Lokayukta: Gujarat Bill ending role of Governor, CJ passed

Amid protests and a walkout by Opposition MLAs in the Assembly, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday pushed through a new Gujarat Lokayukta Aayog Bill, 2013 that seeks to end the role of the Governor and the Chief Justice of the High Court in appointing the ombudsman. The Bill proposes a seven-member selection panel headed by the Chief Minister, which will recommend a candidate for the Lokayukta’s post, and the Governor’s role would only be to ratify the candidate. The other members will be a minister hand-picked by the Chief Minister, the Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, a High Court judge nominated by the Chief Justice...

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iPhone maker Apple to release updated phone this summer

The Wall Street Journal says Apple is set for a possible summer launch of the next iPhone, rather than a fall launch like the last two models. Apple is also working on a cheaper iPhone model that could win it some market share in developing countries, the paper says. It cited unnamed people "familiar with the device's production.'' The report is in line with the expectations of company watchers and Wall Street analysts. The iPhone 5 costs around $600, and while Apple maintains older iPhones in production, even those aren't cheap enough to compete effectively against low-end smartphones running Google Inc.'s Android software. Apple...

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IPL 2013: Sourav Ganguly puts his smart money on Mumbai Indi

Sourav Ganguly has said that the presence of a great coaching staff and experienced veterans will make Mumbai Indians the favourites for this edition. "They have a new but highly experienced coach in John Wright, the well-respected Anil Kumble as their mentor and senior pro Ricky Ponting as captain. Along with Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh's experience, you have exciting youngsters in Maxwell, Rohit and Rayudu. They will be strong contenders for the title," Ganguly said.  Speaking about the defending champions, he said: "KKR's confidence will be really high being the champions. But they also have injury problem. I think...

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Rajinikanth, Kamal join fast to support Sri Lankan Tamils

Chennai, April 2 (IANS) Stalwarts like Rajinikanth, Ajith Kumar, Kamal Haasan and many more Tuesday joined the members of the South Indian Film Artistes Association (SIFAA) in a day-long fast here to protest alleged "war crimes" against Tamils in Sri Lanka. Spearheaded by SIFAA, commonly known as 'Nadigar Sangam', the film fraternity is observing a silent protest and there was a huge turnout with most of the big names Vikram, Sarath Kumar, Prakash Raj Bhagyaraj, Radha Ravi, Sathyaraj, Sivakumar, Suriya, Karthi, Bharat, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Dhansika, Monica, Vishal Krishna and Chandrasekhar, among others, joining the fast at Nadigar Sangam...

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Ambani brothers move past feud as Reliance Jio

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Billionaire Ambani brothers will share a fibre optic network for their rival telecoms companies, their first business tie-up since ending a long-running feud three years ago. Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), controlled by Mukesh Ambani, India's richest person, will pay 12 billion rupees to younger brother Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications (RLCM.NS) for use of its fibre optic network. The companies said on Tuesday they could co-operate further in future and the announcement bolstered their share prices. Reliance Industries, whose main business is petrochemicals,...

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Mullaperiyar row:Trade and business are freezed in Madurai

Trade and business came to standstill in Madurai four other districts on Thursday as commercial establishments downed their shutters throughout the day, as part of the protests against the Kerala government's move to build a new dam as an alternative to the controversial Mullaperiyar dam.There was a complete shut down of shops and commercial establishments in the district. The strike call was given by as many as 50 outfits, including trade bodies like the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industries ( and Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (MADITSSIA) in five districts under Periyar - Vaigai Command area."The estimated...

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Rumor of a Mini iPad from Apple to compete Fire

In November last year, Steve Jobs had quashed all rumors on Apple making iPads lesser than its 10-inch diagonal as anything below that would not allow to create great apps for the tablet. Jobs further had said that 7-inch screens had only 45% space compared to the larger iPad, which was not sufficient enough for the tablet apps. The decree of Steve Jobs of not making any tablet below the 10-inch mark might be ignored in future by Apple. According to Digitimes, Apple is planning to launch an iPad of 7.85-inch, within final quarter 2012, for coping with market competition from the Kindle Fire. The report further mentions that AU Optronics...

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