2014, ഫെബ്രുവരി 28, വെള്ളിയാഴ്‌ച

3 Malayalees among 12 killed in Qatar restaurant blast

 Doha: At least 12 people were killed and 30 injured when an explosion occurred at a restaurant located adjacent to a petrol station in Qatar's capital city of Doha Thursday morning, officials said. Of the 12 dead, three were Malayalees, Salim, Riyas and Zackariah. It is learnt that 4 Malayalees are missing.

All 12 reported killed were Asians or Arabs, said the head of Qatar's police force Maj Gen Saad al-Khulaifi, adding some of the injured were seriously hurt. Initial indications suggested a burst natural gas tank on top of a Turkish restaurant was to blame for the explosion, BBC reported.

The incident occurred shortly after 10.00 a.m. (7:00 GMT), near a petrol station and the popular Landmark Mall shopping centre. The force of the blast caused the partial collapse of the Istanbul Restaurant. It also sent shrapnel flying up to 50m (160ft) away, authorities said.

Though officials were treating the explosion as an accident, though it was unclear what ignited the tank, the report added. 'We do not have any information about whether Indians are among the victims,' an Indian embassy official in Doha told IANS.

Qatar, also a home to around 600,000 expatriate Indians, many of them blue collar workers, is a small, wealthy Gulf Arab state with abundant reserves of natural gas and little violent crime or civil unrest, although concerns have been raised about building safety.



3 Malayalees among 12 killed in Qatar restaurant blast

 Doha: At least 12 people were killed and 30 injured when an explosion occurred at a restaurant located adjacent to a petrol station in Qatar's capital city of Doha Thursday morning, officials said. Of the 12 dead, three were Malayalees, Salim, Riyas and Zackariah. It is learnt that 4 Malayalees are missing.

All 12 reported killed were Asians or Arabs, said the head of Qatar's police force Maj Gen Saad al-Khulaifi, adding some of the injured were seriously hurt. Initial indications suggested a burst natural gas tank on top of a Turkish restaurant was to blame for the explosion, BBC reported.

The incident occurred shortly after 10.00 a.m. (7:00 GMT), near a petrol station and the popular Landmark Mall shopping centre. The force of the blast caused the partial collapse of the Istanbul Restaurant. It also sent shrapnel flying up to 50m (160ft) away, authorities said.

Though officials were treating the explosion as an accident, though it was unclear what ignited the tank, the report added. 'We do not have any information about whether Indians are among the victims,' an Indian embassy official in Doha told IANS.

Qatar, also a home to around 600,000 expatriate Indians, many of them blue collar workers, is a small, wealthy Gulf Arab state with abundant reserves of natural gas and little violent crime or civil unrest, although concerns have been raised about building safety.



Govt hikes DA by 10% for 80 lakh employees & pensioners


New Delhi : Government today raised dearness allowance to 100 per cent, from 90 per cent, benefiting its 50 lakh employees and 30 lakh pensioners. The decision to hike DA for its employees, and to provide dearness relief for pensioners, by 10 per cent to 100 per cent was taken by the Union Cabinet in its meeting held here.

'The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to hike Dearness allowance for its employees and dearness relief for its pensioners to 100 per cent in its meeting held here,' a source said. This increase in the dearness allowance by the UPA-2 government comes ahead of the imposition of the model code of conduct by the Election Commission.

The code is likely to come into force with the announcement of the schedule for the forthcoming general
elections in a week or so. Also it would be the second double digit DA hike in a row. The government had announced a hike of 10 per cent to 90 per cent in September last year, effective from July 1, 2013.
The new hike in DA would be effective from the January 1 this year.

As per practice, the government uses Consumer Price Index- Industrial Workers data of the past 12 months to arrive at a quantum for the purpose of any DA hike. Thus, the retail inflation for industrial workers between January 1 to December 31, 2013 was used to take a final call on the matter.

According to the provisional data released by government on January 31, the retail inflation for factory workers in December was 9.13 per cent. The revised retail inflation data for December (rpt) December is scheduled to be released today.An official had said earlier that the preliminary assessment suggests that DA hike will not be less than 10 per cent and would be effective from January 1. PTI

Govt hikes DA by 10% for 80 lakh employees & pensioners


New Delhi : Government today raised dearness allowance to 100 per cent, from 90 per cent, benefiting its 50 lakh employees and 30 lakh pensioners. The decision to hike DA for its employees, and to provide dearness relief for pensioners, by 10 per cent to 100 per cent was taken by the Union Cabinet in its meeting held here.

