Subhaditya News Channel Presents Science, Political ,Sports and Movies Release News This Week (20)

3D Picture of Science News

Science News This Week:

9.2-Million-Year-Old Rhino Skull Preserved by Instant 'Cooking to Death' in Volcanic Ash:

 

1) 9.2-Million-Year-Old Rhino Skull Preserved by Instant 'Cooking to Death' in Volcanic Ash:

Less than 2% of Earth's fossils are preserved in volcanic rock, but researchers have identified a new one: the skull of a rhino that perished in a volcanic eruption 9.2 million years ago.

The find is described in a paper published Nov. 21 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Pierre-Olivier Antoine and colleagues from the University of Montpellier, France.

The fossil, found in Turkey, is thought to be that of a large two-horned rhino common in the Eastern Mediterranean region during that period. According to the researchers, unusual features of the preserved skull suggest that the animal was 'cooked to death' at temperatures that may have approached 500° C, in a volcanic flow similar to that of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in Italy in 79 A.D.

The rhino's grisly death was near-instantaneous, and followed by severe dehydration in the extreme heat of the eruption. As the researchers describe its end, "the body was baked under a temperature approximating 400°C, then dismembered within the pyroclastic flow, and the skull separated from body." The flow of volcanic ash then moved the skull about 30 km north of the eruption site, where it was discovered by the four member research team.

Although other researchers have previously identified fossils of soft-bodied organisms preserved in volcanic ash, organic matter near an active volcanic eruption is usually quickly destroyed by the high temperatures, making a fossil such as this one extremely rare.

Neural Interaction in Silence: Neurophysiologists Study Widespread Networks of Neurons Responsible for Memory:

2) Neural Interaction in Silence: Neurophysiologists Study Widespread Networks of Neurons Responsible for Memory:

While in deep dreamless sleep, our hippocampus sends messages to our cortex and changes its plasticity, possibly transferring recently acquired knowledge to long-term memory. But how exactly is this done? Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics have now developed a novel multimodal methodology called "neural event-triggered functional magnetic resonance imaging" (NET-fMRI) and presented the very first results obtained using it in experiments with both anesthetized and awake, behaving monkeys.

The new methodology uses multiple-contact electrodes in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the entire brain to map widespread networks of neurons that are activated by local, structure-specific neural events.

Many invasive studies in nonhuman primates and clinical investigations in human patients have demonstrated that the hippocampus, one of the oldest, most primitive brain structures, is largely responsible for the long term retention of information regarding places, specific events, and their contexts, that is, for the retention of so-called declarative memories. Without the hippocampus a person may be able to learn a manual task over a period of days, say, playing a simple instrument, but -- remarkably -- such a skill is acquired in the absence of any memory of having practiced the task before.

The consolidation of declarative memory is thought to occur in two subsequent steps. During the first step, the encoding phase, hippocampus rapidly binds neocortical representations to local memory traces, while during subsequent "off-line" periods of calmness or sleep the new traces are concurrently reactivated in both hippocampus and cortex to strengthen the cortico-cortical connections underlying learned representations. But what is the neural basis of this hippocampal-cortical dialog, and how does hippocampus communicate with the rest of the brain?

For the very first time, Nikos Logothetis, director of the Department for Physiology of Cognitive Processes at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics and his team used so-called neural event triggered functional magnetic resonance imaging (NET-fMRI) in both anesthetized and awake, behaving monkeys to characterize the brain areas that consistently increased or decreased their activity in relationship to a certain type of fast hippocampal oscillations known as ripples. Ripples occur primarily during deep sleep and can be measured with electrophysiological methods. Using intracranial recordings of field potentials, the scientists demonstrated that the short periods of aperiodic, recurrent ripples are closely associated with reproducible cortical activations that occur concurrently with extensive activity suppression in other brain structures.

