India to test-launch its heaviest rocket in December

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Sriharikota: India will test-launch its heaviest and upgraded rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mark III), sometime in the middle of next month, a senior official of the Indian space agency said here Saturday.

The rocket will also carry a crew module to test its re-entry characteristics.

"The main purpose of the mission is to test the atmospheric characteristics and stability of the rocket on its way up. We also decided to use this opportunity to test one component of the crew module - a human space mission that India may embark on at a later date," M.Y.S Prasad, director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, told reporters here.

The experimental mission will cost Rs.155 crore.

"This will be India's new launch vehicle. It is bigger and can carry satellites upto four tonnes," said S. Somanath, project director of GSLV Mark III.

According to Prasad, this rocket will not have the critical cryogenic engine for putting four-tonne satellites into orbit.

"The cryogenic engine is under development and will take more two years to be ready," he said.

As the other rocket engines are ready, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) decided to have this mission.

About the crew module, Prasad said it will not carry any living being and was only for study purposes.

He said the 630-tonne rocket will go up to 126 km and then crew capsule will be detached and it will fall into the Bay of Bengal, 20 minutes after blast off.

The descent speed of the crew module will be controlled by three parachutes, he said.

The module will splash down 600 km from Port Blair and 1,600 km from the space centre. The capsule will be recovered by an Indian Coast Guard or Indian Navy ship.

The crew module, looking like a giant-size cup cake - black in colour on top and brown at the bottom - weighs around four tonnes. According to an ISRO official, it will be in the size of a small bedroom and can accommodate 2-3 people

1.1 million HIV infections in children prevented: UNICEF

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United Nations : An estimated 1.1 million human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among children under the age of 15 have been prevented between 2005 and 2013.

According to data released by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Friday ahead of World AIDS Day, new HIV infections among children has declined by about 40 percent between 2009 and 2013, Xinhua reported.

However, the global goal of reducing the figure by 90 percent is still out of reach, the data said.

The progress has been made through providing more pregnant women living with HIV with services for the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), such as lifelong HIV treatment which can reduce the transmission of virus to babies and keep their mothers alive.

The sharpest declines took place in eight African countries, including Malawi, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, among others.

However, only 67 percent of pregnant women living with HIV in all low- and middle-income countries received the most effective treatment for PMTCT in 2013.

An estimated 190,000 children under the age of 15 died of AIDS-related causes in 2013 due to lack of treatment.

'If we can avert 1.1 million new HIV infections in children, we can protect every child from HIV but only if we reach every child,' UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said.

'We must close the gap, and invest more in reaching every mother, every newborn, every child and every adolescent with HIV prevention and treatment programmes that can save and improve their lives,' Lake added.

Mosque attack in Nigeria: Over 120 killed

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Nigeria's president has pledged 'to leave no stone unturned' in tracking down the perpetrators of a mosque attack that killed dozens of people.

Goodluck Jonathan urged the nation 'to confront the common enemy' after the gun and bomb attack during Friday's prayers in the northern city of Kano.

Many more people were injured, with one rescue official putting casualty figures at almost 400.

Officials said the attack bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram militant group.

However, no-one has so far claimed responsibility for Friday's assault.

Separately, the security forces said they had foiled an attempt to attack worshippers in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, defusing six bombs planted in a mosque and a nearby market.

Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009 - and has killed more than 2,000 people this year, rights groups say.

Pandemonium

In a statement, President Jonathan ordered the country's security services 'to launch a full-scale investigation and to leave no stone unturned until all agents of terror undermining the right of every citizen to life and dignity are tracked down and brought to justice'.

He said Nigerian should 'remain united to confront the common enemy'.

He said the government would 'continue to take every step to put an end to the reprehensible acts of all groups and persons involved in acts of terrorism'.

Police said 35 people were killed in the attack at the Central Mosque, but some eyewitnesses claimed that far more people lost their lives.