'The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to hike Dearness allowance for its employees and dearness relief for its pensioners to 100 per cent in its meeting held here,' a source said. This increase in the dearness allowance by the UPA-2 government comes ahead of the imposition of the model code of conduct by the Election Commission.

The code is likely to come into force with the announcement of the schedule for the forthcoming general
elections in a week or so. Also it would be the second double digit DA hike in a row. The government had announced a hike of 10 per cent to 90 per cent in September last year, effective from July 1, 2013.
The new hike in DA would be effective from the January 1 this year.

As per practice, the government uses Consumer Price Index- Industrial Workers data of the past 12 months to arrive at a quantum for the purpose of any DA hike. Thus, the retail inflation for industrial workers between January 1 to December 31, 2013 was used to take a final call on the matter.

According to the provisional data released by government on January 31, the retail inflation for factory workers in December was 9.13 per cent. The revised retail inflation data for December (rpt) December is scheduled to be released today.An official had said earlier that the preliminary assessment suggests that DA hike will not be less than 10 per cent and would be effective from January 1. PTI

2014, ഫെബ്രുവരി 26, ബുധനാഴ്‌ച

Trooper shoots five colleagues, kills self in Kashmir

Srinagar: A trooper shot dead five of his colleagues and then turned the gun on himself in north's Kashmir Ganderbal district, sources said Thursday. Police sources told IANS that an angry trooper of the Rashtriya Rifles went berserk inside the Safapora (Manasbal) camp in the district, 35 kilometres from here, following a heated argument with his colleagues. 'He resorted to indiscriminate firing resulting in the death of five Rashtriya Rifles troopers. 'After the firing, the irate trooper shot and killed himself,' police said.

Trooper shoots five colleagues, kills self in Kashmir

Srinagar: A trooper shot dead five of his colleagues and then turned the gun on himself in north's Kashmir Ganderbal district, sources said Thursday. Police sources told IANS that an angry trooper of the Rashtriya Rifles went berserk inside the Safapora (Manasbal) camp in the district, 35 kilometres from here, following a heated argument with his colleagues. 'He resorted to indiscriminate firing resulting in the death of five Rashtriya Rifles troopers. 'After the firing, the irate trooper shot and killed himself,' police said.

FBI source had contact with Osama bin Laden in 1993: report

Washington: The FBI placed a source in direct contact with Osama bin Laden in 1993 and ascertained that the al-Qaeda leader was looking to finance terror attacks in the US, according to a media report.
The information the FBI gleaned back then was so specific that it helped thwart a terrorist plot against a Masonic lodge in Los Angeles, according to a court testimony in a little - noticed employment dispute case cited by The Washington Times.

'It was the only source I know in the bureau where we had a source right in al-Qaeda, directly involved,' Edward J Curran, a former top official in the FBI's Los Angeles office, told the court in support of a discrimination lawsuit filed against the bureau by his former agent Bassem Youssef.This information is missing from the official investigations of the September 11, 2001, the report in the Times said.

Curran gave the testimony in 2010 to an essentially empty courtroom, and thus it escaped notice from the media or terrorism specialists.The Times was recently alerted to the existence of the testimony while working on a broader report about al-Qaeda's origins.

Members of the September 11 commission, congressional intelligence committees and terrorism analysts told daily they are floored that the information is just now emerging publicly and that it raises questions about what else Americans might not have been told about the origins of al- Qaeda and its early interest in attacking the United States.

'I think it raises a lot of questions about why that information didn't become public and why the 9/11 Commission or the congressional intelligence committees weren't told about,' said former Representative Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Republican, who chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 2004 to 2007 when lawmakers dealt with the fallout from the 9/11 Commission's official report.

Exactly how the information was omitted from the various congressional reviews and the 9/11 Commission report is a mystery, the report said.As the case played out in federal court in 2010, Curran testified in Youssef's favour, methodically telling the court about the agent's many successes during the early 1990s when the US government's unofficial war on terrorism was just beginning.

Those successes included thwarting specific terrorist attacks, including one on a British cruise liner and another that targeted the Los Angeles area, Curran testified.The former supervisor testified that Youssef developed a confidential source connected to the infamous 'Blind Sheik,' Omar Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and that he managed to send that source overseas and meet personally with bin Laden.

The source was very close to the leadership of al-Qaeda, which was then known as the Islamic Group. The one source came back, had direct contact with bin Laden, Curran testified.Eventually, the plot to blow up the Los Angeles target was diffused based on information the source provided the FBI, according to the court testimony and other FBI documents.
.

