12 killed, 45 injured in train collision near Gorakhpur

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Gorakhpur: At least 12 persons were killed and 45 injured when a speeding passenger train allegedly jumped signal and collided with another train which was taking a turn on a loop line near here last night.

The Maduadeeh-Lucknow Krishak Express hit Barauni bound express train from Lucknow from the side while it was on the loop line at Nandanagar railway crossing, about seven kilometers from here, at around 11 PM, Chief Public Relation Officer of North- Eastern Railway Alok Kumar Singh told PTI today.

Three coaches of Barauni Express were badly damaged in the collision.

12 passengers have died in the accident, Singh said adding the Loco pilot of Krishak Express Ram Bahadur and assistant Loco pilot Satyajeet have been suspended for allegedly overshooting the signal.

"Prima facie it appears the Krishak Express was supposed to stop, but it overshot the signal," he said. The train was going towards Lucknow while Barauni express was coming from the state capital.

45 passengers were injured in the accident and condition of 12 was stated to be serious, the official said.

"An inquiry has been ordered by the railway under Commissioner Rail Safety P K Bajpai to ascertain the cause of the incident," another spokesman Anil Saxena said.

The CPRO said that Rapid Action Force, Gorkha Regiment and railway police have reached the spot and started the rescue work.

The injured have been admitted at different hospitals in Gorakhpur.

The railway has also set up helpline for inquiries for various cities -- Gorakhpur (05513303365, 09794846980), Lucknow (05222233042), Chhapra (09006693233) and Benares (09919041978), the spokesperson said.

Movement of trains on Gorakhpur-Varanasi track was disrupted following the incident and few trains have been diverted.

Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda has expressed "profound grief" over the loss of lives and announced compensation for the victims.

An enhanced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh will be given to the families of the deceased, Rs one lakh for grievously injured and Rs 20,000 for those sustaining simple injuries, a railway official said.

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

Thousands of children orphaned by Ebola: UNICEF

Wednesday 01 October 2014 08:38 AM IST

byAgencies

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A girl is taken to an ambulance after showing signs of Ebola infection in Liberia. Photo: AP

United Nations: At least 3,700 children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have lost one or both parents to Ebola since the start of the outbreak in West Africa, according to preliminary estimates by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which was released here Monday, and many are being rejected by their surviving relatives for fear of infection.

"Thousands of children are living through the deaths of their mother, father or family members from Ebola," said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF's regional director for West and Central Africa, who just returned from a two-week visit to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries hardest hit by the Ebola crisis in West Africa, where more than 3,000 people have been killed since the outbreak early this year.

"These children urgently need special attention and support; yet many of them feel unwanted and even abandoned," he said. "Orphans are usually taken in by a member of the extended family, but in some communities, the fear surrounding Ebola is becoming stronger than family ties," Xinhua quoted Fontaine as saying.

As the death toll from Ebola continues to rise, preliminary reports from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone suggest that the number of children orphaned by Ebola has spiked in the past few weeks and is likely to double by mid-October, UNICEF said.

Ebola is also exacting a heavy emotional toll on children, especially when they or their parents have to be isolated for treatment. 

As it accelerates its Ebola response, UNICEF is looking at traditional and new ways to help provide children with the physical and emotional healing they need. 

In Liberia, UNICEF is helping the government train 400 additional mental health and social workers. UNICEF is also working with local authorities in the most affected counties to help strengthen family and community support to children affected by Ebola and provide care to those who have been rejected by their communities or whose families have died.

Over the next six months more than 2,500 Ebola survivors -- now immune to the disease -- will be trained in Sierra Leone to provide care and support to quarantined children in treatment centers.

UNICEF is also working with partners to reunite separated children with their families through an extensive family tracing network across the country which also provides children with psychosocial support.

In Guinea, UNICEF and partners will provide about 60,000 vulnerable children and families in Ebola-affected communities with psychosocial support.

