Kidney health better indicator of heart disease risk

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New York: Simple parameters of the kidney's functions and damage may be better at predicting the risk of heart failure and death from heart attack and stroke than traditional tests of cholesterol levels and blood pressure, new research suggests.

The data may help physicians make better decisions on whether patients need lifestyle modifications such as better diets and more exercise or treatments such as statins, medication widely used for preventing cardiovascular diseases, the study said.

'Cholesterol levels and blood pressure tests are good indicators of cardiovascular risk, but they are not perfect. This study tells us we could do even better with information that often times we are already collecting,' said study lead author Kunihiro Matsushita, assistant scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

'If healthcare providers have data on kidney damage and kidney function -- which they often do -- they should be using those data to better understand a patient's risk of cardiovascular disease,' Matsushita said.

The most common assessment of kidney function checks the blood for creatinine, a waste product of the muscles, and reflects how well the kidneys are filtering it out (called an estimated glomerular filtration rate, or GFR).

Another key test measures albuminuria, or how much of the protein albumin leaks out of the kidney and into the urine.

The researchers analysed data from 24 studies that included more than 637,000 participants with no history of cardiovascular disease and the results of tests of GFR and albuminuria.

They found that both GFR levels and albuminuria independently improved prediction of cardiovascular disease in general, particularly heart failure and death from heart attack and stroke, but albuminuria was the stronger predictor.

It outperformed cholesterol levels and systolic blood pressure - and whether someone is a smoker - as a risk factor for heart failure and death from heart attack or stroke.

The study was published in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.

IANS

Scientists create new version of spider silk

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Washington: Spinning a major success for the textile industry, researchers have now succeeded in producing samples of spider silk in the laboratory.

Researchers have been studying for years to decode the complex structure and production of spider silk.

This study could inspire the development of new synthetic fibres -- or any materials requiring enhanced properties, such as electrical and thermal transport, in a certain direction.

It may also lead to a variety of biomedical materials -- from sutures to scaffolding for organ replacements -- made from synthesised silk with properties specifically tuned for their intended uses.

'The research, which involved a combination of simulations and experiments, paves the way for creating new fibres with improved characteristics beyond those of natural silk,' said Markus Buehler, professor of civil and environmental engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The findings will make it possible to design fibres with specific characteristics of strength, elasticity, and toughness.

The new synthetic fibre's proteins -- the basic building blocks of the material -- were created by genetically modifying bacteria to make the proteins normally produced by spiders.

These proteins were then extruded through microfluidic channels designed to mimic the effect of an organ, called a spinneret, that spiders use to produce natural silk fibres.

This project represents the first use of simulations to understand silk production at the molecular level.

'Our goal is to improve the strength, elasticity, and toughness of artificially spun fibres by borrowing bright ideas from nature,' said Shangchao Lin from MIT.

The findings appeared in Nature Communications.

Neighbour sexually assaults Keralite's wife in Mumbai

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 Mumbai: In a shocking incident, the wife of a Keralite, who was on rest after a cesarean, was brutally raped by their neighbour at Ulhas Nagar near Kalyan here.

The culprit, who is also a friend of her husband, barged into the apartment during daytime and attacked the mother of two children.

Police have arrested Jaggu Bhatia (48), proprietor of Bhatia transport, in connection with the incident.

The family alleged that the culprit is making attempts to hush up the case using money and political clout, adding that they are receiving threats demanding withdrawal of case.

The women, hailing from West Bengal, is undergoing treatment.

Militants kill 20 passengers in Pakistan

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 Islamabad: A group of unknown militants on Friday night killed at least 20 passengers after kidnapping them in Pakistan's south-western province of Balochistan, a media report said.

The incident took place when unknown militants stopped two buses and kidnapped 35 passengers in Mastung district of the province, Xinhua reported

Soon after the incident, security forces rushed to the site.

The militants killed 20 of the abducted passengers after security forces chased them and exchanged fire, said Sarfaraz Bugti, interior minister of the province.

He added that security forces rescued six of the abducted passengers and are following the militants to rescue the other passengers.

The buses were headed towards the country's southern port city of Karachi from the provincial capital of Quetta.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed the authorities to rescue the remaining passengers safely.

No group has claimed responsibility for the incident as yet.

Facebook tests new security feature

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New York: Facebook has released a new feature called Security Check-up, that would be popping up into select users' News Feeds soon.

The Check-up will pop up over the top of the site, prompting users to explore a couple options you have to increase your security, reported The Verge.

From there, Facebook will walk users through password security options and show the computers logged into different Facebook services.

If anything's fishy, it should be obvious from there. Those tools were already available to Facebook users, but thanks to Security Check-up, they'll be a lot harder to miss.

Once you have logged in on a phone, that login will usually stick around until you actively turn it off. It particularly poses problem if that phone ends up lost, stolen, or just re-sold.

