Plea for spectrum term extension dismissed by Supreme Court

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the petitions filed by a host of telecom operators, seeking an extension of their existing licences for spectrum, or airwaves, for various service areas across the country.

'We see no merit in these appeals and writ petitions. Therefore, all the appeals and writ petitions are dismissed,' said the judgement of a bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and R.K. Agrawal, dismissing the clutch of petitions on similar lines.

The telecom companies, like Bharti Airtel, Idea, Vodafone and Reliance, had moved the court seeking extension of their licences in different circles, which are about to expire. They contended that under the terms of contract, they had a right to have their claim for extension considered.

In December this year, seven licences each of Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications, four licences of Bharti Airtel and six licences of Vodafone were set complete their 20-year term after which they hoped to have them renewed. In total, there are 29 licences in 18 service areas, set to expire this fiscal.

The telecom operators maintained that the government was neither entitled to, nor justified, in calling upon them to take part in the recent auction for spectrum and obtain the necessary airwaves to offer their services in their respective licences.

Such a decision of the government violated their contractual rights, telecom companies had contended, adding that under the terms of licence, they were entitled to seek an extension but not a 'renewal' of the licence.

The telecom companies had said that word 'extension' in the licence confers a higher right than the right to seek a renewal.

While agreeing with the telecom companies that the licence granted to them under Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 was a 'contract' between the them and the government, the apex court referred to an earlier judgment in 2G matter.

This verdict had said that this was clearly a matter of an economic policy, entailing an intricate economic choice and the court lacked the necessary expertise to make such choice.

The apex court also referred to some relevant clauses of the licences. 'It is clear that the licencees have no automatic right of renewal/extension on the expiry of the original tenure of the license,' it observed.

'The contract only provided for extension of the period of license at the sole discretion of the licensor subject to the condition that the LICENSEE makes an application seeking an extension during the 19th year of the currency of the licence.'

Having said this, the court said it appeared that all of the licencsees did make such an application. It also said this while examining the question: What are the obligations of the licensor (the government) on receipt of such an application?

The obligations of the licensor flow from two sources -- from the contract, and from the Constitution of India and the relevant provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.

In the event of any conflict between the said two sets of obligations, the further question would be which one of the conflicting obligations prevail?

FIR filed against IIPM founder

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New Delhi: Delhi Police have registered an FIR against Arindam Chaudhuri, founder of Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), on the basis of a complaint by the University Grants Commission of 'misleading, cheating and fooling' its students as its courses were not recognised by any recognised authority.

'We have registered an FIR under Section 420 of IPC against IIPM Dean Arindam Choudhari and his father Malayendra Kisor Chaudhuri, who is a Director, based on the UGC complaint. We are probing the matter,' Joint CP (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said.

A notice has been sent to both of them to join the investigation, police said. IIPM, however, has questioned the UGC complaint and said the institute was not cheating its students. The UGC, in its complaint, has said that despite the fact its courses are not authorised, the institute was 'fooling' the students by charging a hefty fee from them.

Chaudhari said in a statement it was sad that some sections of the media have decided to pick up a case that was 6 months old and wondered how this could amount to cheating.

'UGC and AICTE keep themselves in news by targeting IIPM with their lies because we have stayed consciously out of their purview and accused them of massive corruption', he said.

'We have never claimed that the institute is recognised by any statutory body nor have we claimed we give degrees. We give certificates and write clearly everywhere that 'students interested in de jure recognition of IIPM's programmes need not apply to IIPM! Its written clearly since 1970s in our prospectus and in our websites since it came into effect,' the IIPM dean also said.

'We have been cooperating with the police ever since the first notice came and will continue to do so as law abiding citizens,' he added.

PTI

No need to switch off your smartphone at night

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New York: If you often switch off your smartphone at night to give it some rest do remember that such 'rest periods' don't do any good to your cell phone.

'I would say that shutting down your phone at night isn't something that necessarily falls under routine maintenance,' observes iFixit founder Kyle Wiens, a technology expert.

According to Wiens, shutting your smartphone off won't necessarily help save your battery.

'Batteries in phones have a finite lifespan -- the more that you use them, the faster that battery wears out,' he says.

In general, smartphone batteries have a life of between 300 to 500 full-charge to fully-discharged cycles. And even if you only use a fraction of your phone's battery and then recharge it to 100 percent, that still counts towards a full cycle.

'If you wear your battery down 50 percent then charge it back up, that's half a cycle,' says Wiens.

Powering down your smartphone at night won't help preserve the battery, since it's unlikely that you would be using the device at that time, anyhow.

