Kareena Kapoor Khan has been one of the most popular actors in Bollywood for over a decade now. She says that, even today, she is as passionate about her work as she was when she was a newcomer, because cinema is her greatest passion. She made her debut at the age of 20 (with Refugee, 2000), and till date has starred in around 50 films. Yet, she shows no signs of slowing down.
“I want to act all my life. It’s something that I do and love. I just want to try out different things. I’m glad that I am in a position to choose. I’m happy because my journey in the industry has been amazing so far. I enjoy what I do and I’m very passionate about it. Even 25 years down the line, I want to give an interview and say that there’s still something that I haven’t done; that there’s that one movie I can still do,” says Kareena.
“A hue and cry is raised on the disparity between the pay cheques of male and female stars in Bollywood, and so many figures go around. But I’ve never had an issue. I’m not complaining about the fact that I’m not paid well. I don’t know what others get, but I know what I get paid, and the fact is, I’m very happy with that,” she adds.
Deepika Padukone has now taken a step further to help people battle depression and has raised the importance of spreading awareness about mental health at the launch of her NGO here.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday launched Deepika’s NGO “Live Love Laugh”, which will deal with the issue of mental health.
Famous and Top Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone had faced depression in the past. She had decided during the drepression that he will form the foundation to help the people get out of depression.
She thinks that depression is a major health issue in the country today which needs to be addressed.
“We need to stigmatize mental illness and spread awareness about mental health. I know in the current scenario we lead stressful lives but you have to keep reminding yourself that it is important to live, love and laugh. After all that is what life is all about,” Deepika said during the launch.
“Most importantly for people like me who have had an experience with anxiety and depression, I think it is important to know that there is hope,” she added.
Deepika also talked about her depression and how her parents and loved ones helped her.
Talking about the depression of her elder daughter, Deepika’s mother Ujjala Padukone said: “I detected the symptoms in Deepika and I thought it may be due to some boyfriend issue. But then I knew the depression is due to mental and physical stress and we realized that we should take help from a psychiatrist”.
Deepika’s father Prakash Padukone added: “I was worried about the health of my daughter and we wanted her to be fine”.
The Piku star agreed that depression has changed her.
“A lot of experiences we go through in life makes you learn something and it makes you into a better person,” she said.
Biopics are definitely ruling Bollywood trends these days. After releasing his biopic on painter Raja Ravi Varma (Rang Rasiya), Ketan Mehta has now announced a film on renowned ghazal and thumri singer Begum Akhtar, Ae Mohabbat. While Irrfan Khan has been roped in for the film, the female lead is yet to be finalised. Kangana Ranaut is one of the top contenders for the role. Shri Anup Jalota Productions and Ae Mohabbat Productions on Tuesday announced the film on the life and times of Begum Akhtar, also the recipient of Padmabhushan and an icon of Indian classical music. Directed by noted filmmaker Ketan Mehta, the film will have actor Irrfan Khan in the main lead with Oscar winner AR Rahman giving the music of the film.
Although the female lead if yet to be finalised but Kangana might end up doing the project.“We are trying to get Kangana Ranaut to play one of the stages of Begum Akhatar in the film. We have grown up listening to and idolising Begum Akhtar. I have been wanting to initiate such project and a tie up with Ae Mohabbat Productions and associating with Rita Ganguly who knew her personally, is a real blessing,” he added.
STORY: While the Ares 3 crew led by Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) is out collecting samples from the Martian surface, a sudden windstorm wreaks havoc, sweeping astronaut/ botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) away. This causes his mates to leave him behind on the desolate planet and begin their journey back to Earth, assuming he must have been killed by falling debris. Turns out, Watney is injured and stranded alone on the red planet, struggling to survive with limited resources at his disposal. He strangely hopes that he may live till NASA initiates their next mission to Mars, years later.
MOVIE REVIEW: Back on earth, NASA too reports about Watney’s death and declares that the mission was aborted. Shocked to know later that he’s alive, they contemplate a rescue plan but as Watney puts it, ‘Space does not cooperate’. Does he make it?
The Martian is an extraordinary tale of Watney’s extreme optimism, courage, determination and most importantly, ingenuity. Of course there are creative liberties but based on Andy Weir’s novel, the film is a fictional tale that’s fascinating and plausible. From Watney trying to grow potatoes and make water on Martian soil to fixing his blown up HAB (Habitation Module) by a plastic tarp and duct tape, or wandering around the Martian surface and establishing contact with folks back home — a brilliantly witty Matt Damon drags you along with him, to his hostile world of loneliness and uncertainty. His one-liners and crackling self talk saves the film from turning sluggish and generic in portions.
The cinematography, 3D and special effects are equally commendable. Mars’ mountainous terrain in various hues of orange looks absolutely stunning.
