Assaulted Indian student in Australia remains critical

The condition of 20-year-old Indian student, who was brutally attacked on December 29, remains critical but was responding to medicine well, according to his brother.

Manrajwinder Singh from Reservoir was standing with his other two friends near the footpath east of Princess Bridge when they were approached by eight men of African appearance and a woman at about 4.15am (local time) on Sunday.

The trio was attacked by the gang who fled away with their mobile phones, according to a police statement.

Mr Singh, a student of accounting course in Cambridge college in Melbourne, remains in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Alfred hospital after being operated once for serious head injury.

The victim's brother Yadwinder Singh said his brother was still in induced coma but was responding well to medicines.

"He is not out of danger but he is responding well to the medicines," he said.

Yadwinder praised the hospital staff and the prompt work of Victoria police in nabbing the culprits.

"The hospital is giving the best medical treatment to my brother and I am satisfied with the way Victorian police has responded to this incident," he said.

"However, right now our main concern is the recovery of our brother," Yadwinder said.

While the investigations were still on, Victoria Police has already arrested three attackers.

A 17-year-old Sydenham boy was charged with intentionally causing serious injury, robbery and theft and has been remanded in custody to appear at a children's court today.

Earlier, a 16 year-old St Albans boy was charged with serious assault and remanded in custody.

The third arrest in the case, a 15-year-old Ascot Vale boy has been released and is expected to be charged on summons.

Officials at the Indian consulate in Melbourne are also in regular touch with the victim's family.

"We are in regular touch with the Singh's family and have extended all the support we can offer" Nirmal Chowdhry at the Indian Consulate in Melbourne, who visited the victim at the hospital, said.

The Indian consulate is helping out the family to speed up the visa process of Mr Singh's parents who are currently in India.

Yesterday a group of Indian community members including Councillor and former Darebin mayor Tim Singh, and Australian Labour Party member Manoj kumar visited the victim's family to show their support and express sympathy.

Mr Kumar said "safety is a biggest concern in nearby CBD area especially for students who work late night for their expenses and this is one of the example of safety failure."

More: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/assaulted-indian-student-in-australia-remains-critical-465954

Can Narendra Modi win BJP allies? Three southern parties to decide soon

The BJP's ability to win over new allies highlighting its prime minister candidate Narendra Modi will taste its first success when a few parties in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The first expansion of the NDA after Nitish Kumar-led JD(U)’s exit in July is expected mid-January, which marks the festivities of Pongal and Sankranti in the twosouthern states.

Vaiko-led MDMK and S Ramadoss-led PMK in Tamil Nadu and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh are set to join the NDA.

The BJP also hopes it will successfully woo Tamil actor-turned politician Vijayakanth, who leads the DMDK and is assiduously bei

ng wooed by the Congress and the DMK too.

To try its luck in coastal areas, the saffron party finally decided to stay hitched to the TDP led by Chandrababu Naidu than with Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh. Naidu was with the NDA till 2004.

Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu, who is keen for a tie-up with the TDP, is counting on some Union ministers from Seemandhra region to contest under the BJP banner.

In Tamil Nadu, the PMK and the MDMK will formalise their decision to support Modi this week. Vaiko and Ramadoss concluded parleys with central BJP leaders a few days ago.

Vaiko confirmed that he had held talks with BJP leaders, saying his MDMK's main objectives were to remove the Congress-led government at the centre and also prevent formation of any other Congress-supported government.

According to Vaiko, support for the BJP was gaining and a "Modi wave" was visible across the country.

In fact, both Vaiko and Ramadoss had welcomed the BJP’s announcement of Modi as the PM candidate. While Vaiko has pockets of influence in southern Tamil Nadu, Ramadoss' party influence is over the Vanniyar community in northern part of the state.

Besides the MDMK and the PMK, the BJP hopes it could stitch a rainbow alliance by including regional outfits like Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam and Thevar Paervai.

The BJP's decision to leading a front of smaller parties came after Modi addressed a huge rally in Tiruchi in September. Its leaders decided against aligning with the DMK due to its image as a corrupt party. Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK made it clear that it was not keen for any alliance with a national party.

The saffron party eyes Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Tirupur and the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituencies it had won in the 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha polls.

Already, BJP cadres are on village-to-village campaign called "Veeduthorum Modi, Ullamthorum Thamarai (Modi in every household and lotus in every heart)".

It seeks to highlight Modi’s achievements and corruption under the UPA.

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/can-narendra-modi-win-bjp-allies-three-southern-parties-to-decide-soon/article1-1168371.aspx

Justice Ganguly case: Centre likely to decide on Presidential reference today

The Union Cabinet is likely to take a decision today on sending a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court for conducting a probe into allegations of sexual harassment against Justice AK Ganguly, who is accused of sexually harassing a young law intern.

"The Home Ministry will place a note before the cabinet tomorrow. The cabinet will take a call," Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said yesterday.

Sources said once the Cabinet clears the proposal, it will be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for approval. Since the President can only act on the advice of the Cabinet, he had referred the matter to the government.

Once the Cabinet gives its nod, the reference will be sent to the President, who will then send the matter to the Chief Justice of India seeking a probe into the issue based on the points raised in the reference.

Sources said the Home Ministry will also place before the Cabinet views of Attorney General GE Vahanvati, who had noted that a case can be made out against 66-year-old Justice Ganguly following allegations of "unwelcome behaviour" towards the law intern.

The Attorney General's suggestions came after his views were invited in a letter to the President by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking Justice Ganguly's removal from the chairmanship of West Bengal Human Rights Commission.

Justice Ganguly has strongly denied the charge and refused to quit despite massive outrage against him holding on to the post.

Last week, the law intern had hinted at filing a police complaint against Justice Ganguly after he wrote to Chief Justice of India, claiming that "powerful interests" against whom he had ruled as a judge were tarnishing his image.

More: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/justice-ganguly-case-centre-likely-to-decide-on-presidential-reference-today-465871

Police bust gang of inter-state vehicle lifters, recover six vehicles

Police on Wednesday claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of vehicle lifters with the arrest of five persons in the district.

The accused were arrested frin Lisadi police station area of the district and six vehicles were recovered from their possession late Tuesday night, police said.

The vehicles included a Honda City, three motorcycles and a scooty, they said.

Police bust gang of inter-state vehicle lifters, recover six vehicles

Acting on a tip-off, police raided a hotel on Hapur road and arrested Krishna, Ramavtar, Afzal, Pappu and Nitu, SSP Omkar Singh said.

Gang leader Krishna told the police that he had stolen a two-wheeler from near the Ghaziabad bus terminus three-four day ago, Singh said.

Other members of the gang are being traced, the police said.

More: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/police-bust-gang-of-interstate-vehicle-lifters-recover-six-vehicles/442835-3-242.html

India scraps AugustaWestland VVIP chopper deal on New Year's Day

Apparently not satisfied by the explanation provided by officials of AugustaWestland over bribery charges, Indian government on New Year's maiden day ordered the Rs 3,600 crore scandal-tainted VVIP chopper deal to be cancelled, reports quoted defence sources as saying.

The decision by Ministry of Defence came after a meeting between PM Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister AK Antony on Wednesday morning.

The scrapping of the deal with AugustaWestland – the British arm of Italian firm Finmeccanica - could now open the doors for fresh contract with other chopper companies like United Technologies Corp's Sikorsky Aircraft, EADS' Eurocopter and Lockheed Martin.

Casting aspersions on the cancellation of the deal, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leader Prakash Javadekar tweeted that it was an act done to avoid embarrassment to the "first family".

He further questioned what penalty will India pay for the cancellation.

On the other hand, Communist Party (Marxist) (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury welcomed the move saying, "Finally they have realized that there is something fishy in this deal. But it shouldn't just stop here. I think there are people who are involved in this sort of graft in the defence deals. This is not an isolated incident".

"Mere cancelling of deal... is not sufficient," reports quoted him as saying.

The deal struck with AugustaWestland for procuring 12 AW101 choppers for transporting top political officials came under scanner in February when the chief executive of Italian firm Finmeccanica was arrested by the Italian police under charges of paying bribe of Rs 360 crore to secure the deal.

Subsequently, the Indian government froze the payments on the Rs 3,600 cr deal.

Ex-IAF chief SP Tyagi also came under cloud in connection with the kick-back charges.

The Defence Ministry in October had issued a showcause notice to AugustaWestland, seeking to cancel the deal and had offered the company time till Nov 26 to reply.

Defence Minister AK Antony too, remained firm on Indian stance, reiterating that the company had violated the integrity pact, by paying bribes and hence the deal must be cancelled.

However, AugustaWestland had denied any wrongdoings in its reply.

