Month: September 2009

New Delhi, September 01: Skoda Auto India Tuesday reported sales of 1,463 units in August as against 1,103 units in the like month last year, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 33 percent.

According to the company, its Skoda Octavia and the New Skoda Laura proved to be the hottest selling cars in the high-end C+ segment with sales figure of 627 units in August 2009.

The C+ segment in India comprises cars such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Altis, Chevrolet Optra, Volkswagen Jetta and Mitsubishi Cedia, apart from Skoda Octavia and Skoda Laura.

Washington, September 01: Exposure to carbon monoxide (CO), even well below permissible national limits, may hasten hospitalisation of elderly cardiac patients, according to a new study in the US.

The nationwide study of 126 urban communities found that an increase in CO of one part per million (PPM) in the maximum daily hour-long exposure is linked with a 0.96 percent hike in hospitalisation risk from cardiovascular disease among people over 65 year.

Ciudad Juarez (Mexico), September 01: Four men suspected of committing 211 murders in northern Mexico have been arrested, authorities said.

The killings occurred in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico’s most violent city, where the Juarez and Sinaloa drug cartels have been waging a turf war.

Cristian Enrique Franco Franco, 22, charged with killing 16 people, Edgar Flores Martinez, 30, who faces 87 murder counts, and Omar Castro Rivera, 28, who is suspected of killing 93 people, were arrested by the security forces.

San Francisco, September 01: The man accused of abducting and sexually abusing Jaycee Lee Dugard testified during a previous kidnapping and rape case that he prowled through residential neighborhoods as a Peeping Tom and had strong rape desires.

During his 1977 kidnapping trial, Phillip Garrido also said he leered at girls as young as seven and 10, and he admitted to exposing himself to some of them.

London, September 01: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is to launch a baton relay – one of the longest in history – in the presence of President Pratibha Patil to lift the curtain on the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, organisers said Tuesday.

The Queen’s Baton Relay, a traditional event that has launched every Commonwealth Game since 1958, will be held Oct 29 at Buckingham Palace in London.

Beijing, September 01: China Tuesday urged the Myanmar junta to restore “order and stability” at their border following unrest that triggered mass exodus of Myanmarese into the Communist country.

“Safeguarding the stability of the China-Myanmar border is in line with the vital interests of both governments,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

Taipei, September 01: Four members of former Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian’s family were sentenced on corruption charges Tuesday but Chen himself is not scheduled to be sentenced until next week.

The Taipei district court sentenced ex-first lady Wu Shu-chen to one year in prison and the other three family members were given reduced sentences because they admitted their wrongdoing.

New Delhi, September 01: An Australian university Tuesday joined hands with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here to train elementary teachers in rural India and to help the country attain universal primary education.

The teachers training programe will be conducted through IGNOU centres across the country, authorities of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) said.

London, September 01: Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage’s famous Bel Air property in Los Angeles has been purchased by fashion designer Christian Audigier.

Cage’s mansion has been in the market for sale since 2007. The actor slashed the asking price by half early this year in a bid to offload the property, reported contactmusic.com.

It is not known exactly what Audigier paid for the house.

“I believe it was a one-to-one deal. Christian knows Nicolas and they did the deal between themselves,” said a source.