FBI source had contact with Osama bin Laden in 1993: report

Washington: The FBI placed a source in direct contact with Osama bin Laden in 1993 and ascertained that the al-Qaeda leader was looking to finance terror attacks in the US, according to a media report.
The information the FBI gleaned back then was so specific that it helped thwart a terrorist plot against a Masonic lodge in Los Angeles, according to a court testimony in a little - noticed employment dispute case cited by The Washington Times.

'It was the only source I know in the bureau where we had a source right in al-Qaeda, directly involved,' Edward J Curran, a former top official in the FBI's Los Angeles office, told the court in support of a discrimination lawsuit filed against the bureau by his former agent Bassem Youssef.This information is missing from the official investigations of the September 11, 2001, the report in the Times said.

Curran gave the testimony in 2010 to an essentially empty courtroom, and thus it escaped notice from the media or terrorism specialists.The Times was recently alerted to the existence of the testimony while working on a broader report about al-Qaeda's origins.

Members of the September 11 commission, congressional intelligence committees and terrorism analysts told daily they are floored that the information is just now emerging publicly and that it raises questions about what else Americans might not have been told about the origins of al- Qaeda and its early interest in attacking the United States.

'I think it raises a lot of questions about why that information didn't become public and why the 9/11 Commission or the congressional intelligence committees weren't told about,' said former Representative Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Republican, who chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 2004 to 2007 when lawmakers dealt with the fallout from the 9/11 Commission's official report.

Exactly how the information was omitted from the various congressional reviews and the 9/11 Commission report is a mystery, the report said.As the case played out in federal court in 2010, Curran testified in Youssef's favour, methodically telling the court about the agent's many successes during the early 1990s when the US government's unofficial war on terrorism was just beginning.

Those successes included thwarting specific terrorist attacks, including one on a British cruise liner and another that targeted the Los Angeles area, Curran testified.The former supervisor testified that Youssef developed a confidential source connected to the infamous 'Blind Sheik,' Omar Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and that he managed to send that source overseas and meet personally with bin Laden.

The source was very close to the leadership of al-Qaeda, which was then known as the Islamic Group. The one source came back, had direct contact with bin Laden, Curran testified.Eventually, the plot to blow up the Los Angeles target was diffused based on information the source provided the FBI, according to the court testimony and other FBI documents.
.

Saudi crown prince arrives in India


New Delhi: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived here Wednesday on a three-day official visit during which the two countries are expected to sign an agreement on defence and enhance cooperation in hydrocarbons and security. Vice-president Hamid Ansari received Crown Prince Salman on his arrival. 

Crown Prince Salman's is the highest level political visit from the kingdom after the January 2006 landmark trip by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. The crown prince, 78, who is the next in line to the throne and is the deputy prime minister and defence minister, will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also hold talks with the vice president, who is a former Indian envoy to Saudi Arabia. 

The two countries were expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on defence for greater exchange of information and training. Also on the cards is enhancing cooperation in areas ranging from hydrocarbons to security. The two countries are also eager to work together in curbing money laundering and drug trafficking.

Saudi Arabia sees India as an attractive investment hub for its business interests in Asia and seeks Indian investments in areas such as consultancy, construction, telecom, information technology and pharmaceuticals. This will be Crown Prince Salman's second visit to India. He came in April 2010 when he was governor of Riyadh province.

An official visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Riyadh in 2010 and the Riyadh Declaration signed Feb 28, 2010, elevated the bilateral engagement to 'strategic partnership' covering security, economic, defence and political areas. 'The visit is set to give a major boost to bilateral ties, as the two countries are expected to sign agreements and hold talks to boost cooperation in areas such as defence, trade, investment and energy,' said Mridul Kumar, joint secretary (Gulf) to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest partner with bilateral trade of over $43 billion in 2012-13. Saudi Arabia is also India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for about one-fifth of total imports in 2012-13. Indians form the largest expatriate community in Saudi Arabia with about 2.88 million Indian nationals working there.

Saudi crown prince arrives in India


New Delhi: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived here Wednesday on a three-day official visit during which the two countries are expected to sign an agreement on defence and enhance cooperation in hydrocarbons and security. Vice-president Hamid Ansari received Crown Prince Salman on his arrival. 

Crown Prince Salman's is the highest level political visit from the kingdom after the January 2006 landmark trip by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. The crown prince, 78, who is the next in line to the throne and is the deputy prime minister and defence minister, will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also hold talks with the vice president, who is a former Indian envoy to Saudi Arabia. 

The two countries were expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on defence for greater exchange of information and training. Also on the cards is enhancing cooperation in areas ranging from hydrocarbons to security. The two countries are also eager to work together in curbing money laundering and drug trafficking.

