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THE CONTACT WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ISSUE - 651, 26 JAN. - 1 FEB. 2016 PH: (905) 671 - 4761

Islamic State planning ‘large-scale’ attacks in Europe Terror group reaches out to more than 30k on social media offering top dollar for stealing govt data and ensnaring youth

ISIS OFFERS $10,000 A JOB TO HACKERS

By SHASHANK SHEKHAR ISIS is luring Indian hackers with top dollar to hack into government websites and steal sensitive data.

Hackers are also being asked to identify and create a database of potential recruits from Twitter and Facebook.

For each ‘job’, a hacker would be paid upwards of $10,000. This is by far the most lucrative offer from the hacking community in India, experts say.

“There are various underground communities online where hackers interact regularly. Our investigation reveals that for the past six months, lucrative offers for stealing government data came pouring in and hackers were offered a huge sum. Such amount has never been offered to any Indian hacker before. We found that the offers were being made to spread ISIS reach in the country,” said Kislay Choudhary, a cyber crime expert who works with several security agencies.

Stealing government data is part of ISIS’ intelligence gathering exercise and helps in formulating their India strategy, Choudhary added.

ISIS supporters are using Facebook and Twitter to propagate its radical ideology and brainwash the youth. Experts

believe many hackers have already picked up the offer as over 30,000 have reportedly been contacted by the terror organisation in India so far.

The recruited hackers are communicating on internet-

based services like Skype, Silent Circle, Telegram, and WhatsApp with their Syrian handlers, say experts.

Increasing threat The active profiles on social media which are being used to

spread venom against India have increased manifold in the past few months. Most of these users are based in different parts of south India, Kashmir, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

TTP Chief Mullah Fazlullah killed?

Continued on Page 2

Of Trump & Turban

A man wearing a turban protesting during a Donald Trump campaign rally Sunday was ejected, as the billionaire called him out. The Republican presidential candidate’s rally in

Muscatine, Iowa was interrupted by a group of protesters, which the man was a part of. At the time, Trump was speaking about the September 11 terror attacks and the San Bernardino shooting

as the man wearing a bright red turban stood up. ‘We have radical Islamic terror going on all over the place, all over the world, and we have a president that won’t say it,’ the GOP frontrunner said. ‘When planes fly into the World Trade Center, and into the Pentagon, and wherever the third plane was going.

‘When people are shooting their friends in California, when they’re shooting their friends ...’

Trump abruptly stopped speaking, as the video shows the protester wearing the turban standing up to reveal a sign reading ‘Stop Hate’.

The crowd then erupted in chants of ‘Trump! Trump!

Trump!’ and grew louder.

Speaking to the protesters, the businessman said: ‘Bye. Bye. Goodbye.’

Continued on Page 2

LAHORE Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah has reportedly been killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan, according to Pakistan media reports. Unconfirmed reports state that a drone strike was conducted on Fazlullah’s house in Afghanistan in which he was neutralised. However, there have been several reports of Fazlullah being killed in a drone strike in the past but they all turned to be false.

Last year in March, reports emerged that Fazlullah could be among those killed in an air raid and ground raids in parts of Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley. But TTP dismissed the reports saying that their chief was still alive.

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Robot solves Rubik’s Islamic State planning... cube in just 1.047 sec

Kansas Two men showed off their robot earlier this month that can solve a Rubik’s cube in just a little over one second.

Software engineers Jay Flatland and Paul Rose from Kansas, Missouri, uploaded a video to YouTube this month of the super bot successfully unscrambling the cube in just 1.047 seconds.

Flatland said in the video that they are ‘in the process right now of applying for an official world record’. The

Guinness World Record for fastest time to solve a Rubik’s cube is held by an Florida student’s robot, which solved the puzzle in 2.39 seconds in November.

Flatland and Rose’s machine was built by plugging separate motors supported by a 3D-printed frame into drilled holes in a Rubik’s Cube. Four USB webcams hooked up to a computer ‘determine the state’ of the cube’s colors ‘very rapidly’, Flatland said in the video. The information

is then fed through an implementation of the Kociemba Rubik’s cube solving algorithm, which determines which moves need to occur for the cube to be solved quickly.

When Flatland scrambles the cube in the video and puts it into the machine, which solves it in 1.047 seconds.

The men’s video has been watched on YouTube at least 998,000 times since it was uploaded on January 11.

Of Trump & Turban...

Continued from Page 1

Once the man wearing the turban and another protester were escorted out by security, the video then shows the audience erupted with loud applause, cheers and chants of ‘USA! USA! USA!’ Referring to the man wearing the turban, the

businessman said: ‘He wasn’t wearing one of those hats, was he? Was he wearing one of those things?

And he never will, and that’s OK because we got to do something folks because it’s not working.’ Videos of the incident that happened at the Muscatine High School were quickly posted to social media.

Prior to his

campaign events start, an announcement has been read in the last few months telling his supporters to ‘not harm a protester’ but instead chant ‘Trump, Trump, Trump.’ According to ABC News, the chants alert security that a protester is in the audience.

Woman who predicted the fall of Twin Towers has a prophecy for 2016 as well!

A blind Bulgarian mystic had previously predicted the World War II, Tsunami in 2004, the twin towers attack and now, she has something for 2016!

Vangelia Pandeva Dimitrova predicted “Muslims will invade Europe”.

She had also prophesied that in 2018, China will become the first super power and a space probe will discover ‘a new form of energy’on Venus.

In 1989, while prophesying the attack on America’s twin towers, Vangelia had said, “Horror, Horror, The American brethren will fall after being attacked by the steel birds. The wolves will be howling in a bush, and innocent blood will be gushing.”

The World Trade Centre towers were dubbed as ‘twins’. The terrorists who drove passenger planes as ‘steel birds’. “A big wave will cover a large coast with

people and villages where everything disappears under water,” said the Tsunami related prophecy.

It was in 1930s, in Bulgaria, that she predicted the beginning of World War II. She was even visited by King Boris III and Adolf Hitler.

Vangelia was swept away by a mighty tornado during which she lost her sight. She

started making predictions at the age of 16.

Here are some of the prophecies she made: 2016- Muslims invade Europe.

2023- The Earth’s orbit would change due to which the poles will melt and set fire in the Middle East.

She had also anticipated that the “great Islamic war” would begin in Syria culminating in complete control of Rome, in 2043.

2025- The population of Europe will disappear as a result of wars.

2028- There will be an attempt to travel to other planets like Venus, with the hope of finding other sources of energy to Earth.

2033- Water levels rise due to the melting of the poles.

Continued from Page 1 Indian handlers are now creating local content to spread their propaganda in Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Urdu and other vernacular languages on cyberspace.

In the past, Bangla has also been used to spread ISIS' hate propaganda, targeting vulnerable youths in Bangladesh and India.

Security agencies recently arrested twelve suspects from across the country for their alleged links with the terror group. They were alleged to have been in regular touch with active members of ISIS in Syria through Skype and other social networking sites, and had plans to carry out attacks ahead of Republic Day. Sources claim suspected supporters were arrested after tracking thousands of IP addresses and communication used

by ISIS in Syria and Iraq with their handlers in India.

“The work of Indian handlers is to identify people who tweet or share pro- ISIS and anti-West posts. Such users are potential ISIS sympathisers. Such people are contacted by ISIS members on social media and engaged in religious conversations.

After assessing their mindset, pro-ISIS content and videos are shared. If they show interest, they are enrolled into the terror outfit,” a senior officer of a central security agency said.

Indian ISIS handlers are not only spreading the jihadi outfit’s agenda online, but are also keeping a close eye on communal clashes and problems faced by minorities in the country to corrupt young people on social media websites.

ISIS members have also managed to reach out to several thousand people online during riots when social media is split wide open on communal lines.

Experts said techies engaged by ISIS are carefully planning to promote jihadi content on social media.

“They spread their message with popular keywords and hashtags to reach a wider audience,” a security official said.

Counter action Security agencies say they have initiated counter measures and have taken down ISIS-related content on web. Maharashtra ATS claims to have blocked as many as 94 websites which were linked to the ISIS. The Indian government is all set to create a 24/7 war room to monitor social media. In December 2015, the government had set up a committee to examine the feasibility of a multiagency 24x7 social media analysis centre.

Sources add that while certain websites were banned for hate-mongering, the government is trying to ensure hate content in any form is removed from platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

Islamic State planning ‘large-scale’ attacks in Europe Islamic State jihadists are planning “large-scale” terror attacks and focusing primarily on European targets, Europol has said.

The police agency launched a new Europewide counterterror initiative on Monday, and warned that the threat from Islamic State was the worst the continent has faced in more than 10 years.

Rob Wainwright, the director of Europol, said militants had developed a new combat strategy to attack major European cities, and the agency also cited the growing number of Isis foreign fighters as “posing new challenges for EU members states”. But amid growing attempts to link such challenges to the intake of more than one million refugees into Europe last year, the police agency said in a report that there was “no concrete evidence” to suggest this was the case.

Releasing the findings of an expert review into the Paris shootings of 13 November,

Europol said it had found nothing to suggest “that terrorist travellers systematically use the flow of refugees to enter Europe unnoticed”. Rather, it warned of the risk to Europe if those who do arrive are turned away from their adopted countries into the hands of jihadist recruiters.

The agency said: “It is possible that elements of the (Sunni Muslim) Syrian refugee diaspora in Europe may be vulnerable to radicalisation. Indeed there are reports that refugee centres are being specifically targeted by Islamic extremist recruiters.”

At a press conference in Amsterdam on Monday, Europol launched the European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC), and said that its review of the Paris shootings revealed the importance of EU members sharing intelligence. “Our ambition is for the European Counter Terrorism Centre to become a central information hub in the fight against terrorism in the EU, providing analysis for ongoing investigations and contributing to a coordinated reaction in the event of major terrorist attacks,” Mr Wainwright said. Europe, Don’t allow Terrorists in the Guise of Refugees. They Will be a major problem. Keep them under Strict Vigil.

Europol said that, after the Paris attacks, there is “every reason to expect that Isis will undertake a terrorist attack somewhere in Europe again... intended to cause mass casualties amongst the civilian population. Intelligence suggests Isis has developed an external action command trained for special forces style attacks in the international environment,” it added. Ard van der Steur, the Dutch justice minister, said at the launch of the ECTC that it will “improve the exchange of information between law enforcement agencies”.

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The fear called ‘GOD’ Religion is often seen as being at odds with the science of evolution, but according to a growing area of research, it may actually be a product of this fundamental biological process. Fear of incurring the wrath of God, or a range of gods, may have played a key role in the development of our species, according to a leading expert in the evolution of human co-operation. He argues that belief in a divine being who will punish bad behavior may have allowed humans to co-operate in a way our relatives in the animal kingdom do not. The sense of being watched by an omnipotent or supernatural being may have ensured members of early human groups behaved less selfishly. Increased levels of co-operation is thought to be one of the key traits that allowed Homo sapiens to become so successful.

Floods and famine may have kick-started world’s religions

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They often form a central part of most biblical stories, but it appears floods, famines and plagues may have also helped to start belief in some gods in the first place. Researchers at North Carolina State University found that belief in all-powerful and moralizing gods tended to appear at times of hardship in human history. They claim that believing in such a supreme deity helps to ensure people within a society live by certain moral rules that are necessary when living in harsh environments or in times of hardship. The researchers studied the origins of 583 religious societies around the world.

They compared these to climate, rainfall and plant growth data for each area to build up a historical picture of the conditions each society was living in. The findings may help to shed light on how religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam first emerged, and why stories of hardship play such a central role. Professor Dominic Johnson, an expert in evolutionary biology and international relations at the University of Oxford, believes this may be why fear of God is such a dominant feature in world religions.

In his new book, God is Watching You, he said that belief in divine punishment is actually hardwired into us by evolution and so led to the development of the world’s religions. He suggests that rather than being an opposing theory of the world to the ideas of evolution by natural selection put forward by Charles Darwin, religion is actually a product of it. “The ability to anticipate rewards or punishments arising from our behavior would clearly have been favored by Darwinian natural selection because it promoted survival and reproduction,” he said.

“I argue this extended to the anticipation of supernatural reward and punishment.

“God-fearing people were better able to avoid raising the ire of their fellow man, lowering the costs of real world sanctions, and raising the rewards of cooperation. “It offers a striking twist on the old science and religion debate - religion is not an alternative to evolution, it is a product of evolution.” Professor Johnson added the reason why fear of punishment has become such an important force in religion rather than other aspects like love and altruism, which are also promoted in the major religions like Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam is mainly due to the way our brains are wired.

Religious wars have raged for almost 3,000 years Over the centuries there have been many

wars fought in the SUNNY BAINS name of various religions. Now it appears religious conflict over different beliefs may trace groups, this led to a greater ability to back to as long ago as 700BC. A new understand each other’s intentions. study has found the rise of religious P r o f e s s o r J o h n s o n s a i d : “ W h e n beliefs across Mesoamerica led to an humans evolved the capacity for increase in political and social conflict. complex language and theory of mind In some regions it resulted in local – the ability to know what others” know religious leaders, while in others it - our behavior became increasingly created a centralized religious state. transparent and selfish behavior and The research reveals the importance of social transgressions risked increasing religious beliefs in both outcomes, costs from retaliation or reputational despite them being vastly different, and damage. “Avoiding these costs proves how religion has been influencing ushered in a new era in which the politics for centuries. Around 2,700 suppression of selfishness became a years ago, powerful states emerged vital ingredient of an individual’s evolutionary success. The idea that one’s good and bad deeds will be observed, judged and rewarded or punished by God or some other supernatural agent is a recurring feature of virtually all of the world’s religions, both past and present. “The looming threat of supernatural punishment deterred selfish behavior and increased cooperation, and this was a good thing for individuals as well as society.” He said that all of the major religions emphasize the importance of covering swathes of the Central moral to avoid incurring the displeasure American region, which covers present or anger of a god. day Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. In Christianity, those who are faithful Mesoamerica gave rise to numerous and ask forgiveness of God will be advanced early cultures during its granted entrance into heaven, while history. those who do not will be sent to hell.

These included the ancient Olmecs The Old Testament and Hebrew bible through to the rise of the powerful Maya, depict a far more vengeful God that and eventually the Aztecs, each with actively punishes mankind for its their own political systems and religious transgressions. Hindus believe that if beliefs. The team found that in Rio they are sinful during their life they will Verde, the religious beliefs of the be reincarnated as an undesirable peoples hindered a move towards animal. Even the Romans and ancient centralized power. In particular, in the Greeks believed in gods that were lower Verde, religious rituals involving responsible for natural disasters and had offerings and the burial of people in to be appeased. Professor Johnson cemeteries at smaller communities claimed that pagan belief systems often created strong ties to the local feature spirits with powers of retribution community that impeded the creation and many indigenous cultures believe of state institutions. ancestral spirits watch over their Psychological research has activities. He added: “When we do demonstrated that negative events tend something selfish or wrong, even if we to have a more potent impact on our are alone and could never be found out, thinking and behavior than positive ones. we nevertheless find it hard to shake a Indeed, people tend to value losses sense that somehow our actions are almost twice as much as when they being observed and disapproved of by make gains. This is perhaps due to the someone or something. “It’s not logical. innate drive among our earliest It’s not rational. But it turns out that such ancestors to avoid negative and a belief is common to religious and dangerous situations that may pose a nonreligious people alike. “In fact, it threat to their lives, and so their ability seems to be ubiquitous across history to pass on their genes. As humans and across cultures – part of human began to live in larger and more social nature.”

British explorer dies on record Antarctica solo trip LONDON A British explorer who was trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica unsupported and unaided has died after falling ill just 30 miles (50 km) short of completing his mission, his wife said on Monday. Former army officer Henry Worsley, 55, was 71 days and 913 miles into his journey when he made a call for help after becoming unwell and was airlifted to hospital in Chile where he was diagnosed with bacterial peritonitis. “It is with heartbroken sadness I let you know that my husband, Henry Worsley, has died following

complete organ failure,” his wife Joanna said in a statement. Worsley, a father of two, set off in November on the crossing which was to commemorate 100 years

since the 1915 ill-fated attempt to carry out the first crossing of the continent by his lifelong hero, British explorer Ernest Shackleton. Worsley was pulling a sledge with his food and equipment and the journey was expected to take about 80 days. As well as marking the anniversary of Shackleton’s mission, he had raised 100,000 pounds ($142,000) for the Endeavour Fund which helps wounded soldiers. However, extreme weather conditions and the strain of walking across the landmass left him suffering from exhaustion and dehydration.

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A sperm whale lies on the sand after being washed ashore at Skegness beach in Britain. Three dead sperm whales washed up on the weekend.

We don’t always know what we need until suddenly, somehow, that need is met. What if it is never met? We may find ourselves unwittingly leading our lives with two needs. We need whatever it is that we don’t even know we need, yet we also need to know what it is that we need if we are to be in with any chance of fulfilling that bigger (if less obvious) need. If you become keenly aware of a need that can’t be easily addressed, feel inspired, not frustrated. At least you now know what you are looking for. !!!

Relationships, it seems, are not what they used to be. People, these days, expect more from each other. We have to work hard if we are to develop a deep connection and strengthen a close emotional bond. Others are not easy to understand, nor are we as simple and straightforward as we may care to imagine. The story of your personal life now is all about the need to make a realistic allowance for a challenging issue. That isn’t going to be easy for you - or for someone else.

But success is possible. !!!

The world, it seems, is full of hoops we have to jump through, rules we must comply with, agreements we are obliged to honor and promises that we are under pressure to keep.

That’s fine if we feel comfortable about the expectations that others have of us. It can lead to tension when we are being asked for more than we feel we can supply.

Recent events have left you wondering how much time and energy you really want to commit to a particular person or situation. You will soon, though, gain renewed enthusiasm. !!!

Some people exude a special air, manifest an attractive attitude and inspire a degree of devotion in the hearts of almost all who encounter them. As you read these words and wonder, ‘Who in my life is he referring to here?’ please consider the possibility that actually, I’m talking about you! It may have been some while since you last felt entitled to have confidence in yourself and what you have to offer.

Tensions and troubles have undermined you somewhat. But now, strength and self-belief rightly return. !!!

There are always people who will tell us where we are going wrong and why.

They may be well meaning but none of us really benefit from having attention drawn to aspects of our existence that we might prefer to draw a veil over. Nor do we like it when events somehow seem to highlight the possibility that we have made poor choices in the past. You are now recovering from what seems like a recent onslaught against your natural confidence. You will find yourself back on a happier, stronger footing … soon! !!!

There may, or may not, be such a thing as ‘love at first sight’, but there is definitely a kind of instant recognition that strangers sometimes feel when they first encounter each other. Esotericists may see it as a sign that the two have known one another in a previous life.

Psychologists may interpret this as an instant acknowledgement of some subtle shared dream or vision which may, or may not, be healthy. Your strong sense of connection to someone is now too powerful to ignore. Trust that it is positive.

Britain, Bill Gates announce £3b to eradicate malaria LONDON Britain’s finance minister and tech billionaire Bill Gates unveiled Monday a plan to spend billions to eradicate “the world’s deadliest killer” malaria.

Chancellor George Osborne and Gates announced a £3 billion ($4.28 billion, 4 billion euros) fund for research and to support efforts to eliminate the mosquitoborne disease. “Malaria is a huge killer out there but with effort and the kind of research that happens here in the north of England we can actually, I think, eliminate this disease,” Osborne said at an event at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

“We are committing this money... to bring an end to this disease that causes such heartbreak to so many families in the world but also a disease which damages the economies of so many countries.” The fund will include £500 million a year from Britain’s overseas aid budget for the next five years, with the rest of the money coming from The Gates Foundation and more donations to follow.

Britain’s contribution is around the same budget

that had previously been devoted to fighting malaria, British newspaper reports said.

The announcement of the

Malaria Report 2015. “The biggest project that our foundation supports in Liverpool is coming up with new chemicals to go into

Ross Fund - named after Ronald Ross, a British doctor who won the Nobel Prize for his work on malaria - ups a previous pledge in November by Britain to spend £1 billion on fighting malaria and other infectious diseases. There were 438,000 malaria deaths in 2015, most of them children aged under five, and the majority of them in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. Efforts to control the disease have made significant progress in the last 15 years, but are threatened by the spread of resistance to antimalarial drugs and to insecticide, the WHO said in its World

those bed nets that mosquitoes are not resistant to,” Gates said.

“It’s hard to overstate just how impactful malaria is.

You simply can’t really build a prosperous economy when you have lots of malaria.” Microsoft cofounder Gates has turned his attention from software to fighting disease and other ills around the world with his wife, under the auspices of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The charity has disbursed more than $28 billion and provided funding for the world’s most clinically advanced malaria vaccine, Mosquirix developed by

Glaxo Smith Kline.

Mosquirix, or RTS,S, is the first malaria vaccine to reach Phase III clinical testing - the final stage before market approval - and the first to be assessed by regulators.

It received a nod from European regulators in July. A WHO expert panel in October recommended pilot rollouts of the vaccine to young children in several areas of subSaharan Africa, before considering wider use.

The WHO is expected to follow the panel’s recommendations, which could result in Mosquirix becoming the first licensed vaccine against a parasitic disease. But a decision still lies a way off. In April last year, the results of a yearslong trial with 15,500 children in seven African countries were published in The Lancet medical journal - announcing mixed success. Only around a third of the children who received the vaccine were protected for the full duration of the trial, researchers found. But even so, the vaccine has the potential to prevent millions of cases and could save thousands of lives.

would require just a small sample of cells as starting material. Plus, the finished ear would be a living thing and so should grow with the child. The scientists began by turning human stem

cells - ‘master cells’ - into cartilage cells. The labgrown cartilage was then formed into tiny balls and placed in inside plastic tubes shaped like a human ear on a rat’s back. After two months, the framework dissolved, leaving behind what looks like a two-inch hear lying flat against the animal’s back. The technique is one of several being perfected around the world, in the aim of making bespoke replacements for body parts damaged by accidents, ravaged by disease or malformed at birth.

Scientists grow human

Tokyo Human ears to could be ‘grown to order’ within five years, claim Japanese scientists who have unveiled a rat with an ear on its back. The Tokyo and Kyoto university technology could be used to help children born with facial abnormalities, as well as youngsters mauled by dogs. Adults, including soldiers injured in battle of people who have suffered accidents, could also benefit. At the moment, replacement ears are sculpted from cartilage

taken from the patient’s ribs. However, multiple operations are needed, plus the removal of the cartilage is painful and chest never fully heals. In contrast, the new technique

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Child obesity a nightmare in developing world GENEVA Childhood obesity has reached alarming rates globally and has become an “exploding nightmare” in the developing world, including in Africa, where the number of obese children has nearly doubled since 1990, a WHO commission said Monday.

The authors of the report from the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity stressed that the epidemic has historically not been treated as a grave public health issue and was regarded

and global public health bodies were central to reversing the scourge. Childhood obesity has reached alarming rates globally and has become an “exploding nightmare” in the developing world, including in Africa, where the number of obese children has nearly doubled since 1990, a WHO commission said Monday.

The authors of the report from the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity stressed that the epidemic has historically not been treated as a grave public

by some as a product of lifestyle choices by individuals and families. But following two years of research in more than 100 countries, the authors underscored that governments

health issue and was regarded by some as a product of lifestyle choices by individuals and families. But following two years of research in more than 100 countries, the authors

underscored that governments and global public health bodies were central to reversing the scourge. “What’s the big message? It’s not the kid’s fault,” commission co-chair Peter Gluckman told reporters. Biological factors, inadequate access to healthy foods, a decline in physical activity in schools and the unregulated marketing of fattening foods are among the drivers of a worsening epidemic that requires a coordinated global response, the report said.

If not reversed, “the obesity epidemic has the potential to negate many of the health benefits that have contributed to the increased longevity observed in the world,” added the report, commissioned by the UN’s World Health Organization.

Gluckman conceded that the commission’s policy recommendations - which range from promoting healthy lifestyles to higher taxes on sugary drinks - may seem like common sense.

But, the commission noted, common sense strategies have

is between 6cm and 7cm. Collett said earlier reports that Big Boy’s size was 7.5cm were based on an incorrect measurement taken when the spider’s legs were not fully extended. Big Boy will now become one of more than 500 funnel-webs that are milked for venom at the Australian Reptile Park. “We get them into a defence position and with a glass pipette we vacuum the venom right off their fangs,” Mr Collett said.

Spiders are milked using a pipette which sucks up their venom. This is done once every week as the spiders can get exhausted from too many milkings.? The park needs between 200 and 300 spiders to milk every year, and needs 3,000 milkings to produce enou?gh venom for the antidote.

The venom is sent to laboratory Bio CSL where it is injected in incremental doses into rabbits.?

The bunnies gradually build up antibodies in their blood, which the laboratory extracts to make a serum.?

