Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo under house arrest

Abidjan, Apr 13 : Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo has been placed under house arrest, said President Alassane Ouattara's Government.
Gbagbo, who claimed victory in the November presidential run-off and refused to relinquish power to his rival Ouattara, was detained at his residence in capital city Abidjan, after a months long political deadlock and armed conflict between the two presidency claimants.
The legitimacy of Ouattara received a big boost, as Gbagbo's army chiefs pledged allegiance to him and U.S. President Barack Obama conveyed his support for his action, the Xinhua reports.
The new president pledged that the former president would be treated fairly and in accordance with the law.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has stressed that all perpetrators of violence on both sides of the Ivorian conflict should undergo open and transparent investigations that lead to a fair trial and accountability.

US Govt. critics slam delayed interrogation of Bali nightclub bombing suspect

Washington, Apr.13 : Obama administration critics have slammed the government for delaying the interrogation of the Bali nightclub bombing suspect, Umar Patek, captured in Pakistan after a tip off from the CIA.
Patek is the alleged facilitator of the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing, in which 202 people, including several foreigners, were killed, and is considered as one of the world's most wanted terrorists.
Though Patek is one of the most valued detainees picked up under President Obama's watch, the White House has not disclosed any plans of questioning the alleged terrorist yet.
"I don't have anything to say in response to that from here," Fox News quoted White House Spokesman Jay Carney as saying.
Critics of the Obama Administration say 'an opportunity to gain real time intelligence is being lost for good.'
"This guy survived in a sanctuary in the Philippines for almost a decade," said Marc Thiessen, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the book Courting Disaster.

TEPCO still working on plan to end Japan nuclear crisis

 
TOKYO (Reuters) - The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant said on Wednesday it was still working on a detailed plan to end the country's nuclear crisis a month after it began, as tests showed radiation levels in the sea near the complex had spiked.
Engineers moved a step closer to emptying highly radioactive water from one of the six crippled reactors, which would allow them to start repairing the cooling system crucial to regaining control of the reactors.
Japan's nuclear safety agency said the latest tests showed radiation nearly doubled last week, to 23 times above legal limits, in the sea off Minamisoma city near the plant.

Non-violent protest and "political jujitsu"

LONDON  - Gene Sharp's writings on how to use non-violent techniques to bring down autocratic regimes are often cited as a major influence on the activists who led the campaign against Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
The 83-year-old American academic had never met or spoken to those behind the successful uprising. But he has strong views on what happened in Egypt and what is happening elsewhere in the Middle East. First and foremost, he stresses the importance of preparation and discipline. The Egyptian protesters were prepared while the Libyans were not, Sharp said in an hour-long telephone interview from Boston, where he runs the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organisation that advances the study and use of nonviolent action in conflicts around the world.

Hosni Mubarak detained, army win protest respite

 
CAIRO  - Hosni Mubarak was ordered detained for 15 days on Wednesday, winning the ruling army generals a respite from protests by quashing suspicions that they were shielding their former commander from investigation.
Mubarak, driven from presidential office on Feb. 11 by mass demonstrations against his 30-year rule, was taken to a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday with what state media called a "heart crisis". Reports disagree on how serious his illness is.
The public prosecutor had summoned and questioned Mubarak, 82, over the killing of protesters, embezzling of public funds and abuse of power. More than 380 protesters were killed in 18 days of demonstrations that led to Mubarak's downfall.
His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, have also been questioned as part of the probe and ordered detained, state television said.

Samsung Unveils the Galaxy S II in India

Samsung announced a whole plethora of gadgets at the Samsung South West Asia Forum in New Delhi today. Amongst many other devices, the much awaited Samsung Galaxy S II will be launched in India in May and will be priced at Rs. 30-35,000.

The Samsung Galaxy S II was first unveiled at the Mobile World Congress Barcelona in February. Let's take a look at how it stands against the soon to release LG Optimus 2X.

Both the devices boast of similar specifications that includes a 1 GHz dual core NVIDIA tegra 2 processor, 8 MP camera, 1080p video camcorder, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 n, DLNA, HDMI out and support HSPA+ network. However, there are some differences that distinguish the two devices. The Galaxy S II has a 4.3-inch WVGA (480 x 800) Super AMOLED plus touch screen display whereas the LG Optimus 2X has a 4-inch WVGA (480x800) TFT LCD touchscreen display. The Galaxy S II has a whopping 16GB of internal storage as compared to the Optimus 2X that has an internal storage of 8GB. Samsung has added Cisco based enterprise solutions to attract the enterprise users while the Optimus 2X shows off dual display support (HDMI mirroring) and may be upgradable to Android 2.4 when it is ready.

China's ZTE sues Swedish rival Ericsson

Chinese telecom equipment supplier ZTE said Tuesday it was suing a unit of Swedish mobile network giant Ericsson for patent infringement, escalating a legal dispute between the two rivals.

ZTE launched legal action on Monday against Ericsson (China) Communications Co. Ltd for allegedly breaching its Chinese patents on a range of products involving "core networks, GSM infrastructure and 4G infrastructure".

"ZTE has asked that Ericsson discontinue any act of infringement and bear legal liability in accordance with the provision of relevant laws," ZTE said in a statement.

"ZTE is fully committed to developing its own patent technology and respects reasonable patent requests from other vendors."

