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February 08, 2014: Delayed by over four years, but this one is truly better late than never. In what will be a significant boost to the Indian Navy’s quest for a credible air defence system deployable on its frontline vessels and aircraft carriers, the Indo-Israeli long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) system will be tested in a naval configuration towards the end of this year, reveals the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chief Dr Avinash Chander. The missile underwent a first test from a land launcher in 2010, and has since been tested an unspecified number of times. The collaborative programme,...

Research Triangle Park, N.C. — Dispatches from the firing line at IBM: "People broke down after seeing the inhuman treatment. Laptops along with the cases were confiscated, so several employees were seen crying and exiting building carrying and balancing their personal belongings with their two hands." "IBM STG INDIA is doing RA and it is very deep and numbers are huge." "Just heard from a colleague in Bangalore that job cuts there have begun. Workers asked to leave on the spot. He claims 6 out of 23 people in his department." RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - IBM's latest $1 billion...

The much-awaited Mumbai monorail was inaugurated by Maharashtra's Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday. The service will be open to the public on Sunday, making Mumbai the first Indian city to ever use such a transport facility. The monorail service that will link the city to major stations will begin its first phase of 8.93 km between Wadala and Chembur in the eastern fringes of the Commercial Capital. The second phase (to be completed in 2015) will cover a distance of 11.2 km and will include the following 11 stations: Chinchpokli, Chembur Naka, Wadala...

Of lasting genes and lost cities of Tamil Nadu Papri Sri Raman (Indo-Asian News Service) Chennai, January 5 India's East Coast, especially along Tamil Nadu, is increasingly drawing the attention of archaeologists and anthropologists from across the world for its evolutionary and historical secrets. The focus has sharpened after genetic scientist Spencer Wells found strains of genes in some communities of Tamil Nadu that were present in the early man of Africa. In the "Journey of Man" aired by the National Geographic channel, Wells says the first wave of migration of early man from Africa took place 60,000 years ago...

It's boom time at Jaguar Land Rover's Halewood Body & Assembly facility on Merseyside, the northernmost tip of the Tata Motors empire, the Indian giant that has coaxed a pair of venerable British car brands into performing one of the most dramatic U-turns in recent corporate history. Despite the 4,500-odd miles between it and Tata Motors Group's famously modest HQ on Homi Mody Street in Mumbai, the influence of the firm and its patriarch, Ratan Tata - who has made his fortune extracting value out of businesses that others failed to spot - is clear. JLR's assets, both human and...

It looks as though Indian combat aircraft are going to continue flying for many years to come with Israeli designator pods. A Rafael official confirmed to Air&Cosmos during the Defexpo Show that the company’s Litening G4 had been selected last year following an IAF call for tenders for 164 pods to equip its entire fleet of fighter-bombers. Deliveries under this huge order (the largest ever recorded outside the US, according to Rafael) are expected to get under way by the end of this year. When completed, they will bring the total number of Litening pods in IAF service to approximately...

Shiva Keshavan, a 31-year-old luge athlete participating in his fifth Olympic Games, falls off his sled but manages to remain calm and regain control to finish his practice run. - See more at: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/indian-luger-shiva-keshavan-crashes-then-makes-amazing-save?ctx=top-moments#sthash.oeKMH3zj.dpuf

As part of TATA’S strategy to enhance the scope of its defense business Tata Motors HAS showcased the ‘Kestrel’, an 8×8 wheeled armored amphibious VEHICLE platform providing protected mobility and firepower to the troops. The Kestrel, designed by the DRDO was unveiled yesterday by TATA Motors. Photo: Noam Eshel, defense Update The vehicle is designed as a Light Armoured High Mobility Vehicle (LAMV), functioning as a recon scout vehicle, moving ahead of the armored columns. The vehicle was designed by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Supacat of the UK, an expert in tactical armored vehicles, has also...

MOSCOW, February 6 (RIA Novosti) – Russian shipbuilders could adopt the design of submarines for an upcoming Indian tender to accommodate Brahmos missiles and an Indian-made air-independent propulsion system, the Rubin design bureau said Thursday. Russia is planning to offer its fourth-generation Amur-1650 boats in India’s $ prospective 11.8-billion tender for the supply of six “stealth” diesel-electric submarines. France, Germany and Spain have also said they will take part in the tender, which the Indian Defense Ministry is expected to open in the near future. “We have considered arming Amur-1650 with vertical launchers, and have made significant progress in designing...