OSLO A record-breaking string of hot years since 2000 is almost certainly a sign of man-made global warming, with vanishingly small chances that it was caused by random, natural swings, a study showed on Monday. Last year was the hottest since records began in the 19th century in a trend that almost all scientists blame on greenhouse gases from burning of fossil fuels, stoking heat waves, droughts, downpours and rising sea levels.

“Recent observed runs of record temperatures are extremely unlikely to have occurred in the absence of humancaused global warming,” a US-led team of experts wrote in the journal Scientific Reports. Written before 2015 temperature data were released, it estimated the chance of the record run - with up to 13 of the 15 warmest years all from 2000 to 2014 - was between one in 770 and one in 10,000 if the series were random with no human influence. Lead author Michael Mann, a professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University, told Reuters that the group’s computer simulations indicated those odds including 2015 had widened to between one in 1,250 and one

not been adequately implemented anywhere in the world, with the number of overweight children growing from 31 million to 41 million between 1990 and 2014. “To date, progress in tackling childhood obesity has been slow and inconsistent,” the report said.

Child obesity “is an exploding nightmare in the developing world,” Gluckman said. The figures have surged in Africa, with the number of overweight or obese children nearly doubling from 1990 to 2014, from 5.4 million to 10.3 million. The rate of increase in Asia was difficult to quantify, Gluckman said, but Asia currently accounts for nearly half (48 percent) of children under five categorised as overweight or obese. The report

notes that in wealthier countries, poorer children are more likely to be obese, partly due to the relative affordability and abundance of fatty fast foods and high-sugar snacks. In poorer countries the children of wealthier families are more likely to be obese, including in cultures where “an overweight child is often considered to be healthy.” The report outlines biological pathways that can expose children to an elevated risk of obesity once they are born. The first, called the “mismatch” pathway, results from even subtle malnutrition during pregnancy and early childhood, which can impact gene function and make a child far more likely to excessively gain weight.

in 13,000. “Climate change is real, human-caused and no longer subtle - we’re seeing it play out before our eyes,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Natural variations include shifts in the sun’s output or volcanic eruptions, which dim sunlight.

“Natural climate variations just

confidence.

Last month, almost 190 nations agreed at a summit in Paris to the strongest deal yet to shift from fossil fuels towards cleaner energies such as wind and solar power to limit warming.

Separately on Monday, the UN’s World Meteorological

can’t explain the observed recent global heat records, but manmade global warming can,” Stefan Rahmstorf, a co-author from the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact, said in a statement. The scientists tried to account for factors including that heat from one warm year spills over into the next. And temperatures in many years are almost identical, making it hard to rank their heat with

Organization (WMO) confirmed US and British data showing 2015 was by far the hottest year on record and noted that a powerful El Nino event, warming the surface of the Pacific Ocean, had stoked extra heat. “The power of El Nino will fade in the coming months but the impacts of human-induced climate change will be with us for many decades,” WMO SecretaryGeneral Petteri Taalas said.

Massive funnel-web Record hot years almost certainly spider to be milked caused by man-made warming

Sydney A deadly funnel-web spider with a leg span of 10cm (4in) is the largest specimen ever handed in to Australia’s only venom-milking programme. The spider, which has been named Big Boy, was caught in bushland in Newcastle, NSW, last week and handed over to the Australia Reptile Park. The park encourages the public to catch and send in spiders so it can use them to produce antivenom. Programme supervisor Billy Collett said he had not heard of a bigger specimen. “There might be one at a museum, but this is the biggest one we’ve had in our venom programme,” Mr Collett said. A “good Samaritan” had handed the spider in at a local hospital, which acts as a collection point for the Australian Reptile Park’s venom milking programme, he added. Big Boy is a male Sydney funnel-web spider, which is the deadliest spider in Australia and one of the most venomous in the world. The average leg span of a funnel-web

Issue - 651 (7)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

First Pakistani Sikh Ranger Obama warns Pakistan, asks to dismantle all terror networks; shines at Wagah Border ceremony praises PM Narendra Modi Washington Using sharp language against Pakistan, US President Barack Obama on Sunday said that the Nawaz government can and must take more effective action against

across the region,” Obama told reporters in an interview to PTI in Washington during which he answered a wide range of questions covering IndoUS ties, terrorism and outcome of the Paris

terrorist groups that operate from its territory.

Obama also said that the increasing insecurity inside Pakistan is a threat to its own stability.

Further describing the terror attack on Punjab’s Pathankot Iandian Air Force base as an “another example of the inexcusable terrorism that India has endured for too long”, Obama gave credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reaching out to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif after the attack.“Both leaders are advancing a dialogue on how to confront violent extremism and terrorism

climate change summit.

Voicing his belief that the Indo-US relationship can be one of the defining partnerships of the century, Obama said that Modi shared his enthusiasm for a strong partnership and “we have developed a friendship and close working relationship, including our conversations on the new secure lines between our offices”.

Asked if the relationship has achieved its full potential, the President replied, “Absolutely not.”

On the Pathankot attack, Obama said, “We join India in condemning the attack, saluting the Indians who

MIAMI The gut microbes of the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old mummy found frozen in a European glacier in 1991, have shed new light on the

his stomach, they found a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, an age-old pathogen that has evolved into different strains according to the

history of human migration, scientists said Thursday. Researchers thawed the mummy of the man, also known as Otzi, who was killed by an arrow when he was between 40 and 50 years old and hiking across the Otztal Alps between modern-day Italy and Austria. When they tested the contents of

region of the world in which it is found. About half the people on the planet harbor the bacterium in their stomachs.

It can cause ulcers or gastrointestinal distress and is typically spread among children when they play in the dirt. While researchers cannot be sure if the Iceman was

fought to prevent more loss of life and extending our condolences to the victims and their families.

Tragedies like this also underscore why the US and India continue to be such close partners in fighting terrorism.”

Obama was of the view that Sharif recognised that insecurity in Pakistan is a threat to its own stability and that of the region.

After the December, 2014 school massacre in Peshawar he had vowed to target all militants, regardless of their agenda or affiliation. “That is the right policy. Since then, we have seen Pakistan take action against several specific groups. We have also seen continued terrorism inside Pakistan such as the recent attack on the university in north west Pakistan,” he added.

“Pakistan has an opportunity to show that it is serious about delegitimising, disrupting and dismantling terrorist networks. In the region and around the world, there must be zero tolerance for safe havens and terrorists must be brought to justice,” the US Prez asserted in this third interview to reporters.

Iceman’s gut microbes shed light on human migration

sick due to the infection, they were intrigued by their analysis of the geographic history of the bacterium.

“Surprisingly, a strain of bacterium in his gut shares ancestry with an Asian strain,” said the study in the US journal Science. “In contrast to the fact that most modern Europeans harbor a strain ancestral to North African strains.” If the stomach contents of the Iceman is a good reflection of Europeans 5,300 years ago, the analysis suggests that African migration had not yet resulted in intermingling with the Asian strain of the bacterium.

“This one genome has put things into wonderful perspective for us,” said Yoshan Moodley, a researcher at the University of Venda in South Africa.

“We can say now that the waves of migration that brought these African Helicobacter pylori into Europe had not occurred or at least not occurred in earnest by the time the Iceman was around.”

Lahore For the first time ever, a Sikh Pakistani Ranger has participated in the traditional beating retreat ceremony at the Wagah Border involving Indian and Pakistani forces.

People from both sides of the border welcomed the Sikh ranger, Amarjeet Singh, with a huge round of applause when he came for the ceremony, Dawn news reported.

The surroundings filled with the sound of claps when he shook hands

with the soldiers of Indian Border Security Force.

Amarjeet is a resident of Nankana Sahib, the holy city of Sikhs situated close to Lahore. He is said to be the first person ever from the Sikh community to join the Pakistan army.

Amarjeet joined the Pakistan army in 2005 and completed training this year, after which he was included in the defence forces on the Wagah Border, media reports said. The paper

further reported that Amarjeet said he was proud of being a part of the Pakistan army and would be happy to lay down his life for the nation. Sikhs once thrived in each city of Pakistani Punjab until they migrated in huge numbers after partition in 1947.The ‘lowering of the flags’ ceremony is a daily military practice at the Wagah Border.The Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers have jointly followed it since 1959.

Issue - 651 (8)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Wreck of WW I German submarine found off English coast

LONDON A wreck found at the bottom of the sea off England has been identified as a long-lost German submarine from World War I, an energy company announced on Thursday.

ScottishPower Renewables workers detected the submarine lying 90 kilometres (56 miles) off the coast of Norfolk in East England, 30 metres deep in the North Sea, while researching for a windfarm development in 2012.

A team of Dutch Navy divers, who hoped the wreck might be the Netherlands’ final missing submarine from the World War II, investigated the wreck and filmed it where it lay preserved on the sea bed. Studies identified the submarine as Germany’s U-31, which left for

a patrol on January 13, 1915 and never returned.

“Unravelling the whole story behind the submarine has been fascinating,” said Charlie Jordan, project director with ScottishPower renewables.

“It’s heartening to know that the discovery will provide closure to relatives and descendants of the submariners lost who may have always wondered what had happened to their loved ones.”

It is thought that the submarine hit a mine and sank, killing all 35 men on board. Mark Dunkley, a marine archaeologist at preservation organisation Historic England, said that the submarine was in a “remarkable condition”.

UK launches crackdown on rogue Indian-origin landlords LONDON Britain has launched a crackdown on rogue Indianorigin and other landlords who rent out slum-like accommodation in garden sheds to illegal immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and other regions.

Raids by officials against “beds in sheds” have led to the arrest of many illegal Indian immigrants in London areas such as Hounslow, Southall, Croydon and Wembley.

Similar illegal renting has been reported from other cities. New funding for the crackdown was announced on Friday, ahead of the enforcement from February 1 of the legal requirement for all landlords in England to carry out “right to rent” checks to ensure potential tenants are legally allowed to rent property. Housing minister Brandon Lewis said councils across the country will be given a £5 million cash boost to take on “irresponsible landlords” who force tenants to live in squalid and dangerous properties. The councils that will receive funding include those that have a large population of

Wedding haka moves NZ Maori bride to tears Auckland A passionate wedding haka that moved a New Zealand bride to tears is making everyone else cry too after being watched more than 19m times. Video of the Maori dance at the wedding of Aaliyah and Benjamin Armstrong is being widely shared on social media.

Ms Armstrong, 21, told the BBC she was “blown away” by the performance. She said the haka was a sign of respect from her husband’s best man and families not, as some have commented online, an attempt to intimidate him.

“They are quite strong, the men in their family,” she said.

A haka - with its shouting, body-slapping and exaggerated facial expressions - is used in traditional Maori culture as a war cry to intimidate the enemy, but also to welcome special guests and at celebrations.

The video was filmed at the couple’s wedding reception in Auckland last week. In it, they watch with emotion as the groomsmen and guests surprise them with a heartfelt

performance of the traditional dance, before joining in themselves.“I wasn’t planning on jumping in until one bridesmaid did,” said Ms Armstrong. “I felt the need to show love and respect back. I was really blown away.” Women do not normally perform the haka in Maori culture but she said they can do at weddings. The nearly threeminute video ends with the couple emotionally embracing the performers. The haka was organised by the 23-year-old groom’s best man and was led by his older brother. It was filmed by her cousin’s production company. “Ben is a Maori, he is probably more Maori than I am,”

Ms Armstrong said. “Because he has fair skin, some people have been saying on social media that ‘he’d better not hurt the bride’, but they’re actually his family.” The couple, who live in Auckland, posted the video for friends and its popularity has taken them by surprise.

“We didn’t think it would shoot off, but yesterday afternoon I left my phone alone for about five minutes and I had so many notifications,” Ms Armstrong said. Comments on social media have focused on the strong emotions that the video arouses. “Yes, this moved me to tears,” said user Hind Makki in a typical Twitter post.

Indian origin, such as Hounslow, Brent, Croydon, Derby and Birmingham.

The funding will also allow

origin with settled status to provide them shelter. In the process, they face exploitation but are unable to approach

councils to root out more “beds in sheds”. Since 2011, nearly 40,000 inspections have taken place in properties and more than 3,000 landlords are facing further enforcement action or prosecution. Lewis said: “We are determined to tackle these rogues, which is why we are providing 48 councils with extra funding, so they can get rid of the cowboy operators in their area and bring an end to tenants living in miserable homes in the name of profit.” In several cases, “tenants” in such accommodation are Indian citizens who are in Britain illegally, and turn to landlords of Indian

authorities because of their illegal immigration status. An official note on the situation said: “‘Beds in sheds’ are often rented to migrants, including some with no right to be in the UK, at extortionate rates. Their foreign ‘tenants’ often find it difficult to return home quickly after destroying their passports to avoid removal.”

It adds: “With few other options, they will put up with cramped conditions, dodgy wiring and poor sanitation as an alternative to life on the streets.”

Google unveils virtual tour of Buckingham Palace

LONDON Web surfers will be able to peek into the gilded interiors of Queen Elizabeth II’s home in a new virtual reality tour launched by Google on Wednesday.Buckingham Palace, the queen’s primary residence, has opened its doors to the tech giant for 360-degree photos of some of its richlydecorated rooms.The tour can be viewed on a computer or in 3D on a mobile phone through the official British Monarchy YouTube channel one of several digital initiatives adopted by the royal household in recent years.Visitors are welcomed by a virtual Master of the Household and then guided by curator Anna Reynolds through lavish chambers including the Throne Room. At the end of the video, which lasts around 10 minutes, virtual visitors are also shown a secret door through which the queen arrives at receptions.The programme is

intended for schoolchildren and was created under Google’s Expedition programme. Instead of having a virtual guide, teachers dictate the tour and highlight interesting topics for pupils. “For schoolchildren, Buckingham Palace is one of the most iconic, magical buildings in the world,” said Jemima Rellie, director of content at the Royal Collection Trust which worked together with Google.Jennifer Holland, Expedition’s programme manager, launched the tour at an event in London with pupils from a school in east London. “We asked them, if you could go anywhere in the world where would you want to go and they replied Buckingham Palace,” she said. The photos for the tour were taken last week with a 16-camera rig placed in a circle. The virtual tour will also be available through the official British Monarchy YouTube channel.

Issue - 651 (9)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Syrian government imposes tax on ‘shawarma sandwich London The Government of Syria has imposed a new tax on shawarma sandwiches and a raft of other levies on everyday life as the country struggles to pay for war.

According to The Guardian, the tax on the popular Middle Eastern dish, which is made by cutting thin slices of grilled spiced meat, shows how the government’s drive to collect revenue has spread into all corners of the economy.

The revenues have slowed to a dribble as the government has lost most of the oil control and gas resources.50-year-old Damascus resident Tahseen said that she had to pay 220 Syrian pounds instead of the regular 200 pounds and the restaurant owner told her that

there was a new 10 percent ‘reconstruction tax‘ being imposed on each sandwich.

The state telecommunications company, which has a monopoly on landlines, has doubled monthly subscription fees for its 4.5 million subscribers.

All public administrations have been ordered to reduce their energy consumption by 30 percent and get rid of thousands of temporary government employee contracts.

The country’s economy has been ravaged by a conflict that began in March 2011 and has claimed the lives of more than 2,50,000 people while four million people have fled to the neighbouring countries.

Giant animals light up Vatican Images of clouds, lions and butterflies - alternating with polluted air and parched farmland - were projected on the famous facade of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Tuesday night as global leaders try to thrash out a historic climate deal in Paris. The light show, titled “Fiat Lux (Let There Be Light): Illuminating Our Common Home”, also coincided with the festive launch Tuesday of a special Catholic Jubilee Year on the theme of mercy. Thousands of people thronged St Peter’s

Square for the hour-long light show featuring the work of some of the world’s best photographers including Sebastiao Salgado of Brazil, Joel Sartore of the United States and Frenchman Yann Arthus Bertrand.The images were accompanied not by music but by the sounds of nature such as stormy weather, birdsong and long stretches of silence.The initiative, backed by the World Bank, aims to underscore the Catholic Church’s push for environmental protection.

Scientists urge world to stop killer robots DAVOS The world must act quickly to avert a future in which autonomous robots with artificial intelligence roam the battlefields killing humans, scientists and arms experts warned at an elite gathering in the Swiss Alps.

Rules must be agreed to prevent the development of such weapons, they said at a January 19-23 meeting of billionaires, scientists and political leaders in the snow-covered ski resort of Davos. Angela Kane, the German UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs from 20122015, said the world had been slow to take pre-emptive measures to protect humanity from the lethal technology.

“It may be too late,” she told a debate in Davos. “There are many countries and many representatives in the international community that really do not understand what is involved. This development is something that is limited to a certain number of advanced countries,” Kane said.

The deployment of autonomous weapons would represent a dangerous new era in warfare, scientists said. “We are not talking about drones, where a human pilot is controlling the drone,” said Stuart Russell, professor of computer science at University of California, Berkeley.

“We are talking about autonomous weapons, which means that there is no one behind it. AI: artificial intelligence weapons,” he told a forum in

Spain’s PM falls prey to practical joke on radio MADRID “I have a very free schedule”: Spain’s embattled incumbent prime minister fell prey to a practical joke when an imitator pretending to be Catalonia’s new separatist leader managed to speak to him on the phone on radio.

The improbably successful joke broadcast Thursday by a radio

station in Spain’s Catalonia region, where an independence movement is gathering pace, is another blow for Mariano Rajoy whose attempts to form a government following inconclusive elections have so far fallen flat.A presenter at Radio Flaixbac called the

Moncloa presidency in the Spanish capital pretending to be working for Carles Puigdemont, a separatist politician who was voted in as new Catalonia leader earlier this month to the fury of Madrid. Transferred to Rajoy’s secretary, she told him the prime minister was in a meeting but would soon be free.

Unable to believe his luck, a

Puigdemont imitator at the radio station found himself on the phone minutes later with the prime minister, and a surprisingly cordial conversation began.

“How’s life?” said Rajoy, before exchanging a pleasantry. The fake Puigdemont then asked

him if they could meet, which Rajoy agreed to readily, depending on how negotiations to form a government were going.

“I think I can call you on Monday and depending on where we are.. we will fix a date,” he told the fake Puigdemont. “I have a very free schedule and we could meet 24 or 48 hours after.” Unable to keep the imposture going any longer, the radio presenter intervened and told Rajoy that it was in fact an imitator on a radio station who was speaking to him.

“We didn’t think we would pull this off and we’re probably as surprised as you are,” he told the Spanish leader. Clearly caught off guard, Rajoy responded that “this is not very serious.” The joke made waves in Spain on Thursday, sparking mostly good-natured reactions, including from within Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party (PP).

Rafael Hernando - spokesman for the PP’s parliamentary group - said it showed that Rajoy was willing to chat with a man who wants to lead Catalonia to independence from Spain, and with whom he is therefore at odds. “I’m sure that Mr Rajoy would like Mr Puigdemont to call him for real,” he told reporters.

Davos. “Very precisely, weapons that can locate and attack targets without human intervention.”Russell said he did not foresee a day in which robots fight the wars for humans and at the end of the day one side says: “OK you won, so you can have all our women.” But some 1,000 science and technology chiefs including British physicist

differentiate between civilians, soldiers, resistance fighters and rebels? How could it know that it should not kill a pilot who has ejected from a plane and is parachuting to the ground? “I am against robots for ethical reasons but I do not believe ethical arguments will win the day. I believe strategic arguments will win the day,” Russell said.

Stephen Hawking, said in an open letter last July that the development of weapons with a degree of autonomous decisionmaking capacity could be feasible within years, not decades. They called for a ban on offensive autonomous weapons that are beyond meaningful human control, warning that the world risked sliding into an artificial intelligence arms race and raising alarm over the risks of such weapons falling into the hands of violent extremists. “The question is can these machines follow the rules of war?” Russell said.How, for an example, could an autonomous weapon

The United States had renounced biological weapons because of the risk that one day they could deployed by “almost anybody”, he said. “I hope this will happen with robots.”

Alan Winfield, professor of electronic engineering at the University of the West of England, warned that removing humans from battlefield decisionmaking would have grave consequences.“It means that humans are deprived from moral responsibility,” Winfield said.

Moreover, the reaction of the robots may be hard to predict, he said: “When you put a robot in a chaotic environment, it behaves chaotically.”

N Korea arrests US student for ‘hostile act’

Seoul North Korea yesterday announced the arrest of a US university student for what it called a “hostile act” orchestrated by the American government to undermine the authoritarian nation.

In language that mirrors past North Korean claims of outside conspiracies, Pyongyang’s state media said the University of Virginia student entered the country under the guise of a tourist and plotted to destroy North Korean unity with “the tacit connivance of the US government and under its manipulation.” The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said in a short report that the student, whom it identified as Warmbier Otto Frederick, was “arrested while

perpetrating a hostile act,” but didn’t say when he was detained or explain the nature of the act.

North Korea has sometimes listed English-language surnames first, in the Korean style. The University of Virginia’s online student directory lists someone named Otto Frederick Warmbier as an undergraduate commerce student.

Social media accounts for Warmbier show interests in finance, travel and rap music; he was on his university’s dean’s list and attended high school in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The US State Department said in a statement that it was “aware of media reports that a US citizen was detained in North Korea,” but had “no further information to share due to privacy considerations.”

Issue - 651 (10)

Jatt/Saini parents seek an eligible alliance for their intelligent, down-to-earth and beautiful daughter, born Jan. 1984, 5'-4" tall, M.Sc. from University of Toronto and professionally employed. The boy must be clean-shaven, university graduate and professionally employed.

Serious enquiries only. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: rc.match.784@gmail.com or call: 905-792-0981 *** 654 *** Saini Sikh parents invite matrimonial alliance from the GTA for their slim, fair, beautiful, 5’2"/ ’83 born daughter, born, raised, educated in Canada, Bachelors in Business Management, and employed in the Finance division of a reputable Canadian company. The boy should be clean shaven, born, raised and educated in Canada & professionally employed. Please email sub2405@gmail.com or call 416-741-0777 *** 651*** Seeking a suitable match for a Canadian born punjabi tonk kshatriya girl, 31 yrs. old, 5'-3'' tall, diploma in accounting & professionally employed. The boy should be indian born Hindu punjabi, age between 32 to 36, tall between 5'-10" to 5'-11", attractive, athletic built, fair complexion, bachelor or master degree. Looking for a match in Punjab India or in Canada.

Vegetarian preferred. Please send your bio-data & recent pictures to: canadian.alliance@yahoo.ca *** 651*** Canadian born Jat Sikh girl, 36 yrs. old, 5’-7” tall, University graduate and professionally employed, Requires a compatible, professionally quallified match from Canada/ U.S. Please email recent picture and bio-data to: rkaurcanada@gmail.com Or Call: 1-519-636-3237 ***651*** Sikh Tonk Kashtria parents seeking a suitable match for their beautiful daughter, born and raised in Canada, 26 Yrs. old, 5’ – 4", well versed in both cultures, family orientated, graduated from University of Toronto, completed MBA with high distinction, Currently holding a well-respected job in the education field. The boy should be Canadian, welleducated and professionally employed. Caste no bar. GTA preferred. Please send your biodata & recent picture to: rajinder.kareer01@gmail.com or call: 647-407-3478 *** 651*** Jat Sikh family seeks a suitable match for their beautiful daughter, 28 yrs old, 5'-2" tall, US Citizen, Currently 4th year doctorate student (Chemical Engineering).

The boy should be professional, Jat Sikh with advanced degree and US resident. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to:

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

LKaurCali@gmail.com *** 651*** Seeking professional, beautiful and family oriented girl for Canadian Citizen Kamboj Sikh, 28 yrs., 6’-1” tall, handsome and decent boy, reputed University graduate, designated CPA (CA/ CMA) and professionally well placed in a finance management position with the reputed company of Toronto. Highly qualified and well settled family in Canada. Farming background family of Amritsar having rural and urban properties in India. Caste No Bar. Please email recent picture & bio-data to : beantbir@hotmail.com Or Call : 416-303-7711 ***651*** Jat Sikh parents invite matrimonial alliance for their daughter, born and raised in Canada, 30 yrs. old, 5’-6” tall, post gaduate degree in Clinical Psychology, professionally employed, well versed in both cultures. The boy should be well educated, professionally settled, between 28-34 yrs. of age.

Mainland area prefered. Please Call: 1-604-317-7576 ***651*** Seeking a suitable match for a Canadian born punjabi tonk kshatriya girl, 31 yrs. old, 5'-3'’ tall, diploma in accounting & professionally employed. The boy should be indian born Hindu punjabi, age between 32 to 36, tall between 5'-10" to 5'-11" , attractive, athletic build, fair complexion, bachelor or master degree. Looking for a match in Punjab India or in Canada.