Login alerts send you an email any time there's a new login, while device management can show you every device that's accessed your account.

But we tend to avoid these security checks. But Security Check-up forces itself into view, encouraging the users to grapple with options they probably didn't know existed.

IANS

Prostitution costs France over $1.7 bn every year

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 Paris: The economic and social costs of prostitution in France amount to 1.6 billion euros ($1.74 billion) a year, which includes aspects such as tax evasion and medical expenses.

Some of those figures, as detailed on Thursday by the newspaper Le Parisien quoting a study by the Mouvement du Nid association, were based on previous data such as medical costs, with an estimated annual price tag between 70 million euros and 102 million euros, and others such as indirect social consequences.

Drawing from interior ministry statistics, the association found that prostitution generates annual revenue of 3.2 billion euros, but it claims that 45 percent of that sum is funneled abroad by the heads of trade networks.

Mouvement du Nid also calculated that 311 million euros was the cost of prostitution in terms of physical and sexual violence, and indirect social consequences ended up costing roughly 306 million euros, which includes the cost of homicide and suicide.

In France, according to the study, 37,000 people work in prostitution, 62 percent of them via the Internet, another 30 percent on the streets, and the remaining 8 percent in local shops or massage parlours.

Mouvement du Nid revealed in their study that calculating such services was complicated, but posited that 85 percent of prostitutes are females, another 10 percent males and the other 5 percent are transsexuals or transgenders.

IANS

Kathiroor Manoj murder: CBI summons P Jayarajan

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 Thiruvananthapuram: Senior CPM leader P Jayarajan has been summoned by the CBI to appear before investigators on June 2 in connection with an RSS activist's murder last year, CBI sources said.

Jayarajan is the Communist Party of India-Marxist's Kannur district secretary.

RSS activist K.T. Manoj, one of the people accused of making an unsuccessful bid on the life of Jayarajan in 1999, was attacked by a seven-member gang on September 1, 2014, in Kathiroor near Kannur.

His asailants first threw a bomb on the RSS activist's vehicle and later hacked him to death.

Kerala Police probed the case that was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to look into the conspiracy angle. So far, 19 people have been arraigned as accused.

The murder shook Kannur district, for long a hotbed for political murders on account of fierce rivalry between the CPI-M and the BJP-RSS combine.

With a BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, the state BJP leadership swung into action. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh went to the murdered activist's home, and soon thereafter a green signal for the CBI probe was given on the Kerala government's request.

One of the powerful CPI-M leaders, Jayarajan is being summoned by the CBI at a time when he is already out on bail in the Shukoor murder case.

Jayarajan secured bail in the case after remaining in Kannur jail for close to four weeks in August 2012.

Suicide bomber attacks Shiite mosque in Saudi, kills 4

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Damaged cars are seen after a car exploded near a Shi'ite mosque in Saudi Arabia's Dammam/REUTERS

RIYADH: The official Saudi Press Agency says a suicide bomber blew himself up near a Shiite mosque in an eastern Saudi city and killed four people.

It said the bomber tried to enter the Mosque in Dammam, a Shiite dominated city, during Friday prayers and detonated his bomb in the parking lot after being stopped by security guards. It added that guards approached the car as it was parking and that the driver detonated the bomb. It was unclear if the bomber was among the four.

It was the second attack against a Shiite mosque in Saudi. An attack last week killed 21 people and the Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

AP

US starts accepting employment applications of H-4visa holders

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WASHINGTON: US authorities have started accepting employment authorization applications for H-4 visa holders, who are spouses of H-1B nonimmigrant workers and were not allowed to work so far in the country.

 

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) yesterday started accepting the applications for H-4 visas.

 

Issuing employment authorization card (EAD) to certain category of spouses of H-1B visas is one of the legislative measures taken by President Barack Obama to fix the immigration system of the country.

 

As a result, about 1,80,000 would be eligible to work in the US.

 

According to the DHS, it will issue EAD within 90 days of receiving the application.

Under existing regulations, DHS does not extend employment authorisation to dependents (also known as H-4 nonimmigrants) of H-1B nonimmigrant workers.

 

The new rules allow H-4 dependent spouses of certain H-1B nonimmigrant workers to request employment authorisation, as long as the H-1B worker has already started the process of seeking lawful permanent residence through employment.

Four of family killed in road mishap in TN

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THANJAVUR (TN): Four persons of a family, including a four-year-old boy, were killed and 11 others injured today when the van in which they were travelling collided with a lorry near here, police said.

The incident occurred at 3.45 am when 14 members of a family were returning to their native place at Porayar in Nagapattinam district after visiting Kanyakumari, they said.

Four persons travelling in the van died on the spot, police said.

