Science
News This Week:
1) Harm
and response: Plants recognize and respond to different insects:
We often think of damage on a surface
level.But for plants, much of the important response to an insect bite takes
place out of sight. Over minutes and hours, particular plant genes are turned
on and off to fight back, translating into changes in its defenses.
In one of
the broadest studies of its kind, scientists at the University of Missouri Bond
Life Sciences Center recently looked at all plant genes and their response to
the enemy.
"There
are 28,000 genes in the plant, and we detected 2,778 genes responding,
depending on the type of insect," said Jack Schultz, Bond LSC director and
study co-author. "Imagine you only look at a few of these genes, you get a
very limited picture and possibly one that doesn't represent what's going on at
all. This is by far the most comprehensive study of its type, allowing
scientists to draw conclusions and get it right."Their results showed that
the model Arabidopsis plant recognizes and responds differently to four insect
species. The insects cause changes on a transcriptional level, triggering
proteins that switch on and off plant genes to help defend against more
attacks.
The
difference in the insect
"It
was no surprise that the plant responded differently to having its leaves
chewed by a caterpillar or pierced by an aphid's needle-like mouthparts,"
said Heidi Appel, Bond LSC Investigator and lead author of the study. "But
we were amazed that the plant responded so differently to insects that feed in
the same way."
Plants
fed on by caterpillars -- cabbage butterfly and beet armyworms -- shared less
than a quarter of their changes in gene expression. Likewise, plants fed on by
the two species of aphids shared less than 10 percent of their changes in gene
expression.The plant responses to caterpillars were also very different than
the plant response to mechanical wounding, sharing only about 10 percent of
their gene expression changes. The overlap in plant gene responses between
caterpillar and aphid treatments was also only 10 percent."The important
thing is plants can tell the insects apart and respond in significantly
different ways," Schultz said. "And that's more than most people give
plants credit for."A sister study explored this phenomena further, led by
former MU doctoral student Erin Rehrig.It showed feeding of both caterpillars
increased jasmonate and ethylene -- well-known plant hormones that mediate
defense responses. However, plants responded quicker and more strongly when fed
on by the beet armyworm than by the cabbage butterfly caterpillar in most
cases, indicating again that the plant can tell the two caterpillars apart.The
result is that the plant turns defense genes on earlier for beet armyworm.
In
ecological terms, a quick defense response means the caterpillar won't hang
around very long and will move on to a different meal source.
More
questions
A study
this large has potential to open up a world of questions begging for
answers."Among the genes changed when insects bite are ones that regulate
processes like root growth, water use and other ecologically significant
process that plants carefully monitor and control," Schultz said.
"Questions about the cost to the plant if the insect continues to eat
would be an interesting follow-up study for doctoral students to explore these
deeper genetic interactions."
2)
Enceladus ocean may resemble Antarctic lake:
Highly
alkaline water on Saturn moon could support alien life. Swimming in the sea of
the Saturnian moon Enceladus might be like taking a dip in household ammonia.
An ocean
hidden beneath the moon’s icy crust is highly alkaline, similar to soda lakes
on Earth, researchers have found. The water chemistry provides a peek at how
the water interacts with rock in the moon’s core, creating an environment in
which life could arise.
3) Ancient
East Asians mixed and mingled multiple times with Neandertals:
More
interbreeding may explain higher level of Neandertal DNA compared with
Europeans. East Asians got a double dose of Neandertal ancestry. That’s the
conclusion of two new studies seeking to explain why East Asians inherited 15
to 30 percent more Neandertal DNA than Europeans did. The results appear in the
March 5 American Journal of Human Genetics.
Recent
research has suggested that Neandertal DNA is slightly detrimental to modern
humans, making some people more prone to certain diseases, for example
Natural
selection should weed out the harmful stuff, but selection may have been less
efficient at jettisoning Neandertal DNA from East Asians because they had a
smaller founding population than Europeans did, one hypothesis suggests.
Smaller founding populations make it more likely that genes, even harmful ones,
might be inherited by chance.An alternative idea holds that European ancestors
bred more often with Africans, who largely lack Neandertal ancestry, diluting
the amount of Neandertal DNA in present-day Europeans. Or East Asian ancestors
may have interbred multiple times with Neandertals, upping the percentage of
the extinct hominid’s DNA that survives in people today.Two pairs of
researchers — Benjamin Vernot and Joshua Akey of the University of Washington
in Seattle and Bernard Kim and Kirk Lohmueller of UCLA — did computer
simulations to test these different possibilities. Both groups independently
concluded that the most likely explanation is that East Asians’ ancestors
interbred with Neandertals more than once.
4)
Earliest tree-dweller, burrower join mammal tree of life:
Deep
ancestors maybe not as boring ecologically as thought. Meet two newly
discovered ancestral mammals: the oldest
known subterranean specialist from the depths of mammalian history and the
group’s oldest known tree-dweller.Fossils of both, found in northeastern China,
belong to an extinct group of mostly small creatures called docodonts,
researchers report in a pair of papers in the Feb. 13 Science. Docodonts, sometimes not considered strictly
mammals, branched off early from the ancient lineage that eventually gave rise
to modern mammals.The fossil of what looks like a shrew-sized specialized
burrower, now named Docofossor brachydactylus, is estimated to be about 160
million years old. It “had a supercapacity to dig but was not very good at much
else,” says Zhe-Xi Luo of the University of Chicago, an author on both papers.
5)
Correlations of quantum particles help in distinguishing physical processes:
mmunication
security and metrology could be enhanced through a study of the role of quantum
correlations in the distinguishability of physical processes, by researchers at
the Universities of Strathclyde and Waterloo.The study involved analysing the
impact of quantum steering -- the way a measurement performed on a particle can
affect another distant particle. The study authors devised a method for both
precisely quantifying steering's impact and relating it to the task of
distinguishing physical processes.
The
research could have significant implications for quantum information
processing.
The study
was carried out by Dr Marco Piani, of Strathclyde's Department of Physics, and
Professor John Watrous, of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and
School of Computer Science. Dr Piani was also at IQC at the time of the
study.Dr Piani said: "Quantum particles can be in a particular state known
as `entangled'. Albert Einstein, with Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen,
scrutinised quantum mechanics and, specifically, the entanglement of quantum
particles. Faced with the perspective of the steering effect, they argued that
quantum mechanics was still an incomplete theory, since it predicted what
Einstein considered a 'spooky action at a distance' -- indeed, two particles
can be at opposite ends of a galaxy and still be entangled."We now know
that steering is a crucial and real quantum effect; however, knowledge about
what steering is actually useful for has remained limited. In our research, we
related steering to the discrimination of physical processes, which seeks to
answer questions about what happens in time to physical systems of interest,
like microscopic particles. We were able to prove that the steering effect is
the key to providing a specific advantage in this type of task.
"Our
results, including the tools we introduced to quantify steering, could be
applied to fields such as quantum cryptography, where secret keys are created
between two parties so they can submit and encrypt messages to communicate
privately -- as it happens, for example, in online banking. Our results could
also be useful in quantum metrology and in other areas of quantum information
processing."Dr Watrous said: "Steering is an interesting phenomenon
in quantum physics. Our work ties this concept in a new way to a specific
information-theoretic task in which it functions as an essential resource. It
is a hypothetical task that you won't find on your to-do list, but it is both
natural and intuitive, and the connection offers a new insight into the nature
of steering."
Movies News
This Week:
The
Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits
an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive
training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.
Follow
the lives of Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Vladislav
(Jemaine Clement) – three flatmates who are just trying to get by and overcome
life’s obstacles-like being immortal vampires who must feast on human blood.
Hundreds of years old, the vampires are finding that beyond sunlight
catastrophes, hitting the main artery, and not being able to get a sense of
their wardrobe without a reflection-modern society has them struggling with the
mundane like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into
nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.
The Last
5 Years is a musical chronicling a love affair and marriage taking place over a
five year period. Jamie Wellerstein (Jordan) is a young, talented up and coming
novelist who falls in love with Cathy Hiatt (Kendrick), a struggling actress.
Their story is told almost entirely through song. All of Cathy’s songs begin at
the end of their marriage and move backwards in time to the beginning of their
love affair, while Jamie’s songs start at the beginning of their affair and
move forward to the end of their marriage. They meet in the center when Jamie
proposes.
Zombies
invade the Australian Outback in this brain-splattered, Mad
Max-meets-the-undead thrill ride. When an apocalyptic event turns everyone
around him-including his wife and daughter-into marauding zombies, everyman
mechanic Barry arms himself to the teeth, soups up his car, and hits the road
in order to rescue his sister from a deranged, disco-dancing mad doctor.
Bursting with high-octane car chases, crazy-cool homemade weaponry, and enough
blood-and-guts gore to satisfy hardcore horror fans, this is one movie that
takes the zombie flick to bone-crunchingly berserk new heights.
.jpg)
Kabir
Grewal (Arjun Rampal), a Casanovic film maker and screenwriter is making
multiple films (GUNS Trilogy) based on a thief's life and robberies, all
achieving high success. In order to shoot his third instalment (GUNS 3), he
goes to Malaysia, where he meets a London based film-maker Ayesha Aamir
(Jacqueline Fernandez). Kabir and Ayesha get friendly and soon fall in love.
When Ayesha gets to know about Kabir's casanova attitude, she breaks up with
him and returns to London. Dejected Kabir goes into depression and returns back
to Mumbai, leaving his film incomplete. After several failed trials Kabir
couldn't find a perfect climax for his story. On his assistant Meera's (Shernaz
Pate) suggestion Kabir goes to a film festival as part of the jury, where
Ayesha's film is being screened. Ayesha, thought that Kabir is following her
and asks him to stay away from her life. After his father's (Anupam Kher) death
and been sued by film financiers Kabir decides to move on and complete his
film.
