Asia Bizz » World

Fukushima plant’s radiations much higher than earlier estimations

Anita — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:34:41 +0000

The operators of the Fukushima nuclear plant in a reports released on May 24, 2012 said, that the radiation released in the first days of the nuclear disaster was almost 2-1/2 times the amount that was first estimated by the Japanese safety regulators. According to the Tokyo Electric Power, its own analysis conducted in the past year put the amount of radiation in the first three weeks of the accident at one sixth the radiation released during the Chernobyl disaster in the year 1986.

Junichi Matsumoto, the TEPCO spokesperson said in a press conference, “If this information had been available at the time, we could have used it in planning evacuations”. AS the radiation sensors closest to the plant were knocked out by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, the utility based its estimate on other monitoring posts as well as the data collected by the Japanese government agencies.

The TEPCO estimated the meltdowns at the three reactors of the Fukishima, released about 900,000 terabecquerels of radioactive substances in to the air during the month of March. Surprisingly this was 2-1/2 times the amount the first estimate by Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial, Safety Agency in April revealed last year. It was also about 17 percent more than the highest estimate provided by the government safety agency.

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Tokyo Sky Tree, world’s tallest communications tower opened

Anita — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:05:03 +0000

The world’s tallest communications tower and second highest building, the Tokyo Sky Tree was on May 22, 2012. The tower measures 634 meters in height and the tourism officials hope that it would be a big draw for the visitors.

The tower has two observations decks apart from restaurants, office space and a vertigo inducing glass floor which will allow the visitors to look straight down. One of the observations decks is at 350 meters and the other is at 450 meters above the ground.

The surrounding area is known as the Tokyo Sky Tree Town and has an open air market with cherry blossom and red tree pine trees. While the rest of the Sky Tree Town features office buildings, aquarium and 300 tenants in all.

The Tokyo Sky Tree is operated by Tobu Railway Co. The operator expects hundreds of thousands of visitors per week. So as to control the number of visitors, admission will be given only by reserved tickets only till July 11. The construction of the tower began in July 2008. It is the world’s second tallest manmade structure and is beaten by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai of 828 meters. About 580,000 workers were engaged to construct the structure, which cost 65 billion yen for the tower alone.

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Several Solar eclipse observants visit eye doctors in Japan

Anita — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:37:23 +0000

Post the observation of the solar eclipse on May 21, at least 16 people in Japan visited eye clinics due to pain and other eye problems. People from about 16 prefectures faced problems after improper viewing of the eclipse.

The Japanese Opthalmological Society said that out of the 16 people, four were children between the age of 4 and 8 and the oldest was an 80 year old woman. The society added that people viewed the eclipse with their naked eye and did not use protective glasses properly.

People with the complaints of eye problems are likely to develop solar retinopathy, but the symptoms do not seem to be serious. The annual solar eclipse was visible in the eastern and the southwestern Japan, which included Tokyo and a partial eclipse was seen in the rest of the country.

The Japan Opthalmologists Association and the Society are conducting a nationwide survey of solar retinopathy with the help of 14,000 eye doctors throughout Japan. This is the first large scale survey on the disease ever conducted in the world. In Central Japan a 40 year old was stranded at the top of Mount Fuji, which he climbed to view the solar eclipse.

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Microsoft launches its own social network So.cl

Anita — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:56:58 +0000

In a time when the social networking sites are becoming popular, software giant Microsoft has launched its own ‘So.cl’ which is an experimental site which brings together search, social networking and media sharing to promote learning. The new website looked similar to Google +.

The website was initially aimed at helping the students to share the information for research purpose and was only available in some of the US colleges last December. But now the site is available for everyone.

The software giant said that it expects the students to continue using Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, as well as the search engines like Google, Bing and other tools. But Microsoft also hopes to encourage students to re-imagine how their everyday communication and learning tools can be improved.

The tools can be improved by learning, researching and sharing in their everyday lives. The new social networking site helps to connect with people on the basis of what they are searching. For instance, the user can sear5ch for a query and tag it on the board and also check what others have found and tagged on the related queries. With the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, it seems like Microsoft is trying to make its own presence in the social network.

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Asia to help Facebook achieve 1 billion users mark

Anita — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:01:15 +0000

Social networking site Facebook, is now facing near saturation levels in some of the western countries. But now the Asian users are helping the social networking giant to reach the goal of 1 billion users and beyond.

Facebook has made a major impact on the region and has challenged the conservative ideals, connected different communities and has also allowed the users to have a control on the information. It is expected that the impact would deepen, looking at the huge population of Asia flocks towards Facebook.

It has been estimated that one in four of Facebook’s 900 million plus users, are in Asia. In the past half a year it has been observed that the users from India have grown to 20 percent, while 65 percent in Japan and 56 percent in South Korea.

Tom Crampton, the head of Asian Social media for advertising major Ogilvy & Mather said, “For the Facebook platform itself, Asia is wildly important. But in terms of the future of the platform, it is even more important”. The social network has also faced competition from the rivals like Friendster and MySpace in Asia. But on the other hand the social networking sites have also enabled the users to challenge the social structures in terms of information, which has forced the government to take notice.