The rescue official, speaking to Agence France-Presse, put the casualty toll at 120 dead and 270 hurt, although this has not been independently confirmed.

Three bomb explosions were reported in and around the mosque. The attackers also turned gunfire on worshippers.

Some reports say the first bomb was hidden in a car which was driven straight into the worshippers.

One eyewitness told the BBC's Focus on Africa: 'The imam was about to start prayer when he saw somebody in a car trying to force himself into the mosque. But when people stopped him, he detonated the explosions. People started running helter-skelter.'

There was pandemonium as people ran for their lives.

But then several men then opened fire on the crowd, killing more people. Three of the gunmen were caught, and - as the terror turned to rage - they were killed on the spot, the BBC's Will Ross in Abuja reports.

BBC Hausa editor Mansur Liman said one witness at a local hospital had described the scenes there as being the most horrible he had ever seen.

The Central Mosque is where the influential Muslim leader, the Emir of Kano, usually leads prayers.

The emir recently called for people to arm themselves against Boko Haram.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks against civilian targets since the Nigerian military launched an offensive last year.

The militants were also behind the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno state this year, an act that sparked international outrage.

Rs.1.5 cr robbed from cash van in Delhi; security guard attacked

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New Delhi: Two robbers on a bike opened fire at a private company's security guard and took away about Rs.1.5 crore from a cash van in Delhi, police said Saturday.

'Two people came on a motorcycle and opened fire at the security guard and took away a bag containing cash around Rs.1.5 crore,' Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Goel told IANS.

The incident took place around 11 a.m. when the cash van came to refill a Citibank ATM in north Delhi's Kamla Nagar market area, police said.

The guard has been taken to a nearby hospital where his condition is stated to be critical.

Cameron anxiously awaits 'Avatar' sequel release

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Los Angeles: If one goes by "Avatar" filmmaker James Cameron's words, the planned sequel of the 2009 epic sci-fi movie will leave the audience mesmerised.

“You will s--t yourself with your mouth wide open," Cameron has said while estimating the reactions that the sequel will generate, reports eonline.com.

The Oscar-winning director told Empire magazine that the frames-per-second (FPS) rate of the movie will be a reason why so much "s--tting" will happen, reports eonline.com.

"My thinking at the time (when I announced the sequels) was that 60 (FPS) might be a better segue to the video market. I'll be plugging into a system that's a little more mature, so it makes sense for me to do 48 frames at this point,” Cameron said.

The famously outspoken “Titanic” creator has plans for three more “Avatar” films, and original stars Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington have signed on for all three, which are supposed to be shot back-to-back.

The three sequels are planned for release 2016, 2017 and 2018.

India launches e-visa facility for 43 countries

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New Delhi: India Thursday launched electronic visa (e-visa) facility for tourists from 43 countries, including US, Israel, Palestine and Japan to the boost tourism sector and offer hassle-free travel to foreign visitors.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, along with Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma launched the Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVOA) service enabled with electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme here.

"India has a unique advantage in tourism sector owing to its geographical location and that no other country offers such abundance of diversity in weather conditions," said Singh.

Apart from these four countries, tourists from Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Tongo, Laos, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Mexico, Myanmar, New Zealand, Niue, Norway, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Kiribati, South Korea, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, Vietnam and Vanuatu will now be able to get e-visa following four-simple steps through the website https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/Visa_VOA/tvoa.html

This visa will allow entry of the tourists into India within 30 days from the date of approval of ETA and will be valid for 30 days stay from the date of arrival.

The facility will be extended to other nations in a phased manner.

The tourists will be allowed to enter and depart from nine international airports - Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.

Tourists availing this facility would be able to go for usual sightseeing and recreational activities. The tourism ministry has included facilities like short duration medical visit and casual business visit with e-visa.

According to officials, 75 TVOA counters will be placed at nine international airports to facilitate smooth transaction.