Saudi Arabia sees India as an attractive investment hub for its business interests in Asia and seeks Indian investments in areas such as consultancy, construction, telecom, information technology and pharmaceuticals. This will be Crown Prince Salman's second visit to India. He came in April 2010 when he was governor of Riyadh province.

An official visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Riyadh in 2010 and the Riyadh Declaration signed Feb 28, 2010, elevated the bilateral engagement to 'strategic partnership' covering security, economic, defence and political areas. 'The visit is set to give a major boost to bilateral ties, as the two countries are expected to sign agreements and hold talks to boost cooperation in areas such as defence, trade, investment and energy,' said Mridul Kumar, joint secretary (Gulf) to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest partner with bilateral trade of over $43 billion in 2012-13. Saudi Arabia is also India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for about one-fifth of total imports in 2012-13. Indians form the largest expatriate community in Saudi Arabia with about 2.88 million Indian nationals working there.

Astronomers find a trove of hundreds of small planets

Nearly a year after a pointing system failure ended the main planet-hunting mission of NASA's Kepler spacecraft, planets continue to pour out of the sky. Kepler astronomers still combing their vast data archive announced Wednesday in a news conference and a pair of journal papers that they had verified the existence of 715 more planets orbiting other stars.

It was the largest single-day haul of exoplanets, as such objects are called, since the first such planet was discovered in 1995, bringing the overall total to about 1,700. 'Today we almost doubled the number of planets known to humanity,' said Jack J. Lissauer of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

He and Jason Rowe of the SETI Institute, in Mountain View, Calif., are each the lead author of a paper to be published in The Astrophysical Journal detailing the findings. They discussed their work in a telephone news conference hosted by NASA.

The new planets were culled from 3,601 candidates previously found by Kepler, using a new statistical technique known as verification by multiplicity. The method vastly reduces the need for outside telescopic observations to verify suspected planets in batches. It works only for multiple-planet systems, but as Lissauer and his colleagues pointed out, that includes about 40 percent of the Kepler candidates.

The result is a deluge of small planets that has tipped the cosmic balance from the giant Jupiter-size worlds that were the earliest discovered to smaller, friendlier worlds. 'Small planets from the size of Neptune to Earth make up the majority of the planets in the galaxy,' said Douglas Hudgins, exoplanet program scientist at NASA headquarters.

The planets in the new set are divided among 305 stars. About 95 percent, according to Rowe, are two to four times the size of Earth, a range conspicuously absent in our solar system. Because we have no local examples, astronomers do not know what planets of this size might be like - rocky like Earth or gassy like Neptune.

Four of the newfound planets orbit in the so-called habitable zones of small stars, where temperatures on a planet like our own would be moderate enough for water and thus the kind of life we know. Sara Seager, a planetary expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the new analysis, said the data reinforced Kepler's major finding: The Milky Way is brimming with small planets that could be friendly to life. 'This is a boon for any future habitable-zone planet-finding mission,' Seager said.

Kepler seeks planets by the blink method, looking for the dimming of stars' light caused by planets passing in front of them. While this method can tell the sizes and orbits of planets, it is prone to false positives because of confusion with background binary stars, among other things. It also cannot tell the masses and thus the densities and compositions of the worlds it detects, requiring outside observations with other telescopes to confirm their planethood.

The idea behind verification by multiplicity, which has been long in development, as Lissauer explained it, is that the false positives should be randomly distributed around the 160,000 stars that Kepler observes, resulting in the appearance of only a few, if any, multiple systems. The fact that they are instead stuck on 400 or so particular stars suggests that those systems are real. He put the odds that one of these was a mistake at about one part in a thousand.

There is more to come, the astronomers said. The present results are based on a statistical analysis of only the first two years of Kepler data. There are two more years' worth to go, and several hundred more planets are likely to be verified. 'Kepler is the gift that keeps on giving,' Seager said.

The New York Times


Astronomers find a trove of hundreds of small planets

Nearly a year after a pointing system failure ended the main planet-hunting mission of NASA's Kepler spacecraft, planets continue to pour out of the sky. Kepler astronomers still combing their vast data archive announced Wednesday in a news conference and a pair of journal papers that they had verified the existence of 715 more planets orbiting other stars.

It was the largest single-day haul of exoplanets, as such objects are called, since the first such planet was discovered in 1995, bringing the overall total to about 1,700. 'Today we almost doubled the number of planets known to humanity,' said Jack J. Lissauer of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

He and Jason Rowe of the SETI Institute, in Mountain View, Calif., are each the lead author of a paper to be published in The Astrophysical Journal detailing the findings. They discussed their work in a telephone news conference hosted by NASA.

