Facebook introduces new Notifications tab for iOS, Android

Image: Reuters

Facebook, making a bigger push to deliver personalized information to its members, said Monday it was expanding its mobile alerts to include sports scores, weather updates and local news updates.

Until now, the huge social network’s alerts to smartphone users had been focused around postings by friends, birthdays and upcoming events.

Facebook’s expanded alerts will now also include community news and events, storm warnings and other weather information, and suggestions for television programs or nearby movies.

“We’ve heard feedback that people wanted to add important information that they can easily see, all in one place,” said Facebook product manager Keith Peiris.

Members will be able to personalize these messages for “things happening around your community, like local events and news that is popular in the city you live in,” Peiris added.

Facebook said the change will be rolling out gradually to users of Android and iOS devices but that the notifications will be opt-in.

“Your current notification settings will not change, and you can adjust those any time in your settings,” through “cards” on the social network, Peiris said.

“We’ll continue to listen to feedback about the information people find most useful and may periodically add more cards to choose from.”

280 dead as powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocks Afghanistan, Pakistan and India

Kabul/Islamabad: A massive earthquake struck remote and impoverished regions of northern Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 280 people as it shook buildings across South Asia and knocked out power and communications to already-isolated areas.

The 7.5-magnitude quake was centered deep beneath the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan’s sparsely populated Badakhshan province, which borders Pakistan, Tajikistan and China, the US Geological Survey said.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul, buildings shook for up to 45 seconds, walls cracked and cars rolled in the streets as electricity went out. Frightened workers who had just returned from lunch also rushed from swaying buildings in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and to the south in the Indian capital of New Delhi.

“I was praying when the massive earthquake rattled my home. I came out in a panic,” said Munir Anwar of Liaquat Pur in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province.
At least 228 people were killed in Pakistan, with more than 1,000 injured, while Afghan officials reported 33 dead and more than 200 injured, and authorities in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region reported two deaths. Officials expected the casualty toll to rise as they reached the remote areas.
Authorities struggled to reach the hardest-hit areas in Afghanistan near the epicenter, located 73 kilometers (45 miles) south of Fayzabad, the capital of Badakhshan province.

Abdul Humayoon Dehqan, the head of the National Disaster Management Authority’s provincial office, said he knew of only 12 dead and 20 injured in the province, mostly in collapsed buildings, and that his teams would not reach affected areas until Tuesday morning to get a better count.

Despite vast mineral deposits, Badakhshan is one of Afghanistan’s poorest provinces. It is often hit by earthquakes, but casualty figures are usually low because it is so sparsely populated, with fewer than 1 million people spread across its vast mountains and valleys. It also suffers from floods, snowstorms and mudslides.

Taliban-led insurgents have used its remote valleys as cover recently to seize districts as they spread their footprint across the country. Dehqan said some districts remain under Taliban control “and we don’t know how we will be able to help people in those areas.”

In Takhar province, west of Badakhshan, 12 students at a girls’ school were killed in a stampede as they fled shaking buildings, said Sonatullah Taimor, the spokesman for the provincial governor. Another 42 girls were taken to a hospital in the provincial capital of Taluqan.

Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah convened an emergency meeting of disaster officials and urged them to ensure that people were prepared for aftershocks. That could mean many hundreds would be forced to sleep outdoors in nighttime temperatures dropping below freezing. He instructed doctors and hospitals to be prepared to receive casualties.

President Ashraf Ghani sent condolences to those who lost relatives and property and appointed an “assessment committee” to ensure emergency relief reached the needy as soon as possible, his office said.

The US said it has emergency shelters and relief supply kits stored in warehouses throughout Afghanistan that could be used.

White House spokesman Josh earnest says the U.S. government has been in touch with officials in Afghanistan and Pakistan and is ready to provide any additional support.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was completing a trip to the U.S., said in a televised comment from London that he planned to fly to the quake-affected region Tuesday. He called the quake a “tragedy,” saying most of the casualties and damage were reported in remote areas in the country’s northwest.