The injured, including the driver of the lorry, have been admitted to a hospital

CBSE class 10 results declared with pass percentage at 97.32

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NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Thursday declared the results for class X examination, with 97.32 per cent students passing the exam and girls outshining the boys.

The pass percentage for girls stood at 97.82 per cent as compared to 96.98 per cent for the boys.

The overall pass percentage was marginally lower than last year where 98. 87 per cent students had passed the exam as against 97.32 per cent this year.

As many as 8,000 students scored a 10 CGPA in Delhi.

The overall percentage of candidates qualifying for admission in higher classes in Thiruvananthapuram region is 99.77, which is the highest across the country.

A total of 13,73,853 candidates were registered for class X examination this year.

This amounts for an increase of about 3. 37 per cent candidates over that of last year.

The website for checking one's results are cbse.nic. in or cbseresults. nic.in.

Students will have to enter their roll numbers in the slot provided on the web page to get their results.

The 2015 CBSE Class 10 exams were conducted from March 2 to 26.

The CBSE class 10 results were initially to be declared yesterday but were postponed without giving any reason for the delay.

The class 10 results were earlier scheduled to be declared on May 21 but were postponed to Wednesday (May 27).

Finally, they were announced today.

The class 12 board exam results were declared on May 25.

Baba Ramdev's brother sent to 14 days judicial custody

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HARIDWAR: A local court in Haridwar on Thursday rejected the bail plea of yoga guru Baba Ramdev's brother Ram Bharat and sent him to 14 days judicial custody in connection with a clash between Patanjali Food and Herbal Park's staff and members of a transport union, which had led to the death of one person.

Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sweety Singh said that Ram Bharat has been booked under various sections of the IPC, adding that more arrests are likely to be made in the case.

"He has been booked under sections 302, 307, 147, 148, 149, 504, 506 and 120 B of the IPC.

The others accused in the case will also be arrested.

We are conducting a fair investigation.

Some more facts have also come to light that they were trying to concealing the evidence.

Those behind concealing the evidence will also be arrested," she said.

Ram Bharat was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday after a trucker was allegedly killed by gunshot wounds during a clash between security guards of the food park run by Patanjali and members of a transport union in Haridwar.

The clash had reportedly erupted after the local transporters gathered outside the food park's gate in protest against the firm engaging truck operators from outside of Haridwar for transporting products to market.

Avoided choosing "populist course": Modi

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Tags: Narendra Modi, populist course
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he has consciously avoided choosing a "populist course" and had instead opted for a "more difficult path" of correcting the defective government machinery. Looking back at his one year in office, Modi, when asked if there was something which he could have done differently, said that he had two options. "One option was to do things methodically to mobilise the government machinery, correct the many defects and ills which had crept into the system, so as to provide long term benefits to the country in the form of clean, efficient and fair governance. "The other option was to use the mandate to announce new populist schemes and bombard the media with announcements to keep the people fooled. The latter course is easier and people are used to it. "However, I did not choose this and instead chose the more difficult path of correcting the defective government machinery in a quiet and methodical way. If I had chosen the populist course, it would have been a breach of the trust placed in me by the people," Modi said. Asked to enumerate steps that he had taken to change the way the government works, he said, "we have tried to remind government servants that they are servants of the public and have restored discipline in Central government officers. "I have done a small thing, one that appears small from outside. I regularly interact with officers over tea; it is part of my working style.

ഇ-കൊമേഴ്‌സ് സ്ഥാപനങ്ങള്‍ ഒരു കോടി രൂപ ശമ്പളത്തില്‍ 500 പേരെ നിയമിക്കുന്നു

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

മുംബൈ: പ്രതിവര്‍ഷം ഒരു കോടി രൂപ വാഗ്ദാനം ചെയ്ത് ഇ-കൊമേഴ്‌സ് കമ്പനികള്‍ 500ഓളം പേരെ നിയമിക്കുന്നു. ഫ് ളിപ്കാര്‍ട്ട്, ആമസോണ്‍, സ്‌നാപ്ഡീല്‍, ഒല, ഉബര്‍, ക്വിക്കര്‍, കോമണ്‍ഫ്ലോര്‍, യെപ്മി, ഒഎല്‍എക്‌സ്, ജംഗ്ലി, ഫാഷന്‍ആന്റ് യു, ഹങ്കാമ, ബുക്ക്‌മൈഷോ, ജബോങ്, ക്ലിയര്‍ട്രിപ്പ്, ലെന്‍സ്‌കാര്‍ട്ട് തുടങ്ങിയ കമ്പനികളാണ് ഒരു കോടി രൂപ വാഗ്ദാനംചെയ്ത് ജീവനക്കാരെ തേടുന്നത്. 

