The Emirates EK385 flight, with 481 passengers on board makes emergency landing at Hyderabad airport

Hyderabad, Oct 23 (IANS) The world's largest airplane Airbus A380 made an emergency landing at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport near here Sunday due to a technical snag, an airport official said.

The Emirates EK385 flight, with 481 passengers on board, was on its way from Bangkok to Dubai. 'The aircraft landed with 481 passengers safely at 3.40 a.m.,' an airport spokesman told IANS.

The pilot cited a technical snag as the reason for making the emergency landing at the airport in Shamshabad, around 20 km from Hyderabad.

The aircraft first approached the Chennai airport but did not get clearance for landing as the runway was busy. The pilot then contacted Air Traffic Control at Shamshabad and got the clearance to land.

The Emirates was making arrangements to accommodate the passengers on its Hyderabad-Dubai flights, including a special flight.

An official said that out of 481 passengers, 80 left for Dubai by regular Emirates flight EK527 Hyderabad-Dubai at 10.20 a.m.

Some passengers will be sent by a special flight at 11.20 a.m. and the remaining by the regular Hyderabad-Dubai flight in the evening.

Airbus engineers from the company's headquarters in Toulouse, France, are rushing to Hyderabad to attend to the technical snag. This is the second time that A380 has landed at Hyderabad.

During the civil aviation exhibition in October 2008, the aircraft had landed at Begumpet Airport, the old airport in the city.

The aircraft, with a seating capacity of 525, then landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, marking the first landing of the super-jumbo at India's first Code F compliant airport -- equipped to receive larger aircraft.

GITEX Shopper officially opened by His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

GITEX Shopper was officially opened today by His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. The much anticipated shopping event is the largest consumer IT and electronics show in the Middle East and runs until Saturday 15 October at the Airport Expo Dubai.

Excited visitors packed the three halls on the first day of the show, taking advantage of the fantastic deals on over 25,000 different gadgets and consumer electronics from the 160 participating retailers and brands. Shoppers snapped up deals for smart phones, the newest slim laptops, digital cameras and a broad spectrum of the latest electronic gadgets. Day one saw visitors enjoying the fun festival atmosphere at the event, with music, entertainment and a host of competitions to reward lucky shoppers.

“We are honoured to have H.H Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum officially open the show today and lend his support to GITEX Shopper. In today’s fast-changing technologically driven world GITEX Shopper offers the ideal platform for keeping abreast of the world’s new launches, top trends and innovative advances. Our exhibitors have put together an unbeatable range of products and special offers and visitors to the show will not be disappointed,” said Trixee Loh, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of GITEX Shopper.

GITEX Shopper 2011 has attracted some of the biggest names in technology including Bose, Dell, Epson, Greensound, Hewlett-Packard, HTC, Intel, JVC, Lenovo, Nakamichi, Nokia, Panasonic, RIM–Blackberry, Samsung, SanDisk, Toshiba and Western Digital.

“GITEX Shopper presents us with the perfect platform to offer our consumers a personal experience. It is a key opportunity for consumers to interact with the full range of HP products while receiving in-depth information and expert advice on our latest innovations and how they can be used. GITEX Shopper is an opportunity for everyone to benefit - consumers, retailers and tech providers,” said Salim Ziade, HP PSG General Manager.

Top regional distributors and power retailers CompuME, du, E4U, E-City, EMAX, Etisalat, Geekay Games, iSTYLE, Jacky’s Electronics, Jumbo Electronics, Plug-Ins, Sharaf DG and Virgin Megastore add to the stellar line-up of exhibitors.

“GITEX Shopper has always been a great way to reach consumers belonging to diverse demographic groups. This year, Emax is all set to bring customers great deals on electronics, including those that have just recently arrived in the market. Emax represents more than 300 brands, with over 100,000 products across 20 plus categories. We have also been named a UAE Superbrand this year. Living up to expectations, we have decided to occupy a larger area at the show featuring unbeatable offers on photography, audio, IT, mobiles, accessories and video, among many,” said Neelesh Bhatnagar, CEO of Emax.

GITEX Shopper 2011 will take place from 8 – 15 October 2011. The show is open from 11:00am – 10:00pm from Saturday 8 to Wednesday 12 October; from 11am – 11pm on Thursday 13 and Saturday 15 October; and from 3pm – 11pm on Friday 14 October.

Tickets are priced at AED 30 per person and are available at the venue and online through Time Out Tickets and select ENOC/EPPCO outlets. Entry is free for children under the age of five.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba passes away

Puttaparthi: Spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba died at the Sathya Sai super speciality hospital at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district today.
Doctors said he died at 7.40 am of cardio-respiratory failure. The 84-year-old was admitted to hospital on March 28 with breathing and heart problems.
His condition since Thursday morning had been described as "very critical" by doctors attending to him. Most of his organs were not responding to treatment. The condition of his liver and his low blood pressure were causing concern, they had said.

As doctors announced his death, they appealed to people to be calm and not rush to hospital. Security has been tightened in the area. All roads leading to the hospital have been blocked and shops have been ordered to close at Puttaparthi.
Godman to some, miracle-man to others and revered as God by lakhs of his followers, Sathya Sai Baba had the rich, famous and powerful from the world of politics, business, films and sport flocking to his doorstep in Puttaparthi, the small Andhra Pradesh village that he made internationally famous.

Born on 23 November 1926 in a modest family in Puttaparthi, Satyanarayana Raju declared himself a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba at the age of 14. From then on his devotees and admirers only grew in numbers over the years.

Though a few controversies did cast shadows on Sai Baba's image and critics have been skeptical about claims that he would produce holy ash, golden rings and mementoes from thin air, Sathya Sai Baba also earned respect for setting up world-class educational and health institutions and also for charitable work like drinking water projects for four semi-arid districts of Andhra Pradesh and in Chennai. The institutions and properties that he built are estimated to be worth over Rs. 27,000 crore.

After a hip fracture in 2006, Sathya Sai Baba was confined to a wheel chair and gave darshan from his car or a portable chair.

Sathya Sai Baba 'very critical,' say doctors

Puttaparthi: The condition of spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba, seen as the incarnation of God by his devotees in India and abroad, is "very critical," his doctors have said, adding that "most of his organs are showing very poor response to the treatment."

According to doctors attending on him at Sathya Sai super specialty hospital at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district, the condition of his liver and his low blood pressure are causing concern.

"Sri Sathya Sai Baba continues to be in a very critical state of health. Most of his organs are not responding," said a medical bulletin issued by the hospital.

Hospital director AN Safaya said Sai Baba's breathing is still ventilator-dependent and the process of slow hemodialysis has been started in the morning to assist his kidneys.

A panel of doctors is watching him round-the-clock and giving all the necessary treatment to keep him in a stable state of health, added the statement.

The 84-year-old self-styled Godman was admitted to hospital on March 28 with breathing and heart problems. The doctors later said he was suffering from multi-organ dysfunction.

Hospital statement on Sathya Sai Baba's health: