Indian actor Shiney Ahuja jailed in rape case

Award-winning Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja has been sentenced to seven years in prison for raping his maid. The actor was found guilty by a special fast-track court in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay). He has maintained his innocence throughout the trial. His lawyer said he would appeal against the sentence. Ahuja was arrested in June 2009 and charged with rape, criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement. He was granted bail in October. But the court ordered the actor to stay away from Mumbai while on bail. Judge PM Chouhan pronounced Ahuja guilty on Wednesday despite the 20-year-old victim withdrawing her allegation of rape last year. She...

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Team takes flight to Mumbai ASAP

COLOMBO: Kumar Sangakkara decided to waste absolutely no time and took the next immediate flight available for Mumbai with his team on Wednesday morning to be in the right atmosphere where Sri Lanka will play their third World Cup final and the second successive one. The team arrived at Colombo's S Bandarnayake international aiport merely five hours after they finished with the semifinal here, beating New Zealand. The streets of Colombo witnessed stunning sights of celebrations throughout the night as the team packed their bags to leave on the big assignment. The much-fancied Galle Face Road in Colombo, home to the city's best five star hotels,...

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Nifty nears 5800; DLF, M&M, Dr Reddy’s, HDFC gain

MUMBAI: Indian markets extended gains for seventh straight session taking cues from positive global peers. All the sectoral indices were in the green with realty, healthcare and metals stocks leading the upmove. "The start today will be good, spurred by encouraging global cues. India Inc. may suffer a bit in terms of productivity but there is unlikely to be any material impact on market volumes. What could have a bearing is the last minute year-end rebalancing and F&O related gyrations. The undertone has turned around in the past few sessions. The key indices have surpassed the crucial 200-DMA levels, propelled by renewed pick-up in FII...

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Nifty firm near 5800; realty, auto, banks up

MUMBAI: Indian markets continued to gain momentum as investors bought stocks across the board ahead of March series F&O expiry. Rate sensitive sectors led the rally while FMCG space was marginally in the red. At 2:10 pm; National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5780.55, up 44.20 points or 0.77 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5803.15 and low of 5753.90 intraday. Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 19271.75, up 150.95 points or 0.79 per cent. The 30-share index touched a high of 19357.10 and low of 19178.77 in trade so far. BSE Midcap Index was up 1.07 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.94 per cent higher. Amongst the...

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Deciphering Hidden Code Reveals Brain Activity

Geoffrey K. Aguirre, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, says "the same math that could break into your car can be used to crack the brain's codes." It's called a de Bruijn sequence, which is a set or "alphabet" of things (letters, pictures, sounds) in a cyclic order such that every possible "word" or combination of things occurs only once. De Bruijn sequences are what mathematicians call "pseudo-random" because they appear to be a confused jumble but actually contain an underlying structure. To break into a car protected by an electronic lock with a five-digit numerical keycode, for example,...

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Like Products, Plants Wait for Optimal Configuration Before Market Success

Just as a company creates new, better versions of a product to increase market share and pad its bottom line, an international team of researchers led by Brown University has found that plants tinker with their design and performance before flooding the environment with new, improved versions of themselves. The issue: When does a grouping of plants with the same ancestor, called a clade, begin to spin off new species? Biologists have long assumed that rapid speciation occurred when a clade first developed a new physical trait or mechanism and had begun its own genetic branch. But the team, led by Brown postdoctoral research associate Stephen...

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“I don’t know about Vijay’s plans,” says SAC

SA Chandrasekar, while addressing the media persons yesterday, said that he will campaign vigorously for AIADMK’s victory. The director said that he and his son plan to remain in the entertainment business for now and the support for the AIADMK is to bring in a change so that people could live peacefully. When reporters questioned about Vijay’s campaign plan, the director said that there are just a few days to the election and Vijay’s mode of campaign will be announced by the actor himse...

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Ko release date confirmed!

