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On Wednesday, India's No 2 private carrier, Kingfisher Airlines reported that it has got the approval from the federal government to operate flights on nine international routes.

A spokesman of the company said, "Kingfisher has received approvals to operate Mumbai-London, Kolkata-Dhaka, Kolkata-Chittagong, Mumbai-Hong Kong, Mumbai-Singapore, Chennai-Colombo, Bangalore-Colombo, Bangalore-Bangkok and Mumbai-Bangkok flights."

He added, "The time frame for launch of these services will be announced progressively."

Biologists recently informed that the climate is behind the limited recovery of rivers which have suffered from acid rain.

Average acidity has fallen due to improvements in the levels of acid rain, suggests the research carried out over the last 25 years by Cardiff University biologists.

The study analyzed fourteen streams around Llyn Brianne in mid-Wales. These should have been re-colonised by up to 29 insect species like sensitive mayflies and other groups often eaten by trout and salmon.

Wiping away the competition in the under-16 category of the meet, Delhi tennis player Prateek Bhambri won his first major title at the DSCL Nationals. The luck of the draw handed him a second-round meeting with the top seed VM Ranjeet - a match which took the expected path and handed the top seed a place in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, figuring in the senior category this time around. On the second day of the national championships at the DLTA Complex, Ranjeet won the match 6-2, 6-1.

Bhambri simply disintegrated in the face of his opponent's powerful serve and groundstrokes.

On Tuesday, Nokia, the world's largest mobile handset manufacturer, launched the N97 handset and also showcased updates to its navigation and messaging services. The latest set will act as another potential rival to Apple's iPhone.

In the first half of 2009, the N97, Nokia's second touch-screen device in as many months, will begin shipping.

It was described as the most powerful mobile computer the world has ever seen by the company's president and CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

On Sunday, NASA's space shuttle Endeavour, made a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The 124th space shuttle mission and the 22nd flight for the Endeavour were marked by the STS-126 mission. It gave astronauts a chance to repair parts of the International Space Station (ISS), so it can house six crew members on a long-term missions next year.