The Indian Panorama

Month: July 2016

  • Many sunscreens don’t meet suggested guidelines

    Many sunscreens don’t meet suggested guidelines

    Nearly 10 percent of all sunscreen sales in the U.S. occur on Amazon.com, but many of the most popular sun protection products sold there don’t meet standards set by medical professionals, a new report says.

    According to the American Academy of Dermatology, sunscreens should provide broad spectrum protection against ultraviolet (UV) A and B rays, be water resistant and have a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30. But less than two-thirds of the most popular sunscreens on Amazon met those standards, researchers report.

    “One of the things I get asked the most from patients is what sunscreen should they use,” said lead author Dr. Steve Xu, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

    Dermatologists make recommendations and offer guidelines, but they can’t know what patients do after they leave the doctor’s office, Xu told Reuters #Health.

    To get a better idea of what people look for when buying sunscreen, the researchers turned to Amazon.com. In a paper in JAMA Dermatology July 6, they say nearly three quarters of people in the U.S. have reported buying beauty and personal care products on Amazon, and they estimate that 9 percent of all sunscreen sales occur there.

    Using Amazon.com’s customer rating system, the researchers analyzed the website’s top 1 percent best-rated sunscreens.

    Overall, there were 6,500 sunscreens sold on the website. Of the 65 products the researchers analyzed, prices per ounce ranged from $0.68 to $23.47.

    Forty percent – 26 of the 65 top-rated sunscreens – did not meet the AAD standards.

    Approximately 90 percent of the sunscreens claimed to have at least a 30 SPF and roughly the same proportion were broad spectrum. Only 62 percent of the sunscreens claimed to be water resistant, however.

    Customers were most likely to cite cosmetic elegance – feeling, color and scent – as their main factor for leaving a positive review for the product. The second most common factor in positive reviews was product performance.

  • After WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger to get end-to-end encryption soon

    After WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger to get end-to-end encryption soon

    NEW DELHI (TIP): After introducing end-to-end encryption to WhatsApp, Facebook is now planning to bring it to Messenger soon. The social media giant announced today that it is testing a new feature Secret Conversations to support end-to-end encryption on demand.

    Unlike WhatsApp, in Facebook Messenger end-to-end encryption will not be turned on by default. While chatting on Messenger, if the sender wants to say something sensitive, they can opt for the “Secret Conversation” feature and select a suitable message expiry time which can range between 5 seconds and over 6 hours. The message will be available to the receiver during the selected time frame only. It will automatically get deleted after it is seen by receiver when the time expires.

    “Our technology uses the Signal Protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems,” said Facebook in an official post.

    End-to-end encryption is mainly meant for texts. Facebook currently is not supporting multimedia content like GIFs or videos or other features.

    Explaining the reason for making Secret Conversations as an optional feature, Facebook said, “That’s because many people want Messenger to work when you switch between devices, such as a tablet, desktop computer or phone. Secret conversations can only be read on one device and we recognize that experience may not be right for everyone.”

  • Cabinet Reshuffle: Modi hits refresh button

    Cabinet Reshuffle: Modi hits refresh button

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 5 went for a sea change in his team as he shuffled portfolios of many of his prominent ministers.

    The most unexpected was the shifting of Smriti Irani from human resource development (HRD) to the unglamorous textiles ministry. Prakash Javadekar whose elevation to the cabinet rank on Tuesday took many by surprise replaced Irani as the HRD minister.

    Newly appointed minister Anil Madhav Dave was appointed environment minister in place of Javadekar.

    Ravi Shankar Prasad is the new law minister, replacing DV Sadananda Gowda who was shifted to the statistics and programme implementation ministry. Minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha was promoted and given independent charge of communications, while Prasad retained the charge of electronics and information technology.

    Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu was divested of the parliamentary affairs portfolio and given charge of the information and broadcasting ministry, which was earlier with finance minister Arun Jaitley.

    Chemicals and fertilisers minister Ananth Kumar was another gainer as he got the additional charge of parliamentary affairs.

    The changes were announced hours after Modi expanded his council of ministers, inducting 19 new faces as junior ministers and dropping five.

    Shortly after the swearing-in at Rashtrapati Bhawan, Modi told his cabinet colleagues at a meeting that he had little time in hand and they should be prepared for “big changes” in their portfolios.

    Though there was no change in the top four portfolios — home, external affairs, finance and defence —the Prime Minister delivered a clear message through major changes in portfolios of prominent ministers: that they should stay clear of controversies.

    Irani had a controversy-riddled tenure that started with question marks about her academic credentials but soon turned into frequent face-offs with the academia.

    Gowda was unable to strike a positive chord with the judiciary, which has been upset with the government’s perceived attempt to interfere in judicial appointments. He courted controversy recently after he sought the law commission’s report on the implementation of the uniform civil code.

    Gowda has been shifted from law to the less important statistics and programme implementation. Junior foreign minister General VK Singh too was engulfed in controversies as his remarks drew frequent criticism of the government. The former army chief was stripped of independent charge in the statistics and implementation ministry. Portfolios of rural development minister Birender Singh and steel minister Narendra Singh Tomar were swapped.

    New junior minister Vijay Goyal will head the sports and youth affairs ministry, which has been vacant since Sarbanand Sonowal shifted from the Centre to become Assam chief minister.

    Minister of state in the finance ministry, Jayant Sinha, was shifted as junior minister in the civil aviation department. Santosh Gangwar and Arjun Ram Meghwal are new ministers of state in the finance department.

    Journalist-politician MJ Akbar was appointed junior minister in the external affair ministry. Five-term MP SS Ahluwalia was made minister of state for agriculture and parliamentary affairs.

    Among NDA allies, RPI’s Ramdas Athawale became junior minister in the social justice and empowerment ministry while Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel got health and family welfare. The reshuffle was viewed as an exercise aimed both at pleasing voters in states headed for elections next year as well as speeding up efforts to boost economic growth.