Yes, we just heard it from the horse's mouth! Director KV Anand has announced that the release date of his much awaited Ko is set for the 15th of April. This is one movie that has been garnering the attention of the media and the audience ever since its launch. STR was to play the lead but he was later replaced by Jiiva and yesteryear heroine Radha's daughter Karthika Nair makes her Tamil debut with this film. Ajmal and Piaa Bajpai play important roles in this film which will apparently be two times better than Ayan. The movie is rumored to be about a photo journalist (Jiiva) who helps his friend (Ajmal) to enter politics by offering him the...

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Vikram’s get-up in Deiva Thirumagan

Vikram, who plays the lead star in Deiva Thirumagan, will appear as an 18-year-old boy. The actor has undergone rigorous exercise to tone down his body so that he could fit in the role. Sources in Kollywood say that the scene in which he appears as young lad has come out well and his efforts have not gone waste. It may be mentioned here that Suriya has appeared as a school-going kid in Aadhavan and this created a lot of hype for that film prior to its release. Deiva Thirumagan is directed by Madarasapattinam fame Vijay and has Anushka and Amala Paul playing the female lead...

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Mappillai release confirmed

It is official now! The Dhanush starrer Mappillai will hit the silver screens on April 8th. The film was recently awarded with a U certificate. Sun Pictures is distributing this film and therefore the expectations are high. Further, Mappillai is the remake of the yesteryear smash hit of the same name in which Rajinikanth had starred. With his son-in-law Dhanush donning the greasepaint for the role he essayed, the fans are eager to find out how he has fared. The film is directed by Suraj and stars Hansika Motwani as Dhanush’s lead pair. Bollywood star Manisha Koirala plays a very powerful role in this fi...

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Stigma Attached to Being Fat Is Going Global

A cross-cultural study of attitudes toward obesity has found that stigma against overweight people is becoming a cultural norm around the world, even in places where larger bodies have traditionally been valued. Researchers from Arizona State University surveyed people in nine diverse locations around the world and found negative attitudes toward fat bodies in every one. The results suggest a rapid "globalization of fat stigma" in which overweight people are increasingly viewed as ugly, undesirable, lazy, or lacking in self control, the researchers said. "Previously, a wide range of ethnographic studies have shown that many human societies...

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A Person is Happiest at 80 Years of Age

Elderly and not youngsters are the most happiest with a new study revealing that happiness in a human being peaks when he is 80 years of age. The recent study, led by Professor Lewis Wolpert at University College London, found that those under 30 years of age were “averagely happy” but the level of happiness declined as they entered their middle ages and they became embroiled in supporting their family. Nearly 350,000 people were surveyed by the researchers as part of the study. However with all the responsibilities over by mid forties, the cheerfulness returns with the researchers saying that the happiness would be at its maximum in their...

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Microsoft ships Windows 8 test version to PC makers

Microsoft has begun to ship the first test version of its Windows 8 operating system to PC manufacturers – at least that is what posts on online forums are buzzing about, which means a 2012 release that is late into that year isn’t going to be derailed anytime soon. Microsoft certainly places a lot of importance on Windows 8 simply because it will come with special features for tablets.  Apart from that, Windows 8 will also boast the virtue of being the first version of the full Windows desktop OS that is able to run on low-powered ARM processors which are seen in most tablet devices, not to mention a design that clearly favors touchscreen...

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LG Optimus Big Leaked ?

Photos of a new LG device , codenamed LG Optimus Big, have been leaked online. The LG Optimus Big is thought  to feature a huge 4.3 inch touch-screen which will no run at a high resolution for superb multi-media playback and web-browsing.The screen is expect to be a Super AMOLED. Strangely, the leak suggests the new device will feature a single-core 1 GHz processor, but we wouldn't be surprised if this proved inaccurate. Other reported features are few and far between with the only other detail being support for T-DMB, which is only supported in Korea. The photos above have come from Korean site Xportsnews and show a  device slightly...