Ericsson has filed three lawsuits in Europe against ZTE for infringing the Swedish company's patents on mobile phones and infrastructure, an Ericsson spokesman said earlier this month.

ZTE and Chinese rival Huawei have in recent years been pushing into overseas markets, eating into the market share of leading Western companies.

Ericsson, headquartered in Stockholm, has some 17,848 employees in Sweden and 90,000 worldwide.

It is the market leader in mobile network equipment ahead of Finnish-German giant Nokia Siemens, French-based telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent and China's Huawei.

Google doodle pays tribute to Gagarin mission

Google paid tribute to Russia's Yuri Gagarin on Tuesday, replacing the logo on its homepage with an image of the first man in space and a rocket that a visitor can launch with a cursor.

Google replaced the first 'O' in the company's name with a picture of Gagarin in his helmet and substituted a globe for the second 'O' in its name.

A rocket perched on the globe takes off in a puff of smoke and soars into the sky when a visitor to the page places the cursor on the Google logo.

Gagarin blasted off in his Vostok rocket on April 12, 1961 from the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.

The Mountain View, California-based Google frequently changes the colorful logo on its famously Spartan home page to mark anniversaries or significant events or pay tribute to artists, scientists, statesmen and others.

Facebook spurs Syria protests to honour 'martyrs'

A Facebook group called for fresh protests in Syria on Tuesday to show "loyalty with the martyrs, wounded and prisoners" after a bloody weekend crackdown on anti-regime demonstrators.

"Today, April 12, is the day of loyalty towards the martyrs, wounded and prisoners, who are the heroes of the free youth revolution," said the organizers on Facebook page the Syrian Revolution, which has played a key role in mobilizing recent protests.

"We will shout slogans despite our wounds and hold peaceful sit-ins until we obtain our freedom," the group said. "We will not stop, nor backtrack. Our cause is clear. It is a revolution by the people for the people and the demands are clear. Our path is peaceful and the objective is freedom."

The Syrian Revolution call came after a bloody weekend crackdown that left at least 30 civilians dead in the flashpoint towns of Daraa and Banias.

Argentine politician uses Twitter to raise a crowd

Argentina's Economy Minister Amado Boudou held an unprecedented encounter in a Buenos Aires bar with 500 followers of his Twitter account.

"I wanted to meet face-to-face with my followers," Boudou said as he opened the event Monday evening in the San Telmo quarter of the Argentine capital.

About 500 of his 64,000 Twitter followers signed up through the microblogging site.
They were invited to post their questions on the site.

"Twitter helps improve the quality of democracy. We can communicate without having the media in the middle," Boudou said.
T
he evening was mainly an occasion for Boudou, vying to be the ruling party's candidate for mayor of Buenos Aires, to highlight the themes of his campaign before the July 10 vote.

About 500 followers were chosen to attend the event but "1,700 people signed up and more than 3,000 questions were posed" on Twitter, said Mariano Feuer, one of the organizers.

In an hour of debate, #boudou20 became the most popular hashtag on the social network in Argentina.

Bieber, Angry Birds, NY Times get Webby nods

Pop star Justin Bieber, game sensation Angry Birds and The New York Times were among the nominees on Tuesday for the 15th annual Webby Awards.

YouTube discovery Bieber was nominated in the comedy category for "Justin Bieber Takes Over Funny Or Die" while Angry Birds from Finland's Rovio earned a nod in the best mobile games category.

The New York Times earned 18 nominations in various categories for its multi-media journalism.

Other media outlets earning nominations included Britain's The Guardian with six, the BBC with six, CNN with six and National Public Radio with five.

Webby Award winners will be announced on May 3 and honored in New York on June 13th, where they will be allowed to deliver speeches of five words or less.

The awards are bestowed by the New York-based International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

Winners are selected by online voting at webby.aol.com and judges who include cooking guru Martha Stewart, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post.

Huffington Post, AOL face lawsuit from blogger

A blogger and labor activist has filed a lawsuit against AOL and the Huffington Post for not paying freelance bloggers while benefiting financially from the content they create.

Jonathan Tasini's suit, filed Tuesday, seeks class-action status on behalf of more than 9,000 writers and other content providers and asks for at least $105 million in damages.

The suit names Huffington Post co-founders Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer as defendants. AOL bought the Huffington Post for $315 million last month, which Tasini said prompted the lawsuit.

The suit claims the Huffington Post has been "unjustly enriched" by luring contributors with the prospect of exposure but keeping the financial gain from their articles.

NY man adds e-mails to Facebook ownership lawsuit

A New York man who claims he struck a deal with Mark Zuckerberg in 2003 that entitles him to half of Facebook Inc. has included in a new court filing e-mails he said he exchanged with the Facebook founder.

In his federal court complaint, Paul Ceglia of Wellsville said the e-mails show, in part, how Zuckerberg tried to get him to abandon his interest in Facebook by souring their business relationship in 2004, while at the same time downplaying the popularity of the site following its launch at Harvard University, where Zuckerberg was a student.

Zuckerberg is accused in the complaint of breaching his contract with Ceglia by incorporating the website first known as thefacebook.com without telling him.
Ceglia seeks a 50 percent share of the company, which has more than 500 million users worldwide. Forbes magazine last month estimated Zuckerberg's net worth at $13.5 billion.