Vegetarian preferred. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: canadian.alliance@yahoo.ca *** 651*** Lubana Sikh parents invite matrimonial alliance for their son, 27 yrs. old, 5’-10” tall, Canadian Citizen, degree in informatic security from Canada, running his own successful businees, belongs to a very good family.

The girl should be suitable educated, beautiful, family oriented from Canada/America.

Please email recent picture to and bio-data to : kuldipsinghshah@gmail.com Or Call : 647-721-2632 ***651*** Jat Sikh family Seek a suitable match for their son, 27yrs. old, 5'-10" tall, slim, clean shaven, born and raised in Canada, Doctor, Currently in a residency program, family oriented, well versed in both cultures. Family is well settled in Toronto. The girl should be born and raised in Canada, beautiful, slim, professionally compatible, similar values. Preferably family in the GTA. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: gtamatch86@gmail.com *** 651*** Jat Sikh parents matrimonial alliance for their beautiful daughter, 25 yrs. old, working as RN in Seattle (USA) completing Master’s in Nursing from University of Washigton, born in

Canada. The boy should be born in Canada/America, well educated, professional (Doctor/ Dentist) employed with moderate family values. Please email recent picture and biodata to: hk_leen@yahoo.com ***651*** Jat Sikh parents seeking a suitable match for their daughter, 29 year old, 5’ tall, Canadian Immigrant, B.Tech in electronics and communication and MBA in human resources, working in a leading telecommunication company in Canada. The boy should be educated, professionally employed, belongs to a good family. The boy on student visa/ work permit may also be considered. Please send your recent picture & bio-data to : micarana19@gmail.com Or Call : 1-587-434-0817 ***651*** Well established Sikh Jatt parents seeking suitable match for beautiful 26 yrs. old daughter who is a doctor and U.S. Citizen.

Boy should be in the Medical, Engineering field or a Lawyer.

He should also be tall between 25-30 yrs. old and from a respectable Jatt Family, living in USA. Please send your biodata and Photo to: jskaur555@gmail.com ***651*** Ramgariha Sikh family seek a suitable match for their son, 1984 born, 5’-11” tall, well educated, currently living in Malaysia. The Girl should be Canadian/American Immigrant or Citizen, educated, family oriented. Family is well settled in India, Sister is in Austrailia +2 Uncles are well settled in Canada. Please send your biodata & recent picture to: sophiarayat9577@ hotmail.com or Call: 011-61-412541390 ***651*** Jat Sikh Sidhu parents invite matrimonial alliance for their son, 26 yrs. old, 6’ tall, Electrical Engineering from Canadian University, working in a reputed company, non-drinker.

The girl should be professionally qualified, Canadian Immigrant/ Citizen/student, beautiful with good family background. Family is well settled in Canada.

Please email recent picture and bio-data to : sidhutoronto@hotmail.com Or Call : 905-497-3860 ***651*** Jat Sikh Gill parents looking for a suitable match for their Canadian born daughter, 31 yrs. old, 5’-2” tall, well edssucated, working in her field. The boy should be Canadian, professionally quaified, clean shaven from Jat Sikh family.

Please Call: 1-604-522-4470 ***651*** Jat Sikh parents seeking a match for their Canadian born son, 34 yrs. old, 6’-2” tall, University educated, professionally employed, well paid manager. The girl should be University educated,

beautiful with family values.

Please email recent picture and bio-data to: tormgr13@gmail.com Or Call: 416-708-1392 ***651*** Jat Sikh parents invite matrimonial alliance for their daughter, born and raised in Canada, 29 yrs. old, 5’-5” tall, working as a teacher in Peel Region Board, beautiful, pretty, well versed in both cultures. The boy should be University graduate, handsome and well settled. GTA prefered. Please email recent picture and biodata to: sw84asr@hotmail.com ***651*** Well settled Jat Sikh family seek a suitable match for their son, 25 yrs. old, 5’-11” tall, Canadian Citizen, doing Mechanical Engineering & helping in his family business.

The Girl should be from Canada, beautiful, educated & family oriented. Ludhiana Distt. preferred. The Girls on Student Visa/Work Permit/Visitor Visa can be considered. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: mangat289@yahoo.ca Or Call: 647-278-0003 ***651*** Ramgariha family seek a suitable match for their daughter, 25 yrs. old, 5’-3” tall, Vegetarian, Canadian Immigrant, M.B.A., family oriented. The boy should be family oriented, Turbaned, Vegetarian, Educated & from Canada. The boy on Student Visa/Work permit/visitor visa can be considered. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: satinder.kaur@hotmail.com Or Call: 647-537-7000 ***651*** Jatt Sikh Brar family seek a suitable match for their son, Canadian PR., Masters in engineering from US and working since 2010 in US., 5'8'’ tall, born Jan 1984 and raised in Malwa Punjab. The girl should be well educated, in engineering or medical profession, from a respectable family with good values. Girl already in US or Canada preferred. Please Send your biodata & recent picture to: brarvancouver@gmail.com or call: 1- 778-552-0246(Canada) or 011-91-98150-85002(Punjab) *** 651*** Canadian citizen Kashyap Rajput Sikh parents invite matrimonial alliance for their clean shaven, handsome, smart Canadian citizen son, Aug 89 born, 5’-7” tall, born in India brought up in Canada, B.Eng, M.Eng, well employed in his own field, The girl should be professionally qualified, beautiful and family oriented, Canadian citizen/PR. Caste no bar.

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Issue - 651 (11)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Taliban want removal from UN blacklist before peace talks Before considering rejoining peace talks aimed at ending a 15year civil war, Afghanistan’s Taliban want to be removed from a UN blacklist, a senior member said, as its political wing met activists at an unofficial forum in Qatar.

After months of worsening fighting, with the province of Helmand slipping out of government control and frequent suicide bombings in the capital, Afghanistan and its neighbours are trying to get troubled negotiations back on track.

Prospects of the Taliban, an increasingly strong presence on the battlefield since the withdrawal of most international troops in 2014, joining any talks had appeared slim.

But a Taliban member told Reuters that the group could participate if the UN Security Council canceled a resolution freezing assets and limiting travel of senior figures.

“We conveyed them to

first remove us from the ?blacklist of the United Nations and allow us to freely travel around the

amid an upswing in fighting between the Taliban and Afghan forces.

On Saturday morning,

factional infighting.

The Afghan government did not send any serving officials but an adviser to

world and then we can think about holding peace talks,” said the Taliban member, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan hosted the first formal talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government in July 2015 but a second round was cancelled after it emerged that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Mullah, who sanctioned the talks, had been dead for two years.

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have since deteriorated

activists, former Afghan officials and Taliban representatives arrived at a hotel in downtown Doha for a two-day meeting on resolving the war organized by Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, a Nobel peace prize-winning crisis group.

“The meeting is providing us an opportunity to express our views about the future of Afghanistan,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban which is itself riven by

the president, Malalai Shinwari, and the country’s former interior minister, Umer Daudzai, were present.

Anwar Ahady, a former minister of finance taking part in the Doha talks, said the Taliban had not yet shown any willingness to engage in direct talks.

“So far they have not proposed any concrete ideas about how to move forward. Hopefully by tomorrow we will know if they want peace and if so what their conditions are,”

Singapore deports 26 Bangladeshis for ISIS links Singapore has deported 26 Bangladeshi migrant workers late last year and jailed one for supporting “the armed jihad ideology” of terror groups like AlQaeda and the Islamic State, authorities said

members of a closed religious study group that subscribed to extremist beliefs and teachings of radical figures like Anwar al-Awlaki, an American and Yemeni Islamic lecturer alleged to have ties with

today. The men, who were working in the construction industry here, were detained between November 16 and December 1 last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

Investigations showed that they supported the armed jihad ideology of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Some of them had considered waging armed jihad overseas, but they were not planning any terrorist attacks in Singapore, said the MHA. The 26 deported were

militant group Al-Qaeda.

Awlaki was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. The Bangladeshi authorities were informed of the circumstances of their repatriation.

The jailed man was not a member of the study group, but was discovered to have been undergoing radicalisation.

He supported extremist preachers and possessed jihadi-related material. He was jailed for attempting to leave Singapore illegally.

He will also be repatriated once he completes his sentence.In the course of

their arrests, the Internal Security Department recovered a “significant amount” of radical and jihadi-related material, such as books and videos containing footage of children undergoing training in what appeared to be terrorist military camps. Several members also possessed a shared document with graphic images and instruction details on how to conduct “silent killings” using different methods and weapons.

An excerpt from the document, which depicts in a graphic manner how one can attack and kill with stealth. The group members took measures to avoid detection by the authorities, sharing jihadirelated materials discreetly and holding weekly gatherings to discuss armed conflicts involving Muslims, said MHA. “They also carefully targeted the recruitment of other Bangladeshi nationals to grow their membership,” it said. A number of members admitted that they believed they should participate in and wage armed jihad on behalf of their religion.

Ahady told Reuters.

Even if the Taliban were to join the peace talks, those present would only represent part of the Islamist militant movement fighting to topple the government in Kabul and restore strict Islamic rule in place before it was ousted in 2001.

Leadership divisions could also impede progress, with some militant factions, such as a splinter group led by Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund, refusing to take part.

Members of the Taliban have lived in Qatar for years and briefly opened a political office there in 2013.

In 2010 Afghanistan said the United Nations had agreed to remove some Taliban members who renounced ties to al Qaeda from the U.N. blacklist on a “gradual” basis to try and help Afghan efforts to engage some insurgents in talks.

The Afghan government submitted a list of 20 names and five were removed from the list.

Horrifying flesh eating disease spreads in war-torn Syria and the cause is gut wrenching The culprits behind the spread of this horrendous flesh-eating disease in Syria are none other than the ISIS. It has been spreading like wildfire in the areas controlled by this terrorist organisation, firstly because of the absence of medical services in the area and secondly because of the rotting corpses which are carelessly dumped on the streets. The disease is primarily transmitted by bugs who feed on the these corpses and the parasite is called Leishmaniasis.

“As a result of abominable acts by ISIS that included the killing of innocent people and dumping their corpses in streets, this is the leading factor behind the rapid spread of Leishmanisis disease,” said Dilqash Isa the head of the Kurdish Red Crescent told the Kurdish Rudaw news.The report in Rudaw news states that the first case of the disease caused by protozoan parasites carried by flies was reported in September 2013.

Issue - 651 (12)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Islamic State acknowledges death of ‘Jihadi John’ in magazine The Islamic State group has acknowledged the death of the masked militant known as “Jihadi John,” who appeared in several videos depicting the beheadings of Western hostages, the SITE Intelligence Group reported Tuesday.

SITE, which monitors terrorist activity, reported that IS published a “eulogizing profile” of Jihadi John in its Englishlanguage magazine Dabiq on Tuesday. Jihadi John had been identified by the U.S. military as Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaitiborn British citizen.

“His harshness towards the kuffar (disbelievers) was manifested through deeds that enraged all the nations, religions, and factions of kufr, the entire world bearing witness to this,” said the Englishlanguage Dabiq in an article confirming that Emwazi was killed in a drone strike.

Army Col. Steve Warren, a U.S. military spokesman, said in November that the Army was “reasonably certain” that a drone strike in Syria had killed Emwazi, who spoke in beheading videos with a British accent as he wielded a knife.

Separately, a U.S. official said

three drones – two U.S. and one British – targeted the vehicle in which Emwazi was believed to be

Haines and Alan Henning, and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.Sotloff’s mother, Shirley

In the gruesome videos, a tall masked figure clad in black and speaking in a British accent

traveling in Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State’s selfproclaimed caliphate in northern Syria. The official said the U.S. drone fired a Hellfire missile that struck the vehicle.“Jihadi John” appeared in videos posted online by the Islamic State starting in August 2014 that depicted the beheadings of U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, British aid workers David

Sotloff, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she hadn’t heard about the IS announcement but assumed Emwazi was dead following the Army’s announcement last fall.“It’s good,” she said. “I’m glad that he’s gone, but it doesn’t bring back my son.”Jodi Perras, a spokeswoman for the Kassig family in Indianapolis, said they had no comment on the news about Jihadi John.

typically began with a political rant taunting the West and a kneeling hostage clad in an orange prison-style jumpsuit before him, then ended it holding an oversize knife in his hand with the headless victim lying before him in the sand. The videos don’t make clear if he carried out the actual killings.He also appeared as a narrator in videos of other beheadings, including the mass killing of captive Syrian

No Islamic State in Kashmir, such talk helps defame freedom struggle says Hurriyat chairman

A day after the Islamic State (IS) said it would ‘reclaim’ Kashmir from India, Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani said Saturday that the terror outfit has no presence in the region but its statement could provide New Delhi with a tool to “defame the freedom struggle” of Kashmiris.

“There are no chances of the presence of Daesh (IS) in this region... But such statements can provide a tool for India and they will try in every possible way to defame the just and genuine struggle of Kashmiri people,” he said.

Questioning the timing of the statement, Geelani said, “India is trying hard to link the freedom struggle of Kashmir with terrorism and the statement by the Daesh at this moment is very meaningful... policy makers of New Delhi have already started to play the

Daesh card against Muslim youths in India and now they want to extend this circle to Kashmir...to serve as a cover for the atrocities of its forces against innocent and unarmed Kashmiris”.

Reacting to the IS statement that Pakistan army has used Kashmir for its own ends, Geelani said Pakistan army has been solidly behind the people and “freedom struggle” of Kashmir.Geelani termed the IS as a creation of hidden powers and questioned its silence on Palestine, saying, “If this organisation had right direction and planning, then, being present in the Middle East, its first priority would have been the liberation of the Qibla Awal (Al Aqsa mosque) from Israeli occupation and they would have approached to help the subjugated people of Palestine.”

government soldiers.

Emwazi was believed to be in his mid-20s when he was killed.

He had been described by a former hostage as a psychopath who enjoyed threatening his Western captives.

Spanish journalist Javier Espinosa, who was held by the IS in Syria for more than six months after his abduction in September 2013, said Emwazi would explain precisely how the militants would carry out a beheading.The hostages nicknamed three Britishsounding captors “the Beatles,” with “Jihadi John” a reference to John Lennon, Espinosa said.Emwazi was born in Kuwait and spent part of his childhood in the poor Taima area of Jahra before moving to Britain as a boy, according to news reports quoting Syrian activists who knew the family. He attended state schools in London, then studied computer science at the University of Westminster.

The Dabiq article said he became involved in jihadi activity around the time of the 2005 attacks on the London transit system, and came under the scrutiny of the British intelligence agency MI5.

Jihadi John had warned kin not to follow him London Mohammed Emwazi, the terrorist known as Jihadi John who was killed by a drone strike last year, had warned his brother not to follow in his footsteps before leaving for Syria. Emwazi told his younger sibling Omar, 22, that his own encounters with the British security services had wrecked his life in Britain and had ended his plans for marriage and work in his homeland of Kuwait, Independent reported.

In an interview last year before his brother’s death in November, Omar described Emwazi’s tur-

moil while he was under surveillance by MI5 and Scotland Yard

between 2009 and 2012. Omar recalled: “He wasn’t the type of guy to complain... but he would say: ‘Don’t be like me.’ He was

always saying: ‘Learn from other people’s mistakes.’ He would basically say: ‘Look where I am. I can’t get married and I can’t get a proper job. I can’t travel and I can’t go nowhere’.”

Omar says his brother had made several attempts to return to Kuwait but was blocked each time by the security services.

But in late 2012 Emwazi did finally manage to find a way of escaping Britain, leaving via the port of Dover. He entered Syria through Turkey before joining a group of foreign fighters allied to al-Qaeda.

Jaipur The desecration of statues of prominent leaders continue with another statue of Mahatma Gandhi defaced in Dudu district in Rajasthan on early Monday.

“Some unknown miscreants wrote threatening messages on a Gandhi statue in Dudu district in Rajasthan. Efforts are being taken to ascertain the identity of the accused,” D C Jain, IG, Jaipur said.Locals informed the police immediately, who after reaching the spot, took the statue into its capture.

According to locals, they spotted Gandhi’s defaced statue early today after which they informed the police.

Miscreants scribbled ‘ISIS

Zindabad’ along with ‘a trail of devastation will be seen on January 26’ on the statue.

after which people closed their shops. According to a source, the miscreants intentionally

Pakistan spy agency ‘ISI’ has been inscribed on one side of the statue.

Tension prevailed in the area

vandalised Gandhi’s statue and mentioned ISI on it to create tension in the area ahead of Republic Day.

Mahatma Gandhi’s statue defaced in Rajasthan, ISIS message found scribbled

Issue - 651 (13)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Ex-spy reveals that UK knew of Guantanamo torture

London A former senior British intelligence officer has said that he wants to give evidence on security services knowing about the torture of inmates at the United States prison camp in Guantanamo Bay. The former officer is seeking permission to present evidence to a forthcoming parliamentary inquiry that British officials saw detainees being tortured in December 2002. Details of torture were disclosed during meetings held at the London headquarters of Britain’s MI5 in 2002 and the evidence is believed to

include claims that British officials witnessed inmates being chained, hooded, waterboarded and subjected to mental abuse by CIA officials, reports the Dawn.

No one was immediately available to comment at Britain‘s interior ministry which handles media queries relating to MI5. The prison in Guantanamo in Cuba, was opened in 2002 to house foreign terrorism suspects but has drawn international criticism from human rights activists and many foreign governments.US President Barack Obama is seeking to close it.

Think twice before joining ISIS; Salaries slashed by half

Pakistan rejects India’s proposal for joint grilling of JeM chief Masood Azhar Islamabad Pakistan has turned down India`s proposal to jointly interrogate Jaish-eMohammed chief Masood Azhar and other suspects linked with Pathankot airbase attack, official sources said.

in the operations.

Following the attacks, Indian and Pakistani governments agreed to postpone scheduled diplomatic talks till the end of January.

French President Francois Hollande on Monday said India was “fully justified” in asking

Authorities in Pakistan have detained Masood Azhar after the January 2 terrorist attack at Pathankot airbase. Several other suspects were arrested and authorities closed down a number of JeM-run madarsas (seminaries) in different cities, The Nation reported on Monday.

Azhar, who was released from an Indian prison in 1999 in exchange for 155 passengers of the Indian Airlines plane hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan, was quizzed by the investigators. The JeM chief`s brother Mufti Abdul Rehman Rauf was also detained, officials said on Saturday.Pakistan is likely to send a special investigating team to Pathankot in consultation with the Indian government for further investigations.On January 2, heavily armed militants, suspected to be from Pakistan, attacked the Pathankot airbase. A total of six terrorists and seven security personnel were killed

Pakistan for justice against the perpetrators of Pathankot attack.

Hollande said India and France were “united in their determination to act together against terrorism”.

India wanted to send investigators to interrogate Masood Azhar and his brother but Pakistan “politely refused” it, a senior official said.

Pakistan assured India that Islamabad was seriously investigating the case and will not hesitate to act if anyone was found guilty, the official said.

“India wants us to hand over Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed and as we have declined a number of times, they want us to at least give access to the investigators to interrogate them.

We have told them it was not possible,” he added.

Another official said investigators were interrogating the suspects arrested in the Pathankot case.

He said the authorities were in contact with India and keeping them updated. Pakistan has already submitted initial report to India regarding Pathankot attack.

The cell numbers used by the attackers, according to the report, were not registered and could not be traced in Pakistan.

Pakistan had been working on the Indian leads to find out if at all Pakistan`s soil was used in the plot, he said.

Analyst Brigadier (retd) Agha Hussain Ahmed said the basic motive of terrorists behind this attack was to derail the recently initiated peace process between Pakistan and India.“Pakistan has assured the Indian government of its full support in this regard and demanded India to hand over the proofs and evidence against any Pakistani involvement to take further action. Investigation of our citizens must be held in Pakistan,” he added.Defence analyst Mohammed Khan said the two countries needed to see who was behind the attack on Pathankot airbase in India.“Pakistan warmly welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his arrival to Lahore. The international community appreciated the meeting between the two premiers and stressed to resolve all matters by using the option of dialogue. After the Pathankot incident, Indian media said the military establishment of Pakistan is against the talks between India and Pakistan,” he said.Mohammed Khan said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief Raheel Sharif both have stressed that Pakistan will fully cooperate with India in eliminating and countering terrorism.He said Pakistan could not hand over its citizens to India or any other country for investigations.

Won’t seek extension, says Pak army chief London The dreaded Islamic State terror group has decided to cut the salaries of its fighters by half blaming the “exceptional circumstances”, a sign of worsening financial situation of the outfit.The group’s Bayt alMal, the Treasury Ministry, has decided to cut the salaries of its fighters in half due to the “exceptional circumstances” ISIS has been witnessing, The Jerusalem Post said, citing new documents released last month.

The terror group reportedly did not explain exactly what those “exceptional circumstances” were.However, t h e I S I S decision came amid reports of a US-led coalition airstrike this month that destroyed a cash storage facility of the group in Iraq’s Mosul city where it had

stored “millions” to pay its operatives and for ongoing operations.Millions of dollars were burned in the strike.

“ISIS’ financial situation today is even worse than it was in December when the document came out,” the paper said.

In order to deal with the financial damage, the ISISappointed governor in Mosul issued a fatwa allowing militants to raise funds from the local citizens by taxing them.The group said the move would not affect the collection and distribution of Zakat, a religious obligatory tax, the paper said, citing the documents. To justify its decision, the ISIS cited the Quran, claiming that it prioritises “jihad of wealth,” or spending in beneficial or charitable ways, over “jihad of soul”, the paper added.

ISLAMABAD Pakistan’s Army chief General Raheel Sharif ruled out rumours regarding his extension in service and on Monday said that he would retire after completing his term in office in November this year. For quite some time, there were rumours and speculation about General Sharif’s extension in service, with mediapersons suggesting him to continue as army chief as long as possible.

His approval rating in popular perception was also high, considering his policies against militancy in the country and accountability of corrupt officials within the military. However, still very few, while praising his role as army chief, advised him to step down on the due date of his retirement. “Speculation about extension in service of COAS is baseless,” said Asim Salim Bajwa, the army spokesperson.

Unlike his predecessors, who

continued as military chiefs after their retirement, Raheel Sharif was quoted by Bajwa as saying: “Pakistan Army is a great institution. I don’t believe in extension and will retire on the due date.” “Efforts to root out terrorism will continue with full vigour and resolve. Pakistan’s

national interest is supreme and will be safe guarded at all costs,” he added. Ex-President General Musharraf, who had toppled the then PM Nawaz Sharif-led government in a coup in 1999 following the Kargil war, gave himself extensions to his tenure as army chief from 2001-2008.

Issue - 651 (14)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Zika virus to spread across Americas GENEVA The Zika virus, a mosquitoborne disease suspected of causing serious birth defects, is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except Canada and Chile, the World Health Organization said. Zika has suspected but unproven links to microcephaly - in which babies born to women infected during pregnancy have abnormally small heads. The virus is already present in 21 of the 55 countries and territories across the Americas, the WHO said in a statement Sunday.

But it stressed that the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries Zika and also dengue and chikungunya viruses, is already present in all countries in the Americas besides Canada and Chile.

WHO pointed out that since people in the region had not been exposed to Zika before it emerged in Brazil last May they lacked immunity, allowing the virus to spread quickly.

The UN health agency said it therefore “anticipates

that Zika virus will continue to spread and will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found.”

WHO chief Margaret Chan told the opening of the organisation’s executive

committee meeting in Geneva Monday that “the explosive spread of Zika virus to new geographical areas, with little population immunity, is (a) cause for concern, especially given the possible link between infection during pregnancy and babies born with small heads.”

She stressed that “a causal link between Zika infection in pregnancy and microcephaly has not

been established,” but added that “the circumstantial evidence is suggestive and extremely worrisome.”

A surge in incidents across Latin America, notably in Brazil, has prompted the United

States and other governments to warn pregnant women against travelling to the region - an alarming prospect for Brazil as it gears up to light the Olympic torch on August 5.

Brazil has recorded 3,893 microcephaly cases since an unusual spike in the rare condition was noticed in the country’s northeast in October. Previously an annual average of 160 cases was the norm.

Iran bans the word ‘wine’ from books, sees it as a solution to throttle westernisation The use of words like ’wine’, as well as names of ’foreign animals’ and ’foreign dignitaries’have been censored by Iran’s culture ministry. Let us pray for two minutes that our minister of culture is not listening. Head of the book publishing at the ministry of culture, Mohammad Selgis’ argument in support of the ban is to shield Iranians from the ”Western cultural onslaught” and promote”the principle of the Islamic revolution”. ”When new books are registered with us, our staff first have to read them page by page to make sure

whether they require any editorial changes in line with promoting the principles of the Islamic revolution, effectively

A three-year-old French girl died after choking on a toy hidden inside a Kinder Surprise chocolate egg, a prosecutor said on Wednesday.

