More Reuters Results for: “” * Most Popular * Most Shared 1. N.Korea declares “sacred war” on U.S., South | Video 23 Jul 2010 2. Clintons in tears over Chelsea? You can bet on it 19 Jul 2010 3. Analysis: Frustration grows as AIDS science and politics clash 23 Jul 2010 4. India develops world’s cheapest “laptop” at $35 23 Jul 2010 5. Seven banks fail Europe stress test | Video 23 Jul 2010 6. California city official quits nearly $800,000 post 23 Jul 2010 7. Dismissed Gen. McChrystal gets hero’s send-off 23 Jul 2010 8. Stocks on brink of breakout 23 Jul 2010 9. BP spill work on hold as storm enters Gulf | Video 1:00am EDT 10. Apple’s white iPhone 4 delayed in latest headache 23 Jul 2010 1. N.Korea declares “sacred war” on U.S., South | Video 23 Jul 2010 2. India develops world’s cheapest “laptop” at $35 23 Jul 2010 3. Veteran journalist Daniel Schorr dies at 93 23 Jul 2010 4. Police nab bandit who used underwear as mask 22 Jul 2010 5. “Darth Vader” strikes NY bank | Video 23 Jul 2010 6. Device combats common cause of vertigo 23 Jul 2010 7. Ancient ship unearthed at World Trade Center site 15 Jul 2010 8. Tired Gay succumbs to Dix in 200 meters 03 Jul 2010 9. Air France attendant held for robbing passengers 20 Jul 2010 10. N.Korea threatens “physical response” to U.S. moves | Video 23 Jul 2010 Broker Center Special Advertising Feature Trade free for 60 days with E*Trade Sify Technologies to Report First Quarter 2010-11 Financial Results on Friday, July 30, 2010

July 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

CHENNAI, India, July 23, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Sify Technologies Limited (Nasdaq NM: SIFY), a leader in Enterprise Services and Consumer Internet Services in India with global delivery capabilities, announced that it will report its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010-11 ended June 30, 2010 on Friday, July 30, 2010 before the market opens.

In conjunction with the earnings release, Sify will host a conference call at 8:30 ET hosted by Mr. Raju Vegesna, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. CVS Suri, Chief Operating Officer and Mr. MP Vijay Kumar, Chief Financial Officer.

Interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing +1-877-407-8031 (in the U.S. or Canada) or +1-201-689-8031 (international), which will also be simultaneously broadcast live over the Internet at http://www.sifycorp.com or http://www.vcall.com.

Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the site and download the streaming media software required to listen to the Internet broadcast.

The online archive of the Web cast will be available shortly after the conference call, or investors can listen to the replay by dialing +1-877-660-6853 (in the U.S. or Canada) or +1-201-612-7415 (international) and entering account number 286 and conference ID number 354421. Please allow for some time post conference call to access the archive of the Web cast.

About Sify Technologies

Sify is among the largest Managed Enterprise and Consumer Internet Services companies in India, offering end-to-end solutions with a comprehensive range of products delivered over a common telecom data network infrastructure reaching more than 600 cities and towns in India.

A significant part of the company’s revenue is derived from Corporate Services, which include corporate connectivity, network and communications solutions, security, network management services, enterprise applications and hosting. Sify is a recognized ISO 9001:2008 certified service provider for network operations, data center operations and customer support, and for provisioning of VPNs, Internet bandwidth, VoIP solutions and integrated security solutions, and ISO / IEC 20000 – 1:2005 certified for Internet Data Center operations. Sify has licenses to operate NLD (National Long Distance) and ILD (International Long Distance) services and offers VoIP back haul to long distance subscriber telephony services. The company is India’s first enterprise managed services provider to launch a Security Operations Center (SOC) to deliver managed security services. A host of blue chip customers use Sify’s corporate service offerings.

Sify also caters to global markets in the specialized domains of eLearning Services and Remote Infrastructure Management Services. The eLearning Services designs, develops and delivers state-of-the-art digital learning solutions for non-profit, for-profit organizations and governmental organizations in the fields of Information technology, engineering, environment, healthcare, education and finance. The Remote Infrastructure Management Services provides dependable and economical solutions around managed services, hosting and monitoring.

Consumer services include broadband home access and the ePort cyber cafe chain cross more than 200 cities and towns in India. Sify.com, the popular consumer portal, has channels on news, entertainment, finance, sports, games and shopping. Samachar.com is the popular portal aimed at non-resident Indians around the globe. The site’s content is available in 8 Indian languages, which include Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil, Punjabi and Gujarati in addition to English.

For more information about Sify, visit http://www.sifycorp.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Sify: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Sify undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements.

For a discussion of the risks associated with Sify’s business, please see the discussion under the caption “Risk Factors” in the company’s report on Form 6-K for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, which has been filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and is available by accessing the database maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

For further information, please contact

Sify Technologies Limited

Mr. Pijush Das
Investor Relations
+91-44-2254-0777 (ext. 2703)
pijush.das@sifycorp.com

Mr. Praveen Krishna
Corporate Communications
+91 44 22540777 (extn.2055)
praveen.krishna@sifycorp.com

Grayling Investor Relations
Ms. Truc Nguyen (ext. 418)
Mr. Christopher Chu (ext. 426)
+1-646-284-9400
truc.nguyen@grayling.com
christopher.chu@grayling.com

SOURCE Sify Technologies Limited

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

EU to rule on BA, Iberia merger by July 15

June 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 11 (Reuters) – EU competition regulators will decide by July 15 whether to clear or block a planned $8 billion merger between British Airways (BAY.L) and Spain’s Iberia (IBLA.MC), the European Commission said on Friday.

Stocks | Regulatory News | Mergers & Acquisitions | Global Markets | Airlines

The Commission could also ask the carriers, which notified European Union regulators of their merger plans the previous day, to provide concessions — such as giving up airport slots — to ease possible concerns that the deal may dent competition.

The airlines aim to complete the merger by December and hope it will enable them to compete better with rivals Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) and Air France (AIRF.PA) as well as low-cost carrier Ryanair (RYA.I). It will also clear the way for a tie-up with American Airlines (AMR.N). The Commission, competition watchdog of the 27-country EU, is expected to seek views from customers and rivals on the BA-Iberia merger. It can extend its review by 35 working days if it has concerns or if the two carriers offer concessions. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Dale Hudson)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Government of India proposes to infuse Rs 1,200 crore into Air India

June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Berlin, June 11 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel has said that the Centre would infuse additional equity of Rs 1,200 crore into Air India over the next few months.

Interacting with media on the sidelines of the annual summit of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) here, Patel said the government’s decision is an attempt to review national carrier’s performance to decide on the future course.

He, however, said there was no decision to divest government equity in the cash-strapped national carrier at the moment.

In 2009, the Union Government gave the airline Rs 800 crore as equity.

Commenting on merger of Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines, Patel said the ministry still studying how the equity infusion performs.

He said officials of all airlines attending the summit have opined that “mergers do not happen overnight. It is an ongoing process which has to be achieved over time. Air France-KLM have taken six years. Nobody has said merger is a one-day process.”

Commenting on strengthening of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Patel said the government was considering granting it full autonomy and support the regulator in its functioning. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

French searchers say crashed plane still unfound

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The French accident investigation agency says a search in a new area of the Atlantic for the Air France plane that crashed en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris has turned up nothing.

The zone was located by analysing signals from the plane’s black boxes, which are still unrecovered.

The investigating agency said in a statement yesterday that nothing was found in the ocean depths.

The conclusion came just two days after the agency said the plane, which crashed June 1, 2009, could be found by Wednesday.

Investigators say they have decided to return to the original search zone, northwest of the last known airplane position while continuing to determine the accuracy of the black box signals, which long ago died out.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BA, Iberia seal long-awaited merger deal

April 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MADRID, April 8 (Reuters) – British Airways (BAY.L) and Spanish carrier Iberia (IBLA.MC) signed a merger agreement on Thursday, sealing a long-awaited deal to create Europe’s second largest airline by passenger kilometres.