Pakistan’s army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif, ordered troops to the areas, the military said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had contacted Sharif to offer help, Pakistani state-run media said. Pakistani TV said Sharif thanked Modi for the offer but provided no further details.

All set for AP capital Amaravati’s ground breaking

Vijayawada: The stage is set for the for the foundation stone laying ceremony of new Andhra Pradesh capital Amaravati on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone at at Uddandarayunipalem village in Guntur district on the occasion of Dussehra.

PM Modi to lay foundation stone of Amaravati tomorrow

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the gala event, which will be attended by ministers from Singapore and Japan, ambassadors from various countries, several central ministers, chief ministers and governors of various states, top politicians and business leaders.

Police have taken control of the venue, where more than two lakh people from different parts of the state are expected to gather. The prime minister along with other dignitaries will perform rituals at 12.35 p.m. to formally lay the foundation stone.

Soil and water brought from all 16,000 villages of Andhra Pradesh will be sprinkled all over Amaravati from helicopters. Water brought from holy places of all the religions will also be used for the foundation stone. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will be attending the ceremony. This will be his first visit to Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation of the state last year.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu personally met Rao in Hyderabad on Sunday and invited him for the ceremony. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, Tamil Nadu Governor Rosaiah, Assam and Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Acharya will attend the event.

YSR Congress party chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, who is the leader of opposition in Andhra Pradesh, has decided to boycott the ceremony. He wrote an open letter to Naidu, asking him not to invite him. Jagan alleged that fertile lands were forcibly taken from farmers for the capital.

The government, however, claimed that farmers had voluntarily donated over 30,000 acres of land for the building the capital. Some of the farmers will be felicitated at the foundation stone laying ceremony. Naidu has promised that it will be a world-class and ‘people’s capital’. He had invited prime ministers of Singapore and Japan for the event but the ministers from the two countries are expected to attend.

While the government of Singapore has prepared masterplan for the capital, Naidu is seeking partnership of Japan in building the city. Naidu is also hoping that Narendra Modi will use the occasion to announce special status and a package for the state. He has been pressing for special category status to undone the ‘injustice’ done to the state with the bifurcation.

Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is a partner in BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, is under fire from the opposition for failing to get the special status despite the promise made by Modi during poll campaign. The chief minister also wants the Centre to extend help in building the capital. “We need the handholding by the Centre till the state develops on par with other neighbouring states,” said Naidu ahead of Modi’s first visit to the state after bifurcation.

Missile Complex in Hyderabad named after Abdul Kalam

India’s prestigious Missile Complex here has been renamed as Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Missile Complex as a tribute to the late former president.

The Missile Complex comprises Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) and Research Centre Imarat (RCI).

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday attended a renaming ceremony at RCI to mark the 84th birth anniversary of Kalam, the father of India’s missile programme.

Kalam had joined Missile Complex, DRDO in 1982 and was part of it for nearly two decades. ASI is considered is his brain child and as its founder director, he conceived and steered RCI as a generator of critical missile technologies.

Parrikar also inaugurated two advanced R&D facilities of RCI – Outdoor RCS Test Facility ‘ORANGE’, at Dundigal and Kautilya Advanced Research Centre at RCI.

Speaking on the occasion, he said renaming the institutions alone will not help but they should deliver to accomplish the vision of Kalam.

The defence minister said it was because of Kalam’s vision and the encouragement he gave to the students that many youngsters were taking up defence as a career.

Asserting that India should become 100 percent self reliant in missile technology, he called for filling the gaps in achieving the goal.

G. Satheesh Reddy, scientific advisor to the defence minister and director, RCI along with other scientists, lab directors, project directors and senior officials of Defence Research and Development Ogranisation (DRDO) attended the event.

– IANS

For first time, Pakistan admits its mini-nukes only to deter conventional Indian attack

‘Pakistan has built low-yield nuclear weapons to counter Indian aggression’

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has made low-yield nuclear weapons in response to India’s actions under its cold-start doctrine, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary told a news briefing here on Tuesday.

