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Lifted by heavy demand on the India segment, Nordic carrier Finnair has registered a 26% growth in Asian traffic this summer.

Finnair's president and chief executive Mika Vehvilainen, said, "The demand for Asian traffic is growing noticeably. We are increasing our capacity to destinations in Asia. Next summer, we will open a new non-stop route to Singapore."

According to airline officials, passenger load factor for Finnair from Asia was among the highest for any segment.

India, where the airline flies six days a week to New Delhi from here, was a major contributor.

According to company's top official, public sector United Bank of India (UBI) has placed a ceiling on its lending rates at 14.25% a year.

On the sidelines of the bank's first AGM, Mr. Bhaskar Sen, chairman and managing director, said, "Earlier in certain cases there was a provision for charging high interest rates like 15 percent or 16 percent but now we have streamlined it in our bank depending on the risk profile of the customers. The outer limit is 600 basis points over base rates."

Researchers have created an antibody, which could lessen the side effects of a common stroke drug.

Earlier cure for ischaemic stroke, in which a blood clot breaks off the blood supply to brain tissue, is a drug known as rtPA that dissolves the clot.

But, people with haemorrhagic stroke, in which a blood vessel inside the brain ruptures, should not get rtPA as it raises the bleeding risk.

The Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rallied for the second successive day on Friday by 181.81 points to settle the day at 17,833.54 on renewed bull support by local operators together with strong global signals.

The Nifty of National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended above the 5350 level to 5352.45 after gaining 55.60 points.

Telecom, technology (barring TCS), financial, metal, realty and auto companies' scrips helped the Sensex to gain 181.81 points.

During a statewide blackout in Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan stated that the central administration should roll back the hike in fuel price.

Paswan said that the increase in price should be withdrawn in "people's interest".

The central administration terminated curbs on petroleum rating and increased the prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas in June 2010.

The LJP and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) imposed the statewide stir to protest the fuel price hike and growing costs.

Santosh Sivan of Tahaan fame is going to direct a period drama tentatively titled Urumi, which will be a bilingual movie in Malayalam and Tamil. He has signed Genelia D'Souza to play the lead female role of a Portugese princess.

Malayalam actor Prithviraj has been signed opposite Genelia to play the male lead. Urumi, which means a flexible sword, reportedly deals with a group of people, who wanted to kill the Portugese explorer Vasco Da Gama, who stepped in Kappad in Calicut on 1498.