide weather data, and is designed to operate in orbit for five years.

IANS

Warming casts shadow over survival of coral reefs

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Unless greenhouse gas emissions are curtailed, there is little hope for the survival of coral reefs, supporting a diversity of life forms, warns a new study.

Coral reefs are home to almost a quarter of the species in the oceans and provide critical services – including coastal protection, tourism and fishing – to millions of people world-wide.

Global warming and ocean acidification, both driven by human-caused CO2 emissions, pose a major threat to these ecosystems, the journal Nature Climate Change reports.

Akshay Kumar loves action hero tag more

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Bollywood`s ‘Khiladi’ Akshay Kumar loves action and comedy, but says he prefers being tagged as an action hero.

“I think I have very much enjoyed both the tags. I`ve got both the tags all the time, but somewhere in my heart, I love the action one more,” the 45-year-old said here Monday on the sets of TV show ‘Comedy Circus’.

Some of Akshay`s comedy films include ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Awara Paagal Deewana’, ‘Garam Masala’, ‘Heyy Babyy’ and ‘Housefull’.

Akshay says it`s tough to make people laugh.

Salman Khan: I don`t recommend anyone for `Bigg Boss`

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Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who will be hosting Color`s show ‘Bigg Boss’ for the third time now, says that he doesn`t have any hand in selecting the contestants for the show.

“I don`t want to recommend anyone as I don`t want to be partial or biased. I also get to know at the last minute,” he said at a press conference here Sunday.

This will be the sixth season of the show and will be aired at 9 pm daily on the channel from Oct 7. The show has added many new elements to the format like a pet parrot and a fish. Also, common people will also get to be a part of the show.

50% youngsters concerned about unflattering Facebook pics

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More than half of youngsters say that friends seeing unflattering pictures of them on Facebook is one of the biggest concerns in their life, a new study has found.

According to the study, four in ten youngsters worry about friends putting uncomplimentary photos of them on the site, with women concerned about it more often than men.

The figures were revealed by a survey for a shopping site in UK. Its co-founder, Duncan Jennings, dubbed the trend “virtual vanity”, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.

India plans fastest supercomputer by 2017

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The government has drawn a blueprint for developing the next generation of supercomputers that could be 61 times faster than existing machines.

Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal is understood to have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sharing the roadmap to develop “petaflop and exaflop range of supercomputers” at an estimated cost of Rs 4,700 crore over 5 years.