In a
parallel story, An infamous Roy (Ranbir Kapoor) is a mysterious international
Art thief whom no country seems to be able to get their hands on, including
detective Wadia (Rajit Kapur). On his new assignment, Roy goes to an unknown
foreign land to steal an expensive painting only to find that its owner is the
beautiful Tia (Jacqueline Fernandez). Tia lives alone in a huge mansion where
the painting is kept. Hence, Roy tries to befriend Tia in an art auction and
soon impresses her with his charm. A chemistry sparks between the two and both
start spending time together, giving Roy entry into the mansion. Seeking for
the right opportunity, one night Roy runs away with the painting, leaving Tia
heartbroken. Roy later regrets, as he has fallen in love with Tia and hence
decides to return the painting to her. After a small clash with painting's new
owner, Roy manages to get it back. On receiving the paintings Tia realises that
Roy is now a changed man and forgives him.
Meanwhile,
Kabir's film "Guns 3" releases with huge success. It is then revealed
that "Roy" was just an imaginary character in Kabir's film and Roy
& Tia's story was the script of "Guns 3". In the end Kabir
proposes Ayesha and they both reunite, just like Roy and Tia reunite in Kabir's
film. The movie ends with Roy and Tia walking together next to a bridge just
like the painting Roy stole.
Political News
This Week:
1) There's
a group far more dangerous than ISIS!:
Radical
Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir which cleverly avoided global scrutiny while
spreading its ideology may become a more dangerous terrorist group than the
ISIS and it's presence in South Asia should be a cause for concern for India,
according to a report.
"While
ISIS runs amok in Syria and Iraq, demanding media attention through acts of
barbarous cruelty, HuT (Hizb-ut- Tahrir or the Party of Liberation) is quietly
building a global infrastructure of radicalised youth and deep-pocketed Arab
support in preparation for the global Khilafat," said the report published
in the latest edition of CTX Journal.The group has cleverly avoided any intense
global scrutiny while spreading its ideology and support base in nearly 50
countries, said the report.
The group
commands a base of over one million members worldwide. This is far higher than
what ISIS claims to have. Citing reports, the journal said HuT has an armed
wing called Harakat ul-Muhojirinfi Britaniya that is training its cadres in
chemical, bacteriological, and biological warfare.
"HuT,
therefore, has the potential to become an even more dangerous terrorist group
than ISIS," said the journal from US-based Global Education Community
Collaboration Online. Founded in Jerusalem in 1952 and headquartered in London,
the group has branches in Central Asia, Europe, South Asia, and Southeast Asia,
particularly in Indonesia, where it has managed to garner great influence. In
South Asia, HuT has a significant presence in Pakistan and
Bangladesh."Although HuT has reportedly found a foothold in India, its
presence and influence have not made any significant impact," said the
multimedia journal on strategic and security affairs.
"HuT's
growing presence in neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan should be a cause of
concern for India and the larger global community," it said.On its
website, HuT claimed that it had organised a demonstration in 2010 at Batla
House in Delhi in protest against Israel's alleged atrocities.The
demonstration, which was attended by about 1,000 people, was HuT's last reported
activity in India, said the report prepared by Surinder Kumar Sharma, who is
associated with Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
Noting
that at the ideological level there is much in common between HuT and ISIS, the
journal said "the majority of individuals and entities who support ISIS
also support HuT." It said HuT's strategy is different from ISIS and the
group is slowly increasing its social capital by keeping away from overt acts
of terrorism while luring the educated youths. ISIS is an Al Qaeda splinter
group and it has seized hundreds of square miles in Iraq and Syria. Al Qaeda
has distanced itself from the group, chiding it for its lack of teamwork in its
aggressive, brutal expansion. In Bangladesh, HuT has managed to gather the support
of many intellectuals, including doctors, lawyers, and professors. The group
was officially banned in Bangladesh in 2009 for anti-state activities.
Compared
to Bangladesh, HuT has a longer history in Pakistan, where it established its
base in 1990. The group remained underground until 2000.Pakistan banned HuT in
2003 after it was linked with several terror plots, including a plot to kill
former President Pervez Musharraf.Despite the ban, HuT is reportedly deepening
its support among the intelligentsia and military circles, it said. HuT's
global ambition and activities are bankrolled through private donations from
local entrepreneurs to Islamic charity organisations, the report said.
Wealthy
sheikhs from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations, who embrace the pan-Islamic
agenda, also fund the outfit. This financial support is one of the reasons that
HuT believes it will be able to establish the Caliphate, it said. Given the
fact that HuT already has a wide reach and is successfully inducting and radicalising
educated youth, the outfit has the potential to stage coups and uprisings
against governments and regimes that it considers un-Islamic or aligned with
anti-Muslim powers, the report said.
HuT may
well prove dangerous because it has immense influence on people, especially in
the way that it legitimises the cause to establish a Caliphate, it said.While
the world's focus currently is on ISIS, it would be a grave folly to ignore the
growing influence of HuT and its global agenda, the report warned.