UNICEF appealed for $200 million to provide emergency assistance to children and families affected by the Ebola outbreak across the region, including protection activities. So far, UNICEF has only received 25 percent of this amount. 

Jayalalithaa bail plea adjourned to Oct 6

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Bangalore: The criminal revision petition of jailed former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa for suspension of her sentence and bail was Tuesday adjourned to Oct 6 by the judge of a vacation bench of the Karnataka High Court here.

427 subjected to sexual abuse over seven months

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KOTTAYAM: As many as 427 children were subjected to sexual abuse over the past seven months, according to Crime Records Bureau’s statistics. Most of these incidents lead to the murder of the victims.  

In the first three months of the current year, 184 cases of child abuse were reported in several police stations across the State. And now, the number of cases is 427.

In the period between 2008 and 2013, the maximum number of cases was noticed in 2013. In 791 cases of that year, the victims were minors.

This year, the total number of child related cases are 1336 and out of that 69 were kidnapping cases and 23 were murders.

Rajnath Singh Offers Prayers at Padmanabhaswamy Temple

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today offered prayers at the famous Sree Padmanabha swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

Singh spent about 45 minutes in the temple. He was accompanied by former BJP State President P K Krishnadas and local leaders.

Singh was received at the temple by Additional District Judge K Indira, who is heading the administrative set up of the temple, and senior officials.

Life span of Mangalyaan may be extended to 1 year

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Thiruvananthapuram: Expressing satisfaction over the success of the Mars Orbiter Mission, K.Sivan, director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Valiamala near Thiruvananthapuram said on Friday the life of the orbiter may be extended to one year from the planned six months.

“The life of the satellite was planned for six months. What we understand now is that it may go to one year,” he said while interacting with media during a felicitation ceremony organised by the Press Club in Thiruvananthapuram to honour a group of scientists of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), which played a significant role in the Mars mission.

“We are not keen to keep the orbit in a precision mode and the aim is to keep the satellite active and make use of the last gram of propellant,” Sivan said. Regarding the criticism to the Mars Mission Project, he said it was not just for taking photographs of the red planet.

“It is a prospect given to the younger generation. It is an opportunity and challenge for them. When you have anything before you to challenge, then only you can go forward,” he said.

“The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) started with a rocket launch which has now become a pioneer and every citizen is now linked to one way or other to space applications”, Sivan said, adding, so the present Mars mission was also for future generation.

The contribution of LPSC, which built the crucial Liquid Apogee Motor for Mangalyaan, was more significant in the mission than the other centres of Isro, he said.

“Mangalyaan is a fully satisfied mission. The accuracy we achieved was very high. It placed India in the top of the map of world space science,” he added.

Sivan said the space agency was also working on a technology that can send man to the moon. “We are also developing capability and technology for manned mission to moon. We have a policy and we will do it when we mature on it,” he said.

The scientist said the most complex part of the mission was to keep an engine idle for 300 days and make it activate after a long gap. N.R. Vishnu Kartha, associate director, LPSC, said the centre was working on to develop a higher capacity payload.

“Though we have limitations, if required, we can send a man also to the space. But we should have a more reliable vehicle if we want to send a man. Life supporting system also should be developed,” he said.

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State suspends buses to Tamil Nadu fearing protests -

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Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to suspend all its services to Tamil Nadu by terminating these close to the border.

The decision has been taken fearing protests and vandalism by people after a trial court held Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa guilty of amassing assets disproportionate to known sources of her income during 1991-96.

The nearest Kerala-Tamil Nadu border point is only 18 kms from the Thiruvananthapuram KSRTC bus stand in the capital city and a large number of the KSRTC buses are run for Nagercoil and Kanyakumari every day.

KSRTC operates buses to Tamil Nadu from the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Idukki and Palakkad.

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Violence erupts in Tamil Nadu after Jaya's conviction -

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Chennai: Violence broke out in several parts of Tamil Nadu Saturday after Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was convicted in a graft case with angry AIADMK supporters indulging in stone pelting and arson and forcing closure of shops.