The girl’s mother told police she was with her daughter when the child swallowed a small plastic wheel that broke off from a toy hidden inside the egg, a much-loved product made by the Italian company Ferrero.

“The child’s grandfather arrived quickly and managed to extract the object”, but the girl had fallen into a coma and died

on Saturday night in a hospital in the southwestern city of Toulouse, said a statement

confronting the Western cultural onslaught and censoring any insult against the prophets.” said Mohammad Selgis in an interview with an Iranian daily. He vehemently

opposed books on psychology that cite masturbation as a treatment method. Uh Oh! The irony behind the ban in the word ‘wine’ is that at one point, Iran was the largest producer of wine in the whole of Middle East.

Although, the country has banned alcohol since the Islamic revolution of 1979, consumption still remains high. In a statement made by an Iranian MP, tanker trucks importing oil into the country are loaded with bottles of wine and beer, and there is no one to regulate the widespread smuggling of alcohol, reports the Telegraph.

French three-year-old chokes to death on hidden Kinder egg toy

from prosecutor Cecile Deprade.

An autopsy confirmed “death following mechanical asphyxiation”.

A warning on Kinder Surprise eggs says they are not for children aged three and under.

According to the Kinder website, more than 30 billion eggs have been sold around the world with more than 8,000 different surprises hidden inside.

“All Kinder Surprise toys are designed and developed with safety in mind, rigorously observing international regulations as well as extra safety criteria voluntarily adopted by the Ferrero Group,” reads the site.The treats, developed in 1974, have never been marketed in the United States because of strict laws on sweets with toys hidden in them.

Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica have advised women to avoid pregnancy altogether, an idea echoed by a top Brazilian health official, although the official line so far simply urges women to avoid mosquitoes.

Guatemala said Sunday it was raising vigilance levels at maternity wards.

WHO meanwhile has refrained from issuing travel warnings, stressing that the most effective form of prevention is getting rid of stagnant water where mosquitos easily breed, and personal protection against mosquito bites such as using bug repellant and sleeping under mosquito nets. The agency said that while it is clear that Aedes mosquitos transmit Zika, evidence of other transmission routes was limited.

But it pointed out though that the virus, which in most infected people only means short-lived flu-like symptoms, could be transmitted through blood and had been isolated in human semen.

“One case of possible person-to-person sexual transmission has been described,” the agency said, adding though that it needed more evidence to say the virus can be transmitted through sexual contact.

UK boy quizzed over ‘terrorist house’ spelling mistake The family of a 10-year-old Muslim boy demanded an apology Wednesday after he was quizzed by British police for writing that he lived in a “terrorist” house

townhouse that shares its side walls with others.

Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, Britain’s largest umbrella

instead of a “terraced” house during an English class.

Police interviewed the boy at his home in Lancashire, northwest England, on December 7 and examined the family computer following his mistake, according to the BBC. Since July, British teachers have been legally obliged to report any suspicious behaviour by pupils. “You can imagine it happening to a 30-year-old man, but not to a young child,” the boy’s cousin told the BBC. “If the teacher had any concerns it should have been about his spelling.

“He’s now scared of writing, using his imagination,” she added. A terraced property is a British term for a

group for Islamic associations, blamed the government’s “Prevent” programme, aimed at countering radicalisation.

“There are huge concerns that individuals going about their daily life are being seen through the lens of security and are being seen as potential terrorists rather than students,” he said.

“This is a natural consequence of the extension of the ‘Prevent Duty’ to schools.”

Lancashire Police said the issue was dealt with “by a joint visit by a police constable from the division and social services,” and that no one from the Prevent counter-extremism scheme had been involved.

Issue 651 (15)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur’s spectacular tale of heroism Cast: Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur, Prakash Belavadi, Purab Kohli, Inaamulhaq Direction: Raja Krishna Menon Ratings: 4 Stars Once in a while, Bollywood reminds you why it can never be written off. That no matter how many commercial, trashy films it bombards us all with, there are times it can rise to the occasion. Like its hero Ranjit Katiyal, Airlift helps Bollywood airlift itself out of the mess it normally resides in. Raja Krishna Menon’s Airlift is a tale of heroism, courage, patriotism, and a lot more. And

deserves a standing ovation. Shrewd businessman Ranjit Katiyal (Akshay Kumar) walks in circles out of the reach of normal people. He seals deals

with the alertness that can put an assassin to shame.

And quite like the assassin, Katiyal doesn’t mix business and friendship.

This Indian residing in Kuwait cringes when his driver plays Ek-Do-Teen in the car, and promptly gets it replaced with some authentic Arabic tunes, such is his disgust for anything remotely Indian. Ranjit’s relation with wife Amrita (Nimrat Kaur) displays the strains of time and stress.

Their daughter Simu is understandably the glue that keeps these Blue Valentines from parting ways.

On the night of August 1, 1990, the Katiyal couple

party together, Ranjit sings his heart out alongside belly dancers and all is well. Except, a few hours later, all turns topsy-turvy in Kuwait City. Saddam

Hussein’s Iraqi Army invades the country and war is unleashed. The Kuwaiti government deserts the city and Kuwaitis are shot through the head wherever they are seen. Ranjit sees his world crumbling in front of his eyes and goes to the Indian Embassy to try and fly out of this war zone.

Whatever meets the eye is either destroyed or on the verge of destruction. Human lives cost less than a dime in this necropolis.

As Ranjit Katiyal, Akshay Kumar delivers an oeuvredefining performance.

Watching the man go from one who not even death can touch to one who is

utterly helpless, Kumar displays a range of emotions which he probably keeps reserved for these kind of films. If Baby (2015) was an 8/10 in terms of

Akshay’s performance, Airlift has him at 12/10. Nimrat Kaur throws her lot behind Amrita and proves yet again why she is someone Bollywood should tap every bit from. Her confrontation scene with Prakash Belavadi leaves one speechless. Belavadi, on his part, is fabulous as the irritable, always-complaining old man George. Purab Kohli strikes the right notes with his Ibrahim. Filmistaan star Inaamulhaq’s Major Khalaf Bin Zayd is at once

subtly menacing and somewhat pity-evoking.

Raja Krishna Menon’s tale of the largest evacuation in the history of the world is gritty, edge-of-the-seat and heart-stopping. There are moments in the film which actually catch you so off guard, you have your heart in your mouth. The research that has gone in into the creation of Airlift is visible in every frame. Menon resurrects the Kuwait of 1990 and how!

However, despite all the bril-

liance, the last bit of the film looks hurried. It is almost like the filmmaker too couldn’t wait to finish the film and get home, just like all those Kuwaiti-Indian refugees.

In all, Airlift is the story of unparalleled courage and unsung heroes. From unknown names in the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi to people who had their Indianness rearing its head from within just when it was required, Airlift is unmiss-able. Go watch it.

surements in the upper and lower departments, and ability to show skin. All they are meant to do is to bite their lips, and sigh orgasmically, whenever the plot runs out of steam, which happens so often that you lose count.

Meanwhile, this is what we get: a mouse running up a pant leg and nesting in a delicate body part, a crow sitting on self-same body part, water running down

several bosoms, and.. okay, I’m hitting the pause button, because this is a family newspaper/website.

Hold on, though. This film calls itself a ‘sex comedy’: I don’t know about you, but this business of keeping actors standing in a room in one line just the way they would in a sit com (that’s how we know it is an Ekta Kapoor production, apart from Tusshar’s constant

presence), and tossing juvenile lines amongst themselves, doesn’t spell essee-ex to me. So no sex. And all those limp jokes don’t add up to a comedy, either.

What it is, is false pretences. Can I please call it a falsie? I know, groan again.

Given the previous two flicks, did we really think this would be a bag of laughs? More fool hain hum.

Or Kya Fool Hain Hum? Star Cast of Kya Kool Hain Hum 3: Tusshar Kapoor, Aftab Shivdasani, Krushna Abhishek, Shakti Kapoor, Darshan Zariwala, Sushmita Mukherjee Director: Umesh Ghadge Ratings: 1 Star An old couplet went thus: the bigger the better, the tighter the sweater. In a more innocent time, when

there was no internet, girlie mags were hard to find, and pre-pubescent imagination was allowed to run riot, just reciting this caused endless giggles and naughty visions.

In this day and age, when everything is laid bare (groan, pardon the lousy pun), the question remains: why would three fellows who look older than they should hang their tongues out at a succession of 38 Ds? The third in the ‘Kya Kool’

series faithfully follows the thrust-boob-butt template, as Kanhaiya (Tusshar Kapoor), Rocky (Aftab Shivdasani) and Mickey (Krushna Abishek) make whoopee in Thailand. Oh wait. In keeping with the nature of this flick, I should say peepee. Because that’s a word that raises laughs amongst the easy-toplease, as does the old ‘lena’, ‘dena’, ( a girl is called Marilee, sigh), ‘uski’, ‘chuski’, and so on. And, oh, also, ‘popat’, which means a ‘parrot’, and ahem, another word for the male private part. (Akshay Kumar’s Airlift and adult comedy Kya Kool Hain Hum 3 clash at box-office This trio is surrounded by a bunch of leggy women, all of whom look like they’ve hired for their ample mea-

Issue 651 (16)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Really want to Padma Awards 2016: Anupam to be awarded Padma Bhushan, do love story right now says Padma Shri for Ajay and Priyanka Prachi Desai Actress Prachi Desai says she’s keen to feature in a love story. And would love it if she gets a co-star who is of her age.

“I want to work with actors more my age and do films which are youthoriented... I’d love to work with (actors) Aditya Roy Kapur and Varun Dhawan,” the 27-year-old, who has earlier co-starred with actors like Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Abhishek Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar, told IANS. “I really want to do a love story right now, I think doing something more youth-oriented would be a lot fun. It could be an intense story or a romcom,” added the actress, who has worked in “Rock On!!”, “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai” and “Bol Bachchan”.

Prachi’s next film is Anthony D’Souza’s upcoming biopic “Azhar”, in which she will essay the role of former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin’s ex-wife Naureen.

Produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Sneha Rajani under their banners Balaji Motion Pictures and MSM Motion Pictures, “Azhar” is a biographical sports film on Azharuddin.

The winners of the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards for the year 2016 have been announced by the Indian government.

Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has been awarded with Padma Bhushan and he took to Twitter to share the news with his fans.

After Padma Bhushan, comes the Padma Shri

award. Ajay Devgn and Priyanka Chopra will be awarded with Padma Shri on January 26 this year.

Meanwhile, superstar Rajinikanth will be conferred the Padma Vibhushan.

The awards are given for excellence and exceptional achievements in all fields of activities, disciplines such as art, literature and education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil service, trade and industry.

Sunny Leone is Katrina Kaif chooses salman Khan over ranbir Kapoor shy in real life

Going by her onscreen persona Sunny Leone comes across as a bold and outgoing woman in real life but the actress says she is a shy person. “When I am at an event or at a function or award show I get really shy.

I am sure it is hard for people to believe that I am shy in real life. Sunny in real life is not outgoing always as people see on television,” Sunny told PTI. “I feel like saying hi, Hello but I get shy... People might think I am pretentious, snobby but that is not the case. I am shy and I have always been like this whole my life. I have never been a party like kid,”

she said. When the 34-yearold actress was new to the Hindi film industry, it was not that receptive towards her.

But now things have changed as A-list celebs are responding to her messages on social media platform. “I don’t know about acceptance. I think they have accepted me that she is not going anywhere. What I have noticed is that I tweet and A-list celebrity responds,” she said. “What has happened in the last six months is that people have either followed me or replied to me on social networking platforms which was not the case before,” she added.

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif with her Fitoor costars posed for a epic selfie at the Khan’s TV show and made their fans go into tizzy. It’s said that one of the reasons of Katrina’s much-talked break-up with Ranbir Kapoor is Salman Khan.

Reportedly, Ranbir couldn’t go well with the fact that Katrina promised the makers of Salman Khan’s reality TV show Bigg Boss 9 to promote her upcoming film Fitoor. And then there were reports that Katrina has decided to not promote her film anymore on Bigg Boss 9, despite her prior commitment. But Katrina did finally promote her film on the reality show. The most interesting part was that the Dabangg Khan kept on praising Katrina on the reality show. Salman went on to say, “You (Katrina) are the strongest woman I know.

She was 16 when she came here, worked hard and has reached this stage in her life. Entire India is crazy about you, including me.” And this compliment made Katrina go all blushing. The gossip mills were abuzz with the rumours of Salman Khan being the one behind their breakup.

According to earlier reports, Katrina had a

two-hour long chat with Salman. And it was only after this conversation, Katrina decided to quit

and finally called it off. On the work front, Katrina Kaif will next be seen in Jagga Jasoos with Ranbir

Kapoor. And Salman Khan will play the role of a 40-year-old wrestler in his upcoming film Sultan.

Issue 651 (17)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Penelope Cruz You’ve got to keep going goes bald for her says Katie Holmes ‘most complex’ character Penelope Cruz will be showing her new avatar in her Spanish language film ‘Ma Ma’ as she will be seen bare body without her long hair locks.

In the flick, the 41-year-old actress plays a gutsy mother from Madrid, who is battling breast cancer, reports News.com.au.

The actor appears bald as her character loses her hair, before needing a mastectomy for the lump in her breast.

Talking about her role in a recent interview, the ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ star said that it is one of the most complex, most beautiful characters she has ever been offered and the most difficult one as well.

Cruz revealed that said she wasn’t self-conscious about her looks while filming ‘Ma Ma.’ She said that it was very important to her to take risks and while filming she never worried if she looked beautiful, ugly or very ugly, adding that it is a tribute to all women who face this disease.

Cruz, who is married to fellow Oscar winner Javier Bardem, has also produced the film.

It’s her first as a producer and her first lead role in a Spanishlanguage film in five years.

Jennifer Lopez suffers wardrobe malfunction during Las Vegas residency Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez suffered a small wardrobe malfunction during the opening weekend of her Las Vegas residency after the back of her jumpsuit ripped as she took her final bow. The superstar kicked off her “Jennifer Lopez: All I Have” shows at the Planet Hollywood resort and casino last week to rave reviews, reported TMZ. Video footage shows the 46-year-old singer thanking fans as the concert draws to a close, and taking a bow as her dress splits at the seam. Lopez, who is yet to comment on the incident, has been thrilling fans with her multiple ensembles during the first few nights of her residency, with costumes all custom made by top designers Versace, Michael Costello, Nicolas Jebran, and Zuhair Murad. The mother of two signed a deal to perform 40 shows over the next three years in Las Vegas. She goes on a break from the residency after February 9 and will return in May.

Actress Katie Holmes, who divorced actor Tom Cruise in 2012, says that you have to keep going on in life and one should always focus on positive things. The actress, who is rumoured to be dating actor Jamie Foxx, spoke about her life after splitting from Cruise and how she gained her confidence, reports femalefirst.co.uk. “You’ve got to keep going. In every part of your life. Focus on the positive. Stay creative.

Go to things that interest you. Do work that’s fulfill-

ing. Challenge yourself.

What’s amazing about the human spirit, there are so many people doing inspiring things,” More magazine quoted Holmes as saying.

“If you focus on that, it makes your life richer,” the 37-year-old actress said.

Holmes was married to Cruise for five years and has nine-year-old daughter Suri with him. When asked about her current love life, she said: “That’s not something I want to answer...I don’t have a five or 10 year plan.

Oscar boycott has already been effective says Daniel Radcliffe ‘Harry Potter’ star Daniel Radcliffe says the threat of boycotting Oscars is already changing Hollywood. “I suppose in a way it’s already been effective because there has been a reaction in terms of

the Academy working on changing their policy,” the 26-year-old star said at the Sundance Film Festival premiere of his new indie drama ‘Swiss Army Man’.

“It’s the start of a conversation that feels like we shouldn’t need anymore because particularly in this industry, we think of ourselves as being liberal (and) very progressive. We need to put our money where our mouth is.” Earlier this week, Spike Lee, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith said they weren’t going to attend this year’s Oscars because of the lack of diversity among the nominees.

Issue 651 (18)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Artist creates dolls that Photographer sells picture are so eerily realistic of potato for $1 million

Moscow A Russian artist has become an internet sensation after posting a video showing how he makes his unbelievably realistic hand-painted dolls.

Made from a special type of modelling clay, with

Despite only making his first doll in 2010, he now posts pictures of the startlingly lifelike dolls on his Instagram page where he has a loyal following of 103,000 fans from all over the world.

As well as photographs of

glass eyes, French mohair wigs and 13 joints each, Michael Zajkov’s dolls are painstakingly handsculpted and are not available to order.

The Moscow-based artist, who studied sculpture at Kuban State University, southern Russia, learnt his craft while working at a puppet theatre and even makes the clothes himself.

the finished products, Michael often posts short videos giving his fans sneak previews of the production process from inside his studio. There are also images of dolls’ disembodied heads and dismembered limbs lying around. Michael told FEMAIL that the inspiration behind his creations were hyper-realistic

dollmakers such as Laura Scattolini from Italy and Anne Mitrani from France.

He bases the dolls’ clothing on early twentieth-century fashions, and often works with voile, silk and antique lace. After graduating from university in 2009, he worked with fashion designer Irina Kuzyomina where he learnt to sew dolls’ clothes, as well as a stint at a puppet theatre.

He made a name for himself after premièring some of his creations at Art Dolls, an international exhibition held in Moscow in 2013. Collectors went wild for the five dolls Michael brought along - Anastasia, Antonina, Zoe, Nina and Xenia - and since then, his popularity has continued to grow.

He said: ‘My dolls are made more realistic than is customary,’ and added that many people who see his pictures think the dolls are ‘creepy’. But he loves seeing ‘the reaction of the audience’ when they see his dolls for the first time.

Silicon Valley A private collector has bought a portrait photograph of a potato for $1m after spotting the artwork hanging on a wall during dinner.

Kevin Abosch, 46, a photographer who built his reputation on portraits of the rich and famous, was hosting the anonymous businessman for the meal when the buyer first spotted it. He now claims the excessive price was the most he had ever been paid for a photograph that was bought, rather than commissioned.

‘It’s not the first time that someone has bought the art right off my wall,’ he told The Sunday Times.

‘We had two glasses of wine and he said, ‘I really like that’. I really want that. We set the price two

weeks later.’

The photograph, which he named Potato #345, had been delivered to his home with a batch of organic vegetables, the paper reported. His studio told PetaPixel: ‘Kevin likes

and dirt-encrusted potato pictured on his signature jet black background.

However, the image is a step away from his staple work of commissioned portraits of the rich and famous.

potatos because they, like people, are all different yet immediately identifiable as being essentially of the same species.

‘He has photographed many potatos. This one is one of his favourites.’ It shows the unremarkable

Previous clients include executives of Silicon Valley, such as Sheryl Sandberg and Zack Sims, as well as actors and musicians including Dustin Hoffman, Johnny Depp, Bob Geldof and Yoko Ono.

Issue 651 (19)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Gandhi drawn into Oxford debate Indian jailed for 82 years by US court for killing compatriot over Rhodes’ statue felling Since Mahatma Gandhi had some views that would be considered unacceptable today, should his formidable accomplishments be ignored and his statues brought down?

Should Winston Churchill also suffer the same fate?

1 February.

During a heated debate this week, Nigel Biggar, professor of moral and pastoral theology, cited Gandhi’s controversial views about black Africans to ask whether his many accomplishments should be ig-

Questions about uses of history and political correctness are being passionately debated in the row over whether the statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902) - who had views now considered racist be brought down from its high position in Oriel College in Oxford.

Current Indian and other Rhodes Scholars have grouped together under a campaign called ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ that has divided the academic community.

Oxford’s chancellor and vicechancellor want the statue to stay, while Oriel College is launching a six-month ‘listening exercise’ on the issue from

nored and his statues brought down.

Oriel College, he said, should not cave into pressure and bring down Rhodes’ statue since doing so would mean hundreds of statues of other historical figures would also have to go.

Biggar said: “First, if we insist on our heroes being pure, then we aren’t going to have any.

Last year the shine on Mahatma Gandhi’s halo came off, when we learned of his view that Indians were culturally superior to black Africans.

Should this blot out all his remarkable achievements? I think not”.

He added: “If Rhodes must

fall, so must Churchill, whose views on empire and race were similar. And so probably must Abraham Lincoln”.

Rhodes was a prosperous and controversial colonial era British businessman in South Africa, who left behind a large sum of money to Oriel College for the scholarship. There have been over 8,000 Rhodes Scholars from India and elsewhere, including leading figures.

Arushi Garg, an Indian Rhodes Scholar, is one of the founders of the ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ student movement at Oxford. It was started in South Africa, where the movement led to the taking down of Rhodes’ statue in the University of Cape Town.

Oriel College, where Rhodes studied, said it was acting on the student’s petition on removing the statue as it was keen to improve the experience of non-white students.

Recalling his historical legacy in the form of the scholarship programme, the college said: “But Rhodes was also a 19thcentury colonialist whose values and world view stand in absolute contrast to the ethos of the Scholarship programme today, and to the values of a modern University”.

Owls among 16 species to blame for maximum bird hits near airports Barn owls, red-wattled lapwings and little swifts are likely to have struck an aircraft in midair most often than any other bird in India, finds a oneof-a-kind study.

high speed, leaving very little of them for investigators to pinpoint the avian variety. It was necessary to pick out the common species responsible for bird hits since such acci-

In addition to these three, the study found black kites and three bat species were also involved in most bird strikes.

“Due to their flying ability at night, presence of bats at airports could be threatening,” the report says.

Until now, it was difficult to identify the species involved in bird hits because these collisions mostly happened at

dents pose a serious risk to human lives and the aviation industry.

Using DNA barcode, the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) in Pune identified 16 species involved in bird strikes. Samples were provided by the navy, while scientists said the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has approached the institute

to do a similar exercise for the city airport.

Authorities do not realise small incidents of bird strike until they examine the aircraft to find blood smears, feathers and tissue. “Due to the impact, the bird carcass is crushed beyond recognition,” said Yogesh Shouche, principal investigator, microbial culture collection, NCCS. The study showed high incidence of bird strikes because of abundant availability of food in small water pools and grasses around airports.

According to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), bird strikes across India rose from 378 in 2010 to around 900 till March 2015. Likewise, data showed bird strikes cost domestic airlines more than Rs 25 crore in 2014. “Along with financial losses, bird strikes reduce the mission capability of the crew, loss of flying hours, permanent damage to the aircraft and, importantly, it is always associated with the risk of mortality,” the Pune institute’s report says.

A 30-year-old Indian man has been sentenced to 82 years in jail by a US court for killing a compatriot and wounding another during a festival at a Sikh sports complex in Sacramento in 2008.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Richard Sueyoshi on Friday sentenced Amandeep Singh Dhami to 82 years to life in state prison for killing Parmjit Singh, 26, and wounding Sahibjeet Singh, one of Parmjit’s associates on August 31, 2008, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Dhami managed to flee the festival grounds after the broad-daylight shooting, but a second shooter, Gurpreet Singh Gosal, 28, was captured and handed over to police by locals. Gosal was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison after trial for second-degree murder and firing a weapon in the course of a murder for his role in the shooting. Dhami fled the US to India for five years. He was arrested in Jalandhar, Punjab, on local charges by Indian authorities and was extradited to California in 2013 to face charges of seconddegree murder and attempted murder.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury in June last year convicted Dhami of the charges.

Prosecutors said Dhami and Gosal sought out Parmjit and his men at the festival grounds as payback for a tussle with members of

his crew at a San Jose nightclub days earlier. The fight had been the latest in a long-standing feud between the rival camps, the paper quoted prosecutors as saying.

“At his trial, prosecutors depicted Dhami as a low-level, but violent, gangster who boasted of his ex-

ploits in rhymes and on social media where his moniker was ‘Mista Killafornia’,” the paper said.

Prosecutors said Dhami and Gosal were armed with three handguns and about 250 rounds of ammunition when they climbed out of their Lincoln Navigator in the festival’s parking lot. Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Anthony Ortiz called Dhami “a hardcore gangster armed for war”, it said. Dhami took the stand at trial, testifying that he and Gosal went to the festival to mend fences after the incident at the San Jose nightclub, but were armed in case of an ambush. Dhami said he envisioned a meeting of “two gangsters who could work things out,” before shots rang out.

Issue 650 (20)

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GD Bakshi's book claims Netaji's impact was profound, while Gandhi’s non-violence movement was less significant from a British perspective

By RAHUL KANWAL While the declassification of the Netaji files has sparked a massive debate on the need to rewrite modern Indian history, a yet-to be-published book - Bose: An Indian Samurai - by Netaji scholar and military historian General GD Bakshi claims that former British prime minister Clement Atlee said the role played by Netaji’s Indian National Army was paramount in India being granted Independence, while the non-violent movement led by Gandhi was dismissed as having had minimal effect.