Cisco plans to shut its Flip camcorder business

Cisco Systems Inc., one of the titans of the technology industry, on Tuesday said it is killing the Flip Video, the most popular video camera in the U.S., just two years after it bought the startup that created it.

It appears to be a case of a big company proving a poor custodian of a small one, even one that makes a hit product. Cisco never meaningfully integrated the Flip Video into its main business of making computer-networking gear.

Flip Video users are now lamenting the demise of a camera that broke new ground. It was inexpensive, pocketable and very easy to use, from shooting to editing and online sharing. Many other manufacturers have copied these features, but the Flip Video still outsells them.

Nicole Bremer Nash, a freelance writer in Louisville, Ky., calls the Flip Video "the little camera that could."

iPads take a place next to crayons in kindergarten

Kindergarten classes are supplementing crayons, finger paints and flashcards with iPads, a development that excites supporters but that detractor's worry is wasted on pupils too young to appreciate the expense.

Next fall, nearly 300 kindergartners in the central Maine city of Auburn will become the latest batch of youngsters around the country to get iPad2 touchpad tablets to learn the basics about ABCs, 1-2-3s, drawing and even music.

"It's definitely an adventure, and it'll be a journey of learning for teachers and students," said Auburn kindergarten teacher Amy Heimerl, who received an iPad on Tuesday ahead of the full deployment in the fall. "I'm looking forward to seeing where this can take us and our students."

But the $200,000 that Superintendent Tom Morrill is proposing to spend on iPads -- which retail for around $500 -- might be better spent on some other school program, said Sue Millard of Auburn, who has children in the fourth grade and high school.

5 NJ schools get grants from $100M Facebook gift

Five new high schools in New Jersey's largest city have been awarded grants totaling nearly $1 million from last fall's $100 million donation made by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The awards were announced Tuesday by the Foundation for Newark's Future, the organization created to disburse the money.

BARD High School Early College Newark and Sakia Gunn High School for Civic Engagement each received $175,000 grants. Newark Leadership Academy, Newark BRIDGES High School and Newark S.T.E.A.M. Academy each received $125,000 grants. The five schools received an additional $50,000 each to help them open in the fall.

Besides Zuckerberg's donation, $44 million has been raised in matching grants from other foundations.

The project already has spent $1 million to survey residents on what school improvements are needed.

Microsoft launches IE10 platform preview

Barely a month after the launch of IE9, Microsoft has announced the IE 10 platform preview, which is a developer build of the browser. Microsoft launched the browser at their developer event Mix 11 in Las Vegas. With competition from Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome, Microsoft is certainly picking up the pace in releasing new browser versions.

IE9 platform preview was launched about a year after IE8 and it took 12 more months for IE9 to make it to the final launch. Microsoft has cut down the launch cycle already by 11 months.

Dean Hachamovitch, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Internet Explorer wrote in a blog post, "We built IE9 from the ground up for HTML5 and for Windows to deliver the most native HTML5 experience and the best Web experience on Windows. IE10 continues on IE9's path, directly using what Windows provides and avoiding abstractions, layers, and libraries that slow down your site and your experience."

The new browser promises to embrace HTML5 even more and adds support to emerging standards like CSS3.

Mr. Hachamovich added, "We also demonstrated additional standards support (like CSS3 Transitions (link) andCSS3 3D Transforms (link)) that will be available in subsequent platform previews of IE10, which we will update every 8-12 weeks."

You can read the complete blog post here.

You can also download the IE10 platform preview here.

Thai holi... not quite!

Bangkok:  Locals and tourists took to the streets of Bangkok on Wednesday, armed with buckets, water guns and plenty of enthusiasm, to mark the start of the Buddhist New Year. If you are from India, you might confuse it for holi.

Over three days of holidays, Thais across the country will soak each other with water and high spirits.

The Songkran tradition started with youngsters pouring water over their elders as a sign of respect.

But over the years, the three-day festival has become a no holds barred party, with dousing in the afternoon and music and merriment in the evenings.

Silom Road, the main artery of the central Business District in Bangkok, was blocked off on Wednesday by revellers who were equipped with either plastic supersoakers or buckets of water.

Tourists flocked to the area as well to get in on the fun - and to cool off during the hottest time of the year.

Splashing water at other revellers traditionally serves as a symbol of cleansing and washing away the sins of the old year.

Songkran is also a time for people to show their respect for their elders and for monks, so many of the revellers start the festival celebration by visiting temples.

Mother drives into New York river with three children

New York:  A woman who had just been involved in a domestic dispute loaded her four children into a minivan Tuesday night before letting one out and driving the rest of them into the Hudson River, firefighters said.

The woman and three young children - two boys, ages 5 and 2, and an 11-month-old girl - were killed.

The 10-year-old boy who had been let out of the minivan ran to a nearby fire station and alerted firefighters, Chief Michael Vatter said. The boy told firefighters his mother had driven off a boat ramp in Newburgh, about 60 miles north of New York City, and into the murky water of the river, Vatter said.

Firefighters and police officers responded with boats. Divers searched for the minivan for about an hour before finding it submerged in 10 feet of water about 25 yards offshore. They used a heavy-duty tow truck to pull it up the boat ramp and onto land. Everyone inside was dead, Vatter said. The woman lived about six blocks from where she and her children perished, he said.