While The Martian is not an edge-of-the-seat thriller like Gravity, it is gripping nonetheless and strikes an enjoyable balance between entertainment and science. Scott’s understated drama inspires you to solve your problems instead of mulling over them.
In Watney’s iconic style, it’s about ‘scienceing the sh** out of” your nightmares. His unflinching determination and persistence to survive is a story you don’t want to miss. Go for it.
Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon will be be honoured by The American Cinematheque with its annual award, on October 30 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.
Witherspoon, 39, was most recently Oscar-nominated for lead actress in 201’s Wild, which was produced by her Pacific Standard production company.
“Reese Witherspoon’s career is a perfect example of an actress flourishing in today’s world. She achieved commercial success early in comedies like ‘Election’, ‘Legally Blonde’ and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and then added major critical success to her resume with movies such as ‘Walk the Line’ for which she received the Academy award for best actress,” said Rick Nicita, American Cinematheque chairman.
“She has refused to be limited to only certain types of roles and has continued to impress with her varied choices, ranging from smaller roles in dramas such as ‘Mud’ to a tour-de-force, Oscar-nominated performance last year in ‘Wild’. She is an active and successful movie producer who is moving her career forward both behind and in front of the camera. The most appropriate role for Reese Witherspoon today is role model.”
The annual gala is a major fundraiser for the American Cinematheque and honours actors in mid-career who are making significant contributions to the film biz. Matthew McConaughey was last year s honoree, reported Variety.
Jennifer Aniston has starred in a fun newly-released commercial of international carrier Emirates Airline that shows her wearing only a white bathrobe.
While Aniston, 46, knows all about the jet-set lifestyle in real life, the “Friends” alum gets a glimpse or nightmare of what it’s like to be stuck in coach, reported People magazine.
“Hi, I’m looking for the shower?” she tells the flight crew, who could only offer a bag of peanuts and hot towel.
“Emirates planes have showers and they have bars,” Aniston retorts with a loofah back scrubber brush and toiletry bag in hand.
But it was only a case of night terrors. The star wakes up in her reclining bed-like seat with her iPad propped by her side.
Aniston reportedly signed a USD 5 million contract with Emirates in August, and will appear in TV and print ads.
STORY: Teenager Shruti Tandon and domestic help Khempal are murdered – but who did it? And while the truth unravels, what else gets slashed?
MOVIE REVIEW: Straight away, Talvar is super-sharp, a sword swipe at Bollywood’s song-and-dance, mehendi-fuelled escapism. Inspired by 2008’s Aarushi Talwar double murder case, for which Aarushi’s parents are serving a life-term, Talvar takes reality head on -and turns it on its head.
In neatly separated segments, Talvar presents contrasting views on who killed Shruti Tandon and Khempal. Was it Shruti’s outraged parents? Khempal’s outrageous friends? Or did botched investigations butcher Shruti and Khempal, even after they were slain?
Talvar gets your mind ticking along the murders’ mysteries while it moves your heart at two lives – and one truth – lost.
The acting is superb. Irrfan absolutely smashes it as Central Department of Investigation (CDI) officer Ashwin Kumar, whose sharp intelligence, dark humour and melting tenderness towards his wife Reema (luminous Tabu) light up every frame. Irrfan displays whiplash-like control, casually drawling to a dim-witted cop, “Agli baar koi khoon bhara haath chor jaye, toh dhyan dijiyega…” As bumbling Inspector Dhaniram, whose laziness extends to overlooking a rotting corpse, Gajraj Rao presents a perfect paan-chewing foil, dismissing a blood-stained sheet with, “Tumhari chadar hai, locker mein daal do, hamein kya?”
While the screen crackles between Irrfan and Gajraj, Konkona and Neeraj play the Tandons as a muted pair -whose acting changes subtly as murderers, then victims. Neeraj’s eyes speak while with flashing malevolence, Konkona hisses to her husband, “Chalo, rona shuru karna hai!” The acting’s further enlivened by creepy Kanhaiya (Sumit Gulati), whose slyness adds shades of grey to this hair-raising tale.
With layers of truth and lies, TV reporters shrieking, “Yahi hai woh ghar!”, hazy narco-tests and back-stabbing office politics, Talvar’s frames are relentless, edgy portraits. Pankaj Kumar captures dusty suburbia and the tension of a tight little flat, intercut with heart-rending shots – the cheery sparklers of a Delhi baraat -that emphasise the grimness of the Tandons’ lives. Taut editing (Sreekar Prasad) is excellent while Vishal Bhardwaj’s writing haunts, cluttered with facts, buzzing with theories – yet, strangely stark.
Talvar’s compared to Rashomon but while that wandered through forests of fantasy, Talvar boldly tackles reality. It offers totally different takes on two murders. But it is unambiguous about a third – fairness, slashed to pieces by incompetence and callous crassness.
In wiping away stains from the sword of justice, Talvar shines.
MUNICH (TIP): German automaker Audi AG sold 170,900 cars in September, a year-on-year increase of 6.8 percent, marking the company’s best September sales figures ever, the firm said.
A total of around 1,347,950 Audi cars have so far been delivered to customers since the start of the year, representing an increase of 3.8 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Ingolstadt-based company.
“In light of the difficult market situation in important regions, we view our sales performance in the third quarter positively,” Xinhua quoted said Luca de Meo, member of the board of management for sales and marketing, as saying.
He added that Audi intends to launch another 15 new or updated models on the global markets by the middle of next year, which will further boost sales.
MUMBAI (TIP): Axis Bank has become the first lender to offer corporates a mobile-based solution that fully integrates with the company’s own back-end computer networks. This offering, aimed at beefing up the bank’s transaction banking platform, frees senior executives from the office and allows them to undertake authorizations on the go.
The application would allow a treasury head to move money into liquid mutual fund schemes instantly without losing a day. It can allow authorized personnel to approve transactions even when they are travelling. Speaking to ToI, V Srinivasan, executive director in charge of corporate banking said “We have been very strong in the transaction banking space and we are trying to make sure that we stay ahead of the pack and gain market share”. He added that the bank ranked number three in current account balances despite being only the eighth largest in overall balance sheet. The comprehensive suite of mobile and tablet based solutions for corporates encompasses the entire gamut of transaction banking products and services.
According to Srinivasan while banks have been offering mobile banking for corporates this is the first time that there is a solution which integrates with the corporates Enterprise Resource Planning software.
He said that with the increase in the number of payment platforms including NEFT (national electronic funds transfer) and IMPS (Immediate Payment System) corporates now needed to take decision almost immediately to use their funds more efficiently. For instance if money comes into the corporate’s account at 1pm the treasury head can move it instantly into a liquid scheme and benefit from the returns for one additional day.
WASHINGTON (TIP): Volkswagen’s US chief revealed he knew more than a year ago that the group’s cars possibly breached pollution rules, as he prepared to apologize Thursday before Congress over the massive scandal.
In testimony released ahead of his hearing before a Congressional committee, Michael Horn offered a “sincere apology” over Volkswagen’s use of a software designed to cheat pollution tests.
The German auto giant has sunk into the deepest crisis of its history after revealing that it equipped 11 million of its vehicles worldwide with software that switches the engine to
a low-emissions mode during tests.
The so-called defeat devices then turn off pollution controls when the vehicle is on the road, allowing it to spew out harmful levels of toxic gases.
The shocking revelations have wiped more than 40 percent off Volkswagen’s market capitalization, but the direct and indirect costs are still incalculable as the company risks fines in several countries and possible damages from customers’ lawsuits.
Horn said he learnt in early 2014 of “a possible emissions non-compliance”, after researchers at the University of West Virginia found that VW cars it tested were releasing up to 40 times as much nitrogen oxide as was legally permissible.
He said he was told by his staff then that US authorities could conduct tests for so-called “defeat devices”, which switches the car to a low emissions mode when cars are undergoing tests.
The US boss for Volkswagen said he was informed later that year that technical teams had a plan to bring the vehicles into compliance, and that they were working with the authorities on the process.
Volkswagen finally admitted to US regulators in September this year that hidden software installed in certain diesel vehicles “could recognize whether a vehicle was being operated in a test laboratory or on the road,” Horn said.
Admitting that the company had “broken the trust of our customers, dealerships, and employees, as well as the public and regulators,” Horn vowed to hold those responsible accountable.
Separately, VW Korea President Thomas Kuehl was also due to be grilled in the South Korean parliament Thursday afternoon, according to state broadcaster KBS.
“I sincerely apologize over betraying customers’ trust”, Volkswagen Korea President Thomas Kuehl said in a newspaper advertisement in South Korea.
At home in Germany, Volkswagen’s new chief Matthias Mueller has said four employees have been suspended over the deception, adding however that he did not believe that top management could have been aware of the scam.
Mueller said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that “four people, including three responsible directors on different levels of the development of Volkswagen engines,” had been suspended over the deception, adding that “others were already on partial retirement”.
He said however that the development of an engine is “a complex process” but that these were tasks in which “a director is not directly involved”.
“Do you really think that a boss would have the time to be concerned about the details of engine software?” he said.
Claims emerged in media reports Thursday that the group had not only deliberately fitted the cars sold on the US market with the defeat devices, but had also intentionally sought to cheat tests in Europe by doing so with vehicles sold on the continent.