2)
Pakistani Rangers violate ceasefire yet again:
Violating
the ceasefire, Pakistani Rangers on Sunday opened fire at Tawi area in R S Pura
sector of Jammu district.
"They
(Pakistani side) fired three rounds of small arms at around 11 am towards Tawi
area in R S Pura sector. However, there was no retaliation from our side,"
a senior BSF officer told PTI.He said this was the second incident of ceasefire
violation by the Pakistani side in the last 24 hours.Pakistani rangers had
fired two to three mortar shells in Nowapind border out post area along the IB
in R S Pura sector of the district on Saturday night.
The
shells exploded at an isolated area and did not cause any casualty or injury to
anyone on this side, a BSF officer said.An infiltration bid was also foiled by
the Army along the Line of Control in Poonch district on Saturday. "At
about 1045 hours on Saturday, three to four persons were crossing the Line of
Control (LoC) in Poonch Sector from Pakistan side", Defence Spokesman,
Northern Command, Col S D Goswami said.
"When
these persons were well within Indian territory, troops deployed in the area
opened fire on them", Col Goswami said adding that simultaneously,
Pakistani post located across the area opened heavy firing.During the ensuing
fire fight, the persons trying to cross the LoC fled back towards the Pakistan
side, the officer said.
3) With
promise to make Delhi corruption-free, Kejriwal takes charge:
Capping a
momentous journey, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal took oath as the
eighth chief minister of Delhi on Satutday, promising to make Delhi the first
corruption-free state and act against communal elements.Lieutenant Governor
Najeeb Jung administered the oath of office and secrecy to Kejriwal, Manish
Sisodia and five other ministers at the historic Ramlila Grounds, exactly a
year after Kejriwal quit after a short 49-days regime.Asim Ahmed Khan, Sandeep
Kumar, Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai and Jitender Singh Tomar also took oath of
office and secrecy at the ceremony as a large crowd cheered.
Immediately,
after taking oath, the 46-year-old leader addressed the gathering and unveiled
the priorities of his government which included steps against corruption,
communal elements, VIP culture and assured Delhiites that his government will
fight for full statehood for the national capital.
Warning
his party leaders and workers against arrogance, he said this was the reason
for the defeat of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had
received huge majority in Lok Sabha polls just nine months ago. Terming the
verdict as 'miracle of God', Kejriwal said, "I knew people of Delhi love
me, but didn't know they love me so much."The AAP had won 67 of the 70
seats in Delhi decimating the Congress and leaving only three seats for the
BJP.
Assuring
people that his government will make Delhi "India's first corruption-free
state", he said if somebody asks for bribe don't refuse 'setting kar lena'
(fix the deal) and video record it. Send the video footage to me. I will take
action."Kejriwal, who shot into prominence during the agitation led by
75-year-old Anna Hazare in support of Jan Lokpal Bill in 2011, assured the
people that his government will bring the bill soon. "Lokpal Bill is very
important, it needs to be passed as soon as possible," he said.Reacting to
recent attacks on churches and a Christian school on Friday in Delhi, he said,
"In recent days, we witnessed several communal incidents in Delhi. We
witnessed burning of churches. I want to warn the elements who are responsible
for these incidents."
"I
want to make Delhi a place where people of all religions feel safe," says
Kejriwal, asserting that people of all religions, castes and classes voted for
the AAP.Emphasising that he wants cooperation and good relations with the
Centre, Kejriwal said BJP had promised to grant full statehood to
Delhi."Before the elections, they had promised this to the people of
Delhi. It's not possible for the Centre to take care of important issues
related with governance of the state, so I hope the Centre will fulfil their
promise," the chief minister said.
Cautioning
his party, he said, "I can see arrogance in reports that the AAP will
fight elections in other states...We have to make sure that we don't get
carried away and become arrogant."
Asserting
that his government will not spare anyone, he said, "Some people might try
to malign us by impersonating as AAP workers. I want to tell the law and order
machinery not to spare anyone who indulges in unlawful activities."
During
his address, Kejriwal also mentioned his opponents in the Delhi polls -- BJP's
Kiran Bedi and Congress' Ajay Maken. "I respect Kiran Bedi, she is like my
elder sister. She has good experience in administration, I need her advice. I
will cooperate with Ajay Maken too. I will involve everyone to make Delhi an
ideal state," the chief minister said.
Listing
passing of the Lokpal Bill as a major agenda for his government, Kejriwal,
however, did not give a time-line for its passage.
"I
would like to tell you that other parties haven't passed it in 65 years. We
would pass it as soon as possible. We would do everything in a solid way,"
he said. The new chief minister said his government would work round-the-clock
to make Delhi a better city.
The AAP
leader also warned against any sort of arrogance following the massive
victory."I have been listening on television for the last few days that we
will fight elections in five states or ten states. I see arrogance in all these
things."I think this is not right. Congress was thrown out of power by people
due to its arrogance, and the same also happened to BJP which got a huge
mandate in the Lok Sabha polls in May last year. People rejected the BJP due to
its arrogance," he said.Kejriwal said AAP suffered a drubbing in the Lok
Sabha polls perhaps due to arrogance after its victory in the 2013 assembly
polls.