The new planets were culled from 3,601 candidates previously found by Kepler, using a new statistical technique known as verification by multiplicity. The method vastly reduces the need for outside telescopic observations to verify suspected planets in batches. It works only for multiple-planet systems, but as Lissauer and his colleagues pointed out, that includes about 40 percent of the Kepler candidates.

The result is a deluge of small planets that has tipped the cosmic balance from the giant Jupiter-size worlds that were the earliest discovered to smaller, friendlier worlds. 'Small planets from the size of Neptune to Earth make up the majority of the planets in the galaxy,' said Douglas Hudgins, exoplanet program scientist at NASA headquarters.

The planets in the new set are divided among 305 stars. About 95 percent, according to Rowe, are two to four times the size of Earth, a range conspicuously absent in our solar system. Because we have no local examples, astronomers do not know what planets of this size might be like - rocky like Earth or gassy like Neptune.

Four of the newfound planets orbit in the so-called habitable zones of small stars, where temperatures on a planet like our own would be moderate enough for water and thus the kind of life we know. Sara Seager, a planetary expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the new analysis, said the data reinforced Kepler's major finding: The Milky Way is brimming with small planets that could be friendly to life. 'This is a boon for any future habitable-zone planet-finding mission,' Seager said.

Kepler seeks planets by the blink method, looking for the dimming of stars' light caused by planets passing in front of them. While this method can tell the sizes and orbits of planets, it is prone to false positives because of confusion with background binary stars, among other things. It also cannot tell the masses and thus the densities and compositions of the worlds it detects, requiring outside observations with other telescopes to confirm their planethood.

The idea behind verification by multiplicity, which has been long in development, as Lissauer explained it, is that the false positives should be randomly distributed around the 160,000 stars that Kepler observes, resulting in the appearance of only a few, if any, multiple systems. The fact that they are instead stuck on 400 or so particular stars suggests that those systems are real. He put the odds that one of these was a mistake at about one part in a thousand.

There is more to come, the astronomers said. The present results are based on a statistical analysis of only the first two years of Kepler data. There are two more years' worth to go, and several hundred more planets are likely to be verified. 'Kepler is the gift that keeps on giving,' Seager said.

The New York Times


Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi resigns

New delhi: Navy Chief Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi resigned hours after the submarine accident off the shore of Mumbai this morning. The Defence Ministry has accepted his resignation. Vice Admiral R K Dhawan has been appointed as the new Navy chief. Wednesday morning, seven sailors were injured and two officers were missing after the accident on board Indian Navy submarine INS Sindhuratna. The submarine is heading back to shore after it was forced to surface when smoke was detected on board.

The injured sailors, who fell unconscious from suffocation, were airlifted to a Navy hospital in Mumbai. Reports suggest that a fire may have broken out on the vessel.The INS Sindhuratna was being sea tested after a refit, about 40 to 50 km off the Mumbai coast when the smoke was detected. The senior-most submarine officer of the Western Naval Command was on board.In August last year, Navy submarine INS Sindhurakshak sank in the Mumbai harbour after an explosion on board, killing 18 sailors.

Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi resigns

New delhi: Navy Chief Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi resigned hours after the submarine accident off the shore of Mumbai this morning. The Defence Ministry has accepted his resignation. Vice Admiral R K Dhawan has been appointed as the new Navy chief. Wednesday morning, seven sailors were injured and two officers were missing after the accident on board Indian Navy submarine INS Sindhuratna. The submarine is heading back to shore after it was forced to surface when smoke was detected on board.

The injured sailors, who fell unconscious from suffocation, were airlifted to a Navy hospital in Mumbai. Reports suggest that a fire may have broken out on the vessel.The INS Sindhuratna was being sea tested after a refit, about 40 to 50 km off the Mumbai coast when the smoke was detected. The senior-most submarine officer of the Western Naval Command was on board.In August last year, Navy submarine INS Sindhurakshak sank in the Mumbai harbour after an explosion on board, killing 18 sailors.

Submarine mishap: Seven Indian sailors hurt, two missing

Mumbai/New Delhi: Seven Indian Navy personnel were injured and at least two went missing Wednesday after smoke filled a compartment in the INS Sindhuratna submarine that was underwater, official sources said here. There were 94 sailors on board the submarine when smoke was reported in the sailors' accommodation early Wednesday, about 50 nautical miles (80 km) in the Arabian Sea.