“In Europe too, Volkswagen effectively cheated on emissions in a systematic manner,” newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung claimed, citing its own research in collaboration with public broadcasters NDR and WDR.
It added that “without the cheating software, the affected cars would not have been authorised under the Euro 5 emissions regulation”.
The car group, which submitted its plans and timetable to bring vehicles to compliance to German authorities Wednesday, is planning to begin recalling affected vehicles from January.
But it admitted that it would only be able to complete the refitting by the end of next year.
The group has set aside 6.5 billion euros in the third quarter over the affair, but that was only the estimated sum to cover repairs of affected vehicles. The cost of fines and potential damages arising from lawsuits is hard to calculate.
In the United States alone, Volkswagen faces up to $18 billion in fines from the Environmental Protection Agency, plus potential payouts from class action lawsuits and penalties from other regulators.
Asked about the looming fines, Mueller said, however: “Think about this: no one died from this, our cars were and are safe.”
Breast cancer can be avoided if you follow a healthy lifestyle, which includes exercising regularly, proper diet, avoiding junk food and other unhealthy vices. We chalk out nine everyday habits that will help you avoid breast cancer completely.
Keep a tab on your weight
Women are more inclined to get breast cancer after they hit menopause. Generally, at this time in their lives, they tend to ignore themselves completely and as a result, put on a lot of weight. So if you want to avoid getting breast cancer, maintain a healthy weight in your late 40s (preferably a body-mass index under 25).
Add greens and fruits to your diet
While junk food certainly seems appetising, your bad calorie count increases. So ditch the fast food and focus on healthy food. Include more raw veggies and fruits in your diet to boost antioxidants and keep disease away.
Wear the right bra size
An ill-fitting garment is not only unattractive but also risky. Wear the right bra, which allows your skin to breathe.
Self-examination
You know your body like nobody else, so always check for any swellings, dimples on your breast. Women should examine their breasts regularly.
You can be susceptible to breast cancer if your family has a history of breast cancer. So check your families medical history, 10 per cent of all breast cancers in the world are genetically transferred.
Ditch the alcohol
Alcohol use is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Women should limit their intake to not more than one drink per day. It is often the unrestrained copious amount that causes trouble regardless of the type of alcohol.
Kick that butt
Smoking is associated with more than one type of cancer; cancer risk posed by smoking is real for both women and men.
Breast-feed your child
Women who breast-feed their babies for at least a year in total have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer later on in life. Breast-feeding, temporarily reduces a woman’s estrogen levels.
A regular check-up after the age of 30 is important; it’s pertinent that you know what your body is going through and how well you can take care of it. Regular mammography and sonography should be a part of your check-up routine
NEW DELHI (TIP): In exactly a month’s time it will become clear who will rule Bihar for the next five years. The five-phase voting in the state starts from October 12 and ends on November 5 followed by counting on 8.
While much is at stake for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which won a massive mandate in Lok Sabha election, to prove its mettle in the state Assembly polls, it is a do or die battle for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United.
To take on the BJP, the JDU, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress are jointly contesting the polls as the ‘Mahagatbandhan’.
In the run up to the elections, here is the list of all opinion polls by different newspapers and channels that have been conducted for Bihar till now. While other have also given the seats, CSDS only came out with the vote share.
Every year, the prestigious Nobel Prize is given to honour those who have made outstanding contribution in the fields of science, literature and social service.
Between 1901 and 2014, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded 567 times.
The 2015 Nobel Prizes for Physiology or Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry were announced this week in Sweden. This year’s Nobel Prizes will be awarded on December 10th in a ceremony that will be held in Stockholm, Sweden.
In 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace – the Nobel Prizes. Since the start, in 1901 till 2014, the Nobel Prizes has been awarded 567 times and includes 864 Laureates and 25 organizations. 860 individuals and 22 unique organizations have received the Nobel Prize in total.
The 2015 Awards
Nobel Prize winners in Literature has been awarded to One Journalist
Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to two scientists
Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine has been awarded to three scientists
Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry has been awarded to three scientists
Nobel Peace Prize Is Awarded to National Dialogue Quartet in Tunisia
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences has not been awarded yet. It will be announced on Monday 12 October, 1:00 p.m. CET
Here is the list of the winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in the field of literature, physics, chemistry and medicine:
The Nobel Peace Prize 2015
A coalition of labor union leaders, businesspeople, lawyers and human rights activists won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for what the Nobel committee called “its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.”
Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet has awarded 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its role during the country’s transition to democracy in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011
The quartet comprises four organizations: the Tunisian General Labor Union; the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts; the Tunisian Human Rights League; and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers. But the Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasized that the prize “is awarded to this quartet, not to the four individual organizations as such.”