This is the first concrete explanation from a senior Pakistani official on how Islamabad plans to deal with India’s so called cold-start doctrine, now re-named the pro-active strategy.

It is also a rare explanation of Pakistan’s decision to make tactical nuclear weapons to deal with the possible threat of Indian aggression.

Briefing the Pakistani media on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Washington, Chaudhary also said that Pakistan would not sign any nuclear deal with the United States during the visit.

National interest a priority: PM
Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday reaffirmed that Pakistan’s national interests will be prioritised during his upcoming visit to the United States (US).

The premier was speaking to media personnel in London, en route the US.

“We will protect the national interests of Pakistan during my meetings with US leadership,” said the prime minister.

While responding to a question on recent reports in US media regarding Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, and plans to limit it, the premier said: “We should not forget who the prime minister was in 1999 when we became a nuclear power.”

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also stated that concrete evidence regarding India’s sponsoring of terrorism has been forwarded to relevant people and organisations, and expressed hope that Pakistan’s concerns would be addressed.

The premier added that the incumbent government would end the power crisis facing the country before the next general elections.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also expressed his disappointment at the attitude shown by the opposing Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and their repeated claims of rigging following the by-elections recently held in Punjab.

Yesterday, the Foreign Office had clarified that no “deal” is being discussed between Pakistan and the United States.

According to earlier media reports, US has been weighing options to sign a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan.

A report in The Washington Post had claimed that the US is exploring an option that could pave the way for a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan like the one concluded with India in 2005.

Change of number plates from AP to Telangana clashes with GO making security plates must

All the vehicles in Telangana which were registered with ‘AP code’ in Undivided AP, will now have to register afresh with ‘TS code’.

The Telangana government on Thursday issued a notification for reassignment of registration numbers of vehicles from AP to TS.

Only the State code from AP to TS and the district code (2-digit number) will change. After district code, the second series of two alphabets and the last set of four numerical will continue to remain the same. Four months time has been given for vehicle owners to make these changes.

Transport Department will soon come up with a online facility in which it will  host the old number and the new number on its website ‘www.telangana.transport.gov.in’. The number will have a new State code of TS and the district code which will be in numerals.

The vehicle owner can access the facility using the engine/chassis number as the password and take a printout, which will then be the proof of the changed number and get the new number plate.

However, if the owner wants to get a new smart registration  card, he would have to pay a nominal price. The transport department will soon issue guidelines on all these issues to give clarity for vehicle owners seeking registration change.

There are an estimated 82 lakh vehicle owners  in Telangana, including 16 lakh in Hyderabad, who have to change the registration plates from AP to TS.

Workplace stress can kill you, here’s how

Stressed at work? A new research has suggested that it can increase your risk of having a stroke Having a lot of job stress has been linked to heart disease, but studies on job stress and stroke have shown inconsistent results, said Dingli Xu from Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, adding that it’s possible that high stress jobs lead to more unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits, smoking and a lack of exercise.

The analysis looked at all of the available research on job strain and stroke risk. The six studies analyzed involved a total of 138,782 participants who were followed for three to 17 years.

The analysis found that people with high stress jobs had a 22 percent higher risk of stroke than those with low stress jobs. Women with high stress jobs had a 33 percent higher risk of stroke than women with low stress jobs.

People with high stress jobs were 58 percent more likely to have an ischemic stroke than those with low stress jobs. Ischemic stroke, which is the most common type of stroke, is caused by blockage of blood flow. People in passive and active jobs did not have any increased risk of stroke.

The researchers calculated that 4.4 percent of the stroke risk was due to the high stress jobs. For women, that number increased to 6.5 percent.

Based on this study, it is reasonable to consider testing interventions aimed at increasing job control, such as decentralization of decision-making and flexibility in job structure, such as telecommuting.

If effective, such workplace changes could have a major public health impact, said researcher Jennifer J. Majersik.

Xu said limitations of the research were that job stress was measured at only one point in time and that other factors, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, were not adequately adjusted for in the original studies.