Seven sailors were airlifted by helicopter and shifted in an unconscious state to the naval hospital, INS Asvini, in south Mumbai early Wednesday. Two more sailors who were on board the submarine, remain "unaccounted for" or are missing and a search for them has been launched.

The remaining sailors, including Commodore Commanding Submarine (West) S.R. Kapur, are engaged in the rescue operations. Kapur is in-charge of all the submarines under the Western Naval Command here. Officials suspect that the two "unaccounted for" officials may have been trapped in one of the sealed compartments of the vessel.

A Western Naval Command release said the submarine was "at sea off Mumbai for routine training and workup (inspection)". "While at sea in the early hours of Feb 26, 2014, smoke was reported in the sailors' accommodation, in compartment number three, by the submarine. Smoke was brought under control by the submarine's crew," it said. 

The release said that in the process of controlling the smoke, seven crew members inhaled smoke "and felt uneasy". A helicopter with medical team was sent and the seven crew members were transferred to naval hospital INS Asvini.  "All specialist medical officers attended and reported that the crew is safe. Naval ships were dispatched by HQWNC (Headquarters, Western Naval Command) and are in the area to provide assistance to the submarine. Two personnel have not yet been located and all efforts are in progress to locate them," the release said. 

It said all other crew of the submarine "are on board and safe".  The release said that submarine was also safe and did not have any weapons on board. It will return to harbour shortly. Preliminary reports suggest that the toxic smoke may have been caused either due to a fire or a leakage in one of the hydrogen batteries on the vessel. Refitted and renovated in Mumbai last December, the INS Sindhuratna was on a training exercise to familiarize the crew with operations of the Russian built vessel.

The vessel was underwater at the time of the incident and it was not fitted with weapons of any kind as it was on a training and familiarization mission. The Indian Navy has ordered an inquiry into the incident - the tenth in recent times - which has hit its elite fleet of submarines. The biggest accident involved the fire on the INS Sindhurakshak and the subsequent sinking of the submarine in the Mumbai harbour Aug 14 last year, killing all 18 personnel aboard.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony earlier this month expressed concern over the accidents suffered by the navy over the past few months. Antony said that even one accident was "serious" for him and there was need to strictly follow standard operating procedures and draw proper lessons. He also said he cannot give the navy "100 percent satisfaction certificate". There have been a string of navy accidents.

INS Talwar, a frigate, collided with a fishing vessel last year. A fire broke out on INS Konkan at the dry dock in Visakhapatnam in December 2013 when it was in the dry dock for maintenance.  And INS Betwa, also a frigate, suffered damage in January. INS Vindhyagiri, a Nilgiri class frigate, sank after it caught fire when it collided with a merchant vessel near the Mumbai harbour in 2011.

Submarine mishap: Seven Indian sailors hurt, two missing

Mumbai/New Delhi: Seven Indian Navy personnel were injured and at least two went missing Wednesday after smoke filled a compartment in the INS Sindhuratna submarine that was underwater, official sources said here. There were 94 sailors on board the submarine when smoke was reported in the sailors' accommodation early Wednesday, about 50 nautical miles (80 km) in the Arabian Sea.

Seven sailors were airlifted by helicopter and shifted in an unconscious state to the naval hospital, INS Asvini, in south Mumbai early Wednesday. Two more sailors who were on board the submarine, remain "unaccounted for" or are missing and a search for them has been launched.

The remaining sailors, including Commodore Commanding Submarine (West) S.R. Kapur, are engaged in the rescue operations. Kapur is in-charge of all the submarines under the Western Naval Command here. Officials suspect that the two "unaccounted for" officials may have been trapped in one of the sealed compartments of the vessel.

A Western Naval Command release said the submarine was "at sea off Mumbai for routine training and workup (inspection)". "While at sea in the early hours of Feb 26, 2014, smoke was reported in the sailors' accommodation, in compartment number three, by the submarine. Smoke was brought under control by the submarine's crew," it said. 

The release said that in the process of controlling the smoke, seven crew members inhaled smoke "and felt uneasy". A helicopter with medical team was sent and the seven crew members were transferred to naval hospital INS Asvini.  "All specialist medical officers attended and reported that the crew is safe. Naval ships were dispatched by HQWNC (Headquarters, Western Naval Command) and are in the area to provide assistance to the submarine. Two personnel have not yet been located and all efforts are in progress to locate them," the release said. 

It said all other crew of the submarine "are on board and safe".  The release said that submarine was also safe and did not have any weapons on board. It will return to harbour shortly. Preliminary reports suggest that the toxic smoke may have been caused either due to a fire or a leakage in one of the hydrogen batteries on the vessel. Refitted and renovated in Mumbai last December, the INS Sindhuratna was on a training exercise to familiarize the crew with operations of the Russian built vessel.