From left, Mohamed Fadhel Mahfoudh, Wided Bouchamaoui, Abdessattar Moussa and Houcine Abbassi before a meeting with President Beji Caid Essebsi in Tunis in January. They lead the four groups that make up the National Dialogue Quartet.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2015
Svetlana Alexievich. Photo- Reuters
Svetlana Alexievich
Belarusian investigative journalist and prose writer Svetlana Alexievich has been awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time”.
Being the 14th woman to win the prize, member of the Swedish Academy Sara Danius has referred to Alexeivich’s work as a “monument to suffering and courage in our time”.
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2015
Arthur B. McDonald and Takaaki Kajita. Photo- Reuters
Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2015 was awarded jointly to Japanese physicist Takaaki Kajita and Canadian astrophysicist Arthur B. McDonald “for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows neutrinos have mass”.
On receiving the prestigious award, Kajita said that it was “unbelievable”, thanking the “neutrinos” for his success. He also said at a press conference in Tokyo: “And since neutrinos are created by cosmic rays, I want to thank them, too.”
Neutrinos are subatomic particles produced by the decay of radioactive elements, and earlier were believed to have no electric charge. Kajita, at the University of Tokyo, and McDonald, at the Queen’s University in Kingston, proved otherwise, showing that neutrinos indeed have mass.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015
Dr. Tomas Lindahl, Dr. Paul Modrich and Dr. Aziz Sancar were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015. Photo- Reuters
Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar
Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015 “for mechanistic studies of DNA repair”.
These three pioneers discovered how cells repair their DNA and protect it from assaults that the body and the environment put them through.
Dr. Lindahl from Sweden was honored for discovering ‘how cells generally fix DNA damage’, while Dr. Modrich, the James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry at Duke University, was recognized ‘for showing how cells correct mistakes in DNA replication during cell division’, and Turkish Biochemist Dr. Sancar ‘for mapping how cells repair DNA damage from ultraviolet light’.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015
This year, three scientists have won the Nobel prize in medicine for their discoveries concerning malaria and infections caused by roundworm parasites.
William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura. Photo- Reuters
William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura
Irish-born American biologist Dr. William C. Campbell and Japanese biochemist Satoshi Omura have jointly been awarded “for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites”
The two researchers have discovered avermectin, a treatment for roundworm parasites.
Tu Youyou
The other half of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015 has been given to Tu Youyou “for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria”.
The 84-year old Chinese pharmacologist has been recognized for her discovery of artemisinin, a drug that has the most rapid action against Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Indian-American yoga guru Bikram Choudhury is not entitled to copyright protection over yoga poses and breathing exercises he uses in hot rooms developed by him, a US appeals court has ruled.
In an order by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California yesterday, a bench of three judges ruled in favour of city-based Evolation Yoga, against whom Mr Choudhury had filed a lawsuit in 2011.
In the lawsuit, Mr Choudhury had claimed that Evolation founders, the husband-wife duo of Mark Drost and Zefea Samson had set up a “copy-cat yoga system that offers classes that utilise and infringe” on his copyrighted sequence of yoga postures.
The appeals court ruled that the sequence of yoga poses and breathing exercises developed by Choudhury was not entitled to copyright protection because “it was an idea, process, or system designed to improve health, rather than an expression of an idea”.
“Because the Sequence (of yoga postures) was an unprotectable idea, it was also ineligible for copyright protection as a compilation or choreographic work,” it said.
Mr Choudhury founded the ‘Bikram Yoga’ form of exercise, which is among the most renowned forms of the art, with participants performing yoga postures in rooms heated to 40.6 degrees Celsius.
The court noted that the Indian practice and philosophy of yoga date back thousands of years and “derived from ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Bhagavad Gita” and that the practice of yoga teaches students to attain spiritual fulfillment through control of the mind and body.
The judges said that the question of whether the sequence of 26 yoga poses and two breathing exercises developed by Mr Choudhury “implicates a fundamental principle underlying constitutional and statutory copyright protection – the idea/expression dichotomy.
“Because copyright protection is limited to the expression of ideas, and does not extend to the ideas themselves, the Bikram Yoga Sequence is not a proper subject of copyright protection,” they said, adding that by claiming copyright protection for the sequence of yoga postures, Mr Choudhury “misconstrues” the scope of copyright protection for compilations.
“Our day-to-day lives consist of many routinised physical movements, from brushing one’s teeth to pushing a lawnmower to shaking a Polaroid picture, that could be… characterised as forms of dance,” the judges said.
Two Indian-American teenagers — Rajan Vivek from Arizona and Prasanna Krishnamoorthy from Delaware featured in the prestigious 3-D Space Container Challenge held by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). The challenge asked young minds to make an innovative container that will make life of astronauts easier while they are in space. NASA has received number of innovative and revolutionary designs which will be used in upcoming Mars exploration project scheduled for 2017 and 2020.