In the book, Bakshi cites a conversation between the then British PM By Rahul Kanwal in New Delhi Attlee and then Governor of West Bengal Justice PB Chakraborty.

The conversation is placed in 1956 when Attlee - the leader of Labour Party and the British premier who had signed the decision to grant Independence to India - had come to India and stayed in Kolkata as Chakraborty’s guest.

Letter Chakraborty, who was then the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and was serving as the acting Governor of West Bengal, had written a letter to the publisher of RC Majumdar’s book, A History of Bengal, in which he wrote: “When I was acting governor, Lord Attlee, who had given us

Independence by withdrawing British rule from India, spent two days in the governor’s palace at Calcutta during his tour of India. At that time I had a prolonged discussion with him regarding the real factors that had led the British to quit India.”

“My direct question to Attlee was that since Gandhi’s Quit India Movement had tapered off quite some time ago and in 1947 no such new compelling situation had arisen that would necessitate a hasty British departure, why did they had to leave?”

“In his reply Attlee cited several reasons, the main among them being the erosion of loyalty to the British crown among the Indian Army and Navy personnel as a result of the military activities of Netaji,” Chakraborty said.

“Toward the end of our discussion I asked Attlee what was the extent of Gandhi’s influence upon the British decision to leave India. Hearing this question, Attlee’s lips became twisted in a sarcastic smile as he slowly chewed out

the word, ‘m-i-n-i-m-a-l’,” Chakraborty added.

This startling conversation was first published by the Institute of Historical Review by author Ranjan Borra in 1982, in his piece on Subhas Chandra Bose, the Indian National Army and the war of India’s liberation.

To understand the significance of Attlee’s assertion, we have to go back in time to 1945. The Second World War had ended.

The allied powers, led by Britain and the United States, had won. The Axis powers led by Hitler’s Germany had been

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19 Jan. - 25 Jan. 2016

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With the aim of introducing tales of valour and unparalleled bravery of the bravest of the brave Indian soldiers to the young generation, union HRD minister Smriti Irani and General Dalbir Singh, chief of the army staff today inaugurated the first five of the Param Vir Chakra series.

The illustrated story books for children between the age group of 7-11 years have been written by Gaurav C Sawant, senior Editor India Today. The VeerGatha series are a part of HRD ministryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initiative to take the stories of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bravest of the brave soldiers to young school children and inspire them. Twenty one Indian soldiers have been awarded the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest gallantry award the Param Vir Chakra so far since independence. Maj Somnath Sharma was awarded the first PVC posthumously for the Battle to save the Srinagar airfield from Pakistan army and raiders in October 1947. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is so much the nation owes our brave soldiers who fought against all odds to defend our motherland. Veer Gatha is an effort to not only pay our respects to our bravest of the brave but also take their story to the next generation of Indians,â&#x20AC;? Smriti Irani told Mail Today on the sidelines of the book series launch.

As part of Republic Day 2016 celebrations, the ministries of Defence & HRD joined hands to bring out the Veer Gatha series.

The first five illustrated books include the stories of Maj Somnath Sharma, Maj Shaitan Singh, the hero of battle of Rezang La, Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid, 2nd Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal and Captain Manoj Pandey. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am overwhelmed that the government is bringing out illustrated books for children to read about the gallantry of my father late Major Shaitan Singh. Battle of Rezang La where 120 soldiers fought against more than 5,000 Chinese soldiers and 114 made the supreme sacrifice of their lives is something every Indian should know about,â&#x20AC;? Narpat Singh, his son told Mail Today.

The families of Maj Somnath Sharma, 2 Lt Arun Khetarpal and CQMH Abdul Hamid were also present at the launch of the illustrated books. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a wonderful idea to take the stories to the young scholars.

They too will know about the sacrifices made,â&#x20AC;? Mukesh Khetarpal, younger brother of 2nd Lt Arun Khetarpal said.

At the launch ceremony Gen Dalbir Singh hoped that these illustrated books will inspire youngsters to join the army and know more

vanquished. The victors wanted to impose justice on the defeated armies.

In India, officers of Netaji Boseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Indian National Army were put on trial for treason, torture, murder.

This series of court martials, came to be known as the Red Fort Trials.

Soldiersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mutiny Indians serving in the British armed forces were inflamed by the Red Fort Trials. In February 1946, almost 20,000 sailors of the Royal Indian Navy serving on 78 ships mutinied against the Empire.

They went around Mumbai with portraits of Netaji and forced the British to shout Jai Hind and other INA slogans.

The rebels brought down the Union Jack on their ships and refused to obey their British masters.

This mutiny was followed by similar rebellions in the Royal Indian Air Force and also in the British Indian Army units in Jabalpur. The British were terrified.

After the Second World War, 2.5 million Indian soldiers were being de-commissioned from the

about their army. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were inspired by stories of Maharana Pratap and Chatrapati Shivaji similarly these youngsters will feel inspired by stories of valour of heroes like Maj Shaitan Singh and Captain Manoj Pandey,â&#x20AC;? he said.

21 PVCs have been awarded since independence. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My next target is to write

about all the Kargil heroes by the Kargil Vijay Divas and all the 1971 heroes by December 16,â&#x20AC;? Gaurav C Sawant, writer of the series said.

These illustrated books will be translated in all Indian languages and then be distributed to government school children across the country.

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Kolkata Grand nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Chandra Kumar Bose, joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday.

Chandra Bose took membership of the BJP at a rally attended by BJP president Amit Shah in Kolkata today. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Joining a political party is a personal matter but I feel your principle and British Army. Military intelligence reports in 1946 ideology matter. The indicated that the Indian soldiers were inflamed BJP believes in the and could not be relied upon to obey their British ideology of Subhas Chandra Bose,â&#x20AC;? he officers.

There were only 40,000 British troops in India at said.Lately, Chandra the time. Most were eager to go home and in no Bose has been mood to fight the 2.5 million battle-hardened Indian heaping praise on Prime Minister soldiers who were being demobilised.

It is under these circumstances that the British Narendra Modi and NDA decided to grant Independence to India. The idea the behind putting these documents in the public government. domain, is not to in any way undermine the On January 23 when Modi significant contribution of Mahatma Gandhi or government declassified 100 Pandit Nehru, but to spark a debate about the real files related to Netaji Subhas significance of the role played by Netajiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Indian Chandra Bose, he had said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The country is waiting to see National Army.

School textbooks are dominated by the role played how the NDA Government will by the non-violent movement, while the role of the transform a government of suppression and deceitâ&#x20AC;? to a INA is dismissed in a few cursory paragraphs.

The time has come to revisit modern Indian history government of transparency and acknowledge the immense contribution of and openness.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;You see what I like about Mr Netaji in helping India win its freedom.

Narendra Modiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude, was, he said that we must do this jointly. I have not seen the files personally, but it is a national demand, people are raising it. I clearly told him that this is not a family issue at all. Some members of the family might have initiated the move but I think the people of India would demand, to know, what happened to Subhash Bose after 18th August 1945, they would like to know,â&#x20AC;? Chandra Kumar Bose had said.

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Elephant trampled boy while he was trying to take a selfie with it

London A wild elephant trampled a 15-year-old boy to death while he was trying to take a selfie with it in the Araria district of Bihar. Mithun Paswan, a resident of Chandipur village under Palasi police station, was among the crowd of villagers that had gathered in the adjoining Majlispur panchayat to see a wild tusker which had strayed into the area from the forests of Nepal on Thursday. According to reports, Mithun and two of his friends tried to take a selfie of the animal on their cellphones but got too close to the animal while it was on the rampage in a maize field. Seeing the youngsters, the pachyderm moved menacingly to-

wards them but while his friends ran away, Mithun was caught and trampled by the elephant.

The villagers, who were watching the incident from a distance, raised an alarm which made the elephant leave the scene soon thereafter.

Mithun was subsequently taken to the hospital where he was declared dead. His body was sent for post-mortem examination to Araria. An ex gratia of Rs 20,000 was paid to his family.

The incident created panic in the area.The forest department officials, who were informed about the incident, were trying to locate the elephant which was believed to have entered into another village.

Furniture from JFK’s Florida home fetches $400K MIAMI Furnishings from late US president John F. Kennedy’s winter retreat in Palm Beach, Florida sold Saturday for some $400,000, an auction house said.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers sold furniture and decorative arts from the famed ‘Winter White House’ with best-selling items including twin beds and a massage table.

‘Popular items include a pair of Venetian style walnut twin beds where the future president slept alongside his brother Joe, and later (first lady) Jackie Kennedy’ Hindman said in

a statement, adding that the beds sold for $20,000.

‘The walnut framed mas-

green faux leather chairs from the bedroom where John F. Kennedy stayed

sage table where the president took massages to relieve his back pain sold for $10,625,’ it said. ‘A pair of

sold for $6,250.’

The auction was conducted simultaneously online and at the Hindman Palm

Beach showroom.

The collection of Kennedy paraphernalia was consigned by John and Marianne Castle, a couple who purchased the home and much of its contents from the Kennedy family in 1995. The walled, beachfront Kennedy estate in Palm Beach and its contents had been sold to the Castles after the death of family matriarch Rose Kennedy in 1995. JFK as a child vacationed at the mansion, and spent a great deal of time there after being elected president in 1960, holding staff meetings and numerous press conferences.

Record 3 million people visited Qatar in 2015 DOHA Almost three million people visited Qatar in 2015, a record number for the energy-rich Gulf country, its tourism authority said on Sunday. A total of 2.93 million people travelled to Qatar last year for a holiday, business or personal reasons, according to figures in an annual report released by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA). That represented an increase of almost four per cent on 2014, at a time when the country is looking to diversify its economy away from its reliance on gas and

oil, which accounts for more than 50 per of GDP. ‘The report shows that despite global developments, which have adversely affected travel patterns,

Qatar has shown resilience as a burgeoning tourist destination with growing arrival figures and steady hotel occupancy rates,’ the QTA stated. The largest number

of visitors, 855,000, came from Saudi Arabia. India provided more 375,000 visitors and the United Kingdom 135,000. There was also an increase in the number of Chinese and French visitors in 2015. Tourism contributed the equivalent of $3.7 billion (3.4 billion euros) to the economy in 2015, the QTA said, around two per cent of total GDP. QTA forecasts up to nine million people will visit Qatar by 2030, allowing tourism to contribute to just over five percent of the total economy.

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

US says prepared for military solution against Islamic State in Syria US Vice President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the United States and Turkey were prepared for a military solution against Islamic State in Syria should the Syrian government and rebels fail to reach a political settlement.

The latest round of Syria peace talks are planned to begin on Monday in Geneva but were at risk of being delayed partly because of a dispute over who will comprise the opposition delegation.

Syrian armed rebel groups said on Saturday they held the Syrian government and Russia responsible for any failure of peace talks to end the country’s civil war, even before negotiations

were due to start.

“We do know it would better if we can reach a political solution but we are prepared ..., if that’s not possible, to have a military solution to this operation in taking out Daesh,” Biden said at a news conference after a meeting with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Daesh is the pejorative Arabic acronym for Islamic State insurgents who hold parts of Syria.

A US official later clarified that Biden was talking about a military solution to Islamic State, not Syria as a whole. The Saudi-backed

Syrian opposition ruled out even indirect negotiations unless Damascus took steps including a halt to

to oust President Bashar al-Assad. The United States has sent dozens of special forces soldiers to

Russian air strikes.

Biden said he and Davutoglu also discussed how the two NATO allies could further support Sunni Arab rebel forces fighting

help rebels fighting Islamic State in Syria although the troops are not intended for front line combat. Along with its allies Washington is also conducting air

Scouting on Whatsapp, Twitter Terror outfits look for recruits online From placement agencies and cyber cafes to social networking sites, the recruitment techniques used by terror outfits for luring foot soldiers have seen a remarkable transformation

in the last ten years.

Multi-platform messaging applications and social networking platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter have become the favourite hunting grounds of terror operatives.

“This trend was revealed after the arrest of several IS modules from different parts of the state and country. Terror operatives are influencing youngsters in the name of religion and recruiting them to carry out

nefarious activities,” said a UP anti terror squad (ATS) official.

The official said that Mohd Aleem (23), the IS suspect arrested from the city’s Indira Nagar area on Friday, was also recruited through a social network-

ing site. “IS modules, still out of reach of intelligence and security agencies, are trying to expand their base in the state, especially west UP, using the same method,” he said. The officer added UP was a prime target for recruitment. A recent central intelligence agency alert said: “IS through its new recruits and fugitive men is all set to strike in the near future.”

The official warned the recruitment process would be expedited since many members had been arrested. The officer also discussed how terror operatives earlier used to approach youngsters under the guise of placement agencies, career consultancies and cyber cafes.

ford, declined to comment, a source close to the family told The Sunday Times: “His mother and father were extremely worried for his safety after he told them that he was in Syria. The past two years have been a real nightmare for them.

They just wish he can be back home with them.”

His father, John, is an organic farmer and archaeobotanist who specialises in growing and milling heritage grains.

His mother, Sally, is a former books editor.

It is understood that Letts married a woman from the Iraqi city of Fallujah shortly after arriving in Syria. His decision to join ISIS has surprised former friends at Cherwell School, Oxford.

“He was very funny and fun to be around,” recalled one former school friend, who said Letts had now been nicknamed “Jihadi Jack” by some of his peers.

“At school he was very much the classroom clown and was liked by a lot of the students. Thats why this whole thing of

coming U.N.-sponsored negotiations regarding a political transition in Syria and all agreed on the urgent need to end the violence afflicting the Syrian people,” US State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

Kerry also emphasized the importance of maintaining the momentum of the International Syria Support Group, a grouping of big world and regional powers backing peace efforts, Kirby said.

After his GCC talks, Kerry said all in the meeting had agreed that the Support Group should meet again immediately after completion of the first round of the Syria negotiations.

Malaysia arrests 7 Islamic State-linked militants Malaysian police said on Sunday seven members of an Islamic State (IS) cell had been arrested in a three-day operation carried out across the Southeast Asian country.

The operation was launched in four states on January 22, ahead of Monday’s International Conference on Deradicalisation and Countering Violent Extremism that Malaysia is hosting.

Police said the suspects had received instructions to carry out attacks in Malaysia by Syrian-based IS members, including Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant named as the mastermind of Jan. 14 suicide attacks in Jakarta which killed seven people.

All of the suspects are members of the same cell, who are responsible for planning terror attacks in

Jihadi Jack first white British boy to join ISIS A 20-year-old Muslim convert dubbed “Jihadi Jack” has emerged as the first white British boy to join the dreaded Islamic State (ISIS) terror group in Syria.

Jack Letts travelled to Syria when he was 18 after converting to Islam and telling his parents he was going to study Arabic in Kuwait.

A keen footballer and good student, admitted to his parents that he was with ISIS in Syria in September 2014.

While Lettss parents, who live in the city of Ox-

strikes against Islamic State militants who hold large chunks of Syria and Iraq and support opposition fighters battling the group.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday he was confident Syria peace talks would proceed, after he held talks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states in Saudi Arabia.

Kerry also met in Riyadh with Riad Hijab, chair of the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee and other HNC delegates representing the Syrian opposition.

“They discussed the up-

him going to live in Syria and join ISIS doesnt make any sense,” the friend told the newspaper. Letts is among more than 750 British men and women who have joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

The Sunday Times said last week that up to 100 have been killed but there is no evidence that Letts has been involved in any fighting. Letts, who now reportedly uses the name Ibrahim, is believed to be living in Raqqa, the ISIS de facto capital in Syria and a target of US-led airstrikes.

strategic locations throughout Malaysia,” Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement.

He said the suspects were

ing to Khalid.

One of the suspects was believed to be responsible for collecting and channelling funds to Malaysian citizens looking to join up

also given orders by Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, a known Malaysian IS recruiter who had previously been linked to a beheading video in Syria.

The arrests were made following the Jan. 15 capture of a suspected militant who had confessed to planning a suicide attack in Kuala Lumpur, accord-

with IS in Syria. The funds were also to be used to fund a terrorist operation in Malaysia, Khalid said.

All seven suspects were Malaysian men aged between 26 and 50 years old. Among the items seized in the operation were bullets, books on jihad, Islamic State flags and propaganda videos.

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

The New Moon brings an excellent opportunity to take a romantic or business relationship to the next level. And if you’re signing deals or contracts at this time, you’ll get things off to a winning start. On the whole, this is a constructive week in which you’ll be eager to overcome obstacles and forge ahead. Should anything stand in your way, you'll apply sheer willpower to overcome it.

Monday’s New Moon could be the perfect time to begin a diet or start an exercise routine.

There’s also a very powerful focus on your zone of leisure and pleasure, which could see you excited about creative opportunities, particularly if they relate to entrepreneurial ideas. If you’ve been thinking about starting your own business, this might be a good time to research your options.

Have you been thinking about inviting a special person on a date? Monday might be the day to go ahead. With Mercury in Libra, charming conversation can pave the way for future outings. However, you may be more cautious when it comes to getting involved, preferring to take things one day at a time rather than jump in at the deep end.

A change in the family dynamic or DIY projects associated with your home are best implemented on Monday. The New Moon can help get things off to the best possible start. And with just a little planning you’ll be even more successful.

When it comes to writing, communicating in general, or selling something, you can do really well now.

Monday is the day to sign deals, collaborate on projects, or start an advertising campaign. This week’s New Moon can help things get moving! For business appointments or important dates, you’ll need to pin people down to a time and place or it could be a no-show. You might have an opportunity to considerably increase your income.

Monday’s New Moon could coincide with a new beginning for your finances, with a chance to reduce stress and get everything in order. Avoid making any impulsive purchases that might set you back rather than contribute to any gains. Setting a practical budget can be a great help right now. It seems you’re on a roll with a positive lineup of planets jogging through your sign.

Monday’s New Moon in your sign may be the best of the year for you. This is the time to implement changes in key areas of your life. Make a start over the next few days and you’ll notice a difference even sooner. You might find it useful to write down your goals, as this will kick-start the process and help you achieve them.

There’s a more relaxed focus showing up that encourages you to kick back and enjoy life. Monday’s New Moon in your spiritual sector could entice you to take up a spiritual practice that might help you achieve greater peace of mind. You’ll also be eager to contribute to community events and collaborate on projects, especially any that might be a bit of a challenge.

Interesting and lucrative opportunities could show up for you this week, bringing a chance to move up the career ladder or expand your business in a new direction.

Along with this, the New Moon in your social sector is actively encouraging you to move in new circles. Doing so could lend wings to your professional aspirations.

Your willingness to learn stands you in good stead right now, not only because it offers a chance to upgrade your skill set but also because it expands your understanding of what’s possible. You may get a chance to apply your newfound abilities when this week’s New Moon entices you to consider the possibility of a new job.

Money matters look much improved, although Jupiter in your zone of shared finances could be pushing you to think big when it comes to business.

If there’s an opportunity to pool your skills and resources with others, this could be a good way to make progress sooner rather than later.

Relationships seem to be a major focus and a very pleasant one at that. With Venus currently dancing through Virgo with Jupiter and Mars, there could be more passion and interest than there has been for some time. You’ll be more inclined to do things with your love interest, friends, or family and include others in your plans.

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Technology Twitter suffers one of the worst outages, down in several countries Millions of Twitter users were blocked from their feeds on Tuesday as the social networking site went down in several countries, suffering one of the worst outages in its 10year history.

“Some users are currently experiencing problems accessing Twitter. We are aware of the issue and are working towards a resolution,” the US site said, without giving details of the cause of the outage.

A spokesperson for Twitter Europe confirmed the site was down, while users in South Africa, Brazil, the Philippines, Nigeria and Uganda also reported problems accessing the site with the hashtag #twitterdown on Facebook.

Users in affected countries were met with the message: “Something is technically wrong.”

After a shutdown lasting about an hour on Tuesday morning, the site was back

online in London and Paris -- but users in both cities experienced intermittent service in the afternoon.

Users elsewhere, including Russia, were also still experiencing problems.

Many took to Facebook to report the outage with the hashtag #twitterdown.

The shutdown was also the butt of jokes from some social media channels, with British TV channel E4 posting on its Facebook page: “Twitter is down.

Worker productivity hits record levels. UK is out of recession!!!”

Rick Devens, a local US radio host, posted on

Facebook: “We may never get back some of the clever thoughts I had during this tragic outage.”

Twitter has regularly suffered outages since its launch in 2006, but gener-

ally of a shorter duration.

Its social media rivals Facebook and Instagram have also had to deal with brief shutdowns.

During a site breakdown in July 2012, frustrated Twitter addicts were unable to post for two hours due to problems at its data centres.

Twitter shares have tumbled 20 percent on the New York stock exchange

Apple wins US ban on older-model Samsung smartphones Apple on Wednesday had a new victory in a long-running patent lawsuit -- a court-ordered ban on oldermodel Samsung smartphones. An injunction issued by US District Court Judge Lucy Koh in

American consumers, will remain for sale and available for customer service support in the US,” Samsung said in a statement posted online. “We are very disappointed that Apple has been granted an

the heart of Silicon Valley was to take effect next month and targeted Samsung smartphones that were essentially no longer hawked in this country.

“We would like to reassure our millions of loyal customers that all of our flagship smartphones, which are used and loved by

injunction on select Samsung legacy mobile phones.”

Koh’s ruling on Monday stemmed from a trial at which Samsung was found to have infringed on patented Apple technology for automatically correcting typed words and for sliding a finger across a scree to unlock a device.

Samsung devices targeted at the trial included an array of Galaxy, Stratosphere, Nexus and Admire models from prior generations. The judge concluded that a permanent injunction was warranted because Apple would suffer “irreparable harm” if Samsung continued using the patent features at issue in the trial, and that money damages would not be sufficient compensation.

Koh also barred Samsung from sale or development in the US of software that would implement the features deemed to have been infringed on during the patent litigation.

“While this will not impact American consumers, it is another example of Apple abusing the judicial system to create bad legal precedent which can harm consumer choice for generations to come,” Samsung said.

since the start of the year -- notably on rumours that it may scrap the 140-character limit that has kept its posts pithy for the last decade.

Tech news website re/ code reported this month that tweets of up to 10,000 characters could be available from March, winning a mixed response from netizens.

Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey did not confirm the plan, but said the company is “not going to be shy about building more utility and power into Twitter.”

The site continued to lose money over the first three quarters of last year. In October it reported a third quarter loss of $132 million, on a disappointing 11 percent year-on-year increase in regular users to 320 million.

Facebook gets in game with new sports hub

Facebook announced a drive Thursday to be a place for sports with a new online hub for news and sharing on sporting events.

The “Facebook Sports Stadium” will offer live updates of scores, posts from friends and commentators as well as information on where to watch games live.

The new hub will be “a dedicated place to experience sports in real-time with your friends and the world,” said product manager Steve Kafka in a blog post. “With 650 million

sports fans, Facebook is the world’s largest stadium. People already turn to Facebook to celebrate, commiserate, and talk trash with their friends and other fans...”

The new Sports Stadium is “a place devoted to sports so you can get the feeling you’re watching the game with your friends even when you aren’t together,” he added.

Fans will be able to follow the action with a live playby-play and add their own comments.

Microsoft virtual keyboard goes cross-platform with iOS and Android versions

Microsoft is bringing another formerly exclusive feature of Windows smartphones first of all to iOS then to Android. This time it’s the Word Flow virtual keyboard, which sees mobile users write words by dragging a finger continuously across the keyboard. With sales of its own Lumia smartphones struggling, Microsoft is keen to share some of its platform’s choice innovations -- like Cortana, Office and now the Word Flow keyboard -- with users of other mobile operating systems.

Microsoft is currently letting members of its Windows Insider program test a beta version of Word Flow for iOS. This virtual keyboard uses exclusive technology that considerably speeds up text input on smartphones, as users don’t have to lift up their finger when typing words onscreen. In 2014, the system even entered the Guinness Book of Records after allowing one nimble-fingered user to type a 160-character text in a record 18.44 seconds.

This isn’t the first time that Microsoft has brought in-

house innovations to platforms other than Windows.

In 2015, Microsoft started rolling out adapted versions of its intelligent personal assistant Cortana for iOS and Android, hoping to make its cross-platform tool a must-have across the board. Still, the firm faced tough competition from Google and Apple’s own personal assistants,

of the firm’s Android applications. The store takes the form of an app designed to help users easily discover and download any of the Microsoft apps available for Android, from Office and Skype to Wunderlist.

Microsoft’s aim is to get its applications onto as many devices as possible and to gain popularity beyond the realm of Windows. While

Google Now (Android) and Siri (iOS), which offer more or less the same services.