Earlier, fearing the cancellation of the deal, AugustaWestland had attempted to invoke the arbitration clause of the contract. However, the Indian Defence Ministry poured cold water on the company's hopes and ruled out any such arbitration, saying that it was not possible as there had been a violation of the integrity pact.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/india-scraps-augustawestland-vvip-chopper-deal-on-new-year-s-day_900793.html

A decent year, but don't mention the bowling

India have lost a home Test series to England to go with the 4-0 whitewash in Australia earlier in the year. They have lost an ODI to Pakistan, and are about to go down in the home ODI series. Forget a season full of home Tests and only two away, if somebody had told you it would take India a poor session on their final day of international cricket in 2013 to lose their first Test of the year, you would have kissed the hands of that somebody if you were an India fan. Add to it the Champions Trophy, the only ICC prize missing in captain MS Dhoni's cabinet, and you could be looking at a great year.

It was always going to be a year of repair for India. They were struggling with the grammar of Test cricket, had too many slow legs and tired minds, and had about a year of rebuilding before they went into big tests away from home. In a way, the wins at home would lose half their sheen if they didn't compete against South Africa in the last 15 days of the year. Before those 15 days, though, India had to go through a lot of tough decisions.

Towards the end of 2012, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, important parts of India's No. 1 Test side, left the selectors no option but to drop them. That it came to this says a lot about the previous selection committee. The new players who came in brought freshness and hunger. Those qualities alone do not cut it, though. These new players also brought basic skill, and India kept winning, even as the expectations stayed reasonable.

Before the last 15 days of the year, India won everything that was really important. Australia were blanked 4-0 at home, but the players who had said to the Australians, "We'll see you at home", when losing Down Under were not around to enjoy the win. India were outsiders when they went to England for the Champions Trophy, but somehow managed to pull off a heist despite a thin bowling attack. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma scored centuries on their Test debuts, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami were revelations with the ball, and Ajinkya Rahane capped off the year nicely in South Africa.

In between those two events came the IPL, which continued to rob India of young fast bowlers. The list of promising quicks who are content with playing just the IPL is getting way too long. One fast bowler lost more: Sreesanth and the whole IPL spot-fixing scandal was the biggest story in Indian cricket in 2013. It was against the backdrop of this scandal that India went to the Champions Trophy. That win was all the reassurance the desperate Indian cricket fan needed. MS Dhoni had now managed the improbable: won a world event with a young batting line-up and an attack about as reliable as a sombrero in a storm.

The rest of the year built up to India's big tour of South Africa. "Big" is a misnomer here because administrative tussles between the BCCI and CSA turned it into a little big tour. Virat Kohli began to dream of scoring a century in South Africa even as he prepared for the ODI feast against Australia at home. Others felt the same. They might not have got much time to get acclimatised in South Africa, but India went mentally charged up.

Just before those last 15 days began, though, India found their bowlers putting the side under so much pressure, they couldn't bat properly, and they lost both the completed ODIs in South Africa. In the two Tests, though, the batsmen played with such maturity and assuredness that you felt the future of the batting was in safe hands. That with at least two of them - Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara - you could expect a certain degree of consistency. Predictable standards from at least two batsmen is what every Test side needs in a batting line-up.

In the Test series, India showed they can compete with the best in the world; this ability had begun to be questioned towards the end of 2012. They lost 1-0 in South Africa, but they did better than expected. They also pushed the best side in the world hard in the first Test.

There were gains to be looked at towards the end of a year during which India won 29 of the 43 international matches they played. However, all that can't paper over the lack of bowlers who can stay fit, intense and skilful for a considerable period of time.

High point
You might want to go with the Champions Trophy win or even the draw at the Wanderers, but the efficiency and ruthlessness with which India beat Australiaat home should take the honour. There was a synergy in the effort: the curators gave India the home advantage they asked for, India in turn asked their young batsmen to work hard on difficult pitches, and the young spinners all delivered. It is up for debate whether this will work as a long-term strategy, and if it will affect the development of fast bowlers for overseas tours, but this was a time when India needed a win badly; they needed the youngsters to know what it feels like to win a Test series. Any win would have done; 4-0 was an absolute bonus.

Low point
The fact that even 350 didn't seem a safe total against a half-decent batting side in an ODI. India will need to do something about that before they go to the World Cup in early 2015.

New(ish) kid on the block
This was not an arrival but a comeback. There aren't many who didn't scoff a little at the prospect of Jadeja playing Test cricket as a designated allrounder, coming in ahead of R Ashwin. By the end of the year, he was the one doing the laughing, having taken30 wickets in five Tests at an average of 19, including the first Indian spin five-for away from home in three years. Jadeja showed that he merited a place in the side as a spinner alone. He also reiterated that our sport takes all sorts. His fast, unsubtle but accurate spin might just have as much of a place in Test cricket as the classical, more beautiful flight and drift and dip do.

What 2014 holds
A sterner test. Eleven Tests out of Asia. This is a year when India will continuously be on the road, when their batting skill and bowling endurance will be tested. Two in New Zealand will be a tight affair, but five and four in England and Australia will push India - for whom two Tests right now seem the ideal duration of a Test series - further. You shudder to imagine what shape their attack would have been in for a third Test, had there been one in South Africa. The core of the batting, though, has been put in place. It's only the bowling that will need big decisions: Ashwin and Jadeja can manage the away spin load between them, Shami should be persisted with, Zaheer Khan will need to be constantly reassessed, but where is the third seamer? The same question will trouble Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher in the ODIs too, this being the year before the World Cup.

Before that, though, there is a World Twenty20, most likely in Bangladesh. Another ICC trophy can't be ruled out.

More: http://www.espncricinfo.com/review2013/content/story/706091.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

Why Devyani Khobragade didn’t tell NY cops she had diplomatic immunity

Several crucial questions still remain unanswered in the Devyani Khobragade incident. The million dollar question is this: why she did not tell the police officers who came to arrest her in New York on 12 December that she enjoyed full diplomatic immunity? Devyani was actually covered under full diplomatic immunity at the time of her arrest and it turns out there are documents to prove it. (Please see the attached document) The reason the diplomat didn't disclose it was that she herself was not aware of the fact she had been actually accredited as an “Advisor” to the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) in New York with effect from 26 August 2013. Inquiries conducted by this writer from diplomatic channels have revealed that neither Devyani nor the Ministry of External Affairs was aware of this vital fact on 12 December, the day of her arrest. The diplomat realised only later that she enjoyed complete immunity. 

PTI She had registered with the UN for her PMI accreditation and forgotten about it. The MEA too did not discover this till the incident exploded in the face of the Government of India after her arrest. After the high-octane diplomatic spat that was triggered between India and the United States, the Government of India promptly issued an executive order transferring Devyani to the PMI so that she gets full diplomatic immunity. This was New Delhi’s desperate fire-fighting measure to respond to the American provocation. But till this time, neither Devyani nor the MEA seemed to be aware that her earlier registration with the UN had already met with success and she was covered by complete diplomatic immunity at the time of the ignominious developments on 12 December. Insiders reveal that after the Indian government transferred her to the PMI (so that she can get complete diplomatic immunity) she went about the task of doing the paper work. At that stage, she realized that she had already sent in an application for the same purpose several months before and her photo and her coordinates should be in the UN database. 

It was at that point of time that Devyani realised that not only she had applied to the UN but the fact that her application had been already accepted. This explains why Devyani did not claim full diplomatic immunity at the time of her arrest and subsequent incarceration. The diplomat's second big mistake was that she did not carefully study the form her domestic help Sangeeta Richard had submitted wherein she had filled $ 4500 as her monthly salary, whereas this figure was meant to represent Devyani’s salary. In retrospect, Devyani finds herself in the snake pit because of these two mistakes which eventually cost her dearly. It is thanks to these mistakes that her passport is deposited with the New York court, which means that though she is free to travel anywhere in the US, she cannot leave the country.

 The incident also throws up important lessons for the Indian government. Perhaps the most important lesson is that the Government of India needs to work out an institutionalised mechanism ensuring that all domestic helps and non-diplomatic staff are hired by the Indian government rather than by individual officers. This is the most effective solution, but it does not find favour with the Ministry of Finance which has been blocking it. The finance ministry’s objection is that if the Government of India were to enter into contracts with non-diplomatic staff meant to serve Indian diplomats abroad, then this might lead to a situation where these employees would extract their pound of flesh and press claims for facilities that are for full-fledged Government of India servants. In such a scenario, there seems to be confusion all around on the status of India Based Domestic Assistants (IBDA).

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/world/why-devyani-khobragade-didnt-tell-ny-cops-that-she-had-full-diplomatic-immunity-1318705.html?utm_source=ref_article

Arvind Kejriwal govt to face crucial trust vote today; Congress says firm on support

Five-day-old Kejriwal government faces the crucial vote of confidence in the Delhi assembly on Thursday which it is expected to sail through with the help of the Congress -- acrimony between the two sides notwithstanding.

