The Pakistani rupee hit a record low for the fifth consecutive day on Friday due to increased import payments, the country's bleak economic outlook and an overall weakening of regional currencies. "The rupee was traded at 89.02 (to the dollar) and there are some (import) payments of about $50 million to $60 million today," said a bank dealer. The rupee was trading at 88.92/89.02 to the dollar at 11:21 a.m. (0621 GMT), compared with Thursday's close …

US officials have expressed concern at the loss of a drone near Iran's eastern border with Afghanistan. A Pentagon spokesman said the US were worried especially as the unmanned aircraft was "in a place where we're not able to get to it". Iranian media say the drone was shot down and was now in the hands of the armed forces. It said the plane had suffered minimal damage. The drone, known as a Sentinel, is the first such loss by the US. US Navy …

Shares in Samsung Electronics Co rose nearly 2 percent early on Monday after a U.S. court rejected a bid by Apple Inc to ban sales of Samsung's Galaxy line of products in the United States. The ruling deprived the iPhone and iPad maker of crucial leverage in a global patent battle between the two companies. Shares in Samsung climbed 1.5 percent minutes after the market open, versus the wider market's around 0.6 percent rise.

Pakistan is refusing to take part in a US military investigation of air strikes near the Afghan border that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead, the Pentagon said Friday. Pakistan was invited to cooperate in the probe into Saturday's incident, which has enraged Islamabad and plunged US-Pakistani relations into crisis, but officials have declined to do so. "They have elected to date not to participate, but we would welcome their participation," said …

South Korean electronics giant Samsung Wednesday won its appeal against a temporary ban on sales of its Galaxy tablet device in Australia, a rare victory in its legal battle with rival Apple. The Federal Court of Australia in Sydney lifted the ban on the sale of the Galaxy 10.1 Tab ahead of a final hearing, with the US giant claiming the device copies its iPad computer. But Apple immediately won a stay of orders, meaning that Samsung will not be …

China has overtaken the United States to become the world's largest smartphone market by volume although the US still leads in terms of revenue, a market research firm said Wednesday. Strategy Analytics said that smartphone shipments hit 24 million units in China during the third quarter of the year compared to 23 million units in the United States. "The United States remains the world's largest smartphone market by revenue, but China has overtaken …

Thanks to movie lovers for patronizing our magnum opus, Sri Rama Rajyam in a big way. Due to public demand and over whelming response from exhibitors and audience, we are happy to let you know that Sri Rama Rajyam is running in all major locations in 2nd week and extended the run of several locations for this thanks giving weekend. Due to the request from several audience, we made sure that prices are affordable for families and kids. Please watch …

Samsung Electronics is holding final talks with Google about launching a television using the US search giant's software platform next year, an executive of the South Korean company said Tuesday. Yoon Boo-Keun, president of the visual display division, declined to elaborate on the timing of the launch saying only that Samsung would not unveil the new model at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Samsung is the world's largest …

The latest bid to find a long-term solution to the US debt crisis looked doomed to fail Sunday as lawmakers remained at odds over cutting social programs and raising taxes on the rich. A bipartisan "supercommittee" is racing against a Wednesday deadline to reach agreement. Failure would trigger mandatory cuts from January 2013, but that timeframe means Congress can wriggle out of the supposed ultimatum. CNN, citing both Democratic and Republican …

Excited," "nervous," "terrified" - just three emotions described by a group of US teachers about to take a dizzying "weightless" flight all for the cause of science, naturally. The 30 classroom professionals donned blue "astronaut" jumpsuits to defy gravity in the skies above California, in a project designed to help them capture the imagination of young science students. On the back of her jumpsuit, teacher Michelle Luke taped a drawing made by …