Prior to that, Microsoft’s star applications -- including the Office suite and Skype -- have already been outed in specially adapted versions for Android and iOS. Microsoft has even opened its own Google Play store to promote all

the firm’s operating system is still a leader in the world of PCs, the mobile version has never really made its mark, with Microsoft struggling to find a place in the market. Data from Gartner shows that for Q3 2015, the total global share of the smartphone market for Windows Phone was just 1.7% (down by 1.3 points).

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Tajikistan Police shave beards of 13,000 men, convince women to abandon hijab to check radicalism In a new low, Tajikistan Police link full beards and hijabs to radicalism.

As per an Al Jazeera report, Tajikistan Police have shaved the beards of over 13,000 men and closed 160 shops selling traditional Muslim clothing including hijabs (headscarves), as part of the nation’s fight against “foreign” influences.

The head of south-west Khathlon region’s police, Bahroom Sharifzoda, also said theyconvinced over 1,700 women to abandon headscarves.

Authorities say the move is to check radicalism in the country and to prevent unwelcome traditions from neighbouring Afghanistan.

Last week, the Tajikistan parliament also banned Arab-sounding “foreign” names and marriages between first cousins, which

is otherwise allowed in Islam.

In 2015, Supreme Court of Tajikistan had banned the only registered Islamic political party -Islamic Renaissance Party - alleging it promoted violence.

Al Jazeera states, “the country of 7.1 million people has struggled with poverty and instability since independence from the Soviet Union more than two decades ago. It remains heavily dependent on Russia, where the majority of Tajik people go for work.”

The mask was put back on display last month af-

ter a German-Egyptian team of specialists removed the epoxy and reattached the beard using beeswax, which is often used as an adhesive for antiquities.

Restoration specialist Christian Eckmann said a year ago that the cause of a scratch discovered on the mask had had not been determined, but that it could have been recent.

Egypt sends 8 to trial for botched up repair of King Tut’s golden mask

Eight Egyptians were referred to trial for for “gross negligence” after they allegedly botched up while repairing the famed golden burial mask of King Tut late last year.

Prosecutors said in a Sunday statement that the 3,300-year old mask, whose beard was accidentally knocked off and hastily glued on with epoxy in 2014, was

scratched and damaged as a result.

Oh my Dog! Jhansi has a dogess temple

A village in Jhansi, worships a dead female dog and has a separate temple for it.

Situated in Mauranipur town of Jhansi, this temple is visited by many worshipers.

Kishori Lala Yadav, the Hindu priest of the temple conducts the routine rituals. He revealed that even though people had a strong belief regarding the canine deity, the construction of the temple led to a proper ceremonious worship of her. According to Kishori Lal, the female dog used to live somewhere on the borders of two village Revan and Kakwara. One day, there was a feast being organised in both the

villages and she went running to first Revan but the food was not ready by then. She then ran to Kakwara village, and faced disappointment there as well. Tired and hungry, she decided to wait in the middle of both the villages and thought of running immediately for the village that rings the bell indicating that the food is ready.

But both the villages ringed the gong simultaneously, and as it happened the female dog died on the spot.

A memorial was created on the same spot and people now worship the deity there. Writer Gyan Chaturvedi has often mentioned the stories of this ‘deity’.

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

When hurt, rodents may console each other Dogs, dolphins and elephants are known to show empathy when a loved one is in pain, and now researchers have found the first consoling behavior in a

prairie voles a series of mild shocks before returning it to its loved one. Once reunited, the unaffected rodents swiftly began to lick and groom the fur

rodent, known as the prairie vole.

Researchers say the findings, published Thursday in the US journal Science, could help scientists better understand human disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, in which a person’s ability to sense the emotions of others is disrupted. The secret to empathetic behavior lies in the hormone oxytocin, which promotes maternal bonding and feelings of love among humans, too. Scientists at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University created an experiment in which they isolated prairie voles -dark rodents which mate in long-term monogamous pairs and raise their offspring together -- from others they knew. Then they gave one

of the animals that were in distress after the shocks. They “licked the stressed voles sooner and for longer durations, compared to a control scenario where individuals were separated but neither was exposed to a stressor,” said a statement from Emory University.

Consoling behavior was also not seen in prairie voles that were unfamiliar with each other before being separated.

Knowing that in the human brain, the receptor for oxytocin -- also known as the love hormone -- is associated with empathy, researchers decided to block this neurotransmitter in the brains of some of the animals.

They found that blocking oxytocin caused the animals to stop consoling each other.

“Star Wars” toys generated sales of more than $700 million in the United States in 2015, making them the No.1 property in the toy industry during the year, a retail research group said. Sales of toys such as Kylo Ren light sabers, BB-8 droids and models of the Millennium Falcon spacecraft totaled more than those related to movie franchises “Jurassic World,” “Minions” and “Avengers” combined, NPD Group said on Wednesday. Led by “Star Wars” merchandise, toy sales in the United States rose 6.7 percent to $19.4 billion in 2015, making

it one of the strongest performances for toy sales in years, NPD Group said. Sales took off on Sept. 4, or “Force Friday”, when retailers launched merchandise in anticipation of the opening of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the first Star Wars film produced by Walt Disney Co. “With the early release of ‘Star Wars’ toys on Force Friday, ‘Star Wars’ managed to become the number-one property for the year,” NPD said. Toymakers Hasbro Inc and Mattel Inc are some of the biggest licensees of “Star Wars” products.

‘Star Wars’ toys generate $700m in sales in 2015

“Many complex human traits have their roots in fundamental brain processes that are shared among many other species,” said co-author Larry Young, director of the Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition at Emory University.

Young said his research points to a potential role for oxytocin in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder, though more work is needed.“We now have the opportunity to explore in detail the neural mechanisms underlying empathetic responses in a laboratory rodent with clear implications for humans.”

According to study co-author Frans de Waal, who first discovered animal consolation behavior in chimpanzees in 1979, the findings also shed new light on the range of animals that feel empathy, and how empathy is separate from complex cognition.

“Scientists have been reluctant to attribute empathy to animals, often assuming selfish motives,” he said.

“These explanations have n e v e r w o r k e d well for consolation behavior, however, which is why this study is so important.”

Billionaire, New York ex-mayor Bloomberg may run for White House

New York’s former mayor and US billionaire Michael Bloomberg is mulling an independent bid for the White House, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

The 73-year-old businessman is drawing up plans for a potential run on a third-party ticket for which he is prepared to spend $1 billion of his personal fortune, the Times said, citing anonymous sources briefed on the matter.The Republicanturned-independent sees a potential opening should Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders -- who is surging in polls -- win their parties’ nominations, the sources said.The mogul has set a deadline for a final decision for early March, the Times reported,

which would give him enough time to qualify to appear on ballots in the presidential election.Bloomberg, who served as New York mayor for a record 12 years until January 2014, is remembered for his aggressive public health policies, like banning smoking in bars and restaurants, and limiting consumption of sugary drinks.

He also won plaudits as a campaigner for tighter gun laws while overhauling the city waterfront, widening green spaces, launching the popular city-bike program and restoring business optimism after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Forbes magazine ranks him as the 14th richest person on the planet, with a total net worth of $35.5 billion.

scene but when they put her in the police car and then she started crying, apologizing, and claiming that she would lose her medical license (she claimed to be a neurologist) if she got arrested.”

“Anjali Ramkissoon, a fourthyear neurology resident employed by Jackson Health System, has been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, and removed from all clinical duties. Jackson has

“The Uber driver was too good of a person and decided to take a cash settlement instead of pressing charges. In his words, ‘...she was crying (and) said (she) was sorry for everything,’” Cinco added.

Ramkissoon’s social media accounts vanished after news websites started using photos from her Facebook and Instagram accounts in their articles.

Jackson Health System confirmed in a statement that Ramkissoon is a fourth-year neurology resident and that an investigation is underway.

launched an internal investigation. The outcome of the investigation will determine if any disciplinary action will be taken, up to and including termination,” the statement from the hospital said.Miami Police spokesperson Frederica Burden confirmed to local newspaper Miami Herald that the police responded to the 911 call made by witnesses and the Uber driver. But a report was not filed as the driver refused to press charges. “We were called for a disturbance. There was no report written, and there will be no investigation,” Burden told Miami Herald.

Drunk US doctor Anjali attacks Uber driver, suspended

A 30-year-old doctor in the US was suspended from clinical duties after a video of her attacking an Uber driver and throwing the man’s belongings into the street, went viral on YouTube on Thursday.

Dr Anjali Ramkissoon, a fourthyear neurology resident employed by Jackson Health System - a nonprofit teaching hospital in Miami, was allegedly drunk when she got into an Uber cab without a reservation and created a ruckus when asked to leave.

Juan Cinco, a bystander, filmed the entire incident and uploaded it on YouTube on Tuesday. But the post went viral only on Thursday after news channels, websites and social media picked up the video two days later. The video had garnered 10 lakh views when this article was published.

The video shows Ramkissoon kicking and punching the Uber driver. She later gets into the car and starts throwing his iPhone, mail, tickets, scissors and other possessions, littering the place before finally walking off.

According to Cinco, the police arrived at the scene later and handcuffed her but didn’t arrest her as the driver didn’t press charges. Cinco also claimed in his video description that Ramkissoon “tried kicking some of the police officers on the

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Was 2015 hottest year on record? ‘Dragon thief’ dinosaur thrived MIAMI US government scientists are widely expected to announce Wednesday that 2015 was the planet’s hottest year in modern times, amid mounting concerns over the pace of climate change worldwide.

Last year’s global average temperature over land and sea surfaces is scheduled to be revealed at 11:00 am (1600 GMT), in a conference call between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US space agency NASA and reporters.

Scientists who track climate expect 2015 will beat 2014 for the warmest since the 1800s, particularly since NOAA announced in December that global heat records were broken in nine months of the year, including the last seven in a row.

The “first 11 months of 2015 were the warmest such period on record across the world’s land

and ocean surfaces,” NOAA said in that report, the same kind it delivers each month, tallying the world’s extreme weather events and temperature averages. Jake Crouch, climate scientist at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information,

added: “At this point we’re virtually certain that 2015 will be the warmest year on record.”

Another group, Berkeley Earth a US non-profit organization that says it was founded by people who saw some merit in the claims of climate change skeptics has already released its findings.

“2015 was unambiguously the hottest year on record,” it said in a statement last week. “For the first time in recorded history, the Earth’s temperature is clearly more than 1.0 C (1.8 F) above the 1850-1900 average.” The group was previously more cautious than NOAA in anointing 2014 the hottest year on record.

14k Indians overstayed in US last year

WASHINGTON Over 14,000 of the 8.8 lakh Indians on business or tourism visas overstayed in the US last year, according to official figures.

And in 2014, of the 7.6 lakh Indians who were supposed to leave the country before the expiry of their B1B2 visas, 11,653 of them overstayed in the Unites States, the department of homeland security (DHS) said. Overstaying means a nonimmigrant who was lawfully admitted to the US for an authorised period but stayed or

remains in the country beyond his or her lawful admission period.

According to the `Entry Exit Overstay Report’ released by the DHS, in fiscal 2015, of the nearly 45 million nonimmigrant visitor admissions through air or sea ports of entry that were expected to de part in FY 2015, 527,127 individuals overstayed their admission, for a total overstay rate of 1.17%. In other words, 98.83% had left the US on time and abided by the terms of their admission, the report said. The report does not include students on F-1 visa or those who arrived on work visas like H1B.

Berkeley Earth said its scientists determined that 2014 ended in a statistical tie with 2005 and 2010.

This time, though, record highs in much of South America and the Middle East, and parts of the United States, Europe and Asia leave very little wiggle room.

“Now, however, it is clear that 2015 is the hottest year on record by a significant margin,” said executive director Elizabeth Muller. Specifically, 2015 exceeded the previous recordholder 2014 by 0.14 degrees Celsius, according to the global surface temperature average on land and sea for the year, it said.

In a sign that the planet is warming faster than ever due to greenhouse gases spewed into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned, the 10 hottest years on record with the exception of 1998 have all occurred since 2000, NOAA says. Berkeley Earth framed it another way, pointing out that the Earth is about halfway to a milestone reaching the international target of seeing global average temperatures rise two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

The Earth “may begin to cross that threshold in about 50 years,” said Berkeley Earth scientist Robert Rohde. NOAA has said that the only way for 2015 not to set new records would be if December were unusually cold 0.43 degrees Fahrenheit (.24 Celsius) colder than the coldest December on record, which came in 1916. For the United States alone, 2015 was the second warmest on record, NOAA said earlier this month.

after primordial calamity

WASHINGTON In the early years of the Jurassic Period, when the world was recovering from one of the worst mass extinctions on record, a modest meat-eating dinosaur from Wales helped pave the way for some of the most fearsome predators ever to stalk the Earth.

Scientists on Wednesday announced the discovery of fossil remains of a two-legged dinosaur called Dracoraptor that lived 200 million years ago and was a forerunner of much later colossal carnivores like Tyrannosaurus rex, Allosaurus and Spinosaurus.

Dracoraptor means “dragon thief.” The Welsh flag bears a red dragon. The fossil is of a 7-footlong (2.1-meter) juvenile, with adults reaching perhaps 10 feet (3 meters), said paleontologist Steven Vidovic of Britain’s University of Portsmouth. At the Triassic Period’s end, not long before Dracoraptor appeared, roughly half of Earth’s species went extinct. Scientists are uncertain of this primordial

calamity’s cause. Hypotheses include an asteroid impact like the one that doomed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, volcanic activity or climate change.

This mass extinction event that ushered in the Jurassic was pivotal in letting dinosaurs become the dominant land animals. The biggest land predators at the end of the Triassic were not dinosaurs, but rather rauisuchians, big fourlegged reptiles. Rivers teemed with phytosaurs, huge crocodilelike reptiles. Both these groups disappeared in the mass extinction, clearing the way for dinosaur carnivores that until then were only moderate in size to become the top terrestrial predators. Vidovic said the Dracoraptor fossils, discovered in 2014 on a beach near the Welsh town of Penarth, represent some of the most complete dinosaur remains from this time, with 40 percent of the skeleton unearthed.

Quasars are extreme in almost every way. They can outshine their entire galaxies; their black holes can be billions of times more massive than the Sun; their temperatures reach tens of

These galaxies produce radiation at radio wavelengths, and astronomers were busily cataloguing these radio signals and matching them with objects visible in the night sky at the loca-

millions of degrees; and some of them fire jets of charged particles into space that can reach almost light speed.

But before Schmidt realised that the first quasar, dubbed 3C 273, was something extraordinary, it had been a puzzle. It was one of many so-called radio galaxies that astronomers were discovering in the 1950s.

tions of the signals. Generally, these radio galaxies appeared as faint smudges suggestive of a galaxy.

The 3C 273 radio signal, though, overlapped with a bright point of light. The point looked like a star that happened to lie on the path between the 3C 273 source and Earth, and at first, that is what Schmidt thought it was.

Ancient black holes can outshine entire galaxies California Once again, Maarten Schmidt looked at the data. It was 5 February 1963, and he was analysing a bright point of light in the sky, an object that appeared like one of the galaxy’s hundreds of billions of stars. But he now realised it was not a star at all. It was something two billion light years away, far beyond the edge of the Milky Way. For it to be so distant yet still so bright in the sky, it must be extremely luminous - much brighter than anything anyone thought was plausible. Schmidt, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology in the US, had discovered something new: the first of a class of objects he would later dub quasars, short for “quasi-stellar radio sources”.

Today, astronomers know quasars to be among the most remarkable objects in the cosmos: the hottest and brightest cores of distant galaxies. Powered by enormous black holes at their centres, these beacons shine across space and time, allowing astronomers to probe and map the far-flung corners of the Universe.

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Pakistan’s nuclear warheads aimed at deterring India Pakistan’s nuclear warheads which are estimated to be between 110-130 are aimed at deterring India from taking military action against it, a latest Congressional report has said.

The report also expressed

concern that Islamabad’s “full spectrum deterrence” doctrine has increased risk of nuclear conflict between the two South Asian neighbours.“Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal probably consists of approximately 110130 nuclear warheads, although it could have more. Islamabad is producing fissile material, adding to related production facilities, deploying additional nuclear weapons, and new types of delivery vehicles,” Congressional

Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report.In its 28-page report, the CRS noted that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against it, but

Islamabad’s expansion of its nuclear arsenal, development of new types of nuclear weapons and adoption of a doctrine called “full spectrum deterrence” have led some observers to express concern about an increased risk of nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India, which also continues to expand its nuclear arsenal.CRS is the independent research wing of the US Congress, which prepares periodic reports by eminent

Dinosaur fossils found in India

A geologist said Saturday his team has discovered what it believes are dinosaur fossils in the western Indian state of Gujarat that could be millions of years old.

The team, of 10 mainly German and Indian archaeologists and researchers, dug up the fossils during excavations in Gujarat’s marshy coastal district of Kutch, Gaurav Chauhan said.

“We have found three portions of hip bones of (a) dinosaur,” Chauhan, a geologist from Gujarat’s Kutch University and a member of the excavation team, told AFP. “We have been working on this site since (the) last 10 days or so,” he said.

Chauhan said carbon-dating tests would need to be carried out to try to determine the age of the bones, while more

examinations were needed to identify the type. Gujarat, sometimes dubbed India’s Jurassic Park, is home to one of the world’s largest collections of dinosaur remains.

In 2003, a National Geographic team discovered a new dinosaur species in Gujarat after examining fossils found scattered along the Narmada River. The dinosaur was named “Rajasaurus Narmadensis” or the regal reptile from Narmada, which was a 30-foot-long, carnivorous and stocky animal, with an unusual head crest.

And a large dinosaur egg hatchery has been discovered in the town of Balasinor, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of the state’s main city of Ahmedabad.

experts on a wide range of issues so as to help lawmakers take informed decisions.

Reports of CRS are not considered as an official view of the US Congress.“Pakistan has in recent years taken a number of steps to increase international confidence in the security of its nuclear arsenal,” said the CRS report authored by Paul K Kerr and Mary Beth Nikitin.

Moreover, Pakistani and US officials argue that, since the 2004 revelations about a procurement network run by former Pakistani nuclear official AQ Khan, Islamabad has taken a number of steps to improve its nuclear security and to prevent further proliferation of nuclearrelated technologies and materials, it said.A number of important initiatives, such as strengthened export control laws, improved personnel security, and international nuclear security cooperation programmes, have improved Pakistan’s nuclear security, the CRS said.“However, instability in Pakistan has called the extent and durability of these reforms into question. Some observers fear radical takeover of the Pakistani government or diversion of material or technology by personnel within Pakistan’s nuclear complex,” the CRS said.

Never said India intolerant, I was born here and will die here says Aamir Khan

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, whose “leaving India” comments linked to the “intolerance” debate had kicked up a huge controversy, today said he never meant that he wanted to leave the country and asserted that India was intolerant. Asserting that no other country is as diverse as India, Aamir, 50, said, “I was born here and I will die here.” Aamirs comments came on a day when he came under fresh attack from fellow actor Akshay Kumar who said “ups and downs” happen in every nation and one should not start giving “bold” statements. “I never said India was intolerant or I wanted to leave the country. I also understand the emotions of those who were hurt. I would like to say that my statement was misunderstood and to some extent media is responsible for it. I was born here and I will die here,”

Aamir said at a press conference here on the eve of of his 2006 superhit “Rang De Basanti” completing ten years. “Our country is diverse with so many languages, culture...no other country has so much diversity as India,” he said, adding, “Whenever I go abroad I cant stay away from my country more than two weeks. I get homesick”. Aamirs statement last November that he was “alarmed” by a number of incidents and that his wife Kiran Rao even suggested that they should probably leave the country had triggered a nationwide outrage. He was recently replaced as the brand ambassador of Incredible India campaign.

“As an individual, as part of this country as a citizen, we read in the papers what is happening, we see it on the news and certainly, I have been alarmed.

Pathankot terror attack: Gurdaspur SP likely to be cleared by NIA After facing rigorous questioning for over two weeks in connection with the Pathankot terror attack, senior Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh is likely to be cleared by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Sources said after liedetector and other tests found nothing adverse against him, there is nothing to suggest that he had a role in the attack at the Air Force base.

Singh, an SP-rank officer, has been examined by the agency at its headquarter for the last 15 days, has also undergone a series of scientific tests.

Sources said, “If the need arises Salwinder can be called for questioning later, but at this point of time it seems there is nothing against him.”

Raids at various locations, including his office, residence and native place in Amritsar, did not result in the recovery of incriminating documents, the investigating officers said.

The NIA questioned Singh to ascertain the sequence of events that took place after he along with his cook Madan Gopal and his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma were kidnapped on the intervening night of December 31 and

January 1 by terrorists of Pakistan-based JaisheMohammed(JeM).

The SP, who had claimed that he was abducted by the group of terrorists who attacked the Pathankot Indian Air Force Station, was under NIA scanner following suspicion that he was part of the drug racket being run in the bordering districts of Pathankot and Gurdaspur, sources said.

“The kidnappers released Singh, his cook but slit the throat of Rajesh Verma before dumping them on the road and speeding away which further raised suspicion,” NIA sources said.Singh’s car was used by the terrorists from Pakistan to

approach the 2000-acre air force base at Pathankot, which they reportedly entered by scaling a 10-foot high wall with a rope. The attack, conducted by them and another pair of terrorists, commenced from the intervening night of January 1 and 2. Seven military men were martyred and 20 injured before the base was secured nearly 80 hours later.

Four bodies of terrorists belonging to Jaish-eMohammed group were recovered. Two others are believed to have been burnt in the building where they were holed up during the encounter.

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Delhi man alleges he was misled by Mumbai police identify ‘no selfie zones’ after drowning in-laws to marry a transgender A man from Delhi has alleged he was misled by his in-laws to marry a transgender and has sought the annulment of his marriage from a city court. He also asked for her thorough

medical examination. In the petition, the complainant has accused his in-laws of deceiving him by keeping him and his family and him in the dark at the time of marriage.

According to the petition, the man had discovered about the wife’s condition when he tried to consummate the marriage. He claims the genitals of his wife were not fully developed and that she was unable to establish

intimate relations with him. He also said he hid the matter from his family initially, but decided to ultimately reveal his “mental agony and stress” to his father.

In his testimony before the court,

the complainant said when he confronted his inlaws, they told him that their daughter had received injuries in her childhood and that the condition was “curable”. However, the husband told the court that he had consulted several doctors, but they all opined that his wife’s genitals had not fully developed.

Doctors also said she was not a “complete woman”, claimed the husband.The husband said his

45 whales die after India stranding

in-laws had even offered to get him married to his wife’s younger sister, but that could not materialise. While a divorce was being arranged on the grounds of mutual consent, the sister ran away before the marriage. This further made him feel cheated, he claimed.“My client tied the knot in 2006. The marriage between my client and the respondent was an arranged one and did not involve dowry. He tried his best... to get his wife cured. However, all the efforts were in vain. He had started living in extreme mental stress and tension. After trying to maintain this marriage for several years, now my client has sought annulment of the marriage under section 12 (1) (A) of the Hindu Marriage Act,” said advocate Sanjeev Kumar, counsel for the man.Meanwhile, the wife’s counsel claimed that the case was false and the medical reports had revealed positive signs that the wife was a “complete woman”. She can have child through surrogacy, the counsel added.“That the man has sought his marriage to be declared null and void after six years is in itself questionable. The matter has now been fixed to decide the grant of maintenance and for her medical examination. The aggrieved party had filed an identical application seeking medical examination of my client. The medical board that was constituted has given positive findings,” the wife’s counsel said.

Mumbai police said Tuesday they have identified 16 dangerous selfie spots across the Indian city after a man drowned trying to save a girl who fell into the sea while taking a photo of herself.

The spots include the major tourist attractions of Girgaum Chowpatty beach and Marine Drive promenade as well as the site where the 18-year-old girl slipped last week, deputy commissioner Dhananjay Kulkarni told AFP. “After the unfortunate incident we have decided to identify 16 spots where taking selfies can be dangerous but we may add more,” he said.

“We have written to the municipal corporation to put some warning signs up at such points. We also want them to deploy some lifeguards also,” Kulkarni added.

The girl and two friends fell off rocks into the Arabian Sea near Bandra Bandstand in the north of India’s financial capital while

clicking selfies on Saturday. A passerby, 37-year-old Ramesh Walanju, jumped in and helped save the two friends but was washed away by the choppy waters and his body was found floating in a nearby creek on Monday. The girl is still missing.

Police officers patrolling the selected areas have been briefed to warn people against taking selfies, the deputy commissioner said. Last month a Pakistani man died in Rawalpindi after being hit by a fast-moving train as he tried to take a selfie with it while standing on the track.

In May last year a Russian woman accidentally shot herself in the head with a pistol while posing for a selfie with the weapon. And US investigators in February said a pilot’s repeated snapping of selfie photos caused a small plane to crash, killing both people on board.

