India launches nuclear-powered submarine in Visakhapatnam

India has launched its 1st nuclear-powered submarine, becoming only the 6th country in the world to do so.

The 6,000 tonne Arihant was launched by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a ceremony on the south-east coast.

It was built entirely in India with Russian assistance and a 2nd one is due to be constructed shortly.

It'll undergo trials over the next few years before being deployed and will be able to launch missiles at targets 700km (437 miles) away.

Until now, only the US, Russia, France, Britain and China had the capability to build nuclear submarines.

'China threat'

Launching the INS Arihant, Mr Singh said India had no aggressive designs on anyone.

But the sea was becoming increasingly relevant to India's security concerns, he added.

"It's incumbent upon us to take all measures necessary to safeguard our country and to keep pace with technological advancements worldwide," he told the ceremony in the port city of Visakhapatnam.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says until now India has been able to launch ballistic missiles only from the air and from land.

Nuclear submarines will add a 3rd dimension to its defence capability.

When it is eventually deployed, the top-secret Arihant will be able to carry 100 sailors on board.

It'll be able to stay under water for long periods and thereby increase its chances of remaining undetected.

By contrast, India's ageing conventional diesel-powered submarines need to constantly surface to recharge their batteries.

Our correspondent says the launching of the Arihant is a clear sign that India is looking to blunt the threat from China which has a major naval presence in the region.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8169360.stm

Yahoo launched a Revamped Home Page

After many rounds of testing and nearly a year of painstaking development, Yahoo is poised to introduce a thoroughly overhauled home page on Tuesday, a major step in the struggling company’s efforts to remake itself for users, advertisers and investors.

The outlines of Yahoo’s approach to redesigning the most popular home page on the Internet have long been known. The company has said time and again that it wanted to provide something of a dashboard that offered its users a view not only into their favorite Yahoo content and services, but also into 3rd-party applications and sites they use frequently, like eBay, Facebook or Gmail. The idea was also to make it easy for users to customize that experience.

Jerry Yang, Yahoo’s co-founder and former chief executive, had described the goal as making Yahoo into a “starting point” for users on the Web. In the Carol Bartz regime, the preferred catchphrase appears to be putting Yahoo at the “center point of people’s lives online.” That’s how Tapan Bhat, a senior vice president at Yahoo who oversees the home page, put it in an interview.

But the specifics of the redesigned Yahoo.com have changed several times, and the final release, which remains in “beta” testing, appears to have taken some elements in a new direction. Perhaps the most singular feature is how Yahoo integrates 3rd-party applications and sites into its home page. Those applications, which are chosen by users, appear in a right-hand rail called My Favorites. When users hover over one of them with their mouse, a preview of that application, be it their Facebook page, the front page of The New York Times, or their Gmail in-box, pops up. That makes Yahoo.com an easy way for users to check in with their favorite services. It also addresses a vital problem for Yahoo.

In early tests, some executives complained that the 3rd-party apps took traffic — and with it, revenue opportunities — away from Yahoo. Now Yahoo is including targeted ads in the preview window.

Yahoo’s home page receives huge amounts of traffic, Mr. Bhat said. “The thing that has been missing is context and brand advertisers want to buy context,” he said. “The contextual advertising in the My Favorites area starts giving us chance to do that ” (It isn't clear how third-party publishers will react to having Yahoo sell ads next to their content, but Mr. Bhat said Yahoo had notified publishers and that it was a “win-win for everyone.”)

Yahoo users will be able pick My Favorites apps from a list of more than 65 apps. They will also be able to create new apps for sites that are not included in that list. Yahoo promises that it'll soon make it easy for users to keep PC and mobile selections in sync.

Other features of the new home page include more personalized news and “status” updates from various social networks like MySpace and Facebook.

Mr. Bhat said the overhaul represented “the most fundamental change to the home page in Yahoo’s history.” He said the company was trying to walk a middle road between sites that broadcast a single home page to all their users — the old Yahoo.com or a newspaper home page — and services that allow users to customize their experience, like My Yahoo or iGoogle. User tests show that a growing number of people say they like a custom experience, but the number who bother to program their home page remains relatively low, Mr. Bhat said.

Yahoo.com had 114 million visitors in the United States in June, 17% more than a year earlier, according to comScore. By comparison, MyYahoo grew 32% to 23 million users in the past year, and iGoogle, Google’s version of a dashboard, grew 32% to just under 10 million users.