Diana's ring made smaller to fit Kate's finger

London:  A ring worn by the late Princess Diana that was given to royal bride Kate Middleton is now being made smaller to fit her finger better.

Kate has asked jewellers to alter the ring ahead of her wedding to Prince William April 29, the Daily Mail reported.

The sapphire and diamond ring was worn by Diana, Princess of Wales.

Kate asked crown jewellers G. Collins and Sons to attach small platinum beads inside the bottom of the ring to make the band fit on her finger.

A palace source said the 29-year-old bride "adores" the ring and "didn't want to cause a fuss". But she had found the band was turning on her finger.

"A bride's worst nightmare is looking down and seeing her ring has fallen off. One can only imagine how this is magnified when you are marrying the future King of England," the source said.

The ring, which was also Princess Diana's engagement ring, is valued at 32 million pounds.

William gave the ring to Kate to ensure his late mother would still be part of their big day.

Watch: Czech President steals a pen?

Washington:  A video clip on YouTube showing Czech President Vaclav Klaus apparently pocketing a ceremonial pen during his Chile visit has received more than 100,000 views and counting.

The clip with the headline "President of Czech Republic steals pen," shows Klaus quietly opening a pen box and placing the pen in his pocket as his Chilean counterpart Sebastian Pinera spoke at a  news conference last week.

The pens are encrusted with semi-precious Chilean lapiz lazuili stones, but Pinera spokesperson Constanza Cea said the president's guests are free to take them.

Watch the video here;

Egypt detains Hosni Mubarak's sons in probe

Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt):  Egyptian prosecutors ordered the detention of the former president Hosni Mubarak's powerful sons for 15 days as allegations of corruption and the abuse of their authority are investigated, state television said early on Wednesday.

The move, the most dramatic in a series of investigations against top regime officials, comes just hours after former Mubarak, 82, was hospitalised with heart problems as he too was to be questioned by prosecutors.

Gamal Mubarak, his younger son, was a top official in the ruling party and was widely seen as being groomed to succeed his father before 18 days of popular protests brought down the regime on February 11.

While the ex-president was in the hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he has been living since being removed from power, his sons were taken for questioning to the nearby courthouse by prosecutors from Cairo.

China has 960,000 millionaires and still counting...

Beijing:  China has a mind-boggling 960,000 millionaires, said an annual wealth report that noted it was a jump from 825,000 millionaires two years back.

The 960,000 millionaires have personal wealth of 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) or more, the China Daily reported.

Of them, 60,000 are considered super rich with 100 million yuan or more in wealth, up 9 percent year-on-year.

The GroupM Knowledge-Hurun Wealth Report 2011 said that it is up 9.7 percent year-on-year.

China has a population of 1.34 billion.

The report said that rising property prices and a rapidly-growing GDP have led to an increase in the number of Chinese millionaires.

As many as 55 per cent of Chinese millionaires have got their wealth from private businesses while 20 percent from property speculations. About 15 percent are stock experts and 10 percent are high-earning executives, China Daily said.

In 2009, there were 825,000 millionaires while last year the number went up to 875,000.

The media report said that housing prices went up in the country by 13.7 percent in 2010 and luxury property prices rose even faster.

"The overall confidence of China's millionaires in the property sector and China's overall economy remains very high," Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, was quoted as saying.

The report said that the average age of the Chinese millionaires was 39 years, a good 15 years younger than those in Western countries. Thirty percent of the millionaires were women.

Airbus A380 clips smaller jet's wing at JFK Airport

New York City:  The world's largest passenger aircraft clipped a much smaller commuter plane on a dark, wet tarmac at New York City's Kennedy Airport, spinning it like a toy as hundreds of passengers sat in both planes. No one was injured.

The two jets - an Airbus A380 operated by Air France and a Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet - were towed away after the collision around 8 pm on Monday and will be inspected to determine the extent of their damage, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

The Airbus A380 was taxiing out to a runway when its left wingtip crashed into the tail of the regional jet, operated by Comair for Delta Air Lines and stopped on an intersecting taxiway, whipping the smaller plane around nearly 90 degrees.

Air France said 485 passengers and 25 crew members were aboard the Paris-bound Flight 7.

The Comair flight was carrying 62 passengers and four crew members.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, board spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said.

An audio recording of conversations between the JFK controller responsible for coordinating the movement of planes on the tarmac and the two aircraft indicates the Comair plane was trying to exit the taxiway but may have stopped short because of congestion on the ramp - the area where planes park, a global aviation safety lobby spokesman said.

The superjumbo Airbus is as tall as a seven-story building, with a wing span as wide as the length of a small street.

Protest outside hospital after Mubarak admitted with heart problems

Sharm el-Sheikh:  Dozens of demonstrators picketed outside the hospital where former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was abruptly admitted to on Tuesday for heart problems.

The protesters were denouncing the president and carrying a sign calling him a butcher.

They scuffled briefly with supporters of Mubarak amid a massive security presence.

Mubarak was hospitalised during an investigation over allegations of corruption and violence against protesters, state TV reported.

Chinese city tracks officials through GPS-enabled phones

Beijing:  The local government of a major Chinese city now tracks down the whereabouts of its officials using GPS-enabled phones. An official is asked where he is and if he lies about his location, strict action is taken against him.

Each government official in Chongqing has been provided with a 3G mobile phone with global positioning system (GPS) to ascertain his location.

