Gaza - A third voyage to challenge Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip successfully completed on Saturday morning as the "Dignity" ship docked in the harbor of the Islamists-ruled territory.

Palestinian witnesses said the ship, which set sail Friday from Cyprus, berthed at 0930 am (0730 GMT) in Gaza fishing port with a handful of Hamas officials and tens of Palestinians welcoming the delegation.

The yacht carries 11 journalists, human rights and peace activists in addition to 12 European parliamentarians who Egypt barred from traveling to Gaza through its territories last month.

War

For the manufacture of critical components for thermal power plants, forgings major Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL) is proposing to form an energy joint venture with a Europe-based company of the Alstom Group.

Baba Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, BFL, described the move as a part of the company’s planned entry into the capital goods sector.

Athens - The days of cigarette friendly Greece are about to go up in smoke.

The home to Europe's largest population of smokers has just over a year to go before a ban outlaws the habit in all public places, including restaurants, bars and offices, the Greek Health Ministry said Friday.

The ministry submitted the bill to Parliament late Thursday. It foresees the adoption of European Union guidelines designed to protect people from passive smoking as of January 1, 2010.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) launched the i20 cars in the European market. These were premiered at the Paris Motor Show last month. The company has dispatched a consignment of 2,820 cars from the Chennai port for Europe. 

i20s are very sophisticated new generation vehicles of Hyundai. These are designed at its Russelsheim design center in Germany. It is designed to fit in the European environment and pollution norms. The car will be available in 1.2 litre, 1.4 liter and 1.6 liter variants and will be powered by both diesel and petrol engines.

London/Frankfurt - Faced with a looming recession and rapidly falling inflation, Europe's leading central banks delivered hefty rate cuts Thursday as monetary authorities around the world stepped up efforts to trim the cost of money.

While the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting in Frankfurt lopped 50 basis points off its benchmark refinancing rate, the Bank of England meeting in London announced a more dramatic 150-basis-point reduction.