Ford recalls F-series pickups, Edge, Lincoln MKX

FORD MOTOR Co is recalling about 20,000 new vehicles in North America, mainly its heavy duty pickup trucks, due to the chance that an electrical short could cause a fire, Ford and U.S. federal regulators said on Thursday.

Ford will inform owners of its F-series pickups and small sports utility vehicles Edge and Lincoln MKX of the potential problem by January 10, according to a filing with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

About 15,000 of the affected vehicles were sold in the United States, and most of the rest in Canada, said Wes Sherwood, Ford spokesman.

Sherwood said

Blizzard delays $1 billion in U.S. holiday sales

A BLIZZARD in the Northeast this weekend postponed about $1 billion in holiday retail sales by keeping shoppers out of stores in the days after Christmas, research firm ShopperTrak said on Wednesday.

 

The snowstorm shut roads and canceled flights in New York City and created havoc across the Northeast, where shopper traffic was 11.2 percent below ShopperTrak's expectations for Sunday December 26 and off 13.9 percent on Monday December 27.

 

The firm said sales for the entire November and December holiday period are on track to be up 4 percent, helped by strong sales in November and December 23, a particularly heavy day for shopping before Christmas.

 

It expects consumers who stayed home because of

India wins Durban, test series equal at 1-1

AS SOON as the last South African wicket fell in the form of Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Team India was ecstatic as it won the second test match being played in Durban in style. This victory also ensures that the Indian team stays in contention to win its first test series in South Africa, provided it shows the same spunk and form in Cape Town.

 

Chasing 303 to win the test match and the series, South African were all out for 215 runs, falling short by 87 runs. This great victory was scripted by some stupendous bowling by pace spearhead Zaheer Khan,

Infrastructural development is the engine of growth

ACCESS TO infrastructure services is crucial for economic growth and poverty reduction. Energy to drive industry and create jobs, water to support agricultural production, roads and ports to transport products to the market are critical to any country at any time but especially so in an economic downturn. Infrastructure projects, however, often take years to prepare. Postponing them has a drastic knock-on effect for medium-term growth. Many countries have planned to accelerate infrastructure spending to respond to the world-wide crisis.

 

Policy makers know that improvements in basic physical infrastructure can help reduce disparities between regions and communities and

Chandrababu ends fast after eight days

AT THE request of national leaders like Prakash Karat, AB Bardan, Ajit Singh and some others senior leaders, the Telugu Desam supremo Chandra Babu Naidu ended his eight-day fast on Friday evening.

 

Owing to the deterioration of health the doctors forcibly administered the fluids at the orders of High Court on Thursday evening, shifting him from common ward to the ICU.

 

Despite deteriorating health,  Chandra Babu had declined to withdraw the fast. On Friday morning the doctors’ team which came to observe

AGVBOF meet held at Guwahati

THE FIRST annual general conference of Assam Gramin Vikash Bank Officers Federation (AGVBOF) was held at Guwahati on December 25, at city hotel in Guwahati. The conference began with the delegate registration and meeting followed by discussions on various issues of the bank. The open session was inaugurated by S N Sahu, chairman of Assam Gramin Vikash Bank (AGVB), A K Bhattacharjee, General Manager of AGVB, M A Sattar, secretary of AIBOC Assam State Unit, C K Taran, Gen Secretary of Tripura Gramin Vikash Bank Officers Association were the distinguished guest in the conference. The open session was presided

Writ petition against 'Munni' and 'Sheila' filed

A WRIT petition has been filed in the Allahabad High Court, by Dr Nutan Thakur against producers of Tees Maar Khan, Twinkle Khanna, Shirish Kunder and Ronnie Screwvala and Director of Tees Maar Khan, Farah Khan and producers of Dabangg and director of Dabangg and Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) and Union of India through the Secretary of Information and Broadcasting. Ashok Pandey is the advocate counsel of the petitioner.

 

The reasons for the petition have been cited as the indecent, immoral and vulgar songs, dialogues and visual representations in the film which have a direct bearing

Pak cricketers to miss IPL4, Lara in the auction list!

THE MUCH awaited auction of players for the fourth season of Indian Premier League (IPL) is round the corner, and in all likelihood, no cricketer from Pakistan is going to find a place in the coveted tourney. The organisers have made it clear that none of the Pakistani players will be included in the auction list.

 

According to the list of 416 players from across the cricket playing nations, there is not a single name from the neighbouring country Pakistan. The players whose names feature in the list will be auctioned in Bangalore on January 8 and 9 for IPL 4

Pak cricketers to miss IPL4, Lara in the auction list!

