Can Tho: Colossal crocodile jawbone fished out from river

Fisherman Tran Van Ut in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho found the jawbone of a giant crocodile in Dau Sau (Crocodile Head) River.

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Ut at first thought this 0.9m long, 0.4m wide jawbone was a tree trunk.

Tran Van Tot, 86, a resident of the area, exclaimed that he has never seen such a big crocodile head. He estimated the reptile had been five to six meters long and weighed 300-400 kilograms. He also guessed that the crocodile may have died more than 100 years ago.

Tieu Thi Tuyet, 76, who lives near the river, recalled that her grandmother once saw a giant crocodile basking on the shore and crawling into the river when it spotted people.

Several people have offered to buy the jaw, but Ut has refused to sell it.

The world’s largest living crocodile is the saltwater crocodile found in Australia and India, which is thought to grow to up to seven meters.

Some pictures of the giant crocodile jawbone:

Source: Tuoi Tre/VNE

- Air India executives to forgo salary

Struggling national carrier Air India on Friday asked its top managers to forgo one month's salary as part of efforts to survive a cash crunch, the company said.

The move comes a week after ordinary staff were told the payment of their salaries would be delayed, prompting a strike threat by 20,000 employees, more than two-thirds of Air India's workforce.

"Executives in the level of general managers and above should voluntarily forgo salary... payable in the month of July 2009," said Air India chairman Arvind Jadhav.

A combination of high fuel prices, fewer passengers and the global financial meltdown have left the airline with an estimated 800 million dollars in losses for the past year and debt of four billion dollars, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

The flagship carrier is expected to follow the example of privately-held Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines by increasing fares in line with global oil prices, and has reportedly asked the government for a bailout package.

Air India to fly Chicago, New York daily

In the summer schedule effective March 29, Air India will be introducing a daily flight between Hyderabad and Chicago via Delhi/Frankfurt and also between Hyderabad and New York via Mumbai.

Passengers will have the option to travel via Mumbai to Chicago and via Delhi to New York at the same fare. The transit time at Delhi/Mumbai had been reduced to all destinations in Europe/UK/US. The departure time from Hyderabad to London/Frankfurt/Newark would be advanced to 2130 hrs on all days. Passengers can complete departure/arrival/immigration/emigration/customs formalities at Hyderabad and destination airport.

The Hyd-Chicago-Hyd flight (AI-127) will depart at 2100 hrs and land in Chicago at 1050 hrs. The return flight (AI-126) will leave Chicago at 1600 hrs and arrive Hyderabad at 0205 hrs. The daily flight to New York (AI-141) will depart Hyderabad at 2130 hrs and will reach its destination at 0710 hrs. The return flight (AI-140) will leave New York at 2130 hrs and reach here at 0200 hrs.