Friend Lists system

Social networking giant Facebook has unveiled its new friends list system that would allow users to categorize groups of friends more easily.

According to the BBC, Facebook's updated 'Friend Lists system', is seen as a reaction to the Circles feature on Google+.
Users would now have better control over how their connections are grouped, with some lists, such as work and family, created automatically.
According to the report, the new Smart Lists feature will create categories based on the relationship between a user and their friends.
Now, new "close friends" and "acquaintances" lists would allow users to filter who they see updates from.
The changes appear to be aimed at users who are attracted by the ability to create groups using Google Circles.
Presently, Facebook remains the world's most popular social network, but Google+ is expected to hit 100 million users this year.

Vita Japan sale

Sony's upgraded portable video game machine PlayStation Vita is going on sale in Japan on Dec. 17 with 26-game software going on sale on the same date, but it's still not available overseas until next year.

The competition in portable gaming is almost certain to intensify in Japan, ahead of the rest of the world, during the year-end shopping season.
The launch of the PlayStation Vita coincides with Japanese rival Nintendo Co. going on the offensive with new game titles for its portable 3DS, which did not go on sale in time for last year's holidays.
Sony has already said the Vita won't be ready in the U.S. or Europe until next year. The company did not give overseas sales dates, and said such details were undecided.
Hiroshi Kawano, head of Sony Corp.'s gaming unit, Sony Computer Entertainment, announced a Japan tie-up with major mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo for the PlayStation Vita, including a prepaid data reception plan of a 100 hours at 4,980 yen ($65).
In an effort to woo buyers, Kawano said 100 hours of free playing on the 3G mobile network will be offered with the first 500,000 purchase of Vita machines.
During his nearly two hour presentation at a Tokyo event hall, Kawano repeatedly stressed Sony was serious about pushing the Vita, which he said was targeting casual gamers playing on cellphones as well as hard-core fans who own PlayStation 3 home consoles.
He acknowledged a view in the gaming industry that energy was running low, but he said he was determined to make Vita a chance for growth.
"I believe the gaming industry can help bring a revival," he said, referring to the lagging overall Japanese economy.
In the past, Nintendo, which makes Super Mario and Pokemon games, has beaten Sony offerings in portables.
Nintendo has sold nearly 150 million DS handheld machines, outpacing the Sony PlayStation Portable at 71 million. Both machines went on sale in 2004.
But Nintendo's latest offering, the 3DS, which features glasses-free 3-D imagery, has gotten off to a relatively slow start, at 4.32 million sold so far around the world.
Appearing at a presentation Tuesday for the 3DS, the usually boastful Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said the company needs to do more to attract women to the 3DS, as that hasn't happened as it has with the DS and Wii home console.
Nintendo has already slashed the price of its 3DS. Starting last month, it cost 15,000 yen in Japan, down from 25,000. In the U.S., the price dropped to $169.99 from $249.99.
The PlayStation Vita will cost $249 in the U.S., and 24,980 yen in Japan, for a Wi-Fi only version, and $299 and 29,980 yen for a version that will also have a cellphone service.

Blackberry Messenger

Social networking site Facebook has launched its own mobile messaging service to challenge the marketing space occupied by the Blackberry Messenger (BBM).

The app, called 'Facebook Messenger', launched in the US only, allows members of the social networking site send instant messages on their mobile for free to anyone in their 'friends' list.
In a direct bid to rival BBM, the new Facebook app, also allows people to send messages to friends on their mobile contacts list and push out group messages too, the Telegraph reports.
The free Facebook Messenger app is available on both Android and iOS devices, but there are no dates revealed for when it would be made available outside the US.
Facebook engineer Lucy Zhang wrote a blog post explaining the new service.
"More and more of us rely on our phones to send and receive messages. But it isn't always easy to know the best way to reach someone on their phone. Should you send an email or text? Which will they check first? Did they even get your last message?" Zhang wrote.
"We think messaging should be easier than that. You should be able to write a message, click 'Send' and know that you will reach the person right away," he added.
BBM is understood to have over 45 million users around the world.
Facebook, having over 750 million users worldwide, might be able to steal away some of it market share in the growing mobile instant messenger market, the paper said.