Tension prevailed as protesters burnt effigies of DMK President M Karunanidhi, his sons M K Stalin and M K Alagiri and tore party posters in various places including in Chennai and Madurai.

While some protesters pelted stones at the residence of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, DMK and AIADMK supporters clashed at Gopalapuram here.

A state-owned transport corporation bus was set on fire at Veppur village and some 20 buses damaged in stone-pelting in Cuddalore district, police said.

Stone pelting incidents were reported in Ambattur here, Edapadi in Salem district, Cuddalore and in Srirangam, Jayalalithaa's assembly constituency, police said.

Shops and commercial establishments downed shutters in various parts of the state.

Protesters also damaged two-wheelers parked alongside roads in Madurai, they said.

In Chennai, effigies of DMK leaders were burnt in Poes Garden area.

In Madurai, AIADMK men blocked traffic and asked the shops and business houses to close their units.

Police said some shops were ransacked and stones pelted in Tiruchirapalli and Dindigul.

Security personnel in large numbers have been posted to maintain law and order, police said.

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Jayalalithaa first CM to face disqualification

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New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Saturday became the third leading politician and the first sitting chief minister to face disqualification as a legislator after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case.

A trial court in Bangalore Saturday convicted her in a disproportionate assets case filed by the former DMK government in 1996.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad was disqualified from his seat in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rasheed Masood from the Rajya Sabha in the wake of the July 2013 judgment of the Supreme court that denied the three-month breathing period to MPs and MLAs for moving a higher court against their conviction.

The elected representatives, both in the parliament and the state assemblies, lost the shield of three months to appeal against their conviction after sub-section 4 of section 8 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 was declared ultra vires by the apex court.

Masood was convicted last year of diverting nine seats of the undergraduate medical course reserved for Tripura while Lalu Prasad was convicted in the fodder scam case last year.

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Jayalalithaa convicted in disproportionate assets case -

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

Bangalore/Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was convicted Saturday in a Rs.66 crore disproportionate asset case by a special court here.

Following this, Jayalalithaa, also known as Amma (mother) by her party cadres, is disqualified as a member of Tamil Nadu assembly.

After an 18-year court battle, judge John Michael Cunha convicted 66-year old Jayalalithaa, who is general secretary of the AIADMK.

He held Jayalalithaa and three others - Sasikala and her relatives V.N.Sudhakaran and J.Illavarasi guilty. Sasikala is the close aide of Jayalalithaa.

Jayalalithaa was charged with acquiring assets worth around Rs.66 crore which is disproportionate to her known sources of income.

During her first tenure (1991-1996) as the chief minister, Jayalalithaa had announced that she would take just Re.1 as her salary.

The charge against her was that her assets were around Rs.3 crore in 1991 and had grown to around Rs.66 crore between 1991-1996.

The AIADMK was voted out in 1996 as it was perceived to be corrupt.

Incidentally, DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy lost his Rajya Sabha seat this year after he was convicted in the cremation shed case by a CBI court. He was the local administration minister in Jayalalithaa's government when the scam broke. He later switched sides to the DMK.

The disproportionate assets case filed in 1996 by the then DMK government led by M. Karunanidhi saw several twists and turns during its course.

When the AIADMK returned to power in 2001 several witnesses turned hostile. On a petition filed by DMK leader K. Anbazhagan in the apex court, the case was transferred to Bangalore from Chennai.

Since then, the case meandered, with several petitions filed by the defence and several adjournments.

Over 255 prosecution witnesses and over 95 defence witnesses have been heard in the case.

Jayalalithaa was also summoned by the trial court in 2011 and answered over 1,300 questions posed to her by the judge.

This is not the first time in her political career that Jayalalithaa has been convicted by a court. In 2000, a trial court sentenced Jayalalithaa for three years and two years imprisonment in two cases.

The big question now is who will head the government in the absence of Jayalalithaa. Again this is not the first time such a question has cropped up.