While inviting the Aam Aadmi Party to form the government, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had asked it to prove majority within a week.

Delhi is vital to AAP’s national designs as it can showcase its “achievements” in the Capital during the Lok Sabha elections due April-May. If the government falls, AAP can gain sympathy, blaming the Congress.

In the 70-member Delhi assembly the majority mark is 36. AAP has 28 members and the Congress, which has extended “outside support” to its government, has eight. Lone Janata Dal (United) MLA Shoaib Iqbal and Independent MLA Rambir Shokeen, too, are expected to vote in favour of Delhi’s first minority government. With 31 members, the BJP is the single largest party in the House.

There was no threat to the government, Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh said on Wednesday. “Our stand is clear. We had offered our support to the AAP government on December 13 and we are not reviewing it,” he said.

A floor test, or the vote of trust, is a simple way of proving that the government enjoys the confidence of the House. If more than half the number of members present in the House backs it, the government wins the confidence vote.

HT Analysis: Aam Aadmi Party on the rise but is it on the right path

The AAP and the Congress have publically taken on each other, raising concerns about the longevity of the government. The vote on Thursday would be closely watched.

Reflecting the unease, Kejriwal had said on Tuesday he was not sure of the Congress or the BJP and was working assuming the government had just 48 hours.

The CM or one of his colleagues will move the motion and the outcome will be decided by a voice vote.

Though eight Congress MLAs are divided on the issue of support, party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who is also in charge of Delhi, said there was no change in the party stand.

“The Congress MLAs will support the confidence motion to be moved by the AAP government and this support extends to the election of the speaker also,” Ahmed said.

“We will issue a whip tomorrow (Thursday), if required,” another senior Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.

Once it wins the vote of confidence, the government can go ahead with its plans for Delhi. Even if the Congress doesn’t agree with it, it will not be able to withdraw support, as a no-confidence motion cannot be moved within six months of another.

Last month, AAP announced itself on the political scene in a spectacular fashion by a strong showing in the Delhi polls barely a year after its launch.

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/specials/coverage/myindia-myvote/chunk-ht-ui-myindiamyvote-leadingstories/kejriwal-govt-to-seek-crucial-trust-vote-today-in-delhi-assembly/sp-article10-1168389.aspx

First In Net - Ajith's Veeram Official HD Trailer

Jahnabi could almost be Microsoft Word processor speaking Assamese

A bunch of volunteers from Assam have banded together to build Jahnabi, a Microsoft Word processor clone that can do Assamese. It is basically a tool which allows people to type out the aforesaid language while employing the Unicode method. And best of all, it’s free to download and use.

The processor integrates an auto-suggestion feature for words it thinks the user wants to punch in. You’d obviously expect such a program to incorporate a dictionary and it does, no surprises there. Jahnabi also has idioms at its figurative fingertips and will serve as a spell-checker too.



You can choose to add words to this dictionary and allot shortcuts for idioms or sentences you fall back on frequently. In the future, the developers behind this software intend to add an Offline Digital Dictionary carrying descriptions of important areas and historical monuments in Assam.

The minimum system requirement for installing the word processor is Windows XP (SP 2)/Vista/7/8. The Assamese Unicode font must be pre-loaded onto the PC and 200MB RAM is also needed. Pr-installed Microsoft .NET 4.0 or above is another condition on the roster.

If you have anti-virus software on your desktop (and hopefully, you’re not one of those people who ignores the security of their PC), then it needs to be disabled. Once Jahnabi has been installed, you can include it in your anti-virus program’s exclusion or white list.

If you’d like to install Jahnabi on your PC, here’s a link to a YouTube video which should be of help. Mind you, the voiceover is in Assamese. This should suit just fine those who understand the language.

More: http://www.mobiletor.com/2013/12/31/jahnabi-almost-microsoft-word-processor-speaking-assamese/

FBI's most wanted woman fugitive was in Mysore between May and November

A 40-year hunt for a fugitive woman activist, wanted by both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US police for murder in the US, seems to have reached the state’s doorsteps.

Joanne Chesimard, 66, member of now defunct radical Left-wing groups Black Liberation Army (BLA) and Black Panther Party (BPP), who has been on the run for 40 years for killing a New Jersey state trooper and seriously injuring another in 1973, was reportedly last seen in Mysore.

The deceased trooper was identified as Werner Foerster and while the injured one was James Harper.

Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, carries a reward of $2 mn reward and this became the first woman to be placed by the FBI on its most wanted terrorist list. In 1977, Chesimard was convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and other crimes and was sentenced to life in prison. In 1979, she escaped from prison and surfaced in Cuba in 1984, where she was granted political asylum and was thought to residing till now.

Highly placed sources in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) said Chesimard surfaced in Mysore city between May and November this year. According to the IB sources, the agency acted on the information passed onto them by the CBI and the US Embassy in India, who were inturn appraised of the sudden developments by the FBI which has been tracking Chesimard’s movements. Chesimard was reportedly last seen in May in Mysore at Easy Day Mall and was in Mysore till the beginning of November this year.

IB sources say that Chesimard would be taking shelter in Karnataka and would be using buses or trains to travel since she can’t travel by air, as Look Out Notices have been issued at all airports in the state.

In May, the month she allegedly surfaced in Mysore, the FBI placed her in its most wanted terrorist list and offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest of Chesimard.

Additionally, the state of New Jersey is offering an independent reward of up to $1 million, bringing the total reward to $2 mn.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-dna-exclusive-fbi-s-most-wanted-woman-fugitive-was-in-mysore-between-may-and-november-1943012

Revealed: Why smoking is so terribly addictive

Researchers have tried to explain how nicotine exploits the body’s cellular machinery to promote addiction.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, nicotine activates receptors known as nAChRs and, remarkably, unlike most other drugs of abuse, it acts as a “pharmacological chaperone” to stabilize assembly of its receptors within the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) and increase their abundance at the cell surface (up-regulation).

Up-regulation of nAChRs plays a major role in nicotine addiction and, possibly, in the decreased susceptibility of smokers to Parkinson’s disease.

Receptors containing an alpha6 subunit (alpha6* nAChRs) are abundant in several specific brain regions.

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena used mice expressing alpha6 labeled with a fluorescent protein to show that exposure to nicotine—at a level comparable to that in human smokers—up-regulated alpha6* nAChRs in these areas of the brain.

The study has been published in The Journal of General Physiology.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report-revealed-why-smoking-is-so-terribly-addictive-1943217

Peer pressure may influence food choices

Obesity may be a "socially transmitted disease," suggests a new study which found that social norms influence our food choices.

Researchers conducted a systematic review of several experimental studies, each of which examined whether or not providing information about other peoples' eating habits influences food intake or choices.

After examining the data, investigators found consistent evidence that social norms influence food choices.

This meta-analysis found that if participants were given information indicating that others were making low-calorie or high-calorie food choices, it significantly increased the likelihood that participants made similar choices.

Also, data indicate that social norms influence the quantity of food eaten.

Additionally, the review indicated that suggesting that others eat large portions increased food intake by the participants. There was also a strong association between eating and social identity.

"It appears that in some contexts, conforming to informational eating norms may be a way of reinforcing identity to a social group, which is in line with social identity theory," said lead investigator Eric Robinson, from the University of Liverpool in UK.

"By this social identity account, if a person's sense of self is strongly guided by their identity as a member of their local community and that community is perceived to eat healthily, then that person would be hypothesised to eat healthily in order to maintain a consistent sense of social identity," said Robinson.

The need to solidify our place in our social group is just one way investigators found social norms influence our food choices.

The analysis also revealed that the social mechanisms that influence what we decide to consume are present even when we eat alone or are at work, whether or not we are aware of it.

"Norms influence behaviour by altering the extent to which an individual perceives the behaviour in question to be beneficial to them. Human behaviour can be guided by a perceived group norm, even when people have little or no motivation to please other people," said Robinson.

"Given that in some studies the participants did not believe that their behaviour was influenced by the informational eating norms, it seems that participants may not have been consciously considering the norm information when making food choices," said Robinson.

The study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/peer-pressure-may-influence-food-choices/1213314/0

What NASA Can Teach Enterprises About Redundancy

Disasters and equipment failures can happen at any time, anywhere, and enterprise IT administrators need to properly prepare for them. This past week, NASA fixed an equipment failure aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and while it operates in a very different environment from data centers here on Earth, its operations can serve as a guide to terrestrial best practices.

NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins exited the ISS on Dec. 21 for a five-and-a-half-hour spacewalk to remove a faulty ammonia pump. On Dec. 24, the two astronauts took another spacewalk, this time installing a new ammonia pump to restore the ISS to full operations.