പ്രധാനമായും പ്രൊഡക്ട് മാനേജുമെന്റ്, ടെക്‌നോളജി വിഭാഗങ്ങളിലാണ് നിയമനം. ആര്‍ജിഎഫ് എക്‌സിക്യുട്ടീവ് സര്‍ച്ച്, ലോങ്ഹൗസ് കണ്‍സള്‍ട്ടിങ്, എബിസി കണ്‍സള്‍ട്ടന്റ്‌സ് തുടങ്ങിയ സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളാണ് ഇ-കൊമേഴ്‌സ് ഭീമന്മാര്‍ക്കുവേണ്ടി ഉദ്യോഗാര്‍ത്ഥികളെ പരതുന്നത്. 

നിക്ഷേപമായെത്തുന്ന കോടിക്കണക്കിന് രൂപ ചെലവഴിക്കാന്‍ മാര്‍ഗങ്ങളന്വേഷിക്കുകയാണ്. ഇ-കൊമേഴ്‌സ് സ്ഥാപനങ്ങള്‍. മികച്ച ഉദ്യോഗാര്‍ഥികളെ നിയമിക്കുക, അടിസ്ഥാന സൗകര്യങ്ങള്‍ വികസിപ്പിക്കുക-ഇവ രണ്ടുമാണ് ഈ സ്ഥാപനങ്ങള്‍ക്കുമുന്നിലുള്ളത്. ഈ സാഹചര്യത്തില്‍ എത്ര ശമ്പളം നല്‍കിയാലും മികച്ചവരെതന്നെ നിയമിക്കുകയെന്നതന്ത്രമാണ് സ്വീകരിക്കുന്നതെന്ന് ഇ-കൊമേഴ്‌സ് സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളിലെ ഹ്യുമണ്‍ റിസോഴ്‌സസ് വിഭാഗം ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥര്‍ പറയുന്നു.

Yash Birla among seven Indian names made public for Swiss a/c

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Berne/New Delhi: Industrialist Yash Birla and son-in-law of late realty and liquor baron Ponty Chadha are among seven Indians with Swiss bank accounts whose names have been made public in Switzerland's official gazette with regard to ongoing tax probes against them in India.

Two Mumbai-based individuals named in the famous City Limousines scam, a Delhi-based businesswoman Ritika Sharma and two others -- Sneh Lata Sawhney and Sangita Sawhney-- are the other Indians whose names have been made public.

The names of these seven 'Indian nationals' have been published in Switzerland's Federal Gazette with regard to details sought about them by the Indian authorities.

Among these, some details have already been shared by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) with India, including about Birla and Sharma of Blessings Apparel, as per the gazette notifications.

In case of Sayed Mohamed Masood, being probed for a major ponzi scheme run from Mumbai through City Limousines, some
details were shared by Swiss authorities in the past. His accounts were also frozen a few years ago following a request
from the Enforcement Directorate.

Fresh details about him and about Chaud Kauser Mohamed Masood have been sought by the Indian authorities, as per the notifications published in Switzerland's official gazette.

While asking the named persons to appeal within 30 days, the notifications mention the names and date of birth of all the seven, including Gurjit Singh Kochar, who is married into the Chadha family and is said to be outside India now.

The notifications for Birla and Sharma also mention their Mumbai and Delhi addresses, respectively.

Welcoming the Swiss government's move, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said this should serve as a 'sufficient indicator' to those with unaccounted wealth abroad about the action to follow.

Speaking to reporters in Ahmedabad, he said the era of tax haven has come to an end and it's no longer safe to keep the assets abroad illegally.

The Yash Birla group later said in an emailed statement that he had 'no individual bank account in his name or under his control' and this position has already been communicated to the Indian tax authorities.

Repeated calls to Sharma did not elicit any response, while a family representative declined to comment on the notification issued about Kochar, who is believed to be outside India. He is facing probe by the Income Tax Department and other agencies for quite some time.

No contact details were available for comments from Sawhneys. Despite repeated attempts Masoods could not be contacted

The names being made public in this manner could include some big names, as those whose names have been published in
the latest gazette includes Francisco Jose Ortiz von Bismarck.

As per German media reports, he is a descendant of the first Chancellor of German empire Otto von Bismarck. Officials said some names have been made public through the gazette notifications in the past also, but those were of the persons that banks were unable to locate.

Also, the numbers have gone up in a big way because of a quantum leap in the number of requests being received by the Swiss tax department from the foreign governments for mutual assistance procedure.

Besides, a new law has done away with the mandatory requirement of a bank customer being informed first before any sharing of information about them by the Swiss authorities. The officials also said that the main purpose of the names being published in the gazette is providing the concerned persons an opportunity to explore legal remedies.

the Swiss FTA has asked those being named to file an appeal within 30 days before the Federal Administrative Court if they do not want their details to be shared with the Indian authorities under their 'mutual assistance' treaty.