The study is published in Neurology.

Maggi noodle sales may resume soon, HC ordered tests prove noodles safe

Maggi noodles may soon return to shelves, as the tests conducted at labs mandated by the Bombay High Court show that the instant food is safe for consumption.

Nestle India, the manufacturer of the banned Maggi noodle, said that it has obtained the sample test results from the three laboratories designated by the court to test the safety levels of noodles.

“All 90 samples, covering 6 variants, tested by these laboratories are clear with lead much below permissible limits,” said Nestle India in a press statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Following the announcement, Nestle India shares soared over 6% to Rs 6,599 on the BSE.

The company said that it has carried out more than 3,500 tests on 200 million packs of Maggi noodles at recognised labs located in India and abroad.

On 5 June, the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s food regulator, had ordered Nestle India to recall all available stocks of Maggi noodles after finding harmful levels of lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG) in tested samples.

Nestle India challenged the ban in the Bombay High Court, which subsequently overruled the FSSAI order. However, the court said that Nestle India can resume the sale of Maggi noodles only after the samples are tested safe for consumption by the government-approved laboratories.

Supreme Court scraps NJAC, declares 99th amendment void and unconstitutional

The Supreme Court on Friday declared the 99th amendment of the constitution as void and “unconstitutional” while striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) that sought to replace the 22-year-old collegium system for appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.

The apex court declared the constitutional 99th amendment, which was meant to pave way for the NJAC and the NJAC Act, 2014, unconstitutiona

Striking down the proposal to set up NJAC, the SC constitution Bench of Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice J Chelameswar, Justice Madan B Lokur, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel restored the old collegium system for the appointment and transfer of judges in the higher Indian judiciary.

The court said the system of “appointment of judges to the SC, chief justices and judges of the high courts and the transfer of chief justices and judges of the high courts that existed prior to the amendment begins to be operative”.

The SC also sought for suggestions from the bar to improve the functioning of the collegium system and will hear the same on 3 November.

Here’s where you can pre-order the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in India

Ahead of their launch in India on October 16, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are up for pre-order. A slew of online retailers, including Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Infibeam, and Paytm, are now accepting pre-orders for the phones, along with Vodafone. Here’s how much the new iPhones cost in India:

iPhone 6s:
16GB – ₹62,000 ($940)
64GB – ₹72,000 ($1,093)
128GB – ₹82,000 ($1,244)

iPhone 6s Plus:
16GB – ₹72,000 ($1,093)
64GB – ₹82,000 ($1,244)
128GB – ₹92,000 ($1,396)
Most stores are offering launch-day delivery for customers pre-ordering the handsets. Vodafone is offering 4,000 minutes, 3GB of 3G data and 1,500 text messages a month for 6 months to all customers purchasing a Vodafone Red plan along with the new handsets.

Pre-order iPhone 6s, 6s Plus at Amazon
Pre-order iPhone 6s, 6s Plus at Flipkart
Pre-order iPhone 6s, 6s Plus at Snapdeal
Pre-order iPhone 6s, 6s Plus at Infibeam
Pre-order iPhone 6s, 6s Plus at Vodafone

How many of you are looking to pre-order the iPhone 6s or the 6s Plus?

PM Modi Salutes Former President APJ Abdul Kalam on His 84th Birth Anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tribute to late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his 84th birth anniversary.

“Salutations to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary”, Prime Minister Modi said in an official release.

PM Modi will also unveil a statue of the former President and inaugurate a photo exhibition in the capital as part of Kalam’s birth anniversary celebrations.

Bharat Ratna awardee Abdul Kalam, who passed away on July 27, was the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007.

Before becoming the President, Abdul Kalam had spent four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

He was involved in India’s civilian space programme and military missile development efforts, earning him the title of ‘Missile man’.

Ratan Tata to launch TS industrial hub

Telangana Industrial hub is all set to begin on November 5 and the government is making all the necessary preparations for the inaugural event. The inauguration will witness Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata as the Chief Guest.

