Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest carmaker is likely to roll out a global car by 2017, as it strengthens the R&D activities. The company will start working on a global car at its new R&D centre at Rohtak. The company will develop the car with some assistance from parent Suzuki Motor Corp, targeting the European and Japanese markets. The global car will be developed mainly by Indian engineers.

The car will be powered by an 800cc engine and will be positioned along with the company's current best seller 'Alto'. MSI is spending up to Rs 1,500 crore to set up a R&D centre at Rohtak, which will be SMC's only such significant centre outside Japan, to scale up its vehicle development programme and become self-reliant.

In the past, MSI engineers had participated in the development of global models, which have been introduced in India, such as Swift and Ritz. MSI is at present working on an indigenously developed small car for the Indian market that is likely to be launched next year.

source: http://in.finance.yahoo.com

Most of them were young men in their 20s. They were small in number, not much more than 50, but strong in voice.

"We came here to show our anger at the murder of Sheikh Osama Bin Laden," said Jihad, a stout man with a thick beard in Islamic traditional dress. He's a Salafist jihadi.

"The Salafist jihadis in Gaza yearn to have acceptance from al-Qaeda," says Nathan Thrall, a Middle East Analyst at the International Crisis Group and an expert on radical Islam in Gaza.

"They are not yet affiliates of al-Qaeda but to say they are inspired by al-Qaeda is accurate," says Mr Thrall.

Salafists practice a very conservative and traditional form of Islam. They take their inspiration from the early generations of Muslims who were close to the Prophet Muhammad and his message.

In Gaza the vast majority are non-violent. Salafist jihadis espouse violence.

They are a tiny minority in Gaza. Nathan Thrall estimates their numbers to be in the tens rather than the hundreds.

They have often been in conflict with the Hamas government in Gaza, which they regard as too moderate and too willing to compromise Islamic principles.

And the Salafist voice is being heard.

Earlier this month, a day after the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, the Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh condemned the American operation. Mr Haniyeh called Bin Laden an "Arab and Muslim holy warrior".

Such words were ill-timed for those who hope the recent Palestinian unity deal between Hamas and its secular rivals Fatah might see Hamas moderate its views.

Hamas has since rowed back on the comments, but many believe Mr Haniyeh at least partly had the Salafist constituency in Gaza in mind when he made the remarks.

"The threat posed by the Salafists to Hamas is really an ideological one," says Nathan Thrall.

"It's very difficult for Hamas to defend itself against Islamist challengers who say it is failing to impose Islamic law, fight Israel and liberate the Palestinian people."

But he says the physical threat that the Salafists pose to Hamas is much smaller.

"Hamas has shown in the past that it is able to crush the Salafist jihadis when they cross red lines."

One such red line was the kidnapping and murder of Vittorio Arrigoni by a small Salafist group in Gaza in April.

The Italian pro-Palestinian activist, who was living in Gaza City, was abducted and strangled.

Before he was killed a video showing the 36-year-old beaten and blindfolded was posted - on a Salafist website.

The kidnappers demanded the release of Salafist prisoners being held in Hamas jails.

Hamas had largely been credited with reducing the threat of kidnapping in Gaza and Mr Arrigoni's murder was seen as a challenge to its authority. It hit back with force.

A few days after the killing Hamas security forces surrounded a house in central Gaza where the three alleged Salafist kidnappers were holding out.

After a fierce gun battle, two of the Salafists ended up dead. One was captured. It's believed since then a number of other Salafists have been arrested across Gaza.

"I think we succeeded now to end this file," Hamas's Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamed told me.

"This was a small group. Some of them were killed. Some of them were arrested. Everything is under control."

It emerged this week though that an American citizen living in Gaza was advised by Hamas to leave the strip because of threats from Salafist groups and a possible kidnapping plot to avenge the death of Osama Bin Laden.

Depending on which way you look at it, the news was either proof that Hamas is one step ahead of the Salafists and is indeed in control of Gaza, or that the Salafist threat is greater than Hamas perhaps likes to make out.

Hamas does have the means to largely control Gaza. Tens of thousands of people work in the security forces here.

Just a few weeks after Mr Arrigoni's murder Hamas managed to successfully police the first ever Gaza Marathon, a potentially easy target for Salafist jihadis.

Thousands of Hamas police lined the route, which covered Gaza from top to bottom. The event allowed Hamas to show it was in full control.

