Friday, January 12, 2007

The iPhone only made its appearance as a prototype and there have been controversies aroused.

The dispute has come up between the manufacturer of the iPhone (which was resented on Wednesday for the first time) – Apple Inc. – and a leader in network and communication systems, based in San Jose – Cisco. The company claims to possess the trademark for iPhone, and moreover, that it sells devices under the same brand through one of its divisions.

This became the reason for Cisco to file a lawsuit against Apple Inc. so that the latter would stop selling the device.

Cisco states that it has received the trademark in 2000, when the company overtook Infogear Technology Corp., which took place in 1996.

The Vice President and general counsel of the company, Mark Chandler, explained that there was no doubt about the excitement of the new device from Apple, but they should not use a trademark, which belongs to Cisco.

The iPhone developed by Cisco is a device which allows users to make phone calls over the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Six of the world’s major polluters, who participated in this week’s Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (AP6 or APPCDC), have launched a multi-million dollar fund to develop clean-energy, but stressed they will be heavily reliant on polluting fossil-fuels for generations to come.

Green groups, labelling the talks a sham, have condemned the climate talks which were held in Sydney, Australia as a “coal and nuclear pact” between the big polluters and fossil-fuel firms. Australian climate change observers have attacked the AP6 outcomes as grossly irresponsible, saying the Federal Government is willing to accept the reality of runaway climate change.

A communique released by the AP6 states: “We recognise that fossil fuels underpin our economies, and will be an enduring reality for our lifetimes and beyond” – the document said. Green groups say the pact has missed a vital opportunity to commit to renewable energy sources. They say the two-day meeting failed to make any serious commitments in combatting global warming.

Combined, the United States, China, Japan, India, South Korea and Australia, account for around half the globe’s greenhouse gases. The six countries set up the summit as an ulterior method of tackling global warming outside the Kyoto Protocol by, they say, focussing on “clean-energy technology.”

Nuclear Power, clean coal technologies, geosequestration and industry-driven environment funds were some of the proposals raised at the summit. Unlike the Kyoto Protocol the six nations have not set any targets to cut greenhouse gases.

Climate change observers have broadly criticised the AP6 as a waste of time. Australian Climate Institute’s Clive Hamilton says the meeting did little to cut greenhouse gas emissions. “I think really this conference is about trying to protect the long-term future of the coal industry,” he said. “If you look at the sort of business people who have a seat at the table at the conference in Sydney, they overwhelmingly represent the polluting industries rather than those that will at some time in the future replace them – the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.”

CSIRO chief scientist Dr David Brockway says the technology required to reduce greenhouse emissions is not viable for industry.

“It has to be borne in mind that anything we are going to do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and intensity from the Australian economy will come at a cost,” he said. “What we are doing at the moment is doing research to try and reduce the size of that additional cost. I would say in a five to 10 year timeframe a number of these technologies will become viable.”

An AP6 communique issued at the end of the conference said reductions in greenhouse gases must be achieved without hindering economic growth – “the partnership aims to mobilise domestic and foreign investment into clean and low-emission technology by fostering the best possible enabling environments,” it states. Some of the world’s big mining and energy firms attended the talks and pledged to improve efficiency.

Green groups, who were left out of the conference, say the talks were aimed at subverting Kyoto – which obligates some 40 developed countries to cut greenhouse emissions by 5 percent below 1990 levels during 2008-2012. “Basically, they haven’t agreed to do anything in terms of serious commitment,” said Monash University climate change expert Professor Amanda Lynch. The United States and Australia refuse to sign Kyoto claiming its mandatory greenhouse gas cuts would threaten economic growth.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said, “experience has taught us that seeking arbitrary targets doesn’t result in achieving practical solutions to global climate change.” Mr Howard stressed the importance of maintaining economic growth to alleviate poverty, while cutting greenhouse emissions.

