The World News

Tamil Super star Suriya: 7am Arivu

2011-09-26T07:32:00.003-07:00

The Tamil super hero Suriya (born 23 July 1975 as Saravanan Sivakumar) is an Indian film actor. The actor starred in Tamil films, such as Nandha (2001), Kaakha Kaakha (2003), Pithamagan (2003), Perazhagan (2004), Ghajini (2005), Vel (2007), Vaaranam Aayiram (2008), Ayan (2009) and Singam (2010).

Suriya made his Bollywood appearance in Ram Gopal Varma's Rakht Charitra (2010). As of 2010, he has won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards. He established himself as one of the leading contemporary actors in the Tamil film industry.

ringling bros and barnum and bailey circus tickets

Suriya the also performed in the 1997 film Nerrukku Ner directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam.[6] In 2001, he starred in Siddique's comedy film Friends.

His major break came in the form of Nandha, which was directed by Bala. Playing the role of an ex-convict who is very attached to his mother, he received a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.[7] His next venture was Vikraman's Unnai Ninaithu, which was followed by Mounam Pesiyadhe directed by Ameer Sultan.

7Tamil star Surya Sivakumar, who is known to show greater variety in his films, is coming up with a science fiction thriller ‘7th Sense’ this time. For this, he had teamed up with highly acclaimed director AR Murugadoss, who earlier made the blockbuster ‘Ghajini’ with him.

south pacific tickets

In ‘Seventh Sense’, Surya has reportedly played three characters - a circus artist, a scientist and a Buddhist monk.

garrison keillor tickets

Ticketamerica.com has concert and theatre tickets for Garrison Keillor Tickets and South Pacific theater seats as well as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus tickets for all ages.

Mona ka swayamvar

2011-07-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega is preparing for Mona Singh's vivah on the show. The judges have always tried matching her kundali with the contestants of the show but Mona is still single. Hence the show has now gone a step ahead and brought in five TV celebrities to play the role prospective grooms. Out of the five dulhas on the show four are married namely Gurmeet Choudhary, Sharad Kelkar, Angad Hasija and Ali Asgar. Only Harshad Chopda is the unmarried one who will participate in the show but Mona has selected the much-married Ali Asgar as the groom.

A source says, "The promos related to Mona's vivah are already on air and to win her heart the actors will have to entertain the audience. Hence each actor will perform on the show and Gurmeet will emerge as the best performer of the day. And it doesn't end here. Actors will also have to answer questions thrown at them by Anu Malik and Farah Khan."

As reported earlier Harshad Chopda danced on a medley of SRK's songs and Gurmeet performed some martial arts and fire stunts. However talking about the performances of the other actors the source said, "Sharad Kelkar also did a fire stunt and the actor trained himself for the act. Angad Hasija performed the tandav nritya and Ali Asgar performed an act where he started off as a Bengali guy and finished as a roadside Romeo. Mona liked Ali's act so much that she agreed to be with him."

Ali confirmed, "I feel very fortunate that she selected me. Apart from that it was fun shooting for Entertainment and being with all the other actors on the show."

Test Drive : BMW 330i - Temptation on Wheels

2011-07-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Anamit Sen spent a whole day evaluating a BMW 330i in and around Delhi and the NCR. I'm starting this review with a bit of news. Auto Bild magazine in Germany has just reported that the 2012 version of BMW's 3 Series, which will be the 6th generation of the 3 Series, is ready to be showcased at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year. The reports say that this new BMW, classified internally as the F30 and going up against the Mercedes C Class, Audi's A4 and Volvo's S60, has borrowed quite a bit in terms of design from the 5 Series. It will break new ground in terms of safety and will have new four-cylinder turbocharged engines. The reports also says that though BMW may not be vorsprung durch technik (borrowing from Audi) or advanced/ahead through technology any more because competitors also have the equivalent of the advantages of Efficient Dynamics, the boffins DO have access to the parts and accessory shelf of the 5 Series. Which means it is quite possible that the F30 may offer features like night vision assistance, heads up display or HUD, lane changing assistance as well as automatic parking.

So how is that bit of news relevant to this driving impression? Well, if you have not noticed yet the car featured here is the BMW 330i Edition Sport, internally classified as the E90. OK, let me explain the internal classification over the years, which starts way back in 1966 when the 1600-2002 series came in as a family saloon. It was sporty too with an 80bhp engine that could reach 96kph in 13 seconds. The 2002 Turbo was part of the 02 Series, with a 170bhp engine and BMW churned these out till 1976. The internal E classification kicked off with the E21 ,the first generation of 3 Series cars, production of which ran from 1976 to 1982. These cars still used small engines, with capacities of 1.6 and 1.8 litres. BMW introduced their first six-cylinder engine in the 3 Series at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1977, the 323i which had 143bhp on tap.