Interestingly, structures were suppressed whose activities could, in principle, interfere with the hippocampal-cortical dialog. The suppression of activity in the thalamus, for instance, reduces signals related to sensory processing, while the suppression of the basal ganglia, the pontine region and the cerebellar cortex may reduce signals related to other memory systems, such as that underlying procedural learning, for example riding a bicycle.

The aforementioned findings offer revealing insights into the large-scale organization of memory, a cognitive capacity emerging from the activation of widespread neural networks which were impossible to study in depth before now using either functional imaging alone or traditional single neuron recordings. Capacities such as perception, attention, learning and memory are actually best investigated using multimodal methodologies such as the NET-fMRI method employed in the MPI study. It is difficult to overstate the importance of the study of the neural mechanisms underlying such capacities, as the vast majority of neurological failures actually reflect dysfunctions of large-scale networks, including cortical and subcortical structures.

New Evidence On Dinosaurs' Role in Evolution of Bird Flight:

3) New Evidence On Dinosaurs' Role in Evolution of Bird Flight:

A new study looking at the structure of feathers in bird-like dinosaurs has shed light on one of nature's most remarkable inventions -- how flight might have evolved.

Academics at the Universities of Bristol, Yale and Calgary have shown that prehistoric birds had a much more primitive version of the wings we see today, with rigid layers of feathers acting as simple airfoils for gliding.

Close examination of the earliest theropod dinosaurs suggests that feathers were initially developed for insulation, arranged in multiple layers to preserve heat, before their shape evolved for display and camouflage.

As evolution changed the configuration of the feathers, their important role in the aerodynamics and mechanics of flight became more apparent. Natural selection over millions of years ultimately modified dinosaurs' forelimbs into highly-efficient, feathered wings that could rapidly change its span, shape and area -- a key innovation that allowed dinosaurs to rule the skies.

This basic wing configuration has remained more or less the same for the past 130 million years, with bird wings having a layer of long, asymmetrical flight feathers with short covert feathers on top. They are able to separate and rotate these flight feathers to gain height, change direction and even hover.

This formation allows birds to move in such a way as to produce both lift and thrust simultaneously -- a capability that man, with the help of technology, is still trying to successfully imitate.

The research, published November 21 in Current Biology, looked at the dinosaur Anchiornis huxleyi and the Jurassic bird Archaeopteryx lithographica. The latter is 155 million years old and widely considered to be the earliest known bird, presenting a combination of dinosaur and bird characteristics.

Their wings differed from modern day birds in being composed of multiple layers of long feathers, appearing to represent early experiments in the evolution of the wing. Although individual feathers were relatively weak due to slender feather shafts, the layering of these wing feathers is likely to have produced a strong airfoil.

The inability to separate feathers suggests that taking off and flying at low speeds may have been limited, meaning that wings were primarily used in high-speed gliding or flapping flight.

Dr Jakob Vinther, from the University of Bristol's Schools of Biological and Earth Sciences, said: "We are starting to get an intricate picture of how feathers and birds evolved from within the dinosaurs. We now seem to see that feathers evolved initially for insulation. Later in evolution, more complex vaned or pinnate feathers evolved for display.

"These display feathers turned out to be excellent membranes that could have been utilised for aerial locomotion, which only very late in bird evolution became what we consider flapping flight. This new research is shedding light not just on how birds came to fly, but more specifically on how feathers came to be the way they are today -- one of the most amazing and highly specialised structures in nature."

Dr Nicholas Longrich of Yale University added: "By studying fossils carefully, we are now able to start piecing together how the wing evolved. Before, it seemed that we had more or less modern wings from the Jurassic onwards. Now it's clear that early birds were more primitive and represented transitional forms linking birds to dinosaurs. We can see the wing slowly becoming more advanced as we move from Anchiornis, to Archaeopteryx, to later birds."

