Month: April 2010

Ice asteroids likely source of Earth’s water: Study

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Paris, April 29: Astronomers have for the first time detected ice and organic compounds on an asteroid, a pair of landmark studies released says.

The discovery bolsters the theory that comets and asteroids crashing into Earth nearly four billion years ago seeded the planet with water and carbon-based molecules, both essential ingredients for life.

Working separately, two teams of scientists using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii found that the 24 Themis, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, is literally covered in a thin coating of frost.

Intel: Pakistan Taliban chief now believed alive

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Islamabad, April 29: Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud is now believed to have survived a U.S. missile strike earlier this year, but has lost clout within the militant network, a senior intelligence officials said Thursday.

The revelation contradicts initial confidence among U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials that the brash militant leader had been killed in the mid-January missile attack. The Taliban consistently denied Mehsud was killed, but declined to offer evidence he lived, saying it would compromise his safety.

US oil burn begins as wind turns for the worst

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New Orleans, April 29: Crews began controlled burns of a giant oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, but a cruel wind shift raised fears the spill could hit Louisiana’s fragile shores by the weekend.

The leading edge of the crude was about 16 miles (26 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast by Wednesday evening and winds were expected to strengthen and crucially change direction on Thursday, blowing it towards the coast.

India studies yogic power for life without food

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Ahmedabad, April 29: A team of military doctors backed by India’s national defence research centre is studying an 83-year-old holy man who claims to have spent seven decades surviving without food or water.

The long-haired and bearded yogi, Prahlad Jani, has been sealed in a hospital in the western city of Ahmedabad where he is under 24-hour observation by 30 doctors and will be subjected to a series of medical tests.

T20 as important as Tests, says Clarke

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Melbourne, April 29: Australian skipper Michael Clarke has conceded that the importance of Twenty20 has become equavalent to that of Test cricket.

”It’s the same. It’s exactly the same,” Clarke said yesterday.

”For me, it’s as serious as a one-day match or a Test match. There are blokes in this squad who haven’t played Test cricket. They haven’t played one-day cricket. It’s the ultimate for them.

”It’s become exactly the same as one-day and Test cricket. It’s a form of the game that we want to be the best in the world at.

Melting icebergs causing sea level rise

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London, April 29: Scientists have discovered that ice floating in the polar oceans is melting, causing sea levels to rise. The research is the first assessment of how quickly floating ice is being lost.

According to Archimedes’ principle, any floating object displaces its own weight of fluid. For example, an ice cube in a glass of water does not cause the glass to overflow as it melts.

But because sea water is warmer and more salty than floating ice, changes in the amount of this ice are having an effect on global sea levels.

Bravia plans $40 mln investment in Spicejet – paper

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Mumbai, April 29: US investment fund Bravia Capital Partners has proposed to pump USD 40 million into India’s second largest low-fare carrier, Spicejet, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

Spicejet’s board will meet this week to discuss the proposal, the paper said quoting a person with direct knowledge of the development.

Spicejet’s chief commercial officer told the paper the company does not comment on market rumour and speculation, the report said.

Reuters could not immediately reach Spicejet officials for comment.

Tata Group in $2 bn road JV with Actis: Report

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Mumbai, April 29: Tata Group is forming a joint venture with private equity firm Actis that could invest about USD 2 billion over five years in building roads, a newspaper said on Thursday.

Unlisted Tata Realty & Infrastructure, a company set up to construct roads and highways, will own 65 percent of the joint venture TRIL Roads Pvt Ltd and Actis will own the remainder, the report said quoting Tata Realty’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Sanjay Ubale.

Female Muslim entrepreneurs on US list

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Washington, April 29: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday announced business initiatives to benefit women in Muslim countries as part of a broader drive this week to promote U.S.-Muslims economic ties.

“What we’re doing is trying to pry open those doors of opportunity for more people to walk through, more people in Muslim-majority countries and more women specifically,” Clinton told a breakfast gathering.

“Because the fact is that women still have a harder time accessing loans and equity capital investments,” Clinton said.

China yuan undervalued, but not only solution: IMF

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Shanghai, April 29: China’s yuan remains undervalued, but increased currency flexibility is just part of a range of policies needed for rebalancing in Asia, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday.

China is under increasing pressure to let its currency, also known as the renminbi, start to strengthen again after being virtually pegged to the dollar since mid-2008 as the world’s third-largest economy has sought to weather the global downturn.

Hideout busted, three militant supporters arrested

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Srinagar, April 29: A militant hideout was busted by the security forces in Ramban district and a cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from it, police said here today. In a joint operation by Rashtriya Rifle troops and police, the hideout was busted at Chaba, about 180-kms from here, in Ramban district last evening, they said.

Europe debt crisis deepens after Spain downgrade

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Athens, April 29: Europe’s debt crisis deepened after Spain was slapped with a credit downgrade and pressure mounted for urgent approval of a giant bailout for Greece that could run to 120 billion euros.

The head of the IMF warned confidence in the entire 16-nation euro area was now at stake and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said the EU “must prevent a fire” from engulfing the European and world economy.

Scientists find water ice on asteroid’s surface

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Washington, April 29: Asteroids may not be the dark, dry, lifeless chunks of rock. According to recent research, there is evidence of water ice and organic material on the asteroid 24 Themis.