Industrials

The deal, which creates a group with a combined market value of around $7.8 billion, ends the British flag carrier’s long pursuit of Iberia, and will allow it to emulate rivals Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) and Air France (AIRF.PA) who have successfully acquired smaller peers.

“The terms and conditions of the merger agreement are in accordance with the memorandum of understanding signed by both airlines in November,” the companies said in a joint statement.

BA shareholders will have 55 percent of the combined firm, to be headquartered in London, while Iberia shareholders are to get 45 percent.

The two loss-making airlines hope to fly the merged entity with 408 aircraft and 200 destinations by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski and Rhys Jones; Editing by Elisabeth O’Leary)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles may soon find wreckage of Air France Flight 447

March 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, March 27 (ANI): New hope has emerged for the retrieval of the wreckage of Air France Flight 447, with a survey employing the use of three Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) called REMUS 6000 to find the debris.

The vehicles, designed and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), will use side scan sonar to map the ocean floor in long overlapping lanes, using a survey process known as “mowing the lawn.”

After the data from large-scale surveys are analyzed and smaller fields of interest are identified, the REMUS 6000s can then gather more detailed, up-close images on subsequent dives using their high-resolution cameras.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is part of an international sea search operation formed to locate the deep-sea wreck site of Air France Flight 447 and to retrieve the flight recorders from the Airbus A 330.

The search is expected to last for approximately one month.

Two of the AUVs are owned by the Waitt Institute for Discovery; the third is owned by IFM-GEOMAR of Germany.

These autonomous undersea vehicles are designed to operate in depths up to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet or 3.73 miles).

As each vehicle covers an area in a “mowing” type pattern, it employs side-scan sonar to survey up to 600 meters to its left and right.

Capable of staying underwater for up to 20 hours at a time, REMUS then returns to the ship, where scientists immediately download its data.

If the data contains evidence of any debris or other items of interest undersea, a REMUS 6000 will be dispatched to gather more detailed, up-close images using high-resolution cameras located on the bottom of the vehicle.

The mission will also employ the M/V Anne Candies, out of New Orleans, which will carry the towed side-scan sonar Orion and the CURV21 ROV, both operated for the US Navy by Phoenix International.

According to David Gallo, WHOI director of special projects and WHOI project leader, he is confident, “given the necessary time and resources” that the aircraft will be found.

He estimates that the investigators, using the AUVs in tandem, will be able to search about 30 square miles a day. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MiG 29 intercepts Air France plane over Amritsar

August 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Amritsar, Aug 27(ANI): An Air France plane was intercepted by an Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG 29 aircraft over Amritsar on Thursday morning as it crossed into Indian airspace.

IAF radars picked up the aircraft, flying at a flight level of 37,000 feet, as it entered Indian airspace on an established border entry point on the ATS route.

The aircraft was not in communication and also the secondary radar response code or the Squawk code of the aircraft, was not correct. The aircraft was then identified as ‘Unknown’.

Immediately, an IAF MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept and investigate the identity of the ‘unknown’ aircraft.

It was only later that the aircraft started transmitting correct secondary radar response code and was picked up and identified by AD radar as civil airliner (A-343) of Air France (AFR-164), which was on its from Paris to Bangkok.

The MiG-29 fighter aircraft was given instructions to break off and return to base. A formal report of the incident has been forwarded to Airports Authority Of India (AAI). (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Passengers were alive when Air France flight hit Atlantic: Experts

July 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, July 5 (ANI): Experts have rejected the earlier investigation report of the Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic, by saying that many of the 228 people on board could have been alive when an intact AF447 hit the water.

Two separate trails of bodies and debris more than 50 miles apart suggested a high-altitude break-up of the Rio-to-Paris flight on June 1, in which passengers would have died instantly.

The first official report on flight AF447′s crash ruled that out, suggesting that some passengers may have survived until impact.