'It comes to how hard you use your phone,' says Wiens. For instance, if you're constantly streaming music, watching videos, or using it as a Global Positioning System (GPS) device while mounted on a car's sun-soaked dashboard (heat kills batteries too), your phone's power won't last very long.

Instead, what you can do, advises Wien, is periodically drain your battery to zero percent and let your smartphone die.

'If you run your battery all the way down to zero every once in a while -- once a year is fine -- it makes the percentage count,' says the tech expert.

IANS

SC allows Madhani to visit Kerala

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has given permission to Abdul Nassar Madhani to visit Kerala for 5 days. The permission was granted to visit his ailing mother who is undergoing treatment at the Thiruvananthapuram RCC and his paralytic father. The SC also informed that it is the Karnataka police which must ensure security for Madhani when he visits Kerala.

Madhani had sought permission to visit Kerala in the affidavit filed in the Supreme court. In the affidavit, he had also stated that the Karnataka govt was trying to ruin the case by sabotaging it.

Meanwhile, the trial court informed SC that it would take 2 years to complete the investigations relating to the Bangalore blast case. It was the Bangalore Additional City Civil and Sessions Court which informed this to the SC through the Karnataka High Court.

Picasso's Women of Algiers smashes auction record

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Media caption "It's yours, sold" - the moment Women of Algiers breaks record

Picasso's Women of Algiers has become the most expensive painting to sell at auction, going for $160m (£102.6m) at Christie's in New York.

Eleven minutes of prolonged bidding from telephone buyers preceded the final sale - for much more than its pre-sale estimate of $140m.
The final price of $179.3m (£115m) includes commission of just over 12%.
The sale also featured Alberto Giacometti's life-size sculpture Pointing Man, which set its own record.
It is now the most expensive sculpture sold at auction, after going for $141.3m (£90.6m). Both buyers chose to remain anonymous.

The previous world record for a painting sold at auction was $142.4m, for British painter Francis Bacon's Three Studies of Lucian Freud in 2013.
The Picasso oil painting is a vibrant, cubist depiction of nude courtesans, and is part of a 15-work series the Spanish artist created in 1954-55 designated with the letters A to O.
"This is an absolutely blockbuster picture - it's one of the most exciting pictures that we've seen on the market for 10 years," said Philip Hoffman, founder and CEO of the Fine Art Fund Group.
"Yes there are one or two [Picassos] that could even smash that record but it has a huge wall presence, it's a big show-off picture.
"For anybody that wants to have a major Picasso, this is it - and $179m in 10 years' time will probably look inexpensive," said Hoffman.

Man Pointing by Alberto Giacometti also set a record

Analysis: Arts Editor, Will Gompertz

Make no mistake; this is a fine painting, by a great artist, produced at an important time in his career.
He started the Women of Algiers series in 1954 shortly after the death of his friend and competitor, Henri Matisse, the master of what he called the Odalisque - exotic paintings of Turkish women in harems.
Now in his 70s, Picasso felt he should pick up the Orientalist mantel from Matisse while also looking to bring together many of the influences that informed his own art. You can see an echo of his famous proto-Cubist work Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and the debt it owes to Cezanne and El Greco. There was his lifelong admiration for the French romantic painter Eugene Delacroix who painted the original Women of Algiers (1834), and - of course - his adoration of the female form.
Added to this rich mix was the geo-politics of the time, which saw an uprising in the French colony of Algeria that would eventually lead to the country's independence.
In Women of Algiers version O, Picasso has distilled all of these ingredients into one large-scale painting of great quality: a study not only of the Arabesque, but also a serious enquiry into the nature of colour, line and composition.

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Media caption How the record auction unfolded

$100M artworks

• Picasso, Women of Algiers - $160m (2015)
• Alberto Giacometti, Pointing Man - $141.3m (2015)
• Francis Bacon, Three Studies of Lucian Freud - $142m (2013)
• Edvard Munch, The Scream - $119.9m (2012)
• Picasso, Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust - $106.5m (2010)
• Alberto Giacometti, Walking Man I - $104.3m (2010)
• Picasso, Boy With a Pipe - $104.1m (2004)

Experts believe the investment value of art is behind the high prices.
"I don't really see an end to it, unless interest rates drop sharply, which I don't see happening in the near future," said Manhattan dealer Richard Feigen.
"There's a huge amount of demand," added Hoffman, founder and CEO of the Fine Art Fund Group.
"The world's billionaires are in New York, the world's museum buyers are there.
"I don't think we've ever seen a sale as important as this in Christie's and Sotheby's in my 25 years of working in the art world."

