Month: May 2015

Uber’s updated ‘SOS’ button to send live GPS updates to police control room

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Taxi hailing app Uber today said it has upgraded its ‘SOS button’, which when pressed will now send a real-time alert to the local police control room directly to respond to the emergency.

The US-based firm had introduced the SOS button in February this year, following concerns of safety after a woman was allegedly raped in the City by a driver working for the firm.

Earlier, using the SOS button, users could dial 100 as well as share their trip details and real-time location with up to five friends and family members.

Facebook glitch makes users’ posts disappear

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Facebook has reported that a glitch had caused users posts to disappear and new links are apparently being blocked when posting is attempted.

According to the Verge, the bug only affected posts containing links to content outside of Facebook. The bug has caused major problems for users.

The problem seems to have begun with issues in Facebook’s image-scraping system, which automatically pulls pictures from posted links.

After Punjab, Maharashtra, Rahul to hit the road in Telangana

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After his visits to Punjab and Maharashtra to meet farmers, Congress vice president Sonia Gandhi is likely to undertake two-day tour of Telangana this month with focus on the issue of farmers’ suicide.

Gandhi is likely to visit the state in the second or third week of May to meet families of farmers who committed suicide due to distress. “The dates have not yet been finalized but it will be a two-day visit,” senior party leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir told IANS.

Fan beats Niwa at table tennis worlds

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Youth Olympics champion Fan Zhendong handed a five-set loss to Koki Niwa at the World Table Tennis Championships here on Friday.

The 18-year-old World No.4 beat 12th-ranked Japanese 11-5, 12-14, 11-2, 11-2, 11-9 and reached the men’s singles quarterfinals, reports Xinhua.

He will take on the winner of the match between German Timo Boll and Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting on Saturday.

IANS

Britney Spears to launch her video game

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Singer Britney Spears is getting her own video game and has signed an eight-year partnership with a game developer.

The “Toxic” hitmaker has inked an eight-year mobile gaming partnership with Glu Mobile, the San Francisco-based developer behind the game “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood”, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Glu Mobile’s CEO Niccolo de Masi said: “We’ve signed an exclusive mobile gaming partnership with (Britney) Spears for up to eight years. The singer is an iconic Grammy Award winning talent with nearly 90 million total social followers and a highly successful Las Vegas show.

Swift photographed leaving house with Harris

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Singer Taylor Swift and her boyfriend DJ Calvin Harris were seen leaving her house here in his car.

On Thursday, the “Blank space” songstress was in the passenger seat of Harris’s black Range Rover, while her boyfriend drove them out of her house, reports aceshowbiz.com

In some photographs obtained by Mail Online, the couple was all smiles.

Swift was seen playing with her cellphone and at one time, she showed Calvin something on her phone which made him smile.

President greets workers on May Day

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President Pranab Mukherjee extended his greetings and good wishes to workers of India on May Day.

“On the occasion of May Day, I extend my heartiest greetings and good wishes to all the workers of India,” Mukherjee said in a message, adding it is an occasion to pay tribute to the contribution that workers have made to progress, prosperity and well-being of Indian society.

“The increasing production and higher standards of living that our economy has witnessed would not have been possible without the relentless efforts of our vital labour force,” he said.

Assam girl rape: Protest held outside Gurgaon police station

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People belonging to the north-eastern states on Friday staged a protest outside a police station here over inaction in an Assam girl’s rape incident on April 29 and demanded immediate arrest of the accused.

Over 150 people, including women, gathered outside the DLF-1 police station and protested for over three hours.

Both the accused and the victim worked at the Golden Eye Guest House in DFL-1 area.

The protest was held under the banner of the north-east support centre helpline.

Kerry to back Lanka’s reconciliation efforts

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US Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive in Colombo on Saturday on a 2-day visit to express support for the efforts by the new Sri Lankan government to boost democracy, human rights and ensure reconciliation with Tamils.

Kerry will become the first US Secretary of State to visit Sri Lanka in 10 years. Commenting on the visit, a US State Department official in Washington yesterday said Kerry will express support for the efforts taken by the new Maithripala Sirisena government to expand the space for democracy and human rights.

Jaishankar, Doval call on Nepal PM; take stock of NDRF relief operations

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Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Friday called on Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala during their visit to the quake-hit Himalayan nation.

During their visit, the duo also reviewed the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescue and relief operations in the areas affected by the earthquake.

“We have taken an account of how the Nepalese government and the Nepalese Army are working and how the NDRF is assisting them with total dedication and a total sense of commitment and they have done very good work,” Doval said.

Albury rape: Mayor Kevin Mack apologises for ‘victim blaming’ comment

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Shortly after Mayor Kevin Mack encouraged women to not walk alone and to have someone with them “at all times” as that in itself, was an “invitation” for someone to take advantage of them, he has now apologised for making the comment.

Mack had made the statement while reacting to the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Albury, southern New South Wales, on Tuesday. He later clarified by saying that the girl had not done “anything wrong,” reported ABC News.

The reaction drew widespread condemnation on social media, with many accusing the mayor of blaming the victim.

Supporting Yadav-Bhushan’s ‘Swaraj Samvad’ anti-party: Maharashtra AAP

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Aam Aadmi Party’s Maharashtra unit on Friday cautioned party workers in a fresh reminder that supporting the campaign of former leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan will be considered as an “anti- party” activity.

Party national spokesperson and senior leader in the state, Preeti Sharma Menon told PTI here that they have issued a fresh directive that bars workers and volunteers from associating with the campaign of Yadav and Bhushan.

India’s early disaster warning system is world class: Harsh Vardhan

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Union Minister for Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan on Friday said that India has developed a “world class” disaster warning system in the last 10 years, claiming it to be “even better than some countries.” “When Tsunami came in the month of December 2004, you can say that we were literally taken by surprise. And the country virtually had no system to be able to (predict),” Dr Vardhan said during a visit to the Indian Association For the Cultivation of Science.

Food Krafters buys iconic brand Hyderabad House

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Food Krafters and Services LLP (FKS) today said it has acquired Hyderabad House (HH), a leading brand that serves famous Hyderabadi ‘Kacche Ghost ki Biryani’ and other Deccan delicacies.

The company said it also plans to invest Rs 35 crore in the next two years to open 50 outlets in the country.

“To add more visibility and vibrancy, FKS intends to rebrand Hyderabad House in an all new design, with a view of providing traditional culinary experience to its patrons in a semi QSR format,” the company said in a statement without disclosing the size of the deal.

U.S. seeks counter-terrorism tips from Bangladesh

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The United States has sought tips from Bangladesh to deal with global terrorism and extremism, saying many countries could replicate Dhaka’s experience in addressing the issue.

U.S. Under Secretary of States for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said this during her meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Gono Bhaban here yesterday.

The Prime Minister’s ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal were also present during the interaction.

Tomar issue: Cong demands Kejriwal’s resignation; plans stirs

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The Congress today demanded the resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on “moral and ethical grounds” for “trying to shield” Law Minister Jitendra Singh Tomar, who is embroiled in a court case for allegedly possessing a fake Law Degree.

It also reiterated its demand for the sacking of Tomar and said it would hold “continuous agitation” all over the state to press for his removal.

Earthquake of ‘moderate intensity’ shakes Andaman

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An earthquake shook the Andaman Islands on Friday afternoon, with experts referring to it as being of ‘moderate intensity’.

“An earthquake of moderate intensity occurred in the Andaman Islands at 2.29 pm today. The earthquake, which measured 5.4 on the Richter scale, occurred in latitude 10.8 degree north and longitude 92.0 east,” Seismology Department director JL Gautam told ANI.

“We have had no reports of causalities so far,” he added.

Gautam further said that the Andaman tremor was not connected to the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal and northern India on April 25.

Voice search service ‘Ok Google’ can now be used by third-party apps

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Google’s voice search service can now be used on apps developed by third-party developers.

Ok Google is the voice search service of Google.

Apps like NPR One, TuneIn, Zillow, Flixster, TripAdvisor are enjoying early access to the Custom Voice Actions feature.

The service for now is limited to selected group of apps which include Flixster, Instacart, Lincoln, NPR One, Realtor.com, Shazam, TripAdvisor, Trulia, TuneIn Radio, Walmart, Wink, Zillow.

The voice commands are fairly restricted even within the apps that are supported. (ANI)

Sofia Vergara’s ex says keeping embryos frozen is same as killing them

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Sofia Vergara’s former fiance Nick Loeb has said that he believes that her desire to keep the embryos they created together frozen is same as having an abortion.

In an op-ed for the New York, Loeb, who sued Vergara for the right to bring those embryos to term, revealed that the embryos were the cause of his breakup with Sofia, TMZ.com reported.

He says she cooled on the idea of having kids but he was committed and believed they had already created life.

Congress launches protests against fuel price hike

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Pushing their bikes towards Jantar Mantar , National Students’ Union of India ( NSUI) workers on Friday

staged a protest against the fuel price hike.

Meanwhile, Youth Congress in Patna workers also staged a protest against the fuel price hike and burnt the effigy of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi.

The agitators shouted slogans denouncing the Central government and also demanded that the price hike be withdrawn.

“We are protesting because government has increased price on petrol and diesel. If they do not slash down the price, then we will

Saudi says dozens of Yemen rebels dead in border battle

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Saudi Arabia said its forces today killed dozens of rebels from Yemen who launched their first major attack on the kingdom since Saudi-led air strikes began last month.

Three Saudi soldiers also died in the battle after the rebels targeted their observation posts, the defence ministry said.

“The ground troops today repelled an attack at the southern Najran border” by Huthi Shiites and allied troops loyal to Yemen’s former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, it said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Supreme Court stays two defamation cases against Arvind Kejriwal

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The Supreme Court on Friday stayed proceedings in trial courts in two criminal defamation cases against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and decided to hear them along with the pleas in which the constitutional validity of the penal provisions have been challenged.

The apex court did not accept the plea that prosecution should continue in the trial court in the defamation cases filed by former union minister Kapil Sibal’s son and Sheila Dikshit’s ex-political secretary against Kejriwal and others.

Corporate espionage: Court to consider charge sheet on May 7

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A Delhi court on Friday fixed May 7 for considering the charge sheet filed against three arrested accused, including two government officials, in the corporate espionage case for allegedly possessing “sensitive” documents relating to various ministries.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Satish Kumar Arora posted the matter for the next date after the proceedings could not take place today due to the ongoing lawyers’ strike against the delay in enhancing pecuniary jurisdiction of trial courts.

FDA orders FIR against Snapdeal CEO in case of online medicines sale

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Maharashtra’s Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) on Friday said it has ordered filing of FIR against e-commerce major Snapdeal.com’s CEO Kunal Bahl and directors of the company in a case related to alleged online sale of medicines, including prescription drugs.

FDA Commissioner Harshadeep Kamble told reporters here that filing of an FIR has been ordered against Bahl as well as directors of Snapdeal. When contacted, the company spokesperson did not offer any immediate comment.

Black money: SIT advisor given three-month extension

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Former CBDT chairman K V Chowdary has been given a three-month extension as the advisor to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money.

The Finance Ministry today issued orders for the extension of the senior IRS officer following which his term will now end on July 31. He was first appointed advisor to the high- powered panel in November, 2014 for a period of six months which had ended yesterday.