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Ash cloud over Europe deepens travel chaos
Burqa-clad suicide bombers kill 41 in Pak
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US: Terror outfits may plan attack in India
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Ash cloud over Europe deepens travel chaos
London, April 17 European aviation agency Eurocontrol said no landings or takeoffs were possible for civilian aircraft in most of northern and central Europe because of the ash spewed out by an Icelandic volcano, which was still erupting. It expected 6,000 flights in European airspace or 27.3 per cent of the normal level for a Saturday. On Friday there were 10,400 flights, 35.9 per cent of the usual number for that day. "Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash will persist and that the impact will continue for at least the next 24 hours," the agency said in a statement. The plume that floated through the upper atmosphere, where it could wreak havoc on jet engines and airframes, is costing airlines more than $200 million a day and has thrown travel plans into disarray around the world. The volcanic eruption appeared to be easing up on Saturday but could continue for days or even months to come, officials said. There was no quick end in sight to the travel debacle, which coincided with the end of the busy Easter holiday period in Europe. France said Paris airports would remain closed until at least Monday morning, and Italy extended a shutdown of its northern airports until then. British Airways, hit by strikes last month that cost it around $70 million, cancelled all Sunday's flights to and from Europe, and within Britain. Europe's biggest tour operator, TUI Travel, said it was cancelling all trips until at least 0800 GMT on Sunday. Disruption spread to Asia, where dozens of Europe-bound flights were cancelled and hotels from Beijing to Singapore strained to accommodate thousands of stranded passengers. In Singapore, a major transit point for Europe-bound air traffic, 22 flights were cancelled early on Saturday, Changi Airport spokesman Ivan Tan told Reuters. — Reuters
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Air India suspends Sunday flights to Europe, US
New Delhi: Air India Saturday said it has suspended all flights scheduled for Sunday to Europe, US and Canada following volcanic ash spreading over Europe.
According to a top Air India official, the disruptions are expected to continue till next week. The airlines has already cancelled all the eight flights to Britain, Europe and North America scheduled for Saturday. “As the European airspace continued to remain closed following the volcanic eruption in Iceland, Air India has suspended all westbound flights to Europe, US and Canada on April 18,” the airline said in a statement. The AI flights cancelled are: Delhi-Paris-Delhi, Delhi-London-Delhi, Mumbai-London-Mumbai, Mumbai-Frankfurt -Chicago-Frankfurt- Mumbai, Mumbai-New York-Mumbai, Delhi-New York-Washington-New York-Delhi, Delhi-Frankfurt-Delhi, Delhi-London-Toronto-London- Delhi and Ahmedabad-Frankfurt-Newark-Frankfurt-Ahmedabad. Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, too have cancelled their flights to these destinations.
— TNS
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Asian finance ministers pulled out en masse today from talks with their European counterparts in Madrid amid the travel chaos unleashed by the Icelandic volcano eruption. China, Japan, Laos, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia and Vietnam all failed to appear at the two-day summit, Spanish government officials said, while some of Europe’s top finance chiefs themselves bailed out early from internal European Union talks. Major economies, including Australia, India and Thailand, dispatched Spanish-based diplomats to save face. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and German deputy finance minister Joerg Asmussen each cancelled planned press conferences after EU talks centred on the Greek debt crisis and other pressing economic concerns. — AFP
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Burqa-clad suicide bombers kill 41 in Pak
The bombers blasted their explosive vests within 10 minutes of each other at a distribution point set up by the World Food Programme in Kuccha Pakka area, located 30 km from Hangu city in the North West Frontier Province.
Both bombers were clad in burqas, witnesses and officials said. The head and legs of the attackers and pieces of the burqas worn by them were found by investigators and sent for forensic tests.
Forty-one persons were killed and 65 others injured by the blasts, officials said.
Azmat Ali Bangash, a reporter who worked for state-run APP news agency and Samaa TV channel, was among those killed.
The first blast occurred at noon at the food distribution point, where several people were present, said Kohat Commissioner Khalid Khan
Umarzai.
The second blast, which caused more deaths, went off 10 minutes later when a large number of people gathered at the spot to remove bodies and help the injured, he said.
The blasts damaged nearby houses.
Security forces cordoned off the area and an emergency was declared in hospitals in the area.
A man claiming to be a spokesman for the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Almi called Geo News channel and claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.
The UN condemned the attack, saying it hit “Pakistan’s most vulnerable, people who have already suffered because of the ongoing fighting (and) had come...For humanitarian assistance”.
The UN also said it was temporarily suspending relief services for displaced people as the "security situation is assessed”.
— PTI
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US: Terror outfits may plan attack in India
Washington, April 17 Alerting US citizens, the Department of State said: “The US government continues to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India”. The February 2010 bombing in Pune and the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai provide a vivid reminder that hotels, markets, trains and other public places in India are especially attractive targets for terrorist groups, it said in the advisory. “Terrorists and their sympathisers have demonstrated their willingness and capability to attack targets where US citizens or westerners are known to congregate or visit,” the State Department said. The latest advisory replaces the travel alert dating January 29 and will expire on May 30.
— PTI
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Management guru CK Prahalad dead
Washington, April 17 He was a Professor of Corporate Strategy at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and was well- known for writing best sellers on management subjects, including “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profit.” Hailing from the textile city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Prahalad did his graduation in Science from Loyola College in Madras (now Chennai) and did his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. After his doctorate from Harvard Business School, the well-known corporate thinker had been associated with the University of Michigan. He was also on the board of several top Indian and global companies and institutions like Hindustan Unilever, Indus Entrepreneurs and Washington-based World Resources Institute. His other popular management and business books included “The Future of Competition: Co-creating Value With Customers”, “The Multinational Mission, Balancing Global Integration With Local Responsiveness”. His book on the bottom of the pyramid is the most talked about and considered relevant for developing economies like India, where the businesses have a long way to go before touching people at the lower end of the social strata. Condoling his death, the Indian industry paid rich tributes to the much-decorated management professor. "We have lost an outstanding management guru, a visionary, a great soul, who was highly committed to contributing towards India's growth and development," CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said in a statement. — PTI
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We’ll miss him, says Hindustan Unilever In a statement, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) said CK Prahalad had contributed "significantly" to its business. "CK had been an invaluable member of the HUL board for the past 10 years and a great friend of the company. He contributed significantly to our business and always supported us in times of need. We will miss CK and I miss him personally as a great friend and a thinker," HUL chairman Harish Manwani said. Prahalad was a non-executive independent director of HUL and was also a member of the audit committee and remuneration committee of the company. — PTI
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Lord Mountbatten or ‘Mount Blank’! 26/11 trial adjourned 
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Peshawar, April 17 