The E30 that followed in 1983 was the second-generation 3 Series. These cars were bigger than the previous generation cars, had more power, but were lighter, the perfect recipe for performance. The 325i topped the range and had a straight-six engine developing 170bhp out of 2.5litres, good for 135mph or 216kph which would be adequate even today. The E30 was especially notable because it was the base for the first M car, known simply as the BMW M3 E30, launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1985. This particular car was VERY successful in race trim, winning several touring car championships. The M badge had arrived.

Giant UFO Crash With Aliens in India Report April Fool’s Day Hoax?

2011-04-01T01:51:00.000-07:00

We came across an online news report from the Chandigarh Tribune in India dated March 31. The headline:

‘UFO crashlands in fields near city’

We’ve been unable to find any other reports on this UFO story but, and this is a BIG BUT, the news source, the Chandigarh Tribune, seems to be a legitimate news source ranked 18, 292 on Alexa. According to the report, a giant UFO, an ‘unidentified flying object said to be carrying “aliens” crash landed near Zirakpur in the early hours of Friday morning’. Zirakpur is a satellite town of Chandigarh (Pop. 10 million) located in the Mohali district of Punjab which would make the UFO story, a ‘local’ news report from the Tribune. According to the report, the UFO–an elliptical object the size of ‘five cargo ships’ crash landed ‘with a thud’ in a field. Punjab police have cordoned off the site with NASA officials ‘on their way’ to investigate the crash. Also headed to the alleged UFO crash:

‘Experts from the department of space and the Atomic Energy Commission, sleuths from the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and crack commandos of the army’s special forces are believed to be on their way to the site.’

When researching this report we discovered something we believe is interesting, the lack of UFO reports from India with a population of 1.2 billion people. We discovered a report which claimed there’s secret UFO bases on the border of China and India which both the China and India governments ‘hide’. (More on the alleged UFO bases later.)

Below, the giant UFO report which we took a screenshot in case it ‘vanishes’ from the web.

The TribuneinIndia.com:

    Chandigarh, March 31

    In a startling development an unidentified flying object said to be carrying “aliens” crash landed near Zirakpur in the early hours of Friday morning. Estimated to be the size of five cargo ships, this elliptical object that emitted an “intense white light encircled the fields before it went down with a thud. No one is believed to have been killed or injured and the area has been cordoned off by a large contingent of the Punjab police that has been rushed to the site.

    Right after the crash, radio signals were severely disrupted with cellphones going off the air for several minutes. Experts from the department of space and the Atomic Energy Commission, sleuths from the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and crack commandos of the army’s special forces are believed to be on their way to the site.

    Top government officials said the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), the US space agency, had been informed and senior scientists were expected to arrive at the scene soon.

    The Bureau of Paranormal Research & Extra Terrestrial Activities in Denver, Colorado immediately released reports of some “alien spacecraft” signals being detected in the area of the Indian subcontinent. A bureau team is expected to arrive in the city in a special jet on Thursday.

    First reports received from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said the recent Supermoon activity could be the reason behind “pushing” the UFO towards the earth. “The moon’s gravitational pull, which was the biggest in nearly two decades only last week, is likely to have waylaid the spacecraft,” said T Rangarajan, who heads ISRO’s special projects cell.

    Noted scientist Yash Pal said the UFO could probably be a “reconnaissance ship” and that there could be more such UFOs on the way. “The size of the ship that crashed in Punjab is small. It means it’s an offshoot vehicle. The mother ship could be nearby,” he warned.

    However, Pal did not comment when asked whether the world should be bracing itself for the kind of “alien invasion” that was portrayed in the Hollywood film ‘Independence Day’.

    A defence ministry official said: “We don’t have any expertise or role in respect to UFOs. Neither are we aware of the existence of extraterrestrial life forms”. The Indian Air Force, which has specialized electronic intelligence aircraft, declined to comment.

    The sighting of the UFO was confirmed by a farmer who, along with his son, saw a “very luminous” object in the sky nearly an hour after midnight. Daljit Singh, 45, and his son Maninder, 17, who have been living in Zirakpur for the past 15 years, said their first reaction was that it was a “shooting star”.