    Among those dropped was Mansukh Bhai Vasava, a junior minister in the tribal affairs ministry that has in the past locked horns with Javadekar, mostly over tribal rights and diversion of forest land for industry. At least seven of the new ministers are from states going to elections next year and five from the Dalit community, part of the BJP’s plan to appeal to the scheduled castes in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The states vote next year and have a substantial population of scheduled castes. With the expansion, the size of Modi’s cabinet has swelled to 78 — one of the biggest in years and a far cry from Modi’s 2014 election promise of “minimum government and maximum governance”.

  • Army can’t use excessive force in distured areas under AFSPA: SC

    Army can’t use excessive force in distured areas under AFSPA: SC

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Campaigners against the “draconian” Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) led by Irom Sharmila got a major boost when the Supreme Court in a landmark direction on July 8 said armed forces or police cannot use “excessive or retaliatory force” in even areas declared ‘disturbed’ where this special Act is applicable.

    The court was passing directions in a PIL filed in 2012 by the Extra Judicial Executions Victims’ Families Association seeking a “probe into 1,528 fake encounter killings in Manipur in the last two decades” by armed forces and Manipur Police.

    ARMED FORCES INVOLVED IN KILLING INNOCENTS

    They alleged a majority of them have been carried out in cold blood while the victims were in custody and allegedly after torturing them. AFSPA is a law enacted in 1958 which gave unbridled powers to the armed forces. Armed forces personnel get the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion that it is necessary to do so in order to “maintain public order” in a “disturbed area”.

    “Use of excessive force or retaliatory force by the Manipur Police or the armed forces of the Union is not permissible. As is evident from the Dos and Don’ts and the 10 Commandments of the Chief of Army Staff, the Army believes in this ethos and accepts that this principle would apply even in an area declared as a disturbed area under AFSPA and against militants, insurgents and terrorists. There is no reason why this principle should not apply to the other armed forces of the Union and the Manipur Police”, said a bench headed by Justice MB Lokur.

    ‘COLLATE DATA OF ALLEGED FAKE ENCOUNTERS’ 

    The court directed Amicus Curiae Maneka Guruswamy (senior lawyer assisting the court) and the petitioners to collate data regarding 1466 cases of alleged fake encounters. She has also been asked to inform status of another 62 encounters which have already been documented.

    Sharmila, who has been on a hunger strike for over 14 years, has become the symbol of protests against alleged army atrocities in Manipur.

    “If members of our armed forces are deployed and employed to kill citizens of our country on mere allegation or suspicion that they are ‘enemy’ not only the rule of law but our democracy would be in grave danger.

    Any allegation of excessive force resulting in the death of any person must be thoroughly enquired into”, said the bench. Earlier, damning reports submitted to the Supreme Court by two panels of judges have confirmed that armed forces personnel were involved in rapes and killing of innocent people in Manipur.

    IDENTICAL PATTERN

    In April 2013, a commission headed by former SC judge Santosh Hegde inquired into six killings by armed forces and police and found the allegations to be true. It had concluded that seven victims in the six cases, including a 12-year-old boy, did not have criminal antecedents and were not involved in any insurgency-related matter. The report pointed out that four out of these six cases shockingly followed an identical pattern.

  • SHRAVAN MAAS

    SHRAVAN MAAS

    Avery auspicious month according to the ancient scriptures, Shravan Maas falls somewhere during July to August. Shravana Nakshatra is the birthstar of Vishnu and falls on the full moon day during this time. So, this month is called “Shravan Maas.” Each day of this month is a very auspicious time to worship many deities, including Lord Shiva, Gowri, Krishna, and Goddess Lakshmi. Special prayers and rituals are performed in Shiva temples. Mondays (Somavar) of Shravan month are specially observed times to worship the austere Lord Shiva with austerity.

    During the entire month of Shravan Maas, visiting the Shiva Temple in the evening and offering flowers and abhishekam gives a long and prosperous life.

    The whole Savan month is considered as highly auspicious, since every day of the month Savan holds a special significance. The whole month is blessed with the blessings of Lord Shiva and some other lords such as Lord Vishnu and Lord Krishna. We observe some really auspicious occasions in the month of Savan such as Raksha Bandhan, Hariyali Teej, and Nag Panchami.

    As we are talking about the month of Savan and its main deity Lord Shiva, how can we forget to talk about Savan Somvars. We know that the whole month of Savan is having a special significance for worshiping Lord Shiva. The auspicious results of worshiping Lord Shiva increases upto many times in the holy month of Savan.

    Monday or Somvar being the special day of Lord Shiva, the auspiciousness of Somvars in the month of Savan increases upto many folds. Special fast and Pujas are performed by the devotees to please Lord Shiva in the month of Savan.

    What Is Sawan Somvar?

    Savan Somvars hold a great significance because they are the special days of Lord Shiva in the special holy month. Highly auspicious results can be obtained by worshiping Lord Shiva on Savan Somvars every year.

    The starting of fasts of Solah (sixteen) Somvars is also considered as highly auspicious in the month of Savan. Reciting Solah Somvar Vrat Katha is considered highly auspicious for women. Savan Somvar Vrat is mainly categorized into three categories, these are:

    Savan Somvar : Fast of monday only in the month of Savan
    Solah Somvar : Beginning the fast of Solah (sixteen) Somvars, in the month of Savan
    Somya Pradosh : Fast observed till the evening during Pradosham

    Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati are the two main deities worshiped during the month of Savan. Devotees offer their favorite offerings to please the deities and to receive their blessings. These offerings include Bel Patra, Datura, rose or marigold flowers and much more. Worship and offer Lord Shiva his favorite offerings to receive his blessings during Sawan in 2016.

    Sawan 2016: How To Perform Sawan Somvar Vrat?