THE MUCH awaited auction of players for the fourth season of Indian Premier League (IPL) is round the corner, and in all likelihood, no cricketer from Pakistan is going to find a place in the coveted tourney. The organisers have made it clear that none of the Pakistani players will be included in the auction list.

 

According to the list of 416 players from across the cricket playing nations, there is not a single name from the neighbouring country Pakistan. The players whose names feature in the list will be auctioned in Bangalore on January 8 and 9 for IPL 4

Media, corporates exposed more in Radia tapes

THE MEDIA, corporate sector and the government was shocked with the revelation of Nira Radia’s tapes. Now every one is on a damage control mode, more than addressing the challenge, they are taking it as an opportunity to correct the negative practices prevailing in the profession. Incidentally, the political system is the first one, which rose to the occasion and readily accepted `truth’ by paying heavy price.

A union cabinet minister was made to resign; inquiry was initiated at various levels and even the political victim A. Raja is under scrutiny of CBI probe. The government has instituted enquiry by a former judge. Opposition is demanding a probe by Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).

However, no such response is seen in corporate sector, media houses or even

Have you lately been hypnotised by your television?

HAVE YOU ever wondered when you watch a movie or a series on television, you feel that if you were in the characters’ place, you could have done better than what they did. That is a kind of hypnotism you are through with, which keeps your mind in that environment for a period of time. The time period is actually determined by you. If you start behaving or acting like the characters did then certainly you are hypnotised for a long time.
 

You must have seen men and women behaving in a very metrosexual way, which is the perfect

Samsung Wave II S8530 mobile handset launched in India

WORLD'S SECOND largest mobile phone manufacturer, Samsung Mobiles has launched Wave II S8530 smartphone for its Indian customers with a price tag of Rs 19,000. Samsung Wave II S8530, which runs on the Bada OS 1.2, is powered by a 1GHz Hummingbird processor. In the latest handset of Samsung, the display size has been increased to 3.7-inches.

Samsung Wave II S8530, a 5 megapixel camera with Auto Focus and LED Flash phone has super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of resolution 480 x 800 pixels, 720p video recording at 30fps. It features include video support of DivX/XviD, social networking sites like

2010 Round-up: Best Laptops launched this year

INDIA HAS become a huge market for laptops as a large number of people require mobile computing for work. In 2010, laptops attracted the customers a great deal because of the ease of use these machines offer and decrease in the prices. 

 

Laptops surpassed the sales of desktop computers in India for the first time in 2005. Laptops sellers like HP, Sony, Apple, Lenovo, Dell attract the customers with their latest and high end technology.

HP Pavilion dm3 laptop has 13.3-inch LED-backlit screen capable of supporting a maximum screen resolution of 1366x768 pixels, with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Sony VAIO CW laptop has an Intel Core 2 Duo P8700

BCCI announces 30 probables for 2011 World Cup team

THE BOARD of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today announced a 30-man preliminary squad for the biggest cricketing event, ICC World Cup Cricket 2011. The Cricket World Cup is going to start from February 19 at Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and it is being jointly organised by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The mega final of the 2011 World Cup cricket  tournament will be played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 2.

BCCI selection committee members headed by chief selector Kris Srikkanth and other members picked a 30-man preliminary squad today.

Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif offers 'olive branch' to Zardari

PAKISTAN MUSLIM League-N (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has once again offered an ‘olive branch’ to President Asif Ali Zardari, saying he is ready to cooperate with the latter provided he implements the Charter of Democracy (CoD).

 

 

“We are ready to support the PPP government provided the president implements the charter. All is not lost. The country’s condition can still be changed if sincere efforts are made,” the Dawn quoted Sharif, as saying to reporters.

 

 

The former premier, however, ruled out any ‘positive outcome’ in his meeting with the PPP co-chairman, in the absence of Zardari’s resolve to “fight corruption and implement

India-China relations have assumed global significance

PRIME MINISTER Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that relationship between India and China has transcended the bilateral dimension and has assumed global and strategic significance.

 

 

In an opening statement issued ahead of bilateral discussions at the Hyderabad House here, Dr. Singh said: " our relationship has assumed global and strategic significance. The growing inter-dependence of nations provides both the opportunity and the obligation for India and China to cooperate together to meet the challenges facing the international community.”

 

 

Dr. Singh further said that rapid economic growth had opened new opportunities for long term partnership between India and China, and added

Adarsh scam: 'Guilty will not be spared', says Antony

DEFENCE MINISTER A K Antony on Wednesday said the government and the armed forces will not spare any person, who is found guilty of wrongdoing in Mumbai''s Adarsh Housing Society scam.