"In
2013 assembly polls, we got 28 seats, but perhaps arrogance came into our party
which decided to contest Lok Sabha elections across the country and for which,
God punished us. We should take lesson from it. We should not be
arrogant," he said.Kejriwal said that with the help of police his
government will try to restore communal harmony in the city.
"Efforts
were made to incite riots among people of different religion, a church was set
on fire, some churches were vandalised. People of Delhi are peace loving
people."We have not seen such incidents in Delhi in the last 35 years,
people of Delhi won't tolerate this. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, all
residents of Delhi celebrate Diwali, Eid, Christmas and all festivals together.
"All
of us want to live here in harmony. I would like to tell all the forces that
are doing this kind of politics to stop it," he said. He said with the
support of Delhi Police, his government will make Delhi such a city where every
Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh and people belonging from every other religion
and caste will feel safe."We want to replace this politics of poison with
politics of love and harmony," he said.Staring his address with ‘Bharat
Mata ki Jai’, Kejriwal ended his nearly half-an-hour speech with singing AAP's
anthem 'Insaan ka ho Insaan se Bhaichara'.
4) AAP ki
sarkaar: India's youngest cabinet:
 |
| Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Cabinet ministers Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Jitendra Tomer, Satyendra Jain, Asim Ahmed Khan and Sandeep Kumar before the swearing-in ceremony at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Saturday |
Arvind
Kejriwal took oath as Delhi chief minister on Saturday along with a team of six
ministers with an average age of 37 years. This could possible be the country’s
youngest cabinet.Kejriwal, 46, in a first, has decided not to keep any
portfolio with himself.Kejriwal’s Man Friday, the 42-year-old Manish Sisodia is
Delhi’s first deputy chief minister. He will be given education, public works
department and urban development. The Aam Aadmi Party plans to execute its
educational agenda by building new schools and colleges, which is why it will
be given to a senior minister like Sisodia.
Apart
from Sisodia, only Satyendra Jain, 50, was retained from the previous 49-day
Kejriwal government. He will handle health as he did in the earlier AAP rule.
In his previous stint as health minister, he was credited with ensuring free
medicines in government-run hospitalsThe home and law ministries will be handed
over to 48-year-old Jitender Tomar. AAP's previous law minister, the
controversial Somnath Bharti, has been kept out of the team.
Senior
party leader and Political Affairs Committee member Gopal Rai, 39, is tipped to
be the transport and labour minister. He has been a part of key decisions such
as candidate selection for the just-concluded Delhi elections and the 2014 Lok
Sabha polls. He has also helped strengthen AAP’s base nationally.
Thirty-four-year-old
Sandeep Kumar, a lawyer by profession, will handle the women and child welfare
department. Asim Ahmed Khan, 38, will be given the charge of food and civil
supplies and minority affairs ministries.
Rai,
Kumar, Tomar and Khan are first-time legislators. Later, The newly elected
ministers of Arvind Kejriwal's cabinet were treated to home-cooked lunch by the
chief minister himself at his office at the Delhi secretariat."After
taking oath at Ramlila Ground, all new six ministers, including deputy Chief
Minister Manish Sisodia, enjoyed home-made food in Arvind Kejriwal's cabin
especially brought from his house," said one of ministers.Kejriwal had a
meeting with all his ministers in his office and thereafter, they were served
food cooked at his house in Kaushambi.
5) India
successfully tests BrahMos supersonic cruise missile:
India on
Saturday successfully test-fired its 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise
missile from the navy's newest destroyer INS Kolkata.The launch off the Goa
coast was "flawless" and the missile met all its designed
parameters.INS Kolkata, which was commissioned by the Indian navy on August 16,
2014, has the capability of firing the highest number of BrahMos missiles.
While a
ship normally has the capacity to fire eight missiles, INS Kolkata can fire 16
BrahMos missile in salvo mode, defence sources said. This is the first ship of
this class, with two more in the pipeline.All the three ships are equipped with
vertical launched BrahMos missile system as the prime strike weapon.
The
Universal Vertical Launcher being used in these ships has a unique design,
developed and patented by BrahMos Aerospace.The UVLM has the benefits of
stealth and permits launching of the missile vertically in any direction, an
official statement said.BrahMos chief Sudhir Mishra congratulated his team and
Indian Navy on the successful mission.
The
two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid
propellant, has already been inducted into the army and navy, and the air force
version is in final stage of trial.
6) Sunanda
murder case: Shashi Tharoor questioned for 3rd time in 48 hours:
Congress
MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday appeared for the third time in two days before the
Special Investigation Team that is probing his wife Sunanda’s mysterious death.
Tharoor
on Saturday submitted to the SIT some computer data -- which included emails
and other information in digital form -- pertaining to the communication he had
with various individuals and authorities before and after the mysterious death
of his wife Sunanda.