P.K.Bhardwaj, joint director, immigration department said that checking of tourists' background will be done from an already created database and these TVOA counters will act as a first stage of personal interaction of tourists with the authority.

Subhash Goyal, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators, assured the tourism ministry that they do "every possible thing to translate this vision into success".

Peter Kerkar, director, Cox and Kings said: "This is a great news for the Indian tourism industry as it will enable and encourage tourists from our key source markets to travel to India in large numbers."

"We believe that this decision will lead to rapid growth in inbound tourism numbers and generate double digit growth in arrivals," he added.

Pakistan wants meaningful dialogue with India: Sharif -

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Islamabd: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday said that his country wants a meaningful dialogue with India on all issues, media reported.

Sharif said during an in-flight press briefing late night on his return from the 18th Saarc Summit in Nepal that Pakistan wants to discuss all issues including Kashmir with India through a proper dialogue, Dawn online reported.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shook hands with his Pakistani counterpart Sharif, laughed and even patted him on the arm at the closing ceremony of the bloc's summit in Kathmandu Thursday.

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France to open eight new visa centres in India

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New Delhi: France will open eight new visa application centers in India, taking their number from six to 14, French Ambassador Francois Richer said Thursday.

Richer also announced that "ChaloParis", a travel application specifically designed for Indian tourist would be launched while tourist and business visas for Indians visiting France will now be delivered by the French consulates within 48 hours.

He said the number of visas delivered by the French consulates in India has jumped by 33 percent in 2014 compared to 2013.

Richer said that currently around 3.5 lakh Indian tourists visit France and it wanted to increase their numbers.

He said that the new centres, to be opened in Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Pune, Panaji, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Hyderabad and Jaipur, would be operational from Dec 1.

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Facebook launches new chatting application

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Madrid: Facebook launched Tuesday a new chatting application worldwide called 'Rooms' which simulates traditional internet chatting rooms, enabling users to chat with strangers on specific topics.

'Rooms', which has been active in the US since last October, will be available in Spanish, French and German, in addition to English, for devices that operate iOS software, and soon will be available on android devices as well.

Josh Miller, product manager of Facebook Rooms, told Efe news agency that they discovered that personal interests may not amuse friends, and people generally do not feel comfortable sharing their interests on Facebook or Instagram.

The new app, created by the Facebook Creative Labs Unit, aims to connect people with common interests so they can exchange ideas and resources, and is inspired on internet forums, Miller said.

'Rooms' is intended to be a tool to share ideas and helpful resources for hobbies, rather than a platform to make friends.

It allows the creation of theme rooms in which photos and videos can be posted, with open or restricted access.

IANS

Markets on a roll: Sensex scales new peak on falling oil prices

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Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex spurted to a new peak of 28,765.52 and the NSE Nifty scaled a life-time high of 8,591.40 in opening trade today as December series in the derivative segment commenced on a strong footing on
sustained fund inflows amid falling global crude prices.

Besides, positions enlarged by retail investors ahead of the September quarter GDP data to be released later in the day
and RBI monetary policy review next week also influenced trading sentiment, brokers said.

The 30-share index, which had gained 100.86 points in the previous two sessions, zoomed by 326.61 points, or 1.14
per cent, to trade at a fresh record-high of 28,765.52, breaching previous peak of 28,541.96 reached on November 24.

All the sectoral indices, led by banking, consumer durables and auto, were trading in the positive territory with
gains up to 2.03 per cent.

On similar lines, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty climbed 97.20 points, or 1.14 per cent, to scale a new peak
of 8,591.40, surpassing its earlier record of 8,535.35, touched on November 25.

Sentiments bolstered on continued buying by foreign funds and retail investors as global crude oil prices fell to over
4-year lows, which is likely to help the government to tackle both current account and fiscal deficits and also lower
subsidy bill, they said.

Globally, Brent crude prices dipped to over four-year low of USD 72.59 per barrel in Asian trade.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 0.14 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei moved up by 1.05
per cent in early trade today. PTI