Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza, was crowned Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam's resort city of Nha Trang. The 22-year-old brunette was given her crown, made of white and yellow gold and precious stones, by last year's winner, Riyo Mori of Japan, at the pageant finale watched by nearly a billion television viewers worldwide.In the photo - Mendoza reacts after winning the Miss Universe 2008 beauty pageant in Nha Trang,Vietnam, Monday, July 14, 2008.

Nothing under discussion with Yahoo: Microsoft

Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Thursday defended Microsoft Corp's need to make heavy investments in its Internet businesses but said the company was "done," for now, with pursuing Yahoo Inc. "There's nothing under discussion between the two of us," Ballmer told investors of how six months of various talks had reached an impasse earlier in July. "We had a set of principles, we talked about them, it didn't work out," he said. "Fine, we're done. We can move on." The message for Microsoft's annual meeting with Wall Street analysts, an all-day affair at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, was that it had a post-Yahoo plan to turn around its online services division and a strategy to take advantage of future opportunities, even as its Internet chief departs. "There is this huge, huge, huge new opportunity around the Internet and online and we have to embrace that opportunity and invest in that opportunity," Ballmer said. Shares of Microsoft have fallen 8 per cent over the last week since the company forecast an outlook below Wall Street estimates and revealed an additional $500 million investment into its online unit, even as it chalked up further losses. Charles Di Bona, a software research analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said Ballmer's comments did not give enough details about how that additional investment will be spent and how the company arrived at that decision. "It's spending $500 million dollars and then it says we'll tell you later how we'll spend it," said Di Bona, who has an "outperform" rating on Microsoft. "The market's concern is not about how it is running its core business. It's about decisions about larger chunks of money that people can't track." Ballmer said Microsoft is willing to endure online division operating losses that amount to between 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the company's total operating income, which reached $22.5 billion in fiscal year 2008, until the search and advertising business reaches "scale." He did not specify on how long this period of losses would last, but said the risk was worth the potential return. Microsoft's online division has posted eight straight quarters of losses. It lost $1.23 billion in the past fiscal year, twice as much as it had lost in fiscal 2007 and about 5.5 per cent of Microsoft's total operating income. Ballmer said its online businesses could eventually account for most of the economic value created by the world's largest software maker. The Microsoft CEO was left to describe Internet strategy after Microsoft announced one day before the analyst meeting that the head of that business, Kevin Johnson, was leaving. He will become chief executive of Juniper Networks Inc. "We thought it was important whoever was going to get up and talk about the big investment online was going to be here in three weeks and so you're stuck with me on this topic today," Ballmer said.

Facebook to go Web wide as 'Facebook Connect'

The leader of a youth movement that swept the world this past year by encouraging Web users to share bits of their lives with selected friends, spoke on Wednesday of spreading his service across the Web, even while apologizing for past excesses. Mark Zuckerberg, 24, told an audience of 1,000 industry executives, software makers, media -- and his mother and father -- at Facebook's annual conference of how the company's features will run on affiliated sites outside its own. "Facebook Connect" will transform the social network from a private site where activity occurs entirely within a "walled garden" to a Web-wide phenomenon where software makers, with user permission, can tap member data for use on their sites. "Facebook Connect is our version of Facebook for the rest of the Web," Zuckerberg told the second annual F8 conference. Facebook, begun in 2004 as a socializing site for students at Harvard University, has seen its growth zoom to 90 million members from 24 million a little over a year ago, overtaking rival MySpace to become the world's largest social network. It has lured 400,000 developers to build programs for it since opening up its site in May 2007. Now Facebook is letting designers build software on affiliated sites, for mobile phones or as services that tap desktop applications like Microsoft's Outlook e-mail system. In coming months, it said it would let designers building software for Facebook simultaneously create versions for Apple Inc's iPhone. "As time goes on, less of this movement is going to be about Facebook and the platform we have created and more about the applications other people have built," Zuckerberg said. "This year, we are going to push for parity between applications on and off Facebook." In doing so, the social network is positioning itself to play a role similar to what Microsoft Corp has long had for developers within its Windows operating system.

Murders in Chennai give rise to 'psychopath' story

One more person died under mysterious circumstances in Chennai on Thursday as Chennai police groped for clues regarding four similar deaths in the past two weeks amid a scare that a psychopath killer was on the prowl. The body of Basha (50), a security guard with a real estate firm, was found half-burnt with a few liquor bottles in the upmarket Ashok Nagar area near Vadapalani. The incident took place barely 500 metres away from Ashok Nagar police station. Four others including a rag-picker and a security guard, were found dead in similar fashion in the city. The deaths sparked off fears of a psychopath stalking the upmarket neighbourhood. Last week police claimed to have solved the mystery of the deaths with the arrest of one Ekambaram stated to be a mentally unstable person. However, two deaths have been reported after his arrest, taking the overall toll of mysterious deaths to five. So far, two persons were found dead with their heads smashed while the bodies of three others were found burnt while one was left injured. Chennai Police Commissioner R Sekar had termed the killings as "a challenge" to police, and vowed to "put an end to such mysterious deaths in the neighbourhood."