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Firefox 4 for Android Smartphones and Tablets

Firefox 4 for Android has been released for Android based smartphones and tablets. It is also available for Nokia Maemo devices. Some of the main updates are that Firefox 4 hides your browser controls when not needed which gives a larger viewing area.  With Firefox Sync you can install add-ons right from your phone or tablet to customize your browser exactly the way you like. Type less with the Awesome Screen, which gives you one-tap access to your bookmarks, history and custom list of search engines. Tabbed browsing allows for easy navigation and fast switching between Web sites with just one swipe of your finger. Firefox say that the...

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Radioactive Material from Japanese Nuclear Plant Spreads Across Globe

Authorities across Asia and the United States are reporting small amounts of radiation from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, but they all say it poses no threat to public health. China's Environmental Protection Ministry issued a statement Tuesday saying low levels of radioactive iodine-131 have been detected along the country's southeastern region, including Guangxi, Guangdong and Shanghai.  The same radioactive material was detected a few days ago in northeastern Heilongjiang province.  South Korea's state-run Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety says it has detected radioactive iodine in Seoul and several other areas across...

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Workers At Japanese Nuclear Plant Face Grim Conditions

When workers at the damaged nuclear plant in Japan are not toiling to avert a catastrophic nuclear meltdown, they are enduring the most basic living conditions. An official with Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, Kazuma Yokota, spent several days at the plant recently and on Tuesday gave reporters their first glimpse into the workers' routine. Yokota said the workers at the Fukushima plant sleep anywhere they can find floor space, including conference rooms and corridors, in a building on the grounds of the plant.  The building is designed to withstand radiation, but officials say radiation levels inside the building are still...

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Radiation Spike Detected in Ocean Near Japanese Nuclear Plant

Japan's nuclear safety agency says radioactive iodine has been detected at more than 3,000 times the allowable level in the ocean near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Officials said Wednesday that the water sample, with the highest levels yet recorded, was collected about 300 meters from the Fukushima plant, which has been leaking radiation since its cooling systems were knocked out by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11. Prime Minister Naoto Kan received a phone call Wednesday from U.S. President Barack Obama offering any help in dealing with the nuclear crisis and the natural disasters, which have now left more than 27,500...

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Chandy not in Rahul's good books: Balakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Wednesday said things would be tough for opposition Congress leader Oommen Chandy as it was obvious that he was not in the good books of party general secretary Rahul Gandhi. "Our party has no problems about who the leader is, instead all the confusion and problems are there in the Congress party. (Rahul) Gandhi does not favour Chandy, instead Ramesh Chennithala has got his blessings," Balakrishnan told reporters here. "This is evident from the number of candidates owing allegiance to Chennithala who have been given Congress tickets to contest the forthcoming assembly polls,"...

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AERB to reassess safety measures at Indian N-plants

Atomic Energy Regulatory Board today said it would carry out a comprehensive reassessment of safety and emergency mitigation measures at all the Indian nuclear power plants, in the light of the crisis in Japan. Emergency-preparedness plans exist for all nuclear power plants in India, and they are periodically “rehearsed”, AERB said here. “However, in the light of the unprecedented event in Japan, AERB will be carrying out a comprehensive reassessment of safety and emergency mitigation measures of all the Indian nuclear power plants,” AERB Secretary R. Bhattacharya said here in a statement. AERB is constantly monitoring the situation at Japan’s...

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PM promises independent nuclear regulator

Stressing, in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident, that the government was committed to ensuring the safety of Indian nuclear power plants, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said steps would be taken to make the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) “truly autonomous and independent.” “We will strengthen the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and make it a truly autonomous and independent regulatory authority. We will ensure that it is of the highest and the best international standards,” he said here at a function honouring nuclear scientists. Though the AERB is tasked with ensuring the safe use [of] nuclear energy, its lack of independence...

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