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) last week unearthed a Harappan seal from Karanpura in the Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. “The seal consists of two Harappan characters, with a typical unicorn as the motif and a pipal leaf depicted in front of an animal. There is a knob behind the seal,” says VN Prabhakar, superintending archaeologist, who led the ASI team. Maintaining that the discovery ‘confirms’ that the site belongs to the mature Harappan period, the time when the civilization was at its peak (2600 BC to 1900 BC), he said: “A cubicle chert weight was also unearthed in a...

The Black Death of the 14th century may be written into the DNA of survivors' descendants, new research finds. The study reveals that Roma people (sometimes known as gypsies, although this is considered a derogatory term) and white Europeans share alterations to their genetic code that occurred after the Roma settled in Europe from northwest India 1,000 years ago. The plague of the 1300s, which killed at least 75 million people, is a likely candidate for forcing this evolutionary change. "We show that there are some immune receptors that are clearly influenced by evolution in Europe and not in northwest...

Indian student sues for £100,000 compensation for hurt feelings after box of crayons contained a pink one labelled ‘skin’ colour An Indian law student is demanding £100,000 compensation after claiming that his feelings had been hurt by a 'racist' pink children's crayon sold by one of India's largest stationery manufacturers. Chirayu Jain, 19, who is studying at the National Law School of India University said he was shocked when he opened up the box of crayons to discover that the lighter pink crayon had been labelled 'skin'. In the complaint he said: 'On opening the box, I discovered that the...

Sen. Lindsey Graham blasted President Obama for the foreign policy portion of his State of the Union address Tuesday night. “The world is literally about to blow up,” the South Carolina Republican told Roll Call. “The world as I know was not remotely described by the president.” “Syria is a contagion … Iraq is disintegrating. The whole region is moving toward chaos, and we’re doing nothing. We’re talking about limiting drones?” he continued. “I hope he will leave a residual force in Afghanistan [so] they can do the job, because if he doesn’t,

India's top court has rejected a plea filed by the government and activist groups to review its shock ruling that reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex. A Supreme Court bench dismissed petitions filed by the government and rights groups against a verdict last month that recriminalised gay sex and made it an offence punishable by up to life imprisonment. "We see no reason to interfere with the order impugned. The review petitions are dismissed," Supreme Court Justices H L Dattu and S J Mukhopadhaya said in their decision. In its December 11 ruling, the top court reversed a lower...

Former president of the Indian Psychiatric Society Dr Indira Sharma has courted controversy by claiming that homosexuality is unnatural, a statement made three days ago at an annual meet of psychiatrists. The LGBT community has brought "talk of sex to the roads", she told Times of India. "Heterosexuals don't talk about sex. It's a private matter," she told Times of India. The report quoted a psychiatrist who attended the summit as saying Sharma's speech took a condescending approach towards homosexuals. Sharma denied to TOI that she called for "homo clubs" to be shut down. She said her speech was about...

India is the world's largest democracy, and has a population of 1.2 billion. America is the world's oldest democracy. Indian-born Dinesh D'Souza immigrated to America in 1978, and he has written several books saying that America has more freedom than any other country in the world. D'Souza many be right in saying that the America which he found in 1978 was the world's most free nation. But the America that Dinesh found in 1978 no longer exists, except in the history books. The problem that America faces is much bigger than the policies of the Obama administration. Conservatives betrayed America...

New Delhi: India is set to become the first country since World War Two to buy a military aircraft from Japan, helping Prime Minister Shinzo Abe end a ban on weapons exports that has kept his country's defence contractors out of foreign markets. The two countries are in broad agreement on a deal for the ShinMaywa Industries amphibious aircraft, which could amount to as much as $1.65 billion, Indian officials said on Tuesday. However, several details need to be worked out and negotiations will resume in March on joint production of the plane in India and other issues. New Delhi...

Lower Dir, 27 January 2014, Militants have changed their getups and they move to different residential areas after the operation in Fata and Baluchistan. Some of them start using shirts, paint to show him as modern. Some of militants also remove the hair and beard to hide their self in local communities. According to the source, militants left the tribal areas and use Bannu, DI khan and Hangu move other parts of Pakistan, they used unknown and unfamiliar ways of escaping the area. Some of them move also explosive vehicle for targeting government official. The source confirmed that the decision...

Despite initial high expectations, the Indian Air Force appears to be souring on a joint development deal with Russia for a new fifth-generation fighter jet, according to the Business Standard, a major Indian business publication. The Russian prototype is "unreliable, its radar inadequate, its stealth features badly engineered,” said Indian Air Force Deputy Air Marshall S Sukumar at a Jan. 15 meeting,

“If they get a chance to really look at the F35, they would want it," Laird said. "The Indians have requested 3 times to talk to people about the F-35B, which is the true revolutionary aircraft -- and the administration never answered the mail, they've blown them off, it's typical of the Obama administration. We love our allies except if you want anything."