In case of Birla and Ritika Sharma, whose details have been already shared by the Swiss authorities, the notifications also mention their addresses in India, but the information given to India has been withheld from the gazette.

No further details -- other than their names and date of birth -- were made public for other 'Indian nationals'. Similar is the case for other foreign nationals including the British, Spanish and Russians.

In case of American and Israeli citizens, their full names have been withheld and they have been identified by their initials and dates of birth.

At least 40 such 'final notices' have been published in the Swiss Federal Gazette so far this month, while more such names are expected to be published going forward.

The alleged stashing of wealth by Indians in Swiss banks has been a matter of great debate in India.

The Indian government has been pushing the Swiss authorities for a long time to share information on the suspected tax evaders, while Switzerland has shared some details in cases where India has been able to provide some independent evidence of suspected tax evasion by Indian clients of Swiss banks.

While there was no reply to queries mailed to the FTA spokesperson in this regard, these names are being published in the Swiss Federal Gazette in the backdrop of the Swiss government being flooded with requests on suspected black money hoarders in Swiss banks from various countries including India.

Through these gazette notices, the Swiss FTA is also looking to give the concerned persons an opportunity to resort to legal remedies. These are the persons about whom foreign governments are requesting information.

Committing full support to India's fight against the black money menace, Switzerland last week had said its Parliament would soon consider changes in laws to look into the possibility of sharing information in cases being probed on the basis of stolen data of Swiss bank accounts.

Switzerland's Economic Affairs Minister Johann Schneider Ammann during his India visit on May 15 said that the Swiss government was sensitive to the fact that the issue of black money was very important for India and needed to be resolved.

'Switzerland has decided to follow international standards, including those framed by OECD, in sharing information and providing assistance to foreign countries probing such cases, but we have to ask our Parliament to make changes in our laws,' he said.

Indian Parliament has recently passed a new black money law under which those found to be stashing illicit funds in foreign locations, including Swiss banks, would face strict penal action, including up to ten years in jail and a penalty of 90 per cent of funds in addition to 30 per cent tax levy.

However, a one-time 'compliance window' will be provided before the law comes into force and this would let the persons with foreign assets to come clean by payment of 30 per cent tax and 30 per cent penalty. 

PTI

Beef row: Rijiju says there cannot be restrictions on food habits

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ZCZC
PRI GEN NAT
New Delhi: Amidst a row over eating beef, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said no restrictions can be put on food habits in a secular country like India but the sentiments of the majority should be respected in Hindu-majority as well as Christian and Muslim-majority states.

'India is a secular country and food habits cannot be stopped,' he told PTI over phone from Aizawl against the backdrop of remarks by his Ministerial colleague Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi that those who want to eat beef should go to Pakistan.

At the same time, Rijiju said the Hindu faith and sentiments must be respected in a Hindu-majority state. 'I told them that when we visit Hindu-majority Maharashtra or Gujarat, we must respect the sentiments of the majority and should not do anything which would hurt the sentiments of the majority.

'Similarly, when someone visits a Christian-majority or Muslim-majority area, they should respect the sentiments of majority local people,' said the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs.

He said the Indian Constitution has given freedom to practice the faith anyone likes and there is no restriction on that.

On reports that he had said he eats beef and nobody can stop him, Rijiju said, 'I never said that I eat beef. I said that we must respect each other's faith, belief and food habit.'

He said in India, a new fashion has developed where a balanced view is disregarded and anybody who speaks against Hindus is treated as secular. 'Why do we need to say something against Hindus to become a secular. We should focus on development and communal harmony. The Prime Minister has a vision for 1.2 billion Indians and let's not divide it on communal line,' he said.

The junior Home Minister is currently visiting Northeastern states to highlight NDA government's achievements in the first year.

PTI

Government took away farmers' land for corporates: Rahul

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Thrissur (Kerala), May 27 (IANS) Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday again lashed out at the Narendra Modi government on the sensitive land issue, saying that it had 'taken away the land of the farmers, which is like a mother to them, and given the same to its friends and corporates'.

'Likewise, they (government) have taken away the sea from the fishermen now and is in the process of handing it over to the corporates who own big trawlers,' Gandhi said while addressing a well-attended rally of fisherfolks living near the Chavakkad beach.

'The reason they give is that the fishermen are not effective; so trawlers are needed. Today (Wednesday) morning, I visited a fisherfolks' colony before coming here. A colony resident told me that there are only two options for them: Commit suicide or fight back,' said the Congress leader.

'I assure you that I as well as the Congress are with you and in no way will allow your rights to be taken away,' Gandhi asserted while telling the audience that the Congress was getting ready to form a national organisation for fishermen.

'When I return (to Delhi), I will speak to Congress president Sonia Gandhi about the need for setting up a national organisation for the fisherfolks,' he promised the rallyists.

