With effect from 24 November 2008, the termination of ICANN-accredited registrar EstDomains will go ahead.

ICANN sent a notice of termination on 28 October 2008, to EstDomains, Inc. (EstDomains) based on an Estonian Court record reflecting the conviction of EstDomains' then president, Vladimir Tsastsin, of credit card fraud, money laundering and document forgery.

New Delhi, Nov. 13: ONGC Videsh Ltd. and its partner IPR Red Sea Inc. have made a second oil discovery in the North Ramadan Concession, Gulf of Suez, Egypt.

The discovery in well North Ramadan-2 (NR-2) is the second oil discovery in this block. The discovery well, NR-2, is located on a separate fault block north of IPR''s first oil discovery, NR-1A ST1, which produced approx. 3,000 BOPD (barrels of oil per day) and 1.5 MMSCFPD (million standard cubic feet per day) during the testing phase.

Stockholm - Come Christmas Day, Swedes are more likely to receive a gift certificate for some kind of event or service than a book, electronic device or physical gift, reported a Swedish institute Thursday.

It was the first time the Swedish Research Institute of Trade listed a voucher for a service as the likely top-selling Christmas gift, said the group, which tracks retail and wholesale sales in Sweden.

"Giving an experience is a way to be together with someone," the institute said, noting that giving an experiences "truly reflects the times we live in, when consumers to a greater extent seek products that help them enrich their leisure time."

Tokyo - Mizuho Financial Group Inc on Thursday announced a plan to increase its capital by issuing preferred subscription securities and establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary company in the Cayman Islands amid the global financial crisis.

The preferred securities, which are not convertible to common shares, would be sold mainly to Japanese insurance companies, the firm said.

Mizuho Financial was expected to issue about 300 billion yen (3.08 billion dollars) in the securities by the end of the year, according to media reports.

London - British Telecom (BT) announce

Singapore - Singapore's Changi Airport has recorded a 3.5 per cent increase in scheduled weekly flights since the beginning of this month, despite softening of travel demand due to the global economic crisis, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said Thursday.

Weekly scheduled flights were expected to increase further in December, when a liberalization agreement, allowing low-cost airlines to operate between Singapore and Malaysia, comes into force, the CAAS said.