 

"Whoever is found guilty will be punished. Nobody will be spared.

 Whenever there are allegations and they are proved, we take strong action. Whatever the allegation, the armed forces and the government is taking action. No other agency takes this strong action. Only armed forces are taking strong action," Antony told reporters on the sidelines of an aerospace seminar here.

 

When asked about the alleged involvement of senior

Reversal of heart disease is possible

HEART DISEASE is increasingly found in a large number of people globally and in India, it is growing at a very fast pace, it is affecting the younger ones also now, which was not heard in the past. Why is it happening? Many studies are done and are going on; doctors and scientist are working to find out the medication for this.
 

All agree that the lifestyle is the one of the main causes for this. It is the sedentary life style which is the main cause. Most of the people who have desk bound jobs they are the ones prone to have the adverse effects on their heart due to the nature of their job.

Today, look at a normal person’s daily routine, gets up, finishes the daily chores, takes the breakfast which doesn’t have the required nutrients, rushes to office, usually by car, bus, train or metro, in the office sits in front of the computer for at least eight to 10 hours without much

No more cotton hybrid seeds to be produced by KSSA

THE KARNATAKA  State Seeds Association has stopped production of hybrid seeds for cotton since 2009 citing their bad performance compared to the genetically modified variety, says Institution of Agriculture Technologists member Satish Chandra.

 

An abstract of the Seed Production Programme of the Karnataka State Seeds Corporation for the year 2009-2010 shows no sign of research on cotton seed.

 

Cotton is one of the major cash crops produced in Karnataka which has a huge demand in the international market. Owing to this and also the hassle-free cultivation of Bt cotton in the state, the per acre output of cotton in Bt farms has grown higher by 16% over non Bt farms says a College of Agriculture, Raichur report released in 2008.

 

The Government of Karnataka during the 11th Plan period from 2007-08 to 2011-12 has planned

Happy Birthday Rajinikanth!

THE NATION'S biggest screen star Rajinikanth celebrates his 60th birthday today. Rajinikanth is a megastar of indian cinema. Rajinikanth is also known as Sivaji Rao. His fans call him as 'Thalaiva'. The megastar who usually prefers to celebrate this day out of town, has decided to spend the day with his family after many years. This birthday is special for Rajinikanth not only because he's delivered the biggest hit of the year, Endhiran, but also because his family has two new additions actor's daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth got married to Ashwin, and keeping the new son-in-law entertained alongwith the baby grandson, Linga

India electricity-2010: J&K showcases its potential

THE THREE day International Exhibition & Conference on Power Sector- India Electricity-2010, concluded here today. The event was a joint initiative of Ministry of Power and FICCI.

 

Jammu & Kashmir was a key sponsor & a Partner State in the exhibition. The other partner State was Karnataka. Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) was the nodal agency for organizing the exhibition including arrangement of necessary logistics. The exhibition revolved around the theme “Indian Power Sector: Integrated Planning and Implementation-XII Plan and Beyond”.

 

The exhibition proved an ideal platform to showcase the achievements of the State in the

Government assures of no more Radia tapes' leaks!

AS A huge relief to Ratan Tata, the government has assured the Supreme Court of India to take every measure to check the leak of his personal transcripts with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia. In an affidavit filed by the government on Friday, December 10, the apex court has been apprised of adequate measures in place to ensure that no transcript is leaked further.

The Supreme Court had issued a notice to the government on Ratan Tata’s petition where he had sought the investigation of transcripts containing his private conversation with Radia being leaked to the media. Miffed over the whole

Srinagar worst victim of NC exploitation: Mehbooba

PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC Party president Mehbooba Mufti has said even as the entire state has been at the receiving end of the National Conference politics of betrayal, exploitation and deceit Srinagar has been its worst victim.

 

Addressing a meeting of the office bearers and prominent workers of the Srinagar unit of the party here today which was also addressed by District President Srinagar Mohd Ashraf Mir, Senior Leader Ab Hameed Kosheen and Asiea Naqash, PDP President said NC had time and again been exploiting the people of Srinagar for its political survival but has always taken the capital city for

2G scam: Raja's properties raided

FINALLY, IT appears CBI has taken centre stage in the voluminous 2G spectrum scandal. Today it raided various properties of former Telecom Minister, A Raja, a prime kingpin in the 1 lakh 76 thousand crore 2G scam.