    “Maninder saw it first and even tried to snap it on his mobile,” says Daljit, claiming there were two distinct “lights” and, as they moved in the northwest direction, one of them got “extinguished on its own”. Some scholars are relating it to the 2012 phenomenon that comprises a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic events will occur on December 21, 2012, which will mark the end of the world. Scenarios posited for the end of the world include the earth’s collision with a passing planet or an invasion by aliens.

Sourav has no political association: EC

2011-04-01T01:43:00.000-07:00

Rejecting Trinamool Congress' view, the Election Commission on Thursday said it did no wrong in selecting Sourav Ganguly as its brand ambassador for the West Bengal polls and there was no evidence of the former Team India captain's participation in any political campaign.

"We have examined the question of Ganguly as a brand ambassador and ascertained that there is no such evidence of the former Team India's affiliation to CPM as claimed by Trinamool," state deputy Chief Electoral Office Dibyendu Sarkar told reporters here.

On Trinamool Congress submitting a CD to the EC on its allegation, Sarkar said, "The video CD was examined and we didn't find any evidence of participation of Ganguly in any political campaign."

Besides submitting the CD, Trinamool Congress had claimed that Ganguly could not be the EC brand ambassador as he had worked as the brand ambassador of several departments including the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) of the Left Front government in the state.

The CD showed footage of a press briefing by a state minister and news coverage in one of the Bengali television channels.

An EC press release said that Ganguly expressed concern at having his good office being dragged into controversy.

He strongly denied any involvement with any single political party and stated in unequivocal terms that whatever he did was done as a cricketer and in furtherance of the cause of the game, it said.

"The entire complaint along with the CD has been sent to the Election Commission of India and they will take the final decision," Sarkar said.

Ganguly and percussionist Bikram Ghosh were selected by EC which produced an audio-visual for telecast on major channels to create interest among the people to vote. The controversy arose when Urban Development MinisterAshok Bhattacharya, belonging to CPM, claimed Ganguly would campaign for him in the elections.

Meanwhile, CPM state secretariat member Shyamal Chakraborty told reporters, "We do not want to enter into this controversy. It is for the Election Commission to decide."

He said, "Sourav is regarded as a cricket icon not only in West Bengal, but in the entire country. He is also an icon for the youth in West Bengal and elsewhere in the country."

Top Indian scientist calls for nuclear moratorium

2011-04-01T01:40:00.000-07:00

A top Indian scientist and government advisor has called for a moratorium on all future nuclear projects following the nuclear crisis in tsunami-hit Japan.

In an open letter, extracts of which were published in the media Friday, P. Balaram, director of the Indian Institute of Science and part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's scientific advisory council, described the events in Japan as "a wake-up call" for India.

"We strongly believe that India must radically review its nuclear power policy," Balaram said in the letter, which was signed by 50 prominent figures.

"Pending the review, there should be a moratorium on all further nuclear activity, and revocation of recent clearances for nuclear projects," he said.

Fuel-hungry India has pushed ahead with its nuclear energy plans since 2008 when then-US president George W. Bush signed into law a nuclear deal that ended a three-decade ban on US nuclear trade with India.

Since then, France, Russia and private US and Japanese firms have been locked in fierce competition to sell new reactors to India.

Balaram's call marked the first direct appeal from within government circles for a nuclear moratorium.

The letter said the Department of Atomic Energy had "cavalierly minimised (the possibility of an accident)... and declared that Indian

reactors cannot undergo serious accidents."

The Japanese crisis showed, it argued, "that even in an industrially advanced country, nuclear reactors were vulnerable to catastrophes, in spite of precautions and safety measures."

Other signatories included former Atomic Energy Regulatory Board chairman A. Gopalakrishnan, former chief of naval staff L. Ramdas, former power secretary E.A.S. Sharma and former UN ambassador Nirupam Sen.

The letter urged the government to conduct an independent and transparent safety audit of its nuclear facilities.

"In the light of what has happened in Japan. I believe completely transparent safety audits are required for all nuclear projects," Balaram told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

The Japanese crisis has fuelled opposition to construction of what would be one of the world's largest nuclear plants in a seismically-sensitive region of Maharashtra state, with six reactors providing 9,600 megawatts of power.

French company Areva has signed a 9.3-billion-dollar framework deal to supply the first two of Jaitapur's third-generation pressurised water reactors, with the plant scheduled to begin producing power in 2018.

India's prime minister has promised that the safety of all the country's nuclear power plants would be checked to ensure their capacity to withstand a major natural disaster.

India is one of the world's biggest markets for nuclear technology, with plans to reach an atomic power capacity of 63,000 megawatts by 2032, from the current level of 4,560 megawatts.