    Every devotee has to keep certain points in mind while performing the fast for Sawan Somvars. These points will prove to be beneficial in getting the maximum benefit of the Sawan Somvar Vrat.

    – Get up early in the morning and perform all the morning rituals like bathing, wearing clean clothes, etc.
    – Go to the nearest temple and bathe the Shiva Lingam with water, milk, or the mix of both.
    – Clean the Puja Sthana (place to perform Puja) at home, establish the idol or picture of Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati.
    – Take the Sankalp (pledge) that you will perform all the Somvar Vrat with full faith and devotion.
    – Take the name of Lord Shiva and perform meditation
    – In the evening, take bath or clean your hands and feet properly for performing Puja once again.
    – Clean the Puja Sthan (place for performing Puja) and worship Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati.
    – Recite or listen to Somvar Vrat Katha, otherwise the fast is considered as incomplete.
    – Recite Aarti with other family members or devotees.
    – Distribute Prasad (sacred food) among all the devotees or family members.
    – The devotees can now consume the food for fast (Satvik Khana).

    Keep all these points in mind and perform Sawan Somvar Vrat for obtaining maximum benefits.

    Auspicious Results Of Sawan Somvar Vrat

    After discussing that how to perform Sawan Somvar Vrat, we should also not miss out the auspicious results that can be obtained by observing this very auspicious Savan Somvar Vrat every year and during Savan in 2016.

    All the difficulties and tensions of life will disappear.
    Lord Shiva blesses unmarried girls with desired husband.
    Lord Shiva blesses married ladies with long life and well being of husband and sons.
    Lord Shiva fulfills all the desires and wishes of his devotees.
    Lord Shiva blesses his devotees with wealth and prosperity.

    Lord Shiva is so kind toward his devotees that anyone can easily please him by showing love and gratitude, thus he is also known as Bholenath. Let’s now talk about another very important day of Savan that is Sawan Shivaratri

    Sawan Shivaratri

    Sawan Shivratri is also a major part of the month Savan. Its celebrations are observed by devotees with full faith and devotion, as it falls in the special month of Savan. It is the second most important Shivaratri after Maha Shivratri . It is also believed that if Sawan Shivaratri falls on the day of monday, its significance increases up to many times. Because then, the three auspicious events related to Lord Shiva fall on the same day that are the month Savan, Sawan Somvar and Shivaratri.

    Legend Of Savan

    Let’s discuss the legend of month Savan, before performing the Sawan Somvar Vrat in 2016.

    The legend of Savan is related to Lord Shiva. During the period of Samudra Manthan, lots of things came out which were equally distributed among the gods and demons. Some undesirable items also came out from the Manthan, which were not accepted by any of the god or demon, such as Halahal (poison). This poison or Vish/Halahal could have some really adverse effects on the living beings. The whole world could have finished or adversely affected by Halahal.

    For saving the world from these ill effects of Halahal, Lord Shiva consumed the whole Halahal and stored it in his throat. Due to this reason, the color of his neck turned blue and he was attributed with the name Neelkantha. This whole event took place in the month of Savan, which increased the significance of worshiping Lord Shiva in the month of Savan.

    Beautiful Month Of Savan

    The month of Sawan is considered as the most beautiful month in terms of weather changes. Every year, some really pleasant changes are encountered by nature in itself in the month of Sawan.

    The sky fills with clouds, the fields fill with green grass and beautiful flowers. Rainy season starts in the month of Sawan or Shravan and it seems like the whole universe is worshiping Lord Shiva by pouring water on him in the form of rain.

    The whole world feels relieved in the month of Sawan with the cool breezes and rains, after the hot season of summers. It seems like all the birds and insects come out to greet Lord Shiva. Water level also increases in the month of Savan. Nature regains its beauty in the month of Savan.

    Every year, the pleasant weather and divinity come along in the month of Sawan. We are going to encounter these beautiful changes of nature filled with the blessings of Lord Shiva again during Sawan in 2016.

    If you also want to gain auspiciousness, wealth, and prosperity in life, worship Lord Shiva during Sawan in 2016 and observe all the Sawan Somvar Vrats in 2016.

  • RBI allows foreign investors to buy PNB shares

    RBI allows foreign investors to buy PNB shares

    MUMBAI (TIP): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday lifted the almost seven year old restriction on fresh purchase of shares of state-owned Punjab National Bank by foreign investors.

    The RBI on Monday notified that the aggregate foreign share holdings by foreign institutional investors/NRIs /PIOs/FDI and others under Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) in PNB have gone below the prescribed threshold caution limit stipulated under the extant FDI policy.

    “Hence, the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of the above company vide Press Release No 2008-2009/1914 dated May 22, 2009 have been withdrawn with immediate effect,” the central bank said.

    Reeling under bad loans, PNB posted the largest quarterly loss by any public sector lender at Rs 5,367 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2016.

    A three-fold surge in provisioning for bad loans, including those extended to power discoms and for foodgrain purchase in Punjab, were the main drag on the bank’s performance and it expects the pain to continue for some more time.

    The second-largest public sector bank posted a net profit of Rs 306.56 crore in the corresponding period of 2014-15.

  • Tata Steel in talks for possible joint venture in UK

    Tata Steel in talks for possible joint venture in UK

    BENGALURU (TIP): Tata Steel Limited said on Friday it was in talks with potential strategic partners in the steel industry, including Thyssenkrupp AG, to explore a potential joint venture for its UK business.

    However, the company said the talks were currently at a preliminary stage and there could be no certainty of a transaction as the outcome depends on consultation and negotiations with various stakeholders.

    Tata Steel also said it would begin separate processes for the sale of its South Yorkshire specialty steels business and the Hartlepool pipe mills, excluding the 20-inch tube mill, in the UK.

  • Brexit fallout will shave growth in eurozone: IMF

    Brexit fallout will shave growth in eurozone: IMF

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) will trim economic growth this year and next across the 19 countries that share the euro currency, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.

