Three blasts rock Mumbai; 8 reported dead, 70 injured

MUMBAI: Three blasts rocked Mumbai within minutes of each other, police said on Wednesday. According to TV reports, eight persons have died in the blasts and 70 have been injured.

Police sources said the nature and intensity of the blasts was not known. The ministry has confirmed it is a terror strike.

The first explosion took place in south Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar, near the famous Mumbadevi temple, in which some people were injured, said Mumbai Police spokesperson Nisar Tamboli. The bustling market also has a number of jewellery shops.

The second explosion was reported in a taxi in Dadar area in central Mumbai, he said.

The third blast was reported from south Mumbai's Opera House in Charni Road after 7pm.

All three are busy commercial and residential areas, and were bustling with people and traffic during the evening peak hours when the explosions took place.

The communication network has been jammed. People are unable to get through phone lines in the city.

An NIA team has been sent for Mumbai. All states have been put on high alert. A parked car bore the brunt of the blast in Dadar.

Police teams quickly moved into the three places. In New Delhi, the home ministry put the National Security Guard (NSG) on alert.

166 people were killed in a terror strike in 2008 by Pakistan-based terrorists.

Apple seeks ban on import of Samsung devices in US

NEW YORK: Apple Inc has filed a US trade complaint to block Samsung Electronics Co from importing a variety of electronic devices, less than one week after Samsung sought to stop imports of Apple's popular iPads and iPhones. 

The complaint filed with the US International Trade Commission in Washington, DC escalates a patent infringement battle also being waged in South Korea, where Samsung is based

The complaint filed with the US International Trade Commission in Washington, DC escalates a patent infringement battle also being waged in South Korea, where Samsung is based. 

Apple began the fight, contending in an April 15 complaint filed in a San Jose, California federal court that Samsung's Galaxy line of tablets and mobile phones infringed several patents and "slavishly" copied its iPads and iPhones. 

"Samsung chose to copy Apple, not to innovate," Apple said in a July 1 court filing. It said Samsung is trying to trade off Apple's popularity by calling products, such as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet and Galaxy S 4G smartphone, "just like an iPad" or "just like an iPhone." 

But Samsung countered that Apple infringed five patents, and on June 29 asked the ITC to block imports of such products as the iPhone 4, iPad 2 3G and iPod Touch. 

A copy of Apple's ITC complaint was not immediately available but the ITC website shows that one was filed. The ITC is an independent federal agency overseeing trade disputes. 

Apple, a lawyer for Apple and a lawyer for Samsung did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Galaxy products use Google Inc's Android operating system, which competes with Apple's mobile software. 

Apple had in 2010 been Samsung's second-largest customer, accounting for $5.7 billion of sales tied mainly to semiconductors, according to Samsung's annual report. 

Sony Corp is Samsung's largest customer. Last week, Apple asked the San Jose court for a preliminary injunction to block imports of infringing products. 

Apple is based in Cupertino, California, and Samsung in Suwon City, South Korea. Apple's complaint is In re: Certain Electronic Digital Media Devices and Components Thereof, US International Trade Commission, No. 2827. Samsung's complaint is In re: Mobile Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data Processing Devices, and Tablet Computers at the same agency, No. 2824. 

Fox News hacker tweets Obama dead

Hackers have taken over a Twitter account belonging to US broadcaster Fox News and declared President Obama dead.

The @foxnewspolitics feed stated: "BREAKING NEWS: @BarackObama assassinated, 2 gunshot wounds have proved too much."

More than two hours after the malicious postings appeared, they had still not been removed.

A group or individual, calling themselves The Script Kiddies appeared to claim responsibility.

Fox News said it was investigating the posts.

The bizarre messages began appearing around 07.00 BST on July 4.

The first read: "Just regained full access to our Twitter and email. Happy 4th."

The next posting stated: "@BarackObama has just passed. The President is dead."

Fox News Politics is one of the Twitter accounts associated with the industry-leading cable news network.

Its Twitter account carries the "verified" tick icon, indicating that the feed belongs to the organisation it claims to be.

In a statement, Jeff Misenti, vice president and general manager of Fox News Digital said: "We will be requesting a detailed investigation from Twitter about how this occurred, and measures to prevent future unauthorized access into FoxNews.com accounts."

Script Kiddie

In among the messages about President Obama, a couple of tweets appeared from a user called The Script Kiddies. However, that account was quickly suspended.

The phrase "Script Kiddie" is internet slang for an inexperienced person who uses off-the-shelf hacking technology, developed by other people.

It is unclear why Fox News has been attacked in this instance. However, the broadcaster's conservative stance has made it unpopular with many Americans.

Despite that, it is the most watched cable news network in the United States, with its prime time shows attracting almost two million viewers, well ahead of rivals CNN and MSNBC.

An attack on another Fox Entertainment Group website, Fox.com was the first confirmed hit by hacker group Lulz Security in May 2011.

The now-disbanded organisation stole the personal details of 73,000 applicants for the US version of X Factor.

Wrongly jailed for 18 years, US man gets $1.4m

WASHINGTON: A US man who spent 18 years in jail after being wrongly charged of killing six people has received $1.4 million in compensation.


Anthony Graves received the money Thursday during a private meeting with Texas Comptroller Susan Combs.

Graves was convicted of helping Robert Earl Carter kill a grandmother and five children in 1992. The two men were sentenced to death for the killings.

However, Carter, who tied Graves to the case, admitted before his lethal injection in 1998 that Graves did not play a role in the killings.

Graves said he's grateful for the compensation, but said that the money "doesn't even come close" to making up for the time he spent in prison.

Graves spent two years waiting for the trial for the 1992 slayings, a dozen years on death row until an appeals court threw out his conviction, and four more years awaiting retrial that prosecutors decided they couldn't justify, according to media reports.

The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisianna, ordered a new trial for Graves in 2006.