Translate

Search This Blog

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Google Accidentally Offends Japanese Sensibilities

When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn't expect a backlash.The finely detailed woodblock prints have been around for centuries, they were already posted on another Web site, and a historical map of Tokyo put up in 2006 hadn't caused any problems.But Google failed to judge how its offering would be received, as it has often done in Japan. The company is now facing inquiries from the Justice Ministry and angry accusations of prejudice because its maps detailed the locations of former low-caste communities.

MS Windows 7 goes on public test

A release candidate of Windows 7, the next major release of the world's most popular operating system, goes public in trial form in the next week.Microsoft is hoping it can avoid the negative press that surrounded the launch of Vista, the last major Windows release, almost three years ago.Windows 7 has been designed to be compatible with Vista so users do not have to invest in new hardware.A commercial release of Windows 7 is expected in the next nine months.

Team Standings IPL2009

MPWLNRRRP
Hyderabad6420+0.718
Delhi6420+0.088
Mumbai6321+1.057
Chennai7331+0.947
Rajasthan7331-1.037
Punjab6330+0.106
Bangalore7340-0.336
Kolkata7151-1.393

Jakati puts Daredevils into a spin



The Chennai Super Kings continued their climb up the IPL table with an 18-run win over the Delhi Daredevils.

Royals rally to beat Chargers by 3 wickets

Abhishek Raut held his nerve at the death to help the Rajasthan Royals defeat the Deccan Chargers by three wickets with just 2 ball remaining in a classic IPL game at St George's Park.Chasing 142 runs to win, Rajasthan Royals lost seven wickets to achieve the target in 19.4 overs. Yusuf Pathan (24) and skipper Shane Warne (21) brief cameo resurrected Royals' innings after they lost their five top order batsmen before the strategic break against Deccan Chargers at St George's Park. The Royals registered their third victory in the event from seven matches to put their title defence campaign on track, while the Deccan Chargers slumped to their second consecutive defeat to slide from the top of the points table. The Royals started their innings on a disastrous note as they lost three quick wickets by the end of the second over. Opener Graeme Smith was sent back unhappy by Fidel Edwards in the first over for a duck. Swapnil Asnodkar too joined him quickly as he was run out after a huge mix-up with Lee Carseldine. Asnodkar failed to open his account. RP Singh Singh then got rid of Naman Ojha (0) to jolt Rajasthan Royals.Venugopal Rao dismissed Ravindra Jadeja (12) and Lee Carseldine (39) in the 9th over to peg Rajasthan Royals back. Carseldine was unlucky to be adjudged lbw as a big inside edge did not bother umpire Sudhir Asnani to raise his deadly finger. Earlier, Tirumalsetti Suman (41*), Rohit Sharma (38) and Adam Gilchrist (39) guided Deccan Chargers to 141/5 in 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals at St George's Park. 

Man Utd go six points clear with Boro win

Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-sung scored in each half as Manchester United won 2-0 at Middlesbrough on Saturday to go six points clear at the top of the English Premier League.The defeat leaves Boro deep in relegation trouble and with just three games left to avoid the drop.By contrast, United have one hand on the Premiership trophy for the third year in a row and owed victory to a captain's performance from the evergreen Giggs on his 801st appearance for the Red Devils.Their nearest title rivals Liverpool can cut the gap to three points with victory over Middlesbrough's north-east neighbors and fellow relegation strugglers Newcastle on Sunday.But United will have a game in hand going into the closing games of the season and with the benefit of a near fully-fit squad.Alex Ferguson could afford to rest the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Edwin van der Sar and Michael Carrick ahead of Tuesday's Champions League semifinal decider against Arsenal.But he was still able to include Wayne Rooney, Giigs, Paul Scholes, Nemanja Vidic and Dimitar Berbatov in his starting line up at the Riverside.

Nadal to face Djokovic after easy semi-final victory

World number 1, Rafael Nadal is to challenge the Rome Masters title holder, Novak Djokovic in the tournament's final. The Spaniard defeated 12th-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in two straight sets.World number one Rafael Nadal will play Novak Djokovic in the final of the ATP Rome Masters after their respective victories against Fernando Gonzalez and Roger Federer on Saturday.World number three Djokvic is the reigning champion here and needs to retain his title or Britain's Andy Murray will overtake him in the world rankings, while Nadal claimed the crown in the three previous years.Serbian Djokovic made the most of a rain break to transform his play and beat Federer 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a thriller.He was trailing by a set and a break when the heavens opened to give him some much needed respite.After a little more than an hour off court, Djokovic came back rejuvenated while Federer's game slowly crumbled.The Swiss master hadn't even faced a single break point before the rain but was broken five times after it as his game gradually broke down.He later blamed the rain for his defeat.