What's interesting to note here is that the new ammonia pump was already aboard ISS as a spare part. In the hostile environment that is space, redundancy isn't an option, and spare parts aren't easily sourced from a remote location. In the case of the spare ammonia pump, there's also the question of how NASA and its ISS partners could have ferried a new ammonia pump to the station. Much of the ISS, including the ammonia pumps, were originally carried to space by way of the NASA shuttle fleet, which was decommissioned in 2011 with the final flight of the Shuttle Atlantis.

From a disaster recovery and redundancy perspective, NASA and its ISS partners had to plan from the beginning to have lots of options for repair and replacement of station components. Simply put, without the on-board ability to deal with certain types of equipment failure, the ISS would not be the success it is today and lives would be at risk.

Securing Cloud Computing for Enterprise Collaboration

Bringing the same message down to Earth, data centers and even branch IT and small offices can learn from NASA's example. While humans on Earth likely don't need to keep an extra ammonia pump onsite, it does make sense to have other types of spare equipment on premise.

Mission-critical servers and networking components can and should have redundant power supplies and fans for cooling. Power supplies and fans do break down and, even here on Earth where an extra power supply or fan can easily be sourced, it still takes time, which a mission-critical environment likely can't afford.

Automatic failover is another commonly deployed feature in enterprise IT today. Clustered and mirrored server deployments that automatically take over for a failed component is a must-have in modern data centers.

Actually keeping extra equipment on hand, like NASA does, might seem like a luxury, but it also makes sense. For smaller branch and office IT environments, simply keeping an extra (perhaps older) WiFi access point or router on hand for emergencies isn't a bad idea. In the modern era, where the cloud exists for backup and application delivery, it's important to remember that you still need access to the cloud and you still require some form of on-site or mobile equipment to do that.

Planning for failure means that you have options. Without redundancy and spare parts, equipment failure is an option that is more likely than not. - 

See more at: http://www.eweek.com/cloud/what-nasa-can-teach-enterprises-about-redundancy.html/#sthash.qlaPkmCT.dpuf

Scientists Petition U.S. Congress for Return to the Moon

China’s Chang’e 3 robotic landing on the moon has helped spur a political crusade in the United States to more aggressively explore and utilize the moon.

At the heart of the campaign is the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), a group chartered by NASA Headquarters to assist in planning the scientific exploration of the moon. LEAG is organizing a letter writing campaign to Congress to underscore the importance of the moon.

The LEAG scripted strategy is being orchestrated under the banner “Destination Moon” with a key, straightforward goal highlighted in a flyer: “Use the moon to create a sustained human space-faring capability, advancing exploration of the Solar System.”

The flyer is to be sent, along with a cover letter, to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees that have influence on NASA funding, and to all the lawmakers of the LEAG executive committee members.

Gateway to the solar system

“We were waiting to see if Chang’e 3 landed successfully and it did! Now we want to champion the moon from the U.S. side,” Clive Neal, a leading lunar scientist at the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences told SPACE.com. He is a member of LEAG’s executive committee.

The Destination Moon movement is predicated on the value of exploring the moon, from opening the gateway to the solar system, pioneering development of new technologies, as well as advancing economic expansion, enabling new scientific discoveries and promoting international partnerships.

“The moon is the most accessible destination for realizing commercial, exploration, and scientific objectives beyond low Earth orbit,” the flyer reads.

Destination Moon supporters are rallying around other key points:

* Lunar resources can be used for fuel and life support for operations in Earth-moon space as well as for voyages to Mars and beyond.

* America can still lead the world beyond low Earth orbit by forging collaborations to make the frontier of space accessible to all.

* Scientific investigations on the surface of the moon uniquely support studies of early Solar System events that have been erased from Earth’s record.

Nearest near-Earth object

Stephen Mackwell, director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, advocates a return to the moon.
“The brief Apollo missions were terminated before we could start investigating the requirements for longer term missions away from Earth,” Mackwell told SPACE.com.

“Before we set off to distant destinations, like Mars, it makes sense to use our nearest near-Earth object — the moon — as a test-bed to see how humans will cope with longer duration periods distant from Earth, including on the surface of another planetary body, and how effectively we can make use of in-situ resources to sustain our presence elsewhere,” Mackwell said. 

Political boost
Independent of the LEAG letter writing campaign, a U.S. return to the moon is getting a political boost from Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA).

In a Dec. 19 letter to President Barack Obama, the lawmaker calls on the president to hold a White House conference early in 2014 to develop a mission concept for a U.S.-led return to the moon within the next 10 years. The conference would bring together “the best minds from around the country and among our international partners” to forge the initiative, Wolf said.

“As China prepares to send a series of increasingly advanced rovers to the moon in preparation for what most observers believe will ultimately be human missions, many are asking why the U.S. is not using this opportunity to lead our international partners in an American-led return to the moon,” Wolf said.

Wolf’s letter said that the Obama administration’s “recalcitrance in leading a lunar mission is creating a crisis of confidence in the U.S. space program, both at home but also among our partners, including Europe, Canada, Japan and Russia.”

In his three-page letter, Wolf urges Obama to direct the U.S. space program toward a “lunar-focused human exploration program that will reaffirm America's space leadership for the 21st Century.”

Lunar development

How United States politics and China’s moon landing of Chang’e 3 play together is far from clear, said Mike Gold, director of Wash., D.C. Operations and Business Growth for Bigelow Aerospace, a private space firm eager to kick up its own commercial lunar dust.

“The success of this mission was yet another victory for long-term Chinese aerospace planning, progress, and execution,” Gold said. “Chinese leadership clearly understands the importance and potential benefits of lunar activities and we here at home ignore the moon at our own peril.”

Gold told SPACE.com that it’s not a matter of ifthe moon will be utilized for commercial activities, it’s a matter of when and who will enjoy those benefits.

“The moon represents an unparalleled commercial opportunity, and Congress should be looking for ways to expand commercial space operations beyond low-Earth orbit," Gold said. "I hope Chang’e 3inspires a renewed effort for commercial lunar development but I’m afraid the lack of reaction in Washington speaks volumes."

More: http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=230591

Yuvraj dropped from ODI squad for New Zealand

The 32-year-old left-hander, who was man of the series during India’s triumph at the 2011 World Cup at home, did not figure in the 16-member squad after scoring only one half-century in his last 12 one-day innings and also having little success with the ball.

Yuvraj has been having a turbulent time since the World Cup as he fought off a rare germ cancer to make a comeback last year.

A surprise entry in the one-day squad was 29-year-old allrounder Stuart Binny, the son of former India player Roger Binny, who was a member of the World Cup winning squad of 1983 and is presently a national selector.

In what was the only change to the Test squad that toured South Africa, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha made way for Pandey.

More: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-10-223679-Yuvraj-dropped-from-ODI-squad-for-New-Zealand

When Shah Rukh Khan invited Amitabh Bachchan to play video game

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and superstar Shah Rukh Khan are on top of the Bollywood scene, but they aren't as competent when it comes to competing with their grandchildren and children at video games and adventure sports.

Amitabh, who is busy spending the New Year with his family, shared his experience of a Jet Ski adventure with his grandchildren. The 71-year old actor has three grandchildren - Agastya, Navya Naveli and Aaradhya.

"The Panama...the sea...and after getting beat on Jet Ski by grandchildren," Amitabh posted on the microblogging site on Tuesday (December 31, 2013).

Shah Rukh Khan, who enjoys playing a video game version of FIFA invited Amitabh for a friendly game as he is tired of being 'beaten at all games' by his kids.

"Sir, take out time tomorrow (January 1)...let's do a little FIFA...I am also tired of being beaten at all games by kids since last few days," SRK posted on Twitter on Tuesday (December 31, 2013).

SRK, who is married to Gauri Khan, has son Aryan, daughter Suhana and surrogate son AbRam.

More http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/when-shah-rukh-khan-invited-amitabh-bachchan-to-play-video-game-465425

Rani Mukherji's wedding in February 2014???

This might be a wonderful news to end this year with... Hot buzz is that the 'Ghulam' beauty Rani Mukherji would probably marry her long-time and secret 'Saawariya', producer Aditya Chopra in coming February.



After playing games with media, by going hush-hush over their relationship, Rani and Aditya has finally said to have agreed to get married. While it was a known fact that the actress and producer are very much a couple, they had maintained a high secrecy about their affair; given the fact that Rani had been a frequent guest at the Chopra's house and was also close to Aditya's father, legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra. Speculations were also rife that they had got engaged when Rani was spotted with a huge diamond ring on her finger.

And now, if sources are to be believed, then Rani and Aditya will tie the knot on 10th February at Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur. Talks are that Rani was very impressed with the venue when she first visited it for Nita Ambani's grand birthday that was hosted there this year. And thus, Rani decided to have her wedding at this place.