Blast in Bangalore

Bangalore city was struck with seven serial blasts around the busy junctions of the city. Two people are reportedly killed and twenty injured. The areas struck by the blasts are Madiwala, Kormangla, Adugudi, Nayandahalli, Mysore Road and Hosur Road. Crude bombs were used for the blasts and were triggered by timers. The blasts are reported to be of low intensity and fifteen have been injured and taken to local hospitals. Sequence of blasts: 1st blast - 1:20 - Madiwala Bus stop 2nd blast - 1:25 - Mysore Road 3rd blast - 1:40 - Adugudi 4th blast - 2:10 - Koramangla 5th blast - 2:25 - Vittal Mallya Road 6th blast - 2:35 - Langford Town The blasts are reported to have happened around 1:45pm. The blast at Adugudi is reported to have left a crater in the road. Hosur road is a busy road connecting the centre of the city to the suburbs. All the mobile phone networks have been jammed across the Bangalore city. All malls, schools etc have been shut down in the city. Police has requested everyone to maintain calm. The police has confirmed that the blasts look pre-planed. Following the blasts, all metros have been put on high alert

blasts in Bengaluru

One person was killed in seven blasts that rocked Bengaluru and its outskirts on Friday afternoon. While four low-intensity blasts went off at Nayandahalli, Madivala, Adugodi areas on the outskirts, blasts also rocked the tony areas of Mallya hospital, Langford Road and Richmond Circle in Bengaluru city. Two blasts were reported in Madivala. One woman was killed and several have been injured. The blasts took place at 1.30 pm in Nayandahalli, 1.50 pm in Madivala (2 blasts) and 2.10 pm in Adugodi. Gelatin sticks appear to have been used in the blasts.

Earthquake Measuring 6.5 Hits Off Tonga, USGS Says; No Tsunami

June 27 (Bloomberg) -- A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off Tonga in the Pacific Ocean at about 10:19 a.m. local time today, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site. The earthquake was located 200 kilometers (125 miles) east- northeast of Nuku'alofa in Tonga and 2,130 kilometers northeast of Auckland, New Zealand, the USGS said. The temblor was 20 kilometers deep. There were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami alert was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Today in History - June 27

Today is June 27, 2008. It is the 178th day of the year. There are 187 days remaining until the end of the year. Important event on this day: On June 27, 1995, US space shuttle STS-71 blasted off in space to dock with the Russian space station Mir. It became the first shuttle to dock with Mir, and the first to conduct a Mir main expedition crew exchange. Aside from five American astronauts who conducted separate research in the Spacelab attached to the shuttle, on board were the Mir Expedition EO-19 crew of Budarin and Solovyov. Other events on this day: In 1693: The first women's magazine, The Ladies' Mercury, was published by John Dunton in London. In 1703: After winning access to the Baltic Sea through his victories in the Great Northern War, Czar Peter I founded the city of Saint Petersburg as the new Russian capital. In 1801: In Egypt, British forces defeated the French and take control of Cairo. In 1922: The American Library Association (ALA) awarded the first Newbery Medal, honoring the year's best children's book, to The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon. In 1937: San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, a stunning technological and artistic achievement, opened to the public after five years of construction. In 1940: During World War II, the Germans set up two-way radio communication to transmit information to German bombers in Brest and the port town of Cherbourg, employing their most sophisticated coding machine, Enigma, invented in 1919 by Hugo Koch, a Dutchman. In 1941: The British navy sinks the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic near France. The German death toll was more than 2,000. In 1944: The Allies, as Hitler had anticipated, captured the fortified town and port of Cherbourg, in northwest France, freeing it from German occupation. In 1946: The foreign ministers of Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and France transfered the Dodecanese Islands from Italy to Greece, and areas of northern Italy to France. In 1950: The United Nations Security Council approved a resolution put forward by the United States calling for armed force to repel the North Korean invaders, two days after communist North Korean forces invaded South Korea; an action that provided the pretext for US intervention in the conflict and was the first time the Security Council had ever approved the use of military force. In 1953: National Book Award-winner Alice McDermott was born this day in Brooklyn to first-generation Irish-Catholic parents. She wrote books such as the A Bigamist's Daughter, That Night, At Weddings and Wakes, and Charming Billy. That Night was nominated for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer. In 1963: John F. Kennedy, an Irish-American and the first Catholic to become president of the United States, arrived in Ireland for a visit. In 1998: An earthquake struck the area around Adana in Turkey killing at least 120 and injuring over 1,500.

