Google and Fujitsu will work together

Internet powerhouse Google and Japanese electronics giant Fujitsu have joined an alliance to promote the ability of objects from appliances to cars to communicate with one another online. The IPSO Alliance said Friday that Google and Fujitsu raise the ranks of the year-old organisation to 53 members and bring significant weight to a drive toward a world rich with ' smart objects.' 'Google's participation in IPSO is a result of its expectation that many devices will become part of the internet environment,' said Google vice- president and chief internet evangelist Vint Cerf. 'Google's PowerMeter application makes use of this idea to help Smart Grid users capture and analyse their energy usage information.' PowerMeter is a free online tool that allows users to view real-time energy use in homes with the goal of helping conserve power and cut utility costs. 'The addition of Google and its PowerMeter service to the Alliance really completes the smart grid circle within IPSO,' said alliance chairman Geoff Mulligan. 'Not only will consumers be able to use the products and services of IPSO Alliance member companies to connect their home to the grid, they also will be able to monitor how those appliances, and their entire home, are consuming energy.' The roster of alliance members includes Bosch, Cisco, Ericsson, Intel, SAP, Sun Microsystems and Texas Instruments.

Airlines traffic record fall

World airline passenger traffic fell 3.1 per cent in 2009, the biggest drop in aviation industry history, fuelled by the global financial downturn, the International Civil Aviation Organisation said. Preliminary figures for airline travel this year showed that international traffic declined by about 3.9 per cent and domestic traffic by 1.8 per cent, despite sharp growth in some regions. Total passenger traffic—both domestic and international—fell in all regions except the Middle East, which posted 10 per cent growth. All other regions recorded negative growth, with Africa hardest hit at minus 9.6 per cent overall, the ICAO said. The 3.1 per cent drop in passenger traffic this year compared to 2008 was the largest on record for the industry and 'reflects the one per cent drop in the world gross domestic product for the year,' the organisation said in a statement. 'The double-digit domestic passenger traffic growth in the emerging markets of Asia and Latin America, and the relative strong performance of low cost carriers in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific helped curtail the decline in total traffic.' The ICAO predicted a moderate recovery of 3.3 per cent growth for the airline industry next year, in line with improving economic conditions around the world.

Western Marine make a ferry

Ship building company Western Marine Shipyard Limited on Saturday started making a ro-ro ferry, first of its kind in the country, at a cost of Tk 29 crore for the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation. Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan inaugurated the construction work of the ferry as chief guest at a function at the shipyard at Kolagaon area under Patiya upazila in Chittagong. Member of the parliament Shamsul Hoque Chowdhury, shipping secretary Abdul Mannan Hawlader, and Chittagong Port Authority chairman RU Ahmed attended the inaugural function as special guests. The company sources said the company was expecting to deliver the ferry, with capacity to carry 20 heavy vehicles, 340 passengers and 25 crewmen, by December 2010. The ferry will be commissioned at the Charjanajat ferry terminal in Munshiganj, the sources added.

Ctg port security has been tighten

Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan yesterday emphasised expansion of railway and development of river communication to accelerate container transportation across the country from Chittagong Port. The ministry is set to take necessary steps with the help of the communication ministry, he told reporters after inaugurating the 'Two-Stage Gate Complex' at the port. Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) established the two-stage gate at a point that connects the port access road and container yards to ensure discipline and security in unloading, entrance and departure of containers under the Chittagong Port Trade Facilitation Project. The minister said the government would take steps to revamp the port by introducing modern technology in port activities. He hoped the two-stage gate would check the entrance of illegal vehicles inside the port. Lawmaker Shamsul Hoque Chowdhury, CPA Chairman Commodore RU Ahmed and other senior officials were also present.

Pabna sugar mills started production

Pabna Sugar Mill resumed production on Friday and set a target for crushing 65 ,000 tonnes of sugarcane. The target is lower than last year's 80 ,000 tonnes of sugarcane due to poor supply from farmers. Shamsur Rahman Sharif Dilu, lawmaker of Pabna-4 constituency, inaugurated the production of the mill at a programme chaired by Md Lokman Hossain, managing director of the company, on the mill premises. The mill has suffered huge losses since the start of its production in 1997. The company logged Tk 60.75 crore in accumulated losses over the 11 years to 2008. "We will be able to produce 4 ,875 tonnes of sugar in 44 days," said a mill official. Last year the mill produced 4 ,298 tonnes of sugar from 69 ,839 tonnes of sugarcane. Farmers have used 5 ,000 acres of land for sugarcane farming this year, lower than last year's 7 ,000 acres, said Md Kamruzzaman, general manager of agriculture for the sugar mill. Sugarcane requires up to 18 months to be ready for sugar production, which makes farmers less interested in it. They now prefer vegetables and other crops to sugarcane, he added. "We are hopeful of reaching the target this year as we have already encouraged farmers to supply sugarcane continuously," said Hossain.

Honda build their 5th plant

Japan's Honda Motor plans to build its fifth car plant in China to cope with mounting competition in the fast-growing auto market, according to a press report Saturday. The new plant, with an annual capacity of 120 , 000 units, will boost Honda's production in China by 20 percent to 730 ,000 units a year, the business daily Nikkei said. It will be built next to the existing factory of Honda's Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Honda Automobile in the central city of Wuhan and is due to be operational by 2011 , the report said. Initial investment in the project is estimated at 20-30 billion yen ( 220-330 million dollars), the report added. No one was immediately available at Honda's head office in Tokyo to confirm the report. Car sales in China are forecast to exceed 13 million units this year with the communist nation replacing the United States as the world's biggest auto market, Nikkei said.

Dollar dominate euro

The dollar rose sharply on Friday against a steadily weakening euro as persistent concerns over Greek creditworthiness weighed on the single currency, dealers said. They said the euro had been on the defensive since early this month as Greece's massive debt problems highlight similar difficulties in other eurozone countries trying to both repay borrowings and keep their economies on track. At the same time, the prospects of a solid US economic recovery and possibly higher interest rates next year make the dollar a good bet, they added. In late London trade, the euro was at 1.4281 dollars, giving up early gains to trade at levels last seen in early September. The euro had earlier run as high as 1.4397 dollars, up from 1.4338 dollars in New York late on Thursday as players took quick profits on the dollar. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar firmed to 90.47 yen from 89.77 yen on Thursday.

New winter timing for Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways has rescheduled its Dhaka flights for the winter due to heavy fog at Zia International Airport, said a statement. For December 15- February 14 , Etihad flight EY 255 will depart from Dhaka at 18 :45 and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 21 :30 ( local time) daily, while flight EY 256 will leave Abu Dhabi at 09 :55 and arrive in Dhaka at 17 :30 ( local time) daily.

In Chittagong Toyota open a showroom

Navana Ltd, the sole distributor of Toyota vehicles in Bangladesh, launched a Toyota showroom in Chittagong yesterday. Saiful Islam, vice chairman of Navana Group, inaugurated the showroom at a programme in Agrabad, with Mahmood Jan Chowdhury, director of Navana Chittagong branch, in the chair. Islam said most Chittagong customers do not know much about the new Toyota vehicles because of a lack of a proper showroom. "To provide premium quality vehicles to the local customers, we opened the Toyota showroom here." Yasuhiro Miura, general manager of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, was also present.