It is said that the wedding will be a very private affair and both the families are expecting complete privacy.

More: http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/telugu/article/101752.html

Shaam in Purampokku

The stills of Purampokku are doing the rounds on the internet. This film starring Vijay Sethupathi and Arya is directed by S.P. Jananathan. Now, the latest addition to the film is Shaam. Yes, Shaam is set to don the role of a cop in Purampokku. Shaam had already teamed up with the director for Iyarkai.

This upcoming film is set to be shot around Himachal Pradesh, Chennai and Rajasthan. Purampokku is produced by UTV Motion Pictures and S.P. Jananathan’s production house Binary Pictures.

More: http://www.galatta.com/tamil/news/shaam-in-purampokku/74982/

Samsung's New `Stay New' Ad Campaign

Samsung has a new ad campaign entitled "Stay New" which is geared towards customers in India, focused on pushing the purchase of their latest phones.

Samsung has recently launched an advertising campaign in India to try not only to win over new customers, but to encourage existing Samsung users to buy the newest phones and models. The program "Stay New" allows user to purchase a phone in several payments, but also then upgrade their device after six months to a newer model. This is similar to ad campaigns launched by other phone companies in the past which are always encouraging the user to have the very latest phone from the company. "We are targeting a significant number of new users joining the Samsung family," stated Vineet Taneja, Samsung India's Mobile and IT head, "This not only offers an 18-month EMI programme but also an Easy Buy Back, which will help users upgrade to newer models."

As new devices are constantly pouring out of major phone companies, it is in their best financial interest to keep users purchasing the latest smartphones. But for Samsung, this program will be rolled out temporarily. Beginning on January 1, the campaign will last until March 31. The program was made possible by Samsung's distributor Ingram Micro, which enables Samsung's customers to upgrade after six months, and up to twelve months, to a newer phone. Currently, the gadgets for which this program applies inclue the Galaxy Tab 3 and 10.1, the Galaxy Note 2 and 3, and the Galaxy S3, S4, and S4 Mini.

More: http://en.kioskea.net/news/24430-samsung-s-new-stay-new-ad-campaign

Politically and economically, a year to look forward to

The year’s twists and turns, its depths and its lows were, not surprisingly, best captured by contrasting headlines at its beginning and at its end. If the flavour of the year was India’s collapse and its subsequent recovery, albeit weak, the lead headline on January 1 was India’s current account deficit (CAD) at a record 5.4% in Q2 and a fiscal deficit that was so large, 80% of the year’s target had been used up by August 2012 itself; at the end of the year, the headlines were about the CAD being largely under control (Q2 CAD was a mere 1.2% of GDP) but, on the fiscal side, it was remarkably similar with 84.4% of the year’s deficit being used up by October. The year began with the rupee at 54.69, the Sensex at 19,581 and GDP at 4.7%; it ended with the rupee at 61.8 after having travelled all the way down to 68.83 and the Sensex at 21,033 though GDP growth was roughly similar—in between was a remarkably topsy-turvy journey, some of which is covered on the graphs on this page, the salient parts of the rest on the different pages of this special section.

The other big story on FE’s page 1 on the first of January was the impending US fiscal cliff which, added to the dismal economic performance—0.1% GDP growth in the December quarter of 2012—spelt disaster for the global economy; not surprisingly, India’s exports growth was contracting in the last few months of 2012. By the end of 2013, US growth had roared back to 4.1% (in the September quarter), a number not seen in six previous quarters. While both were reason enough for the Fed to finally start its taper, the biggest reason was an agreement on the budget, phew!

On FE’s front pages, the year began with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) threatening to take the environment ministry to court for delaying projects—a few weeks prior to this, the GMR Group had driven off the 555-km long Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ahmedabad highway for which it had promised to pay NHAI over R9,000 crore on an NPV basis. At the end of the year, not much had changed in terms of environmental clearances, but stung by a 4:1 loss in the assembly elections, a chastened government ensured environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan was recalled to the party and Veerappa Moily was given additional charge of the ministry—Moily managed to clean up a large part of the mess his predecessor left in the oil ministry and give a fillip to exploration that was stuck for a long time. Expect a series of clearances soon, a possible R45,000 crore of which were outlined in an FE story just a few days ago. And, for what it’s worth, NHAI is likely to award its first build-operate-transfer project in the year soon.

If the year’s biggest upset was the rupee and the CAD, the biggest plus was the stunning pullback, largely orchestrated by finance minister P Chidambaram—RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s swap arrangements which collected a surprise $34 billion also played a role in the rupee’s recovery. The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) was nowhere nearly as powerful as conceived by Chidambaram and so could not overrule individual ministers who were recalcitrant in clearing projects, but it did an amazing job by clearing projects worth R4,01,100 crore. Getting these projects back on track will take time—as Credit Suisse’s House of Debt report pointed out, India Inc’s average interest cover has fallen from 4.2 in Q2FY12 to 2.7 in Q2FY14.

Balancing the budget, another big positive for an economy that looked like it could be downgraded for much of the year, has not been easy either, but a savage cut in expenditures, both last year and this year, has been Chidambaram’s response. And while the collapsing rupee made a mockery of the diesel and LPG subsidy cuts, there is little doubt they are working. Chidambaram’s ability to stay within his ‘red line’ has been made easier by postponing R1.4 lakh crore of expenditure—that’s more than 1% of GDP—but over the years, under-budgeting and postponing expenditure, apart from dumping R64,000 crore of subsidies on oil PSUs, has become par for the course.

On the whole, the government made remarkably little use of its successfully implemented Aadhaar programme—by the end of the year, 53.34 crore people had Aadhaar numbers. A total of R1,700 crore was disbursed for LPG subsidies in 184 districts, showing enough proof of concept were any government willing to move ahead with the project.

How tortuous decision-making was in the year is best demonstrated by what happened on gas pricing. With Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) gas output falling in the prolific D1/D3 fields and the company arguing it would not invest if gas prices weren’t freed up fully as was promised in the original contract, PMEAC chairman C Rangarajan was asked to head a panel on it; Rangarajan suggested a half-way house for a few years, but it took six months for the Cabinet to clear the formula, and another six to decide whether to allow RIL to avail of this since the government believes RIL was suppressing output till prices rose.

If this wasn’t enough, the commerce and industry continued to put all manner of roadblocks in reforms like FDI in multi-brand retail and pharmaceuticals; it even opposed Mylan’s $1.8 billion takeover of Agila Specialities and also wants to somehow cap royalty payments—if Tesco still came in, it was after a year of needless to and fro.

The other spoiler, and there were so many, was the taxman which went after MNCs particularly with a vengeance. As a result, while tax arrears rose from R3.3 lakh crore in FY12 to R4.8 lakh crore in FY13—within this, transfer pricing adjustments rose from R10,908 crore for FY07 returns to R70,016 crore for FY10—the outstanding Mutually Agreed Procedure (MAP) tax cases with the US rose to a stunning 100. Problem was, US tax authorities simply refused to even enter into MAP negotiations as long as SK Mishra was in charge of international tax negotiations. On the eve of his roadshow to woo US investors on July 10, finance minister P Chidambaram transferred Mishra without even a replacement job.

With some of the government’s last-minute flourishes beginning to deliver and the political climate looking dramatically different with the Congress in disarray, the BJP looking stronger, and minnow AAP changing the political discourse like never before, 2014 is going to an exciting year.

Happy New Year!

More: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/politically-and-economically-a-year-to-look-forward-to/1213594/0

Delhi, Mumbai LPG buyers to get cash subsidy from today

Domestic cooking gas consumers in Delhi and Mumbai from Wednesday will get cash subsidy for buying cooking gas refils as theDirect Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) Scheme will be extended to 105 more districts.

Under the scheme, which till now has been rolled out in 184 districts in 18 states, cooking gas consumers will get Rs 435 advance money in their bank accounts so as to help them purchase a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder at market price.

Currently, the subsidised LPG cylinder costs Rs 414 while the market price per bottle comes to Rs 1,021.

The moment the refill is bought, the subsidy prevalent on that day will be credited to Aadhaar-linked bank account of LPG consumer for another cylinder. In all, cash subsidy is provided for nine refills in a year under the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) Scheme.

Official sources said in the last phase of DBTL rollout from today, 105 districts including nine in Delhi, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Gurgaon in Haryana, Belgaum in Karnataka, Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Murshidabad in West Bengal would be covered.

So far, 40 million cash transfers to consumer's bank accounts have taken place since the launch of the scheme in June this year. Over Rs 2,000 crore have been transfered in 184 districts in 18 states providing direct benefits in hands of the consumers.