The Congress leader went around the fishermen's colony here before arriving for the meeting, and heard the grievances of its residents. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and state Congress chief V.M. Sudheeran.

Speaking at the public meeting, Chandy said that when Gandhi was told about the woes of residents of the fishermen's colony, where he visited 52 families, the Congress vice president gave him (chief minister) a look.

'I knew what he meant when he looked at me. After speaking to the minister of state for fisheries, we decided to build new houses for those whose houses are in bad shape. Also, we have decided to give Rs.50,000 each to those whose homes need repairs. Also, we will take care of health needs of fisherfolks living in the colony,' said Chandy, drawing applause from the audience.

Gandhi arrived on a two-day visit to Kerala on Tuesday. After his return from Kochi later in the day, his last meeting would be with the representatives of farmers' organisations.

Meanwhile, the state Congress leadership is in a bouyant mood as the numbers of people present at Tuesday's Youth Congress rally were impressive.

Sources told IANS that the Gandhi family scion was expected to visit the state more frequently in times to come since Kerala is set for local bodies' elections this year and assembly elections next year.

IANS

If you're 28, it doesn't mean you've to get married: Kangana

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Mumbai: There's no 'right' age to get married, says actress Kangana Ranaut, who is currently enjoying the success of her latest hit 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' and is in no mood to 'give away' her 'position' in the film industry as of now.

'Marriage is hard work. I have worked hard for ten years and I don't have time to build equations. I am in a place where I can secure my position and have a good future; I don't want to give it away,' the National Award winning actress said here.

'When love happens, it happens just like that. Just because you are 28 years old, it doesn't mean you have to get married and have kids,' she said.

Kangana, for whom 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' has turned out to be a double whammy post 'Queen', says she feels that a new journey has started for her.

'There is a time when you struggle to prove yourself worthy of what you rightfully deserve, and then comes a time when that struggle is over. Then there is struggle to explore, transcend your limit and go to the next level. I am going to stage two now,' she said.

Produced by Eros International and Colour Yellow Productions, and directed by Anand L. Rai, 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' is a sequel to the 2011 entertainer 'Tanu Weds Manu'. The film also features R. Madhavan.

Large Hadron Collider breaks record: Cern

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The world's largest particle smasher broke the record for energy levels late Wednesday in a test run after a two-year upgrade, Cern announced Thursday.

'Last night, protons collided in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the record-breaking energy of 13 TeV (teraelectronvolts) for the first time,' the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) said in a statement.

The LHC's previous highest energy for collisions was eight TeV, reached in 2012.

In April, it started up again after a two-year overhaul designed to pave the way to experiments at 13 TeV. It has the potential to be cranked up to 14 TeV.

Experiments at the collider are aimed at unlocking clues as to how the universe came into existence by studying fundamental particles, the building blocks of all matter, and the forces that control them.

Before the upgrade, the LHC was used to prove the existence of the Higgs Boson, also known as the God particle, which confers mass.

That discovery earned the 2013 Nobel physics prize for two of the scientists who had theorised the existence of the Higgs back in 1964.

Wednesday's collisions at the giant lab, housed in a 27-kilometre (17-mile) tunnel straddling the French-Swiss border, are part of a recommissioning programme ahead of an even more ambitious roster of experiments, due to start next month.

'These test collisions were to set up systems that protect the machine and detectors from particles that stray from the edges of the beam,' Cern said.

The LHC allows beams containing billions of protons travelling at 99.9 percent the speed of light to shoot through the massive collider in opposite directions.

Powerful magnets bend the beams so that they collide at points around the track where four laboratories have batteries of sensors to monitor the smashups.

The sub-atomic rubble is then scrutinised for novel particles and the forces that hold them together.

One teraelectronvolt is roughly equivalent to the energy of motion of a flying mosquito, Cern says on its website.

But within the LHC, the energy is squeezed into an extremely small space about a million, million times smaller than a mosquito. It is this intensity, which causes the particles to be smashed apart.

AFP

Malayali girl tops CBSE Class 12 exams

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New Delhi: Delhi girl M. Gayatri topped the list of candidates who cleared the Class 12 CBSE examinations, the results of which were declared on Monday.

The second spot was shared by three students -- Amity International (Noida) student Mythili Mishra, B. Arjun from Kendriya Vidyalaya (Pattom) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and Saurabh Bhambri from Delhi's K.R. Mangalam World School (Greater Kailash).

All three scored 99 percent -- 495 out of the total 500 marks, a mark less than the topper.

Sarthak Aggarwal had scored the highest-ever marks (99.6 percent) in CBSE's Class 12 exams in 2014.

Gayatri, a student of New Green Field School in Saket, said she worked really hard, but never expected to top the exams.