In 2001, Jayalalithaa had to step down as a chief minister following a Supreme Court verdict which held that she cannot hold the office after being convicted for criminal offences.

However, she made O. Panneerselvam, a senior minister in her government, as the chief minister.

In 2002, Jayalalithaa again became the chief minister after being acquitted by the Madras High Court. She was later elected from Andipatti constituency.

AIADMK leaders do not rule out re-run of such an arrangement.

Friends and foes are in awe of Jayalalithaa, who is the tallest Brahmin politician in a state where anti-Brahminism is a part of political discourse.

Even her critics admit that Jayalalithaa is a fighter and has an iron grip over her party.

The judgment against her was delivered in a state where she was born.

Born in what was then known as Mysore on Feb 2, 1948, Jayalalithaa moved to Chennai with her mother, who started acting in movies.

Jayalalithaa studied at the Bishop Cotton Girl's High School in Bangalore and another Christian convent, Church Park, in Chennai. A bright student, Jayalalithaa ventured into acting and made her debut at the age of 16 in a Kannada movie.

Her first Tamil movie was the memorable "Vennira Aadai". But it was the grand success of "Aayirathil Oruvan" pairing with the legendary M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) that turned Jayalalithaa into a leading light of Tamil movie world.

She has paired with almost all the leading Tamil heroes. She has acted in over 100 movies, mostly in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

A charismatic leader who is at home in Tamil, English and Hindi (a rare quality in Tamil Nadu politics), Jayalalithaa has also sung many songs and written several stories. But when she entered politics, few could have predicted her meteoric rise.

AIADMK founder-leader MGR made Jayalalithaa the party's propaganda secretary in the early 1980s. In 1984, she entered the Rajya Sabha.

Jayalalithaa, who chose never to marry, was elected to the Tamil Nadu assembly for the first time in 1989. Just two years later, she became the chief minister, sweeping the election of 1991 held in the wake of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.

She lost her huge mandate within five years amid corruption charges.

Jayalalithaa sentenced to four-year jail term

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NATIONAL Bangalore: A court here Saturday sentenced Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa to four years' jail term and slapped Rs.100-crore fine on her in the Rs.66-crore disproportionate assets' case. Special judge John Michale Cunha pronounced the sentence and the hefty fine hours after he convicted 66-year-old Jayalalithaa on charges levelled against her by DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan in 1996. DMK is the opposition party in Tamil Nadu. Special Public Prosecutor G. Bhavani Singh said the judge also sentenced the three co-accused people -- V.K. Sasikala, V. N. Sudhakaran and J. Illavarasi to four-year jail term, as they too were convicted on the same grounds as Jayalalithaa under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The judge also slapped a fine of Rs.10 crore each on the co-accused and sentenced them to an additional six months of simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs.10,000 each, which will run concurrently. "If they (convicted persons) fail to pay the fine, they will have to serve an additional one year in jail," Singh told reporters here. Soon after the sentence was pronounced, Jayalalithaa and the three convicted people were taken into judicial custody and taken to a a state-run hospital in the city for medical check-up. "All the four convicted persons, including Jayalalithaa, will be lodged in the central jail here," Singh said. Singh also clarified that a bail application cannot be moved in a sentence which is beyond three years of jail term. "The fine will be recovered from the sale of property, including jewellery and lands that were seized during the trial and is in the court's custody," Singh noted. Meanwhile, a senior state government counsel B.T. Venkatesh said under the Prevention of Corruption Act, a convicted person in a criminal offence stands disqualified to hold an executive or official post till the sentence is suspended by a higher court. "As Jayalalithaa has been convicted and sentenced for four years jail term, she automatically loses her membership in the Tamil Nadu state legislative assembly as a lawmaker and has to step down from the chief minister's post," Venkatesh told IANS here. As a convict has a statutory right to appeal against the sentence, Jayalalitha can, however, move the high court in Karnataka or Tamil Nadu seeking suspension of the sentence.

