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Caution about global cooling
A TOP Russian scientist has warned that the earth will experience global cooling in next 50 years which will be followed by a period of global warming in the early 22nd century “On the basis of our solar emission research, we have developed a scenario of global cooling of the earths climate by the middle of this century and the beginning of a regular 200-year-long cycle of global warming at the start of the 22nd century,” said Dr Habibullo Abdusamatov of the Russian Academy of Sciences astronomical observatory.
Source : HT
Fossils in north China may explain extinction of dinosaurs
PALAEONTOLOGISTS CLAIMED on Sunday that dinosaur fossils discovered in north China may help to explain the secrets behind the extinction of the gigantic animals. They said the fossils come from about 10 dinosaurs and have enormous scientific research value.
Source : HT
China passes bankruptcy law
Chinas parliament adopted a long-awaited corporate bankruptcy law on Sunday, aiming to protect both creditors and workers of bankrupt enterprises, Xinhua news agency reported. The bankruptcy law, which will come into effect on June 1,2007, has taken 12 years to make its way through the legislative process in the National Peoples Congress. The current rules governing bankruptcy were established 20 years ago when China had a planned economy coordinated by bureaucrats in Beijing. The new law would allow regulators to seek the bankruptcy of failed banks, insurers and securities companies, bolstering official sway over the financial sector.
Source : HT
Milwaukee named drunkest city
In the US: Milwaukee has been ranked by Forbes.com as “Americas Drunkest City” on a list of 35 major metropolitan areas ranked for their drinking habits. Forbes said it used numbers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rank cities. Minneapolis-St Paul was ranked second.
Source : Times of India
China may ban corporal punishment
China is considering a law that would stop teachers from hitting or insulting their pupils, the official New China News Agency reported. The measure would require teachers “to respect minors” and would prohibit corporal punishment, the agency said, and violators could be fired. A survey last year by an official youth committee found that more than 80% of elementary school pupils said that insults from teachers was their most serious problem.
Source : Times of India
Black students sent to back of the bus
A Louisiana school district is investigating complaints that a white school bus driver ordered nine black children to sit at the back of the bus. A practice once legally enforced in the segregated southern states of the US, the forcing of blacks to sit at the back of buses helped spark the Civil Rights movement when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat at the front of a bus in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama.
Source : Times of India
Blockbuster offer: AOL begins movie downloads
AOL said on Thursday it will offer movies from four major Hollywood studios for downloading on its new Internet video service.
AOL said that films from Twentieth Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros, will be available for download on AOL Video for $9.99 to $19.99 per movie
AOL Video started in August as a one-stop shop to search and download a wide range of video content from the Web. It said in July that the service would allow users to buy or watch for free thousands of television shows from any one of 45 video-on-demand channels, including programmes licensed from Viacom Inc., MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central networks and A&E Television Networks.
Thursdays announcement comes amid growing competition in the online video business, which includes movie download sites Cinema Now and Movie link, as well as online DVD rental company Netflix Inc. AOL Videos vicepresident Fred Mclntyre said that its strength was its search function and breadth of content. “Our focus is on providing a single source for users to be connected to all the video thats available online. I think the strength is the completeness of the experience,” he told in a phone interview.
Only 25 movie titles are available now, but the company planned to add “hundreds” in a few weeks, an AOL spokeswoman said. AOL is trying to change its business from one dependent on subscription revenues to one driven by free programming and services funded by online ads. The movies are aimed at giving another choice to consumers who prefer to pay for premium programming.
Success could also boost shares in Time Warner Inc., which have fallen 5% since the beginning of the year. Hollywood studios see digital movie downloads as a way to generate new revenue from old titles and have been investing in online distributors.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has signed deals with Cinema Now and Movie link, and its president Benjamin Feingold forecast more to come. “We think we will have at least two to three significant deals through the end of-the year,” he said.
Source : Times of India
France takes lead in sending more troops to Lebanon
France announced it was committing 1,600 more troops to a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, as the United Nations said a French general would keep command over the operation to monitor the tenuous ceasefire.
“I have decided to send two extra battalions into the field to expand our UNIFIL contingent. Two thousand French soldiers will thus be placed under the UN flag in Lebanon,” Chirac said in a TV address. Each French battalion counts 800 soldiers. Four hundred French soldiers are already serving in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The French decision was hailed by Israel and US president George Bush said, “I applaud the decision of France, as well as pledges from Italy and other important allies.”
Source : Times of India
Warning For Iran: Experts
With the purchase of two more German-made Dolphin submarines capable of carrying nuclear warheads, military experts say Israel is sending a clear message to Iran that it can strike back if attacked by nuclear weapons.
The purchases come at a time when Iran is refusing to bow to growing Western demands to halt its nuclear program, and after Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be “wiped off the map.”