Despite new Bihar role, Kishor likely to manage Capt Amarinder Singh’s campaign

Forty-five whales have died after stranding themselves on a southern Indian beach, a government official said Tuesday, with local fishermen struggling to save others. The pod of whales started beaching themselves on Monday afternoon along a 15-kilometre (9-mile) stretch of coast near Tiruchendur on India’s southernmost tip. “At least 45 short-nosed pilot whales beached were later confirmed dead on the coast of Tiruchendur,” district collector M. Ravikumar said, adding that the pod may have been hit by a passing ship. About 50 whales altogether had become stranded, local forestry officer S.A. Raju said, while the Press Trust of India and other local media put the total number at more than 100. “It’s very strange and we are examining the

whales. We found some of the whales are still alive and struggling for their lives,” Raju said.

Raju added he and his team were seeking help from the district administration to try to rescue those still breathing.

Fishermen and others were attempting to push those whales back into the water along the coast, located some 700 kilometres from the city of Chennai, local media reported.

Fishermen raised the alarm after the whales, about 15 feet (4.5 metres) long, starting coming ashore. “On Monday evening there were more than a dozen whales beached at many places on the shore,” said S. Thiraviyam, a resident of the town of Manapad. The southern tip of India is close to major shipping trade routes.

Prashant Kishor’s new role as cabinet-rank adviser on policy and implementation to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is unlikely to affect his other assignment as advisor to Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on the 2017 Assembly elections in the state, Congress leaders are saying “Captain Amarinder Singh confirmed to me that he had spoken to Prashant Kishor once.

We also learnt about Kishor’s team having done the first round of survey for Punjab Congress.

We are hopeful of engaging Kishor’s team that may start formally working for us from this March,” AICC general secretary and Punjab Congress in-charge Shakeel Ahmad told.

Asked how Kishor could assist Amarinder while being an employee of the Bihar government, Ahmad said these “technical issues” can be resolved once his role in Punjab is finalised.Sources in the Amarinder camp said they were already aware that he was being considered for an assignment by

Nitish and that he could continue in both roles side by side.

“We are excited about working with Prashant and looking forward to his coming to Punjab.

We are all prepared. Amarinder

Second, Kishor does not take money to manage election campaign of personalities. So, where is the problem? He can always work with the government in Bihar and advise Amarinder on

has already congratulated Prashant,” said a senior functionary of the Congress.

He said there could be no conflict of interest as far as Kishor’s managing of Amarinder’s poll campaign was concerned as he is not charging a fee for this.

“First, he will be a part of the Grand Alliance government of which Congress is also a part.

the side,” said a senior Congress leader based in Delhi while requesting anonymity.

Sources close to Kishor had confirmed to The Indian Express that he was on board to manage the election campaign of Amarinder and he would be visiting Punjab for 2-3 days in mid-February. He had already got a survey done in Punjab before accepting Amarinder’s proposal.

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US, Mediterranean face extreme warming Once the world as a whole has warmed by two degrees Celsius, top temperatures in the United States and Mediterranean basin will have climbed by even more, according to a study released Wednesday.

A global 2C (3.6 Fahrenheit) rise above mid-19th century levels would mean a jump of at least 3.0C (5.4F) in maximum daytime temperatures in these regional hot spots - deep into the red zone of dire climate impacts, said the study.

Central Brazil can also look forward to a bigger-thanaverage increase, with summertime peaks rising by 3.5C. Moreover, no matter how quickly humanity reduces the greenhouse gas

emissions that drive warming, the gaps will remain just as big.

“These relationships hold true regardless of what emissions pathway you take,” Sonia Seneviratne, a professor at ETH Zurich’s Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, told AFP by phone. “If our aim is to limit summer temperature extremes in the Mediterranean region, for example, to 2C, then the global temperature must rise no more than 1.4C.” The study, published in Nature, looked at projections in each region for the evolution of annual maximum and minimum daytime temperatures. In 2010, the world’s nations set a goal of capping average planet-wide warming to 2C, a hugely daunting task. But a crescendo

Two Indian-origin Singaporeans jailed for rioting, gang fight

Two 25-year-old Indian-origin Singaporeans were sentenced to up to five years in jail for attacking two compatriots and seriously injured one of them last year. Jai Ganesh Tanapolan pleaded guilty on three charges, including two for rioting, and Dinesh Kumar Ruvy admitted to one count of rioting armed with a deadly weapon.

Tanapolan has been sentenced to five years in prison while Ruvy was given 4.5 years in jail.

They will also get six strokes of the cane each, Channelnewsasia reported.

Tanapolan and Ruvy attacked two male victims as they were

leaving a club in March last year.

Tanapolan, Ruvy and their accomplices kicked and punched fellow local Indians, Logesvaren Subramaniam and Sashi Kumar Asogan, before Ruvy used a chopper to slash Logesvaren’s forearm. The six attackers then fled the scene in two taxis.

Logesvaren’s wife and Asogan found him crouched at a nearby taxi stand. They took him to a nearby hospital, where he underwent an 11-hour long operation. The duo’s four accomplices are currently serving jail terms of between 21 and 24 months for rioting.

of extreme weather - US government scientists confirmed today that 2015 was “by far” the hottest year on record - and new studies suggest that even this ambitious goal may be inadequate.

A more recent global climate agreement, inked by 195 countries in Paris in December, set a new target of “well below 2C”. Earth has already heated up by nearly 1.0C. Scientist do not know when it might pierce the 2C cap, but many acknowledge that the chances of staying under it are not good. There are several explanations for the gap between global averages and “hot spot” regions, Seneviratne explained.

One is the simple fact that

temperatures above the oceans - which cover more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface - are significantly cooler, bringing down the average.

Beyond that, however, there are

local factors - the impact of parched soils, loss of heatreflecting snow - that make some land areas even hotter.

The area facing the sharpest increase is the Arctic.

Three medical students found dead in Tamil Nadu, suicide note blames college and high fees Three college students have allegedly committed suicide at a private medical college in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district on Saturday.

The three women medical students reportedly jumped into a well to end their lives. The girls have left behind a suicide note in which they blamed the college’s poor facility and the indifference of the college management that forced them to take the extreme step.

The letter also states that the students have been charged exorbitant fees and the three who haven’t even finished their second year have spent close to Rs 6 lakh without getting the basic education of a medical college.The letter also alleges ill treatment by the college principle who called these children criminal. The girls, in their suicide note, have said that they have taken this extreme step to bring attention of the nation to this issue in the campus and have also said that there will be a lot of false accusation on them after their

death and that no one should believe such false accusation.

The young women were undergraduate students of SVS Medical College of Naturopathy

of a protest, none of the fellow students from the college or hostel were present at the site.

According to the latest reports, the college campus and the

and Yoga Sciences in Villupuram. A police complaint has been registered and investigations have been ordered in this case.

More than 20 students have been protesting about the poor facilities that have were provided in the college.

Even though the girls were part

hostel is pitch dark and there is no sign of any activity there.

Earlier, the district collector after receiving complaints from the students about the college had set up a special team under the leadership of DRO to inquire into the matter, but no action was taken and the details of the report are still not available.

5 dead, 2 critical after shootings in northern Saskatchewan A gunman opened fire at a high school and a second location in an aboriginal community in northern Saskatchewan on Friday, leaving five dead and two others critically injured, Canada’s prime minister said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said from Davos, Switzerland that a suspect was in custody.

“This is every parent’s worst nightmare,” he said. “The community is reeling.”

Kevin Janvier told The Associated Press his 23-year old daughter Marie, a teacher, was shot dead by the gunman.

“He shot two of his brothers at his home and made his way to the school,” he said.

“I’m just so sad.”

Marie was Janvier’s only child.

He said he didn’t know if the shooter knew his daughter.

Trudeau said the shootings

occurred at a high school and another location but did not release any information on the second location. School shootings are rare in Canada.

A student who was just returning from lunch when shots were fired said his friends ran past him urging him to get out. “‘Run, bro, run!” Noel DesjarlaisThomas, 16, recalled his friends saying to him as they fled La Loche’s junior and senior high school.“There’s a shotgun!

There’s a shotgun! They were just yelling to me. And then I was hearing those shots, too, so of course I started running.”

The grade 7 through 12 La Loche Community School is in the remote aboriginal community of La Loche, Saskatchewan. The school’s Facebook page said it would remain on lockdown until the Royal Canadian Police

resolve the matter. It asked the public to stay away.

It was unclear how many died at the school. Police have yet to announce any details.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall earlier confirmed the shooting.

“Words cannot express my shock and sorrow at the horrific events today in La Loche. My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and friends and all the people of the community,” he said in a statement.The area’s representative in parliament, who attended the same school, was setting up a constituency office in the community when the shooting occurred.

“We’re fairly shaken up. It’s a sad day,” said Georgina Jolibois, who was mayor of La Loche until she was elected to parliament last

fall. “My own nieces and nephews were inside the school.”

Jolibois said she went to the school and spoke with some of her family members, who were unharmed. She wouldn’t reveal details of the shooting, saying she preferred that police release the information.

Bobby Cameron, Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, said it was the worst tragedy to ever hit the community.

“It’s not something you ever imagine happening here. The whole community, province and country has been affected and we will all go into mourning,” said

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France returns head of Harihara statue after 130 years

A stone sculpture of Harihara, a deity that combines aspects of Vishnu and Shiva, was returned

by France to Cambodia.

The head of the statue was reattached to its body on January 21, 2016 and is kept for display at a museum. It was spirited away nearly 130 years ago.

The statue apparently was created in the 7th century and was taken from the Phnom Da temple in southern Takeo province by French researchers in 1882 or 1883.

The reattachment of the head at the National Museum was attended by 200 government officials, representatives of foreign government, ambassadors and officials from the Guimet Museum.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An welcomed the reunification of the head and the torso of Harihara.

“According to our Khmer culture, the reunion is symbolises prosperity,” he said.

Sok An also appealed to other

countries that hold Cambodian artifacts to return them.

The Cambodian law prohibiting the removal of cultural artifacts without government permission only came in 1993. So, it is difficult to compel the owners abroad to return them as there is no legal standing.

Ghar Wapsi of other artifacts - Last year, Cambodia got back two stone statues from the Angkor period that were looted during the country’s civil war and taken to Europe.

- 9th century old sculpture of Shiva’s head and a late 12th century’s male divinity head were also handed over by Norwegian collector Morten Bosterud.

- In June 2014, three 1,000-yearold statues based on Hindu mythology were brought back to Cambodia.The reason behind Cambodia having a major Hindu influence is it was ruled by Hindu kings for centuries. It was also the main religion of the country for many years before it was replaced by Buddhism.

Alexander Litvinenko: How a former Russian spy was killed with a cup of tea Some 10 years ago, former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko drank a cup of green tea that resulted in his death from severe poisoning. After all these years, the report into his death has been published with some shocking statements.

The report concludes that while Russia had ordered Litvinenko’s murder in Britain, it “probably” came with President Vladimir Putin’s personal approval.

In the UK public inquiry held today, Chairman Sir Robert Owen said the prime suspects, Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi, were “acting on behalf of others” and had probably poisoned Litvinenko “under direction from the FSB”.

“I have concluded the FSB operation to kill Mr Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr [Nikolai] Patrushev, then head of the FSB, and also by President Putin,” said Owen.Litvinenko’s widow, Marina Litvinenko, welcomed the report, calling for the UK to impose sanctions on Russia.Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry has dismissed this inquiry as “politically motivated”. Suspect Andrei Lugovoi, who is also a former KGB agent and now a Russian MP, has called it “absurd”.

Who was Alexander Litvinenko?

Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was a former officer in Russia’s FSB spy agency who accused his superiors of ordering the assassination of Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky.

After being released from jail for the second time in 2000, Litvinenko fled Moscow and was granted asylum in Britain.

In 2003, he became a British

Saudi cleric says chess ‘forbidden’ in Islam, Twitter erupts A video clip of Saudi Arabia’s top cleric saying that the game of chess is “forbidden” in Islam because it wastes time and leads to rivalry and enmity among people has provoked heated debate, and widespread

criticism, among Arabic Twitter users.

The clip was shared on YouTube in December, gaining traction in recent days on social media.

Some Twitter users mocked Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdelaziz Al Sheikh, saying chess is an

intelligent game and that is why conservative clerics decry it.

Others defended his religious advice, saying that many other Islamic scholars have also warned that the game can be addictive and cause people to

lose focus from their daily prayers and remembrance of God. Saudi Arabia’s influential religious establishment adheres to a strict Sunni Islamic ideology known widely as Wahhabism.

Similarly, Shiite Iran’s Grand

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani previously declared that chess is religiously prohibited because it could be used for gambling, which is not permissible in Islam.

In the 44-second clip, Al Sheikh says “the game of chess is forbidden,” backing up his statement by referring to a verse in the Quran that bans gambling, intoxicants and idolatry. Answering a question posed to him by a viewer on the Saudi religious Almajd network, the mufti says chess “wastes time and money and causes rivalry and enmity” because it makes rich people poor and poor people rich.

Despite some top religious scholars frowning upon chess, the Saudi sheikh’s opinion is not seen as a formal edict that could lead to a ban on the game in the kingdom. Games such as backgammon and cards are popular among men in the Middle East.

Muslims, who introduced chess to Europe, have been playing the game since the 7th century in Persia.

consultant as an expert on Russian organised crime. It is during this time that he wrote two books, Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within and Lubyanka Criminal Group, in which he accused the Russian Secret Service of being behind the 1999

protection.

Reports later said that Litvinenko’s white blood cell count, at this time, was severely low. His vital organs were slowly failing.

On November 23, 22 days after he was poisoned, Litvinenko died in the hospital.

apartment bombings.

In one of his articles named The Kremlin Pedophile, Litvinenko called Putin a paedophile.

An ‘almost perfect murder’ Litvinenko’s assassination has been referred to as an ‘almost perfect murder’, especially for the use of polonium 210, a rare radioactive isotope, as the poison.On November 1, 2006, Litvinenko went to the Millennium Hotel London Mayfair to meet two former Russians spies, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, where he drank a cup poison-laced green tea.Two days later, he was admitted to a local hospital, vomiting and writhing in pain.

Soon, he was transferred to the University College Hospital in central London and kept in intensive care under police

The poison that was found in his blood, polonium 210, is a highly radioactive component that was used in nuclear weapons. When consumed as a poison, it destroys the immune system and leads to multiple organ failure.

Investigations that followed Litvinenko’s poisoning found a trail of polonium across London; on planes, cars, hotel rooms, even on the china of some restaurants.

It was then found that there had been prior unsuccessful attempts to murder Litvinenko in other restaurants in London, which had left the trail.

On November 1, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun were caught in the hotel’s CCTV footage going into a bathroom, where during investigation huge traces of

Baa’d end for New Zealanders on the lam

Sheep, it seems, are more than just prolific figures on the New Zealand landscape, they also have a role in law enforcement.

A flock of sheep managed to stop a car-load of fugitives who had led police on a 90-minute chase through Central Otago in the South Island on Friday.

The sheep, who belonged to a local police officer, were being moved along a road to a new grazing block when they found themselves recruited as police deputies.

A police spokesman said the fugitives had led police on a high-

speed chase and even managed to elude capture when road spikes deflated one of their car tyres.

The chase started when the car was pulled over for speeding and not having licence plates.The driver took off at speed and refused to stop despite several police cars joining the chase, the spokesman said. But when confronted by the flock of sheep on a road near the resort town of Queenstown, they stopped and their time on the lam came to an abrupt end. All four were arrested.

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UK astronaut on living with cancer UK man asked to inform police British-born astronaut Piers Sellers says he is now living life at “20 times normal speed” after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Dr Sellers, originally from

Crowborough in East Sussex, is the deputy director of Nasa’s science and exploration division.

The 60-year-old was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in late October. “It did motivate me to concentrate my thoughts,” he told the BBC. “I’d been feeling rough for about six or nine months, getting progressively more ill. “The outlook in terms of

expected longevity was a bit of a shocker. He has written an article for the New York Times in which he shares his thoughts on climate change. He said: “I could

look down and I could see cities and rivers and ship wakes and aircraft contrails.

“It’s a very small world and it’s pretty much all we’ve got.

“Leaving the home planet, looking back and then coming back again made me realise this is home.” Dr Sellers said he planned to continue his work which includes research into

China’s online population nears 700m China’s Internet users already by far the world’s most numerous -- rose to nearly 700 million last year, authorities

said Friday, more than twice the population of the United States.Beijing imposes strict controls on online content, while e-commerce is a vital part of its efforts to transform the economy into one driven more by consumer demand. The Asian giant’s Internet

population defined as those who have gone online at least once in the past six months stood at 688 million at the end of 2015, up 39.5 million yearon-year, according to the government’s China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).The figure accounts for more than half the people in the world’s most populous country.

More than 90 percent had gone online through their mobile phones, CNNIC reported, while two-thirds had used desktop computers and nearly 40 percent laptops.

Several Chinese tech firms, led

by Jack Ma’s Alibaba, have become multi-billion-dollar giants in recent years as the country’s online population has boomed.

Time for criminal charges against North Korea leadership: UN

The world must back a criminal prosecution of North Korea’s leaders, with no improvement in human rights there in the two years since a major UN report detailed Nazistyle atrocities, a UN investigator said today.

“In addition to continuing political

pressure to exhort the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) to improve human rights, it is also now imperative to pursue criminal responsibility of the DPRK leadership,” said Marzuki Darusman, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea.

climate change “for as long as possible”.

“I ended the article with a statement that given all the things that need to be done ‘I’m going to work tomorrow’. “Work is fascinating - I love the office, whether it is in a space suit or in a real office - I’ve always loved work. “I’m trying to work 20 times the normal speed to get the work done.”

Speaking of his diagnosis and treatment, Dr Sellers said: “The prognosis right now is 12 to 18 months.” Dr John Weeds, headmaster of Dr Sellers’ former school in Cranbrook said: “It’s really tragic. Piers has been and remains a very great ambassador for this school.

“He has made an enormous contribution to his field of science. We are absolutely devastated by the news.” Dr Sellers had to become a US citizen to fulfil his dream of becoming an astronaut and has campaigned for the British government to develop its own space programme.

He said he was “delighted” when Tim Peake, who regarded Dr Sellers as a role model, arrived at the International Space Station with a British flag on his shoulder last month. Dr Sellers said he still wanted to influence young people to enjoy science and work to combat climate change.

“I have no pretentions about leaving a legacy. I will leave other people to write that.”

24 hours before having sex

A man has been ordered by a UK court to inform the police 24 hours before any sexual contact with a woman despite being cleared of rape as he poses a risk to public, and faces five years in jail for any breach.

The man, in his 40s who has not been identified, was acquitted of raping a woman at a retrial in 2015 after claiming that the alleged victim had consented.

He is also subject to controls on his use of the internet and must declare to the North Yorkshire Police about every phone and device that he has that he could use for accessing the internet or calling or texting people.

The restrictions are part of an interim sexual risk order and will continue until May 19, when York Magistrates Court will decide whether to make it a full order.

Under the interim order, if the man from the city of York in

northern England plans to start a sexual relationship of any kind with a woman or to have one-off sexual activity, he has to contact the police or if he moves to a different county, he needs to tell who the woman is.

Full sexual risk orders in England and Wales last for a minimum of two years and breaching an order can lead to a prison sentence of up to five years.

These orders are used when someone has not been convicted of a sexual offence, but the police convince a court it is necessary for one to be made against the person to protect the public from him or her.

Sexual risk orders were introduced in England and Wales in March last year and can be applied to any individual who the police believe poses a risk of sexual harm, even if they have never been convicted of a crime.

conciliatory stand towards modern technology than in the past, saying “the Internet could be used to build a society which is healthy and open to sharing”.

“Social networks can facilitate relationships and promote the

good of society, but they can also lead to further polarization and division between individuals and groups,” he said.

Modern communications were “a gift of God which involves a great responsibility,” he said.

Internet, Social networking gift of God says Pope Francis Pope Francis, who has acknowledged being “a disaster” when it comes to technology, said on Friday that the Internet, social networks and text messages were “a gift of God” if used wisely.

“Emails, text messages, social networks and chats can also be fully human forms of communication,” the Pope said in his message for the Roman Catholic Church’s World Day of Communications.

“It is not technology which determines whether or not communication is authentic, but rather the human heart and our capacity to use wisely the means at our disposal,” said.

Last year, the 79-year-old Francis told a young girl he was embarrassed to admit that he did not know how to use computers and was an overall “disaster” with technology. He has also said smartphones should be banned from the family dinner and children should not have computers in their rooms.

Whether by divine providence or human coincidence, Francis’ message was released as he was meeting with the head of a company whose brand is synonymous with those products - Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.

In his message, the pope appeared to take a more

JFK Winter White House objects to be auctioned Dozens of original objects and furnishings from the Kennedys’ “Winter White House” Florida estate go under the hammer Saturday, according to the auctioneer. Items up for grabs from the Palm Beach oceanside getaway include everything from a bed president John F. Kennedy slept in to the dining room table his family gathered around, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers said. Although Kennedy’s parents lived in the

estate permanently, the former president would often visit the house whe re “significant presidential meetings and appointments took place,” during his administration. The 153 items that are up for auction were sold by the Kennedys in 1995 along with the house, which they owned for 62 years.

Items for sale include a Louis XV banquet table at an estimated $4,000 to $6,000 and a walnut-framed massage table for $2,000 to $4,000.

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Google to pay $185.4 million to UK in back taxes LONDON Technology giant Google is to pay £130 million ($185.4 million, 172 million euros) in back taxes to Britain following a government inquiry into its tax arrangements, a company spokeswoman said Friday. It follows a six-year probe

by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in response to controversy over low taxes paid by multinational corporations which operate in Britain but have headquarters elsewhere.

“We have agreed with HMRC a new approach for our UK taxes and will pay £130 million, covering taxes since 2005,” a Google spokeswoman said. “The way multinational companies are taxed has been debated for many years and the international tax system is changing as a result. This settlement reflects that shift.” In future, Google will pay taxes in Britain according to revenue from advertisers based

in Britain, something that “reflects the size and scope of our UK business”, the spokeswoman said.

The BBC reported that Google would now register a greater proportion of its sales activity in Britain rather than Ireland, where its European headquarters is based and which has a lower rate of corporation tax. An HMRC spokesman welcomed the agreement. “The successful conclusion of HMRC inquiries has secured a substantial result, which means that Google will pay the full tax due in law on profits that belong in the UK,” the spokesman said.

“Multinational companies must pay the tax that is due and we do not accept less.” Britain’s finance minister George Osborne has vowed to close tax loopholes and introduce a so-called “Google tax” the diverted profits tax to stop firms moving profits abroad.

UK unveils migrant language tests, misspells language

LONDON Britain’s Home Office was left redfaced Friday after unveiling new English tests for migrants -- but misspelling the word “language” in its announcement.

Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday launched a £20 million ($28.5 million, 26 million euro) language fund to help women, particularly Muslims, who arrive in Britain after getting married but struggle to speak English. He also said women from non-EU countries who fail to pass an English language test after two and a half years in the country could face deportation, drawing

“Good to see Google paying more tax on past profits. We want successful businesses in UK but they should pay their taxes,” the chancellor of the exchequer said.

“Google tax bill is a victory for the action we’ve taken. I introduced diverted profits tax.

We now expect to see other firms pay their share.” The opposition Labour Party’s

finance spokesman John McDonnell said Google’s deal was “derisory”. “This is relatively trivial in comparison with what should have been paid,” he told BBC radio.

Meg Hillier, who chairs parliament’s public accounts scrutiny committee, said international companies had been “running rings around tax

officials”. She said HMRC was “effectively admitting it pulled in too little tax from Google for nine out of 10 years”.

Google is among several top technology firms under pressure over complex tax arrangements.

Apple agreed to pay Italy 318 million euros to settle a tax dispute last month, and in November world leaders of the Group of 20 top economies vowed to clamp down on schemes by multinationals to minimise tax.

The plan would force multinationals to pay tax in the country where their main business activity is based. The OECD group of rich nations has estimated that national governments lose $100-240 billion (90-210 billion euros), or four to 10 percent of global tax revenues, every year due to the tax-minimising schemes of multinationals.

Archaeologists hail find of UK Bronze Age dwellings at the site, about two metres (6.5 ft) below the modern ground surface, are exotic glass beads forming part of a necklace, rare

abandoned it in haste when it caught fire. David Gibson, Archaeological Manager at the Cambridge Archaeological Unit,

criticism from Muslim groups and opposition parties. A Home Office press release giving details of the move Thursday spoke of a “new English langauge test” and had to be corrected.Asked if Cameron was disappointed by the mistake, his official spokeswoman told reporters: “All of us are open to mistakes at times. “The prime minister is pretty confident that his team speak English competently.” The error drew ridicule on Twitter -- broadcaster Anita Anand wrote it was “beyond parody”, while user @DaveGoddard 1971 joked: “Makes you proud to be British”.

