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Germany sets new solar power record, institute says

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:54:50 +0530

BERLIN (Reuters) - German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity - through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said. The German government decided to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, closing eight plants immediately and shutting down the remaining nine by 2022. They will be replaced by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and bio-mass. ...

Japan says Fukushima spent-fuel risk contained

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:49:02 +0530

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Japanese officials said on Saturday the unprecedented effort to remove spent fuel rods from one of the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactors was on track despite lingering concerns about the structure's vulnerability to another earthquake. "I don't think the situation is unstable," said Goshi Hosono, Japan's minister in charge of the response to the nuclear crisis. He was speaking to reporters after his first tour of the twisted and partly destroyed building that houses Fukushima's No. 4 reactor. ...

Astronauts float inside SpaceX Dragon capsule

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:53:49 +0530

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station opened the hatch and floated inside a Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon capsule on Saturday, the first privately owned spaceship to reach the orbital outpost, NASA said. Running ahead of schedule, station commander Oleg Kononenko and flight engineer Don Pettit opened the hatch to Dragon just before 6 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT), NASA mission commentator Josh Byerly reported from Mission Control in Houston. The bell-shaped capsule, which was making its second test flight, arrived at the space station on Friday. ...

Biden tells West Point cadets: prepare for new threats

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:51:52 +0530

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most of the cadets who graduated on Saturday from West Point were in elementary school when hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and enrolled in the U.S. military academy with wars raging in Iraq and Afghanistan. Vice President Joe Biden lauded the brave choices of the Class of 2012 - and their so-called "9/11 generation" - with a commencement address focused on the United States' new foreign policy challenges including cyber threats and a rising China. ...

Brother of blind Chinese activist Chen returns home - lawyer

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:57:40 +0530

BEIJING (Reuters) - The brother of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng who was reported to have gone missing has returned to his village in northeastern China, a lawyer said on Saturday. The short disappearance of Chen Guangfu had sparked concerns he was the latest target of government reprisals against the family of the activist, who escaped from his village in late April after 19 months of detention at home. Shandong-based lawyer Liu Weiguo told Reuters Chen Guangfu had returned to Dongshigu village. ...

Keventer plans to set up food park in Bengal

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:32:53 +0530

Kolkata, May 26 (IANS) Kolkata-based Keventer Group is planning to set up a food park in West Bengal, investing about Rs.7 billion, a top executive of the company said Saturday.

Congress slams Trinamool over petrol price hike protest

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:25:13 +0530

Kolkata, May 26 (IANS) Taking strong exception to the Trinamool Congress opposing the central government over the recent petrol price hike, West Bengal Congress leaders Saturday said the Mamata Banerjee-led party could walk out of the United Progressive Alliance government if it felt so, and threatened to launch similar protests against her government in the state over various issues.

Roll back petrol hike: Mamata

Sat, 26 May 2012 20:41:13 +0530

Kolkata, May 26 (IANS) Stepping up pressure on the beleaguered Congress-led central government on the issue of hike in petrol prices, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday led a protest rally of several thousand Trinamool supporters here, demanding a roll back.

States can reduce petrol VAT if Congress takes initiative: Dhumal

Sat, 26 May 2012 20:26:43 +0530

Shimla, May 26 (IANS) Hinting at a reduction in petrol prices in the state, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal Saturday said the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol may be reduced further provided the Congress-ruled states took initiative in this regard.

Air India flies out stranded British Airways passengers

Sat, 26 May 2012 20:05:41 +0530

New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) Air India may have failed to fly its passengers in recent days due to the ongoing pilots' strike, but the carrier came to the rescue of passengers of a 30-hour delayed British Airways (BA) flight stranded at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here and flew them to their destination in Britain.