Exports of coconut, products from India touch record high

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 Kochi: While coconut yield in major producer states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka is showing a decline, the export of coconut and coconut products from the country in the last fiscal touched a record high of Rs.1,312.38 crore.

A report prepared by V.C. Vasanthakumar of the Coconut Development Board (CDB) says there has been a 13.5 percent growth in exports as compared to the 2013-14 figures.

According to the CDB's estimates for 2014-15, the coconut production in the country is expected at 20,000 million nuts, a drop of 10 percent compared to 2013-14.

Among various coconut products, the share of activated carbon alone in the exports accounted for Rs.557.80 crore.

The primary raw material used for activated carbon is any organic material with a high carbon content, and coconut shell is one such product that has now started fetching good money.

Exported dry coconut accounted for Rs.194 crore followed by coconut oil Rs.147.07 crore, and other fresh, dried, shredded and frozen products accounted for Rs.135.84 crore.

Export of dry coconut to Pakistan accounted for Rs.183.06 crore.

The report pointed out that during the last fiscal, India imported coconut products worth Rs.421.66 crore, including products like coconut fatty acid, copra, expeller cake and coconut oil.

During the period, domestic price of coconut oil continued to remain high over the international prices, said the report.

Speaking to IANS, CDB chairman T.K. Jose said for the past few years this has been the trend in exports, and the need of the hour is to increase the production of coconuts and make value addition to it.

'What has to happen with immediate effect is there should be value addition, especially in the production of coconut fatty acids, coconut cream and milk products. Today, these products are imported. If this happens, there will be a huge surge in exports,' said Jose.

Vasanthakumar added that the exports of coconut and coconut products will be higher this year as the export of virgin coconut oil is expected to rise from 815 tonnes in the last fiscal to over 2,000 tonnes.

Several people killed as another big quake jolts Nepal

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File photo

Kathmandu: A major earthquake on Tuesday jolted Nepal, striking fear among the people and causing panic in a country which was barely recovering from the devastating April 25 temblor.
Cracked buildings collapsed in a heap of debris and landslides cut off roads as an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale hit Nepal, with its epicentre not far from Mount Everest -- the world's highest peak at 8,848 m.
Terrified people ran out of homes and offices as the buildings began to shake violently due to the earthquake. They ran to open space and parks here.
"It was frightening," said an eyewitness who clutched her daughter. "It felt worse than last time," she added
Media said seven people were killed in Chautara Town, east of Kathmandu, where buildings also collapsed. The toll is likely to rise as several people have been injured in the quake.
Six strong aftershocks followed in quick succession. Four of the aftershocks were in the epicentre Kodari while the strongest aftershock measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has directed authorities to be on alert for rescue and relief operations.
A tweet from the prime minister's office said: "PM took stock of the situation following the fresh major earthquake felt in Nepal and parts of India, at a high-level meeting."
India Meteorological Department chief L.S. Rathore said that aftershocks could well continue for a few more weeks and months.
The tremors were felt in India, particularly in capital Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Amritsar, Kolkata and the northeastern city of Guwahati. Buildings also shook in faraway Kochi in Kerala.
In Delhi, people ran out as buildings began to shake. Metro services were brought to a halt.
Rohtash Sharma said in Delhi: "I was at a bank when I felt the earthquake. I immediately ran out along with others."
"Oh...this time I felt that it lasted longer than the one that we had in April. We all rushed out of our houses," said Rakesh Sharma, who lives on the fifth floor in a high-rise building in C-Scheme area of Jaipur in India's Rajasthan state.
In Kathmandu, an eyewitness said that he saw a building fall.
Another witness told IANS that he saw debris falling on a taxi packed with people. The fate of the people in the taxi was not immediately known.
Onlookers were left dazed and distraught on seeing the buildings collapse with a roar, a replay of the April 25 quake horror.
There was no electricity in Kathmandu. Internet connectivity too snapped.
People desperate for news tried to get in touch through their mobile phones, but that too did not work. The mobile network was jammed.
In Kathmandu, people made a beeline for shops to stock on water and other essential commodities here.
Harried shopkeepers were seen trying to manage the surging crowds at their shops.
People feared a repeat of the April 25 earthquake which caused widespread devastation.
"It is really scary," said a Kathmandu resident as he rushed to join the people at the local grocery shop.
Nepal's National Assembly was in session when the earth began to shake, creating panic among the lawmakers. They quickly trooped out of the building, which was soon plunged into darkness.
Kathmandu airport was closed temporarily as the ATC staff hurried out of the tower.