The new home page, which inside Yahoo has been known as Metro, will not be imposed on users automatically — at least not yet. Mr. Bhat called it an “opt-in beta,” meaning that users would have to click on a link to select the new design. The beta part, of course, means the design is still subject to change. The new home page will be available in the U.S. on Tuesday, and in France, Britain and India later in the week, with other countries to follow next month.'

source:http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/yahoo-is-revamping-its-home-page/?hpw

Dish Network Corp.- 46 states settle deceptive practices charges

Dish Network Corp. said Thursday it agreed to pay nearly $6 million to settle charges that it improperly marketed, promoted and sold its products and services.

Although the satellite TV provider is not admitting any wrong doing in settling with attorneys generals in 46 states, it agreed to pay restitution to affected customers and make fuller disclosures in advertising and written contracts.

State officials say Dish failed to disclose all the terms of service to customers, including rebates, credits and free offers. The states say that Dish refused to take responsibility when customers were misled by service resellers and equipment installers.

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2008 file photo, Dish Network Corp. satellite dishes are attached to a home in Buffalo, N.Y. Dish Network is paying nearly $6 million to settle charges that it improperly marketed, promoted and sold its products and services. The satellite TV provider isn't admitting any wrongdoing in settling with attorneys generals in 46 states. (AP Photo/David Duprey, file)

State officials also accused Dish of charging customers' credit cards and withdrawing money from bank accounts without giving adequate notice and getting proper authorization. They also said Dish did not tell customers that equipment sold or leased were used or refurbished.

As part of the settlement, Dish agreed to more clearly disclose in ads any restrictions on promotional offers. It also promised to either sell new equipment or tell consumers they are buying used goods. The company also must require retailers that resell its services to comply with the terms of the states' agreement.

Dish will pay restitution to affected consumers who filed complaints between Jan. 1, 2004 and July 9, 2009. People can also file complaints over the next 5 months with their state's attorney general, Dish or Better Business Bureau to qualify, as long as the problem occurred within the past 2 years.

Englewood, Colo.-based Dish reached a settlement with all states except California, North Carolina, Illinois and Ohio. Those 4 states, along with the Federal Trade Commission, have sued Dish for alleged violations of a federal telemarketing law and thus are not part of the settlement.

Dish did agree to comply with Do Not Call and other telemarketing laws as part of the 46-state settlement.

Shares of Dish were up 43 cents, or nearly 3%, to close Thursday at $16.04.

source: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/07/16/dish_46_states_settle_deceptive_practices_charges/

H1N1 virus 'Unstoppable', WHO Says, Calls for Vaccine

World Health Organization (WHO) Gives Drug Makers the Go-Ahead to Manufacture Vaccines Against the Pandemic Influenza Strain.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saying the new H1N1 flu is "unstoppable", the World Health Organization (WHO) gave drug makers a full go-ahead to manufacture vaccines against the pandemic influenza strain on Monday and said healthcare workers should be the 1st to get one.

Every country will need to vaccinate citizens against the swine flu virus and must choose who else would get priority after nurses, doctors and technicians, said Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research.

Several reports showed the new virus attacks people differently than seasonal flu -- affecting younger people, the severely obese and seemingly healthy adults, and causing disease deep in the lungs.

Kieny briefed reporters on the findings of the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, or SAGE. "The committee recognized that the H1N1 pandemic ... is unstoppable and therefore that all countries need access to vaccine," Kieney said.

"The SAGE recognized 1st that healthcare workers should be immunized in all countries in order to retain a functional health system as the virus evolves," she added.

After that, each country should decide who is next in line, based on the virus's unusual behavior.

Seasonal influenza is deadly enough - each year it is involved in 250,000 to 500,000 deaths globally. But most are the elderly or those with some kind of chronic disease that makes them more vulnerable to flu, such as asthma.

ELDERLY ADVANTAGE

The elderly seem to have some extra immunity to this new H1N1, which is a mixture of 2 swine viruses, one of which also contains genetic material from birds and humans. It's a very distant cousin of the H1N1 virus that caused the 1918 pandemic that killed 50 million to 100 million people.

A study published in the journal Nature on Monday confirmed that the blood of people born before 1920 carries antibodies to the 1918 strain, suggesting their immune systems remember a childhood infection.

The work by Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka also supports other studies that this new H1N1 strain doesn't stay in the nose and throat, as do most seasonal viruses.

"The H1N1 virus replicates significantly better in the lungs," Kawaoka said. Other studies have also shown it can cause gastrointestinal effects, and that it targets people not usually thought of as being at high risk.