The research led by Josh Emery, assistant professor with the earth and planetary sciences department at the University of Tennessee (UT), found evidence that supports the idea that asteroids could be responsible for bringing water and organic material to earth.

Barclays cuts 250 positions in India

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Mumbai, April 29: British lender Barclays has cut 250 jobs in India, while another 50 to 55 staff have been reassigned or resigned from the bank in recent weeks, a company spokesman said on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, sharpening our focus (on wealthy clients) and removing inefficiencies means that there will be some job losses,” the spokesman told a newswire in a separate e-mailed response.

The job cuts, a large number of them in the collections team, follow two rounds of layoffs at the bank last year totalling about 240 people, said the spokesman, who declined to be identified by name.

AP govt to create more jobs in IT sec; to be given eually

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Hyderabad, April 29: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah has said his government will generate more employment opportunities in the Information Technology (IT) industry and make them available to all people on equal basis.

”My aspiration is that, benefits of IT should reach the common man and economically deprived sections of the society, specially those living in the remote areas. Government is developing major cities of the state such as Warangal, Vijayawada, Vizag, Kakinada and Tirupati, to expand the reach of the IT companies to all regions of the state,” he opined.

ArcelorMittal posts $679 mn profit in Q1; expects better Q2 figures

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London, April 29: ArcelorMittal on Thursday reported a net income of USD 679 million in the first three months of this year mainly on account of improved steel demand.

In the year-ago period, the company had a net loss of USD 1.06 billion, the world’s largest steel maker ArcelorMittal said in a statement.

US to probe confession under torture

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London, April 29: A United States military court has held hearings to determine whether Guantanamo prison guards tortured a teenage Canadian suspect into confession.

A teenage Canadian citizen, Omar Khadr was captured in July 2002 after being accused of killing a US soldier in Afghanistan. He, eventually, admitted to the alleged offense.

Khadr’s lawyers insist that his confessions to interrogators were the illegal outcome of torture tactics practiced by US interrogators, Reuters reported.

2 Turkish soldiers killed in PKK clash

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Ankara, April 29: Two soldiers have been killed in fresh military operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in southeastern Turkey.

The clashes took place on Wednesday when the members of the military patrolling Semdinli district of Hakkari province came across a group of PKK members. The militants opened fire when demanded to surrender.

No casualty figures have been reported on the PKK terrorists.

US inaugurates $25 mn Peshawar Ring Road

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Washington, April 29: The United States has started a USD 25 million project to reconstruct 25 kilometres of the Peshawar Southern Ring Road to strengthen security and generate greater trade opportunities.

The project was inaugurated by the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, at a function in Peshawar early this week, the State Department said on Wednesday.

Rahman, Gulzar magic works yet again

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Mumbai, April 29: ‘Raavan’; Music Director: A.R. Rahman; Lyricist: Gulzar; Singers: Kirti Sagathia, Vijay Prakash, Karthik, Sukhwinder Singh, Rekha Bhardwaj, Javed Ali, Reena Bhardwaj, Ila Arun, Sapna Awasthi and Kunal Ganjawala; Rating:****

When the credits boast of composer A.R. Rahman, lyricist Gulzar and director Mani Ratnam, expectations are bound to be high. In ‘Raavan’, the trio has brought out a lethal combination presenting a soundtrack that is fresh, high on energy and in tune with the soul of the movie.

Iranian MP says US held in contempt

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Tehran, April 29: A senior Iranian lawmaker says the United States is held in contempt for its status as the only country to have used nuclear weapons in the past.

Chairman of Iran’s parliamentary (Majlis) Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Wednesday that Washington should apologize for its failure to abide by its obligations under international law and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

US should respect sovereign states while using drones: Experts

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Washington, April 29: With the US using drones prolifically in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen, several eminent experts have advised lawmakers against treating these nations as “combat zones” and asked them to respect the sovereign rights of states while using the unmanned weapons.

The experts said that drones, though a key tool for America’s success in its war against terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, are strictly battlefield weapons.

Dev wants Frieda as next bond girl

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London, April 29: “Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel says Frieda Pinto will be amazing as a Bond girl in the next instalment of spy thriller.

“She is stunning. There have been rumours about her being a Bond girl on the next film. I would love her to get the role, she’d be amazing,” dailystar.co.uk quoted Dev as saying.

“I’m not sure I could ever play 007 though. I’m too much of a wimp,” he added.

——-IANS

US wants to see N Korea return to six-party talks

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Washington, April 29: The Obama administration has said that it wants North Korea to return to six-party talks.

Refusing to draw conclusion on the sinking of a ship allegedly by North Korea till investigations continue, the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, PJ Crowley, on Wednesday said: “We want to see North Korea come back to the six-party process.”

Aishwarya Invites Vipul Shah To Shoot Song With Akshay In London

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Mumbai, April 29: At the moment Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is trying to cope with the most impossible schedule ever faced by an actress. She is in the US to bring in her third wedding anniversary. Then, she goes to Cannes for the film festival. In-between she must also start all the promotional work for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan.

And now with Akshay Kumar in London for 90 days to shoot for Nikhil Advani’s Patiala House, where does that leave Vipul Shah with his one remaining song to be shot for Action Replay?