Investors see 'Mangalyaan success' as India growth story model

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NEW YORK: As US businessmen and investors await Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit, the investor community and the industry leaders today said the success of 'Mangalyaan' goes on to prove India's growth story based on 'frugal innovations'.

 

Debating the investment scenario in the country during an India Investment Forum conference, a group of industry leaders from India said it was a vast and complex country but one that presented huge growth opportunities if right reform decisions got implemented in time.

 

They also expressed optimism that the new government, led by Modi, would fast-track the reform process and remove the red tape and other concerns that investors have about India.

 

"The Mars landing story signifies two things. One is that it proves the frugal innovation and indigenous innovation concept that is at the core of India growth story and then this mission has become successful after 30 years of efforts and that too at a cost much lower than the similar missions of NASA," Aditya Birla group's president and chief economist Ajit Ranade said.

 

With the success of its Mars Mission 'Mangalyaan', India became the first country to succeed in the very first attempt.

 

At the conference organised by Institutional Investor Forums, leading stock exchange BSE's Chief Executive Officer Ashishkumar Chauhan said that India was very complex, but it had many advantages to its credit including its young population.

 

"One large investor told me here that earlier he was looking at two countries -- Brazil and India -- for investments, but now he has zeroed in on India after the new government got such a huge mandate and things were not looking that great in the South American country," Chauhan said.

 

The BSE CEO also said that the capital markets segment was making great strides in India and it is not just a place for trading for the sake of trading but also an avenue for capital formation.

 

Talking about the new government, Chauhan said there have not been any radical steps so far in the first four months but he was hopeful that "it will work towards making India a much better place to invest and do business."

 

Anil Bhandari, Senior Vice President (Investments) at Morgan Stanley, said there were great expectations among the investors from the new government and the reform process should pick momentum soon.

 

He also flagged a concern among the international investors about cases of insider trading in India, to which BSE CEO said that the new regulations, including those under the Companies Act, 2013, and those prescribed by Sebi, has strengthened the framework to tackle such concerns.

 

Birla group's Ranade said the annual economic growth rate in India was expected at 6-6.5 per cent in the near term and the single-biggest concern remains inflation.

 

He also lauded the reform measures initiated by the new government including the Judicial Commission, Jan Dhan Yojana to give bank accounts to everyone and the proposed replacement of Planning Commission with a new body. He said these measures would have long-term implications.

Female UAE pilot 'leads strikes' on jihadists

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DUBAI: A female pilot has led United Arab Emirates air strikes that targeted Islamic State jihadists in Syria as part of the US-led campaign against extremists.

 

Major Mariam al-Mansouri, 35, "led the squadron" of UAE fighter jets that participated in raids Tuesday against the extremists, an Emirati source familiar with the matter said.

 

The source said a "coalition Western officer was surprised when she called in to refuel from aerial tanker."

 

The UAE did not confirm officially that a woman was among the pilots that conducted the raids.

 

Mansouri is reportedly the UAE's first female jet fighter pilot. She graduated from Abu Dhabi's Khalifa bin Zayed Air College in 2007 and is veteran pilot of F-16 warplanes.

 

Washington has said the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan, took part in the strikes on the Islamic State, which has seized swathes of Iraq and northern Syria.

 

Saudi Arabia released photographs yesterday of eight airmen it said were involved in Tuesday's US-led operations, with the Saudi press saying one of the pilots was a son of Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz.

 

Mansouri's participation in the raid stirred a debate on social media networks, with supporters posting her picture on Twitter and commending her service.

"She is taking part in crushing the dens of Daesh," wrote one woman on Twitter, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

 

But angry Islamist sympathisers denounced what they said was Mansouri's "criminal" act.

 

In a past interview with Abu Dhabi television, Mansouri spoke of equality between men and women.

 

"Men and women have the right to practice any profession, with dedication and determination... to reach the highest positions possible to serve this homeland," she said.

