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Wednesday, January 06, 2010 MOUNTAIN VIEW: Google Inc took the wraps off the first of its smartphones on Tuesday, a device with speech recognition that it hopes can take on Apple's iPhone over time and help shore up the company's dominance in Internet advertising. Analysts say the phone -- to be sold directly to consumers -- is not expected to dramatically alter the carrier-hardware vendor relationship the industry relies on, nor is it likely to yield a revenue windfall in the short term, though executives said it could be profitable. Google plans to use what it calls a "superphone" -- the first of many types of smartphones that it will make -- to expand its reach from the PC to the mobile world and ensure its online products and ads get prominent placement on a new breed of wireless Internet devices. The highly anticipated Nexus One, which marks the first time the 11-year-old Internet search titan has designed and sold its own consumer hardware device, could ...

Wednesday, January 06, 2010 WASHINGTON: The life seems to have paralyzed in the U.S., China AND Britain, as the extreme cold weather keeps lashing even today, Geo News reported Wednesday. Millions of people living in southern England and the Home Counties were told to prepare themselves for up to 40cm (16in) of snow last night, as Britain remained in the grip of the longest prolonged spell of cold weather in 30 years. The Met Office issued its highest level of alert, warning of an impending "extreme weather event" that would bring travel chaos and threaten power supplies. Worst hit overnight will be Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire – parts of which have not seen any snow since the arctic weather began before Christmas. All flights in and out of London's Gatwick and Luton airports were canceled as workers rushed to clear snow from runways. Other airports across the U.K. -- including Manchester Airport, the John Lennon Airport in Liverpool an...

Wednesday, January 06, 2010 KARACHI: The bulls continued to dominate Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Wednesday contributing 70 points to the benchmark KSE-100 Index which finished the day at 9,727. Buying continued at the local share market and the Index starting with green numbers remained positive throughout the session. Investors remained active at banking and energy counters. The trade volume was recorded at 220 million shares. Lotte Pakistan topped the list of volume leaders, gaining paisas 51 to close at Rs8.75. KSE-30 Index advanced by 91 points to peg at 10,256.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010 SYDNEY: Pakistan were all-out for 139 runs loosing second cricket Test match against Australia by 36 runs here at SCG, Geo news reported.Australia set Pakistan 176-run easy target to win Test match but despite easy wicket on fifth day, Pakistan could not defeat World Champions.Hauritz claimed 5-wicket haul, while Johnson and Bollinger took 3 and 2 wickets respectively.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010 BEIJING: Harbin, the capital of China's now-frozen northeastern Heilongjiang province is holding its annual International Ice and Snow Festival. It opens on Tuesday, but some visitors couldn't wait to enjoy the Disney-themed ice park. Locals and tourists are already enjoying glittering ice sculptures, and braving temperatures way below zero in a Disney world. The Ice Show takes up residence in a central park each year. Minnie, Mickey and other characters from the popular franchise are accompanied by fairyland towers and castles. Tunnels, rooms and even slides are all made entirely out of ice. Huge chunks are cut from the Songhua River, and chiseled into translucent sculptures. Colored lights set inside create what the Chinese call ice lanterns. A Jilin tourist said, "It's very exciting. One of the most exciting cities in the east and I've never come before. It's my first time seeing so many beautiful ice sculptures and lant...

Tuesday, January 05, 2010 ROME: Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini defended Tuesday the use of full-body scanners to boost airport security against complaints that they invade privacy, saying the need for safety was paramount. Some airports are bringing in the scanners, which can see through clothing, after a Nigerian was able to smuggle explosive chemicals onto a US plane on Christmas Day but was stopped from detonating them by fellow passengers. "It is the most reliable instrument," Frattini said in an interview on Radio 24. The scanners could even detect "if a terrorist has swallowed a capsule full of explosives and could become a human bomb", which would escape a metal detector, he said. Even if the scanners meant a "sacrifice" for passengers' privacy, the "right to security is essential for all other freedoms," the minister said. Privacy is an inviolable right but if a person "does not have the confidence to take a...

Tuesday, January 05, 2010 BEIJING: Twenty-seven workers were trapped following a fire in a coalmine in central China on Tuesday afternoon, state media reported, citing a local official. The accident occurred at the Lisheng mine in the city of Xiangtan in Hunan province, the official told local news agency, adding that rescuers were searching for the miners. The government and provincial work safety board have launched an investigation into the incident.