Bug disables 150000 Gmail accounts

Google Gmail hit a bit of a snag over the weekend with around 150,000 users missing old emails, folders and contacts from their accounts.

The problems surfaced on Sunday, and while the reason behind them is not entirely clear, Google is working feverishly to fix the issues and restore all user data.

Google confirmed that there is a problem on the Google Apps dashboard . Engineers are busy working on the issue, with the affected accounts disabled. It still hasn't been fixed by the time of writing.

The company said it affected less than 0.08 per cent of the Gmail user base. This doesn't sound like a big number, but considering that the Gmail user base is in the millions that still amounts to thousands of people losing their emails.

Already a major glitch for Google's cloud technology, this will be a horrendous public relations disaster if there is no backup system in place. The company is trying to sort this out quickly.

Mamata Banerjee presents railway budget 2011-2012

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee is presenting the railway budget 2011-2012 in Parliament. today

To meet the demand for coaches, rail based industries will be set up under Vision 2020, said Banerjee.

First coach from the new rail factory at Rae Bareli will be rolled out in next three months, said Banerjee presenting the 2011-12 railway budget.

Railways will set up a bridge factory in Jammu and Kashmir considering need for large number of bridges on railway projects in the state.

Proposal to set up metro coach factory near Singur in West Bengal.Track-machine industry to be set up in Uluberia in West Bengal. A 700mw gas based power plant will be set up at Thakurli in Maharashtra, said Banerjee.

Banerjee said that 1,500 trains were cancelled, 3,500 re-scheduled last year due to protests.

Anti-collision devices will be commissioned in three railway zones including South and South Central soon, said the railway minister.

Rail accident rate declined from 0.29% last year to 0.17% now.

States showing good performance in rail movement will be provided with two new trains and two new projects, said Banerjee.

'Go India' smart card ticket project to be launched this year.

Highlights of the railway budget for 2011-12 presented in the Lok Sabha on Friday by railway minister Mamata Banerjee:

* No increase in fares.

* Earnings for 2010-11 set to exceed Rs.1 lakh crore.

* Working expenditure during 2011-12 estimated at Rs.87,000 crore.

* Outlay of Rs.57,630 crore for 2011-12, the highest investment in one year.

* Rs.10,000 crore to be raised through railway bonds.

* Budget combines strong economic focus with inclusion.

* Will develop business-oriented policies to aid industry.

* Happy to announce 85 PPP proposals received; set up single-window system to take these forward.

* Decided to set-up rail-based industries.

* Passing through a difficult phase; 97 percent increase in expenditure in 2010-11 due to implementation of Sixth Pay Commission report.

* Loss of Rs.3,500 crore in 2010-11.

* Ten-year backlog of 1.75 lakh jobs being addressed; 16,000 ex-servicemen to be given jobs in railways.

* Safety first priority; accident rate has come down.

* Anti-collision device, successful in North West Frontier Railway, to be extended to three more zonal railways.

* Railways always been a soft target but law and order a state subject. If railways are blocked in one region, this has a snowballing effect in other parts of the country.

* Will add 180 km of rail lines in 2011-12.

* All-India security helpline set up.

* New Durantos to be run on Allahabad-Mumbai, Pune-Ahmedabad, Sealdah-Puri, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Madurai-Chennai routes, among others.

* Rail linkage to Gujarat from Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor.

* Integrated suburban network to be set up in Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad and other cities; suburban system of Hyderabad to be strengthened.

* Mumbai suburban system's EMU coaches to be increased from nine to 12.

* Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojna to be launched.

* Industrial park to be set up in Nandigram, West Bengal.

* Railways to set up factory in Jammu and Kashmir.

* To set up Metro coach factory at Singur, West Bengal.

* First coach from Rae Bareli factory to roll out in next three months.

* Work on wagon factory in Orissa to begin after land is acquired.

* Manipur capital Imphal to be soon connected to railway network.

* Centre for excellence in software to be set up at Darjeeling.

* Fund to be created for socially desirable projects.

* Central Organistaion for Project Implemtaiton created; will create accountability for non-performance.

* Work started on two dedicated freight corridors.

* Work on upgrading 442 stations to be completed by March 31.

* Decision to start pilot projects to give shelter to homeless people living along the tracks in Mumbai.

* Multi-purpose smart card to be introduced for all-India travel.

* Airport-like trolleys to be provided at more stations.

* Railways to set up a sports cadre.

* Upgraded class of air conditioned travel to be introduced shortly.

* To adopt modern technology through centres of academic excellence.

* Train to run to Bangladesh to showcase Indian culture.

* Age for senior citizen's concession reduced to 58 from 60.

* Concession for physically handicapped and gallantry award winners for travel in Rajdhani and Shatabdi expresses.

* 50 percent concession for mediapersons with families to be increased from once to twice a year.

Shahid-Priyanka celebrate Valentine’s Day secretly

Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra have neither denied nor made their relationship public but they have been spending time together at the slightest pretext. The latest we hear is that they secretly spent Valentine’s Day together.


It is reported that Shahid and Priyanka had planned to spend Valentine’s Day together in Mumbai though they are currently busy shooting for their respective films Mausam and Don 2. It is reported that Shahid flew to Mumbai from Bangalore, where he flew the F-16 aircraft for Mausam, to be with his ‘good friend’ (read girlfriend). Priyanka too flew in from Malaysia and joined him after attending an event in the evening.


