At Least 31 Dead in Indian Train Accident - Voice of America

Mangled passenger cars are seen at the site of a train accident near Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh state, July 10, 2011

Rescuers in northern India are sorting through the wreckage of an express train that derailed, killing at least 31 people and injuring 100 more.

Authorities say the Kalka Mail train was travelling from Howrah to New Delhi Sunday when at least 12 coaches jumped the tracks near Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh state.

The cause of the derailment was not immediately clear.

Officials say the number of casualties is likely to rise as rescuers make their way through the twisted coaches.

India's railway network is one of the largest in the world. Accidents are common, with most blamed on poor maintenance and human error.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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Indian Firms in Talks to Sell iPhone - Wall Street Journal

MUMBAI—Two Indian wireless operators are in talks with Apple Inc. to offer a version of the iPhone based on code division multiple access, or CDMA, technology, people familiar with the matter said.

Apple is in talks with Reliance Communications Ltd. and Tata Teleservices Ltd., whose networks run on CDMA technology. The discussions come amid news that Apple is making a CDMA version of its iPhone that Verizon Wireless will sell early next year in the U.S.

"Tata has been in talks with them [Apple] for four to five months now," one of the people familiar with the negotiations said. It is unclear though when any launch may take place, these people said.

Anand Baskaran, an Apple spokesman for India, declined to comment.

Separately, Apple is adding two more iPhone carriers in Germany. Telefonica SA's O2 and Vodafone Group PLC both said Tuesday they will sell the iPhone 4 within the next weeks in Europe's largest economy, ending the exclusivity of Deutsche Telekom AG ahead of the Christmas holiday season.

In India, Apple's iPhone is currently available through operators Bharti AirTel Ltd. and Vodafone Essar Ltd., a unit of Vodafone, which offer services under the global system for mobile communications, or GSM, technology. Vodafone is also joint owner of Verizon Wireless with Verizon Communications Inc.

Launching a CDMA phone will give Apple access to more customers in the world's fastest-growing telecom market, which is adding around 18 million users a month. India currently has about 670 million wireless users, of which roughly 20% use CDMA phones. GSM phones make up most of the market.

For the two local operators, offering a CDMA iPhone would help them battle shrinking revenues and margins due to intense competition. Currently, the cheapest iPhone in India costs more than $670 and is considered expensive for a country where 42% of the population earns less than $1.25 a day.

Still, analysts say Apple may find it tough to generate significant revenue from a CDMA-based iPhone in India given that it is not as widely used as a GSM phone, and because there is stiff competition for smartphones from companies including Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc., HTC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and Research In Motion Ltd.

Moreover, Google Inc. is pushing to its presence in India through little-known Indian handset makers that are poised to launch low-cost devices that include its Android operating system in coming months.

"While the possibility of a CDMA iPhone through Reliance Communications or Tata would help Apple, it is unlikely to generate significant volumes in India," said Daryl Chiam, a senior analyst at research firm Canalys.

Apple accounted for less than 1% of India's smartphone market share in the first half of 2010, said Mr. Chiam, adding that in contrast, Nokia shipped 1.8 million smartphones in India and accounted for 71% of the market during that time.

—Archibald Preuschat and Kenan Machado
contributed to this article.

Write to Romit Guha at romit.guha@dowjones.com and R. Jai Krishna at krishna.jai@dowjones.com

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Indian Court Orders Holy Site Divided Between Hindus, Muslims - Voice of America

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Photo: AFPIndian security personnel stand guard as an elderly man walks past on September 29, 2010 in Ayodhya, on the eve of a court ruling that divided a long-contested holy site in the city between Hindus and Muslims (AFP).

Share ThisDiggFacebookStumbleUponYahoo! Buzzdel.icio.usRelated ArticlesIndia Braces For Verdict In Charged Religious Property Dispute

Indian judges have ruled Hindus and Muslims will divide the site at the heart of a religious property dispute.  Their verdict has been awaited for decades and is seen as a symbolic watershed in India's broader history of Hindu-Muslim tension.

Indian leaders are calling for peace and unity after a high court in the state of Uttar Pradesh issued what some are calling a victory for both Hindus and Muslims.

The court ruled a long-disputed holy site in the city of Ayodhya is to be divided between the two faith groups, with two thirds of the property to be administered by Hindus, and one third to be in the possession of Muslims.

Hindu groups successfully convinced judges about the importance of the site to members of their faith, who believe the area is the birthplace of the Hindu god Lord Rama, one of their most revered deities.  An Islamic mosque stood on the spot for hundreds of years before a Hindu mob destroyed it in 1992.  That sparked violence around the country that killed more than 2,000 people, mainly Muslims.

A lawyer representing Muslim plaintiffs in the case, Zafaryab Jilanni, says the verdict is a step towards unity.  He said the judgment indicates that Muslims and Hindus must coexist in India.

A lawyer for Hindu litigants, Ravi Shankar Prasad, called for Muslims and Hindus to view the verdict positively. "I would appeal to them in all humility, please accept this verdict ... it will lead to new amity, new brotherhood and a resurgent India," he said.

Hindu-Muslim resentment historically has been one of the greatest strains on India's social fabric.  As the verdict approached, the government dispatched nearly 200,000 security personnel to prevent renewed violence.  Major Indian media outlets agreed to a range of mandatory and voluntary restraints on coverage to avoid inciting emotion.  The mass distribution of mobile text messages also was curtailed.

Several parties on both sides of the dispute have said they will appeal the decision to the Indian Supreme Court.  That is expected to further delay the Ayodhya case, which has been in the court system for 60 years.

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