He said the summit had injected “an overdue dose of realism into the debate about climate change. We believe it is possible to tackle issues of greenhouse gas emissions and the challenge of climate change without reducing living standards,” he said. “The world will go on using fossil fuels for many years into the future because it’s more economic to do so. So therefore it’s elementary commonsense that you should try and make the use of fossil fuels more greenhouse gas sensitive, you should try and clean up the use of fossil fuel,” he said.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have dismissed Mr Howard’s comments as misleading and irresponsible. The WWF’s chief executive Greg Bourne said, “in my whole business career, I have never seen a more misleading public statement as that… If the statements made today become a reality, this will lock us in to a four-degree rise in global average temperatures, when two-degrees is considered extremely dangerous,” he said. “There couldn’t be anything more irresponsible than to knowingly embark on a path towards massive increases in emissions and runaway global warming.”

The AP6 nations said in the final communique that the eight public/private partnership taskforces created at the conference, will draw up action plans by the middle of 2006 on issues including renewable energy, power generation, cleaner fossil fuels and coal mining.

Environmentalists said the Sydney pact was doomed to fail because it did not impose targets on its members which comprise nearly half of humanity. The New South Wales Nature Conservation Council said the group’s voluntary approach was a “licence for government and business to do nothing”. “Without any incentives or penalties there is no reason for industry to move away from burning polluting coal and oil,” said the council’s Cate Faehrmann.

The AP6 countries encompass: 49 per cent of world GDP; 48 per cent of the world energy consumption; 48 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions; and 45 per cent of the world’s population.

Many scientists say global warming is melting glaciers, raising sea levels and will cause more intense storms, droughts and floods. Current levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere are higher now than at any time in the past 650,000 years, research from Antarctic ice cores shows.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

A man from the east Indian city of Kolkata was force-fed 50 bananas, after he swallowed a gold necklace he stole worth around 45,000 rupees ($1,110).

Sheikh Mohsin, 36, stole the necklace from a businessman’s wife whilst she was toy shopping. When arrested, he denied he stole the necklace, but an X-ray proved that necklace was inside him. In an attempt to get the necklace back, doctors advised the police to feed him bananas, saying they would act as a laxative.

Mohsin was fed 50 bananas, but the laxative effect failed to take place. The police then fed him rice, chicken and bread. He was x-rayed twice during the day, and it was not until the fifth attempt when the necklace was finally excreted.

A sweeper was paid 50 rupees ($1) for recovering the necklace from the toilet, and Mohsin was forced to clean it. Moshin pled for release but this was refused. He will be put in court in Kolkata on August 6, where he could face up to three months imprisonment for “snatching”.

Sunday, February 18, 2007File:Sathyasaibaba.jpg

Indian spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba, 81, found himself embroiled in a political row after his recent remarks characterising the partition of the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) as a “great sin”.

On a recent visit to Chennai he publicly spoke out against the proposed partition of India’s fourth largest state, calling such a move a “mahapapam” (great sin) and claimed that there was no demand from the people to bifurcate AP into Telangana and Andhra states.

The comments caused an outcry among pro-Telangana activists who angrily voiced their protests in street marches and attacks on the Sivam building, the Baba’s temple in Hyderabad, which was staffed by a few devotees. Shouting anti-Sai Baba slogans, the protestors pulled down a large picture of the holy man and trampled on it before taking it outside and setting it on fire. An effigy of the Baba was also reported to have been burnt, and twenty protestors were arrested following several police complaints.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Musician Prince died at home in Minnesota, United States yesterday.

A publicist confirmed his death.”It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson has died”.

A statement from the Carver County Sheriff’s office said Prince was found in an elevator at his home at Paisley Park Studio. Emergency workers were called, but after they were unable to revive him, he was pronounced dead.

Following Prince’s first album in 1978, he came to prominence in the 1980s. His 1980s releases included 1999, Kiss, Purple Rain, and Sign o’ the Times. He went on to record more than 30 albums.During his career he sold more than 100 million records and had 47 songs reach the US Billboard top 100. Five of those songs, When Doves Cry, Kiss, Let’s Go Crazy, Cream, and Batdance, went to number one. The song When Doves Cry was number one for five weeks.

In 1984 Prince starred in the movie Purple Rain, which was based on his album. The movie’s song score won Prince an Academy Award for best original song score. Prince won seven Grammy awards and in 2004 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.He also wrote songs released successfully by other artists, such as Manic Monday released in 1986 by the Bangles and Nothing Compares 2 U released in 1990 by Sinéad O’Connor.

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported an autopsy will be conducted to determine Prince’s cause of death.