Last month, India's atomic energy regulator Srikumar Banerjee said driving or walking on the notoriously dangerous streets of New Delhi posed more of a risk than the country's 20 nuclear reactors.

Exiled Tibetans elect new leader

2011-03-20T00:31:00.000-07:00

Do you wanna dance

Dalai Lama

Thousands of Tibetans worldwide vote Sunday for a new leader who hopes eventually to become the new face of the struggle for freedom in China, a cause embodied for decades by the Dalai Lama.

The famous and celebrated monk, now 75, announced 10 days ago that he wanted to retire as political head of his exiled government and hand power to an elected leader who could continue the fight after his death.

Amid great anxiety about the change -- the Dalai Lama however remains the more important spiritual head -- the 85,000-strong exiled Tibetan electorate will choose a new prime minister, known as the Kalon Tripa.

The front-runner is a 43-year-old Harvard scholar and international law expert, Lobsang Sangay, who was born in a tea-growing area of northeast India and has never visited his homeland.

"Elections are always important, but this time it coincides with the transition," the present prime minister Samdhong Rinpoche, an elderly monk elected in 2001, told AFP last week.

"The new incumbent will have much more responsibility."

The Dalai Lama's role as head of the government in exile is mostly ceremonial, but under his plans he would no longer sign resolutions, swear in the cabinet or attend parliament.

The exact details of the transfer of power are yet to be worked out -- the parliament-in-exile still hopes to block the change -- but the Dalai Lama is adamant that the movement must be fully democratic to prepare for the future.

"Rule by spiritual leaders or by kings, these are now out of date," he told AFP last week during an interview in his home in exile in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas.

At present, the Nobel laureate is both the spiritual leader of Tibet and the political head of the government-in-exile, which he founded after fleeing his homeland in 1959 amid a rebellion against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama institution has existed largely unchanged for 400 years.

Sangay is the clear favourite in Sunday's contest between three secular candidates, having triumphed in a first round of the election last year with nearly 50 percent of the votes.

"People see in me someone who is rooted in tradition but is also modern," he told AFP last Friday.

Final results will be known sometime at the end of April once the votes are collated from polling stations in 13 different countries where Tibetan exiles are found. Preliminary figures are expected to emerge in the next few weeks.

The move by the Dalai Lama to relinquish power is seen by observers as a risky but necessary step to prepare for a future without his charismatic leadership, which has kept the cause alive for the last 50 years.

It is unclear, however, whether the new leader will have the power or influence to advance the cause, which under the Dalai Lama's policy seeks "meaningful autonomy" for Tibetans in China and not independence.

Despite 50 years of lobbying, the Dalai Lama himself has little to show for his efforts. Beijing continues to brand him a "splittist" and subjects him to virulent attacks in public.

An uprising by Tibetans in 2008 was brutally suppressed.

The new prime minister, unlike the Dalai Lama, will have difficulty enlisting Western support for the Tibetan cause.

The government-in-exile is not recognised by any country and US President Barack Obama, for example, would be unlikely to risk China's wrath by meeting whoever wins on Sunday.

The victor's legitimacy might also be in question among Tibetans in Tibet, who will not take part in the election. Their loyalty remains with the Dalai Lama, who must convince them to accept his transfer of power.

Sangay faces competition from two older candidates, Tenzin Tethong and Tashi Wangdi, who both have a long track record in government in the Tibetan adminstration in Dharamshala.

The election will face severe difficulties in Nepal, where 20,000 of the estimated 150,000 exiled Tibetans live. Under Chinese pressure, authorities in Kathmandu are expected to stop what they see as an unlawful vote.

Talwar’s relieved from SC, asked to deposit Passports

2011-03-20T00:26:00.000-07:00

Arushi Murder Case

The High Court had said it cannot prohibit the magistrate from taking cognizance of a case if, prima facie, it appears as if there is sufficient evidence against a person.

Justice Bala Krishna Narayana of the Allahabad High Court dismissed the criminal revision petition of Nupur against the CBI court proceedings, stating that the petition has “failed to provide any valid reason warranting the court’s intervention at this stage”.

The High Court had asked Nupur, who submitted that she had been summoned despite never having been called for interrogation or having been named as an accused in the CBI’s closure report, to appear before the trial court within two weeks.

Another petition filed by Rajesh Talwar, challenging the bailable warrants issued by the Ghaziabad court on February 28, was dismissed by another Bench.

On February 9, the Ghaziabad court had issued bailable warrants against the couple for failing to appear before the court, and decided to initiate proceedings against them.