Mumbai Blasts Being Studied

A top official says that investigators are examining forensic evidence and footage from closed circuit televisions for clues about the triple bomb blasts that shook India's business hub of Mumbai and killed 17.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told CNN-IBN news channel on Friday that investigators had collected evidence such as blood samples and explosive materials from the bombing sites and were also analyzing security footage for more clues into the attacks.
No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks and investigators have named no immediate suspects.
The bombings were the worst terror attack in Mumbai since a 2008 siege in which 166 people were killed over three days.
'Mumbai, Thane and other parts of the state are teeming with migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and illegal Bangladeshis. Unless the government checks the influx of migrants, such acts of terror will not stop,' he said at a press conference here.
Thackeray said the migrants are indulging in all types of criminal activities, ranging from rapes to murders, and many such cases have been exposed in the past few days.
Elaborating on his theory, he said there is absolutely no monitoring of how many migrants come to Mumbai daily, who they are, where they come from, where they live in Mumbai, what is their business and where all they go.
'We have blamed police and intelligence enough in all these years, now it is time to check on the migrants. They come and occupy every vacant space of land belonging to the central, state or civic authorities. 40,000 hutments are constructed on Mumbai's drinking water pipelines. Later, they are pampered as vote-banks and given free flats. What is being done about all this?' Thackeray said.
Demanding a check on each migrant who enters Maharashtra from different entry points, he said that today nobody knows whether the migrants are carrying vegetables or bombs in their baskets.
'They blatantly enter Mumbai, live on railway platforms or footpaths and there is no check on them. After every terror attack, the names of ISI (Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence), (terror outfits) LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), IM (Indian Mujahideen) and others are thrown up, but who provides them the local logistical support?' he asked.
Thackeray then asked a media person whether he knew where the kitchen of Taj Mahal Hotel is situated. When the media person said he did not, Thackeray said even he did not know - but Kasab, the Pakistani terrorist caught alive in the 28/11 attack, was aware of it.

Fukushima Children To Receive Radiation Meters

Radiation meters will be distributed to about 34,000 children living in the largest city near the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant to monitor their exposure levels, a city official said Tuesday.
The decision to hand out the meters comes amid growing concern over the safety of children as the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant drags on, posing potential long-term health risks.
The devices, called dosimeters, will be distributed in September to children between the ages of four and 15 living in Fukushima city, which has recorded relatively high radiation levels since a massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami severely damaged the nuclear plant.
Dosimeters have already been supplied to area schools but not to each student, according to city official Koichi Kato. Other towns in the area have begun similar measures, but Fukushima's plan is the largest to date.
"We intend to continue the program for about three months," Kato said. "We are still considering whether to expand it further to include other residents."
Fukushima city, where about 300,000 people live, is 45 miles (60 kilometers) from the nuclear facility.
The government has established a 12-mile (20-kilometer) "no-go" zone around the plant, and a further 6-mile (10-kilometer) ring outside of that in which residents — particularly pregnant women and children — have been instructed to take special precautions and be prepared to evacuate.
Some 80,000 people have been forced from their homes by the crisis, leaving nearby towns almost completely empty. Many children from those towns are now going to classes in or around Fukushima city.
Because Fukushima city is outside the area that has been officially designated as too dangerous to live in, schools, businesses and government offices continue to operate as usual.
But health concerns remain high in Fukushima despite government assurances that exposure levels appear to be within acceptable limits.
Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of radiation, so parents and some private groups have demanded stronger measures to protect them.
Schools have responded by limiting the amount of time children are allowed to play outside or in swimming pools, and many extracurricular sports programs have been moved into covered gymnasiums.
Still, the Fukushima plan is seen as insufficient by several groups leading a petition campaign to lower the acceptable exposure level for children from 20 millisieverts per year — the same level as adults — to 1 millisievert per year.
Twenty millisieverts of radiation is roughly equivalent to the exposure a person would receive from an X-ray.
"The meters don't protect children from radiation, they simply measure exposure after a certain amount of time," said Aileen Mioko Smith of Green Action, a private group involved in the petition. "Children should be moved out of areas where radiation levels are high, not used as guinea pigs."

Sensex Down

The BSE benchmark Sensex dropped by 134 points in early trade today due to fresh selling pressure in realty, banking, auto and metal stocks amid weak Asian cues. Profit-booking by speculators after two sessions of gains also dragged the Sensex down. Banking stocks, which posted handsome gains in the recent rally, fell on profit-booking. The 30-share Sensex resumed lower at 18,425.85 and declined further to 18,390.57 before quoting at 18,475.20 points at 1015 hours, showing a net loss of 133.61, or 0.72 per cent, from its last close. The NSE 50-share Nifty also fell by 42.90 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 5,549.10 at 1015 hours from its previous close. The major losers in early trade were ICICI Bank (down 2.77 per cent), Tata Motors (2.67 per cent), M&M (2.17 per cent), DLF (1.82 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (1.72 per cent) and Jaiprakash Associates (1.68 per cent). In addition, the cautious approach adopted by investors ahead of the release of food inflation data later today also dampened the sentiment, traders said. Asian stocks dropped earlier today after weak US data raised questions about future demand for Asian exports as well as the likely trajectory of economic growth.