The vessel was underwater at the time of the incident and it was not fitted with weapons of any kind as it was on a training and familiarization mission. The Indian Navy has ordered an inquiry into the incident - the tenth in recent times - which has hit its elite fleet of submarines. The biggest accident involved the fire on the INS Sindhurakshak and the subsequent sinking of the submarine in the Mumbai harbour Aug 14 last year, killing all 18 personnel aboard.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony earlier this month expressed concern over the accidents suffered by the navy over the past few months. Antony said that even one accident was "serious" for him and there was need to strictly follow standard operating procedures and draw proper lessons. He also said he cannot give the navy "100 percent satisfaction certificate". There have been a string of navy accidents.

INS Talwar, a frigate, collided with a fishing vessel last year. A fire broke out on INS Konkan at the dry dock in Visakhapatnam in December 2013 when it was in the dry dock for maintenance.  And INS Betwa, also a frigate, suffered damage in January. INS Vindhyagiri, a Nilgiri class frigate, sank after it caught fire when it collided with a merchant vessel near the Mumbai harbour in 2011.

2014, ഫെബ്രുവരി 25, ചൊവ്വാഴ്ച

Samsung Galaxy S5 with fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor launched

Samsung on Monday unveiled a new smartphone with a built-in heart rate monitor to complement three upcoming fitness devices, as the Korean companies tries to turn its technological wizardry into lifestyle products that matter.

The new Galaxy S5 phone has a slightly larger screen than its predecessor, at 5.1-inches (12.95 cm) diagonally instead of 5-inches in the S4. But the size increases have slowed down compared with previous jumps. Rather, Samsung is focusing on other parts of the phone. The screen itself adapts to changing external conditions and gives you an option to dim it when you don't want to disturb others near you.

The phone has a 16-megapixel camera, sharper than the 13-megapixels in its predecessor. It promises faster auto focus. The device itself is also water resistant. 'Our consumers do not want eye-popping technology or the most complex technology,' said J.K. Shin, Samsung's head of information technology and the mobile communications division. 'They want durable design and performance.'

Samsung Electronics Co. is also unveiling a fitness band, Gear Fit, to complement two new computerized watches announced Sunday. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, made the latest announcement during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Samsung's Galaxy S series has emerged as one of the strongest challengers to Apple's iPhones and has helped the Korean company surpass Apple as the world's largest smartphone maker. According to Gartner, Samsung's smartphones had a worldwide market share of 31 percent last year, compared with 16 percent for Apple's iPhones.

One of the main appeals is the phone's screen size. It has steadily increased since the 4 inches on the original S from 2010. The iPhone's screen has stayed at 4 inches since 2012. Colors on Samsung screens also appear richer because it uses organic light-emitting diodes, rather than a standard LCD found elsewhere.One of the main appeals is the phone's screen size. It has steadily increased since the 4 inches on the original S from 2010. The iPhone's screen has stayed at 4 inches since 2012. Colors on Samsung screens also appear richer because it uses organic light-emitting diodes, rather than a standard LCD found elsewhere.

Samsung Galaxy S5 with fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor launched

Samsung on Monday unveiled a new smartphone with a built-in heart rate monitor to complement three upcoming fitness devices, as the Korean companies tries to turn its technological wizardry into lifestyle products that matter.

The new Galaxy S5 phone has a slightly larger screen than its predecessor, at 5.1-inches (12.95 cm) diagonally instead of 5-inches in the S4. But the size increases have slowed down compared with previous jumps. Rather, Samsung is focusing on other parts of the phone. The screen itself adapts to changing external conditions and gives you an option to dim it when you don't want to disturb others near you.

The phone has a 16-megapixel camera, sharper than the 13-megapixels in its predecessor. It promises faster auto focus. The device itself is also water resistant. 'Our consumers do not want eye-popping technology or the most complex technology,' said J.K. Shin, Samsung's head of information technology and the mobile communications division. 'They want durable design and performance.'

Samsung Electronics Co. is also unveiling a fitness band, Gear Fit, to complement two new computerized watches announced Sunday. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, made the latest announcement during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Samsung's Galaxy S series has emerged as one of the strongest challengers to Apple's iPhones and has helped the Korean company surpass Apple as the world's largest smartphone maker. According to Gartner, Samsung's smartphones had a worldwide market share of 31 percent last year, compared with 16 percent for Apple's iPhones.