After rejecting the closure report of the CBI, which it treated as a chargesheet, it had named Nupur and Rajesh as the accused in the case.

Tripura Fir Kills Around 21 People

2011-03-20T00:22:00.000-07:00

Tripura Fire

Atleast 21 inmates of Mizoram Reang refugee camp in north Tripura district were killed in a devastating fire on Saturday. The death toll could be more as search is underway in the debris at Naishingpara camp in Kanchanpur subdivision, 170km northeast of here.

The flames completely gutted the camp, one of six in the area, in the incident around 11.15am.

The incident that left some one hundred people injured occurred amidst repatriation of the Reangs or Bru refugees in phases to Mizoram.

Deputy inspector general of police (Operation) Nepal Das said the casualties include men, women and children. He could not say immediately say exact cause behind the inferno that destroyed about one thousand huts.

"We are also not sure about source of fire, but it could be from a kitchen", refugee leader Suibanga Bru told newsmen over phone.

Eyewitnesses said the fire immediately gripped the bamboo and plastic shelters mainly due to the dry spell.

16 refugees died on the spot and five succumbed in or on way to the hospitals, a senior north district official said.

The injured have been admitted in five different hospitals in north Tripura district and some who have been critically injured are being sent to Agartala by helicopter for treatment at the G B Pant hospital.

Fire fighting teams could not do much due to shortage of water and equipments.

All senior civil and police officers as well as leaders of the apex body of the evacuees are camping in Naishingpara.

North Tripura district magistrate Soumya Gupta and district superintendent of police are supervising rescue and relief operations.

Naishingpara alone accommodates 14,528 of 34,000 refugees from northeast India's most primitive tribe.

They left Mizoram state in October 1997 to escape large scale ethnic violence and alleged persecution by the majority Mizos.

After years of efforts, negotiations and interventions at different level the Mizoram government conceded to arrange return of the evacuees in December last, but the repatriation has been extremely slow as Mizoram authorities despite objections are carrying out complicated verification process to ascertain citizenship status of the refugee families.

Last year on March 15, about 1800 people became homeless after fire razed entire Reang refugee camp at Hamshapara, near Naishingpara.

Latest reports said forensic experts have reached the spot to investigate certain aspects including a possible conspiracy angle at Naishingpara.

Officials said the homeless people have been given shelter in school and government office building in close by areas.

Tata cars ready to hike car prices by Rs.7, 000-36,000

2011-03-20T00:17:00.000-07:00

Tata Cars

Tata Motors on Friday said it will increase prices of its passenger vehicles with effect from April 1, to ease out rising input costs. The price increase will range from R7,000 to R36,000, depending upon models.

Even other automakers said they are closely monitoring the situation for a possible price hike next month.

In the passenger cars segment, depending upon the model, Tata Motors' Indica prices will go up by R7,000 to R9,000, Vista and Indigo CS by R8,000 to R11,000 and Manza by R10,000 to R15,000.

In the utility vehicles segment, depending upon the model, Sumo prices will go up R13,000 to R15,000, Grande by R16,000 to R19,000, Safari by R18,000 to R29,000, Aria by R30,000 to R36,000 and Venture by R9,000 to R12,000. The Nano is excluded from a price hike.

Jnaneswar Sen, vice-president, marketing, Honda Siel Cars India, said, “We will be undertaking a price hike from April 1 on all our models except Accord. But we have not decided the quantum of the increase in prices.”

Commodity prices make up to 80% of the total cost of an automobile manufacturer, with steel being the largest contributor. There has been a 30% increase in steel prices over the last one year, while rubber has gone up by more than 60%.

“The margins of auto makers have already taken a betting in the last quarter due to the high input costs and they will look at passing on the burden to customers with price increase,” said an auto analyst in Mumbai.

“Commodity prices make 80% of any auto makers' cost and any adverse movement in them would increase presssure on us to raise prices. Input costs have been going up significantly and we are monitoring the situation closely.”

“We do not take any price hike till we can absorb the pressure. We raised prices by 0-2%, depending upon the model, in mid-January, and for now we have not taken a decision yet,” said Shashank Srivastava, chief general manger marketing, Maruti Suzuki India.

Reliance Ind tumbles 3.7 per cent on reports of output fall news

2011-03-20T00:13:00.000-07:00

Reliance Industries

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) saw its scrip fall 3.71 per cent on the BSE and by 3.92 per cent on the NSE, after news agency reports on Friday morning about lower gas production from its Krishna-Godavari basin fields.