    The global lending agency expects the eurozone economy to grow 1.6 per cent this year and 1.4 per cent in 2017. Before the so-called Brexit vote, the IMF was projecting 1.7 per cent growth this year and next. The eurozone grew 1.7 per cent last year, fastest since 2010.

    The downgrade reflects rising uncertainty, volatility in financial markets and falling exports to Britain following the vote. The surprising June 23 decision means the United Kingdom must renegotiate its trade and immigration arrangements with the EU. Many businesses are likely to delay investments in Britain and Europe until they know what the new rules will be.

  • Burgers and Pizzas sold in Kerala to cost 14.5% more with the new ‘fat tax’

    Burgers and Pizzas sold in Kerala to cost 14.5% more with the new ‘fat tax’

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (TIP): The CPM-led LDF government in Kerala on Friday presented its budget for 2016-17, focusing on strengthening social welfare schemes, public health and education.

    The budget, the first by the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government which came to power in the May assembly polls, proposed a slew of new tax proposals including a ‘fat tax’ of 14.5 per cent for burgers, pizzas and pastas served in branded restaurants. The budget has also proposed five per cent tax on certain packed foods.

    Stating that the state was passing through a severe financial crisis due to various factors, the budget proposed an ‘anti-slowdown package’ of Rs 12,000 crore for taking up various development and infrastructure projects like roads, bridges and IT parks. The budget, presented by state finance minister TM Thomas Isaac, also said steps would be taken to increase the tax revenue by 25 per cent per annum by various measures including elimination of corruption and implementation of trader-friendly measures.

  • RBI sets ball rolling on monetary policy panel

    RBI sets ball rolling on monetary policy panel

    MUMBAI (TIP): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has moved a step closer to shifting monetary policy decisions from the governor to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). In their meeting in Bengaluru on Thursday, the board of directors of the central bank took up the issue of the constitution of the MPC, raising expectations that the forthcoming policy review in August might be decided by a panel instead of governor Raghuram Rajan.

    Last week on June 27, the government notified the rules governing the procedure for selection of MPC members. The rules also contain terms and conditions of their appointment and factors under which the MPC would be considered to have failed to meet the inflation target.

    Out of the six MPC members, three will be the RBI governor, who will be the ex-officio chairperson, an RBI deputy governor, and one more officer from the central bank. The other three members of MPC will be economic experts appointed by the government on recommendations of a panel headed by the Cabinet secretary. The members will have a four-year term and shall not be eligible for reappointment.

    The central bank’s board meeting in Bengaluru, which took place after a gap of seven years, was attended by deputy governors Urjit Patel, R Gandhi, S S Mundra and N S Vishwanathan. Other external directors included Nachiket M Mor, Damodar Acharya, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Bharat Doshi and Sudhir Mankad. The meeting was also attended by government nominee director on the central board, Shaktikanta Das, who is the secretary, department of economic affairs.

    In the meeting, the board discussed macroeconomic developments and two other specific areas of operations of the RBI — the central bank’s budget and activities of the board for payment and settlement system for the year ended March 2016 and discussed the draft annual report for 2015-16.

  • Dark streaks on Mars may indicate flowing water: Study

    Dark streaks on Mars may indicate flowing water: Study

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Recurring slope linae, dark streaks that change seasonally, on Martian slopes indicate presence of flowing water, according to a new study of thousands of such features in the red planet’s largest canyon system.

    The study investigated these warm-season features in the Valles Marineris region near Mars’ equator.

    Some of the sites displaying the seasonal flows are canyon ridges and isolated peaks, ground shapes that make it hard to explain the streaks as resulting from underground water directly reaching the surface.

    It is highly unlikely that shallow ground ice would be present as a source for seasonal melting, given the warm temperatures in the equatorial canyons, researchers said.

    Water pulled from the atmosphere by salts or mechanisms with no flowing water involved remain possible explanations for the features at these sites.

    These features are called recurring slope lineae (RSL). Since their discovery in 2011, Martian RSL have become one of the hottest topics in planetary exploration, the strongest evidence for any liquid water on the surface of modern Mars, even if transient.

    “The occurrence of recurring slope lineae in these canyons is much more widespread than previously recognised,” said Matthew Chojnacki from the University of Arizona.

    They appear as dark lines extending downslope during a warm season, then fading away during colder parts of the year, then repeating the progression in a following year.

    Water, in the form of hydrated salts, was confirmed at some RSL sites last year, including in Valles Marineris.

    Researchers reported detailed observation of 41 RSL sites in central and eastern portions of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the solar system.

    Each site is defined as the size of a single image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: about 5.4 by 12 kilometres. The number of individual flows in each site ranges from a few to more than 1,000.

    “As far as we can tell, this is the densest population of them on the planet, so if they are indeed associated with contemporary aqueous activity, that makes this canyon system an even more interesting area than it is just from the spectacular geology alone,” said Chojnacki.

    The possibility of liquid water at or near the surface of Mars carries major ramifications for studying whether life exists on Mars, since all known life relies on liquid water.

    Either liquid or frozen water near the surface could become an important resource for humans on Mars.

    Fresh crater impacts and other data have unveiled water ice close to the surface at many locations in middle and high latitudes of Mars.

    If RSL are indicators of water, they extend possible water-access sites to low latitudes.

  • First-ever water clouds outside Solar System found on brown dwarf

    First-ever water clouds outside Solar System found on brown dwarf

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Astronomers have found clouds of water or water ice for the first time outside the solar system. Using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, UC Santa Cruz scientists observed the clouds on a brown dwarf located just 7.2 light years from Earth.

    Since its detection in 2014, the brown dwarf known as has fascinated astronomers. Only 7.2 light-years from Earth,the coldest known object outside of our solar system, this brown dwarf is known as WISE 0855 and it was discovered only in 2014. It is just barely visible at infrared wavelengths with the largest ground-based telescopes. The scientists have succeeded in obtaining an infrared spectrum, providing the first details of the object’s composition and chemistry.

