London  - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Wednesday hailed the government's massive bank rescue plan as the "right decision in extraordinary times."

"It is a tough deal for everybody, but it is the right deal for the British public," Brown told a news conference in Downing Street.

The "comprehensive action" taken by the British government should restore "confidence and trust" to the financial system, he said.

It was reason to rejoice for Serbia as its player made a global impact by winning Porsche Grand Prix trophy on Sunday. Jelena Jankovic, the 23-year-old adds another feather to her cap as she reigns the top slot now.

Jankovic defeated Russia’s Nadia Petrova during the finals in Stuttgart. 

Lahore, Oct 8: Indian Sikhs have demanded of the Pakistan government to allow the community to celebrate all the eight major festivals in the country. At present the Pakistan Government allows the community to celebrate only six festivals, except the two, viz. the birth anniversary of Sri Guru Gubind Singh and Saka Nankana Sahib.

Putting forth this demand, Jathedar Gopal Singh Janiya, a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar thanked the Pakistan government for increasing the number of Sikh events from four to six.

Janiya is the party leader of Sikh pilgrims that reached Pakistan on Monday to commemorate the 474th birthday of the fourth guru in Sikhism, Guru Ram Das at Chuna Mandi Gurdwara.

Rate has inside range day but rallies on news of potential rate cut; OK to look at the buy side on weakness to the bottom of the range. Pullback to the 1.3400 handle on lighter volume. Rate is an absolute screaming buy in my view. Aggressive traders can buy anytime under the 1.3900 handle in my view.

Traders note stops triggered on the way down along with technical selling. Oil weaker helps pressure also. Traders note stops building above the market but those likely remain out of range today.

New Delhi, Oct 8 : Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Wednesday said the Indian Navy is ready to take on the Somalian pirates who have kidnapped 18 Indian sailors, but is awaiting the Ministry of Defence’s decision on the issue.

Washington, Oct 8 : Scientists have determined that biotechnology is not the final solution for the food insecurity and poverty problems in Africa and other developing countries.

According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), scientists made the statement at the first All Africa Congress on Biotechnology in Nairobi, Kenya, recently.

“This is no silver bullet to the food insecurity in Africa and the rest of the developing world, but it must be looked at as one of the most important tools that will contribute to increased food production and thus, poverty reduction,” said Clive James, chairman of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications.

Rate is two-way on the way down to trade under support around the 1.7300 area; volumes better and traders note large names on the bid possibly covering shorts. Rate is likely heavily over-sold. Follow-on selling likely to attract short-covering on further weakness. Follow-on selling likely from technical's and spillover from EURO. Aggressive traders can buy this dip around the 1.7380 area; look for a recovery back to the 1.8000 handle near term.

Hanoi - Government authorities have fined the Taiwanese-owned
condiment company Vedan 7.7 million dollars for discharging thousands
of cubic meters of pollutants into a river in southern Vietnam,
officials said Wednesday.

"We have decided to punish Vedan for its violations," said Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha.

According to the decision released Tuesday, Vedan's factory in Dong

The USD is mixed to end New York after a solid two-way session driven mostly by active buying and selling. Although stops were triggered for part of today's volatility in most pairs, the majors remained inside established ranges for most of the day. Today's fundamental news was benign and not market-moving; traders remained focused on how global leaders will attempt to restore confidence to the financial system.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong shares slumped by more than 8 per cent Wednesday as economic woes deepened despite a cut in interest rates intended to boost liquidity in the city's money markets.

The Hang Seng Index lost 1,372.03 points or 8.17 per cent, crashing through the 16,000 points barrier within minutes of the market opening and ending the day at 15,431.73 points. Turnover was
77.7 billion Hong Kong dollars (10 billion US dollars).

The blue-chip index has fallen at an unprecedented rate in recent weeks and has now shed 50 per cent of its value since it peaked at just below 32,000 points in October 2007.

Washington, Oct 8 : A new research has suggested that the soil under the ancient Greek buildings like temples, which honored specific gods and goddesses, held spiritual significance.