Debris indicated the Airbus A330 hit the water intact, on its belly and in the direction of the flight, said Alain Bouillard of the French air accident investigation unit, the Times Online reports.

Some 640 pieces of wreckage have been found and 51 bodies, including the pilot and one of five Britons killed in the crash.

None of the bodies discovered was in a life jacket and it is thought many passengers were not even wearing seatbelts.

If the cabin became depressurised, they may have lost consciousness as the plane began a descent from 35,000 feet.

The exact cause of the crash may never be known unless the recovery of data of the “black box” flight recorders. A submarine search for the recorders’ location signals will continue until Friday, after which their batteries are sure to be dead.

Some suspicion rests on the plane’s exterior air speed sensors (pitot tubes), which have been known to get blocked and confuse the onboard computer.

But investigators said potentially faulty pitot tubes were “a factor but not the cause” of the crash. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Air France flight crashed into Atlantic vertically, says report

July 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Paris, July 3 (ANI): The Air France flight that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean last month, killing all 228 people on board plunged vertically from the sky so suddenly that passengers and crew on board did not even have time to inflate their life jackets.

The Telegraph quoted investigators as saying that the Airbus “descended vertically” and dropped 35,000 feet in a matter of seconds, hitting the water in its exact flying position.

The details of the last moments of Flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1 were disclosed in an official report into the disaster released in the French capital.he report also found that the plane had not broken up in mid-air, as had initially been thought.

Alain Bouillard, the chief accident investigator, said: “The plane was not destroyed while in flight. It appears to have hit the surface of the water in its flying position with a strong vertical acceleration.”

Bouillard said uninflated life jackets were found all over the crash scene in the Atlantic soon after the crash.

The Airbus A330-200 went down within 930 miles off Brazil’s mainland and far from radar coverage.

Bouillard also said the plane’s defective airspeed sensors were a “factor but not the cause” of the crash.

Experts have suggested these external instruments might have iced over. Air France has now replaced the monitors, called Pitot tubes, on all its Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Air France crash: ‘black box signals located’

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Paris, June 23(ANI): Signals from the flight data recorder, or the black boxes of the Air France flight that crashed into the Atlantic ocean killing all 228 passengers onboard, has been located.

“A French naval vessel has detected a weak signal from the flight data recorders, and a mini submarine was dispatched on Monday to try and find the black boxes at the bottom of the ocean floor,” The Telegraph quoted a French newspaper Le Monde.

The Air France plane had sent out 24 system failure alerts before disappearing, and it is believed that the black boxes may contain vital information that could help explain what happened when the Airbus A330 crashed into the sea on June 1.

French vessels involved in the search operation include a nuclear submarine with advanced sonar equipment, and a research ship equipped with mini submarines.

The remote location in the Atlantic as well as the depth and surface of the ocean floor have made the search especially difficult, and the wreckage could lie anywhere between a depth of 1 km and 4 km.

However, an Air France spokeswoman said that she could not confirm the report. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US airlines have worst food in the world

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, June 23 (ANI): US airlines serve the worst food and have the least comfortable seats, a new study has found.

In a new survey by SeatGuru.com, American Airlines, United Airlines and U.S. Airways were voted the worst, reports The Daily Telegraph.

The only stand-out, US carrier Continental, was voted as having good in-flight fare and comfortable seats.

Airlines such as Singapore and Air France were voting in having the best in-flight meals.

Singapore Airlines was voted the best food and most comfortable. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A330 Australian flight makes emergency landing, probe on

June 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

SYDNEY: An Australian flight was forced to make an emergency landing on a remote Pacific island
Thursday, just days after an Air France tragedy
involving the same model of Airbus plane, officials said.

The budget flight from Japan put down on Guam after a fire broke out in the cockpit, company officials said.

Smoke and then flames were seen near a cockpit window about four hours into Jetstar flight JQ20 from Osaka to Australia’s Gold Coast, prompting flight crew to scramble to douse the fire before landing on Guam.

Nobody was hurt among the 203 mostly Japanese passengers and crew travelling on the Airbus A330-200, which touched down at about 2:20 am (1620 GMT Wednesday) and they were sent to nearby hotels.

