Bengal Express: 54 new trains, no hike in fares

New Delhi: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday presented Railway Budget for the next fiscal with the promise of a new business model to encourage private investment along with social commitment but without privatisation.

"Our objective is inclusive growth," she told the Lok Sabha adding that her main consideration in this year's Budget was social responsibility rather than mere commercial viability of projects.

"We have set our goals in the Vision 2020 document and we will achieve it," the minister said, referring to the document unveiled in December that has targeted making over 30,000 km of routes into double or multiple lines against 18,000 km today........ read more>>

Bengal Express: 54 new trains, no hike in fares

South American Dispatch: Corinthians kick off Copa Libertadores campaign

Tonight Corinthians embark on a Copa Libertadores campaign which has become an obsession for the club. There is a hole in the history of the São Paulo outfit as the continental trophy has continued to allude them.

The management at the club have worked tirelessly to assemble an experienced squad capable of winning the Copa Libertadores in the same year as the club celebrates its centenary. Along with marquee signings such as Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos other players of quality such as Tcheco and Iarley have benn recruited especially for the mission.

The good news is that these four players have been passed fit ahead of tonight’s home game with Racing Club of Uruguay. Ronaldo himself has been talking up the importance of winning the Copa Libertadores this year and declared “I’m prepared for it.”.......... read more>>

South American Dispatch: Corinthians kick off Copa Libertadores campaign

LG Display considers additional production line

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd said on Wednesday it was considering building an additional production line to meet robust flat panel orders, adding to emerging concerns over rapid supply growth.

The liquid crystal display (LCD) industry is enjoying brisk demand for flat-screen TVs helped by Chinese holidays and sports events such as the Winter Olympics.

But concerns have grown recently that the sector might return to being oversupplied as makers aggressively beef up output. LG is set to begin operation of a separate production line in the first half while Taiwanese rivals, including AU Optronics, are increasing factory utilization.

Controlling supply is key for makers to maintain profits in the cyclical LCD industry.......... read more>>

LG Display considers additional production line

SongTherapy Aiding Stroke Patients

If you can’t say it, then sing it! Experts researching patients who have lost their ability to speak after a stroke are now suggesting that they could be able to communicate with music using Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT). Using MIT, the scientists showed that patients who were earlier communicating only in mumbles and grunts could now learn to sing out basic phrases like “I am thirsty.”

The study was conducted by Harvard Medical School neurologist Gottfried Schlaug on 12 patients whose speech was impaired by strokes, and showed that patients who were taught to essentially sing their words improved their verbal abilities and maintained the improvement for up to a month after the end of the therapy

Schlaug presented these findings at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego.......... read more>>

SongTherapy Aiding Stroke Patients

Marriage hasn't changed anything: Shilpa

Mumbai, February 24: Actor Shilpa Shetty says marriage has not changed the dynamics of her acting career even one bit. In fact, she is quite excited about a project where she is required to do a body baring act — very much on the lines of what she did in Dostana — again.

“Marriage hasn’t changed anything. I would do a Dostana act once again. My father and husband are very encouraging. When I did Dostana, I was seeing Raj (Kundra) and he was whistling when he saw the number. Even my father is very open-minded. He says if you are showing your legs, show it well,” she tells After Hrs in an exclusive interview.

“I was an actor first before I became Raj’s wife and he knew how my profession was. But it is always important for you to draw the line and know where to stop. However, now I will only do a film that is really worthwhile. I do not have much time to waste,” Shilpa laughs......... read more>>

Marriage hasn't changed anything: Shilpa

EU launches Google antitrust inquiry

The European Commission has launched a preliminary antitrust inquiry into Google after three companies complained that the US giant's dominant search engine penalises potential competitors and keeps advertising prices artificially high.

The European Commission has written to Google to find out how its search functions work, following allegations from the UK price comparison site Foundem, an online French guide to legal services, ejustice.fr and the Germany-based shopping portal Ciao, owned by Microsoft.