The reports said production of gas at the D-6 block would decrease by 13 per cent and that the company hoped that UK's BP would help fix it. BP, last month, bought 30 per cent stake in RIL's exploration business for $ 7.2 billion (Rs32,400 crore).

After the trading hours, Reliance, however, clarified that the projected 38 mmscmd production figures are "purely provisional and indicative and are subject to such variations as may emerge during the actual operations in the future years."

"These variations can be on account of physical inputs, work programme as well as geological and reservoir complexity," it said in a filing with the stock exchanges.

The total volume of RIL stock traded on both bourses was 1.1 crore with the bulk of the trades happening at the NSE (9.26 million).

Nifty closes below 5450; Maruti, HDFC, DLF slips

2011-03-20T00:09:00.000-07:00

Bombay Stock Exchnage

Markets ended in the negative territory as concerns of rising crude oil prices and expectations of more rate hikes kept the bulls under check. FMCG, IT and auto stocks were led the decline while power space ended marginally higher.

Indices opened with a gap-down mirroring losses in the Asian region, worries of high crude oil prices due to tension in the middle-east also weighed sentiments. The Reserve Bank of India's move to hike repo rate, reverse repo rate by 25 bps and keep the CRR unchanged was in line with market expectations.

"Indeed, with inflation for the month of February coming in as a rude shock to the market (the reading came in at 8.3% against expectations of 7.8% and on top of an upwardly revised estimate of 9.4% for December) at the start of the week, this is the very least the central bank could have done to assuage concerns on price pressures.

Expectations of a moderation in inflation in H1FY12 that the central bank had alluded to in its last policy statement in January are conspicuous by their absence. This along with the upward revision of the March estimate means that not only is the rate hiking cycle in FY12 now likely to be more extended than initially anticipated but is also likely to be far more front-loaded.

We expect inflation to print in at 8.1% in March, 2011 and move higher close to 9% by August, 2011. We see the RBI hiking its repo and reverse repo by another 25 bps in its Annual review in May and this is likely to be followed by 50-75 bps of rate increases through the fiscal year," said Abheek Barua, Chief Economist, HDFC Bank.

On the other hand, tension of public unrest in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain is keeping the oil prices higher.

Crude oil prices spiked by more than $2 per barrel and Brent crude for May contract was at $112.73.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 18149.87, down 208.82 points or 1.14 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 18104.02 and high of 18354.27 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 5446.65, down 64.50 points or 1.17 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5435.30 and high of 5510.05 in today's trade.

BSE Midcap Index was down 0.29 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.38 per cent lower.

BSE FMCG Index was down 1.54 per cent, BSE IT Index fell 1.50 per cent and BSE Auto Index was down 1.27 per cent. BSE Power Index was up 0.22 per cent.

Maruti (-4.53%), HDFC (-3.42%), Hindalco (-2.17%), DLF (-2.16%) and Infosys Technologies (-1.70%) were the top Sensex losers.

Reliance Communications (3.20%), BHEL (2.16%), Ambuja Cement (1.73%), Cairn India (1.55%) and Reliance Capital (1.36%) were the top gainers.

Market breadth was negative on the NSE with 1645 declines against 1206 gainers.

Meanwhile, the European markets were in the positive terrain and the Wall Street stock futures indicated a similar opening. At 5:15 pm IST, Dow Jones futures was up 0.47 per cent, S&P 500 gained 0.71 per cent and Nasdaq moved 0.48 per cent higher.

Japan Earthquake: 8000 dead and 12,000 still missing

2011-03-20T00:05:00.000-07:00

Japan earthquake 2011

Japan’s police agency says more than 8,000 people are dead and more than 12,000 are listed as missing after last week’s earthquake and tsunami.

A week after the disasters devastated the northeast coast, the National Police Agency said Sunday that the number of bodies collected so far stood at 8,133, while 12,272 people were listed as missing.

The toll has been steadily rising as searchers find bodies in the wasteland left behind by the 9.0-magnitude quake and the massive tsunami it unleashed.

At the same time, the number of missing has risen as survivors and relatives come to terms with the twin disasters and contact police regarding loved ones who remain unaccounted for.

The two lists may overlap. Many of the bodies collected so far have not yet been identified, police say.

So it is possible many of the unidentified bodies will match names on the missing list once their identities are confirmed.

Libyan PM sounded desperate after UN resolution: Ban

2011-03-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Libya

UN chief Ban Ki-moon told a meeting of top world officials on Libya that the country's prime minister had assured him of compliance with a ceasefire and had sounded "rather desperate" to prevent international military action.