'I was expecting about 95 percent, but this was a shocker. I wish to pursue Chartered Accountancy (CA) after this, for which I have already started taking coaching classes,' Gayatri, who scored 99.2 percent marks, told IANS.

Her mother Lakshmi Mohan told IANS that her daughter used to study for five-six hours a day -- from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m and then again from 4.30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

'I was expecting her to score between 95 and 96 percent, but she definitely deserved a 99 percent,' Mohan added.

Mythili Mishra, who came second with two other students, told IANS she was yet to decide what subjects she wanted to study further.

'I was expecting the worst so that I could savour the moment when I got the best (marks),' Mishra told IANS.

The Humanities student, who scored a perfect 100 in economics and history, said she was not the type to study round-the-clock.

Girls went on to outshine boys once again this year with a pass percentage of 87.56, compared to 77.77 percent for boys.

'You can see the difference (between the pass percentage of girls and boys) is 9.79 percent. So, as usual, girls have outscored boys this year as well,' said Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) public relations officer Rama Sharma.

The performance of Delhi's government schools (88.22 percent pass) was the best nationally among government schools this year, marginally behind last year's 88.78 percent.

Government-aided schools in Delhi recorded a pass percentage of 84.42, down from 86.66 percent in 2014.

Shubham Garg, a student of Rashtriya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya at Raj Niwas Marg, and Mahima of RPVV Nand Nagri shared the top position among Delhi government students with a score of 96.8 percent.

Garg told IANS he was planning to take up engineering.

'I am interested in computer science engineering,' said Garg, who spent five-six hours a day studying.

Delhi's private schools continued to lag behind with a pass percentage of 38.52 percent, but this was an improvement over the past year's score of 35 percent.

Delhi Kendriya Vidyalayas' (KVs) pass percentage slid to 95.87 from 98.02 percent in 2014.

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in Delhi had a pass percentage of 92.37.

Nationally, JNVs stole the show with a pass percentage of 96.82, followed by KVs (94.72 percent).

Overall, the CBSE's Thiruvananthapuram region recorded the highest pass percentage of 95.41, followed by Chennai with 91.14 percent, despite a drop from the past year's 91.63 percent.

Delhi stood third with an overall pass percentage of 86.13.

Delhi's pass percentage for boys was 81.59 and 90.87 percent for girls.

Of the 2,66,661 registered students in Delhi, 2,63,361 appeared for the exams, and 2,26,838 passed.

In the list of differently-abled candidates, Vidhi Maheshwari of Chettinad Vidyashram in Chennai topped the exams with 98 percent marks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated all successful candidates.

'Congratulations to all my young friends who have successfully passed the CBSE Class 12 board exam. Best wishes for a bright future,' Modi said.

Delhi recorded just three cases of cheating this year compared to 13 in 2014 and 25 in 2013.

The total number of cases of using unfair means this year was 36, compared to 41 in 2014 and 63 in 2013.

The compartmental examination will be held on July 16.

Black money: Switzerland discloses names of two Indians

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Berne: Two Indian women figure among scores of foreign nationals with Swiss bank accounts, whose names have been made public by Switzerland in its official gazette for being probed in their respective countries.

Making public these names, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) has asked the two Indians to file an appeal within 30 days before the Federal Administrative Court if they do not want their details to be shared with the Indian authorities under their 'mutual assistance' treaty on tax matters.

However, no further details -- other than their dates of birth -- were made public for the two 'Indian nationals' - Sneh Lata Sawhney and Sangita Sawhney.

Similar is the case for other foreign nationals including the British, Spanish and Russians. However, in case of American and Israeli citizens, their full names have been withheld and they have been identified by their initials and dates of birth.

At least 40 such 'final notices' have been published in the Swiss Federal Gazette so far this month, while more such names are expected to be published going forward.

The alleged stashing of wealth by Indians in Swiss banks has been a matter of great debate in India.

The Indian government has been pushing the Swiss authorities for a long time to share information on the suspected tax evaders, while Switzerland has shared some details in cases where India has been able to provide some independent evidence of suspected tax evasion by Indian clients of Swiss banks.

While there was no immediate reply to queries mailed to the FTA spokesperson in this regard, these names are being published in the Swiss Federal Gazette in the backdrop of the Swiss government being flooded with requests on suspected black money hoarders in Swiss banks from various countries including India.

Jaya DA case: KPCC legal cell against filing appeal in SC

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Bengaluru : The legal cell of ruling Congress in Karnataka today advised the government in the state not to file an appeal against the acquittal of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case.

The role of Karnataka was administrative and not judicial and the state was not an aggrieved party in respect of the
High Court judgment acquitting Jayalalithaa and three others of all charges, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Legal and Human Rights Department said.

After meeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, department Chairman C M Dhananjaya said Karnataka had filed an affidavit
in the transfer petition case (regarding shifting of trial to Bengaluru) in the Supreme Court stating that it 'has no
interest in the outcome of the trial'.

