Apple Partners with O2

Apple's iPhone officially has a phone company partner in the UK. After weeks of rumors, Apple announced Tuesday that O2 -- the largest UK mobile phone operator -- would be its exclusive wireless carrier there.

The UK launch is scheduled to take place on Friday, November 9, with iPhones sold through Apple and O2 stores, as well as through 1,300 Carphone Warehouse locations.

The price for the 8-GB model will be £269 including VAT. Customers can choose to transfer their current mobile phone numbers, whether with O2 or another carrier. An 18-month contract will include unlimited data. According to news reports, Apple will receive 10 percent of usage revenue.

Source: newsfactor.com

Bharti Airtel and Huawei Deal

ellular major Bharti Airtel has awarded a 150 million-dollar deal to Chinese vendor Huawei for building and managing GSM mobile infrastructure for its Sri Lankan operations.

Huawei will deploy comprehensive 2G and 3H network for Bharti Airtel Lanka, the subsidiary of Bharti Airtel.

Airtel has signed three-year deal managed networks deal for its Lanka operations with Huawei Technologies and it includes telecom applications and software.

With the network deal in place, customers in Sri Lanka can look forward to a host of products and services at an affordable price from Airtels vast portfolio, Bharti Airtel said.

Bharti Airtel was recently awarded the licence to provide 2G and 3G mobile services in Sri Lanka. Under the agreement, Huawei will deploy and manage Airtels core network, Node-Bs and BTSs and comprehensive end-to-end 2G/3G network solutions, it said.

According to Sanjay Nandrajog, Executive Director, International Operations & Managed Services, Bharti Airtel, "Bharti Airtel is committed to creating a mobile network and offering 2G and 3G services to customers in Sri Lanka. Huawei has established credentials as a global company producing high quality products and solutions."

Max Yang, CEO, Huawei India said, "We look forward to continuing this strategic partnership with Bharti Airtel by providing innovative and customer-oriented solutions and services including wireless solutions.

Source: dnaindia.com

Mudslide kills 3 in Assam

A mudslide buried three people living in a hilltop home, raising the death toll to 49 in fresh floods in the northeast in the past 10 days, officials said Sunday.

``Three people of a family died Saturday as their hilltop house collapsed under the weight of mud and rock loosened by heavy rains during the past week,'' said C.K. Bhuyan, an Assam state government official.

Monsoon rains pounded Assam state in June, triggering floods, but waters receded in August with a break in the downpour. Heavy rains resumed early this month, however.

``Reports reaching us from inaccessible areas indicate up to 49 people have died in the fresh flooding during the past 10 days,'' said Bhumidhar Barman, an Assam state minister.

Source: www.hindu.com

Japanese PM candidate Vows to Stay Away from Controversial Shrine

The campaign to succeed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced his intention to resign earlier this week, is now officially down to two candidates, and their comments have already provided some clues to what Japan's post-Abe foreign policy might look like. Catherine Makino reports from Tokyo.

Yasuo Fukuda (file photo)

The former chief cabinet secretary, 71-year-old Yasuo Fukuda, appears to be the leading candidate to replace Mr. Abe. His opponent is the former foreign minister and current leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, 66-year-old Taro Aso.

Fukuda is a political moderate, who says his aim is to create warm relations with Japan's neighbors, especially China and South Korea. Aso, a conservative, has annoyed China in the past with disparaging remarks.

Japan's relations with the two countries deteriorated badly during the tenure of Mr. Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. A major reason was Mr. Koizumi's insistence on making regular visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 convicted war criminals among Japan's 2.5 million war dead. Japan's neighbors see the shrine and the visits as glorification of the country's militaristic past.

On Saturday, Fukuda said prime ministers should not visit the shrine, and said he would not do so if elected. He suggested removing the irritant of Yasukuni altogether by building a new memorial.

He says he supports an alternative place to honor the soldiers and civilians who died during World War II. He says there should be one centralized memorial, but he would need public support for this.

Aso has defended Mr. Koizumi's visits to the shrine in the past and hinted he might do the same. He was circumspect Saturday when asked what he would do if elected.

He says his thoughts are the same as he stated in a recent newspaper interview. Just because a memorial has been built, he says, does not mean that it will not disappear.

Both candidates say they will support an extension of the Japanese navy's support mission for U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan. Mr. Abe has also fought for an extension of the mission, in which Japanese ships in the Indian Ocean provide fuel for U.S. and other coalition forces.

The extension is opposed by the main opposition, the Democratic Party, which controls the upper house of the Japanese parliament. A survey by the Asahi Shimbun this week shows that the public is also opposed to the mission, with 45 percent against and only 35 percent in favor.

Both candidates say they support Japan's hard line against North Korea. Pyongyang wants normalized relations with Japan, but the Japanese have demanded more details about Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents during the Cold War.

Aso said Japan could not engage in a dialogue with North Korea "without pressure." Fukuda said Japan's basic stance should not change, but he suggested that Tokyo should try harder to explain its position to Pyongyang.

Most factions of the ruling party, of which both men are members, have already pledged their support to Fukuda, and opinion polls also show that the public prefers him.

Sources