4-year-old Saudi boy kills father over PlayStation

Riyadh:  An angry four-year-old Saudi boy shot and killed his father for refusing to buy him a PlayStation, Saudi media reported on Monday.

The Asharq daily, citing police in the southern Jizan area, said the child, aged four years and seven months, grabbed his father's pistol and shot him in the head.

According to the newspaper, the child had asked his father to buy him a PlayStation and the shooting took place after the man returned home without the desired object.

As he was undressing, the man put the weapon down, which the child then grabbed and fired at him from close range.

Rupee falls below 52

The rupee fell below 52 versus the dollar to a new three-month low, though traders have not yet seen clear signs of intervention.

The cross is testing resistance at 52.12, the 61.8% retracement of the December-February falls, with a convincing and sustained breach opening up the next resistance level at 52.95-00, the 76.4% retracement.

Traders have been warning USD/INR is at risk of testing its mid-December record highs of 54.30, given the slew of domestic negatives and global economic woes.

USD/INR was last trading at 52.09/10 to the dollar after hitting a new three-month low of 52.20 in opening trade. It closed at 52.14/15 on Thursday.

Attention fliers: Pay higher airport fee from May 1

Air travelers in India will have to shell out more to fly within and out of India from May 1. Airport charges are set to rise, with the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) revising development charges for the Mumbai airport.

The regulator has allowed Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to charge a development fee for a period of 23 months. Domestic fliers will have to pay Rs 100 and international travelers Rs 600 towards airport development charges.

The charges will be in effect from May 1, 2012 till the end of April 2014.

The hike as proposed to fund a gap of Rs 876 crore. Sources told CNBC-TV18 that the regulator will consider cost escalation of Rs 12,380 crore only after audit. It will take review the rates and tenure of development levy post the cost audit.

The Mumbai airport came up for modernization in 2006, and was overhauled by the GVK Group-led consortium in partnership with the Airports Authority of India. The initial cost of the project was Rs 5800 crore, but due to time and cost over-runs, the final bill came to around Rs.9,800 crore. 

GVK, the operator of the airport is also facing problems rehabilitating slum-dwellers displaced for the project.  In December last year, it had sought two plots for rehabilitating around 80,000 project-affected people (PAP). But Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan turned down the demand for the plots, one at Santa Cruz belonging to the Mumbai University and the other at Kanjur Marg ear-marked for a dumping ground.

Air India seeks to raise $1bn in overseas borrowing

Debt-laden national carrier Air India has invited bids from banks and financial institutions to raise up to USD 1 billion via external commercial borrowings, according to an offer letter seen by Reuters.

Funds will be used for working capital, as per the document, with interested arrangers asked to submit bids by May 4.

The firm is looking to raise one-year funds at either fixed- or floating rates, according to the document.

Air India is due to receive an equity infusion of Rs 67,500 crore in the current fiscal year and will spin-off two of its units as part of a financial restructuring plan approved by the federal cabinet.

Mumbai: 2 dead, 15 injured after falling from local train

The turbulence in local trains in Mumbai has taken a toll. Two people died after they fell from a local train between Nahur and Bhandup stations (central line) during heavy rush. Fifteen people were injured.

The Nahur station is just ahead of the Mulund station. Central Railway chief PRO Vidyadhar Malegaonkar said the primary reason of the incident was overcrowding.

Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy has announced compensation for the victims' families. "Railways announces compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the two who died in the accident. The ministry is working overtime to normalise the situation by this evening. 8% of the services have been normalised. Senior level railway officials inspected the technical snag in Mumbai, a committee has been formed to look into the technical snags."

Fifteen per cent of the trains on the central line were not yet running. The Central Railway announced that it has restored over 85% of the services on Thursday.

Alternate arrangements were made on Wednesday like allowing passengers in express trains, allowing them to use parts of Western line.

Millions of commuters and students in the city faced a harrowing time on Wednesday as local trains were running late by around 40 minutes following a fire in a signal cabin on the Central Railway (CR).

Around 12.15 am early Wednesday, fire gutted the main signal cabin at Kurla station and sent the entire electric and signal cabling network on the blink.

The fire was brought under control in a short time and there were no casualties reported.

Mumbai's suburban train services, comprising Western Railway, Central Railway and Harbour lines, which ferry nearly eight million people to and from their homes and offices in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad, are the lifeline of the country's commercial capital.