Nanotech device mimics dog's nose to detect explosives

4) Nanotech device mimics dog's nose to detect explosives:

Portable, accurate, and highly sensitive devices that sniff out vapors from explosives and other substances could become as commonplace as smoke detectors in public places, thanks to researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara. Researchers at UCSB, led by professors Carl Meinhart of mechanical engineering and Martin Moskovits of chemistry, have designed a detector that uses microfluidic nanotechnology to mimic the biological mechanism behind canine scent receptors. The device is both highly sensitive to trace amounts of certain vapor molecules, and able to tell a specific substance apart from similar molecules.

"Dogs are still the gold standard for scent detection of explosives. But like a person, a dog can have a good day or a bad day, get tired or distracted," said Meinhart. "We have developed a device with the same or better sensitivity as a dog's nose that feeds into a computer to report exactly what kind of molecule it's detecting." The key to their technology, explained Meinhart, is in the merging of principles from mechanical engineering and chemistry in a collaboration made possible by UCSB's Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies.

Results published this month in Analytical Chemistry show that their device can detect airborne molecules of a chemical called 2,4-dinitrotoluene, the primary vapor emanating from TNT-based explosives. The human nose cannot detect such minute amounts of a substance, but "sniffer" dogs have long been used to track these types of molecules. Their technology is inspired by the biological design and microscale size of the canine olfactory mucus layer, which absorbs and then concentrates airborne molecules.

"The device is capable of real-time detection and identification of certain types of molecules at concentrations of 1 ppb or below. Its specificity and sensitivity are unparalleled," said Dr. Brian Piorek, former mechanical engineering doctoral student in Meinhart's laboratory and Chief Scientist at Santa Barbara-based SpectraFluidics, Inc . The technology has been patented and exclusively licensed to SpectraFluidics, a company that Piorek co-founded in 2008 with private investors.

"Our research project not only brings different disciplines together to develop something new, but it also creates jobs for the local community and hopefully benefits society in general," commented Meinhart.

Packaged on a fingerprint-sized silicon microchip and fabricated at UCSB's state-of-the-art cleanroom facility, the underlying technology combines free-surface microfluidics and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to capture and identify molecules. A microscale channel of liquid absorbs and concentrates the molecules by up to six orders of magnitude. Once the vapor molecules are absorbed into the microchannel, they interact with nanoparticles that amplify their spectral signature when excited by laser light. A computer database of spectral signatures identifies what kind of molecule has been captured.

"The device consists of two parts," explained Moskovits. "There's a microchannel, which is like a tiny river that we use to trap the molecules and present them to the other part, a mini spectrometer powered by a laser that detects them. These microchannels are twenty times smaller than the thickness of a human hair."

"The technology could be used to detect a very wide variety of molecules," said Meinhart. "The applications could extend to certain disease diagnosis or narcotics detection, to name a few."

Moskovits added, "The paper we published focused on explosives, but it doesn't have to be explosives. It could detect molecules from someone's breath that may indicate disease, for example, or food that has spoiled."

Blind patient reads words stimulated directly onto the retina:

5) Blind patient reads words stimulated directly onto the retina:

For the very first time researchers have streamed braille patterns directly into a blind patient's retina, allowing him to read four-letter words accurately and quickly with an ocular neuroprosthetic device. The device, the Argus II, has been implanted in over 50 patients, many of who can now see color, movement and objects. It uses a small camera mounted on a pair of glasses, a portable processor to translate the signal from the camera into electrical stimulation, and a microchip with electrodes implanted directly on the retina. The study was authored by researchers at Second Sight, the company who developed the device, and has been published in Frontiers in Neuroprosthetics on the 22nd of November.

"In this clinical test with a single blind patient, we bypassed the camera that is the usual input for the implant and directly stimulated the retina. Instead of feeling the braille on the tips of his fingers, the patient could see the patterns we projected and then read individual letters in less than a second with up to 89% accuracy," explains researcher Thomas Lauritzen, lead author of the paper.