The incident involves the same model of aircraft as the June 1 Air France disaster when all 228 on board an A330 flying from Brazil were killed after a mystery accident over the Atlantic.

“It is understood there was smoke in the cockpit followed by the right hand cockpit window area catching fire before being extinguished by technical crew,” a Jetstar statement said.

“The cockpit window fire was contained to the cockpit only of the aircraft before it was extinguished.”

Australian officials were flying to Guam to probe the fire while Jetstar, operated by flag-carrier Qantas, was sending another A330 from Sydney to pick up the passengers and crew.

“A team of investigators… will travel to Guam this morning to commence the investigation,” the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a statement.

One aviation expert said early suspicions would focus on a short-circuit in the window’s heating system.

“These sorts of things just aren’t supposed to happen. They will want to know why it happened,” Geoffrey Thomas, senior editor of Air Transport World, told Sky News.

“It’s exactly the same model as the Air France one, although different manufacturers provide different parts for these aircraft.”

Airbus has stressed the safety of its A330s after the Air France tragedy, in which investigators believe an air-speed sensor fault may have caused the pilot either to fly too slow and stall, or too fast, ripping the plane’s body apart.

Qantas this week said it had no plans to replace the air-speed sensors on its A330s as they are made by a different manufacturer.

It rejected any link between the Air France accident and October’s mishap when a Qantas A330 went into two sudden and steep dives over Western Australia, causing several serious injuries and prompting an emergency landing.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Flight 447’s vertical stabilizer may hold clue

June 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

RECIFE: The recovery of Air France Flight 447’s tail section could provide key clues as to why the airliner with 228 people on board went down in the Atlantic and where best to search for the black boxes, experts said.

The tail section includes the vertical stabilizer — which keeps the plane’s nose from swinging back and forth—and the rudder, which generates and controls the side-to-side motion of an aircraft.

The data and voice recorders are located in the fuselage near the tail. In a video posted Monday on a Web site, Brazil’s air force revealed that search crews had recovered the vertical stabilizer from the tail section of the plane. Brazilian military officials have refused to detail the large pieces of the plane they have found.

Eight more bodies also were found, bringing the total recovered to 24, air force Colonel Henry Munhoz said. The plane disappeared during a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on the night of May 31 with 228 people on board.

The air force video, titled “Vertical Stabilizer Found,” shows the piece being located and tethered to a ship. The part had Air France’s blue-and-red stripes, was still its original triangular shape and was not visibly burned.

William Waldock, who teaches air crash investigation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, examined the photos and video of the stabilizer and rudder and said the damage he saw looks like a lateral fracture.

“That would reinforce the idea that the plane broke up in flight,” he said. “If it hits intact, everything shatters in tiny pieces.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Air France to replace speed sensors in planes

June 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

PARIS: Air France has said all its flights using long-haul Airbus jets will be equipped immediately with new speed sensors after last week’s disaster over the Atlantic, a pilots’ union said on Tuesday.

The pitot tubes that gauge speed have become the focus of an investigation into the crash after messages showed they provided “inconsistent” data to the pilots and might have played a role in the June 1crash.

The Air France A330 that crashed into the Atlantic last week, killing 228 on board, had sent 24 automated messages in its final minutes on June 1, detailing a rapid series of system failures.

The small Alter union, which claims to represent 15 Air France pilots, said in a statement that it had found that the first of these messages pointed to a problem with the pitot tubes.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

French cops dismiss terror names report: Jet crash

June 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

PARIS: Two passengers on the Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic shared names with terror suspects but this was a simple coincidence, police said Wednesday, ruling out a link to the accident.

Earlier, the website of the news magazine L’Express had reported that French agents were making inquiries after finding the names of two suspected Islamist militants on AF 447′s passenger manifest.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior French officer said that the names were “simple namesakes” and dismissed the notion that the suspects were on board, adding that this line of enquiry had been dismissed.

Air France flight 447 from Rio to Paris plunged into the Atlantic on June 1 with the loss of all 228 people on board.