Officials are required to keep the phone 24 hours a day and report their location whenever they are contacted. If their report differs from the GPS reading, disciplinary action is taken against them. They may even be asked to resign, the Chongqing Economic Times reported.

Chongqing is a major city in southwest China. It is one of China's four direct-controlled municipalities - the other three being Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.

Noida sisters case: In death, themes of alienation and loneliness

Noida:  Less than 24 hours after she was rescued from the house that she had not left for six months, 43-year-old Anuradha Bahl died in a Noida hospital.

Her sister, Sonali, younger by five years, has not been told about Anuradha's death. Given her own fragile mental and physical condition, doctors want to protect Sonali from any news that could add to her stress. "She is under acute depression. We are treating her and hopefully all will be well. If any psychiatric help needed, it will be provided," said doctors attending to Sonali at Kailash Hospital.

Both sisters were forcibly moved out of their apartment in Noida's Sector 29 yesterday for the first time in six months. They were rescued by the police and social activists after neighbours complained about a stench from the Bahls' flat.

Usha Thakur, a social activist who accompanied the police when the sisters were rescued, said, "There was a very bad odour coming from the sisters' bodies. While the older one was half nude, the younger sister was wearing woolen clothes in this warm weather."

2G scam: CBI opposes bail plea of corporate honchos

New Delhi:  The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today opposed the bail plea of five corporate honchos who appeared as accused after being named in the chargesheet in the 2G spectrum scam case in a Delhi court saying that from being "suspects" they have become "accused".

"The status of a person changes in law after filing of the chargesheet. They are not entitled to release on bail ipso facto (by default) on appearance before the court. From being suspects, they have now become accused and hence, will have to justify their bail plea," senior advocate U U Lalit, who has been appointed as a special prosecutor by the Supreme Court, said.

"There are nearly 180 prosecution witnesses and some of them are under political perception of threat," Lalit said and gave some classified documents to CBI Judge O P Saini who has been appointed to hear exclusively the 2G case on a day-to-day basis.

After defence lawyers sought a copy of the document, Lalit said "it is not for you. I may use them in our reply."

India to take up Rana's claims with Pak: Krishna

New Delhi:  India today said it will take up with Pakistan claims made by Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attack case, that he had acted "at the behest of Pakistan government and ISI" and not terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba.

"We will certainly take it up," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told reporters on being asked whether India would raise the issue of Rana's revelations with Pakistan.

Rana, the Pakistani-Canadian accused in the Mumbai terror case, has claimed in documents submitted in a US court that his "alleged illegal acts of providing material support to terrorists --were done at the behest of the Pakistani government and the ISI, not the Lashkar terrorist organisation."

Forty-nine-year-old Rana, who runs an immigration service in Chicago with offices New York and Toronto, was arrested on October 3 for plotting to attack the Danish newspaper that published the controversial cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in 2005. The trial begins in Chicago on May 16 after being postponed in February at the request of Rana's lawyer.

Basketball player thrown out of train, loses leg

Bareilly:  A 23-year-old woman, a national level basketball player, has lost her leg after she was pushed out of a train in Uttar Pradesh by three men who were trying to rob her.

Sonu Singh was headed to Delhi when a group of men tried to snatch her gold chain. When she fought back, they pushed her onto the track as the train was passing through Bareilly.

She is now in hospital.

The police have registered a case of attempt to murder but none of her attackers have been traced.
Sonu is a student at Awadh University.

Anna's Modi controversy: Digvijay weighs in

New Delhi:  The Congress today sought to widen the scope of the Lokpal Bill suggesting that the Joint Committee to draft the legislation could also go into the issue of corruption in the corporate sector and NGOs as part of a comprehensive package against graft.

"The anti-corruption law in the US can look into the functioning of the corporate sector and the NGO (non-governmental organisations) sector and it should be considered", party General Secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters here.

However, he sidestepped questions as to whether a probe into corruption in the corporate sector and NGOs was 'the need of the hour'. Singh also said that till now he considered Hazare a Gandhian with impeccable secular credentials.

Replying to a question, he said that the National Advisory Council headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi could also go into the Jan Lokpal Bill formulated by Hazare and his supporters.

Anna, Sarabhai exchange letters over the Modi controversy

Ahmedabad:  Anna Hazare's hunger strike and campaign for 'India Against Corruption' helped the country shake off its inertia. Lakhs of Indians across the world backed Mr Hazare's movement which forced the government to immediately begin work on a tough new law to combat corruption. Mr Hazare's demand - that the bill be drafted not just by politicians but by representatives of civil society - was also accepted. So the committee that will draft the Jan Lokpal Bill has five ministers and five activists, including Mr Hazare.

However, some of Mr Hazare's supporters have expressed their discontent with his recent statement, where he praised the development accomplished by the Gujarat government. He also praised Nitish Kumar's government in Bihar, but it's the Narendra Modi factor in Gujarat that has irked some.

Bhopal gas tragedy: Supreme Court questions delay in filing curative plea

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court has questioned the CBI for approaching it 16 years after it had diluted, in September 1996, the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the accused in the Bhopal gas tragedy case.

A five-judge special bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia raised the question on delay and asked the CBI as to why it had not filed the review petition during all these years.

Attorney General G E Vahanvati, appearing for the CBI said, "I don't know why it was not filed by the CBI but a review petition was filed in the case by someone else and it was dismissed."