    “We would expect an object that cold to have water clouds, and this is the best evidence that it does,” said Andrew Skemer, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. Skemer is first author of a paper on the new findings to be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters and currently available online.

    A brown dwarf is a failed star, having formed the way stars do through the gravitational collapse of a cloud of gas and dust, but without gaining enough mass to spark the nuclear fusion reactions that make stars shine. With about five times the mass of Jupiter, WISE 0855 resembles that gas giant planet in many respects. Its temperature is about (-) 23 degrees C, making it nearly as cold as Jupiter, which is (-) 144 degrees C.

    “WISE 0855 is our first opportunity to study an extrasolar planetary-mass object that is nearly as cold as our own gas giants,” Skemer said.

    Previous observations of the brown dwarf, published in 2014, provided tentative indications of water clouds based on very limited photometric data. Skemer, a coauthor of the earlier paper, said obtaining a spectrum (which separates the light from an object into its component wavelengths) is the only way to detect an object’s molecular composition.

  • Turn your smartphone into a portable TV or projector using quirky accessories

    Turn your smartphone into a portable TV or projector using quirky accessories

    You’re smiling bright for a selfie, but there’s no flash on the front camera. You’re playing a great new video game on your phone, but you can barely see what you’re doing. There are some things an app just can’t fix – so vendors and e-stores are offering offline fixes instead.

    Slide your phone into a plastic box and watch your screen magnify by five times. Or slip it into a cardboard projector, and make every night movie night. You can also plug a miniature USB floodlight in for a twilight selfie – or attach a USB fan for that perfect breezy look.

    For those more serious about photography, there’s even a clip-on ‘telephoto lens’ that offers 8x the zoom.

    “I am passionate about photography. I took the mobile telescope along to Leh-Ladakh, and got some stunning, detailed photos of the hills, lakes and valleys,” says 25-year-old PR and marketing manager Vaidehi Desai. “It’s also lightweight and easy-to-use.”

    Mobile gaming, controller Gamers, unite. If touch screen gaming just doesn’t cut it for you, here’s a fix: connect your smartphone or tablet to a PlayStation/Xbox-style controller and get the full experience, on-the-go.

    You can either place your phone or tablet onto a telescopic holder attached to the controller, or connect via Bluetooth. The controller is compatible with Windows, Android and iOS platforms.

    “This product is perfect for a gamer like me, and I can now play heavy-duty racing and shooting games, anytime, anywhere. I prefer to play wirelessly over Bluetooth, and the controller also makes usual smartphone games such as Temple Run and Pacman more fun,” says Anzar Mohammad, 25, a marketing manager.

    Along with magnifying your screen five-fold, the 3D enlarger screen. It folds into a flat box, and can be carried along on your travels. You can also use it to read books or news online, without straining your eyes.

    “I would definitely recommend the screen for a great movie experience while you’re travelling – with the screen magnified significantly, the box becomes almost like a portable TV,” says graphic designer Chetna Pandya, 72.
    “However, the 3D effect did not work as well as advertised.”

    Smartphone projector
    Carry your home theatre around with the smartphone projector. Place your phone into the portable cardboard box, and have photos, movies or documents project onto any blank wall, magnified up to eight times.

    “I bought the projector four months ago, and I’m still using it,” says Nishi Shah, 21, a student at KC College, Churchgate. “I carry it to the office sometimes, where we get together for watching movies. “It’s user-friendly and gives you the cinema experience at home.”

  • CARTOON CHARACTERS AS SUPER VEGGIES HELP KIDS EAT HEALTHY

    CARTOON CHARACTERS AS SUPER VEGGIES HELP KIDS EAT HEALTHY

    Influencing kids to make the right food choice could be a lot easier for parents as researchers have found that children exposed to animated cartoon characters that take the shapes of healthy vegetables such as carrots or cucumber are more likely to eat salad on their own.

    Marketing vegetables in school lunchrooms using the Super Sprowtz — a team of fun-loving characters with super powers — almost tripled the percentage of elementary school students choosing items from the salad bar,the findings showed.

    “If we put the time and good resources into marketing healthy choices to kids, it can work,” said lead researcher Andrew Hanks, Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University in the US.

    Further, such interventions were found to improve nutrition, behaviour as well as performance in school.

    For the study, published in the journal Pediatrics, the team analysed the behaviour of children from 10 public elementary schools in urban New York State.

    In some schools, they wrapped the bottom portion of the salad bar with a vinyl banner depicting the cartoon characters as super veggies.

    In others, they played cartoon videos in the lunch room. And in others, they tried both tactics.

    According to researchers, in schools with the salad bar banners, 24 percent of kids took vegetables from the salad bars.

    In those schools that had characters on the salad bar and video, the vegetable selection jumped from 10 per cent to almost 35 per cent.

    “If we can encourage kids to take vegetables of their own accord, rather than have someone put it there for them, they’re much more likely to eat them,” Hanks noted.

    No significant improvement was found in schools with videos alone.

    However, the researchers said that it is unlikely such a technique would work with older students.

    “It’s important to be strategic. If you use these characters in a middle or high school I doubt they will have much of an impact,” Hanks said adding, “our study is best generalized to an urban elementary school setting.”

  • THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT YOUR LIBIDO

    THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT YOUR LIBIDO

    A woman’s libido can be as active (or not) as a man. Every woman’s sex drive goes through highs and lows, and very often you might not even know why exactly you’re not interested in getting intimate. Experts, however, say that this considered normal and that women should hit the panic button only if their libido crashes for long periods of time. Here are some reasons why your sex drive goes through ups and downs…

    Your brain is in charge during sex While you may assume that sex is a physical activity, it is your brain that is actually in charge! There are certain important areas in your brain where the initial desire emerges —the ventral striatum, amygdala, hypothalamus, cerebral cortex and pituitary. Any glitch in these areas can cause your sex drive to nosedive. Hence, it is important to identify underlying medical conditions first in order to deal with the problem.