Strong earthquake hits India's Andaman Islands today(27 jun, 2008)

The Indian Meteorological Department says a 6.7-magnitude earthquake has stuck the Andaman Islands off the east coast of India. The office said the undersea quake struck at 5:40 p.m. Friday. A police officer in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman Islands, said the quake shook the islands causing panic among people. S. M. Tiwari said there were no reports immediate reports of damage of injuries and that no tsunami alert had been issued. The remote islands were among the many areas devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

India vs. Pakistan, 2nd Test

2nd Test Match - India Vs Pakistan Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Ind 616/5 Pak 456/10 Ind 184/4 Pak 195/4Mohammad Yousuf* 34, Younis Khan 100. Pak needs 150 runs to win. More information : December 08 2007 Match : Pakistan v India Week Day : Saturday Venue : M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore Type : 3rd Test match

Strong winds, mudslides batter Northwest

Hurricane-force winds and heavy rain battered the Northwest for a second day Monday, killing at least two people and leaving entire communities dark and isolated as the storms blocked roads with trees, power lines, high water and mud. Dozens of people stranded by flood waters required rescue as the second of two storms blew through, and Oregon transportation officials warned drivers not to attempt passage through the Coast Range. "This storm is hitting the coast so hard, it's not leaving any road open," Transportation Department spokeswoman Christine Miles said.

Ad targeting improves on Web sites

NEW YORK - Based on the weather reports and restaurant listings you check out online, Yahoo Inc. has a good idea where you live. Based on searches you've done, the Web portal might also know where you want to go. Don't be surprised then to suddenly see an advertisement on flight deals between those two places. It's what United Airlines did with an ad on Yahoo earlier this year as people browsed for something completely unrelated to travel. Elsewhere, online hangout Facebook is mining friends' buying habits, and major Internet portals have bought companies to expand their reach and capabilities for "behavioral targeting" — all so advertisers can try to hit you with what they believe you're most likely to buy, even as doing so means amassing more data on you. "When you are online today, you've been labeled and tagged as this type of consumer in milliseconds," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. "All of a sudden you are exposed to a vast number of invisible salespeople who are peering over your personal details to figure out the best way to sell to you."

Klausner sues Apple iPhone over voicemail

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Klausner Technologies said on Monday the company had filed a $360 million suit against Apple and AT&T Inc over voicemail patents that Klausner claims the Apple iPhone infringes. New York-based Klausner said the lawsuit also names Comcast Corp, Cablevision Systems Corp and eBay Inc's Skype as infringing its patent for "visual voicemail." The plaintiff seeks an additional $300 million from the three. Klausner said in a statement that it filed the lawsuit in U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Texas. A copy of the filing was not yet available from the court. The suit alleges asserts that the defendants' Internet-based voicemail products and services violate a Klausner patent. It seeks damages and future royalties estimated at $300 million, according to the press release. The complaint involves U.S. patent 5,572,576, the same one at issue in a suit Klausner filed in 2006 against voice-over-Internet telephone service provider Vonage Holdings Corp. The two sides agreed to settle that earlier case in October 2007, according a spokesman for Klausner. Vonage is now a licensee of Klausner's voicemail technology for its Vonage Voicemail Plus service, as is Time Warner Inc's AOL for its AOL Voicemail services, Klausner said. A company spokeswoman said Apple's pioneering Newton personal digital assistant was covered under a licensing deal between Klausner and Japan's Sharp Corp, the manufacturer of the Newton, tied to Klausner's U.S. patent 4,117,542.

Gibson shows new self-tuning guitar

TOKYO - Musicians of the world are getting a new kind of artistic freedom with technology that eliminates the challenging chore of tuning. Robotics technology developed by German company Tronical Gmbh in partnership with Gibson Guitar Corp. enables Gibson's newest Les Paul model to tune itself in about two seconds. For users who purchase the add-on technology, the guitar recognizes pitch. Then, its processor directs motors on its six tuning pegs to tighten or loosen the strings accordingly. Tronical has offered its "Powertune System" online and through retailers in Germany since March, according to the company's Web site. The Gibson Les Paul guitar model with Blue Silverburst finish goes on sale globally this Friday. Nashville, Tenn., guitar maker Gibson and Tronical said Powertune is the world's first self-tuning technology, and Gibson says it is particularly useful for beginners, who tend to find tuning a headache. Musician Ichiro Tanaka, who tuned and played a sample guitar at Gibson's Tokyo office Monday, said the technology is handy for professionals too. If they use special tuning for just part of a concert, as he often does, it means they don't have to lug around an extra guitar with the second tuning ready.

Yahoo Japan, eBay unite in online auctions

TOKYO - Yahoo Japan Corp. and eBay Inc. agreed Tuesday to team up in online auctions, planning services for next year that will make it easier for consumers to buy things over the Internet from the U.S. and Japan. The move marks a return to Japan of eBay, which pulled out of the market in 2002, never able to compete against the domination of Yahoo here. Yahoo said by March, Japanese will be able to bid for items up for sale on eBay through the Yahoo auction site in Japan. By the middle of next year, similarly, a site will be set up that will allow Americans to buy Yahoo Japan auction items through the eBay site.