He said there was a series of illegal omissions on the part of the accused from 1982 onward which led to that disaster.

Anna Hazare's letter to Mallika Sarabhai

New Delhi:  Anna Hazare's hunger strike and campaign for 'India Against Corruption' helped the country shake off its inertia.

Lakhs of Indians across the world backed Mr Hazare's movement which forced the government to immediately begin work on a tough new law to combat corruption.

Mr Hazare's demand - that the bill be drafted not just by politicians but by representatives of civil society - was also accepted.

So the committee that will draft the Jan Lokpal Bill has five ministers and five activists, including Mr Hazare.

However, some of Mr Hazare's supporters have expressed their discontent with his recent statement, where he praised the development accomplished by the Gujarat government.

Artist-activist Mallika Sarabahi, who had participated in demonstrations in Ahmedabad to support Mr Hazare, has written a critical letter to Mr Hazare.

Mr Hazare, who has already clarified that his praise was limited to Narendra Modi's rural development, has written back to Ms Sarabhai.

Here's the full text of that letter:

AnnaHazarewritestoMallikaSarabhai

Mallika Sarabhai's letter to warning to Anna Hazare

New Delhi:  Anna Hazare's hunger strike and campaign for 'India Against Corruption' helped the country shake off its inertia. Lakhs of Indians across the world backed Mr Hazare's movement which forced the government to immediately begin work on a tough new law to combat corruption.

However, some of Mr Hazare's supporters have expressed their discontent with his recent statement, where he praised the development accomplished by the Gujarat government.

Artist-activist Mallika Sarabahi, who had participated in demonstrations in Ahmedabad to support Mr Hazare, has written a critical letter to Mr Hazare. Here's the full text of that letter:

Dear Annaji,

We are deeply shocked by your endorsement of Narendra Modi's rural development. There has been little or no rural development in this state. In fact, gauchar lands and irrigated farmlands have been stealthily taken by the government and sold off at ridiculous prices to a small club of industrialists. There has been no Lokayukta in Gujarat for nearly seven years so hundreds of complaints against corruption are lying unheard. From the Sujalam Sufalam scam of 1700 crores to the NREGS boribund scam of 109 crores, the fisheries scam of 600 crores, every department is involved in thousands of crores of scams.

The poor and rural people are being sold to Modi's friends the industrialists. The state is in terrible debt because of his largess to industry while 21 lakh farmers wait for compensation. Your endorsement is appalling and we will be forced to distance ourselves from the Lokpal movement unless it is irrevocably retracted.

Sincerely
Mallika Sarabhai

2G scam: Key accused in court today

New Delhi:  The nine accused in the 2G scam, all chargesheeted by the CBI, are expected to appear in a Delhi court on Wednesday.

During the last hearing, the court had summoned all the chargesheeted men to appear before it today. Out of the 9 accused, that is 9 individuals and 2 companies, four are in judicial custody. The remaining five could be sent to jail today unless the court grants them bail.

A Raja and his team of men from the Department of Telecom (DoT) face charges of conspiracy but the ex-Telecom Minister is the only one facing forgery charges as well.

Former telecom secretary Sidharth Behura, who allegedly shut counters to physically block other telecom companies, faces the same charges as Raja. And so does Raja's Personal Secretary RK Chandolia. They are all charged under the prevention of corruption act for misusing their official position.

Apart from politicians and these bureaucrats, there are some corporates too involved in the scam, the top gun among those being Anil Ambani who was questioned by the CBI.

But while he hasn't been chargesheeted, his company ADAG's Reliance Telecom has been.

Crucially, the CBI says it's an "associate" of Swan. It's crucial because two companies of the same group weren't allowed to buy 2G spectrum.

CBI says that Reliance was instrumental in hiding Swan's ineligibility.

The investigating agency has also chargesheeted ADAG's second-in-command, Gautam Doshi, the group's Managing Director (MD) and two senior vice presidents for abetment to cheating.

The promoter and group MD of Unitech, Sanjay Chandra, has also been chargesheeted and so has his company Unitech wireless.

The CBI says it was ineligible to get licenses and Sanjay Chandra is charged with conspiracy and cheating.

And finally, the man who's already in jail, Shahid Balwa, has been charged along with his partner Vinod Goenka.

Indian admits to sexually abusing woman on flight

Boston:  A 64-year-old Indian admitted he sexually abused a woman seated next to him on board a Hong Kong-Newark flight last year.

Ramesh Advani of New Jersey pleaded guilty before US District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh to an information charging him with abusive sexual contact.

Advani's sentencing is scheduled for August 1, 2011.

He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine.

According to documents filed, Advani was seated next to a woman during a May 2010 overnight Continental flight from Hong Kong to Newark.

While the victim fell asleep in her seat, Advani reached his hand under her blanket and sexually abused her, a Department of Justice statement said.

When the woman awoke, she realised what was happening and informed the flight's crew members.

The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over all sexual abuse cases that occur in American airplanes over international waters, because such crimes are not within the jurisdiction of any state, the statement added.

High security in J&K as panchayat polls begin

Qoimoh (Kashmir):  Ignoring the separatists' call for boycott, residents of this south Kashmir block today turned out in numbers to cast votes in the first phase of Panchayat elections, which are being held in Jammu and Kashmir after a gap of 10 years.