LONDON Archaeologists said on Tuesday they had discovered what were believed to be the best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found in Britain, providing an extraordinary insight into prehistoric life from 3,000 years ago.

The settlement of large circular wooden houses, built on stilts, collapsed in a fire and plunged into a river where it was preserved in silts leaving them in pristine condition, Historic England said. Discoveries from the dwellings in Whittlesey, in central England, which archaeologists said had been frozen in time and dated from between 1000-800 BC, included pots with food inside and finely woven clothing. “We are learning more about the food our ancestors ate, and the pottery they used to cook and serve it,” Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said in a statement.

“This site is of international significance and its excavation will transform our understanding of the period.” Among the finds

small cups, bowls and jars.

Archaeologists also said that the site was so well preserved that even the footprints of those who lived at the site had been discovered.

There are also charred roof timbers clearly visible in one of the houses and the excavation team have speculated that those living at the settlement

said they only usually came across a few pits or metal finds at Bronze Age sites. “This time so much more has been preserved - we can actually see everyday life during the Bronze Age in the round,” he said. “It’s prehistoric archaeology in 3D with an unsurpassed finds assemblage in terms of range and quantity.”

years. Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter will all be visible in the sky today. They will stay for about a month, treating

stargazers to an astonishing show.

The best way to see them is just before dawn, with the most beautiful view in the UK predicted to come on early on the morning of February 25. Dr Robert Massey from the Royal Astronomical Society said: “There will be a dance of the planets, and now is the time to get out and have a look.

“It will be well worth getting up for. “People will struggle to see Mercury, it will probably just look like a star but if we get good weather we should be able to see Venus, Saturn, Mars and

Jupiter well. But people should have a shot at seeing them altogether.

“Venus will be very obvious in the south east and Saturn will be a little bit higher up to the right.

Further over at due south, you’ll see Mars and way beyond in the south east will be Jupiter. “They won’t be in an exact straight line, because you virtually never get that in astronomy. They will be more scattered.” Predictably, a planetary alignment is often taken to be a sign that doomsday is on its way.

Dr Massey added: “If you have binoculars you will be able to see

Jupiter’s moons and the red tinge of Mars. You probably won’t be able to see Saturn’s rings but it will have a funny shape because of the rings which you should be able to pick out.

“If you are using binoculars it’s important not to look towards the sun when it rises.” The stars Antares and Spica will also be visible in the same patch of sky.

Uranus and Neptune are the only two planets that will not be on show. And if you fail to catch the alignment this month, it will be happen again in August of this year although the late days of summer are likely to make it

5 planets to align in rare ‘dance’

London Five planets are about to align in an astronomical marvel that hasn’t been witnessed for 10

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

T20 series to have Hindi commentary from local Indians For the first time in their broadcast history, Cricket Australia will ensure telecast of Hindi commentary for the upcoming Twenty20 series against India to cater to the sizeable Indian community in the country.

“Every ball of the Australia and India KFC T20 INTL Series will be broadcast to Australian audiences in Hindi via the CA Live App and cricket.com.au, as part of a new partnership between Cricket Australia and Indian Link Media Group,” Cricket Australia said in a release.

The move is a first in more than 80 years of Australian cricket broadcasting.

Ben Amarfio, Cricket Australia Executive General Manager of Media, Com-

munications and Marketing, said: “The Indian community is growing rapidly in Australia and it includes some of cricket’s most passionate fans.”

the decision is intended to recognise the diversity of the Australian society.

“This is an exciting addition to our suite of broadcast options. It adds further

“Providing our Indian community with a locally-produced Hindi broadcast will add to their cricket experience, connecting them more deeply with Australian cricket. Amarfio said

choice for cricket fans and ecognises that Australian society is becoming far more diverse.

“Cricket Australia strives to be Australia’s favourite sport and to do so we must

When M S Dhoni’s milliondollar boys take on Aaron Finch’s big bashing Australia on Tuesday, the game will also jumpstart a nonstop, thrill-a-minute carousel of cricket’s shortest version that will roll through the spring and summer, finishing only after IPL 9 ends some four months later.

By then, the monsoon could be lashing at parts of India.

After the IndiaAustralia T20 contest of three games ends this month, the Men in Blue will engage in another T20 trilogy with ever-willing neighbours Sri Lanka from February 9 to 14.

The India-Lanka series will be a suitable occasion for both sides, mauled during their recent foreign tours, to prepare for the reformatted Asia Cup (Feb 24-Mar 6)

hosted by Bangladesh. All previous editions were played in the ODI format.

Now the tournament has bent to the mood of the times and recast itself in a T20 avatar. Then the year’s

in its inaugural edition way back in 2007. Incredibly, there’s a gap of only two days between the Asia Cup and the World T20.

As per the ICC schedule put out on its website, Bangladesh play the World T20’s first game on March 9.

If the Tigers snarl their way to the Asia Cup final to be played on Mar 6, Mashrafe Mortaza’s men might have no time to take off their pads for their opening World T20 game against Netherlands three days later.

Cricketers earlier had one week to take off their India jerseys and put on their club clothing, with IPL 9 scheduled to start from April 9. Now, with the Lodha Committee recommending a 15-day gap before the IPL, a schedule change may take place.

Get set for non-stop T20 for next 4 months

blockbuster show, World T20, takes over. From Mar 8 to Apr 3, 16 countries will lock horns for the trophy that Dhoni’s India claimed

be a sport for all Australians and reflective of today’s Australia.”

Members of Indian Link’s commentary team have been drawn from Australia’s Indian community, having won the chance to commentate alongside its established broadcast team through a recent online competition.

“It will be an honour to call the T20 matches in Hindi,” Pawan Luthra, CEO of Indian Link, said.

“It will enhance the enjoyment of the game for our listeners, many of whom have recently arrived in the country. For us, it becomes another treasured service that complements the programming across our channels that we hope will become tradition.”

The Hindi broadcast is part of a wider partnership between Cricket Australia and Indian Link that has been formed to further connect Australia’s Indian community with cricket.

Love white balls with pronounced seam for ODIs says Ravi Shastri

The imbalance between bat and ball witnessed during the recentlyconcluded India-Australia ODI series has prompted India’s Team Director Ravi Shastri to ask for white kookaburra balls with broader seam to help the bowlers a bit more.

An unprecedented 3159 runs were scored in the five-match series with 11

centuries hit by batsmen from either sides.

Questioned on what can be done to have more balance between bat and ball, Shastri said: “The best way would be if there was more happening with the ball. Maybe we need balls (white kookaburra) with bigger seams, as they would help swing and get some turn as well.”

for his performances and he is now 64 points behind Kohli, who trails No. 1 ranked A.B. de Villiers of

Smith have improved their rankings, while David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and John Hastings have

South Africa by 75 points.

Meanwhile, India, after winning the Sydney ODI, has retained its second position. Australia’s dominant performance in the series is reflected in the fact that Glenn Maxwell and Steve

achieved a career-high ranking. Outside the top 20, Ajinkya Rahane has moved up three places to 25th after contributing 141 runs, and Marsh has rocketed 21 places to 43rd after scoring 164 runs.

Rohit Sharma jumps to career-best fifth spot

India’s Rohit Sharma jumped eight spots to claim a career-best fifth position in the ICC batsman rankings after a stellar showing in the recent series against top-ranked Australia. Man-of-the-Series Rohit, who made 441 runs in the five matches, struck two centuries and a match-winning 99 in the consolation win for the visitors, who lost the series 14. Rohit, who played in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka, has now become India’s second highest-ranked batsman behind Virat Kohli (second), with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni slipping seven places to 13th position in the latest rankings, which were released on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Mumbai batsman earned 59 points

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26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

Twitter CEO Dorsey’s ‘bold rethinking’ Diver exploring Europe’s deepest triggers executive exodus resurgence dies Four senior Twitter executives are leaving the media company, which is also adding a new chief marketing officer and two board members, a source said on Sunday, outlining the biggest leadership changes since Jack Dorsey returned as chief executive, calling for “bold rethinking”.

Media head Katie Jacobs Stanton, product head Kevin Weil, and the head of the engineering division, Alex Roetter, will all leave the company, the source familiar with the matter said.

Business development leader Jana Messerschmidt may also depart.

On Sunday night Jason Toff, who heads Twitter’s video streaming service, Vine, tweeted that he was leaving Twitter to join Google to work on virtual reality.

Some of the executives

are departing under pressure and others decided on their own to leave the company, the person said. Twitter has been struggling to muster growth to please Wall Street.

Twitter plans to announce executive changes, including the recruitment of a new chief marketing officer on Monday, according to the source. The company will announce the two new board members soon, the person said. The company declined to comment on Sunday.

Weil, Stanton and Roetter are among the highest-level departures in recent months, but several executives have left Twitter since co-founder Dorsey stepped in as interim CEO in July. He has since been

named Twitter CEO. In an earnings conference call in October, Dorsey spoke about “hiring and investing in talent” and the need for “bold rethinking.”

Dorsey, who is also CEO of financial services technology company Square, has yet to lay out a detailed plan of what he wants Twitter to do differ-

ently. Dorsey plans a retreat with Twitter executives this week, the source said.

Weil has been at Twitter since 2009, although he has only served as its product head for about a year. He has often served as a face of the company, speaking at conferences and hinting at new developments on the site, such as a character count that would exceed the current 140-character limit.

Twitter has shuffled through three product heads since 2014, and Dorsey has played an increasingly large role in product development.

Stanton joined the company in 2010 and was tasked with growing its audience outside the United States. She previously worked at Google Inc and Yahoo Inc as well as the White House and State Department.

A diver exploring an area of southern France made famous by legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau died of cardiac arrest on Saturday, emergency services said.

The Font Estramar resurgence in the PyreneesOrientales department is the deepest of its kind in Europe according to Euro Speleo magazine and was explored by Cousteau, a marine explorer whose documentary ‘World Without Sun’ won an Oscar, in 1951.

‘The man, aged 50, had

been unwell from 35 metres (115 feet) underwater and his colleague quickly sounded the alarm,’ a fire service spokesman told AFP. ‘Despite all the efforts (of firefighters) to revive him, the man died.’

The Font Estramar resurgence has been the site of many accidents, with the fire service spokesman estimating that one person died there ‘every two years’. It is one of the five deepest resurgences in the world, with a depth of 190 metres.

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Health Weekend binges as bad as regular junk food If you are strict with your diet during the week and eat junk over the weekend, then maybe you are undoing all the good work done during the week.

Yo-yoing between eating well during the week and bingeing on junk food over the weekend is likely to be just as bad for your gut health as a consistent diet of junk, a new study warned.

The human gut consists of up to 100 trillion microbial cells that influence metabolism, nutrition and im-

mune function. Disruption to the gut microbiota has been linked with gastrointestinal conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and obesity.

“The study was the first to compare how continuous or intermittent exposure to an unhealthy diet can impact the composition of the gut microbiota,” said lead author Margaret Morris from the University of New South Wales in Australia in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.

“The findings indicate that intermittent exposure to junk food three days a week is sufficient to extensively shift the gut microbiota towards the pattern seen in obese rats consuming the diet continuously,” Morris added.

“A reduction in the diversity of the gut’s microbiota and a loss of some of the beneficial biota is clearly not a good thing for health,” Morris stated.

The study examined the impact of yo-yo dieting on the gut microbiota of rats.

Want a flat tummy? Eat avocados Packed with disease-fighting antioxidants, avocados are one of the best flabfighting fats. Avocado is actually a ‘superfood’ considering its immense health benefits.

tummy as it is high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found to help incredibly in losing weight.

It is also packed with mono saturated fats, which

Avocado is one of the best foods to eat, particularly if you are trying to lose weight and flatten your

are essential for burning body calories.

One of the best contributions made by avocado in

your weight loss regimen is that it gives you the feeling of fullness after having it due to oleic acid content in it. Oleic acid is a fatty acid found naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is also responsible for activating the part of your brain that makes you feel full.

Other health benefits of avocados include – the nutrients in avodacos help prevent certain diseases such as heart disease, breast cancer, oral cancer, prostate cancer.

Avocados are also loaded with powerful anitoxidants (Lutein and Zeaxanthin) which are important for eye health.

Preterm labour: risk factors and ways to avoid it!

Being pregnant for the first time can be hard as you’ll need to learn a lot things as well as take precau-

every pregnant woman during pregnancy is ‘preterm labour’.

Preterm labour or prema-

tions each passing day – from day one until you are ready for delivery.

One thing that concerns

ture labour occurs when you start getting ready to give birth too early before you reach 37 weeks of

pregnancy.

Risk factors To avoid such unfortunate situation, it’s important to know the factors that increase your risk.

Some of the common factors include: • Not getting good prenatal care • High blood pressure, diabetes, preeclampsia or infections • Carrying twins or multiple fetuses • Being overweight or underweight • Smoking • Consuming alcohol • Maternal stress

The research team compared the abundance of microbiota in rats given continuous access to either a healthy diet or junk food with a group cycled between the two diets, healthy for four days and junk for three, over 16

weeks.

The study revealed that rats on the cycled diet were 18 percent heavier than those on the healthy diet, while leptin and insulin levels in cycled rats were in between rats fed junk or healthy food.

The microbiota of cycled rats was almost indistinguishable from rats fed a constant diet of junk, with both groups’ microbiota significantly different from those in the rats fed a healthy diet, the researchers found.

Vaccines for adults What you need to know

Vaccines are not just for kids, grown-ups too need them to keep themselves healthy and safe from various infectious diseases. In this fast-paced life, it’s easy to lose track of which vaccinations you’ve had or which you need, but it would be a great relief to get them now than wait until you stumble on to some infections.

As we age, our immunity also goes down. To maintain proper immunity, many vaccines received during childhood need to be repeated apart from a new set of immunizations.

Here are some essential

vaccines that adults need to take: Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Td/Tdap)– once in 10 years.

Typhoid- once in 3 years either orally or through an injection.

Pneumococcal- given to adults 65 and older and adults with certain medical conditions. A one-time booster is given five years later.

Influenza (flu)- yearly vaccination given to adults 50 and older. This is also recommended for younger adults who want to decrease their risk for infection.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)- three-dose series given to females age 12-26 who haven’t already received the vaccination.

Hepatitis A- two-dose series administered to adults with chronic liver disease, people who are exposed to blood, blood contaminated body fluid or IV drug users and healthcare workers.

Hepatitis B- three-dose series given to adults with chronic liver disease, people working in high-risk environments like STD clinics or drug rehab centers, and sexually active adults who are not in a monogamous relationship.

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5 things to avoid after a full meal!

Often one feels lazy and sleepy after a heavy meal.

Hence, people indulge in activities such as smoking or having a cup of tea in order to help them digest their food as well as to avoid that drowsy feeling that sneaks in after a meal.

However, such habits are not good for health.

Here are some things one should avoid after having a full meal:

No sleeping One should not sleep after a full meal. If we go off to sleep immediately after a meal, we still feel full even when we got up . Reason is that the meal has not been digested.

No smoking Smoking immediately after a meal is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes.

One should not smoke as smoking is harmful to our

body.

No bathing One should not take bath after a meal as it delays the digestion process. The blood around the stomach flows to other parts of the body during shower instead of helping with digestion.

No fruits It is often said that one should eat fruits first as they are easy to digest.

Having low back pain?

Know common causes!

Almost everyone has lower back pain at some point in their lives. Having low back pain can be intense and can make you impossible to perform your tasks.

While the exact cause of the pain is not clear, a back

dent can lead to lower back pain.

Here are some of the factors that can possible cause low back pain: Strains– Heavy lifting may strain back muscles and spinal ligaments, simulta-

muscle strain or ligament strain can cause acute lower back pain. Sometimes, trauma such as a fall or a automobile acci-

neously making your low back pain.

Poor sitting postures is one of the culprits for low back pain. Poor posture

On course to developing an anti-dengue cure

can put unnecessary pressure on your discs and cause low back pain.

Frequent forward bending can be another mistake as it can increase pressure on your spine. People whose jobs require extreme amounts of time to sit on to complete the tasks should learn to bend properly to help decrease the pressure on the spine.

Degenerative conditions such as spinal stenosis, arthritis can cause lower back pain. Other conditions like spondylitis, spondylosis, kidney and bladder problems, pregnancy, cancer can result in lower back pain.

To keep your back healthy or prevent back pain, you should learn to improve your physical condition while practicing a proper body mechanics. Besides that, it is important to know the factors that can trigger the pain.

Fruits should be eaten an hour before a meal or two hours after a meal. Fruits will not be digested properly if you eat them directly after a meal.

No tea One should not drink tea right after meal as tea leaves are acidic and will affect the digestion process. Drinking tea imme-

diately after a meal will also interfere with iron absorption by the body.

Avoid drinking tea one hour before and after meals.

How heart grows and adapts to high blood pressure A new study has identified how two proteins control the growth of the heart and its adaptation to high blood pressure (hypertension).

Lead investigator Dr. Guadalupe Sabio of the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) explained that the results not only increase the understanding of the mechanisms used by cardiac cells to grow and adapt, but could also help in the design of new strategies to treat heart failure caused by excessive growth of the heart.

The study shows for the first time that two proteins, p38 gamma and p38 delta, control heart growth.

The heart adapts to the changing needs of each stage of life by adjusting its size. In this way the heart grows in line with the rest of our body, including during pregnancy, in a pro-

cess called cardiac hypertrohpy. However, excessive physical exercise, hypertension, and obesity can trigger excessive heart growth (pathological hyper-

responsible for pumping oxygenated blood to the body. They showed that the hearts of mice lacking these proteins are smaller than normal. These hearts,

trophy), a situation that can lead to a heart attack. Understanding the molecular processes that regulate heart function and growth is therefore of immense importance.

The team found that p38 gamma and p38 delta regulate the growth of the left ventricle, the largest and strongest heart chamber,

although they function normally, are incapable of responding to external stimuli, such as high blood pressure.

Sabio noted that this new information could help in the design of new strategies to combat heart conditions caused by anomalous growth of heart muscle.

Top six ways to reduce stress at work!

We have been working on dengue for a few years now and have been able to develop a very successful dengue diagnostic kit using recombinant DNA technology. This kit, which had been developed in 2009, provides the most common diagnostic test for dengue now and is much more accurate and cheap than the imported alternatives that were available in the Indian market earlier. It is the only kit that detects dengue on the very first day of the viral fever. It can also be used to detect whether a mosquito is carrying the dengue virus or not and therefore can be used for mosquito surveillance in a given area.

Our success with the di-

agnostic kit, which was the result of a very useful research partnership between laboratory, industry and a government agency like the Department of Biotechnology, has encouraged us to take our fight with dengue to the next level. Dengue is caused by four viruses. As of now, no diagnostic test, including our own kit, is able to establish which of the four viruses is the reason for dengue in any particular individual. In terms of the impacts of the disease on the person, it does not matter.

Each of the four viruses produces similar effects on the patient. But we have often found more than one virus co-circulating in a patient.

‘Stress at work’ is one common thing that most of us have felt it – whether it’s the pressure to do more, new task or new responsibility that has been given to you.No matter how stressful we are, we should never let that feeling of disturbances take hold of us. Instead we need to find ways on how to reduce stress so that the work place can be more efficient and fun.

Here are some ways to manage stress at work: Time management– A good time management skill will help you get things accomplished in time. This will also help you stay

organised as well as plan accordingly.

Speak out– Don’t always say ‘Yes’ to your boss.

This is another important point to create a healthy working environment at work. Employees need to

Learn to say no if you think you are extremely busy and overloaded with projects. By taking on too much can make you end up doing nothing good.

Specify responsibility–

be clear about their work roles and responsibilities.

Also, encourage one another and make sure that every individual takes responsibility for their job contribution to the suc-

cess of the organisation.

Learn how to relax– Whenever you feel too tired and exhausted, try doing meditation, deep breathing exercises as these can help melt away stress.

Take a walk– Even a 5 to 10 minutes break will help you to relax from that stressful mind.

Stand up from your sit and get some fresh air.

Not demanding too much– Knowing that the human body can’t take much in a day, therefore, workload has to be in line with employees’ capabilities. Because putting too much pressure on the workers can impact their productivity.

Issue 651 (39)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016

CILANTRO MOJO

TATER TOTS

Ingredients: 1 tsp. coriander seeds 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds 1 green cardamom pods 1/2 cup minced cilantro 2 cloves garlic 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt, to taste Instructions: Put coriander, cumin, and cardamom in an 8" skillet over medium heat and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until seeds are toasted, about 5 minutes.

Finely grind seeds in a spice grinder and transfer to a medium bowl along with cilantro, garlic, and jalapeños.

Using a fork, whisk in olive oil and season sauce with salt; cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Ingredients: 2 qt. duck fat, clarified butter, canola oil, or a mixture 2 lb. Idaho Potatoes, peeled and grated 2 tbsp. finely chopped thyme Kosher salt, to taste Instructions: Line an 8” x 8” square baking dish with parchment paper and set aside. Fill a 6-qt. Dutch oven with fat; add potatoes and cook until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 220°, and potatoes are translucent and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Strain, saving fat; season potatoes with thyme and salt. Press potatoes into prepared sheet tray and refrigerate overnight.

Heat reserved fat in a 6-qt. Dutch oven until a deep-fry thermometer reads 360°. Slice potatoes into 2 1/2" x 1" rectangles; working in batches, fry po-

PESTO POTATO SALAD

COCONUT HORCHATA

Ingredients: 2 lb. multi-color new potatoes 5 tbsp. olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish 1/4 cup basil leaves 1/4 cup parsley leaves 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish 2 tbsp. parmesan cheese 1 clove garlic 1 lemon, zest and juice 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas, thawed and blanched Instructions: Heat oven to 400°. Toss potatoes with 3 tbsp. oil, salt, and pepper; transfer to a baking sheet and roast until tender, 30-35 minutes. Meanwhile, place

remaining oil, the herbs, hazelnuts, parmesan, garlic, zest and juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth. Toss potatoes with pesto, mint leaves, hazelnuts, and peas.

TIM TAM PAVLOVA Ingredients: 6 egg whites 1 2/3 cups sugar 1 tbsp. cocoa powder 2 tsp. corn starch 1 1/4 tsp. white vinegar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 (7 oz.) packet Tim Tam Original, lightly crushed Whipped cream, for serving Instructions: Preheat oven to 300°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Using an electric hand mixer, beat whites while slowly adding sugar until stiff peaks form. Add cocoa powder, cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla and beat until glossy and thick. Gently fold in all but 1/2 cup Tim Tams.

Spread onto prepared baking sheet

tatoes until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to a wire rack; season with salt and serve immediately.

Ingredients: 2 cups boiling water 2 cups long-grain white rice 1 stick cinnamon, crushed, plus sticks for garnish 2 cups unsweetened coconut water Cheesecloth, for straining 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk 2/3 cup sugar 1 pinch kosher salt Instructions: Stir water, rice, and cinnamon in a bowl; cover and let sit at room temperature overnight. The next day, transfer rice mixture to a blender. Add coconut water; purée until smooth, 3–4 minutes.

Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a pitcher; cover and chill until ready to serve. Heat coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a 2-qt. saucepan over low; cook until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. in ice-filled glasses; grate fresh cinnamon Let milk cool; stir into rice mixture. Serve over top and drop sticks into glasses.

PORK AND DUCK SAUSAGE

into a 10" x 8" rectangle, about 3" thick; reduce oven temperature to 250° and bake for 2 hours, or until cooked through. Turn off oven and let cool in oven with door ajar.

Serve with whipped cream over the top and remaining Tim Tams sprinkled over.

Ingredients: 1 tbsp. whole black peppercorns 1 tsp. caraway seeds 1 tsp. whole allspice berries 1/2 tsp. juniper berries 4 whole cloves 2 bay leaves, torn into pieces 2 lb. pork belly, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 3/4 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces 6 oz. duck liver, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1/2 cup white wine 2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. fine sea salt 1 (9-oz.) duck leg, bone removed, cut into 1-inch pieces 8 3/4 oz. skinless duck breast, cut into 1/3-inch pieces Hog casings, for stuffing

Instructions: Pulse peppercorns, caraway seeds, allspice, juniper berries, cloves, and bay leaves in a spice grinder until coarse.

Combine spices, the pork belly, 1/3 of the pork shoulder, the duck liver, wine, salt, and duck leg in a bowl; transfer remaining pork shoulder and the duck breast to separate bowls. Cover bowls and chill until very cold, 3 hours. Pass meat mixture through a grinder set to large dice; pass remaining pork shoulder through a grinder set to fine dice. Mix ground meat mixtures and the duck breast. Stuff sausage mixture into casings.

Issue 651 (40)

26 Jan. - 1 Feb. 2016