Similar in concept to successful cochlear implants, the visual implant uses a grid of 60 electrodes -- attached to the retina -- to stimulate patterns directly onto the nerve cells. For this study, the researchers at Second Sight used a computer to stimulate six of these points on the grid to project the braille letters. A series of tests were conducted with single letters as well as words ranging in length from two letters up to four. The patient was shown each letter for half a second and had up to 80% accuracy for short words.

"There was no input except the electrode stimulation and the patient recognized the braille letters easily. This proves that the patient has good spatial resolution because he could easily distinguish between signals on different, individual electrodes." says Lauritzen.

According to Silvestro Micera at EPFL's Center for Neuroprosthetics and scientific reviewer for the article, "this study is a proof of concept that points to the importance of clinical experiments involving new neuroprosthetic devices to improve the technology and innovate adaptable solutions."

Primarily for sufferers of the genetic disease Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), the implant Argus II has been shown to restore limited reading capability of large conventional letters and short words when used with the camera. While reading should improve with future iterations of the Argus II, the current study shows how the Argus II could be adapted to provide an alternative and potentially faster method of text reading with the addition of letter recognition software. This ability to perform image processing in software prior to sending the signal to the implant is a unique advantage of Argus II.

3D Picture of Movie Release News

Click on the movie poster or name to see it n YouTube:


Movie Release This Week:

Life of Pi

 

1) Life of Pi :

The film is based on Yann Martel's coming-of-age survival tale.

A 16 year-old Indian boy's passage to a new life in America aboard a freighter ends in a shipwreck in the Pacific.
The novel revolves around a youth who is the lone survivor of a sunken freighter and winds up sharing a lifeboat with a hyena, an injured zebra, an orangutan and a hungry Bengal tiger. 

Anna Karenina (2012)

2) Anna Karenina (2012):

The third collaboration of Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley with acclaimed director Joe Wright, following the award-winning box office successes “Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement,” is a bold, theatrical new vision of the epic story of love, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s timeless novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (“Shakespeare in Love”). The story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart. As Anna (Ms. Knightley) questions her happiness and marriage, change comes to all around her. 

Rise of the Guardians

3) Rise of the Guardians:

 When an evil spirit called Pitch becomes bent upon taking over the world by inspiring fear in the hearts of kids everywhere, a group of our greatest heroes -- Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and Jack Frost -- band together for the first time, determined to stand in Pitch's way. More than a collection of storybook subjects, "The Guardians" are also a band of superheroes, who possess their own special powers. Now joined in opposition of a common foe, the Guardians heed the call and combine their powers to defeat Pitch and protect the world from his campaign of fear.

Hitchcock

4) Hitchcock :

Hitchcock is a love story about one of the most influential filmmakers of the last century, Alfred Hitchcock and his wife and partner Alma Reville. The film takes place during the making of Hitchcock’s seminal movie Psycho. 

The App Killer

5) The App Killer:

A killer uses the same line every time to attract the victims through cellphone apps. It will be up to one person to unmask this serial killer.

3D Picture of Political News

Political News This Week:

Kasab boost for UPA ahead of Parliament session

 

1) Kasab boost for UPA ahead of Parliament session :

The hanging of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, has come at a good time for the UPA government struggling at the Centre with issues ranging from corruption allegations to a no-confidence motion threat.

The move comes a day before the start of the winter session of Parliament, where the government is expected to come under heavy attack from various quarters. And the fourth anniversary of the 26/11 attack of 2008 is less than a week away.

Though a lot of people had expressed their displeasure in the past over the delay in executing Kasab, positive reactions are flooding in from most quarters now that it has been done away with. Most reactions are appreciative of the way the government smoothly carried out the operation.

"Gotta hand it to the Govts at the Centre and in Mumbai for the mature way they handled this. Shows we can still keep a secret if we need to," tweeted Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.