One of the main appeals is the phone's screen size. It has steadily increased since the 4 inches on the original S from 2010. The iPhone's screen has stayed at 4 inches since 2012. Colors on Samsung screens also appear richer because it uses organic light-emitting diodes, rather than a standard LCD found elsewhere.One of the main appeals is the phone's screen size. It has steadily increased since the 4 inches on the original S from 2010. The iPhone's screen has stayed at 4 inches since 2012. Colors on Samsung screens also appear richer because it uses organic light-emitting diodes, rather than a standard LCD found elsewhere.

SC refers euthanasia plea to constitution bench

New Delhi: The Supreme court Tuesday referred to the constitiution bench a plea for voluntary passive euthanasia in the case of a person who is terminally ill and in medical opinion there is little hope of revival and recovery. Referring the matter to the constitution bench, the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam said an earlier judgement of the court on voluntary passive euthanasia in Aruna Shanbaug's case did lay down a certain procedure but it was not clear. Chief Justice Sathasivam pronouncing the judgement said that they are not making any references and leaving it for the constitution bench to examine the whole issue exhaustively in all its dimensions.

SC refers euthanasia plea to constitution bench

New Delhi: The Supreme court Tuesday referred to the constitiution bench a plea for voluntary passive euthanasia in the case of a person who is terminally ill and in medical opinion there is little hope of revival and recovery. Referring the matter to the constitution bench, the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam said an earlier judgement of the court on voluntary passive euthanasia in Aruna Shanbaug's case did lay down a certain procedure but it was not clear. Chief Justice Sathasivam pronouncing the judgement said that they are not making any references and leaving it for the constitution bench to examine the whole issue exhaustively in all its dimensions.

$300 toothbrush tells your friends that your teeth are shining


Barcelona: The world's first smart toothbrush was unveiled on Monday, allowing you to improve your dental hygiene while sharing the results online with your dentist or to impress your friends. Dental cleaning sessions last two minutes, divided into four 30-second segments, one for each corner of your mouth.

Shown off on the opening day of the four-day World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the brush is connected by Bluetooth wireless technology to your smartphone, and thus to the network. 'It is a world first,' said Michael Cohen-Dumani, head of Procter & Gamble's Oral-B brand, which plans to sell the product in Europe, the United States and Asia from June.

Sold for 219 euros ($300), the brush relays your toothbrushing activity to an application on the smartphone, recording whether you respect the two-minute rule and whether you brush hard, but not too hard. If the results are satisfactory, a message appears on your smartphone: 'Congratulations: your teeth are shining.'

It also lets you share the information on social networks or directly with your dentist. 'Today we can see the smartphone's potential to change people's habits,' Cohen-Dumani told AFP.'It is really that trend towards the 'quantified self'', the desire to record everything, to follow your sports activities, the calories you consume or what you spend, thanks to new technologies.

The world's largest mobile fair is a showcase for that trend, with smartphone markers unveiling an array of smart watches and bracelets that can count your steps or track your heart rate, and even wifi-connected scales to keep an eye on your weight. Larger objects, too, are getting hooked up to the network, from cars and fridges to a shop dressing room that lets you ask for new sizes and colours to try on without leaving the cabin. AFP





$300 toothbrush tells your friends that your teeth are shining


Barcelona: The world's first smart toothbrush was unveiled on Monday, allowing you to improve your dental hygiene while sharing the results online with your dentist or to impress your friends. Dental cleaning sessions last two minutes, divided into four 30-second segments, one for each corner of your mouth.

Shown off on the opening day of the four-day World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the brush is connected by Bluetooth wireless technology to your smartphone, and thus to the network. 'It is a world first,' said Michael Cohen-Dumani, head of Procter & Gamble's Oral-B brand, which plans to sell the product in Europe, the United States and Asia from June.

Sold for 219 euros ($300), the brush relays your toothbrushing activity to an application on the smartphone, recording whether you respect the two-minute rule and whether you brush hard, but not too hard. If the results are satisfactory, a message appears on your smartphone: 'Congratulations: your teeth are shining.'

It also lets you share the information on social networks or directly with your dentist. 'Today we can see the smartphone's potential to change people's habits,' Cohen-Dumani told AFP.'It is really that trend towards the 'quantified self'', the desire to record everything, to follow your sports activities, the calories you consume or what you spend, thanks to new technologies.

The world's largest mobile fair is a showcase for that trend, with smartphone markers unveiling an array of smart watches and bracelets that can count your steps or track your heart rate, and even wifi-connected scales to keep an eye on your weight. Larger objects, too, are getting hooked up to the network, from cars and fridges to a shop dressing room that lets you ask for new sizes and colours to try on without leaving the cabin. AFP