 

The UAE is a largely conservative Gulf state, where women citizens wear the traditional Islamic head cover and loose black abaya (cloak).

 

But authorities in the oil-rich state have made efforts to put pioneering women forward and many women have assumed top government positions.

KERALA SC extends Ma’dani’s bail, refuses Kerala treatment -

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday extended the bail of Abdul Nasser Ma’dani, main accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blast case, for four weeks.

The apex court, however, rejected his plea that he be allowed to seek medical treatment in Kerala.

Observing that he was granted bail on a condition that he would not leave Bangalore, the court said that it will have to cancel the bail if his demand is to go to Kerala.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY iPhone 6 bending in pockets, say users -

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com

London: Have you bought the new Apple iPhone 6? Check if it bends in your pocket.

According to media reports, more iPhone 6 users are complaining on various social media platforms that the new "iPhone 6" and "iPhone 6 Plus" chassis bend in their trouser pockets.

The chassis of these smartphones is milled from a solid piece of aluminium alloy whose composition has been kept secret.

The weak area of the smartphone appears to be around the volume buttons, where the frame is at its thinnest and creates a fulcrum point around which the phone bends, the Guardian reported.

The screen, however, does not break when the phone bends.

Refuting the claims, SquareTrade, a firm that offers extended warranties on products, said the new iPhones were the most robust yet in "breakability" rating.

"Both the new iPhones are bigger and more durable than any (iPhone model) before them," the SquareTrade spokesman said in the YouTube video.

However, previous models also drew similar complaints.

The larger and thinner the smartphone, the more likely it is to be damaged by being carried in the pocket under tension, the report added.

I hope my script sense is good: Katrina

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Mumbai: Katrina Kaif has given many hits like "Dhoom:3", "Ek Tha Tiger" and "Raajneeti". And the actress hopes that she is making the right choice when it comes to scripts.

"Two films have not done well. Nobody has that answer. I just keep praying and hoping the record remains well. Besides destiny and blessings from god, it's good script sense and what the audience might like. I hope my script sense is good," Katrina told reporters in a group interview.

"I follow it and go with what I want to do. Sometimes, I may have been wrong, sometimes it's better. I have been happy for the most part with the choices and the places I have found myself in," she added.

Katrina is currently busy promoting her film "Bang Bang!" and talking about her film, she said that it's an official remake of "Knight and Day" which is "good".

"The makers were inspired by the film and even though it's just the germ of the idea they have taken, they have still done in the proper way and in the right spirit which is how it should be done," she said.

"But the film is different. There are certain sequences like the motorbike one, but the story has been adapted to what Siddharth Anand (director) wanted to make," she added.

The movie that also stars Hrithik Roshan is slated for Oct 2 release.

Microsoft phones with Opera browser to hit market early next year -

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

Hyderabad: Microsoft is likely to launch smartphones with Opera Mini as default browser from early next year, an official of the browser firm said Wednesday.

The IT giant, which bought phone maker Nokia, entered into an agreement with Oslo-based Opera Software a couple of months ago.

"They have product roadmap but from early next year you will see these devices in the market with our browser," said Sunil Kamath, Vice-President for South Asia, Opera Software.

He told reporters here that the devices would be first launched in India, which is their biggest and fastest market.

"India is the largest and fastest market in terms of Opera Mini users. I don't think there is any mobile browser closer to us," he said.

Sunil said globally the browser firm has over a billion users, including 350 million users of Opera browser. While declining to share country-specific figures, he said the user base in India for Opera Mini is growing by 25 percent.

Opera has tie-up with 16 phone makers in India, whose devices have Opera Mini as the default browser.

The browser firm Wednesday announced its partnership with Celkon Mobiles, a leader in mobile and wireless solutions to launch most affordable Android smartphone, Campus Nova A352E. The device priced at Rs.2,000 comes with Opera Mini browser.