US car sales fall by 34 percent in April

Hard on the heels of Chrysler's bankruptcy filing and with GM struggling to avoid a similar fate, April car sale figures released on Saturday showed a further slide, dropping 34% from a year earlier.Bad news at Chrysler and General Motors took a bite out of US auto sales that fell 34 percent in April as consumers shied away from dealerships amid growing economic uncertainty. The news of Chrysler's bankruptcy on Thursday came too late in the month to have a major impact on sales.But school closings as a result of swine flu and the media's focus on the ongoing problems in the automotive industry had "a little bit of a CNN effect" on overall industry sales, said Ford analyst George Pipas."There are indications in the economy several leading indicators, that suggest that we are near or at bottom in auto sales, and also the economy's contraction is beginning to subside," Pipas said. Ford sales fell 32 percent to 134,401 in April and were down 40 percent for the year to date at 458,772.But Ford -- which unlike GM and Chrysler has not needed government aid to survive a collapse in auto sales -- celebrated the fact that it has managed to increase its share of the US market for six out of the past seven months. 

US economy shrinks by 6.1%

The US economy shrunk by 6.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 as cuts by businesses and a drop in exports continue to fuel the US recession.The drop in gross domestic product (GDP), reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, was much steeper than the 4.9 per cent annual rate predicted by economists.US exports plunged by 30 per cent, the biggest decline since 1969, as international buyers cut back in the face of economic troubles in their own countries, the report said.And investment in businesses also fell by 37.9 per cent, while investment in housing slumped by 38 per cent, the biggest decline since the second quarter of 1980.The Commerce Department said the government's $787bn stimulus package, approved in February, had had little impact on the first-quarter's GDP.

U.S. Military: Man in Iraq Army Uniform Kills 2 American Troops

A gunman wearing an Iraqi army uniform opened fire on a U.S. military team Saturday, killing two American soldiers and wounding three others at a combat outpost in northern Iraq, the military said.A military statement said the attacker was killed after the ambush-style assault 12 miles south of Mosul, which is one of the last urban strongholds for Sunni insurgents.In the past, attackers have used military and police uniforms to bypass checkpoints and gain access to heavily guarded bases.The U.S. statement gave no other information on the attack, but Iraqi military officials said the gunman was a Sunni Muslim cleric assigned to an Iraqi army unit.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.The attack could elevate worries about militant infiltration in Iraqi security forces as the U.S. military turns over more responsibilities in a phased withdrawal process before all American forces leave at the end of 2011.

Russia guarding border separatist zones

Russian soldiers have begun patrolling the de-facto borders of Georgia's rebel region of South Ossetia, ahead of scheduled NATO military exercises in the area that Moscow views as a challenge to the west.Russian guards have taken up positions on the borders of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in line with a pact the separatists sealed with Moscow, Interfax reported on Saturday."Subdivisions of Russia's border forces have already entered South Ossetia and gone to the border," the head of border forces for the southern federal region, Nikolai Lisinsky, said."The headquarters of the border forces is to be located right in Tskhinvali and the rest along the whole border," he said, referring to the South Ossetian capital at the centre of a brief war last year between Russia and Georgia.In another separatist region, Abkhazia, the head of the separatists' armed forces, Anatoly Zaitsev, said Russian border guards had been met by local residents bearing flowers as they arrived to begin work."Subdivisions of Russia's border forces arrived in the Gali district immediately after the signing in Moscow of the agreement on joint protection of the Abkhaz border," said Zaitsev, referring to the pacts signed on Thursday between Moscow and the leaders of the two separatist regions.Earlier the West condemned the signing of border defence treaties between Moscow and the leaders of the two regions.

Many dead in Pakistan clashes

At least 18 people have been killed in heavy clashes between Pakistani troops and pro-Taliban fighters in northwest Pakistan.The deaths followed an attack on a security checkpoint in the Mohmand tribal region along the border with Afghanistan early on Saturday. "The Taliban attack was launched before dawn, troops retaliated and heavy fighting continued until early this morning," Major Fazal Khan, a local military spokesman, said.Officials said that the dead included at least 16 fighters and two paramilitary soldiers.In the neighbouring district of Bajaur, armed men took over a house killing at least one civilian and injuring several women, security sources said.The clashes in the tribal areas come as soldiers in Buner district, just 100km northwest of the capital, Islamabad, battled pro-Taliban fighters.