Tharoor
visited Sarojini Nagar police station informing the SIT that he was leaving for
Thiruananthapuram later in the day.
Police
sources said that the SIT has asked Tharoor to keep them informed about his
movements and contact details so that the team can get in touch with him
whenever they need him during investigation. However, police has not put any
restrictions on his movement as of now.
The
former Union minister reached the police station around 1 pm and spent about
half-an-hour. Although he was not formally questioned during the visit, but
police did ask him some supplementary questions regards what he had told them
on Thursday during two rounds of questioning that lasted nearly seven hours.
Meanwhile,
sources also said that a team from the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi
police is in Mumbai to look into the business model of defunct Indian Premier
League Kochi franchise and see whether there was anything fishy in its
financial transactions. The team is also likely to meet Board Of Control For Cricket In India
officials in this regard.Thursday’s questioning of Tharoor was mainly focused
on the IPL controversy which had broken out in early 2010 when he was minister
of state for external affairs.There were allegations that he had “misused” his
office to ensure that Rs 70 crore, which was equivalent to 19 per cent equity
in IPL Kochi franchise Rendezvous Sports, was paid to Sunanda, a charge denied
by him.
Tharoor
was on Thursday quizzed for nearly seven hours, spread over two rounds
including for two hours late in the night during which he faced tough questions
mainly on IPL controversy.The questioning of Tharoor by a five-member SIT team
took place at the Anti Auto Theft Squad office in Vasant Vihar in South Delhi.
Delhi police had earlier examined the former Union minister on January
19.Another round of questioning of Tharoor may take place over the weekend,
police sources said on Thursday.Tharoor’s interrogation came on a day when
Sunanda’s viscera sample was sent to a FBI laboratory in the US for further
probe.
Tharoor’s
domestic help Bajrangi and Narayan Singh, his common friend Sanjay Dewan, his
PS Praveen Kumar and Rajat Mohan (cardiologist of SirGangaRamHospital) were
questioned along with him earlier in the day. Besides, they were also
separately quizzed.
Sunanda,
52, was found dead in her suite at a five star hotel in south Delhi on the
night of January 17, 2014, a day after she was involved in a spat with
Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar on microblogging website Twitter over the
latter’s alleged affair with Tharoor.Police had last month filed a murder case
and formed an SIT to probe the case.
7)
Trianmool's new A team: Mukul Roy kept at bay:
Trinamool
Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday carried out a major reshuffle in the
party set-up, giving additional responsibilities to her close confidants and
elevating former union minister Dinesh Trivedi to vice-president's post in an
exercise that left her close aide Mukul Roy out in the cold.
"Trinamool
Congress has appointed Subrata Bakshi, a party member of Parliament, as
additional all-India general secretary. He is a founder-member of the
party," party secretary-general Partha Chatterjee told media persons after
the meeting.Mukul Roy, who has been made to share responsibility as all-India
general secretary with Bakshi, a staunch Mamata loyalist, was conspicuous by
his absence from the closed-door meeting convened at Mamata's residence to
discuss the party’s preparedness for the coming civic polls.Roy, a Rajya Sabha
member who was recently quizzed by the Central Bureau of Investigation of in
the Saradha chit fund scam, not being given additional responsibilities that
were given to some of his party colleagues, came amid media speculation of
strained ties between him and the party supremo.
Asked to
explain the absence of Roy, a key party organiser, Chatterjee said,"The
(Roy) is busy with political activities and has been absent at the meeting by
taking prior permission from the party".Roy had recently said that he was
part and parcel of the party, when asked if there was a rift between him and
the party leadership. He also participated in the party's campaign for the
by-election to Bongaon Lok Sabha and Krishnaganj assembly seats in West Bengal
which was held on Friday.
Chatterjee
said party MP Derek O'Brien, state Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim and
party Lok Sabha member Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar were elevated to the national
committee of the party.He said O'Brien and the party Lok Sabha member Kalyan
Banerjee would liason with like-minded parties. Dinesh Trivedi, who was
appointed vice-president of the party, had recently caused a flutter in party
circles by singing fulsome praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which set
off speculation in the media that he would switch over to the BJP, though he
maintained that he was still with the TMC.
Trivedi,
a founding member of Trinamool Congress set up 16 years ago, recently told a TV
channel "I won't predict anything, but I want to change the DNA of Indian
politics -- and for that, I will do whatever it takes."Trivedi represents
Barrackpore constituency near Kolkata in Parliament.Trivedi was forced by
Mamata to resign in 2012 as the railway minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet
after his budget contained a passenger fare hike against the wishes of the
party supremo.Chatterjee said that state panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee
had been given the charge of party affairs in Tripura. "Derek O'Brien will
oversee the party's organization in the Northeast and Kerala. Suvendu Adhikari,
another party MP, will oversee Assam," he said.The party's MLAs and MPs
and district unit presidents were present at the nearly two-hour meeting at
Banerjee's residence.
