Thursday, October 29, 2009 TOKYO: A Japanese zero-emission "hybrid" scooter to be released next year runs 10 times as economically as a petrol engine bike and can be assisted by human pedal power, its maker said Thursday.The Miletto, developed by auto equipment maker PROSTAFF Co. Ltd., will make its debut at 156,900 yen (1,730 dollars) in 12 colours, the company said."It normally runs with battery power, but on a steep hill the rider would work the pedals to assist," said Ryo Teranishi, a planning official for the company, which is based in the central Japanese city of Ichinomiya."It's a zero-emission vehicle in itself but this hybrid of an electric motor and manpower makes it even more environmentally friendly," he said.With a single charge, which takes between two and four hours, the Miletto can run 35 kilometres (22 miles) on a flat road without pedalling.That means it can travel three kilometres on one yen (one cent), roughly 10 times as economical as a conventional scooter, the company said.The company has no specific plans at the moment to sell the scooter abroad.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
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