The scheme was launched in 20 districts on June 1 and was extended to 34 more on September 1. Only those consumers in these 54 districts who have their LPG consumer number and bank account with Aadhaar number get the cash subsidy, they said.

The DBTL scheme currently covers 66 million consumers in in 184 high Aadhaar coverage districts.

With the rollout , almost half the country, covering 289 districts, will get covered by the scheme that is aimed at curbing leakages and preventing black-marketing, sources said.

All Aadhaar-linked domestic LPG consumers get an advance in their bank account as soon as they book their first subsidised cylinder. No sooner do they take delivery of the first cylinder, the next subsidy gets transferred in their bank account, which is available for purchase of next subsidised cylinder at market rate.

"In order to avail transfer of cash subsidy into the bank account, Aadhaar number of the LPG consumer has to be linked to the LPG consumer number and bank account for which a three months grace period from date of launch is being provided," a source said.

A three month grace period has been given to get Aadhaar number and link it with their bank accounts. After the grace period, only consumers with Aadhaar number-linked bank accounts will get cash subsidy.

Sources said the three-month grace period has expired in Phase-1 and II districts and subsidy is being transferred only to accounts linked to Aadhaar numbers.

More: http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/delhi-mumbai-lpg-buyers-to-get-cash-subsidy-from-today/1/201959.html

Tata Power welcomes tariff cut, says audit issue sub-judice

Just hours after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that power tariffs will be slashed by 50 percent, Tata Power has welcomed the move terming it a very strong and positive step. "It's a very good and positive step because at the end of the day the consumer will get the benefit of it. It's good that the Delhi government has decided to give subsidy to the consumer. The decision doesn't impact us, the balance after subsidy will be paid by the government," Tata Power CEO Pravin Sinha said. However, the company said that audit issue is sub-judice. "We will submit our reply to the government on the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit since the matter is before the court and the we are already being audited by the CAG auditors apart from the various audit that is being done at the behest of DERC. 

So all those facts and figures we will present before the government and it's on them to take a call," Sinha added. Meanwhile, public too has welcomed this move of the government. "I am extremely happy that Kejriwal has taken this step for us. I hope he continues to help everyone in every possible way, be it on power, water or houses," said a Delhiite. Kejriwal had on Tuesday announced that the power tariffs will be slashed by 50 percent for up to 400 units. "There will be 50 per cent subsidy to those who consume less than 400 units. The subsidised rates will benefit 28 lakh consumers in Delhi. Rates will be reduced further once the audit is over," said Kejriwal after a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet at the Secretariat. 

The decision to subsidies power tariff, which will involve a cash outgo of Rs 61 crore in the remaining three months of the 2013-14 fiscal. For units above 201 and up to 400, the charges will be Rs 2.90 per unit against the current Rs 5. In effect, the 50 per cent subsidy will amount to 20 percent in the case of the first 200 units and around 35 percent for consumption between 201 and 400 units since Tuesday's decision is applicable on rates revised in August last. The previous Sheila Dikshit government had given Rs 1.20 subsidy on the rates for consumption of up to 200 units and 80 paise between 201 and 400 units. 

Kejriwal said further decision on the rate cut would be taken after the audit of the three power distribution companies - BSES Yamuna Power Ltd, BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd. He said the Cabinet would meet on Wednesday after the three companies submit to the government their views on the proposal for audit of their finances. While ruling out any time frame for the audit, he said a decision on the same can be taken only after studying the replies of the three companies who have been given time till January 1, 2014 to respond. 

Tata Power stock price On January 01, 2014, at 11:25 hrs Tata Power Company was quoting at Rs 89.95, down Rs 1.4, or 1.53 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 112.50 and the 52-week low was Rs 68.25. The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 4.36 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 20.63. The latest book value of the company is Rs 51.67 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.74.

Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/tata-power-welcomes-tariff-cut-says-audit-issue-sub-judice_1017045.html?utm_source=ref_article

South Sudan peace talks imminent

The rebel leader in South Sudan, Riek Machar, has agreed to peace talks with the government just hours after his forces attacked the strategically important town of Bor.

The negotiations are due to take place in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa but in the world's newest state there is still no end in sight to fighting, which has killed at least a thousand people in the past two weeks.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25561174

NKorean leader boasts of removal of "filth" in new year after execution of his uncle

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is boasting of internal strength in the new year because of the elimination of "factionalist filth" — a reference to his once powerful uncle and mentor, who was purged and executed last month.

Kim made the comments Wednesday in a public speech that will be closely scrutinized for clues about the opaque country's intentions and policy goals.

Analysts are divided about what Jang Song Thaek's execution means, but many believe it shows Kim Jong Un has yet to establish the same absolute power that his father and grandfather enjoyed.

This year's annual New Year's message by the North has added significance because of the elimination of Jang for alleged treason. The purge was one of the biggest political developments in the country in years.

More: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/31/nkorean-leader-boasts-removal-filth-in-new-year-after-execution-his-uncle/

Two powerful bombs explode near Imphal

Two powerful bombs exploded in Shingjamei area near here, police said.

The Improvised Explosive Devices ( IED) were exploded through a remote-controlled device when people were celebrating New Year Day around 5.30 AM.

A team of police and CRPF rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area before launching a search operation.

Different social organisations have appealed to militants not to explode bombs in crowded area.


Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/28219651.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Lalu Prasad pushes for 'secular alliance', Congress wants time

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad pushed strongly for a “secular alliance” for Bihar’s 40 Lok Sabha seats during a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday.

The Congress chief is understood to have told Prasad that she would get back to him after the party’s committee constituted to look into poll alliances meets.

Besides the RJD and Congress, the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are the likely partners in the secular formation proposed by Prasad ahead of the general elections due in May.

“Communal and fascist forces are on a mission to Balkanize the country. Secular and like-minded political parties must urgently come together to fight their evil designs,” Prasad, who is out on bail in a corruption case, told HT.

The Congress faces a dilemma over a poll arrangement with the RJD, especially after Prasad’s conviction in a multi-crore fodder scam case. The Congress has also been toying with the idea of an alliance with the Janata Dal (United). Prasad’s arch foe Nitish Kumar heads the JD (U) government in Bihar.

“I sought time from the Congress president for detailed talks on firming up a pre-poll alliance in Bihar,” the former CM said. Expressing “deep regret” that fewer than five Lok Sabha seats were left to the Congress by the RJD-LJP combine in the 2009 general elections, Prasad talked of an “honourable” offer this time.

Prasad, disqualified from the Lok Sabha after his conviction, recently heaped praises on Rahul Gandhi, who is expected to be the Congress PM candidate, saying Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and BJP PM’s nominee Narendra Modi couldn’t hold a candle to the Congress vice-president.

Refusing to go into the details of the proposed seat-sharing arrangement, Prasad said, “Numbers are not important. The need of the hour is for the secular forces to come together and provide a fitting response to threats from communal forces.”

“Probity in public life” is expected to be the main component of the Congress’ 2014 campaign. Rahul’s stance against corruption --pushing for lokpal, calling for a rethink on Adarsh housing scam report and trashing the ordinance that sought to protect convicted lawmakers -– is likely to complicate matters for Prasad. If Congress leaders share stage with “tainted” Prasad, its anti-corruption plank would get diluted, a section of the party feels.

Quizzed on this, Prasad said, “There is no truth to these theories, insinuations and rumors being spread. I’m positive that the secular alliance will work out.”

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/lalu-prasad-pushes-for-secular-alliance-congress-wants-time/article1-1168156.aspx?htsw0023

Telangana Bill to rock Andhra Pradesh Assembly session

The winter session of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, resuming on January 3, is expected to generate much heat as the debate on the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation bill, 2013 is on the agenda.

The winter session of the Assembly began on December 12 and the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the house had decided to take up a debate on the draft bill, but that did not happen due to the din over the issue. The Assembly was adjourned on December 19 for resumption on January 3. ..


Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/28219992.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Kerala government set for reshuffle ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today formally announced the induction of KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala into the Cabinet on January 1, 2014.

"The announcement of the portfolio will be made only after the Chennithala takes oath," Mr Chandy said.

Mr Chandy said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi's approval for Chennithala's induction was received on December 27 and that the steps were being taken as per the directives of the party leadership.

"While the decision of inducting Chennithala has been made by the party, the decision of the portfolio being offered is the prerogative of the Chief Minister," Mr Chandy told the media.

However, sources within KPCC office have told NDTV that Mr Chennithala has been offered the Home Minister's portfolio.

The decision of the party high command was conveyed to the Chief Minister and KPCC President by Union Defence Minister AK Antony during his visit to Thiruvananthapuram. While the Chief Minister never opposed Mr Chennithala's induction to Cabinet in the past, the Chief Minister was reportedly unwilling to offer him the Home Minister's portfolio, which currently is being held by Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan, a Chandy loyalist from Congress A camp.