"Better late than never. This was in order. The enemy of the country has been punished," BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

"Congratulations govt of India - for doing it so effectively. For once, the govt broke the news n not the news channels," tweeted Riteish Deshmukh, actor and son of former Maharashtra chief minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh. Kasab was hanged at Pune's Yerawada Jail at 7.30 am on Wednesday morning.

Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan told a news channel that secrecy had been maintained over Kasab's execution because the government did not want to compromise the security situation in any way.

A total of 166 people including foreigners were killed in the attack on Mumbai in 2008.

Assam on edge: six dead, PM phones chief minister

2) Assam on edge: six dead, PM phones chief minister :

Two months after Assam witnessed its worst ethnic violence in a decade, the epicentre of those riots, in which more than 99 people were killed and five lakhs displaced from their homes, is simmering again.

The town of Kokhrajhar and one its subdivisions Gossaigaon - one of four regions that forms  Bodoland and is governed by the autonomous Bodoland District Territorial Council  is under curfew again.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from the Assam, called up Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi this evening and assured the state government all help in restoring peace and normalcy in the affected region.

This morning, Abdul Kalam set up shop in the town centre at the weekly market to sell his vegetables. Suddenly, he was stabbed by a group of young men.  He is in hospital now, recovering from those injuries.

On Tuesday, as Diwali was being celebrated in the Salbari village in Kokhrajhar, armed men opened fire. 35-year-old Shaira Begum, who had just finished cooking dinner, was shot inside her home. The neighbouring Rabha households, indigenous tribals, were at the local Kali puja and at first mistook the gun shots for fireworks but soon arrived to help. One of them was injured with a blunt weapon.

Today, not far away in Telipara, Gossaigaon, a Bodo person was shot dead.

In the last week, six people have died from the local Bodo and Muslim communities.

The attacks, local officials say, signal renewed tension between the indigenous Bodos and Bengali Muslim settlers. In July and August, the ethnic violence that erupted here caused fierce aftershocks in cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad- text messages warned North Easterners living here that they would be punished in retaliation for the killing of Muslims in and around Kokhrajhar. Thousands of people from states like Assam and Manipur boarded trains home.

The politics of Bodoland is embedded in land and population issues. The Bodos believe that wave after wave of Muslim immigrants are robbing them of their land. On the other hand, non-Bodos argue that the autonomous council skews power towards the Bodos.

The changing demographics and the competition for agricultural land intersect with violent force and lately, with worrying frequency.  

War of words between Govt, Kejriwal over terror attack heroes:

3) War of words between Govt, Kejriwal over terror attack heroes:

A war of words erupted between the Government and the anti-corruption activists led by Arvind Kejriwal today as the latter accused the Home Ministry and Defence Ministry of denying pension and other benefits to the commandos who fought terrorists in the Mumbai terror attack four years ago.

He also demanded an explanation for the missing funds that were donated by the public for the NSG but which  never reached a single  person.

Government hit back as soon as Kejriwal cited the case of  NSG guard Lance Naik Surender Singh, who fought terrorists at the Taj Hotel and lost his hearing and his job in the process, and is today running from pillar to post for a small pension.

The official news channel of the Government the Press Information Bureau began to issue denials almost simultaneously through Twitter.

It said that the Government had informed Surender Singh on telephone on November 16 that war injury pension had been sanctioned, and that bankers were informed. The Government also claimed again through Twitter that "N K Surender Singh was getting war injury pension of Rs 25,254 per month and that  Rs 31 lakh retirement emoluments have been paid to him."

This information however was contrary to what the Government had provided through Right to Information which informed Singh that the 11 injured commandos who took part in what was called Operation Tornado were given Rs 35,12,191 in all while the deceased commandos were given Rs 21.89 lakh each.

Singh found through enquires made through Right to Information that a substantial amount was received by the Government from various private sources as assistance meant for NSG commandos. This included Rs seven lakh received from cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Royal Western India Turf Club (Rs 2.5 lakh for each commando) Rohan Motors (Rs 2 lakh for each commando).