 

The CBI raided Raja’s residences in Delhi and Chennai to muster evidence against Raja. Raja lost his job of telecom minister owing to his alleged involvement in the 2G scam last month.

 

The alleged scam is now the bone of contention between the ruling UPA and opposition parties. Everyday parliament is adjourned without conducting any business. The entire winter session

Google unveils Samsung Nexus S smartphone

GOOGLE UNVEILED its latest smartphone, Samsung Nexus S, with the Android v2.3 Gingerbread operating system on Monday. Gingerbread is the latest Android version. The phone will support both 2G and 3G network. The Nexus S will come to the store in the U.S. via Best Buy on December 16.

Nexus S features almost the same as the Samsung's Galaxy S. The 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED screen returns, embedded within a curved glass and protected with anti-fingerprint coating. it features include 5 MP, 2560 x 1920 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, 16GB storage, 512 MB RAM, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Standard

Ashes 2010: England needs six more wickets to win Adelaide Test

KEVIN PIETERSEN claimed a key wicket with the last ball of day four following his earlier heroics with the bat to give England real encouragement in their pursuit of victory in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide. Pietersen, who scored a career-best Test score of 227 to help England reach 620-5 declared, struck with his occasional spin to dismiss Michael Clarke for 80.

Australia ended day four on 238-4, still trailing by 137 runs with six wickets in hand. Mike Hussey was the unbeaten on 44.

The fourth-wicket pair had given Australia, set 375 to make England bat again, hope

Hindu Chakra bracelets popular among celebrities

CHAKRA BRACELETS, deriving inspiration from Hinduism, appear to be becoming popular among entertainment celebrities.
 

Singer Cheryl Cole, actress Sienna Miller, musician Kanye West, etc, have been reportedly spotted sporting Chakra bracelets.
 

Other celebrities who own Chakra bracelets reportedly include singers Pixie Lott and Paloma Faith; pop-musician Katy Perry; models Alexa Chung, Georgia May Jagger, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Amber Le Bon; actor Jude Law; television presenters Fearne Cotton and Jameela Jamil; actresses Drew Barrymore and Blake Lively; socialites Pixie Geldof and Olivia Palermo; etc.
 

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, United States of America, has urged celebrities

Youngsters pledge to spread light across the country

THREE HUNDRED students carrying solar lanterns marched on the Marine Drive footpath from Hotel Trident to Chowpatty, to launch a national electrification project ‘Chirag Light India Movement,’ on the evening of December 3.

The movement aims to provide solar lighting to 1000 rural households without electricity, located in the remote villages of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. “We have planned to achieve this feat within a span of one month,” said Jyotirmoy Chatterji, 23, president of the movement and a student of HR College of Commerce and Economics.

The solar lanterns that are to be used in the movement are assembled by physically challenged individuals and not purchased directly from vendors. This way one community helps the other to lead a better life. The workers are

Praful Patel says, new fares suggested by airlines can't be justified

CIVIL AVIATION Minister Praful Patel said on Friday that the new fares suggested by airlines cannot be justified and the Government has taken a serious notice of the suggestions.

Earlier, the domestic airlines had proposed a massive rise in ticket prices, ignoring the Government s calls not to resort to exorbitant fares. The new fares have been submitted for review to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Patel said the Government has found airlines are trying to take undue advantage of passengers by increasing their fares. He further said a new economic advisory council has been set up

I will contest from Pulivendula if Party asks me to: Vivekananda

YS VIVEKANANDA Reddy has clarified in a press meet that he would continue in Congress party despite his family members Jagan Mohan Reddy’s and his mother Vijayalaxmi’s resignation from their respective seats at Kadapa and Pulivendula.

 

By the looks of it, Vivekananda Reddy’s words give an impression that a sort-of war has started between the families of Jaganmohan Reddy and his paternal uncle Vivekananda. Vivekananda Reddy recently went to Delhi and met Sonia Gandhi. He was also assured of a berth in the ministry.

He also told the press that if Party high command has ordered him to contest

Vodafone might take till 2020 to make Indian business turnaround

BRITISH MOBILE operator Vodafone's foray into India has been a disaster, so much so that insiders and experts have gone on record to say that it could take the firm until 2020 to make an economic profit.

According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, in 2007, Vodafone paid 5.5 billion pounds to acquire 67 percent of Hutchison Essar. In 2010, it was forced into a 2.3 billion pound write-down after regulatory changes flooded the market with an unprecedented level of competition and sparked a price war. Now, it faces a disputed tax bill and possible retrospective charges on licenses,