By IANS

New York : Only two days after taking over as the new chief executive of Citigroup, America's largest bank, Vikram S. Pandit has announced the resignation of the financial giant's chief operating officer Robert Druskin.

By Joydeep Gupta

Bali(IANS) : The US government delegation threw an agreement on the Bali roadmap out of gear an hour before midnight Thursday, with a new proposal that wanted to get away from international commitments on mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) that are leading to climate change and came up with national domestic objectives instead.

Jagatsinghpur (Orissa) (IANS) : Amid opposition from many villagers, Orissa Thursday decided to expedite the survey work for the proposed steel plant of South Korean major Posco in Jagatsinghpur district under the largest foreign direct investment in India.

Frankfurt(DPA) : The Star Alliance of code-share airlines has voted to admit Air India, Lufthansa announced here Thursday after a meeting of alliance chiefs in Beijing the same day.

The German carrier and United Airlines are among the founders of the Alliance, in which airlines treat one another's flights as an extension of their own network.

Hoshiarpur (Punjab(IANS) : In a bizarre incident, a general manager of a sugar factory in Punjab shot dead his own boss and the president of the company Thursday.

The shootout took place inside the meeting room of the factory near Dasuya town, 45 km from here, when general manager Gurkirpal Singh Kahlon fired at Abijit Singh Jaspal from close range after an altercation.

New Delhi(IANS) : The government cannot develop mass rapid transit systems (MRTS) in major cities in the country without private participation, a top planner said here Thursday.

Chandigarh(IANS) : Mobile telecom provider Spice Thursday launched Spice TV - offering 13 channels, including live telecast of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) matches being played in Panchkula near here.

The service was launched in the presence of all six ICL team captains - Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Craig Macmillan, Marvan Atapattu, Chris Cairns and Stuart Law.

Beijing(Xinhua) : Chinese President Hu Jintao Thursday called for further cooperation between China and the US, as the two countries wound up their two days of economic talks here that culminated in a series of agreements.

New Delhi(IANS) : Creation of tourism infrastructure at World Heritage sites is a top priority for the Indian government, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni said Thursday.

By Joydeep Gupta