The new submarines, built at a cost of $1.3 billion with Germany footing one-third of the bill, have diesel-electric propulsion systems that allow them to remain submerged for longer periods of time than the three nuclear arms-capable submarines already in Israels fleet, the Jerusalem Post reported. The submarines not only would be able to carry out a first strike should Israel choose to do so, but they also would provide Israel with crucial second-strike capabilities, said Paul Beaver, a London-based defence analyst.
Source : Times of India
Taiwan generals Japan visit irks China
China has demanded more details from the Japanese government over reports that Taiwans army commander in chief attended a military drill in Japan, officials said on Friday. Local media have said Gen. Hu Chen-pu inspected a large-scale military drill by Japans Self-Defence Forces near Mount Fuji in central Japan on Thursday. Japans defence chief, Fukushiro Nukaga, said Tokyo has received “an inquiry” from Beijing on the matter. China considers Taiwan a renegade province and is extremely sensitive about the islands ties with other countries.
Source : Times of India
Nepals Maoists new press censors
Press censorship has returned to Nepal despite the end of King Gyanendras direct rule, with Maoists threatening journalists in different parts of the country and preventing them from doing their job, a global media watchdog said. Just two months after Maoist chief Prachanda and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala signed an accord that included protection of press freedom, Nepalese journalists are experiencing the spectre of repression and censorship re-emerging, Reporters Without Frontiers said.
Source : Times of India
Australia govt to sell A$8 bn Telstra shares
THE AUSTRALIAN government will sell A$8 billion ($6 billion) worth of its shares in top phone firm Telstra Corp. Ltd. in a retail and institutional offering slated for October/November and transfer the rest into a fund set up to cover public service pensions.
The decision seals a long-held plan of Prime Minister John Howard, who argued the governments majority interest in Telstra and role as the telecoms industrys regulator represented a conflict of interest.
“Our sale advisors have been closely assessing market conditions and their unanimous advice to the government is that there is sufficient demand to support an offer of this magnitude and it can be done at a fair price,” Howard said in a statement.
The prospect of a stock offering of the governments entire 51.8 percent stake — currently valued at A$22.5 billion — diminished over the past year as Telstras share price slumped amid profit warnings and a spat over access costs to its network. The sale structure will be finalised prior to the offer launch and will include instalment receipts, Howard said.
Parliament approved the sale of the governments majority stake in Telstra in September last year but the final decision on the timing and structure of the sale rested with the government.
The so-called “T3″ sale would have been the worlds biggest offering since Japans Nippon Telegraph & Telephone raised around $37 billion in 1987 if all the share had been sold. Reuters
Source : Times of India
Jayawardene re-appointed captain
Mahela Jayawardene has been retained as Sri Lanka captain for the Champions Trophy despite the return of former skipper Marvan Atapattu to the squad following a debilitating back injury. Sri Lanka will leave for India on Oct. 1 to compete in a preliminary qualification round with West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Squad: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara (wicketkeeper), Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Ruchira Perera, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara, Muttiah Muralitharan.
Source : Times of India
Nail Harvey slams commando training
A pre-Ashes boot camp at which Australias top cricketers underwent commando training in a Queensland forest was “absolute garbage,” Test great Neil Harvey said on Friday. “Can you imagine (Don) Bradman or (Keith) Miller, or (Ray) Lindwall, or any of those blokes going on one of those?” Harvey asked, adding: “Theyd just laugh in your face and say, See you later. 1 think its a lot of absolute garbage. I suppose youve got to blame coach John Buchanan for that. Maybe thats all he can do, I dont know. All it can do is get someone hurt. They call it a bonding exercise, but these guys have been playing together for 10 years. If theyre not bonded by now, forget about it.” Former Test all-rounder Alan Davidson approved of the boot camp, saying it might help to toughen some of the “city boys” in the Australian team. “I think the boot camp could possibly give some of these young blokes, especially, a bit more inner fiber,” he said. “If its an endurance thing and you suffer a little bit and feel a bit of pain, I dont think theres anything wrong with it. When you get in a tense situation in a Test match and youve got some bloke thats been living in luxury all his life, I now Im tougher than he is.”
Source : Times of India
Nike suspends Gatlins contract
Already banned from US Olympic Committee training sites, Justin Gatlins coach isnt welcome at Nike headquarters, either. The shoe company has terminated its con- tract with Trevor Graham and suspended its contract with Gatlin until further notice, Nike spokesman Dean Stoyer said. “He will not receive payment while the con- tract is suspended, and there is no specific date or speculation as to when we would re-up that,” said Stoyer, who would not disclose details of the contracts.