The military face of Hamas is a familiar one. It sells itself on being a movement of fighters against Israel's occupation. But it also has to govern. That means schools, hospitals and keeping the streets clean.

Maher Sabra, an analyst at al-Ummah University in Gaza, says this has presented Hamas with a challenge.

"It is very difficult to combine the two things, to be in power as a government taking care of people and at the same time working as a resistance movement."

For the past four years, Mr Sabra believes, Hamas has had to become more pragmatic.

"They are in a delicate position. But so far they are surviving," he smiles.

For the small number of Salafist jihadis, though, Hamas has got the balance wrong.

Some Salafists are disgruntled former Hamas members who believe the movement is neglecting its principles.

The fact that a number of Salafists were once linked to Hamas has led some in Israel to accuse the media of playing up the Hamas-Salafist split, suggesting the two are actually closer than is sometimes made out.

But Nathan Thrall from the International Crisis Group rejects this and says the conflict is real.

"Hamas has very little interest in having Islamist challengers question its credentials."

Salafist jihadis are a tiny minority in Gaza. But as the dynamics of Palestinian politics shift in the coming months they maintain a limited potential to make themselves heard, either by launching rocket attacks on Israel to break the relative calm or by trying to challenge Hamas more directly.

Source : BBC.com

"It's my mother's engagement ring,” he told the press of the sapphire and diamond engagement heirloom. “Obviously she's not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all -- this was my way of keeping her close to it all."

During every step of their path down the aisle, Kate and William have made a point to keep Lady Diana’s memory alive. Today’s wedding was no exception. They recited their vows at the Westminster Abbey, the historic church where Diana’s memorial was held for 3 million mourners in 1997. Then, William was just a teenager, and his solemn march behind his mother’s coffin was in stark contrast to the beaming stride he took down the aisle today.

But the church itself wasn't the only reminder of Diana's parting. Bishop of London Richard Chartres, who also spoke at Diana's memorial, gave the wedding sermon. And during the musical portion of the ceremony, the first hymn sung was "Guide Me Thou, O Great Redeemer," the same song that concluded Di's funeral service and memorial service, 10 years after her death.

The focus wasn't only on Di's absence, but on the memory of her vibrant life. As Kate walked down the aisle in Alexander McQueen , every bit the breathtaking bride her mother-in-law was in 1981, she clutched a bouquet of Sweet William dotted with Lily of the Valley, a staple of Diana's wedding bouquet. And when it was time to say her vows, she again summoned Di’s independent spirit, by omitting the term “obey”. It was the one battle Diana Spencer picked when she agreed to marry Prince Charles. At the time, the break in tradition caused outrage among royal-watchers. Today it’s a testament to Di’s courage and trail-blazing choices.

Perhaps the biggest homage to Di’s legacy has been the subtle nods to lessons she taught both her immediate family and the royalty she’d forever be linked to. Diana’s tragic death, often blamed on a stalking paparazzi, may have influenced the couple and the royal court to keep their guard up with both paps and press during the wedding planning. When Di’s bridal dressmaker was announced, reporters famously rifled through the designer’s dumpsters hunting for information. Lesson learned, Kate kept her dress a secret despite pressure from media outlets and with souvenir factories at a standstill. It helped to have the firm backing of Clarence House, the royal press office, which closely guarded information in accordance to Will and Kate’s wishes. They’ve also accommodated the couple’s desire to have Diana’s favorite fashion photographer, Mario Testino, snap their engagement photo.

For Diana, whose outspoken voice was sometimes muffled by royal etiquette, fashion as a way to communicate with the public. Today, Carole, Kate's mother, stood in solidarity with her fellow mother-in-law. Her sky blue shantung dress was designed for the occasion by the house of Catherine Walker, Di's favorite designer. Walker, who died last year, designed at least 1,000 looks that defined Diana's style in her lifetime, including the black dress she was buried in.

Just skidding off of her teenage years, Diana became a figurehead the instant she said her vows. “At the age of 20 she has renounced forever spontaneity and privacy, freedom and independence, her red Mini Metro and her Chelsea apartment, past friendships and future intimacies other than those deemed appropriate for royal confidences,” a reporter wrote in the New York Times, the day after her July 29 nuptials. Both William and Kate, nearing the end of their 20s, were able to come into their own as individuals before they settle down with children, as they’re swiftly expected to do upon marriage. Their decision to wait, and to forge a 10-year bond, was no doubt a reaction to young Diana’s marital struggles which she claimed in Andrew Morton’s biography, started by “day two.”