Later, in
an informal conversation with media persons, Roy said replying to a question on
the reason for his absence in the meeting "Why I did not go, the party
leader (Mamata) knows. Anyway, whatever is done is done for the good."told
about the additional responsibilities given to his party colleagues, he said
‘the party has become big and the organisation has become large and for that
they (some of his party colleaugues) might have been given those (additional
responsibilities).Roy's explanation was prompted by persistent queries whether
he thought his wings had been clipped by the party supremo in the latest
organisational overhaul. Mamata was reportedly upset about the absence of Roy
in the meeting.
Party
insiders said that at the start of the meeting, Mamata wanted to know where
Mukul was.At that stage, sources said, Derek O'Brien gave her a chit wherein
Roy reportedly expressed his inability to attend the meeting due to
preoccupation with political activities.Mukul Roy, known for his organisational
acumen, was questioned by the CBI on January 30 in connection with the Saradha
chit fund scam. He had said that he wanted the ‘actual truth’ to come out. He
also gave an assurance that he would cooperate with the probe agency.
The CBI
and Enforcement Directorate have already questioned several TMC MPs and other
people in the scam which put TMC at unease.Partha Chatterjee said that the TMC
was assuming national importance, pointing out "we started the membership
drive on January 1, 2015. Scrutiny committees will operate at district and
state level."
In the
meeting, Chatterjee said, coming municipal elections were also discussed, for
which committees have been formed. Election to the Kolkata Municipal
Corporation and a number of municipalities across the state are scheduled to be
held this year.
Sports News
This Week:
1) India
thrash Pakistan to launch World Cup campaign in style:
Defending
champions India launched their World Cup campaign in style as they produced a
clinical performance to spank Pakistan by 76 runs, maintaining their unbeaten
record against the arch-rivals in the mega event on Sunday. In the high-voltage
contest between the bitter rivals, India again emerged victorious in a rather
one-sided affair, thus maintaining their magnificent record against Pakistan by
winning the sixth consecutive World Cup game since the rivalry started way back
in 1992.
It was a
commendable all-round effort by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men who first posted a
competitive total of 300/7 riding on Virat Kohli's 22nd ODI hundred and then
dismissed the opposition for 224 in 47 overs at the Adelaide Oval to secure two
points. Mohammad Shami (4/35), Umesh Yadav (2/50), Mohit Sharma (2/35) and
Ravichandran Ashwin (1/41) were the pick of the Indian bowlers as they kept
taking wickets to put pressure on the Pakistani batsmen. Captain Misbah-ul Haq
(76), Ahmed Shehzad (47) and Haris Sohail (36) were the notable contributors.
Mohit
Sharma took the last wicket of Sohail Khan to bring about India's moment of
glory, sending the seizable Indian crowd at the stadium into a frenzy while the
players hugged each other to celebrate the triumph, their first victory in
Australia since landing here in November last year.
Pakistan
were well placed at 102 for two at one stage but a middle-order collapse
effected by the trio of Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Yadav ended any hopes that
Misbah-ul-Haq and his men harboured of bucking the trend of losing to India in
big-ticket ICC events.
Electing
to bat, Virat Kohli marked his return to form with a crafty 107 while Shikhar
Dhawan (73) and Suresh Raina (74) were the other notable performers to steer
India to a competitive total of 300 for seven in hot conditions.Kohli continued
his love affair with the Adelaide Oval as his century knock came off 126 balls
with eight boundaries and he shared a 110-run partnership with Raina for the
third wicket.India could have got a bigger score had it not been for some
excellent death bowling by the Pakistani pace bowlers. Their young fast bowler
Sohail Khan (5/55) checked the Indian surge by bowling a tight line and length.
2) It may
take time, but Malinga will be back to his best: Malinga:
Malinga
was smashed to all parts of the Hagley Oval on Saturday in his team's 98-run
loss to New Zealand, ending with figures of none for 84 off his 10 overs as the
Black Caps piled up 331 for six.Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan insists
Lasith Malinga will still be a factor at the World Cup despite the sling-arm
fast bowler enduring a nightmare return to action after six months out.
Malinga
was smashed to all parts of the Hagley Oval on Saturday in his team's 98-run
loss to New Zealand, ending with figures of none for 84 off his 10 overs as the
Black Caps piled up 331 for six.It was the 31-year-old's first international
match since undergoing ankle surgery in September.
But
Muralitharan, who retired in 2011 after taking 534 ODI and 800 Test wickets,
believes Malinga will have benefitted from his brutal treatment."Although
Lasith Malinga's figures look like a horror show with none for 84 from his 10
overs, he will have benefited from the outing," Muralitharan told the ICC
website."We have to be realistic about him, after all. He is coming into
the tournament off the back of no cricket since his ankle surgery last
September and it will take time for him to get back to his best."
"And the chance to get more overs under his belt against Afghanistan and
Bangladesh (in their next two games) will be good news for him and for Sri
Lanka."Malinga, who has 271 ODI wickets and is seen as his team's go-to
death bowler, starred at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean where Sri Lanka
finished runners-up to Australia.