Source : Times of India
US sprinter Jenkins fails test
American sprinter LaTasha Jenkins has failed a drugs test, the Chicago Tribune reported on its website on Thursday.
Her A sample from an in-competition test in late July was found to contain traces of the anabolic steroid nandrolone. Jenkins, the 2001 world indoor silver medallist at 200 metres, could not be reached for comment but her coach Trevor Graham denied the Tribune report. “That is not true,” Graham said.
The Tribune said Jenkins was the 11th athlete who is now coached or was previously coached by Graham to test positive.
Source : Times of India
SA want matches in Abu Dhabi, but ADCC says not now
After withdrawing from the tri-series in Sri Lanka citing security concerns, South Africa are desperately trying to arrange some matches against Pakistan at the sprawling Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. But the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council (ADCC) are in no mood to play hosts. Dilawar Mani, the newly-elected president of the ADCC, and brother of former ICC chief Ehsan Mani, told TO! from Abu Dhabi there is little chance of a series happening. “Its impossible for us to arrange a series of matches involving top sides at such a short notice,” Mani said.
Source : HT
Kofi to visit Indian Force
The Indian con tingent in UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) - the 4 Sikh - has been recognised for its contribution and awarded a unit citation. Acknowledging its accomplishments, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will visit the battalion group on August 29-30.
Source : HT
Walcott dies at 80
CLYDE WALCOTT, a West Indies cricket legend and former president of the International Cricket Council, died on Saturday at a hospital, his wife Muriel said. He was 80. Walcott, a Barbados native known for his powerful batting, was part of the famed West Indies “Three Ws” formation in the 1950s, along with Frank Worrell and Everton Weekes. He later coached in Barbados and was the manager of the West Indies teams that won the World Cup in 1975 and 1979.
Source : HT
Russian co to build Reliance gas pipeline
Stroytransgaz of Russia has clinched a $110 million deal with Reliance Gas Transportation for building a gas pipeline in India.
Source : Times of India
Weyerhaeuser, Domtar in $3.3 bn paper deal
Forest products giant Weyerhaeuser Co. is combining its fine-paper business with Canadian paper maker Domtar Inc., in a deal the companies valued at about $3.3 billion. “The new Domtar is in a better position to compete than either company could on its own,” Steven R, Rogel, Weyerhaeusers chairman, president and CEO, said on Wednesday. The new company is expected to be the largest fine-paper company in North America.
Source : HT
Lucent, Alcatel seek US approval of merger
Lucent Technologies Inc. has filed a formal notice to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States seeking approval for its $10.4 billion purchase by Frances Alcatel. Alcatel on Wednesday also began a series of meetings with top investors to secure backing for the deal at shareholder meetings on September 7. The value of the deal has dropped about 23 per cent since it was announced in April amid a drop in the equipment companies stock prices.
Source : HT
AT&T sues data brokers over information
AT&T on Wednesday filed a suit to identify 25 data brokers who it claims fraudulently obtained phone-calling records for about 2,500 US customers without approval. AT&T Inc. said the data brokers posed as customers to get the records, which are often used in legal or domestic disputes. The lawsuit, filed in San Antonios federal court by the services unit of AT&T, does not name the defendants.
Source : HT
McGrath mulls 2009 Ashes tour
Not content with making his international comeback in the upcoming Ashes series against England, Australian paceman Glenn McGrath has revealed he wants another crack at his old enemy in 2009. McGrath, 36, will be pushing 40 when the Ashes is contested in England in 2009 but said he saw no reason why he could not still be playing at the top level. “I know a lot of guys who have got a lot fitter and stronger when they are 40 than what they were when they were 25,” McGrath told reporters at Australias “boot camp” in Queensland state.
Source : HT
Singapores Ascott in $220 m Indian JV
Singapores Ascott Group, the biggest serv-iced-apartment operator in Asia, said on Thursday that it had entered into a $220 million joint venture to buy and develop seven properties in southern India by 2010. The firm, 67 percent owned by Southeast Asias top developer CapitaLand, said it had signed an agreement with Rattha Group, a privately held Indian conglomerate.
Source : HT
China Construction Bank to buy BoA unit
China Construction Bank said on Thursday it would buy Bank of Americas small Hong Kong and Macau operations for HK$9.71 billion (US$1.24 billion) as it expands beyond mainland China, and did not rule out further acquisitions. Construction Bank, which is 8.5 percent owned by Bank of America, also said its first-half profit fell 18 percent, as it had received a tax benefit in the first half of 2005. Excluding that tax benefit, its interim earnings rose 13 percent amid higher income from lending and fee-based businesses.
Hackett to fight doping
AUSTRALIAS WORLD champion swimmer Grant Hackett has said he is so passionate about eliminating drugs from sport that he wants to work in anti-doping after retiring from the pool.
Source : HT
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