Officials have not yet identified the cause of the crash, but so far the investigation appears to have concentrated on the stormy weather in the area and a possible problem with the Airbus A330′s airspeed monitors.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Air France to replace speed sensors in planes

June 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

PARIS: Air France has said all its flights using long-haul Airbus jets will be equipped immediately with new speed sensors after last week’s disaster over the Atlantic, a pilots’ union said on Tuesday.

The pitot tubes that gauge speed have become the focus of an investigation into the crash after messages showed they provided “inconsistent” data to the pilots and might have played a role in the June 1crash.

The Air France A330 that crashed into the Atlantic last week, killing 228 on board, had sent 24 automated messages in its final minutes on June 1, detailing a rapid series of system failures.

The small Alter union, which claims to represent 15 Air France pilots, said in a statement that it had found that the first of these messages pointed to a problem with the pitot tubes.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

June 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

In Photo: In this photo released by Brazil’s Air Force, Brazil’s Navy sailors recover debris from the missing Air France jet at the Atlantic Ocean, Monday, June 8, 2009. A U.S. Navy team was flying to Brazil on Monday with high-tech underwater listening devices to help the search for the black boxes from an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. (AP Photo/Brazil’s Air Force)

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

In Photo: In this photo released by Brazil’s Air Force, Brazil’s Navy sailors recover debris from the missing Air France jet at the Atlantic Ocean, Monday, June 8, 2009. A U.S. Navy team was flying to Brazil on Monday with high-tech underwater listening devices to help the search for the black boxes from an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. (AP Photo/Brazil’s Air Force)

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

In Photo: This photo released by Brazil’s Air Force shows recovered debris belonging to the Air France flight AF447 in a Brazilian Navy ship at the Atlantic Ocean, Monday, June 8, 2009. A U.S. Navy team was flying to Brazil on Monday with high-tech underwater listening devices to help the search for the black boxes from an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. (AP Photo/Brazil’s Air Force)

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

In Photo: Brazil’s Air Force official Henry Munhoz, shows a photo taken early today with a piece of the Air France 447 flight being recovered from the Atlantic ocean, during a press conference in Recife, northeastern Brazil, Monday, June 8, 2009. Officals corrected to sixteen the total number of bodies plucked from the water about 45 miles (70 kilometers) from where the Air France jet sent out messages signaling electrical failures and loss of cabin pressure, Brazil’s military said. (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos
In Photo: Brazil’s Air Force official Henry Munhoz, right, and Navy official Giucemar Tabosa Cardoso attend a press conference in Recife, northeastern Brazil, Monday, June 8, 2009. A U.S. Navy team was flying to Brazil on Monday with high-tech underwater listening devices to help the search for the black boxes from the Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

In Photo: Federal Police forensic officers prepare a container for the arrival of bodies found during search operations of the missing Air France jet, in Fernando de Noronha island airport, off the northeast coast of Brazil, Monday, June 8, 2009. A U.S. Navy team was flying to Brazil on Monday with high-tech underwater listening devices to help the search for the black boxes from an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

In Photo: In this photo released by the French Defense Ministry on Monday June 8, 2009, divers aboard a French Navy dinghy, foreground, collect a debris near the French frigate “Ventose”, in the search area of Air France’s Flight 447 in the Atlantic ocean. Search ships methodically worked through debris from a doomed Air France jet Sunday, recovering 15 more bodies near the spot where the Airbus A330 is believed to have gone down a week ago. (AP Photo/Marine Nationale/French Navy/HO)

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

In Photo: In this photo released by the French Defense ministry on Monday June 8, 2009, a French Navy dinghy from the Ventose frigate sails through the search area of Air France’s Flight 447 in the Atlantic ocean. Search ships methodically worked through debris from a doomed Air France jet Sunday, recovering 15 more bodies near the spot where the Airbus A330 is believed to have gone down a week ago. (AP Photo/Ecpad/French Defense Ministry/HO)