Well, if this is not love, what is love?

Bihar Assembly Polls: Nitish back

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, basking in the glory of the massive mandate secured by the Janata Dal(United)-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the state, thanked the people of the state for giving him another chance to serve them.

Crediting the massive victory to the development work carried out by his government during its first term, Kumar said that there was still a lot of work to be done.

"I thank the people of Bihar for voting in favour of NDA. I want to thank the people of Bihar, the voters of Bihar. It is their victory. The mandate is take Bihar ahead on the path of development and it is welcome news. I will not shy away from working hard and will try to live up to their expectations. Today development has won in Bihar," said Kumar while addressing a press conference in Patna.

Trends are now available for most of the 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly and show the JD(U)-BJP combine surging ahead. The JD(U) has added about 10 extra seats to its kitty, but the junior partner in the state, the BJP, has made the more major gains - about 21 seats.

Proving the exit polls right, the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance has retained power in Bihar with the Janata Dal (United)- Bharatiya Janata Party alliance surging ahead in over 200 Assembly seats in the 243-member House. The six-phase Assembly polls concluded on Saturday.

Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar and Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj greeted by supporters during an election rally in Patna. As the results came in, Mr. Kumar said the poll verdict would be a disappointment for those doing politics on the basis of caste in Bihar.

U.S. President Barack Obama India Visit

New Delhi: Expressing ‘bahut dhanyavaad’ to the people of India for their warm reception, US President Barack Obama announced his country’s support to India for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council but added that it will come with conditions like speaking out against Myanmar and imposing sanctions on Iran.

“US welcomes India as it prepares to take its seat at the UN Security Council. I look forward to a reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member,” he declared to deafening applause, reminding that US had already lent its support to India at G20, Copenhagen Climate Summit etc.

The announcement is seen as a diplomatic gesture although it was clear that the reform of the Security Council is going to be a long and tedious process. With that in mind, Obama pointedly used the expression "in the years ahead".

However, he added, that with increased power came increased responsibility. “US recognises every nation`s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy but they also have international obligations. This applies to Iran also,” he said. On the issue of Pakistan, he urged an end of terror against India. “The safe havens to terrorists in Pakistan are unacceptable. The perpetrators of Mumbai attacks should be brought to justice,” he said.

"Please accept my deepest thanks...bahut dhanyawad," Obama said in his opening remarks.

“I bring the greetings of from the people of the world’s greatest democracy, the USA. I thank you for the honour of letting me address the Parliament of one billion Indians. Over last three days my wife Michelle and I have experienced the beauty and dynamism of the people of India,” he said, beginning his speech to repeated applause.

Taking forward his tone that India had already risen, Obama said it was not an accident that his India-stay was the longest ever in his career. "I am proud to visit India so early in my presidency," he said.

He said the world’s information age is rooted in Indian work what with the zero being invented here. He invoked Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi, Dr BR Ambedkar, Panchtantra and various Indian poets and ancient religious texts etc. to convey how special the place of India is in the world since eternity.

“Gandhiji inspired me to be the change we seek in the world. After making his pilgrimage to India Dr Martin Luther King noted that Gandhi’s philosophy was the only way to make progress in this era,” he said, declaring he might not be standing there as President of the United States had it not been for Gandhi and his message

He acknowledged how after independence at midnight India had launched various schemes like Green Revolution etc to uplift its people from poverty.

“The very idea and strength of India is embrace of all colors, all castes, all creeds….Swami Vivekananda said in Chicago that holiness is not the preserve of any particular religion or church,” he said, lauding the democracy of India where “every voice is heard.”

He acknowledged that relations between India and the US had transformed since the era of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and went on to elucidate on what could be “next” on agenda.

“The interests of US and India are best advanced in a partnership, I believe. The relationship between our countries is unique. Our constitutions begin with the same words: ‘We, the people’. Both our countries are dedicated to the concepts of liberty, justice and equality,” he said.

Obama called for renewed partnership with India in a host of areas ranging from clean energy to farming and crop forecasting to food processing, and said both nations should work together to curb protectionism.

"As global partners, we can promote prosperity in both our countries... Together, we can create the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future.


Source : zeenews

Commonwealth Games closing ceremony

closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2010 at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium at New Delhi.It was full house again. 70,000 spectators applauded the performances and danced to the tunes of popular Bollywood numbers.

At the heart of every Commonwealth Games lies the Olympic ideal. The spirit of athletes competing for their own sake. The spirit of the amateur athlete. And the spirit of athletes being ambassadors of their nations, bringing the varied cultures of the Commonwealth nations into closer contact.

So when the Commonwealth Games Federation flag shifted hands from Delhi to Glasgow, the host city of the next Games in 2014, during the ritual segment of the closing ceremony here this evening, Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi wiped a stain of relief from his forehead.

At the end, sport was the winner. The crowds cheered the triumphs of athletes from all over. And they stood with pride each of the 38 times the national anthem — following each gold medal win — played out.

Commonwealth Games Medals Tally: India Finish Second

CWG: India get 17th gold medal

The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. Held every four years, it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations. Attendance at the Commonwealth Games is typically around 5,000 athletes. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is the organisation that is responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games.

Gold rush continued for India on the fifth day of the Commonwealth Games as India shooter Vijay Kumar has given India its 17th gold medal.