Month: June 2015

The Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) has recently issued new Rs.100 currency notes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 with a new numbering pattern, an official statement said.

The numerals, henceforth, in both the number panels of these new currency notes will be in ascending size from left to right. However, the prefix, the first three alphanumeric characters will remain constant in size, the RBI said.

This is a new visible security feature in the bank notes to enable public identify and distinguish it from a counterfeit one.

Madhya Pradesh BJP President Nandkumar Chouhan on Tuesday slammed the ‘dirty politics’ over the deaths of the Vyapam scam accused and said his party was opposed to the politicization of the issue.

“It was being publicized that 44 people, who were accused by the SIT, have died and it is being politicized. We have kept this issue in front of the SIT. I am announcing the facts in front of you. On 7 July 2013, before the filing of the FIR, 11 people had died. And 14 people died after the filing of the FIR,” said Chouhan.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has called on the BBC and other media outlets to avoid using the term Islamic State in reference to the terror outfit, saying it gives undue credibility to the “poisonous death cult”.

“I wish the BBC would stop calling it ‘Islamic State’ because it is not an Islamic state,” he told the BBC’s ‘Today’?programme.

Cameron believes it gives undue credibility to the “poisonous death cult” that is “seducing” young Britons to go and fight for the terrorist organisation in Syria and Iraq.

Israel has deported Tunisian ex-president Moncef Marzouki and European parliament member Ana Miranda after they took part in a flotilla seeking to defy its Gaza blockade, an official said.

“The (former) president of Tunisia and the Spanish lawmaker flew this morning. There are another 14 who have begun the expulsion process,” a spokeswoman for Israel’s immigration authority told AFP.

Israel had yesterday commandeered the Swedish-flagged Marianne of Gothenburg, part of the so-called Freedom Flotilla III, and accompanied it to the port of Ashdod.

Flagging subdued rural economy as a ‘credit negative’ for India’s sovereign rating, global giant Moody’s today said there are growing concerns about risk of policy stagnation and “some disappointment” has emerged over the pace of reforms under the Modi government.

In its latest ‘Inside India’ report, Moody’s Investors Service said the consensus view on India’s economic growth prospects is relatively optimistic and in line with Moody’s baseline forecast of 7.5 per cent expansion in current fiscal.

Suicide attackers today targeted foreign troops in Kabul and a police headquarters in restive southern Afghanistan, killing two people and wounding nearly 60, as the Taliban’s bloody summer offensive showed no signs of letting up.

A powerful blast echoed around the Afghan capital as a suicide car bomber hit a convoy of foreign military vehicles on the main road to the airport, around 500 metres from the US embassy, wounding at least 17 people.

BJP, an alliance partner of the ruling AINRC, today demanded that Chief Minister N Rangasamy ensure that the free rice scheme for all sections of people be restricted to cover the poor and have-nots by adopting the income basis.

General Secretary of Puducherry state unit of BJP R V Swaminathan said in a release here that 10 kg free rice is now available to all card holders, irrespective of their income. This should be modified so that those coming under the Income Tax assessment could be kept out of the scheme and government could also save heavy expenditure

A new study has revealed that cranberry juice may help protect against heart disease and diabetes risk factors.

As per the study, drinking low-calorie cranberry juice cocktail may help lower the risk of chronic diseases that rank among the leading causes of death worldwide, including heart disease, diabetes and stroke. The finding shows that cranberries provide a rich source of protective compounds, called polyphenols, which support our body’s natural defences and help us achieve a balanced lifestyle to improve health.

Egyptian chefs have given popular Arabic dessert, the Kunafa, several twists for this Ramadan.

Dessert makers have recreated and are offering “Red velvet Kunafa”, which consists of a layer of Kunafa, made out of spun shredded wheat, combined with a layer of red velvet cake and fresh whipped cream. Another creation called “Chocolate Kunafa” is also gaining popularity, where the sweet treat is mixed with sweetened hazelnut Nutella chocolate spread, and topped with round balls of Maltesers, Al Arabia reported. Meanwhile, Mango Kunafa has also remained popular in Egypt this Ramadan.

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed Nestle India to export Maggi noodles after Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said it had no objection to the company selling the product abroad though it stood by its decision to ban nine variants of the food snack in the country for being hazardous to public health.

“Why blame us…If the company claims that its product is safe and follows the safety standards then let them export it instead of destroying,” FSSAI counsel Mahmood Pracha argued before a bench of Justices V M Kanade and B P Colabawala.

A new study has suggested that employees should nap at work to boost their productivity.

University of Michigan study finds that taking a nap may be an effective strategy to counteract impulsive behavior and to boost tolerance for frustration.

Napping, the researchers say, can be a cost-efficient and easy strategy to increase workplace safety. In other words, employers may find their employees more productive when the workplace has nap pods in the workplace or extended break times are offered.

The Punjab Police on Tuesday used water cannons to disperse NSUI workers, who were protesting against the state government.

The NSUI was demanding that action be taken against the drug menace in the state.

Detailed story to follow. (ANI)

The Congress staged a protest against Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde here on Tuesday over the allegations of irregularities in awarding a Rs 191 crore contract.

Tawde had earlier said that the allegations levelled against him are false and a ‘political conspiracy’.

Tawde is facing allegations of irregularities in a contract awarded by him.

The finance department has sought a detailed probe into allegations of irregularities in a Rs 191 crore contract awarded by Tawde’s School Education Department without e-tendering.

BJP MLA OP Sharma broke the microphone placed near his seat in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

Sharma was upset as he believed he was not being allowed to speak in the Assembly after the Speaker ordered that his mic be switched off.

Detailed story to follow. (ANI)

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday nominated a female judge to sit on the Supreme Court in an unprecedented move that has angered some Islamic conservatives.

Anisa Rasouli, the head of the Afghan Women Judges Association and a former juvenile court judge, was the only female nominated to the nine-member bench after the announcement was delayed due to opposition by a group of Islamic conservatives earlier this month.

“I’m proud to announce that for the very first time I have nominated a woman to the Supreme Court,” Ghani told a gathering of diplomats and women’s rights activists.

A huge explosion has shaken the Afghan capital, Kabul, sending a plume of black smoke over the city’s western suburbs.

The deputy chief of Kabul police, Sayed Gulagha has confirmed it was an explosion and says it appears to have occurred near a busy shopping district.

The explosion comes as government employees are leaving their offices at the end of the working day, which is shorter during the Ramadan month of fasting.

Singer Chris Brown says he has made “a lot of mistakes” in the past, but admits he has learnt a “lot of lessons” from them.

“I ain’t good with speeches. A lot has changed in my life, a lot of mistakes, a lot of lessons learned. The best thing, I’m most thankful for is my daughter. At the end of the day, love is love. I love everybody.

A new system that repairs dangerous software bugs by automatically importing functionality from other, more secure apps in just two minutes has been found, says researchers.

The study was done by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The system called CodePhage repairs software errors by transferring code from a “donor” application to the program it is repairing. Remarkably, it does not require access to the source code of the applications whose functionality it is borrowing, the study said.

Facebook has yet again tinkered with its news feed algorithm — this time to show you more videos similar to ones you expand to full-screen, un-mute or opt to watch in HD.

Facebook would take it for granted that you loved that particular video, even if you do not like, share or comment.

Those same signals will tell Facebook that a video is enjoyable so the News Feed shows it to more people, TechCrunch reported.