The Telangana Industrial hub has already received 400 applications for the start-ups and two of those included from United States. Telangana government is planning to encourage major companies to provide employment opportunities for the youngsters in the state.

Modest Dhoni credits bowlers, calls it team effort

Mahendra Singh Dhoni might have paved the way for India’s victory with an unbeaten 92 in the second cricket ODI, but the skipper preferred to credit his bowlers for the series-levelling win against South Africa here tonight.

Going through the toughest phase of his international career, Dhoni produced a captain’s knock to guide India to a respectable 247 for nine and then showed good leadership acumen with smart bowling changes to bundle out South Africa for 225 in 43.4 overs.

“What was important for us was to get early breakthroughs and that was provided by the spinners. I felt the spinners bowled well on a wicket where there was less assistance for them. Later on the fast bowlers took wickets at crucial intervals. Overall, it was a complete team effort,” Dhoni told reporters at the post-match press conference.

“It is such a victory where the bowlers’ contribution is more than the batsmen. Some bowlers contributed by scoring runs as well. In a score like 250 if your bowlers contribute 40 odd runs it means a lot,” he said.

A wide range of strokes were on display as Dhoni answered his critics with an unbeaten knock that came off 86 balls.

‘Captain Cool’ batted with tail-enders with a calm head as India scored 82 runs off the last 10 overs to put on a board a decent total, which at one stage looked impossible having slumped to 165 for seven in 40 overs.

Apple Announces iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and iWatch – Available September 19th

The iPhone 6 will launch later this year via Apple’s online and retail stores, in addition to all major carriers. And yes, it looks like the iPhone’s screen has grown once again.

The new iPhone–or iPhones, rather–will come in two new, bigger screen sizes. The iPhone 6 bumps up to the rumored 4.7 inches, while the Plus will have a walloping 5.5-inch screen. Additionally, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will scale down to only 6.8mm and 7.1mm thin, respectively. The iPhone 5S, in comparison was 7.6mm.

In a lot of ways, the iPhone 6 Plus really is the bridge between Apple’s smartphones and the iPad tablet. For instance, the Plus will work with a horizontal home screen. And thanks to the increased screen real estate, there’s more room for little touches like user pictures on the Messages app.

The iPhone 6 line will also include a new Apple chipset, the A8. According to Apple, the A8 is 25 percent faster than the A7, with a 50 percent boost in graphics performance. But will the battery life improve? Based on what Apple presented this morning, it would appear the battery is more or less on par with the iPhone 5S. But hey, that’s still 24 hours of talk time on 3G (supposedly).

The LTE functionality of the iPhone 6 and Plus have received a considerable boost. The devices now support up to 20 LTE bands, which Apple claims is more than any other smartphone in the world. Wi-Fi has also moved to 802.11ac in the devices, so you can expect “up to 3 times faster” Wi-Fi signals on compatible networks.

The new, protruding camera is 8MP with “True Tone” flash and a f/2.2 aperture. According to Apple’s Phil Schiller, the camera’s new sensor allows for auto-focus that works twice as fast, thanks to “phase detection.” While the iPhone 6 will include digital image stabilization, the iPhone 6 Plus will utilize optical image stabilization, which should make those shaky action shots come out way better.

And more than just still photos, the iPhone 6 can now shoot 1080p video at either 30fps or 60fps, while Slo-Mo functionality moves to an impressive 240fps. The faster auto-focus for still photos–that faster “phase detection” tech–also transfers over to video on the iPhone 6. Perhaps most impressive, this could mean no more constant tapping of the screen to refocus during longer video shots.

Missing Air Algerie Flight AH5017 Crashes in Niger Due to Bad Weather: 116 people died

 

 

Reuters – An Air Algerie flight that went missing en route from Burkina Faso to Algiers has crashed, an Algerian aviation official told Reuters on Thursday.

“I can confirm that it has crashed,” the official said, declining to give details of where the plane was or what caused the accident.