He took
18 wickets at an average of 15.77, including four wickets in four balls against
South Africa in Providence, Guyana -- the first time a bowler had taken four
wickets off successive deliveries in international cricket.Sri Lanka batsman
Lahiru Thirimanne, his team's top scorer with 65 against New Zealand, also
backed Malinga to bounce back.
"I
don't think this is Lasith's best bowling effort," said the opener.
"We believe he'll come back strongly in the next few matches, but I think
he bowled really well in the death overs.""That's a positive for us,
so hopefully he'll be back with good performances."
3)
Australia cruise to opening win:
Australia
342 for 9 (Finch 135, Maxwell 66, Bailey 55, Finn 5-71) beat England 231
(Taylor 98*, Marsh 5-33) by 111 runs
New
Zealand by 98 runs, Australia by 111. Who said hosting the World Cup brought
added pressure? Day one showed why it would be no surprise if the two home
nations met in Melbourne on day 45. In front of 84,336 fans at the MCG, Aaron
Finch scored 135, Mitchell Marsh took 5 for 33, and Australia subjected England
to their second-biggest World Cup loss in terms of runs.
Finch's
hundred was the first of this World Cup; back in 1992, Martin Crowe struck the
first century of the World Cup on the opening day and went on to be Player of
the Tournament. Australia would love such a six weeks from Finch, but will
settle for now with this win. Their 342 for 9 was their highest ODI total at
the MCG, and England never really had a hope in their chase.For England, the match
was omnishambolic, even in its ending. James Taylor, who had shown some fight
and reached 98, tried to whip Josh Hazlewood to leg and was given out lbw. He
reviewed, and the ball was missing leg. But in scrambling for a leg bye, his
partner James Anderson had been run out. Out, review, not out, review, out.It
capped off a muddled day for England. Having played Ravi Bopara through the
tri-series and warm-ups, they dropped him and altered their batting order.
Having opened the bowling with Chris Woakes through the tri-series and
warm-ups, they made him first change. Generally they bowled, fielded and batted
dismally.
4)
Confident Kiwis thrash Lanka in Cup opener:
331 for 6 (Anderson 75, McCullum 65,
Williamson 57, Mendis 2-5) beat Sri Lanka 233 (Thirimanne 65, Anderson 2-18) by
98 runs
In an
opening-day display as emphatic as any in previous World Cup, New Zealand
mauled Sri Lanka by 98 runs at the Hagley Oval. A New Zealand win was the
expected result leading up to the game, but perhaps not a win this massive, by
a margin that highlighted the strength in depth in one camp as sharply as the
shortcomings in the other.
Blazing
half-centuries from Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson and solid contributions
from most of the other batsmen propelled New Zealand to a total of 331, and the
bowlers showed both control and incision in its defence. This was best
exemplified by the full, swinging missiles from Trent Boult that aborted the
two most promising innings in Sri Lanka's chase.
5) SA won
by 62 runs:
South AfricaSA
339/4(50) ZimbabweZIM 277/10(48.2).
South Africa 339 for 4 (Miller 138*, Duminy 115*) beat Zimbabwe 277 (Masakadza
80, Chibhabha 64, Tahir 3-36) by 62 runsA decade.
That's how long it's been since Zimbabwe had South Africa four down with the
team's hundred still a way away. Opportunity beckoned, but David Miller and JP
Duminy heard the call louder. Their counterattacking centuries reinforced the
skill that runs down this mighty batting line-up, as a score of 83 for 4 grew
into 339 for 4 and the world record for the fifth-wicket partnership was
updated to 256 off 178.
Perhaps
Zimbabwe took heart from that. Perhaps the team talk was if their opposition
could do that with a poor start, what might happen if the top order stood up to
be counted. Chamu Chibhabha, back after nearly two years in ODI exile, and
Hamilton Masakadza, playing his first World Cup in a 13-year career, decided to
test the theory. A refreshing partnership began, but it could only extend to
105, and the ones that followed were cut short before they could pry the match
from South Africa's hands as they won by 62 runs.
Book Of
This Week:
My Heart
and Other Black Holes : by Jasmine Warga
Sixteen-year-old
physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can
barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and
a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her
potential energy into nothingness.
There’s
only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once
she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s
convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot
(aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner.
Even
though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in
each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete,
Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately,
she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so
they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may
not be so easy to convince
Jasmine
Warga:
in
Cincinnati, Ohio , The United States
gender
female
websitehttp://jasminewarga.com/
twitter
usernamejasminewarga
genreYoung
Adult, Contemporary
Hi. I'm
Jasmine. My first novel, My Heart and Other Black Holes, will be published in
2015 by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins. I'm currently writing my second book which
is tentatively scheduled to be published in 2016. I like
emotive music, animals of all sorts, and lemonade. And books.
Nature Magazine
National Geographic
Cartoon Games
History Channel
Online Movies
Scientific American
Filmfare Mag
Online Britannica
Time Mag
Unexplained Mysteries
No comments:
Post a Comment