However, both Rajan Vivek from Arizona and Prasanna Krishnamoorthy from Delaware figured among 10 finalists of NASA’s national 3-D Space Container Challenge, however, failed to win the prestigious competition which went to Ryan Beam of California.
Mr Beam’s ClipCatch design will allow astronauts on the space station to clip their fingernails without worrying about the clippings floating away and potentially becoming harmful debris.
Mr Rajan’s Hydroponic Plant Box container tackles the challenge of containing water in a microgravity environment while still allowing plants to grow roots in it.
Hydroponics, growing plants without soil, would be very effective in spacecrafts because it requires less space and plants grow faster and stronger, NASA said.
Mr Prasanna on the other hand developed a Collapsible Container.
In order to use the limited space on international Space Station, the Collapsible Container can expand and compress to perfectly fit its contents. When empty, it can compress fully for easy storage, NASA said.
“The simplest tasks on Earth can be quite challenging, and even dangerous, in space,” said Niki Werkheiser, NASA’s In-Space Manufacturing project manager.
“Being able to 3-D print technical parts, as well as the lifestyle items that we use every day will not only help enable deep space travel, but can make the trip more pleasant for astronauts,” he said.
NASA, in partnership with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Foundation, which managed the competition, announced the winners of the Future Engineers 3-D Space Container Challenge yesterday.
The winning designs focused on making life in space a little more comfortable for astronauts, NASA said. The 3-D Space Container Challenge asked students to design models of containers that could be used in space.
They could range from simple containers that could be used to hold collected rocks on Mars or an astronaut’s food, to advanced containers for experiments that study fruit flies.
Students across the US spent part of their summer using 3-D modelling software to design containers that could be 3-D printed, with the ultimate goal of advancing human space exploration on the International Space Station, Mars and beyond.
A Dubai-based Indian student will represent the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the World Education Games (WEG) – a contest in literacy, math and science, a media report said.
Maathangi Anirudh, 11, from the Millennium School, Dubai, is one of the very few ambassadors who have been chosen to represent UAE and the Middle East at WEG – a two-day gaming contest which will kick-off on October 13.
Maathangi will pit her skills against five million pupils from 200 other countries and regions this week in the World Education Games (Weg) – described as the largest online education competition. She is encouraging other children to participate in a global maths, literacy and science competition to help provide education to the less fortunate.
President of Arts and Culture of Dubai-based youth group Students for the Earth – involved in humanitarian and environmental activities, Maathangi supports the cause of “learning” and “education for all”, Emirates 24|7 News reported on Friday.
Earlier this year, she organised an old book collection drive and gifted 900 books to Dubai Public Library. She has also been recognised as the Expo 2020 Dubai Youth Ambassador.
WEG was established in 2007 and is an online game contest. It currently has nearly 6 million students participating worldwide.
It has started practice sessions on October 1 and will run until October 12. Students aged 4-18 are eligible to participate for free.
The first 20 games of the total 50 games will be marked.
The WEG supports Unicef’s initiative “School in a Box” where points earned by students will be given to the organisation in the form of school supplies.
The supplies will then be donated to needy schools and students in different parts of the world, the report said.
HOUSTON (TIP): One person was dead and another wounded after a shooting at a student housing complex at a Texas university Friday, October 9, police said.
University spokesman Kendrick Callis said the shooting was reported around 11:30 a.m. Friday at University Courtyard Apartments on the edge of the Texas Southern University campus. Callis said the campus was placed on lockdown and classes were canceled for the rest of the day. The lockdown was lifted Friday afternoon.
Texas Southern President John Rudley said the student who died was a freshman. His name has not been released.
“He was a beautiful young man trying to get his life together,” Rudley said. “I wish he was still here.”
Two suspects were later detained, but a third got away, according to Houston police spokesperson Jody Silva.
All of them are TSU students, Rudley said.
In a tweet, the Houston Police said, “One person fatally shot, one wounded at 3545 Blodgett, an apartment complex near TSU campus. A possible suspect is detained. PIO en route.”
BEIJING (TIP): China will recruit more civilian personnel for jobs in the PLA, the world’s largest standing army, and the Chinese People’s Armed Police. The spouses and offspring of military personnel who have fallen in the line of duty, and the spouses of those still in service will be eligible to apply to certain posts.
More positions will be made available for candidates with relevant work experience. It is hoped that the drive will improve recruitment in remote areas and unpopular positions, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The announcement follows a recent decision by the government to lay off 300,000 troops by 2017 to further slim down the 2.3 million-strong People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The recruitment information will be publicised on Friday. People can sign up for examinations on the military talent net website and the tests will be held on November 22. The general political department of the PLA has called for a transparent recruitment process.