25 students dead after Nanded-Secunderabad passenger train hits school bus

The tragic accident took place in Masayipet village of Telangana’s Medak district at 9.10 am on Thursday.

The students were of a private school and came from nearby villages Islampur, Gundredpalli, Kishtapur and Venkatapur. Several other children in that bus, which had 38 in all, are seriously injured and undergoing treatment at the Yashoda Hospital at Secunderabad.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao visited the hospital and has ordered a probe into the accident. He reviewed the situation with Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma and DGP Anurag Sharma. He has ordered officials to take necessary steps to extend all medical assistance to the injured. Police say the toll may rise as some of the children are critically injured.

Villagers blame railway authorities for the mishap, but grieving parents found fault with the bus driver for overspeeding and negligence while crossing the railway track.

Photos

After Google, another US Web firm cuts back in China

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Two days after Google halted censorship in China, another leading US Internet company, Go Daddy, said it was cutting back on its activities there because of Chinese regulations.

Go Daddy, the largest Web domain name registrar in the world, is no longer registering names in China because of “chilling” new requirements imposed by the Chinese authorities, executive vice president Christine Jones said on Wednesday.

Jones also told a hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China that Go Daddy was one of the companies hit by Chinese-based cyberattacks in December that contributed to Google’s decision to stop self-censorship there.

Representative Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, praised Google and Go Daddy at the hearing here for “doing the right thing in China” and urged other US companies, specifically Microsoft, to follow their lead.

Related article: Foreign firms ponder China future

“Google fired a shot heard ’round the world, and now a second American company has answered the call to defend the rights of the Chinese people,” Smith said.

Google announced Monday it had effectively closed its Chinese-language search engine in China, Google.cn, and begun redirecting mainland Chinese users to an uncensored site in Hong Kong.

Chronology: Google’s operations in China

Alan Davidson, Google’s director of public policy, told the hearing the Hong Kong site is already being censored.

“We are well aware that the Chinese government can, at any time, block access to our services — indeed we have already seen intermittent censorship of certain search queries on both Google.com.hk and Google.com,” he said.

Davidson also echoed a call made by Google co-founder Sergey Brin for new rules to govern trade in the online world.

Brin said in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian that Chinese regulations that prevent companies from being competitive in China should be considered a “trade barrier.”

“Since services and information are our most successful exports, if regulations in China effectively prevent us from being competitive, then they are a trade barrier,” Brin said.

Davidson said governments “need to develop a full set of new trade rules to address new trade barriers.

“We should continue to look for effective ways to address unfair foreign trade barriers in the online world: to use trade agreements, trade tools, and trade diplomacy to promote the free flow of information on the Internet.”

Brin and Davidson’s comments came after TOM Online, the Internet company owned by Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, severed ties with Google.

TOM, which runs online and mobile Internet services in mainland China, said that “as a Chinese company, we adhere to rules and regulations in China where we operate our businesses.”

TOM’s move sparked concerns other companies may also pull away from the Web giant. On Thursday the Financial Times reported that China Unicom, the country’s second largest mobile phone operator, will jettison Google’s search function from new handsets.

The move is the first concrete result of Google’s decision to shut down its Chinese search engine on Monday.

“We are willing to work with any company that abides by Chinese law…. We don’t have any cooperation with Google currently,” the Financial Times quoted China Unicom president Lu Yimin as saying.

China has attacked Google for stopping censorship but said there should be no broader fall-out in Sino-US ties provided the issue is not politicized in the United States.

Go Daddy’s Jones said the company has been authorized since April 2005 by the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) to offer registration services for .cn domain names.

The .cn suffix is a Top Level Domain for China like .com and individuals or companies seeking to create a Web address are required to go through a registrar such as Go Daddy, which has 40 million domain names under management.

Jones said Go Daddy collects contact information of individuals or companies registering a domain name including their full name, address, telephone number and email address.

Four months ago, however, CNNIC required registrants of new .cn names to provide color headshot photos, a Chinese business registration number and signed registration forms, she said.