    Drive doesn’t decrease with age

    Unlike popular opinion that sex drive decreases with age, an increasing number of studies say it is quite the opposite. While it is true that a woman’s fertility dwindles with age, her sex drive becomes better. Experts say that one of the reasons this probably happens is because it is nature’s way of encouraging you to conceive in spite of advancing age. Another reason is that older women worry a lot less about conceiving, which boosts their sex drive.

    Stress affects your sex drive

    Stress affects men and women in different ways. High levels of Stress can wreak havoc on a woman’s sex drive. And this, in turn, can have a negative impact on relationships. Learn to deal with your stress —explore ways that help you unwind and make a conscious attempt not to get worked-up unnecessarily.

    Blame it on medications

    It is often observed that certain medications can put you off sex. Premenopausal women, especially, who may be on medicines for medical conditions can be most affected. Even some birth control pills have side-effects, which include low libido. Don’t hesitate to ask your doctor to change your medication if you feel it is to blame for your lack of interest in sex. Other medications that cause disinterest in sex include certain antidepressants and blood pressure medicines.

    Consider having aphrodisiacs

    Pay extra attention to your diet Certain foods double up as aphrodisiacs and can help spice things up in the bedroom. Allow yourself generous helpings of strawberries, blueberries, watermelons, avocado, chickpeas, oysters and honey.

    A large number of women hesitate when it comes to seeking help for sexual problems especially a declining sex drive. Most assume that things will improve in time without realising that an veiled medical condition could be to blame. Don’t waver if it seriously starts affecting your relationship. Getting professional help will help you cope and improve things.

    Yoga poses boost your libido

    Forget about practicing yoga only to unwind — certain poses are said to actually boost your libido. Doing the Adho Mukha Svanasana or the downward dog pose regularly is said to boost your libido. This pose helps increase blood flow to the pelvic organs, which is why it is recommended to women. Experts, whoever, say that one needs to do this for a couple of months before actually getting any benefit.

    Last year, the female pill to improve sex drive was welcomed by women across the globe. But while the pill does its job, it is also said to come with a host of side-effects such as nausea, lethargy and giddiness.

  • US, India conspiring against Pakistan, says Hafiz Saeed at Eid prayers in Lahore

    US, India conspiring against Pakistan, says Hafiz Saeed at Eid prayers in Lahore

    LAHORE (TIP): JuD chief and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed on July 6 led Eid-ul-Fitr prayers in the city where he sought to whip up hysteria, saying the US and India are signing agreements against Pakistan and there are preparations for a “big war”.

    Addressing a large gathering at the Gaddafi Stadium, the Lashkar-e-Taiba founder called for unity among Muslim community “to fail the design of infidels”.

    He said international players are conspiring against Pakistan’s nuclear programme.

    “The United States and India are signing agreements against Pakistan and there has been a preparation of a big war”, he said, alleging “drones are parked at Indian airports and our rulers are engaged in a fight with opposition.”

    Saeed, on whose head the US has put a bounty of $10 million, termed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s growing distance with the US as a “blessing in disguise”.

    “It is a blessing in disguise that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are getting distanced from America. This will lay foundation of the Islamic Union which is the need of the hour for the Islamic world,” he said.

    He condemned the terror attack in Saudi Arabia and alleged the involvement of “foreign hands” in destabilising the Muslim world.

    A large number of people offered their prayer behind Saeed amid tight security with police personnel and JuD security wing members deployed in and outside the stadium. Saeed has been leading the Eid prayers at Gaddafi Stadium for the last many years.

    India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to bring Saeed to justice for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He has often been seen addressing anti-India rallies in Pakistan. Islamabad says it has no proof against the Jamat-ud-Dawa chief. A total of 166 people were killed in the attack orchestrated by the LeT in November 2008. (PTI)

  • Bangladeshi dentist, singer and MBA student shown in latest Islamic State video

    Bangladeshi dentist, singer and MBA student shown in latest Islamic State video

    DHAKA (TIP): The three Bangladeshi youths who appeared in the latest ISIS video threatening of more terror attacks around the world have been identified as a dentist, an aspiring singer and an MBA student, officials said here on July 7.

    Model Naila Nayem’s former husband Tushar is one of the three youths who appeared in a so-called Islamic State video released on Wednesday, days after Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic enclave late on Friday and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US, officials said.

    Bangladesh army’s late Major Washikur Azad’s son Tushar (with longer beards in the video) married Nayem in 2011 but later they separated, bdnews24.com reported.

    A dentist by profession, Tushar was missing for around two years. He completed secondary education at Adamjee Cantonment Public School and higher secondary at RAJUK Uttara Model College. He lived in Dhaka, the report said.

    The youth appearing in the video with his face covered with Arabic-styled headdress has been identified by the sources as Tawsif Hossain, a former student of the Institute of Business Administration at the Dhaka University, it said. He was a student of the 18th batch of the institute but left the university without completing the course.

    Hossain had been arrested before on charges of his involvement with Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). His family sent him to Austria later on, but his friends there said he was not there, the report said.

    The other youth in the video was identified as Tahmid Rahman Shafi, one of the top 10 finalists of NTV’s reality music show in 1995, it said.

    Shafi, who resigned from Grameenphone in 2011, is a son of late election commissioner Shafiur Rahman, his former colleagues and classmates in Notre Dame College have said.

    He completed BBA at BRAC University and MBA at IBA, sources in the government said. They said he had once requested his father to join Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but he refused. He had then left with his wife for war-torn Syria, the report said.

    All the three youths spoke in Bangla. Only Shafi translated his speech to English.