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Honda launches Dream Yuga for Indian market

Nicholas — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:08:39 +0000

Two-wheeler manufacturing giant Honda has on May 15, 2012 launched its mass segment motorcycle ‘Dream Yuga’ in the Indian market. The new second mass segment bike has been priced at Rs.44, 642 ex-showroom price Delhi.

Honda Motor Cycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has also announced that they will soon be roping in the Bollywood super star Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador of the company. Keita Muramatsu, the HMSI president said, “Honda retained the brand Dream as part of a global strategy that was first launched in 1949. This new bike is very economical with better mileage”.

The new Dream Yuga bike has a 110 cc engine. Honda already sells the CB Twister in the country in the country.
Last year the company sold 21.07 lakh motorcycles in the Indian market and is now aiming to sell 27.5 lakh units in 2012-13.

The engine is paired with four speed transmission and makes 9 bhp of power with 0.91 kgm of peak torque. Yadvinder Singh Guleria, the operating head of sales and marketing at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter said, “We want to sincerely increase our market share in India. We need mass-market products to do that. Our ambition is to be number one in market share by 2020″. The official announcement of Akshay being the brand ambassador is yet to be announced.

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Mercedes Benz to roll out City Bus in India

Agatha Vyland — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:43:37 +0000

German auto manufacturing giant Mercedes Benz, after introducing the long distance coaches, is now all set to bring in the brand new City Bus for the India market. The commuters can now look forward towards to a bump free comfortable ride.

Some of the comfort features of the new City Bus include, low access flat platform, rear engine and fully air conditioned. The bus has been assembled at the Chakan plant in Pune in the state of Maharashtra.

Mercedes is known for the manufacturing the best passengers busses with the applications that are suitable for different road conditions as well as requirements in different countries. Benz has been manufacturing busses since the early decades of the twentieth century.

What they made then, and what they are making today has a vast difference and has a commendable evolution in terms of passenger evolution. The body of the Mercedes Benz bus is different from the other buses. The side panel of the bus are pasted to the structural frame and are then painted. As it has a rear engine, the passenger compartment is completely devoid of noise and vibrations. Even the driver’s seat has several comfort adjustments as well as good damping for all kinds of surfaces.

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Air India not to accept bookings to Europe and US till May 17

sharjil s — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:32:16 +0000

National carrier Air India on May 14, 2012 extended the bar on the flights for the west bound flights till May 17, 2012. The strike of the pilots has completed a week today on May 14 and the flights were cancelled further despite the fact that it had mulled the option of shutting down the global operations.

More than 200 pilots have come down to protest due to which 14 international flights have been cancelled. This on the other hand has adversely affected the travelling passengers.

The airline earlier announced that it would not accept bookings for flights to North America and Europe till Tuesday. The airline official said that it has extended the period to May 17, 2012.

The officials added that the complete closure of the international operations was not ruled out if the strike continued and added that these services were responsible for about 48 percent of the operational losses of the ailing carrier. A court order held the protest as illegal and later even the government refused to hold talks with the protesting pilots till they get back to work. After the cancellation of the flights hundreds of passengers were stranded at the airport.

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Harley Davidson dealership inaugurated in Kolkata

Samron Jude — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:38:14 +0000

American motorcycle manufacturer, Harley Davidson has on May 14, 2012 announced the opening of its new dealership in the city of Kolkata in West Bengal. With the new dealership, the company has entered in to the eastern India as a part of its strategic dealership expansion in India.

The new dealership, ‘Bengal Harley Davidson’ is the eight dealership in the country and is situated near Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata. Anoop Prakash, the Managing director or Harley Davidson India said, “At Harley Davidson, we are proud to lead the way in developing a strong leisure riding culture in the country. The passion, enthusiasm and respect the brand has received from customers and enthusiasts in India have been truly amazing. Across the world, Harley Davidson dealerships are havens for all who seek to experience and share the camaraderie and joy of leisure riding.”

Prakash also mentioned the presence of Adarsh Tulshan, who is the principal owner of Bengal Harley Davidson, who is an automobile enthusiast and also an experienced dealer operator. Tulshan at the event said, “I am delighted to bring the Harley Davidson brand and culture to Kolkata.”

Harley Davidson owners from across the eastern region reached the city to celebrate the launch of the Bengal Harley Davidson.

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Six passengers rescued from plane crash in Nepal

Agatha Vyland — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:41:17 +0000

On May 14, 2012 a plane which had 21 people on board crashed, when it was trying to land on a mountain strip in the northern Himalayas in Nepal. TV reports said that six passengers which include two children, two foreigners and an air hostess have been rescued alive.

The rescued passengers were in critical condition and were airlifted by helicopter to the nearby city of Pokhara for treatment. The rescuers have recovered nine bodies have been recovered from the debris, but their identity is still unknown.

According to the police official, Neraswor Aryal, 16 passengers were Indian and two of them were westerners, but it is not clear from which country the foreigners belonged to. Aryal, who is posted at the Jomsom town, revealed that the injured people have been taken to the local hospital.

The Jomsom airport is a popular tourists spot and a trekking destination and is located 200 kms northwest of the capital, Kathmandu. The aircraft, which was found on the airstrip was in pieces but did not catch fire. The reason for the crash is still not known. The Dornier aircraft which crashed belonged to the local Agri Air Company.