"Obesity has been observed to be one of the risk factors for more severe reaction to H1N1" -- something never before seen, Kieny added. It is not clear if obese people may have undiagnosed health problems that make them susceptible, or if obesity in and of itself is a risk.

On Friday, a team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Michigan reported that nine out of 10 patients treated in an intensive care unit there were obese. They also had unusual symptoms such as blood clots in the lungs and multiple organ failure.

None have recovered and 3 died.

The CDC estimates at least a million people are infected in the U.S. alone and clinics everywhere are advised not to test each and every patient, so keeping an accurate count of cases will be impossible. The United States has documented 211 deaths and WHO counted 429 early last week.

Kieny said WHO would also work to get better viruses for companies from which to make vaccines. She said the strains that had been distributed didn't grow very well in chicken eggs - used to make all flu vaccines.

One exception - AstraZeneca's MedImmune unit makes a live virus vaccine that is squirted up the nose and it's easier to produce, Kieny said.

WHO said countries should continue with their normal vaccination programs against seasonal flu. Kieny said the seasonal H3N2 strain was also very active now in the southern hemisphere's winter.

Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, Baxter, Schering-Plough's Nobilon, GlaxoSmithKline, Solvay, CSL and AstraZeneca's MedImmune are among those working on flu vaccines.

source:http://abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=8073368&page=1

Fraidy cats (and pups) on the Fourth of July?

While 4 of July revelers love the thrill and spectacle of a fireworks display, animal experts advise that the rocket's red glare might be too much for some dogs and cats.

We have got some advice for you, but first, for a story, the Sun is also looking for some people who'd be willing to talk to a reporter about how their pets react to fireworks. Comment to the blog and we will get your information to the right person. Thanks in advance for sharing your tales of woe!

North Shore Animal League America, the world's largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization, these tips to help your pets have a better chance of enjoying Independence Day:

1. Never take your pets to a fireworks display:

Fireworks displays can be great fun, but not for your pets. The loud noises and bright lights can terrify an animal. Even the best-behaved dog may react with fear and try to flee from the scene, which could lead him into traffic or get him lost.

2. Give your pets a safe and quiet retreat:
Fourth of July festivities can frighten an animal, so it's important to provide a safe and quiet place to relax. Whether you secure a room of the house or blanketed crate, they should have someplace "den-like" in which to retreat. Draw the curtains to block out the lightshow, and try putting the TV or radio on at a low volume as a distraction or as company for them if you go out. Make sure to KEEP THEM INSIDE for their protection.

3. Create a problem-free environment:

If you decide to go out and leave your pets at home, it is wise to pet-proof your home. A nervous animal can become destructive, so it is best to clear the area of anything he may ingest or hurt himself on if he becomes frantic or nervous. If you know your pet doesn't react to fireworks well, try not to leave him unattended. Make sure windows and doors are secured in case they try to "break-out." If your pet has extreme fear of fireworks, you may want to consult with your vet for some relaxation guidelines.

4. Monitor what your pet eats and drinks:

Many foods and beverages are harmful to pets, and guests may not be aware of this. It is also difficult to monitor how much your pets are eating in a social setting. So to avoid illness, it is best to let everyone know that party fare is off-limits for your animals.

5. Use distraction techniques:

If you are home with your pet and he is exhibiting nervous behavior like whimpering or pacing, try distracting him with his favorite toys, games or snacks. Too much coddling may make your pet suspect that there is something to be afraid of.

6. Keep your pet cool and hydrated:

Fourth of July can be a scorcher. It can take only minutes for heat exhaustion to set in, so be sure to keep your pet's environment well ventilated and cool. Leave plenty of fresh, cool water for them to drink. NEVER LEAVE YOUR PET IN A HOT CAR. Imagine being trapped in a hot car in a fur coat. Even with the windows cracked, your pet can overheat and become ill or even die.

7. Make sure your pet is identifiable:

In the event that your pet runs off, it is imperative to make sure that his collar is on with his identification tags attached. Secure the collar so that your pet can't squeeze out if it. You should be able to fit two fingers underneath the collar so that it is roomy enough for comfort and snug enough for safety. If your pet runs off, you want to ensure his identification and a means to contact you for his safe return.

8. Watch out for Independence Day debris:

When you let your pets out or take them for walks the day after, remember that the streets and your yard might be littered with firework debris. To your pets, these may seem like tasty treats or fun things to nibble on. Make a point to clean up before letting your companions out where they can rummage through potentially harmful debris.

source: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/mutts/blog/2009/07/puppies_and_kittens_safely_cel.html