She said Go Daddy is “concerned for the security of the individuals affected by CNNIC’s new requirements, as well as for the chilling effect we believe the requirements will have on new .cn domain name registrations.

“For these reasons, we have decided to discontinue offering new .cn domain names at this time,” Jones said. “We didn’t want to act as an agent of the Chinese government.”

Jones also said that Go Daddy was one of more than 30 companies hit by the cyberattacks in December that Google said originated in China. “We’ve had a couple of dozen since the first of the year as well,” she said.

“The Google attack was aimed at infiltrating email accounts,” she said. “The attack on our system is designed to disable websites somebody doesn’t like.”

Bin Laden issues fresh threat to U.S.

Exiled al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, threatened in a new audio recording released on Thursday to kill any captured Americans if the U.S. executes the self-professed mastermind of the September 11 attacks or any other al-Qaeda suspects.

The U.S. is still considering whether to put Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four of his fellow plotters on military tribunal for their role in the September 11 attacks. The Obama administration is also looking into recommendations for civilian trials, and is expected to announce a decision soon.

In a brief 74-second audio tape aired on Al-Jazeera television, bin Laden said if the U.S. decides to execute any al-Qaeda suspects in its custody — and explicitly mentioned Mohammed — his terror network would kill American captives.

The terror leader said such a decision “would mean the U.S. has issued a death sentence against whoever of you becomes a prisoner in our hands.”

It was not immediately clear whether al-Qaeda currently has any U.S. captives, but the Haqqani group – the Pakistan-based Taliban faction closest to al-Qaeda — is holding an American soldier it captured in eastern Afghanistan in June 2009. It released a video of him in December.

Bin Laden said U.S. President Barack Obama is following in the footsteps of his predecessor George W. Bush by escalating the war in Afghanistan, being “unjust” to al-Qaeda prisoners and supporting Israel in its occupation of Palestinian land.

In a veiled threat, bin Laden said Americans had previously thought their homeland was beyond the reach of his group until the 9/11 attack.

Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in 2003, is the most senior al-Qaeda operative in U.S. custody, and is currently in detention at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 2008, the U.S. charged him with murder and war crimes in connection with the September 11 attacks. Pentagon officials have said they’ll seek the death penalty.

Water Board seeks hike in water tariff

Hyderabad: In a bid to earn more revenues, the Water Board has proposed a hike in the water tariff.

Officials of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board are working out the different slabs and are likely to target the high-end consumers like hotels and other commercial establishments while bringing the hike to effect.

The tariff for the 16-30 kilolitre slab consumers may increase from Rs 8 to Rs 12 or maybe even Rs 14 per kilolitre.

Similarly, for the 31-50 kilolitre slab, there may be an increase from Rs 15 to Rs 20 per kilolitre.

The Water Board expects an increase of Rs 10 crore in its monthly revenue due to the hike. Currently, the Board collects Rs 32 crore as revenue from water bill payments each month against a monthly expenditure of Rs 45 crore.

The water tariff was last increased in 2002. The officials are planning to place the proposals before the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, who is also the chairman of the Water Board. He is scheduled to review the performance of the Board on March 27.

Sources say that domestic consumers, currently, paying Rs 6 per kilolitre are likely to be exempted from the hike. The Rosaiah government is averse to the idea of imposing additional burden on the middle and lower middle classes of the society. When contacted, the Water Board executive director, Mr Ashok Reddy, told this correspondent that nothing had been finalised and there had only been a discussion among officials regarding a hike.

It may be mentioned that Andhra Pradesh was was the first state to increase bus fares.

Even Transco is reportedly proposing a revision in power tariff.

Book LPG cylinders at e-Seva

Hyderabad: Applications for new cooking gas connections will soon be accepted through all e-Seva centres across the state. This comes after a good response to the initiative in Hyderabad.

Many applicants allege that dealers insist they purchase a gas stove and other gadgets from them to get the new connection. A dealer makes a profit of around Rs 1,000 on the sale of the stove etc. but for consumers who already have a stove it’s a waste of money