Sources say Mr Chennithala, who belongs to Congress I group, though dropped the demand of being named the Deputy Chief Minister earlier, was not willing to compromise on his demand for the Home Minister's portfolio.

The cabinet reshuffle is being seen as strategic move for UDF to be able to counter its infighting within various factions. While Mr Chandy has denied reports of infighting, he said,"This is a move for UDF to stand united ahead of the Lok Sabha polls"

Earlier today, Thiruvanchur Radhakrishan addressed the media on his performance in the past year as Home Minister and said," I will follow the party directives. I haven't received any directives till now but I am a party man and will follow the party decision."

However, when Chief Minister Chandy was asked about any minister being left out of the current Cabinet due to induction of Mr Chennithala, he said, "No current minister will be left out of the Cabinet."

More: http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/kerala-government-set-for-reshuffle-ahead-of-lok-sabha-polls-465495

AAP fulfills another poll promise: After free water, Delhi gets half-price power

A day after fulfilling his promise to supply free water, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday kept his word to slash electricity prices in the national capital and audit the private power distribution companies.

Following a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet, Kejriwal announced the government would provide a 50 per cent subsidy on power consumption up to 400 units a month.

"As promised the AAP government has slashed 50 per cent of the rates by giving a subsidy on the tariff. This will impact at least 28 lakh households in Delhi. Economically weaker sections of society will benefit from this decision," Kejriwal said.

The subsidy is expected to cost the state Rs 200 crore per quarter until the end of the financial year in March. However, Kejriwal said it would cost Rs 61 crore.

"Rs 61 crore will be given to Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited. But the remaining Rs 139 crore approximately will be given to government companies that are providing services and supply power to BSES Yamuna Private Limited and BSES Rajdhani Private Limited. And it will be adjusted from the accounts of BSES companies as they are yet to pay dues worth Rs 4,500 crore," the new chief minister said.

Asked whether the government could give a subsidy when a regulator is in place, Kejriwal said: "The government has powers to give subsidy."

Both discoms refused to comment on the subsidy when reached for their view.

Kejriwal also announced a CAG audit into the finances of the three private power distribution companies. "The discoms have 24 hours to submit their objections on government views on the proposal for audit of their finances," he said.

Kejriwal met CAG officials before chairing the Cabinet meeting and said the government auditor had in principle agreed to conduct the audit.

"The previous government was spreading lies that audit cannot be done when a case has been pending in the high court. Now that I have had talks with the CAG, it has come to light that there is no stay on auditing these companies' finances," Kejriwal said.

A CAG spokesperson said the audit agency had in principle agreed to do the audit but it had to be routed through Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung's office. "Private companies are not audited by the CAG but there are provisions under which we can, if a request comes through the governor or President's office," the spokesperson said.

BJP leader Harsh Vardhan said Kejriwal was indulging in "populism" through the power subsidy and it would be implemented at the cost of welfare projects.

"It is populism. I would have appreciated it if they had actually fulfilled their promises in totality. They had promised a 50 per cent reduction in power tariff for all citizens of Delhi and now we see that it is only for those using up to 400 units. These subsidies are basically given from the government treasury and this is money we give to the government for the development of various projects," Vardhan said.

The Congress, which has pledged outside support to the minority AAP government, maintained the subsidy was a good decision. "On the face of it, the decisions on water and power seem to be good for the people. But whether or not this will actually benefit society at large or only a fraction of it will be seen in a few months," said Shakeel Ahmed, the AICC general secretary in charge of Delhi.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/aap-fulfills-another-poll-promise-after-free-water-delhi-gets-halfprice-power/1214029/0

Virbhadra Singh lands in Delhi, denies corruption charges

A day after BJP leader Arun Jaitley levelled allegations of corruption against him, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh rushed to Delhi Tuesday afternoon. The Himachal CM's unscheduled Delhi visit came amidst speculation about the Congress high command summoning him after the opposition's stiff demand for his ouster.

On arrival in Delhi on Tuesday, the Himachal CM claimed that the allegations were a "malicious campaign" by the Opposition. His wife, Pratibha Singh, who has also been accused of corruption, visited the AICC headquarters and met senior party leaders.

While developments in the Congress show that the party leadership has been put in a tight spot over the charges, sources said Virbhadra may be given some time and asked to explain his position.

Before flying to Delhi, Virbhadra is reported to have requisitioned files related to hydel projects including Saikothi (15 MW) project, which was allotted to Venture Energy and Technologies Ltd.

Two Cabinet ministers, Sudhir Sharma (Urban and Housing) and Mukesh Agnihotri (Industry and Public relations), also accompanied Virbhadra to Delhi.

Meanwhile, former Himachal CM and Leader of Opposition in the state Prem Kumar Dhumal maintained that if Virbhadra does not resign, the central and state BJP leadership will meet President Pranab Mukherjee and seek his removal.

In a statement in the evening, Virbhadra refuted the allegations levelled by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaitley. "It is clarified that that Ispat Industry people have never met me except for once. I have never received any favour from them during my tenure as steel minister and neither any favour had been done to the firm during my period," he said.

About his alleged favours to a certain power project, Virbhadra said it was the erstwhile BJP government that gave the project an extension. "On the other hand my government has taken a decision of cancelling the project thereby upholding the rule of law," he said.

Dismissing the allegations against his family, Virbhadra said the BJP was making hue and cry by distorting facts. "It is absolutely a foul play to involve me in false cases. All these cases have been maneuvered by the BJP to hamper the progress of the Congress party and government in the state," the Chief Minister said.

Virbhadra said that after coming to power in Himachal, his government had handed over a chargesheet to the State Vigilance Department.

"The chargesheet contained serious charges of corruption and land scams against P K Dhumal and his family members, high profile land cases involving Ramdev's Patanjali Yogpeeth, Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan's trust, HPCA's hotel, Bemloe construction, Annandale area etc," he said.

Jaitley dares Virbhadra to file case of defamation

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley Tuesday dared

Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh to file a defamation case, a day after the latter threatened to drag him to court for levelling allegations of corruption.

"Virbhadra Singh has said that he would consider filing a defamation action against me. He is certainly entitled to do so. In that event I would be pleading truth as defence and cross-examining him on each of these issues," Jaitley wrote on his Facebook page.

Jaitley said he has already put all the documents in public domain to support his allegations. "I would request the Congress party and in particular its leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to examine this evidence and make a public statement why they feel that Virbhadra Singh is still innocent," Jaitley added.

Meanwhile, the BJP's youth wing Tuesday staged a protest in front of Rahul Gandhi's residence here to register protest against Virbhadra and demanded his sacking from the post of chief minister.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/virbhadra-singh-lands-in-delhi-denies-corruption-charges/1213948/0

Appplication for transfer of Devyani to UN still under review: US

The US is still reviewing the application for the transfer of senior Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade to UN and issue the necessary documents for full diplomatic immunity, a top official said here, giving no timeline for its decision.

"It is under review. We cannot predict when that review will be complete," said a state department spokesperson on Tuesday in response to a question on the status of the UN request to grant full diplomatic status to Khobragade.

The state department had received her application from the United Nations in New York on December 20. Normally, the state department takes a decision on this very quickly, but this time the US is taking an unusually long time.

"We cannot compare this to previous requests as each request is evaluated on its own merits," the spokesperson said.

Khobragade was arrested on December 12 on charges of visa fraud and misrepresentation. At the time of her arrest, she was deputy consul general at the Indian Consulate in New York.

The US says, in this capacity, she did not had full diplomatic immunity.

Days after her arrest, the Indian government has transferred Khobragade to the permanent mission of India to the United Nations (UN), with the view that this would give her the necessary diplomatic immunity from arrest.

India has strongly objected to her arrest, and in protest has withdrawn many of the diplomatic privileges granted to the American diplomats in India.

As one enters the New Year, the Indian diplomat continues to remain in the US without diplomatic immunity. She is currently on bail bond of $250,000 and her passport is in possession of the court.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Appplication-for-transfer-of-Devyani-to-UN-still-under-review-US/articleshow/28221785.cms

First session of new Delhi Assembly begins today

The first session of the New Delhi Assembly begins on Wednesday and will continue till January 7 during which the Arvind Kejriwal-led government will seek a vote of confidence on the floor of the House.

The new MLAs will be administered the oath today while tomorrow, the government will seek the trust vote.

The election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker will be held on January 3.

Lt Governor Najeeb Jung will address the House on January 6. On January 7, a discussion on Jung's address will take place.

In the 70-member Assembly, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has 28 MLAs, eight short of a majority. AAP has the support of eight MLAs of Congress, which is expected to see across the half-way mark. BJP has 31 members and its ally Akali Dal has one.

