Apple iPhones go on sale in US
Apple's iPhone, a music-playing and Web-browsing device hit US stores on Friday as thousands of U.S. gadget fans lined up outside AT&T stores to be the first buyers of the device.

AT&T Inc. is the phone's exclusive wireless carrier for the first two years.

The iPhone combines a phone, Web browser and media player, and costs $500 to $600, depending on memory capacity.

Technology gurus, while describing it as a breakthrough device, said it had shortcomings such as lack of a hardware keyboard and pokey Internet link.

Apple aims to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008, which would amount to a 1 per cent share of the global market. It has not given a sales goal for the launch, but some analysts said it could sell up to 400,000 units in the first few days.
Back to News Review index page  

China, Pakistan slash tariffs under FTA
Beijing: China and Pakistan plan to slash tariffs on each other's imports from July 1, in keeping with their Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a senior Chinese trade official said.

From July 1, the two countries will carry out the tariff reduction in two phases. In the first five years, the two sides will cut tariffs on up to 85 per cent of imports in five categories. In the following five years, China will eliminate or cut tariffs on Pakistan-originated products, ranging from farm products to textile and electronic goods, while Pakistan will remove or cut tariffs on Chinese food, electronics and machinery.

After the reduction, China's average tariff on imports from Pakistan will be lowered to eight per cent, 0.67 percentage point lower than the tariff rate for most favoured nations.
This is the third FTA China has signed following FTAs with Chile and the ASEAN.
Back to News Review index page  

US immigration Bill derailed
Washington: Dealing a setback to 12 million illegal immigrants, including Indians, the US senate has overturned a landmark Immigration Bill that would have regularised the status of the immigrants.

Senators on Thursday voted 53 to 46 against keeping the Bill alive. This raises serious questions about the future of the more than 12 million illegal immigrants.

The Senate had on Tuesday voted 64-35 to resume debate on the bill, which ties tough border security and workplace enforcement measures to a plan to legalise illegal immigrants.

Political analysts believe that lawmakers will now be disinclined to take up the controversial bill before the Presidential elections of 2008.

India was concerned by not only the potential implication on the family unifications via the green card but also the expectation of an increase in the numbers of the H1B from 65,000 to 115,000 with built in annual increases.
Back to News Review index page