'Therefore, filing of appeal by the state of Karnataka amounts to showing interest on the outcome of the case,' he
said, adding that this amounts to going back on the undertaking and also to contempt of the court.

'I am of the opinion that it is not proper for the state government to file the appeal,' he told PTI.

He said the Chief Minister told him that the government would take an 'appropriate decision'.

The Karnataka High Court gave a clean chit to Jayalalithaa and three others on May 11, clearing them of 'all charges' in
the 19-year-old case, helping her to return as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Advocate General Ravivarma Kumar and Special Public Prosecutor in the case B V Acharya have made public their
advice to the state government, as the sole prosecutor, to file an appeal in the apex court. PTI

Nursing scam: CBI books case against Mathew International

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Kochi: The CBI registered a case against Mathew International Agency in connection with the nursing recruitment scandal. The CBI has booked three cases against the agency on Tuesday. 

The case relates to recruitment of nurses from Kerala by licensed agencies outside Kerala violating legal rules. These agencies breached rules by opening sub offices in Kerala and conducting recruitment. The agency has also recruited more nurses than the allotted number. Mathew International, headquartered in Mumbai, also collected a hefty amount from candidates with the help of Protector of Emmigrants.

The cheating by the agency came to light after several nurses, recruited for Kuwait by paying lakhs, filed a complaint. Meanwhile, some recruitment agencies have closed down their offices in Kochi. Earlier, the CBI raided 7 agencies in Kochi and Kottayam, including Mathew International, a couple of weeks back.

Couple killed as car falls into gorge

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Tags: couple, killed, Makkoottam
KANNUR: A couple was killed and two others injured when a car in which they were travelling fell into a deep gorge near Perumbady check post at Makootam Churam on the border with Karnataka late last night. The dead were identified as Mohanan (58), and his wife Chandrika (50). The seriously injured Bhaskaran and another person were admitted to a hospital at Veerajpetta in neighbouring Karnataka state. The accident occurred around 2200 hrs last night, about 100 km from Iritty when the family members were returning home from Mysuru. The car went out of control, skidded off the road and fell into the gorge, police said. Some local people rescued the injured who were then rushed to a nearby hospital in Karnataka state.

Indian-Origin Neuro-Surgeon Re-Attaches British Man's Head to Spine

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London, United Kingdom: An British man who had his head ripped off from his spine in a car accident has survived, a media report said on Sunday.

Indian-origin neuro-surgeon Anant Kamat re-attached Tony Cowan's skull to his spine with a metal plate and bolts in a rare operation. Mr Cowan now hopes to go home soon, Mirror online reported.

Tony Cowan from Newcastle city met with an accident on September 9 last year, when his car hit a speed-bump, spun out of control and crashed into a telephone pole.

His heart stopped and he had to be resuscitated by paramedics at the location before being rushed to a hospital. Mr Cowan sustained a fracture in his neck and complete spinal cord injury -- an injury medics describe as almost 'unsurvivable'.

He was not brain-damaged even though his head was snapped off from his spine and it was only being held in place by tissue and muscle at the time of crash.

Jaya launches 201 Amma Canteens, populist schemes

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Chennai: A day after she was sworn in as chief minister, J. Jayalalithaa on Sunday inaugurated 201 Amma Canteens and various populist schemes across the state via video conferencing.

She launched a scheme to sell 500 gm packets of 'A' grade lentils (pigeon pea) and black gram at subsidised rates of Rs.53.50 and Rs.56, respectively.

According to a statement issued by the state government, 'B' grade black gram would be sold at Rs.49.50 per 500 gm packet.

The pulses would be sold through state government cooperative stores.

The Amma Canteen scheme is a hugely popular one. At these canteens, good quality food is sold at very cheap rates three times a day -- morning, afternoon and night.

A total of 297 Amma Canteens were functioning across the state till date and their number went up to 498 on Sunday.

Jayalalithaa also launched housing for poor, road improvement (outlay Rs.1,800 crore), drinking water (outlay Rs.77.13 crore) and livelihood training programmes for which Rs.100 crore has been allocated this year.

Under the housing for poor, a sum of Rs.210,000 would be paid to eligible families to build a proper house.

On Saturday, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as chief minister after her acquittal by the Karnataka High Court in the Rs.66 crore disproportionate assets case.

IANS

CBSE class XII results announced

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New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education today announced its much-awaited Class XII results 2015.
The results have been made available on board's official websites www.cbse.nic.in and www.cbseresults.nic.in

The students should submit their roll numbers on the website for downloading the results. The class 12 CBSE examinations for this year commenced on March 2.

The CBSE has announced that the Class X results will be announced on May 27.

For results, visit: http://cbseresults.nic.in/class12/cbse122015_all.htm