TOKYO (TIP): Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude exporter, will supply full contracted volumes of crude oil to at least two Asian term buyers in November, unchanged from October, industry sources familiar with the matter said on October 9.
The move was expected as the OPEC kingpin has supplied full contractual volumes to most Asian buyers since late 2009.
An Indian-origin convenience store owner has been robbed at gunpoint by three unidentified hooded men in the US state of Virginia.
The three men wearing dark cloths entered the Du Drop store in Madison Heights on Tuesday. They pointed a gun at the owner, Sarla Patel, grabbed some cash and the fled the scene.
“Today, It’s happened to me tomorrow somebody else,” wset.com quoted Patel as saying.
Ms Patel has no visible injures but the emotional wounds of being held at gunpoint run deep.
“I didn’t sleep for two nights. Every time that scene come to in my mind,” said Ms Patel.
Investigators are still trying to identify three men who robbed a convenience store owner at gunpoint in Madison Heights. A surveillance camera at the Du Drop store captured the whole thing.
Ms Patel and her husband opened the Du Drop convenience store in Madison Heights 9 years ago.
“They just always used the bad language and just say ‘give me the money, give me the money’,” said Ms Patel.
The report, however, did not mention how much cash was lost.
If you know anything about this, Investigators urge you to call Crime Stoppers at 888-798-5900.
GUATEMALA CITY (TIP): Rescuers have recovered 221 bodies from the remains of a village near the Guatemalan capital that was buried under a landslide one week ago, an emergency official said Oct 8.
About 150 other people are still missing in Santa Catarina Pinula, where houses were buried last Thursday by a mountain of mud and debris following heavy rains.
Julio Sanchez, of the volunteer fire brigade, told AFP at the scene that rescue work would continue, aided by specially trained dogs.
But rescuers said it would be nothing short of a miracle if anyone were found alive at this point.
The public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the disaster.
Inside Mattel’s headquarters just south of Los Angeles International Air port, Christine Kim grabs a shield and fires a plastic disc from it across a conference room. “I’m going to be playing with all my boys, deflecting their bullets and then be like, `I’m going to shoot you,” says Kim, one of Mattel’s top toy designers. Kim has in her possession what Mattel sees as a groundbreaking idea, one that could help end the years of malaise that sunk its sales and stock price and sent the company’s last chief executive packing.
But even more important is that this may mean the toymaker has reconnected with its most important customer: little girls. For the shield is not Captain America’s -it belongs to Wonder Woman. And it’s a Wonder Woman designed by women for girls, not one crafted by men for boys. To show what a huge difference that makes, Kim picks up examples of the top-heavy Wonder Women and Batgirl action figures found on shelves. “Beautiful, but really sexualized,” Kim says.
“There’s a very direct emphasis on a womanly part.”
The new Mattel characters, created through a partnership with Warner Bros.’ DC Comics, are aimed at a 6 year-old girl.The DC SuperHero Girls line, which launches this spring, will include 12-inch dolls, 6-inch action figures, and gadgets such as a Batgirl utility belt.
Some of the products will be unveiled for the first time this week at New York Comic Con. The two companies joined forces last year after seeing a hole in the market, one Warner Bros. wants to help fill with girl-oriented books and animated Web series. The studio also is pushing female superheroes into the mainstream with Supergirl, a television show airing this month on ABC, and a Wonder Woman movie slated for 2017.Mattel’s research has found that girls already purchase about 9%of action figures–and that’s despite the fact that most movies, TV shows, and toys aren’t made with them in mind.
NAWADA/BEGUSARAI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8 broke his silence on the murder of a Muslim man in Dadri, near Delhi, over rumours that his family was consuming beef, by delivering a strong message against communalism and communal violence.
He chose an election rally in Nawada to clarify his position, saying: “In a democracy everyone has the right to speak their mind. But Hindus must decide whether they want to fight Muslims or poverty. Muslims must decide whether they want to fight Hindus or poverty.”
Reminding the crowd of his speech at Patna Gandhi Maidan during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign, Modi said, “In the midst of bomb explosions I had said poor Muslims and Hindus had a common enemy in poverty.”
Modi has been criticized for keeping silent on the Dadri murder even though his ministers, Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh, have condemned the killing. The fact that BJP party radicals have sought to minimize the mob’s guilt by calling it an “accident” or by focusing on the “sin” of cow slaughter, created an impression that the party was speaking in two voices.
The PM sought to set doubts to rest by citing President Pranab Mukherjee’s statement on Wednesday warning people against any dilution in India’s core values of diversity and tolerance.
“The Rashtrapati has shown us the way. There is no bigger inspiration than him, let’s follow his path,” Modi said.
After his first two meetings in Bihar’s Samastipur and Begusarai, chief minister Nitish Kumar had tweeted wondering why the PM was silent on the Dadri issue.