Murali Retineni, Executive Director at Celkon, described the latest launch as a revolution in smartphone pricing. It supports all features of Android with a 512 MB internal memory.

Opera Software also released its latest Opera Mini statistics, which indicate a massive migration of its basic Java phone users to Android phones. Celkon and Opera Software have joined hands and are focusing on acquiring more Android phone users in India.

According to August 2014 statistics, more smartphone owners than basic Java phone owners now use Opera Mini in India. The Opera Mini user base in India increased by 25 percent over the past year, while the smartphone userbase surged by 120 percent. Smartphone users now account for 47 percent of all Opera Mini users, said the report.

Leading the pack of smartphone users is the Android user base, which increased by an impressive 160 percent. Android users now form 44 percent of the Opera Mini user base, which is a huge jump from last year when they stood at 21 percent

According to the report, only 20 percent of Indians have access to the Internet. The majority of them (92 percent) access the Internet from mobile devices. Android smartphones lead the way with an 80 percent market share.

Modi launches 'Make in India' campaign, portal and logo -

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday launched his pet "Make in India" campaign to put India prominently on the global manufacturing map and, in turn, facilitate the inflow of new technology and capital, while creating millions of jobs.

The ambitious scheme, that also puts in place the logistics and systems to address in a timely manner queries of potential investors, was unveiled along with a logo, a portal and brochures on 25 identified growth sectors before Who's Who of the corporate world from India and abroad at the Vigyan Bhavan conference complex here.

The event was watched live in several cities in India and abroad via video conferencing.

Laying out the red carpet before investors, the prime minister said: "After what we have done and what I hear from you, I don't think I need to assure you any further on 'Make in India'." He hoped industry across the globe will take his invite seriously.

He said he was saddened in the past to see scores of Indians leaving the country to seek opportunities elsewhere. People have lost faith in Indian manufacturing and themselves. "We do not want any industrialist being forced to leave India," he said.

"A trust was broken -- that when a policy will be changed, when will the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) come. This is what I heard from all you. The biggest issue is trust. Why don't we trust each other? I want to change that."

The prime minister said for him the term FDI for the domestic industry did not expand to "foreign direct investment" but "first develop India". "We have to create opportunities of employment. If the poor get jobs the purchasing power of families will increase."

Pointing to campaign logo, he said: "This is the step of a Lion... Make in India."

Ahead of the launch of the campaign, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a number of steps had already been taken by the Modi government to make it easier to do business in India along with the removal or relaxation of foreign equity caps in several areas.

"The processes of applying for licences has been made online, it is 24/7. The validity of such licences has also been extended to three years," Sitharaman said, adding several norms and procedures have also being changed to make it easier to do business in India.

"Make in India is not a slogan but a mission to be accomplished with a single-minded commitment."

At the event some top industrialists and executives, among the 500 who had gathered here, were also invited to make short speeches.

"This programme offers a unique and timely opportunity to make India truly global," Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry said, adding, countries attain high standards with a vibrant industrial economy and the biggest challenge is to create jobs for millions of youth.

Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director of Maruti Suzuki India, said his Japanese group was among the first to invest in India and remains committed to the country. He said he was sure India will eventually become one of the most competitive economies.

"Today we commit ourselves to the 'Make in India' movement that was given to us by our beloved prime minister," Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said. He said the main task before the industry in India was to achieve global competitiveness.

The other speakers included Wipro's Azim Premji, Aditya Birla Group's Kumar Mangalam Birla, ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar, Lockheed Martin's Phil Shaw, and ITC's Y.C. Deveshwar.

Mars Orbiter starts sending pictures

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Chennai: India's Mars Orbiter spacecraft has sent five pictures of the red planet's surface, said a senior official of the Indian space agency.

"The Mars Orbiter has started sending pictures. We have received five pictures and these are under processing," an official of Indian Space Research Organisation told IANS, preferring anonymity.

India Wednesday created space history by becoming the first country in the world to place a spacecraft in Mars' orbit in the first attempt.