For her wedding in 1981 Diana had little say in the guest list. But after her divorce, the people’s princess kept herself surrounded with a close-knit circle, some of them in attendance today, including dear friends Tessa Green and Elton John, who refashioned his song Candle in the Wind in her memory. John, along with over 1,000 other official guests, were asked by the couple to make charitable donations in lieu of gifts. Of all the bricks that built Diana’s legacy, her humanitarian work was a cornerstone.

India booked a place against Sri Lanka in Saturday's World Cup final after beating Pakistan by 29 runs in Mohali.

Virender Sehwag (38) hit nine fours and Sachin Tendulkar, reprieved by referral and dropped four times, looked set for his 100th international century.

He was out for 85 from 115 balls as India compiled 260-9, left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz with a career-best 5-46.

Mohammad Hafeez struck 43 and Misbah-ul-Haq made a defiant 56 but Pakistan were all out for 231 in the final over.

With tickets reportedly exchanging hands for many thousands of rupees, an estimated 28,000 packed into the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium and every possible vantage point outside the ground taken, a match of such magnitude between the fierce rivals deserved to be a classic encounter.

Misbah had played a curiously subdued innings, with his first 27 taking 52 balls, and though he hit two fours and a six in six deliveries 30 were needed from the final over and India justified their decision to field three seamers by defending a relatively modest total.

The start of the India innings after they opted to bat on a pitch showing tinges of green saw Tendulkar overshadowed by the remarkable Sehwag.

With precise clips off his legs and sweetly-struck drives, Sehwag struck five fours in an over from the wayward Umar Gul and had amassed 38 by the end of the fifth over.

But he was lbw trying to turn one from Riaz to leg and as India reached 50, Tendulkar's innings was still in its infancy with eight to his name from only 11 balls faced.

He soon demonstrated some exquisite timing as a defensive flick raced through mid-on for four, before he was given out lbw on 23 to the spin of Saeed Ajmal.

Umpire Ian Gould's decision looked perfectly correct as Tendulkar was hit playing across the line but under review the ball tracking system indicated it was turning down the leg-side sufficiently to miss the stumps, and to the great delight of the vast majority of the crowd the decision was overturned.

There was an appeal for a stumping next ball which was also rejected after a replay, while the first drop occurred with Tendulkar on 27 when Misbah-ul-Haq failed to cling on diving to his right at mid-wicket.

The India 100 came up in the 16th over but Pakistan began to slowly claw their way back, Gautam Gambhir deceived in flight by Mohammad Hafeez and stumped.

Inexplicably Younus Khan spilled a routine chance at extra-cover with Tendulkar on 45 and the opener duly completed his 95th one-day international half century by taking the aerial route safely over the cover fielders for his eighth four.

Left-armer Riaz soon brought Pakistan firmly back in the contest with wickets in successive balls to restrict India to 141-4, Virat Kohli mis-timing straight to point and Yuvraj Singh bowled first ball by a low, late-swinging full toss.

Tendulkar saw a thick edge brush the gloves of Kamran when on 70 to the exasperation of the ever demonstrative Afridi, who went wicketless for the first time in the tournament.

Then on 81 Umar Akmal spurned another opportunity, parrying the chance at mid-on in the style of a goalkeeper pushing the ball over the crossbar, with spinner Hafeez making a few choice observations on the error.

But 15 short of the landmark Tendulkar drove to extra-cover where Afridi made no mistake, and the run-rate soon dropped below five for the first time since the end of the second over.

Dhoni has now gone 13 innings without an ODI fifty and his sedentary 25 from 42 balls bore no resemblance to Sehwag's innings apart from the manner of dismissal, an attempted turn to leg off left-armer Riaz.

Three fours were taken in an over from Gul, whose eight overs cost 69, but Pakistan would surely have expected their required rate to be substantially more than 5.20.

Understandably their openers were not able to match Sehwag's rate of scoring but they utilised the fast outfield and had three boundaries apiece after seven overs before Kamran cut to point.

The crowd had been subdued by Pakistan's assured start but they were revived when Hafeez attempted a reckless 'Dilscoop,' trying to work to leg from well wide of off-stump and feathering a catch to wicketkeeper Dhoni.