According to a report in Discovery News, the finding could help explain why writers like Homer and Plato wrote of “divine soil” and soil that can affect a person’s soul. It may also explain how the ancients selected locations for their sacred buildings.

Islamabad, Oct 8 : Pakistan economy was facing bankruptcy and it could not afford sanctions by the world powers, the country’s Defence Secretary Kamran Rasool reportedly told the Senate Standing Committee on Defence.

Pakistan’s financial position was very week and the country could not talk about taking on the US, he said and added that Pakistan could not succeed against terrorists without co-operation and intelligence-sharing with the United States.

Moscow  - The MICEX index, Moscow's leading stock exchange, shut down until Friday while trading on the RTS was suspended indefinitely after shares plummeted at opening on Wednesday.

The MICEX's headlong dive, dropping more than 14 per cent in the first half-hour of trading, compounded record losses in the last two days as Russia faces its worst financial crisis since the national default of 1998.

Trading on the MICEX, where most of Russia's stocks are traded, was suspended by market watchdogs at 11:05 am (0805 GMT) for two- days.

Guwahati, Oct 8 : The death toll in Assam’s Udalguri and Darrang Districts, dogged by clashes between Bodos and illegal Bangladeshi migrants has risen to 51 with the recovery of 11 bodies today.

Paris  - The Paris Bourse was in freefall early Wednesday after Wall Street and Asian markets nosedived on recession fears.

After an hour of trading, the benchmark CAC 40 index was down 8.18 per cent, to 3,426.85, as all 40 listed stocks were on the losing side of the ledger.

The French-Belgian financial service group Dexia again led the way down, losing 20.34 per cent, to 4.70 euros.

However, industrials were hardest hit as a group, with steel giant ArcelorMittal, telecommunications equipment supplier Alcatel-Lucent and steel manufacturer Vallourec all losing more than 12 per cent of their value. (dpa)

Lukla (Kathmandu), Oct 8 : At least eighteen people have been killed after a small passenger plane crashed in Nepal''s Everest region today.

According to official sources, a Yeti Airlines plane crashed while attempting to land at the Tenzing-Hillary airport in Lukla town.

Only the pilot, Suraj Kuwar survived the tragic accident. He has been flown to Kathmandu for medical treatment, sources said.

Among the dead are a co-pilot, one airhostess, fourteen German nationals and two Australians.

Bad weather conditions led to the mishap. (ANI)

Living upto its expectations the British bred Nigel Short won his third Commonwealth Chess title after dismissing Arun Prasad’s in the finals at the Naivedhyam Celebrations Centre on Monday. 

The winner who won the cash prize of Rs.1.8 lakh has made his hat-trick by winning the title for the third time. Earlier he bagged the winning spree in 2004 and 2006. Commenting on this Short said, "Commonwealth is something very special for me."And with his victory he now becomes the only person to get three commonwealth titles.

The Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) celebrated its golden jubilee for its very first breakthrough in the field of oil 50 years back in Lunej, Cambay Basin off the Gulf of Cambay, Gujarat. Alongside the event another proposed plan of the firm was disclosed as the company readies itself for exploration in Uranium.

Washington, Oct 8 : Researchers have captured on camera the deepest fish caught alive ever, the ghostly snailfish, at the depth of 4.8 miles (7.7 kilometers) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

According to a report in National Geographic News, the record-breaking video was shot in the Japan Trench by researchers who used dead mackerel to lure the abyssal creatures toward waiting cameras.

Disappointed on the hike in VAT rates, members of Indian Industries Association (IIA) held a demonstration in which over sixty of them were arrested by the police on Monday. However they were set free after three hours.

Annoyed with the State’s decision and henceforth demand to have VAT at par with the other states, the industrialists had earlier proposed to have a car rally which was supposed to end at Patel Park after which they wanted to have a dharna but the administration did not give its approval for the same. On Monday about 250 cars were parked at Moti Mahal but on the car rally’s disapproval, the industrialists resorted to march through the market. On this the police got enraged and arrested them.