However, he said he or his 10 other colleagues who had fought the militants did not get any of it.

He said that when NSG was asked about these donations, it said that the money was returned to the donors as it was not supposed to accept any assistance.

While Manish Tiwari and the PIB today claimed that Singh was being paid Rs 25000 pension every month, he said he has not even received a single paisa so far and was told by various authorities that he was not getting it because he had not completed 15 years. Singh had completed only 14 years and three months in service when he was asked to discontinue. Singh and the other commandos have so far got Rs 50,000 from the Maharashtra Government, Rs 1 lakh from the Prime Ministers Fund, and Rs 78,318 from the NSG. He also got an unsigned certificate from the NSG.

The commandos have also received some money from their respective state governments. Four of the commandos also got Rs 2.5 lakh given by Royal Western India Turf Club while the rest did not get it.

Kejriwal said that the question was  not about the denial of pensions but the denial of honour to the men who staked their all for the sake of the country.

Do they have to  beg for their basic rights in spite of their brave confrontation of the terrorists? he asked.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari under whom the official information agency of PIB falls, said that  Ministry of Defence will be putting a detailed statement  but as far as he knew Surender Singh has been paid Rs 31 lakh. 

Mamata promises 1 crore new jobs in West Bengal

4) Mamata promises 1 crore new jobs in West Bengal :

With big ticket investments not pouring into West Bengal according to her government's plans, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday promised creation of a crore jobs in the state over the course of time.

"My target is to create employment for one crore people through self−help groups, cooperatives, non−governmental organisations and various government projects," Banerjee said after inaugurating the West Bengal State Handicrafts Fair here.

Banerjee said that 17,000 new small industries, providing employment to 1.54 lakh people, have come up in the state after her government came to power last year.

"Setting up of 15,000 other schemes to provide work to 1.12 lakh people are under process and they will start functioning soon," she said.

The Mamata Banerjee government promised to rope in big industrial projects in the state. But so far, the plan has not been much success with entrepreneurs expressing concern over policy issues like land acquisition. Leading industry lobbies have also voiced their concern over the law and order situation.

The chief minister said that world−class marketing centres for small−scale industries would be set up at Shantiniketan in Birbhum district, and Kolkata's Rajarhat and Rabindra Sarobar areas.

"The land has been identified at Shantiniketan. Lot of tourists from India and abroad visit Shantiniketan. They can buy small−scale industry products from there. It will help the craftsmen," she said.

Banerjee announced that her government would set up marketing hubs in all sub−divisions for the small and cottage industries sector.

To boost the handloom sector, she said the workers would be given the work of stitching dresses worn by the state government's disaster management group.

The chief minister said the man−days lost in the state due to shutdowns and strikes have come down since her government took over.

While 68 lakh man−days were lost in 2009−10 due to shutdowns and strikes, in 2010−11 the figure was 65 lakh.

She said with her government taking over reins of the state in May 2011, only 60,000 man−days were lost in 2011−12. "Till September this year, only 5,200 man−days have been lost," Banerjee said.

Kejriwal announces name of his party, calls it Aam Admi Party

5) Kejriwal announces name of his party, calls it Aam Admi Party :

Arvind Kejriwal's party was on Saturday named Aam Admi Party at a meeting of its founder members here during which the Constitution for the organization was also adopted.

The meeting of around 300 founder members was held at Constitution Club during which Kejriwal proposed the name of the party which was accepted by other members, sources said.

The Constitution of the party was also adopted at the meeting. It was proposed by Mayank Gandhi and seconded by Chandramohan, they said.

The formation of the party came after a bitter split with Anna Hazare over the question of the anti-corruption movement taking a political plunge as Kejriwal desired.

During the August fast, Hazare and Kejriwal ended the agitation saying they will work for providing a political alternative for the country to fight both Congress and BJP.