AAP on Tuesday named its first-time MLA MS Dhir as its candidate for Speaker's post.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said senior Congress MLA Mateen Ahmad will be the pro-tem speaker. A pro-tem Speaker presides over proceedings relating to taking of oath by new members and other business till the election of Speaker.

Senior BJP leader and MLA Jagdish Mukhi had earlier declined to be the pro-tem Speaker of Delhi Assembly.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/first-session-of-new-delhi-assembly-begins-today_900738.html

AAP power relief to help 28 lakh families in Delhi

Arvind Kejriwal seeks CAG audit of Delhi discoms.

Arvind Kejriwal addresses a press conference on Tuesday. - Manit/DNA

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday fulfilled his second major election promise and cut power tariff by half to benefit an estimated 28 lakh households. Kejriwal said that those consuming up to 400 units — 0 to 200 units and 201 to 400 units — of electricity a month would get 50% subsidy. The new power rates will go into effect from Wednesday — January 1.

This would benefit some 28 of the 34 lakh households in Delhi, he said after a cabinet meeting, describing the intended beneficiaries as the poor and the middle class.

The decision is expected to cost Rs61 crore to the government exchequer.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government ordered an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General into the finances of the capital’s three private power distribution companies, an issue on which the ruling AAP had led street protests in the past.

For the Reliance-led power distribution companies BRPL and BYPL the new year may not be a happy one. The company owns the government Rs4,500 crore. “This money will be adjusted in the subsidy that the government will give the consumers in areas where BSES distributes power,” said Kejriwal. The government will have to pay Rs61 crore to the TDDDPL for the subsidy.
TDDDPL supplies power to north Delhi.

This is a second blow to the discoms as Delhi Electricity Regulatory Authority had last week turned down the proposal of discoms for a hike in the fuel surcharge.

A CAG audit into the accounts of the discoms has been pending since 2011. When an audit into the accounts of the discoms was ordered, the discoms moved court saying being private companies they cannot be audited by the CAG. The matter is still subjudice with the Delhi High Court.

Now with the government ordering the audit the discoms have been given time till the noon of January 1 to file their objections. “We will have the objections from the discoms by Wednesday afternoon and a final decision on the CAG audit will be taken by evening,” said Kejriwal.

The discoms also said their accounts are audited by CAG impaneled auditors and the report is submitted to the Regulator regularly. Also, the audited reports are in the public domain. The TDDPL which has confirmed that it will file its reply by the noon of January 1 said, “We will go by the law of the land and will file our reply to the government,” said the officer of TDDPL.

Kejriwal used the occasion to target the Congress government yet again. “I have participated in the public hearing meetings of the DERC, where in we were told that a CAG audit of discoms is not possible since the matter is in the court. It is only now that I have learn that the government could have got an audit done.”

After the discoms have filed their objections, the Delhi government will consult the CAG on whether or not an inquiry can be sought on the issue.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-aap-power-relief-to-help-28-lakh-families-in-delhi-1943509

New Sun Tv HD Promo - Ajtih's Veeram special preview on New Year 2014

NASA astronaut takes selfie from space with Earth behind him

A NASA astronaut has taken an incredible selfie from space with Earth in the background while performing repairs on the International Space Station on Christmas Eve.

US astronaut Mike Hopkins, 45, took the astounding image of himself while performing repairs on the ISS during the second of two spacewalks spread over a four-day period.

The selfie shows the beautiful blue of Earth and Hopkins' colleague Rick Mastracchio in the reflection on his helmet.

"Wow...can't believe that is me yesterday. Wish I could find the words to describe the experience, truly amazing," Hopkins tweeted after the spacewalk.

On December 24, Hopkins, Expedition 38 Flight Engineer, participated in the second of two US spacewalks, which were designed to allow the crew to change out a faulty water pump on the exterior of the Earth-orbiting station, NASA said on instagram.

He was joined on both spacewalks by NASA astronaut Mastracchio, whose image appeared in Hopkins' helmet visor.

The pump module controls the flow of ammonia through cooling loops and radiators outside the space station, and, combined with water-based cooling loops inside the station, removes excess heat into the vacuum of space.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nasa-astronaut-takes-selfie-from-space-with-earth-behind-him/1213376/

2013 saw successful launch of Mars Orbiter Mission

The successful launch of Mars Orbiter Mission and power generation from Kudankulam nuclear power plant were some of the major achievements in the field of space and atomic energy in 2013.

ISRO, which comes under the Department of Space (DoS), achieved a major feat by launching the Mars Mission in November, an exercise undertaken only by a handful countries.

Launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, the MOM on December 4 escaped earth's sphere of influence and is now on a course to encounter Mars after a journey of about 300 days.

The Rs 450-crore project would provide the scientific community better opportunities in planetary research.

Apart from it, ISRO also launched oceanographic satellite SARAL, a joint Indo-French Satellite programme, advanced weather satellite INSAT-3D, advanced multi-band communication satellite, GSAT-7.

However, a major setback for ISRO was calling off the launch of GSLV-D5 after a leak was observed in the UH25 fuel system of the liquid second stage just two hours before the scheduled lift-off.

ISRO was criticised by many in the scientific community in India and abroad for prioritising MOM over GSLV-D5.

The Department of Atomic Energy's pursuit in generating nuclear power got a boost when the first unit of Kudankulam plant started generating power in October. The 1000 MW unit 1 of KKNPP is currently the largest nuclear power generation plant in the country.

More: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/2013-saw-successful-launch-of-mars-orbiter-mission-113123100107_1.html

PM at Mullanpur, traffic halts in city

Traffic chaos was witnessed in various parts of the city when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came to lay the foundation stone of a cancer hospital at Mullanpur on Monday.

While the preparations made by the Chandigarh Police could not ensure smooth movement of traffic, the traffic scene at Mullanpur remained hassle-free.

The PM's helicopter landed at the venue in Medicity at Firozepur Bangar village near Mullanpur around 3.15 pm and left after an hour.

Traffic was stopped for nearly 15 minutes on the routes from where the ministers who were to receive the PM at the airport had to pass. Transport light point, airport light point and intersection of Sector 31-29 were the most affected.

The traffic in Chandigarh was made to stop 50 metres before the intersection at the transport light point on all the four sides when the PM arrived. At the intersection of Sector 31-29, the situation was similar. The traffic movement was allowed only after the PM landed at Mullanpur.

Till the PM remained at Mullanpur, traffic flow was normal. As soon as he left the venue for the airport at 4.15 pm, the traffic was stopped again for the VIPs who were to see off the PM at the airport. Traffic at the transport light point, intersection of Sector 31-29 and airport light point was brought to a halt again.

Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed on Madhya Marg, particularly at Khuda Lahora village.

Nearly 2,500 personnel of Punjab Police and special units were deployed at and around the venue.

Firozepur Bangar remained tightly guarded with policemen deployed at every nook and corner of the village, including rooftops and the surrounding fields. Additional District Magistrate of Mohali Parveen Kumar Thind had also passed an order prohibiting the use of any flying object in and around the venue of the function and its corresponding airspace.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pm-at-mullanpur-traffic-halts-in-city/1213648/

Peer pressure may influence food choices

Obesity may be a "socially transmitted disease," suggests a new study which found that social norms influence our food choices.

Researchers conducted a systematic review of several experimental studies, each of which examined whether or not providing information about other peoples' eating habits influences food intake or choices.

After examining the data, investigators found consistent evidence that social norms influence food choices.

This meta-analysis found that if participants were given information indicating that others were making low-calorie or high-calorie food choices, it significantly increased the likelihood that participants made similar choices.

Also, data indicate that social norms influence the quantity of food eaten.

Additionally, the review indicated that suggesting that others eat large portions increased food intake by the participants. There was also a strong association between eating and social identity.

"It appears that in some contexts, conforming to informational eating norms may be a way of reinforcing identity to a social group, which is in line with social identity theory," said lead investigator Eric Robinson, from the University of Liverpool in UK.

"By this social identity account, if a person's sense of self is strongly guided by their identity as a member of their local community and that community is perceived to eat healthily, then that person would be hypothesised to eat healthily in order to maintain a consistent sense of social identity," said Robinson.

The need to solidify our place in our social group is just one way investigators found social norms influence our food choices.

The analysis also revealed that the social mechanisms that influence what we decide to consume are present even when we eat alone or are at work, whether or not we are aware of it.

"Norms influence behaviour by altering the extent to which an individual perceives the behaviour in question to be beneficial to them. Human behaviour can be guided by a perceived group norm, even when people have little or no motivation to please other people," said Robinson.

"Given that in some studies the participants did not believe that their behaviour was influenced by the informational eating norms, it seems that participants may not have been consciously considering the norm information when making food choices," said Robinson.

The study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/peer-pressure-may-influence-food-choices/1213314/0