At the meeting in Paris to plan action against Libya, Secretary General Ban said that after the Security Council authorised use of force in the country, Libya's Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi had assured compliance with a ceasefire.

The Security Council resolution, adopted on Thursday, called for an immediate ceasefire and authorised "all necessary measures" for protecting civilians in Libya from Col Mummar Gaddafi's forces.

"He asked me to intervene to stop military action on the part of the international community," Ban said in the meeting attended by the leaders of the US, UK, France and Arab countries.

"Frankly he sounded rather desperate," he added.

The UN chief further said that the prime minister called for organising and monitoring team to observe the ceasefire, and that the Libyans were "trying hard to ward off military action".

India, China, Russia, Brazil and Germany abstained from voting on the resolution, which was co-authored by Britain and France.

The meeting in Paris authorised immediate military action against Libya's forces and French jets swooped over the eastern city of Benghazi.

French fighter jets opened fire on targets in Libya and Al Jazeera reported that four tanks belonging to Gaddafi's forces had been hit.

Gaddafi's forces had reportedly violated the ceasefire by attacking the eastern city of Benghazi.

In Paris, Ban called for "complete dismantling of their military deployments of both armed forces as well as heavy weaponry around the major cities of Libya".

Ban also repeated his call for accountability.

"Many of the acts we are witnessing appear to constitute crimes against humanity, punishable under international law," he said.

After the meeting, the gathering of leaders in Paris issued a statement saying that they were "determined to act collectively and resolutely to give full effect to these decisions".

"This situation is intolerable," the statement said.

"Our commitment is for the long term; we will not let Colonel Gaddafi and his regimes go on defying the will of the international community and scorning that of his people," it added.

U.S. ambassador to Mexico resigns after public spat

2011-03-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

The U.S. ambassador to Mexico has resigned after a public dispute with President Felipe Calderon over the handling of the war against Mexico's powerful drug gangs.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday that she and President Barack Obama had accepted Ambassador Carlos Pascual's resignation "with great reluctance."

The announcement came as a surprise just as Obama began a five-day trip to Latin America, where he is visiting El Salvador, Brazil and Chile, to shore up ties with the region.

The United States and Mexico have long lauded their close economic ties and cooperation on security issues, with more than $1 billion in U.S. aid being funneled to Mexican forces to battle the drug cartels.

But a diplomatic fight erupted after State Department documents published by WikiLeaks showed Pascual criticizing Mexican authorities' lack of coordination in operations targeting cartel leaders.

Calderon lashed out in an unusually critical newspaper interview on February 22, saying Pascual had shown "ignorance" and distorted what was happening in the country.

He also said U.S. security forces failed to coordinate their own efforts and saw each other as "rivals."

Calderon is facing increasing pressure in Mexico over his security strategy as the death toll from drug violence has climbed to more than 36,000 since he took office in late 2006.

In a visit to Washington earlier this month, Calderon reportedly requested that Pascual be removed from his post.

Pascual decided to resign "to avert issues raised by President Calderon that could distract from the important business of advancing our bilateral interests," Clinton said on Saturday.

Mexico and the United States trade more than $1 billion a day across their long border and in recent years stepped up intelligence sharing in operations to bring down major drug traffickers.

Calderon's office on Saturday said U.S.-Mexico relations remained solid despite Pascual's resignation and the two nations would continue working together to deepen their relationship "as neighbors and friends."

But the alliance has recently been soured by the public dispute between Calderon and Pascual and Washington's failure to stop weapons smuggling into Mexico.

A decision to allow unmanned surveillance drones to fly over Mexican territory has drawn criticism, with opposition politicians saying it violates Mexico's sovereignty. The killing of a U.S. immigration official in a suspected drug cartel ambush last month also raised tensions.

Pascual, a Cuban-born career diplomat with more than two decades of service, recently began dating the daughter of a senior figure inside Mexico's main opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN) is struggling in polls ahead of a presidential election next year and the relationship may have raised concerns inside his team.

A cable signed by Pascual in 2009 remarked "the PRI party is in the ascendancy," and called PAN's prospects of winning the election "bleak."

Raymond Davis' release paves way for Zardari's visit to US

2011-03-19T23:54:00.001-07:00

The resolution of the case of CIA contractor Raymond Davis has paved the way for Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to the US and both countries have started working on dates and the agenda for the trip, officials said on Friday.

The US called off a trilateral meeting with Pakistan and Afghanistan after Davis was arrested in Lahore in January for shooting and killing two men.

The development also resulted in a delay in Zardari's planned visit to the US sometime early this month.