    The ISIS video released in a SITE Intelligence site on Tuesday. The message containing threats has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock from the slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka

    (PTI)

  • Woman named Isis banned from Facebook, asked to prove identity

    Woman named Isis banned from Facebook, asked to prove identity

    LONDON: A 27-year-old UK woman named Isis was denied access to her Facebook account and asked to send an identity proof by the social networking site as part of its stringent policy to erase all traces of Islamic State terror outfit known by its acronym ISIS.

    Isis Thomas, a resident of Bristol in Britain, was asked to change her name after logging on to the site on June 27.

    “I just tried to log in and when I did, the password went through and this box came up asking me something about changing my name. I was on Facebook as Isis Worcester, because when I first signed up years ago I didn’t use my real name, which is Isis Thomas, because of where I worked at the time,” Isis said.

    (AP)

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi in South Africa

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi in South Africa

    JOHANNESBURG (TIP): India is working to achieve over 8 per cent growth in the coming years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Johannesburg on July 8, while attributing the rise of the country to HOPE — Harmony, Optimism, Potential and Energy.

    He told the Indian diaspora that India is “one of the brightest spot in the global economy” and a “land of opportunities” for those who want to invest and have trade.

    Mr. Modi said his government is working in a campaign mode to create 500 million new jobs by 2022 besides transforming rural and urban areas of the country through infrastructure development.

    “While the world is marked by slowdown, India has registered a growth of 7.6 per cent this year and we are working to grow even at 8 per cent in the years ahead,” he said addressing an estimated gathering of 11,000 members of the Indian diaspora.

    Mr. Modi, wearing a ‘Madiba’ shirt identified with anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, said India’s dynamism is not about mere words but it is driven by concrete action. “It (dynamism) is defined by our commitment to change the face of the Indian economy. Not just through sustained rapid economic growth but through multiple transformations that aim to uplift,” the Prime Minister said.

    “India’s rise can be defined as HOPE —Harmony, Optimism, Potential and Energy….India’s rise is a story of rare resilience, renewed resurgence, superb speed and spectacular scale,” he said in his 40-minute address.

    “India’s rise can be defined as HOPE —Harmony, Optimism, Potential and Energy….India’s rise is a story of rare resilience, renewed resurgence, superb speed and spectacular scale,” he said in his 40-minute address. He said his government wants enterprises to flourish, businesses to grow and the country to rise.

    (The Hindu)

  • UK poised to have first woman PM since Margaret Thatcher

    UK poised to have first woman PM since Margaret Thatcher

    LONDON (TIP): Britain is poised to get its first woman Prime Minister in more than a quarter of a century since Margaret Thatcher as the race to succeed David Cameron after the Brexit vote narrowed down on July 7 to home secretary Theresa May and energy minister Andrea Leadsom.

    May will now go head to head with Leadsom in an all-woman contest after justice secretary Michael Gove was eliminated from the Conservative party leadership race with the least votes in the second round of voting today.

    “This vote proves the Conservative party can come together,” May said after she received the backing of 199 Tory MPs compared to Leadsom’s 84 and Gove’s 46.

    May and Leadsom will now begin their campaigns to convince the wider Conservative party membership around the country for a final round of voting with the winner set to be declared on September 9.

    It is now certain that the winner will go on to become Britain’s second female Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher.

    Today’s results were announced at Westminster by Conservative MP Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee.

    There had originally been five contenders to succeed Cameron, who had announced his resignation after Britain voted to leave the European Union (EU) in June 23 referendum.

    The contest now moves to its final stage with the Conservative Party’s 150,000-strong membership deciding between May, a Remain campaigner with a long track record in government, and Leadsom, a strong Brexit campaigner with a background in business by postal ballot.

    The race had thrown up its share of controversies with Gove’s campaign chief, Nick Boles, allegedly texting MPs to vote tactically in favour of his candidate.

    His message read: “What if Theresa stumbles? Are we really confident that the membership won’t vote for a fresh face who shares their attitudes about much of modern life, like they did with IDS [Ian Duncan Smith]?” It triggered a backlash, forcing Boles to apologise and claiming that Gove had no knowledge of his message.

    It had led May to urge her supporters to not vote tactically as she once again called for a “proper contest”.

    The 59-year-old has gradually emerged as the candidate with the most backing among both remain and leave camps within the Tory party, despite having supported Cameron during the EU referendum campaign.

    “Under Theresa’s leadership, the motives of the Conservative Party will never be in any doubt,” said Indian-origin minister Priti Patel, a Brexit supporter who threw her support behind May earlier today.

    (AFP)

  • Germany lawmakers approve ‘no means no’ rape law

    Germany lawmakers approve ‘no means no’ rape law

    BERLIN (TIP): German lawmakers passed a bill on July 7 that will make it easier for victims of sex crimes to file criminal complaints if they rejected their attacker’s advances with a clear “no”.

    The move was partly spurred by a nationwide outcry over a string of sexual assaults that happened in the western city of Cologne on New Year’s Eve.

    “In the past there were cases where women were raped but the perpetrators couldn’t be punished,” German minister for women Manuela Schwesig said. “The change in the law will help increase the number of victims who choose to press charges, lower the number of criminal prosecutions that are shelved and ensure sexual assaults are properly punished.”

    The bill passed easily thanks to the government’s large parliamentary majority. Opposition parties welcomed the lowering of the threshold for prosecutions, but criticized two measures in the bill that could see people who aren’t directly involved in the assault punished and foreigners deported for sexual harassment.

    German law previously required victims to show that they physically resisted attack before charges for rape and other sexual assaults could be brought. Women’s rights campaigners argued that Germany’s failure to recognize the principle of “no means no” was one of the main reasons for low reporting and conviction rates for rape in the country.

    According to figures cited by Heiko Maas, the country’s justice minister, only one in 10 rapes in Germany is reported and just 8 per cent of rape trials result in convictions.