However, both Hazare and Kejriwal announced parting of ways on September 19 following differences over forming a party with the former sticking to his position that the movement should remain apolitical.

On October two, Kejriwal announced the formation of the party saying its official launch will be on November 26, the day Constitution was adopted in 1949.

Ahead of the meeting, Kejriwal said today that common men, women, children are forming their party.

"They are not politicians. They are fed up of politicians. They are the people who are fed up of corruption and price rise. This is why the common man has decided to challenge them. Now the common man will sit in Parliament.

"Party's vision is Swaraj. People should get the 'raj'. That vision will be finalized. 25-30 issues will be discussed which all issues need to be taken first by the party. Committees will be formed. They will make drafts in four-five months. There will discussions through the country," he said.

Activist Yogendra Yadav said that the party will have provisions against domination by one family.

The meeting also saw some disagreement among a section of workers who were not allowed to attend it. A group from Tamil Nadu was seen arguing with a party coordinator on why they were not accommodated.

3D Picture of Sports News

Sport News of this Week:

India win Motera Test by 9 wickets

 

1 ) India win Motera Test by 9 wickets:

India broke through the stubborn England resistance with a morning burst of five wickets before surging to a comprehensive nine-wicket victory in the opening cricket Test for a 1-0 lead in the four-match series here today.

Needing 77 runs to record their first win at this venue in seven years on a crumbling and dusty pitch, India achieved the target when they made 80 for one in 16.3 overs after lunch with more than half a day to spare.

Openers Virender Sehwag (25) and Cheteshwar Pujara (41 not out), who scored a double hundred in the huge first innings total of 521 for 8 declared, polished off the major part of the target by adding 57 runs in only 9.5 overs.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha prised open the victory door for the hosts when he broke through England’s resolute batting by packing off overnight batsmen Matt Prior (91) and Alastair Cook (176) in 12 balls to virtually bring the visitors to their knees.

The two had kept England afloat yesterday with a determined partnership which had helped the visitors avoid an innings defeat and had raised their hopes of even saving the game. The pair remained unconquered last evening with the visitors on 340 for five, an overall lead of 10 runs.

Ojha’s two for 18 burst in 11 overs was complemented by Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin and Zaheer Khan who grabbed a wicket each as England slumped from 356 for five to 406 all out in just over 16 overs and in 113 minutes of play this morning.

Ojha, who grabbed 4 for 120 in the second innings to add to his superb haul of 5 for 45 in the first, emerged as the most successful bowler from the game.

Pujara, who made an unbeaten 206 in the first essay and opened the innings in place of a bereaved Gautam Gambhir, was the most successful batsman for India.

In the second innings, Pujara and Virat Kohli (14 not out) steered Indian home without being separated.

Keywords: India beat England in Motera test, India take 1-0 lead in four test series, India-England series, Indian win by 9 wickets

Sacked Brazil coach Menezes thanks players

2) Sacked Brazil coach Menezes thanks players:

Sacked Brazil coach Mano Menezes has paid tribute to his former players after being told his services with the national team were no longer required.

Menezes' fate was sealed during a meeting with the president of Brazil's Football Confederation (CBF), Jose Maria Marin, and national football director Andres Sanchez Friday, reports Xinhua.

His dismissal came less than 48 hours after Brazil won the Superclassic of the Americas Trophy by defeating rivals Argentina in a dramatic penalty shootout in Buenos Aires

"As announced already, I am no longer the coach of Brazil," Menezes said in a statement. "I would like to thank everybody who worked with me, especially the players who were selected during this period and all of those who believed in our project."

"I wish all the best for the Brazil national team as it strives to achieve the dream of all Brazilians by winning its sixth World Cup in 2014."

Menezes took over the job from Dunga following Brazil's quarterfinal exit at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He led the team to 21 wins, six draws and six losses.

Earlier Sanchez said the CBF would announce Menezes' successor in the New Year. Among the candidates to fill the role are Brazil's 2002 World Cup−winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and current Corinthians boss Tite. 

