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.

Motorola launches Android 3.0-powered Xoom tablet in India

NEW DELHI: Motorola Mobility India Private has launched Motorola XOOM tablets in India. Motorola XOOM is the world's first device powered by Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). 

Motorola Mobility India has launched Motorola XOOM tablets in India

Motorola XOOM is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor and packs 1 GB of RAM, front- and rear-facing cameras, multi-tasking functionality and the latest Google Mobile services on a 25.6 cm (10.1-inch) widescreen HD display. 

The tablet offers an interactive, customizable homescreen with moveable widgets, notifications and tabbed browsing. 

The latest Google Mobile services include Google Maps and access to over 200,000 apps fromAndroid Market. Motorola XOOM also supports a beta version of Adobe Flash Player 10.2 downloadable from Android Market. The tablet also has a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting. Xoom supports up to 10 hours of video playback. 

Motorola XOOM is available in two variants in India -- Wi-Fi and 3G version. While Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi version is available at an MRP of Rs 34,490 and the 3G version has an MRP tag of Rs 39,990. 

Additional specs: 
• Connectivity: 3.5 mm, micro USB 2.0 HS, Corporate Sync, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR + HID 
• Messaging/Web/Apps: Email (Corporate Sync, Google Mail, POP3/IMAP embedded, Push Email,
Yahoo Mail), WebKit w/ Flash 
• Audio: AAC, AAC+, AMR NB, AMR WB, MP3, XMF 
• Video: 720p capture/1080p playback/streaming, H.263, H.264, MPEG4 
• Camera: 5 MP rear-facing camera with dual LED flash/2 MP front facing camera 
• Memory: Up to 32GB on board user memory, up to 32 GB micro SD removable memory, 1GB DDR2 RAM 

iPhone 3GS price cut to Rs 19,990 only in India !!

NEW DELHI: Yes, you read that right. According to cellphone dealers, Apple is "re-launching" its two-year-old iPhone at a price of Rs 19,990 in India. The move is likely to counter cheap Android smartphones that have flooded the market recently. This particular version of iPhone will come with 8GB internal storage.

Chetan Bhagat tells us a short story...

Everyone will give you an opinion on how to live your life. No one, no one will give you good advice on how to end it. Worse, they will tell you to continue living, without any respect for individual choice. Yes, hi, I’m Gautam Arora, and after eighteen wonderful years in Delhi, I’ve decided to end my life.

Delhi college sets 100% as cut-off mark for B.Com (Honours)

From plain disbelief to shock -- students were visibly taken aback as Delhi University colleges announced their first cut-off lists Wednesday.

The cut-offs for most subjects touched the sky, with one college declaring a perfect 100 percent for B.Com (Honours).

Maruti 800 reincarnated in China

Maruti’s decision to bring the curtains down on the iconic 800 left a lot of Maruti 800 fans emotional, and some even watery-eyed. They wished for the resurrection of the marque as a new classic. Now, the car that transfigured the way India moved has reincarnated, but in China.

Indian Origin Sukanya Roy wins 84th Scripps National Spelling Bee competition of US

How Do You Spell ‘cymotrichous’? No matter how you spell it, the word provides yet another feather in the cap of Indian-Americans at the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest, as Sukanya Roy became the fourth consecutive Indian-American, and the ninth Indian American to win the title in the last 12 years.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion: Rahman

It's a free country and everyone is entitled to their opinion," says A R Rahman, when asked about the latest controversy about the Oscars being 'bought'. 
 

State toppers roll in wealth

HYDERABAD: Toppers in Andhra Pradesh net not only top scores but apparently also a fat bank balance. By the end of the result season, toppers of SSC, HSC, Inter, Eamcet and the all-important IIT-JEE are richer by Rs 1 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, depending on their rank and the exam they have excelled in. The moolah comes in for a small ethical compromise: lending their names to institutions they have never been to. 

True Interesting Story - Dr. Vijay Mallya

An Indian man walks into the New York City bank and asks for the loan officer.

He tells the Loan Officer that he was going to India for some business for 2 weeks and needs to borrow $5,000.

Tata lashes out at Ambani's billion-dollar home, British managers

London: ​Ratan Tata appeared to be in an uncharacteristically sombre and caustic mood when giving an interview to the Times, London on Saturday, May 22. 

Tatas begin export of Nano car

NEW DELHI: Tata Motors has started sending its small car Nano to overseas markets, with shipment of 498 units in April this year and a formal announcement of starting exports of the 'people's car' is expected soon.

Dates are out! Metallica India gig on Oct 28, 30

New Delhi: Thrash pioneers Metallica on Monday announced the dates of their India gig on their website. The band is slated to perform on October 28 and 30 in Delhi and Bangalore respectively during their inaugural India tour. 

Pakistan indirectly warns India against covert operations like that of US

ISLAMABAD: Faced with American fury and domestic anger, Pakistan on Thursday blew hot and cold on Osama bin Laden -- denying links with al-Qaida and warning Washington and New Delhi against any more air raids of the kind which killed the world's most wanted terrorist.

Ratan Tata returns to showbiz

Ratan Tata wants to try his luck at the entertainment industry once again. The business tycoon whose first brush with Bollyland was with a box office dud titled Aetbaar (2004) starring Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham and Bipasha Basu, now wants to make a comeback with a multi-pronged business plan. And it's not just films. He is also funding Broadway style musicals by casting desi talents.

Attrition trouble: Infosys to hire more in US, China

MUMBAI: Infosys Technologies Ltd, India's second-largest software exporter, plans to step up hiring in the US, China and other overseas markets as it seeks to check rising employee turnover and boost profit.

'Comeback King' Ganguly back in IPL with Pune Warriors India

KOLKATA: Ignored at this year's IPL auctions, former India captain Sourav Ganguly made a dramatic return in the cash-rich league on Tuesday signing for Pune Warriors India in place of an injured Ashish Nehra.

Twitter user reported live about raid that killed Osama

NEW DELHI: Sohaib Athar, an IT consultant, was liveblogging the raid in which Osama bin Laden was killed by the US military. And, for nine hours, he did not even realize he was doing so.

Why the poor want to stay very poor on paper

Poverty has declined from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 32% in 2009-10, according to preliminary Planning Commission estimates based on consumption surveys of the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO). Some welcome the news; others complain that fast growth has not reduced poverty fast enough. Still others, notably economist Surjit Bhalla, pour scorn on the data, and imply these have been fudged to exaggerate poverty.

AIEEE question papers leaked, test postponed

NEW DELHI: Question papers of the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) were leaked in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday forcing the CBSE to postpone the test by a few hours. Immediately after the question papers were leaked, the CBSE postponed the two exams which were scheduled to begin at 9:30 am and 2:00 pm today, a senior HRD ministry official said in New Delhi.