    Conservative lawmakers had previously resisted changing the law until a string of attacks in Cologne during New Year’s sparked a fresh debate about sexual violence in Germany. Authorities said most of the attacks were carried out by asylum seekers, leading some to question whether last year’s influx of young men from predominantly Muslim countries could be properly integrated in Germany.

    Others noted that Germany lagged behind most western nations in its definition of rape and that sexual assaults were a feature of German society before large numbers of migrants arrived last year.

    Under the new law, prosecutors and courts can take into account that a victim didn’t resist assault because they were incapacitated, surprised or feared greater violence if they objected.

    (AP)

  • KATE BECKINSALE’S UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS TO RELEASE IN 2017

    KATE BECKINSALE’S UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS TO RELEASE IN 2017

    Kate Beckinsale starrer “Underworld: Blood Wars” is set to release on January 6 next year .

    The film, which also stars Theo James, was earlier set to release on October 14 this year, reports variety.com.

    German cinematographer Anna Foerster, a longtime collaborator with Roland Emmerich, is making her feature directorial debut helming the Cory Goodman screenplay.

    Trent Garrett, Tobias Menzies, Lara Pulver, Clementine Nicholson, Bradley James and Charles Dance are also starring in the fifth film of the ‘Underworld’ franchise.

    Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi are producing along with David Kern, Len Wiseman and Richard S. Wright.

    The previous four films in the franchise have together grossed$460 million worldwide. The franchise was launched in 2003 with ‘Underworld’, directed by Len Wiseman and starring Beckinsale as the vampire Selene who is killing the Lycans (Werewolves) who allegedly slaughtered her family.

    The next three films were 2006’s ‘Underworld: Evolution’, 2009’s ‘Underworld: Rise of the Lycans’ and 2012’s ‘Underworld: Awakening’.

  • LINDSAY LOHAN WISHES TO START FAMILY

    LINDSAY LOHAN WISHES TO START FAMILY

    Looking forward to the next decade of her life, Lindsay Lohan has said that she has ambitions of having children .

    ‘ The Mean Girls’ actress, who celebrated her 30th birthday on July 2, has revealed that she has plans of “making more films, writing my book, starting my charity, working with children a lot,” reports Channel24.

    The 30-year-old actress, who is currently dating Egor Tarabasov, added, “Maybe having some of my own soon -after I get some movies done first.”

    Speaking to a leading magazine on the occasion of her birthday, Lohan admitted, “”I can’t turn back time. But if I could, I would have listened more to my mother and gone back home to NYC earlier in life and chosen my friends more wisely.”

  • MOVIE REVIEW #SULTAN

    MOVIE REVIEW #SULTAN

    STORY: Sultan starts wrestling to win Aarfa’s heart -but what happens when Sultan loses Aarfa? And when, many years and multiple kilos later, he faces a much deadlier fight?

    REVIEW: So, this is the first movie where Salman Khan takes off his shirt and everyone – including Khan -shudders. Portraying Sultan, who goes from being fit and lean to a gloomy, middle-aged, paunch-burdened man, Khan performs with elan and unhappiness, his acting giving Sultan a nice, rounded punch.

    Rewari lad Sultan (Salman) falls in love with wrestling champion Aarfa (Anushka), who tells him no ganwaar lacking a goal can win her. Sultan determinedly joins Aarfa’s father’s akhaara – the scene where he switches from ‘Barkat bhai’ to ‘uncle’ is fun -and trains so hard, he wins every championship and Aarfa’s heart.

    But when Sultan wins the Olympics, he loses his head and in his arrogance, loses Aarfa and more. The only way Sultan can win Aarfa – and his own identity – back is by competing in entrepreneur Akash Oberoi’s (Amit) Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament.

    But can the desi wrestler, now overweight and broken-spirited, compete against the world’s toughest judo, karate and capoeira champions?

    Salman gives a fighting performance, his character graph moving plausibly from a cheery, everyday “loojer” to a determined athlete, an arrogant star, a crushed, depressed, lonely guy. Anushka plays her familiar feisty girl, with a rustic twang and self-control, but fairly little change.

    The performance which really impresses is Sultan’s friend Govind (Anant), who stands by his buddy through broken heart and crushed rib, charming throughout. Amit Sadh presents an attractive persona while Kumud Mishra, as Anushka’s father and Sultan’s guru, adds noticeable subtlety to the drama. Sultan’s dialogues also “oopher” a Haryanvi kick while its visuals are fresh and attractive, swaying with Rewari’s eucalyptus trees and gushing canals.

    The trouble is its length. At nearly three hours of runtime, Sultan gets heavy and repetitive – only so many training sequences can look sharp and by the time Randeep Hooda shows up as MMA coach Fateh Singh, resembling a perennially eating Brad Pitt from Ocean’s Eleven, but overacting as he gets senti about Sultan, you become restive. By cutting 30 minutes of flab – running commentaries, kite-running, taalas, taalis – Sultan could’ve been a leaner, meaner movie. As it is, it’s more a large lassi, not an espresso shot.

  • WHY ALIA BHATT DOESN’T WANT SPOTLIGHT ON HER PRIVATE LIFE?

    WHY ALIA BHATT DOESN’T WANT SPOTLIGHT ON HER PRIVATE LIFE?

    Alia Bhatt is surely one of those who believes in keeping her personal life away from the limelight, as she does not want to be the focus of attention because of it. In a recent interview, 23-year-old Alia said, “Keeping my personal life away from the public glare just saves me from any further damage. It’s more a way of caution rather than getting hurt. I feel when you start talking about it, your entire life revolves around that.”

    She added, “I admit that it does happen by default but I am here to work and be known as an actor and not someone who has a happening personal life.”

    On the work front, Alia, who has given back to back hit movies ‘Udta Punjab’ and ‘Kapoor and Sons (Since 1921)’ this year, will next be seen in Karan Malhotra’s directorial ‘Shuddhi‘ opposite Varun Dhawan.