3i Infotech Sells Billing

Global information technology company 3i Infotech Limited has signed an agreement to sell its US-based Global Billing and Payments unit, consisting of Regulus Group and J&B Software, to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management LP for USD 137 million (Rs 617 crore). 3i Infotech acquired J&B Software in 2007 and Regulus Group in 2008, and the companies were integrated to form the Global Billing & Payments unit of 3i Infotech, according to a company statement. The transaction is expected to close within the next 60 days, subject to customary closing conditions and any regulatory approvals. "The divestment reduces the leverage and strengthens the balance sheet of 3i Infotech," said 3i Infotech Managing Director & Global CEO V Srinivasan. "This enables 3i Infotech to go back to its roots as a significant IT products and services player while at the same time allowing the billing and payments unit to be acquired by an organisation interested in growing it as an independent company." Cerberus Managing Director and spokesperson Tim Price said: "Cerberus has the financial resources and operational expertise to help this business build additional value through operating efficiencies and growth. As a standalone entity, the company will continue to focus on delivering the best products and highest quality services to its clients." "We are looking forward to partnering with Cerberus on the next stage of our company''s growth," said Kathy Hamburger, the Chief Executive Officer and President of the US-based Global Billing and Payments division. Cerberus Capital Management is a private investment firm with USD 23 billion of capital under management. Shares of 3i Infotech were trading at Rs 50.35 in early trade on the BSE, up 0.70 per cent from the previous close.

Fearless Awards

Ash, Kareena, Priyanka in run for fun, fearless award Bollywood beauties Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are in the run for Cosmopolitan Magazine's fun, fearless awards, to be held in Mumbai Saturday. The three actresses are competing in Fun, Fearless Female All Time Reader's Choice Award this year. Other categories include - Fun, Fearless Power Couple award, for which the nominees are - Kareena Kapoor-Saif Ali Khan; Hrithik Roshan-Sussanne Khan and Arbaaz Khan-Malaika Arora Khan. There is also a Fun, Fearless Male 2010 Reader's Choice Award, and Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Salman Khan, and Arjun Rampal are competing for the title in this category. The event, in its third edition now, takes place annually in India, Britain and the US. 'The Fun, Fearless Female Awards is a cult, one-of-its-kind event that celebrates all that's iconic of the Cosmo woman - her attitude, drive, and the never-say-never spirit,' Nandini Bhalla, editor of Cosmopolitan, said in a press statement. The organisers are expecting a star-studded turnout at the event Saturday at the Taj Land's End, Mumbai. 'The response has been tremendous - from readers, Bollywood favourites, and the industry. The Fun Fearless Awards are a pat on the back to women (and some special men) from different areas of life-acting, music, theatre, and more. 'Last year's awards saw a great turnout - Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, and more. And this year's awards promise to be bigger, better, and more Cosmo than ever,' said Mala Sekhri, chief operating officer, Lifestyle Magazines, India Today Group.

Aarushi Murder Case

Pulling up CBI for its "highly disappointing" move of filing a closure report in the Aarushi Talwar murder case, the special CBI Court held that "visible evidence" could not not be ignored in making her parents accused and to stand trial in the case. Special Judicial Magistrate Preeti Singh relied on a number of statements of the witnesses and entries in the case diary to come to the conclusion that Rajesh and Nupur Talwar should be put on trial for the murder of their daughter and servant Hemraj more than two years ago. Rapping the CBI for filing the closure report, the court said in its 21-page order that "in the light of all the circumstantial evidence and witnesses in the case diary, it was expected that the investigator should have filed the chargesheet against Dr Rajesh and Nupur Talwar. "In such a case where the incident has happened inside home, visible evidence cannot be ignored." The court appeared to have taken serious note of the statement of Dr Sunil Kumar Dhore, who had conducted the post-mortern of the teenager. His statement referred to an incident in which Dinesh Talwar, brother of Rajesh, handed over to him a mobile phone saying Dr Dogra (AIIMS specialist on post mortems) was on the line through whom Dhore was asked to pick up samples among others. "I (Dhore) said ''don''t worry. Whatever is important will be taken," Dhore had said. The court said "The witness (Dr Dhore) said he did not find any external injury marks or any self-defence evidence. But vaginal opening was large. White discharge was found in the vaginal cavity and no injury was found near her private parts. Both the deceased have similar injury on the neck and it has been done by a person who is surgically trained." The Judge also said the injury was V-shaped which can be inflicted by the golf stick, as suggested by the CBI in the closure report. The Court also observed that there was circumstantial evidence pointing out that Aarushi''s private parts were cleaned. It came to the conclusion after the investigation of all the above-mentioned witnesses and evidence registered on the case diary, "prima facie it appears when the incident took place there were four people present in the house-- Dr Rajesh Talwar, Dr Nupur Talwar, Aarushi and Hemraj, out of which, two, Aarushi and Hemraj were found dead."