Almost seven overs had elapsed without a boundary when Asad Shafiq, having calmly accumulated 30, lost his middle stump trying to cut Yuvraj slow left-armers and with the rate rising above six the match was in the melting pot.

Younus survived a missed stumping in Yuvraj's next over but three balls later drove tamely to extra-cover.

Timing began to look difficult on the slow surface under the numerous low floodlights dotted around the ground but Umar hit a four over cover and a pull for six off Yuvraj, the first boundaries for 12 overs, to reduce the requirement to 131 from 20 overs.

A six over the sightscreen from Umar saw the crowd go quiet again but from the first ball after the drinks break Harbhajan Singh struck a key blow with a quicker ball from around the wicket that straightened and breached his defences.

Dangerman Abdul Razzaq was dismissed cheaply by a cutter from Munaf Patel and though Afridi made a quickfire 19 to leave 77 needed from 50, he sliced a Harbhajan full toss to cover.

Misbah's brief late burst of hitting proved in vain and now attention turns to an enticing final in Mumbai, which will feature Tendulkar on his home ground seeking to record that 100th hundred against Sri Lanka's own talisman, Muttiah Muralitharan.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk

Strong tremors shook buildings in the capital Tokyo. Tsunami warnings have been sounded across the Pacific region- New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea,Hawaii, and others.

TV pictures showed the tsunami carrying the debris and fires across a large swathe of coastal farmland near the city of Sendai, which has a population of one million. The pictures suggested the death toll was going to rise.

NHK showed flames and black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted.

Black smoke was also pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama's Isogo area. TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks floating in water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed into the water.

Kyodo news agency said there were reports of fires in Sendai where waves carried cars across the runway at the airport. The western prefecture of Wakayama ordered 20,000 people to evacuate after further tsunami warnings.

"The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said in Tokyo. "It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."

Great Kanto Quake

The quake was the biggest in 140 years. It surpasses the Great Kanto quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9, killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area. Seismologists had said another such quake could strike the city any time. The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history. Economic damage from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was estimated at about $10 billion.

The Tokyo stock market extended losses after the quake. The central bank said it would do everything to ensure financial stability.

Passengers on a subway line in Tokyo screamed and grabbed other passengers' hands during the quake. The shaking was so bad it was hard to stand, said Reuters reporter Mariko Katsumura.

Hundreds of office workers and shoppers spilled into Hitotsugi street, a shopping street in Akasaka in downtown Tokyo. Household goods ranging from toilet paper to clingfilm were flung into the street from outdoor shelves in front of a drugstore.

Crowds gathered in front of televisions in a shop next to the drugstore for details. After the shaking from the first quake subsided, crowds were watching and pointing to construction cranes on an office building up the street with voices saying, "They're still shaking!", "Are they going to fall?"

Asagi Machida, 27, a web designer in Tokyo, sprinted from a coffee shop when the quake hit.

"The images from the New Zealand earthquake are still fresh in my mind so I was really scared. I couldn't believe such a big earthquake was happening in Tokyo."

The US Geological Survey earlier verified a magnitude of 7.9 at a depth of 15.1 miles and located the quake 81 miles east of Sendai, on the main island of Honshu. It later upgraded it to 8.9.

A police car drove down Hitotsugi Street, lights flashing, announcing through a bullhorn that there was still a danger of shaking.

Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck on Wednesday. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit off Japan's northeastern coast Wednesday, shaking buildings hundreds of miles away in Tokyo and triggering a small tsunami. There were no immediate reports of significant damage or injuries.

The quake struck at 11:45 a.m. local time and was centered about 90 miles (150 kilometers) off the northeastern coast – about 270 miles (440 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo – at a depth of about 5 miles (8 kilometers), Japan's meteorological agency said.

A 24-inch (60-centimeter) tsunami reached the coastal town of Ofunato, in Iwate prefecture, with other towns reporting smaller waves reaching shore about 30 minutes after the quake.

"We have confirmed that small tsunami have come up on the shores, but we have no reports of damage at this point," said Shinobu Nagano, an emergency and disaster response official in Iwate. "We are still trying to determine the impact of the quake."

Some train lines in the area were temporarily stopped after the quake, but they were restarted shortly after noon. Tohoku Electric Power said there was no damage at its nuclear power facility in the region.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected.

There was a 6.3 magnitude aftershock shortly after the main quake, the meteorological agency said.

In Tokyo, office buildings swayed and creaked for about 30 seconds during the quake.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" – an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur.