Washington, September 16: A team of Indian scientists have explained how carbon nanotubes could replace conventional materials in water-purification systems, which could be the answer to ensuring a safe supply of drinking water for regions of the world stricken by periodic drought or where water contamination is rife.

At present, more than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people lack access to proper sanitation, nearly all of them in the developing countries.

New Delhi - Indian shares dipped sharply for a second day Tuesday following global cues.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex was trading 2.5 per cent lower than Monday's close about two hours after opening while the broader 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange registered a 2.6 per cent dip.

Analysts predicted the upheaval in global markets due to the continued credit crisis in the United States, with events like bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers, would bring further turmoil in the Indian share market.

New Delhi, Sept 16: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Anbumani Ramadoss will inaugurate a two-day regional workshop on illicit trade in tobacco products here today.

The workshop is being jointly organised by the WHO-South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The workshop will be attended by delegates from SEAR countries - Bangladesh, Burma, Bhutan, China, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timur-leste.

New Delhi, Sept 16 : A bilateral meeting between Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath and French Minister of State for Foreign Trade Anne Marie Idrac will be held here today.

New Delhi, Sept. 16 : President Pratibha Patil will preside over the Conference of Governors here today.

28 Governors and three Lieutenant Governors of the States and Union Territories will attend the Conference.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister A. K Antony, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Pawar will also attend the conference.

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 15 : Jet Airways launched its daily direct services between Thiruvananthapuram and Muscat, connecting the capital cities of Kerala and the Sultanate of Oman. 

The maiden flight took off on its inaugural services from the sector with a full complement of passengers, on-board its state-of-the-art, internationally-configured Boeing 
737-800 aircraft.

With the launch of this new flight, the airline now has three daily services to Muscat from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Mumbai.