In Yadav-dominated Samastipur, Modi launched a strident attack on RJD chief Lalu Prasad for first saying Hindus too eat beef and later backtracking on it. Speaking before a mammoth crowd, Modi said he can’t even utter the words which Lalu said the other day.
“Lalu says it was the devil which made him utter such words. People of Bihar should find out why the devil chose him. There are crores of people all over the globe but the devil chose Lalu,” Modi said.
“It (Lalu’s beef remark) is an insult to Yaduvanshis and pains me the most since I hail from the city of Dwarka and the land where the white revolution started,” Modi said later at Begusarai.
Modi asked the people to choose between “jungle raj” and “vikas raj”. He said, “Bihar has two very important assets — ‘paani’ and ‘jawaani’. Previous governments failed to utilize them. I will be ensure maximum utilization of water and job opportunities.”
At a mammoth rally in Begusarai, Modi responded to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that his government works only for the rich, saying that the rich do not need government for health, education and transport.
“Governments work for the poor and they are bound to fulfil the basic needs of the people.”
In Munger and Nawada, Modi said described the Mahagathbandhan of JD(U), RJD and Congress as “swarthbandhan”. He added, “Though the three parties have ruled Bihar for 60 years, they have a zero account on development. Roj subah ek ki kaam hai. Dictionary khol ke sab baith jaate hain aur sabse bade shabd dhoondhte hai ki aaj PM ko kaun si gaali di jaaye.”
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ (TIP): Share and Care Foundation (SCF) held its 33rd Annual Gala on Sunday, October 4th at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. The sold-out show packed 1,800 people into the theatre to help Share and Care cross $1,000,000 in donations in 2015 towards its Signature Programs in Education, Healthcare, and Women Empowerment.
Share & Care Foundation President Arun Bhansali introduces the Foundation and welcomes guests to 33rd Share & Care Annual Gala
SCF highlighted its Education programs in particular this year, with the theme “Bringing Education to India’s Forgotten Children.” The importance and benefits of investing in education were emphasized. The speakers raised awareness about the startlingly high school dropout rates in India, and spoke of SCF’s Signature Program, Educate to Success (E2S), which works to bring dropouts back to school and help them complete their high school education.
The audience was filled with many of SCF’s top donors; accomplished doctors, lawyers, and businesswomen. Arun Bhansali, the president of the organization, asked them to remember their own path to success and all those who may have helped them along the way. “I urge you to consider how you may now provide a helping hand to those who need you,” he said. “In today’s rapidly changing philanthropic space, we invite you to use your time, talents, and resources to address society’s problems.”
Time for presentation of awards. TV Asia Chairman H.R. Shah holds his award
Deven Parekh, a successful New York based investor and philanthropist, served as the evening’s keynote speaker. He motivated the audience to find ways to give back to their community at large in any capacity they can, and spoke on the long-term impacts of supporting education programs. “In terms of returns,” he said, “I can think of no better investment than education.”
SCF’s Education programs, Educate to Graduate (E2G) and Educate to Success (E2S) collectively support over 1,600 students over all ages. Both programs boast unique models, and empower marginalized student populations who are often looked over. E2S targets rural villages, where over 40% of students drop out before reaching eighth grade. E2G supports impoverished, yet brilliant students who cannot afford their college tuition to complete their degree and acquire a good job, effectively breaking out of the cycle of poverty in a single generation.
The funds the gala raised ensured that these programs, along with SCF’s other Signature Programs, can expand in the coming years. “This year, Share and Care passed an important milestone,” Dr. Shirish Patrwalla, the organization’s treasurer said.
Kanika cast a spell with her melodious singing
Sukhwinder Singh and Kanika Kapoor, two of Bollywood’s top singers, entertained the excited crowd with song after hit song well into the night.
NEW DELHI (TIP): Apparently referring to the Dadri lynching episode, President Pranab Mukherjee on October 7 asserted that the core values of India’s civilisation cannot be given the slip.
“We cannot allow core values of India’s civilisation to be given a slip,” President Mukherjee said.
“Core values of diversity, tolerance and plurality must be kept in mind,” he added.
The President’s comments came at a time when leaders from across the spectrum are deriving political mileage from the Dadri incident.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has appraised the Prime Minister’s Office of the situation in the western Uttar Pradesh village.
The Uttar Pardesh government had submitted a report to MHA on the probe into the Dadri incident.
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Kareena Kapoor Khan has been one of the most popular actors in Bollywood for over a decade now. She says that, even today, she is as passionate about her work as she was when she was a newcomer, because cinema is her greatest passion. She made her debut at the age of 20 (with Refugee, 2000), and till date has starred in around 50 films. Yet, she shows no signs of slowing down.
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Tu Youyou