Australia outlines military plans

The Australian government says it is to spend more than $72bn (£48bn) upgrading its military over the next two decades.Key purchases include 100 fighter jets and 12 new submarines, replacing the current fleet of six.Eight frigates and 24 combat helicopters are also on the list, set out in the country's first defence white paper for 10 years.The government says it will enable Australia to defend its interests in a changing Asia-Pacific region.The white paper is entitled: "Defending Australia in the Asia-Pacific Century; Force 2030".The 12 new hunter-killer submarines - which will be built in Australia - will double the size of the current fleet.One hundred F-35 fighters will be purchased over the next decade, and funds will also be allocated to counter cyber and electronic warfare.

Tsvangirai: Zimbabwe is broke

Zimbabwe's unity government is out of money and is unable to meet demands by unions for higher wages, the country’s prime minister has said at a May Day rally.Morgan Tsvangirai said on Friday that the new government, which he formed with President Robert Mugabe in February, can only afford annual salaries of $100 for workers."This government is broke, and we are only able to pay the $100 allowance, but when things improve, we want this allowance to graduate into a proper salary," he said."For now, everyone, all of us, including President Mugabe, is getting $100."

Somali Pirate Hijacking Thwarted, Explosives Seized

Special forces on a Portuguese warship seized explosives from suspected Somali pirates after thwarting an attack on an oil tanker, but later freed the 19 men. Hours later and hundreds of miles away, another band of pirates hijacked a cargo ship, a NATO spokesman said Saturday.Pirates are now holding 17 ships and around 300 crew, including the British-owned cargo ship Ariana, hijacked overnight with its Ukrainian crew.The attack on the Ariana, about 1,000 miles (1600 kilometers) from the sea corridor NATO guards and the seizure of explosives from the group that attacked the crude oil tanker MV Kition may indicate the pirates are adapting their tactics as crews become better trained in counter-piracy measures.Sailors are aware that pirates generally attack during the day and that some guidelines suggest designating a safe room with a bulletproof door where crews can lock themselves in case of an attack. Such a room would still be vulnerable to being blown open with explosives.

Sri Lanka denies shelling hospital

Sri Lanka's military has denied that it shelled a makeshift hospital in a Tamil Tiger-held conflict zone in the northeast of the country, in which a hospital official said at least 67 people died.Unconfirmed reports by TamilNet, a pro-Tamil website, said that the hospital in Mullivaikal was hit by artillery shells fired by government forces on Saturday.Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, Sri Lanka's military spokesman, said that the claims were the latest in a series of "exaggerated stories" by those sympathetic to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)."There is no shelling taking place; we have never shelled this place and it happened in an area where the LTTE [are in control]," "They must take the full responsibility for the people who were killed or injured."

Israeli air strikes target Gaza border tunnels

Israeli warplanes targeted tunnels near the town of Rafah along Gaza's border with Egypt after mortars were fired from the Palestinian territory into Israel. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Israeli warplanes bombed tunnels beneath the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Saturday after militants fired several mortars at the Jewish state from the coastal territory, witnesses said.The Israeli military confirmed it had launched several air strikes near the Gaza town of Rafah, along the Egyptian border, but had no further comment.There were no immediate reports of casualties.Israel had resumed attacks on Friday on tunnels it says are used to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip, after a nearly two-month hiatus in such strikes. There were no casualties in Friday's air strikes, launched after a rocket struck Israel.Israel said three mortars were fired at Israel from the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, causing no casualties. The Palestinian Resistance Committees, a militant group in Gaza, claimed it had fired the mortars on Saturday.Militant rocket fire has dropped significantly since Egypt began efforts to consolidate the Jan. 18 truce that ended Israel's 22-day offensive against Gaza's Islamic militants.

H1N1 flu virus spreads into Asia

South Korea has confirmed the country's first case of the H1N1 flu, making it the second Asian nation to report an outbreak of the potentially fatal virus. A 51-year-old woman has been in quarantine since returning from Mexico, Lee Jong-koo, chief of the state disease control centre, told a news conference on Saturday.Seoul's confirmation came as China quarantined hundreds of people in a Hong Kong hotel and cancelled all flights between the city of Shanghai and Mexico.A traveller who arrived in Hong Kong from Mexico via Shanghai has tested positive for H1N1 strain of the influenza virus.All of the 176 passengers and 13 crew from the Mexicana airlines flight which brought the traveller to Shanghai will also be placed under "seven-day medical observation", China's health ministry said.It called on all passengers from that flight and another which took the Mexican patient from Shanghai, to Hong Kong to get in touch with the health authorities "to ensure that all passengers can get timely medical tests".