Men and women turned up in dozens at polling stations earlier than the scheduled 8.00 am start.

Polling is being held in eight blocks including Bishnah, Samba and Udhampur in Jammu district and Kangan, Budgam, Qoimoh and Kupwara in Kashmir region.

Similar reports of enthusiastic turn out have been reported from other areas of the Valley going to polls today including Budgam and Ganderbal areas.

India still main LeT target, but it has spread wings: US commander

Washington:  Although India remains the main target of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), it has spread its influence internationally to Europe and broader Asia-Pacific region, a top US general has told the US Congress.

"It has historically been focused on the Kashmir region, particularly in order to conduct attacks inside India. And it was responsible for the (26/11) attack in Mumbai that we're all very familiar with," Admiral Robert Willard, commander of the US Pacific Command said Tuesday.

"Unquestionably, they have spread their influence internationally, and they are no longer solely focused in South Asia and on India, although that continues to be their main training ground, and India continues to be their main target," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

LeT, blamed for the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has not only established its base in South Asian countries including Nepal and Bangladesh, but the US has evidence of LeT's presence in Europe and the broader Asia-Pacific region, he said.

Pak and India cannot afford another war: Gilani

Islamabad:  Asserting that Pakistan and India cannot afford another war, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh is a "sensible and sane" person who wants the two countries to resolve their important issues.

Gilani made the remarks during an interaction with senior government officials participating in the National Management Course.

Speaking highly of the Indian Prime Minister's intentions to have good relations with Pakistan, Gilani said Singh had said several times during their meetings that he wanted to do "something really positive" for both countries.

He said Singh, who hailed from Punjab, was highly desirous of resolving important issues, including Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek.

Singh had shown a commitment to improve relations between the South Asian neighbours and said the Kashmir issue can be resolved diplomatically, he said.

Singh had also said several times during their meetings that he wanted to fight the common enemies like poverty, hunger and unemployment, Gilani said.

Gilani noted that he had officially met Singh four times - in Colombo in 2008, in Sharm-el-Sheikh in 2009, in Bhutan in 2010 and at Mohali in India last month.

He said they had also met unofficially on several occasions.

Speaking about the wave of terrorism in Pakistan, Gilani said terrorists were getting their "instructions from a foreign source".

Four airlines landed in Goa despite unsafe conditions

New Delhi:  Four of India's biggest airlines will have to explain why their aircraft have been landing in Goa despite being advised that safety conditions were less than ideal.

Kingfisher, GoAir, JetLite and Jet Airways will be given a period of 48 hours to explain their violations of a curfew imposed by airport safety officials.

Eight flights, each with over 150 passengers, landed at the airport during the prohibitory period.

On April 1, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) informed all airlines that from 3 to 5:30 pm, the airport would be off-limits because a radar system is being repaired. As a result, the Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI), a crucial navigational aid, is not available for pilots, who have to perform "blind landings." Pilots have to gauge features like distance and height before touchdown on their own.

"Despite our warnings to respect the curfew hours, some airlines have violated this directive. They will have to pay for it. We will take action", DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan said to PTI.
Everyday, around 45 flights land at the Goa airport, which is governed by the Indian Navy. Because of naval exercises, the airport is off-limits for commercial airlines from 8:30 to 1 pm. Because of repairs to the radar system, airlines were asked to reschedule eight flights that land between 3 to 5.30 pm.

Yesterday, the four airlines who are now being served formal notice ignored that curfew. They've been asked to de-roster the staff and crew who operated those flights.

"I had also warned them that in case of any violation, we will come down heavily on the operators as well as the flying crew", said Mr Bhushan.

Novatel MiFi 3G/4G 4082 for Sprint Review

Introduction and Design:

The Novatel MiFi 2220 was a groundbreaking device when it launched, but it has been nearly two years since the 3G mobile hotspot device first hit the market.  Since then Sierra has stolen most of the market with their 4G capable Overdrive mobile hotspot.  Well Novatel is back with the MiFi 3G/4G 4082, adding WiMax and support for a memory card.  Included with the MiFi 3G/4G you’ll get a microUSB cable, AC adapter, slip pouch and a beefed up 1530mAh battery.

We always liked the looks of the original MiFi 2200; it was a slim, sleek device and looked equally good in Sprint silver and Verizon black.  This time around the MiFi is black with chrome accents (the Verizon 4G variant shares a color scheme) and looks very sharp.  The MiFi 3G/4G is considerably thicker thanks to the 1530mAh battery, a considerable jump from the 1150mAh one found in the 2200.

The Novatel MiFi 3G/4G 4082 is black with chrome accents

Another key difference is the addition of a small LCD screen, with a concave chrome power button below.  The function is very basic, letting you know your signal and battery strength, GPS status and how many devices are connected to the MiFi.  There is an LED on the bottom of the MiFi 3G/4G that indicates which network you are using: green for 3G, blue for 4G or orange if you don’t have service.

The Novatel MiFi 3G/4G 4082 (L) next to the Novatel MiFi 2220 (R)

Also along the bottom is the microSD slot, microUSB charging port and a WPS button to enable security.  We appreciate the addition of the microSD slot.  By inserting a card (it supports up to 32GB) you enable network storage between any of the up to five connected devices on the MiFi 3G/4G.  This isn’t a new feature (we saw it on the Overdrive) but it is a nice addition nonetheless.