Shivaun Raff, the chief executive of Foundem, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Google had a dominant 90 per cent share of the UK search market and acted as the gateway to the internet, allowing the company to control what users found when they searched......... read more>>

EU launches Google antitrust inquiry

G.O.P. Expects Little From Obama's Health Forum

WASHINGTON — Republican Congressional leaders on Tuesday rejected President Obama’s challenge to come up with a single comprehensive proposal to achieve his goal of guaranteeing health insurance for nearly all Americans.

But they said they would attend a televised forum to discuss the issue with Mr. Obama on Thursday, even as they voiced doubt that he and Congressional Democrats were acting in good faith.

The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and the House Republican leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, made clear that they had extremely low expectations for the six-hour session......... read more>>

G.O.P. Expects Little From Obama's Health Forum

Border Firing Reported in Kashmir on Eve of Talks

SRINAGAR, India (AP) -- Cross-border firing at the frontier in divided Kashmir wounded an Indian soldier, an Indian official said Wednesday, on the eve of renewed peace talks between India and Pakistan.

Also, a two-day gunbattle between Indian security forces and suspected Islamic insurgents in the disputed Himalayan region killed three Indian army soldiers and three militants, officials said.

The violence underscores the thorny issues that have long bedeviled relations between the South Asian nuclear rivals. Both claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.

On Thursday, top diplomats of the two countries will hold their first talks since a long-running peace dialogue was put on hold 15 months ago after the 2008 Mumbai attacks that were blamed on Pakistan-based militants. The talks, to be held in New Delhi, are seen as the first step toward the resumption of the peace process......... read more>>

Border Firing Reported in Kashmir on Eve of Talks

Google execs convicted in Italy for Down's video

MILAN (Reuters) - A Milan court convicted three Google Inc executives on Wednesday for violating the privacy of an Italian boy with Down's syndrome by letting a video of him being bullied be posted on the site in 2006.

Google said it plans to appeal the six-month jail terms given to senior vice-president and chief legal officer David Drummond, former Google Italy board member George De Los Reyes and global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer.

The court acquitted Google's senior product marketing manager, Arvind Desikan.

"A company's rights cannot prevail over a person's dignity. This sentence sends a clear signal," public prosecutor Alfredo Robledo told reporters outside the Milan courthouse.......... read more>>

Google execs convicted in Italy for Down's video

Mourinho: I contributed to Chelsea players' success

Jose Mourinho claims he made Chelsea's stars the players they are today during his time at the club, as he again stoked the flames ahead of the Blues trip to face his Inter Milan side in the Champions League last-16 on Wednesday.

Mourinho, who quit as Chelsea boss in September 2007, spent much of his pre-match press conference on Tuesday reminiscing about life at Stamford Bridge and claimed that he helped mould the likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and John Terry into the players that they are today.

"Did I give them a contribution? They say yes and I think so,'' he said. "I thank them because they never forget to say some nice words about me, but if they continue to play at this level, it is up to them because they work hard day after day........... read more>>

Mourinho: I contributed to Chelsea players' success

Argentina goes to UN as Falklands row escalates

Argentina's foreign minister is to meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today as tensions rose over British oil exploration off the Falkland Islands.

Jorge Taiana will meet Mr Ban at 3.30pm New York time (8.30pm British time), the office of the spokesman for the Secretary-General said.

The Argentinian foreign minister requested the meeting.

Meanwhile Argentina's president spoke out at a regional summit, reiterating the country's sovereignty claim to the islands and blaming the Foreign Office for adding to tensions.

Today's Times newspaper said a resolution was also set to be tabled in the UN General Assembly condemning Britain for allowing Desire Petroleum's Ocean Guardian to begin drilling 60 miles north of the islands after Argentina announced new shipping controls.......... read more>>

Argentina goes to UN as Falklands row escalates