Australia 111 for 5 at close in 2nd Test

3) Australia 111 for 5 at close in 2nd Test:

Australia were 111 for five at the close of the third day of the second Test in Adelaide and leading South Africa by 273 runs on Saturday.

Michael Clarke was not out nine with Mike Hussey on five.Rory Kleinveldt took three top-order wickets to help pull South Africa back into contention in the second Test by restricting Australia to 111 for 5 at stumps on Saturday, a lead of 273 with two days to play.

The Australians had a 162-run cushion after dismissing South Africa for 388 on day three, and were coasting at 77 without loss in the second innings until Kleinveldt struck. The second-Test paceman dismissed David Warner (41) and Rob Quiney (0) within three balls and then bowled Ed Cowan (29) as Australia slipped to 91 for 3

 Dale Steyn chipped in with the wicket of Ricky Ponting (16), who dragged a wide ball back onto his stumps to make it 98 for 4. Night watchman Peter Siddle faced 16 balls before he was caught behind off Morne Morkel as the Australians slipped to 103 for 5, bringing Mike Hussey to the crease to rejoin Clarke. The pair put on 272 for the fifth wicket on day one to help Australia to 550 in the first innings.

It was a day of wild momentum swings, with South Africa losing 5 for 17 in a morning session collapse and Australia losing 5 for 26 late.

After resuming Saturday at 217 for 2, South Africa lost established batsmen Jacques Rudolph (29) and Graeme Smith (122) on 233, then needed a 93-run eighth-wicket stand between a wounded Jacques Kallis (58) and Test rookie du Plessis (78) to take the threat of the follow-on out of the equation. 

Singh's sparkling 64 for ailing mum

4) Singh's sparkling 64 for ailing mum :

Jeev Milkha Singh dedicated a sparkling eight-under-par 64 to his ailing 76-year-old mother back home in India after equaling the course record in the DP World Tour Championship third round on Saturday.

Singh, who became the first Indian to play in the U.S. Masters five years ago, said his mother Nirmal was in intensive care in Chandigarh after taking a nasty fall in the garden.

"She has fractured her knee and the fibula bone and needs major surgery," the 10-times European Tour winner told reporters after surging through the field to finish with a seven-under aggregate of 209.

"She needs some plates put in and that surgery is going to take place tomorrow morning. We are hoping and praying that everything goes fine and she comes out well.

"I dedicate this round to my mum for sure," said Singh after rattling off nine birdies and a solitary bogey at the Greg Norman-designed Earth course that is hosting the tour's final event of the season.

Singh's mother used to be a national-level volleyball player and still plays golf but her worried son said it might be some time before she picks up her clubs again.

"That used to be her exercise, she played golf every day in the morning for nine holes," said the 40-year-old.

"We've got a driveway which has marble stone. There was some water on it and she slipped."

His mother's accident seemed to galvanize Singh from the start on Saturday.

"I said to my caddie Janet on the first tee, let's try to get a new course record," said the former Asian Tour number one. "I was close enough and maybe I can have the same thought process tomorrow.

"As we were walking to the first tee I said to Janet, 'We are one-over for the tournament, way down the field, let's try for the record'."

Singh's 64 came 24 hours after Sergio Garcia produced an eight-under effort to equal the Earth record previously held by Britons Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher, Swede Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer of Germany and last year's tournament winner Alvaro Quiros of Spain.

The Indian said he should not even be playing in this week's $8 million Dubai event because of a finger injury he sustained when winning the Scottish Open in July.

"I would like to take some time off but these tournaments are so good that I can't stay away," laughed Singh.

"I can't really hit the shots I want to hit especially the punch shots because it really hurts when I dig into the ground. The putter was really hot today and I think that was the reason for the 64.

"The doctors told me to take four months off but that's not in my dictionary. I love this game too much," said Singh.