Cosmic 'dinosaur egg' about to hatch discovered

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Image of dense cores of molecular gas/ source: news.co.au

Washington: Astronomers have discovered what may be the first known example of a globular cluster about to be born - an incredibly massive and extremely dense yet star-free cloud of molecular gas.

Globular clusters -- a dazzling group of up to a million ancient stars -- are among the oldest objects in the universe.

Though plentiful in and around many galaxies, newborn examples are rare and the conditions necessary to create new ones have never been detected till date.

'We may be witnessing one of the most ancient and extreme modes of star formation in the universe,' said Kelsey Johnson, astronomer at University of Virginia in Charlottesville and lead author of the paper.

This remarkable object looks like it was plucked straight out of the very early universe.

This object, which the astronomers playfully refer to as the 'Firecracker,' is located approximately 50 million light-years away from the Earth.

What makes the 'Firecracker' unique is its extraordinary mass, comparatively small size and apparent lack of stars.

With Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimetre Array (ALMA) telescope, the astronomers were able to find and study in detail a pristine example of such an object before stars forever change its unique characteristics.

Most globular clusters formed during a veritable 'baby boom' around 12 billion years ago at a time when galaxies first assembled.

Each contains as many as a million densely packed 'second generation' stars.

Our own Milky Way is known to have at least 150 such clusters, though it may have many more.

Globular clusters evolve out of their embryonic, star-free stage very rapidly -- in as little as one million years.

This means the object discovered by ALMA is undergoing a very special phase of its life, offering astronomers a unique opportunity to study a major component of the early universe.

The paper is set to appear in the Astrophysical Journal.

IANS

Jayalalithaa acquitted in disproportionate assets case

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Bengaluru: A special bench of the Karnataka High Court on Monday acquitted former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case in which she was convicted and sentenced for four years' imprisonment by a trial court on September 27, 2014.

Pronouncing the verdict, single-judge bench of Justice C.R. Kumaraswamy said all the charges on which Jayalalithaa was convicted and sentenced by the trial court were not sustainable and upheld her appeal.

Meanwhile, security has been stepped up in Bengaluru ahead of Monday's crucial verdict by a special bench of the Karnataka High Court on former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa's appeal against her conviction in a disproportionate assets case.

'We have deployed additional forces in the city and imposed ban order within 1km radius of the Karnataka High Court from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday to maintain law and order,' Additional Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar told IANS.

'Ten platoons of the Karnataka State Reserve Police, 500 policemen and 25 senior police officers will be present in and around the high court to ensure peace and prevent any untoward incident. Entry into the high court will also be restricted to avoid crowding,' Kumar said.

A trial court, headed by special judge John Michael D'Cunha, had on September 27, 2014 convicted and sentenced Jayalalithaa and her three accomplices to a four-year jail term in the Rs.66.65-crore illegal assets case that dragged on for 18 years.

The three co-convicts are Sasikala Natarajan, her nephew V.N. Sudhakaran and her aunt J. Ellavarsi. Sudhakaran is also the disowned foster son of Jayalalithaa.

The apex court on October 17, 2014 had granted interim bail till December 18 to the 67-year-old Jayalalithaa and her three co-convicts. Their bail was subsequently extended till May 12.

The general secretary of Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK had also spent three weeks in the central jail on the city's outskirts after the high court rejected her bail petition.

Simple exercises can help control snoring

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New York: If snoring is hampering your partner's sound sleep, simple mouth and tongue exercises can do wonders.

Researchers have found that these exercises can reduce frequency of snoring by 36 percent and total power of snoring by 59 percent.

'This study demonstrates a promising, non-invasive treatment for large populations suffering from snoring, the snorers and their bed partners, that are largely omitted from research and treatment,' said Barbara Phillips, medical director, sleep laboratory at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in the US.

Snorers can try pushing the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth and sliding the tongue backward.

Sucking the tongue upward against the roof of the mouth, and pressing the entire tongue against the roof of the mouth can also help.

Forcing the back of the tongue against the floor of the mouth while keeping the tip of the tongue in contact with the bottom, front teeth and elevating the back of the roof of the mouth and uvula while saying the vowel 'A' are other exercises that the researchers suggested.

The study was conducted on 39 patients who were randomised for three months of treatment with nasal dilator strips plus respiratory exercises (Control) or daily oropharyngeal exercises (therapy).

The participants were evaluated at study entry and end by sleep questionnaires and full polysomnography with objective measurements of snoring.

'The exercises significantly reduced snoring in our study group,' said study author Geraldo Lorenzi-Filho from University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.