Davis was pardoned and freed by a Pakistani court this week after the families of the two men he killed agreed to a "blood money" deal of over two million dollars under Islamic laws.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that the foreign office had begun working on Zardari's visit to the US. "However, no date has been finalised as yet," he said.

Responding to a question, Babar said: "The president's visit to the US was not postponed but rescheduled owing to the Davis issue."

Officials and leaders of the ruling Pakistan PPP said Zardari's visit would assume greater importance in the wake of the standoff over Davis.

"Both the countries are redefining their relations and it will be up to President Zardari how he pleads Pakistan's case," a PPP leader said.

The agenda of the president's visit will be finalised in consultation with the military top brass, the PPP leader said.

Leading political analyst Rasool Bakhsh Raees said the US had learnt a lesson from the issue of Davis and it should now revisit its policy of sending security contractors to other countries.

He said almost all "thorny" issues between the two sides had been addressed during the standoff over Davis.

Raees said the president's upcoming visit to the US meant relations between Pakistan and the US were back on track.

"Both countries need each other, especially for the war on terror," he added.

ARE ALL THE WORLDS VOLCANOES GOING TO ERUPT 2011

2011-03-11T01:01:00.000-08:00

Japan once again hit by huge tsunamis

2011-03-11T01:00:00.001-08:00

A 10-metre-high tsunami ploughed into the Japanese coast Friday, dashing ships into the shore, washing away houses and leaving devastation in its wake. The destructive wave, triggered by a massive 8.9-magnitude undersea quake just 130 kilometres (80 miles) off the coast, inundated large areas of far

mland in northern Japan and set off Pacific-wide warnings.

Here is a chronology of some of the major quakes and tsunamis around the world since the Asian tsunami of December 2004 which left more than 220,000 dead in what was one of the world's worst natural disasters:

-- December 26, 2004: SOUTHEAST ASIA - A 9.3-magnitude undersea quake off the coast of Sumatra island triggers a tsunami that kills 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.

-- July 17, 2006: INDONESIA - A 7.7-magnitude undersea quake strikes off Indonesia's Java island, unleashing a tsunami, killing at least 654.

-- April 2, 2007: SOLOMON ISLANDS - An 8.0-magnitude quake in the Western Solomon Islands triggers a tsunami that kills 52 people and displaces thousands.

-- September 29, 2009: SAMOA - A tsunami sparked by an 8.0-magnitude earthquake flattens villages and resorts in Samoa and the neighbouring Pacific islands of American Samoa and northern Tonga, killing more than 190 people.

-- February 27, 2010: CHILE - An 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocks Chile, killing at least 521 people and leaving 56 missing. Most of the dead are in the coastal area of Maule, 400 kilometres (250 miles) south-west of the capital Santiago.

-- October 25-26: INDONESIA - At least 112 people are killed and over 500 missing after a tsunami unleashed by a powerful 7.7 magnitude quake strikes off the island of Sumatra.

-- March 11: JAPAN - An 8.9 undersea quake triggered a powerful tsunami that smashed into northern Japan. Reports put the size of the wave at as much as 10 metres (33 feet) in the port city of Sendai.

Japan's Biggest Volcanic Eruption in Over 50 Years; Mount Kirishima Volcano

2011-03-11T00:59:00.000-08:00

Japan 8.8 earthquake and tsunami - March 11th 2011

2011-03-11T00:58:00.000-08:00

Japan hit by major eathquake today

2011-03-11T00:56:00.000-08:00

HOW TO CREATE A GOOGLE ADSENSE ACCOUNT, Start making money now! - YOUPRO...

2011-03-05T20:03:00.000-08:00

Increase Traffic to your Blog

2011-03-05T20:01:00.000-08:00

Adding a Google Gadget to your blog

2011-03-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

Union Budget 2011 highlights on Black Money in India

2011-02-28T03:11:00.001-08:00

BLACK MONEY

* Five fold strategy to be put into operation to deal with the problem of generation and circulation of black money.

* Membership of various international fora engaged in anti money laundering, Financial integrity and Economic development, Exchange of information for tax purposes and transparency, secured.

Various Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) and Double Taxation

* Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) concluded. Foreign Tax Division of CBDT has been strengthened to effectively handle increase in tax information exchange and transfer pricing issues.

* Enforcement Directorate strengthened three fold to handle increased number of cases registered under amended Money Laundering Legislation.

* Finance Ministry has commissioned study on unaccounted income and wealth held within and outside the country.

* Comprehensive national policy to be announced in near future to strengthen controls over prevention of trafficking on narcotic drugs.