HTC Sense gets its very own interactive demo

Our loyal readers probably know that yesterday we had the chance to play around with the new and shiny HTC Sensation. HTC's new flagship smartphone was the highlight of the event, and besides a number of impressive technical specs, it also boasted the updated HTC Sense 3.0 user interface.

If you want to become more familiar with the features of HTC Sense, the manufacturer has been kind enough to include a neat interactive demonstration on its web site. The main goal of HTC's custom UI  is to make your life easier with seemingly simple, but really useful tweaks to the phone's interface. Such enhancements include making your phone ring louder when it is in your bag and muting it with a single flip, as well as integrating the smartphone's built-in compass with satellite navigation software.  The demo has been drawn in HTC's now traditional cartoonish style and it is quite amusing to play with so feel free to check it out by clicking on the link below.

To watch the interactive demo of the HTC Sense,
source: HTC via Clove

Do you fancy the idea of using NFC for mobile payments? (Poll results)

Analysts and industry insiders really enjoy talking about the NFC era that is set to arrive pretty soon, and our poll, which was active between April 8 and April 13, points out that more than 50% of the people who voted in it are excited about the adoption of this payment method.

Indeed, we have a majority of 52.47% that claims it will welcome the NFC age with open arms, while 26.01% of you inform the society that NFC sounds like a clever acronym standing for identity theft or something like that. Last, but not least we have those people who represent 21.52% of all voters. These guys are not particularly convinced we will have that much of a choice in the long term, and when something is out of your control, then...  well, it's out of your control.

BlackBerry Touch makes its debut on YouTube

Once again, the BlackBerry Touch has popped up online showing off its features in front of the camera. This time, however, we are not talking about leaked photos like the ones we reported about not long ago. RIM's  upcoming smartphone has just recently made its YouTube debut in a 2 minute long bootleg video, in which we finally get to see the device up and running.

The video showcases RIM's latest update to its mobile platform – BlackBerry OS 6.1. Unfortunately,  fellow YouTube user artxenonart, who was kind enough to upload the footage, speaks in Thai so we cannot really tell what he is saying while demoing the smartphone. Still, feel free to check out the video of the BlackBerry Touch and do not hesitate to share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

source: YouTube via Elecrticpig

Vodafone to be joined by Orange, T-Mo and Three in offering the HTC Sensation

We bet the mobile lovers in the UK are a happy bunch, as it's strongly rumored that no less than four UK carriers will offer the newly-announced HTC Sensation.

It's reported that Vodafone will enjoy a month-long exclusive period from May to June, as the lads at Pocket-lint were informed that Orange and the British T-Mo will join Voda in offering this quite sensational handset from June onwards. Even better, Three's subscribers don't have to feel left out from the party, as it's officially announced that the carrier is to offer the HTC Sensation in the summer months, though an exact date is not available at the moment.

Yesterday was an exciting day for pretty much everyone who has a soft spot for monstrous phones and beautiful UIs, so if you want to relive the memories from this event, you may want to go this way for the announcement of the handset and also check our HTC Sensation Hands-on.

As of now, T-Mobile is set to be the only US carrier to offer this handset, which will be renamed the HTC Sensation 4G in the States. It's confirmed this phone will hit the shelves in the US during the summer.

source: Pocket-lint

Wirefly puts the HTC ThunderBolt on sale for $150

The HTC ThunderBolt, Verizon's 4G LTE flagship, just got cheaper than ever. Until Monday of next week,  the online retailer Wirefly will be asking only $149 for the ThunderBolt – a good $100 less than what Big Red is currently selling it for. Signing up for a 2-year contract is still required, of course.

Wirefly's deal beats even Amazon's $179 offer and has to be the cheapest we've ever seen the ThunderBolt being sold for. The bargain works after adding the smartphone to your cart, picking the service plan that suits you most, and entering the promotional code THUNDER0418 at the checkout page. So, if you have been waiting for the right moment to get yourself a shiny new HTC ThunderBolt, this should be the best time to do it.

source: Wirefly via DroidMatters

Sony Ericsson starts a trend, launches its own app channel in Android Market

Sony Ericsson officially becomes the first cell phone manufacturer to launch its own app channel in Android Market. It is a carrier-dependent feature, from what we understand, so not everywhere the My Apps option will be replaced by the Sony Ericsson channel, but it should have started rolling out as we speak. My Apps is still there, you just have to hit the menu button to access it, as it seems.

The idea is to group all apps that are specifically designed for the company's handsets, under one roof. We bet this is a precursor to offering phone-specific apps too (nudge, wink, Sony Ericsson Xperia Play), like exclusive titles for the only Android handset with a dedicated game controller. As per Sony Ericsson, its own Android Market channel will:

" - Provide recommendations to help you find the best games & apps that enhance your Sony Ericsson ‘most entertaining’ experience.
  - Provide a way to easily find original apps from Sony Ericsson such as Timescape plugins etc.
  - From time to time offer exclusive games & apps only available in this channel.
  - Help our developer partners promote their apps & games giving them a highlighted market space to our consumers."

We are already marking a trend here, with phone and chipset manufacturers, as well as other entities, creating their own tidy little universes inside the ragtag Cosmos of Android Market, all in the name of product differentiation.

source: SonyEricsson