Mumbai, May 15 (IANS) State-run telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) Friday launched third generation (3G) mobile services in Mumbai at an investment of Rs.250 crore.

“Our total investment for the 3G launch in Mumbai is Rs.250 crore and we hope to rope in 100,000 customers by March next year. Connections will be available in about a month’s time,” MTNL chairman and managing director R.S.P. Sinha said.

New York, May 14 (DPA) US stocks posted gains Thursday after a poor start to the week, led by banking and technology shares that overshadowed another rise in US jobless claims.

Financial firms erased much of their early week losses, which stemmed from many banks launching stock offerings. Tech stocks were led by gains in Apple Corp and Intel Corp.

Washington, May 14 (DPA) US astronauts Thursday installed a new camera on the Hubble Space Telescope in the first of a series of spacewalks to upgrade the ageing instrument.

In the seven-hour, 20-minute long spacewalk astronauts John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel replaced Hubble’s camera with a more advanced model. The Wide Field Planetary Camera 3 will allow astronomers to see deeper into space and to take images in the three

New York, May 14 (DPA) The US stocks fell sharply as retail sales in the country dropped unexpectedly in April.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday the retail sales dropped 0.4 percent in April for the second straight month, surprising analysts and signalling that the country’s economic downturn continues to depress consumer demand.

Moscow, May 14 (RIA Novosti) Russian space agency Roscosmos and the US space agency NASA have agreed on a new price for ferrying US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) after 2012, an official said.

NASA will now pay $51 million for a single seat on Soyuz spacecraft.

Bangalore, May 13 (IANS) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao late Wednesday said there was scope to reduce lending rates by banks in the current economic context.

“Given the current economic context and the policy initiatives of the RBI, there is considerable scope for banks to reduce the lending rates,” Subbarao said at an interactive session orgainsed by the Karnataka chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Athens, May 13 (DPA) Greece’s data protection agency has stopped Google from continuing to photograph the country’s streets for its Street View service and asked further reassurances on privacy from the US Internet giant, media reports said Wednesday,

Street View provides users a 360-degree view of the urban landscape via an icon on Google Maps.

Vienna, May 13 (DPA) The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Wednesday said though the global production levels of oil had increased in April, it further lowered its demand projections for the year because of the ongoing economic downturn.

In April, global oil supply grew from the previous month for the first time since last October, to 83.55 million barrels per day (b/d), the Vienna-based group said in its latest market report. One barrel equals 158 litres.