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

In Photo: In this photo released by the French Defense ministry on Monday June 8, 2009, a French Navy diver from the Ventose frigate approaches floating debris in the search area of Air France’s Flight 447 in the Atlantic ocean. Search ships methodically worked through debris from a doomed Air France jet Sunday, recovering 15 more bodies near the spot where the Airbus A330 is believed to have gone down a week ago. (AP Photo/Ecpad/French Defense Ministry/HO)

Air France Debris Found on Sea Photos

In Photo: A Brazilian Air Force plane flies over an aeronautical radar station during search operations of the missing Air France jet, in Fernando de Noronha island airport, off the northeast coast of Brazil, Monday, June 8, 2009. A U.S. Navy team was flying to Brazil on Monday with high-tech underwater listening devices to help the search for the black boxes from an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stricken Air France plane was in agony for minutes

June 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Stricken Air France plane was in agony for minutes Hamburg – A German aviation expert, analyzing sparse details provided so far by Air France, gave an account Wednesday suggesting several minutes of severe technical problems by the Air France Airbus before it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean early Monday.

In an interview with the German Press Agency dpa, aviation expert Heinrich Grossbongardt reviewed information which Air France has provided and which aviation experts were now analyzing.

He described a four-minute time span between 0210 and 0214 GMT in which the A330 plane apparently experienced severe technical problems before all contact was lost.

At 0210, the plane’s system reported that the crew had turned off the automatic pilot in order to fly the plane manually.

“Then there were for a span of two to three minutes a flood of malfunction messages: the navigation equipment had collapsed, the image on the onboard monitors was gone, and other things,” Grossbongardt said.

The last information sent was at 0214 GMT: “The cabin pressure had dropped.

“That was the last report that was automatically transmitted from the airplane via satellite to company headquarters,” he said.(dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Czech interim government not to sell airlines, says minister

May 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Prague – Czech Republic’s caretaker government of Prime Minister Jan Fischer will not to finish the privatization of national carrier Czech Airlines during its term of office, Finance Minister Eduard Janota said Sunday.

Speaking on Czech television, Janota said a new cabinet formed after early polls in mid-October would decide on the airline’s new owner.

The sale thus faces a delay as the previous Czech government planned to choose the buyer for the state’s 91.5-per-cent stake by the end of September.

The tender has proceeded to its second, decision-making round to which the previous cabinet picked two contenders – the French-Dutch Air France-KLM airline and a Czech consortium comprised of investment company Unimex Group and the low-cost airline and charter carrier Travel Service.

Analysts estimate that the airline could sell for 3 billion koruny (157.5 million dollars) amid the global economic crisis that is putting additional strain on the troubled aviation industry.

Czech Airlines expanded its first-quarter loss to 1.3 billion koruny in 2009, compared to a loss of 844 million koruny in the first three months in 2008. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Czechs to ask Air France-KLM, Unimex to bid for Czech Airlines

April 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Prague – The outgoing Czech government on Monday decided to invite the Dutch-French airline Air France-KLM and a Czech consortium of investment Unimex Group and Travel Service low-cost carrier to bid for Czech Airlines, acting Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said.

The cabinet thus shut out Russia’s Aeroflot and a private equity group, Odien, from privatizing the state’s 91.5-per-cent stake in the national carrier.

Kalousek as well as outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek refused to explain the decision. The cabinet said earlier that it would vet applicants in the tender’s first phase on strategic and security basis.

The two chosen bidders will be soon invited to proceed to the binding second round, in which the price will be decisive.

Topolanek’s cabinet, which is expected to be replaced by a new caretaker government on May 9, wanted to pick the owner by September 30.

Kalousek said he hopes that the interim cabinet, which should govern until early elections in mid October, would be able to select the winner.

Czech Airlines have been troubled by dropping demand amid the economic crisis and plane leasing costs.

Most analysts thus estimate the carrier’s price between 3 to 5 billion koruny (144 to 240 million dollars).

Topolanek’s three-party centre-right cabinet has ruled in a caretaker facility since March 26 following a lost vote of no-confidence in parliament two days earlier. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts