Apple iPhone 4S: May become highest-selling gadget

Apple Inc's new iPhone debuted with a splash across the globe, spurring thousands to queue around city blocks and snap up the final gadget unveiled during co-founder Steve Jobs' life.

Shares of Apple leapt 3 percent to close at a record after people thronged stores in Sydney, Tokyo, London, Paris, New York and San Francisco to get their hands on the iPhone 4S, ignoring criticism about the lack of a design revolution and reports of software glitches.

Fans in Sydney, Tokyo, Frankfurt and London made sure Jobs, who died last week, remained part of the iPhone 4S launch, with flower, candle and photo shrines erected outside stores. A black-and-white picture of the visionary leader in Covent Garden carried the line: "Let's make a dent in the universe."

In New York and San Francisco, hundreds showed up as expected but the mood proved more subdued than was typical on an iPhone launch day.

"I have a lot of respect for how he led the company and so the turnout, and especially the preorder sales, is a mark of appreciation for him," insisted Chris Centers, who was one of the people who has lined up outside the store.

One of the buyers had also stopped by to lay flowers at the San Francisco store's glass wall in honor of Jobs.

The new model looks similar to the previous iPhone 4 but has an upgraded camera, faster processor, enhanced security and voice-activated software, which lets users ask the phone questions. The voice software drew glowing reviews.

Unveiled just a day before Jobs died, it was initially dubbed a disappointment, partly because it looked identical to its predecessor. But anticipation of the "Siri" voice software helped it set an online record in orders on October 7.

Rivals' woes may have provided a boost. Research in Motion struggled for days to fix an international outage of its email and messaging services.

Also, about one in four people who thronged Apple stores from Tokyo to San Francisco told Reuters they were ditching BlackBerries, discarding Nokias or even giving up Google Android-based phones, hoping for something better.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and his executive team hope the first device sold without Jobs at Apple's helm will protect the company against a growing challenge from the likes of arch-rival Samsung Electronics.

Analysts believe the South Korean company, which powers its phones with Google's Android software, surpassed Apple as the world's biggest smartphone vendor in terms of unit sales in the third quarter.

Apple does not release sales on launch day, so gauging initial figures is difficult. However, the company took more than 1 million online orders in the first 24 hours after the release of the iPhone 4S, exceeding the 600,000 for the iPhone 4, which was sold in fewer countries initially.

Sprint -- joining Verizon and AT&T in Apple's roster for the first time -- said on Friday it had chalked up a launch-day sales record for any device -- by around noon.

Jobs "made everything better and the products he released were thought through in such detail," Duncan Hoare, a foreign exchange trader, said as a loud roar greeted the opening of an Apple store in London. "It was about the beauty of something and the simplicity."

Glitches?

The iPhone -- seen as the gold standard for smartphones -- is Apple's highest-margin product and accounts for 40 percent of its annual revenue. The newest iteration uses chips from Qualcomm Inc, Toshiba and a host of smaller semiconductor companies, according to repair firm iFixit, which cracked the device open on Thursday.

Despite the enthusiasm at stores, Friday's launch was marred somewhat by widespread complaints on the Internet this week about problems downloading iOS 5, the latest version of Apple's mobile software.

There were also problems with iCloud, Apple's online communications, media storage and backup service formally launched on Wednesday; users reported glitches such as losing their email access.

Queues in Paris were smaller than those normally seen for a brand-new iPhone, with some fans there wondering if the somewhat underwhelming introduction had put people off. But in London and elsewhere the lines were as long as ever.

"Despite the initial disappointment that this wasn't an iPhone 5, the reality is we're still seeing the usual frenzy that we've got used to on launch day," analyst Ben Wood at CCS Insight told Reuters. Analysts expect global sales of a few million phones on the first weekend, he added.

Analysts point to several factors in Apple's favor, including a $199 price that matches up well with rival devices, and availability promised on more than 100 carriers by the end of 2011, far more than its predecessors.

Underscoring the enthusiasm for the new phone, Japanese mobile carrier Softbank Corp had to temporarily stop contract applications after its computer system was overwhelmed with more requests than it had expected.

Some analysts expect fourth-quarter iPhone shipments to reach 30 million or more, almost twice as many as a year ago.

"I am a fan, a big fan. I want something to remember Steve Jobs by," said Haruko Shiraishi, waiting patiently with her Yorkshire terrier Miu Miu at the end of an eight-block queue in Tokyo's smart Ginza shopping district.

Railways hikes freight rates by 6%

Inflation is likely to shoot further as railways has announced a 6% hike on its freight charges for all commodities to meet the growing financial burden that the state-run transporter is facing due to rising operating cost.

The hike will have a cascading effect on prices. And, will certainly hit the aam aadmi, bearing the brunt of rising food inflation, hard.

With increase in transportation cost of commodities like foodgrains, coal, fertilizer and iron ore, traders will pass on the burden to the consumers.

The circular, issued by the Railway Board, shows that freight prices of all commodities have been revised from existing 7% to 10% as busy season charge on the base freight rate.

The hike, which comes into effect from Saturday, follows an increase in freight charges levied in March. The busy season charge will be levied on all commodities except containerized cargo and certain automobile traffic, and is likely to continue till June 30, 2012. The poor financial condition and rising operating cost has forced railways to amend its earlier decision taken in March.

In March, railways had levied a busy season charge of 5% on coke and coke group and 7% on all other commodities between October 2011 and March 2012. Now, the rates have been revised to 10%.

Under the dynamic pricing policy, railways has increased development surcharge on all goods tariff from 2% to 5%. The hike, which came after four years, will be levied on normal tariff rate.

Rail officials have defended the move, arguing that operating cost has increased due to rise in prices of oil, steel and employees' salaries by 15%-20%. Railways, they claimed, is passing a partial burden of the increasing operation cost, while the rest is being met by increasing efficiency and productivity.

An official pegged the burden on the industry between Rs 1,200 crore and Rs 1,500 crore.

Obama to challenge China on trade as election nears

The Obama administration, under fire for not taking a harder line on China over its currency, appears set to move against the Asia export powerhouse on other fronts as next year's US elections approach.

The United States is likely to launch fresh challenges against China at the World Trade Organization, probably stoking tensions between the world's two biggest economies.

"I expect the United States will be bringing more cases against China in the coming year," said James Bacchus, who as a former WTO appellate judge used to sit in judgment of international trade disputes.

Already firmly in campaign mode, President Barack Obama recently boasted of taking a tougher line on trade than his predecessors. China, its currency and other trade issues have already become a big issue in the election campaigning.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has ratcheted up his criticism of China, despite his party's traditionally pro-free trade stance.

"If you are not willing to stand up to China, you will get run over by China, and that's what's happened for 20 years," the former Massachusetts governor said on Tuesday.

He was speaking shortly after the U.S. Senate passed legislation to crack down on Chinese currency practices that US lawmakers blame for millions of lost jobs.

Sensitive to how the criticism of China plays with US voters, Obama has not yet explicitly said he would veto the bill. In any case, the legislation is unlikely to pass the House of Representatives where Republican leaders have voiced concern that it might breach WTO rules and could spark a trade war which would damage U.S. corporations.

But Obama is likely to want to show voters his mettle on trade issues and trade experts say he has plenty of options to pursue which, unlike the Senate currency bill, are likely to conform with WTO rules.

New government data on Thursday that showed the U.S. trade deficit with China hit a record $29 billion in August and is also likely to set a record for the year could add to the pressure on Obama to act.

Last week, U.S. trade officials notified the WTO of some 200 Chinese government subsidy programs and scolded Beijing for not taking the action itself as required under WTO rules.

U.S. officials at the WTO's headquarters in Geneva also recently took China to task over agricultural policies that they said unfairly discriminated against foreign suppliers.

One case likely to surface in coming months is a complaint against Chinese export restrictions on rare earth minerals used in variety of high tech and clean energy goods, Bacchus said.

Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said he also believed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk's office was laying the groundwork for a number of new trade cases against China.

"I think USTR is moving aggressively to ensure strong enforcement of U.S. trade rights and I think that is a high priority in the White House," Schott said.

Both Obama and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner have recently sharpened their criticism of Beijing's failure to protect U.S. intellectual property, an area that the United States has successfully challenged in the past at the WTO and could be ripe for additional complaint, Bacchus said.

In another warning sign for China, U.S. lawmakers have been pressing for action against Chinese government subsidies for its solar industry and other "green" technologies, an area prominently included in the USTR report to the WTO last week.

The United States may need to tread carefully in that area since it has its own programs to support renewable power.

TENSE ATMOSPHERE

Analysts cautioned the highly charged political atmosphere in Washington -- as Republicans and Democrats struggle for position ahead of presidential and congressional elections in 2012 -- could be misread by Beijing.

China faces a leadership succession of its own in 2012-13, adding to the potential for tensions between the two countries to worsen.

"We've been seeing for some time in (the United States) a serious flirtation with increased protectionism," said Doug Paal, a China expert and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"I have been telling the Chinese that they should take this seriously, but I've been warning them that next year is the one that they're really going to have to worry about."

Eswar Prasad, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said any tit-for-tat measures had the potential to blow up into something much more serious.

"There is a real and present danger that symbolic measures initiated by either side spiral into a more serious trade conflict as both sides strive to flex their muscles for the benefit of domestic audiences," Prasad said. "Much acrimony lies ahead but the big question is whether it will spill over into open warfare that could be mutually harmful."

Satyam case: Supreme Court grants bail to five

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to four erstwhile Satyam Computers Services Ltd employees and an official of its statutory auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accused in one of India's biggest corporate frauds.

Satyam Computers Services Ltd's former senior manager V Venkatapathy Raju, former assistant manager C S Srisailam, former vice president G Ramakrishna, former head of its internal audit V.S. Prabhakar Gupta and PwC employee Subramani Gopalakrishnan were granted bail.

An apex court bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Dipak Misra said they will be released upon the satisfaction of the trial court and they will deposit, if not done already, their passports to the trial court.

The four former officials of Satyam Computers Services Ltd along with the firm's erstwhile owner Ramalinga Raju and his brother are facing prosecution for fudging the company accounts and showing inflated profits which became one of the greatest corporate scams.

The surfacing of the scam and consequent collapse of the company left lakhs of shareholders and others duped

12-year-old takes gun for toy pistol, shoots friend dead

NEW DELHI: An innocent game of chor-police turned bloody as a 12-year-old boy fired at his playmate with a loaded gun assuming it was a toy pistol. The pistol was bought by the boy's uncle Mukesh (21), who was staying with him at a rented room in Raghuvir Nagar, west Delhi.

A profusely bleeding Chandan, 10, was rushed toDDU Hospital, where he succumbed to bullet injury later. He was a student of Class-VI at a Raghuvir Nagar school and was staying with his parents in the same building.

"The incident was reported on Saturday around 7.15pm. We have arrested Mukesh, who was staying in the accused child's room for the past one year. Since Mukesh is also from Azamgarh, the boy's father allowed him to stay in the room.

During interrogation, Mukesh revealed that he had bought the pistol from one of his contacts in Uttar Pradesh and had hidden it in a trunk in the room,'' said additional commissioner of police (West) V Renganathan.

Sources in the police said initial investigation revealed that the 12-year-old boy had no idea that it was a real, loaded gun. "We have sent the boy to a remand home. We are waiting for the juvenile court's direction to proceed in the case,'' said an investigating officer.

The boy's father, Ramchandra Singh, has also been arrested for allegedly trying to destroy evidence. Ramchandra rubbed the blood stains off the floor immediately after the incident.

Gajendra Pal Singh, owner of the building and who runs an electronics shop, told the police that he kept tenants to earn extra money. "Ramchandra hails from Azamgarh and had come to Delhi three months ago with his 12-year-old son. Mukesh had moved into the room a month back. A few days ago the boy had seen his "uncle" playing with the gun and thought that it was a toy,'' said Gajendra.

Gajendra said Chandan was the son of a bank collection agent Sanjeev Kumar. Chandan and the accused boy soon became close friends. "On Saturday, I heard a loud thud. I rushed to the portico only to find Chandan lying in a pool of blood. I immediately called the police. I also informed Chandan's mother. Doctors at the hospital said Chandan had received a bullet wound on his head,'' Gajendra told the investigating officer.

"We are investigating whether the two arrested men were planning to commit a crime. The accused boy's mother, who stays in Azamgarh , has been informed,'' said Renganathan. 

New Audi A6 2.0 litre TDI launched

The Audi A6 has always been a successful executive sedan all over the world. The new A6 comes with a lighter body which has been constructed out of aluminium and high tech steels which has also made it stiffer. These words – lighter and stiffer are always a good indication in the automobile industry. A lighter car is more fuel efficient and Audi say that their car has been tested by an independent body and found to return a scarcely believable 18.9 km/pl under real Indian road conditions. A stiffer car means a more rigid body cell which improves handling. A stiffer car is also safer in the event of a crash due to increased structural integrity, this means that more energy is required to bend the structure of the body keeping the occupants safe.

 Audi have incorporated the lightweight technology called ‘Audi ultra’ in the new A6 which was originally developed for their 24 hour Le Mans endurance racing series. Audi has won the Le Mans series ten times and were the first car maker to enter a diesel powered car in Le Mans.

As is the case with executive sedans the new Audi A6 comes loaded with gizmos and technology such as a multimedia system, safety features and other innovative features. Audi have reduced the NVH levels for lower cabin noise due to precision tuning of various mechanical components and hydraulic damping in the drivetrain bearings and the axle. The new car is 4.92 meters long, 1.87 meters wide and 1.46 meters high. The four cylinder 2.0 liter turbo charged engine has been calibrated to deliver 177 horsepower.

 Michael Perschke, the Head of Audi India commented on the new A6 by saying, “It gives us great pride in showcasing that the new Audi A6 has again established a new benchmark globally and now proven on Indian roads. With the reversion of the weight spiral, we were able to make the new A6 lighter than its predecessor thanks to the use of hybrid materials and using our years of experience with aluminium. We have now proved on Indian road conditions that our diesel technology leadership is very relevant and successful. This technology made us the winner at the world famous endurance race - 24hrs of Le Mans this year again. The new A6 2.0 TDI is a new benchmark globally and in India for sporty, yet efficient driving, paired with Audi’s progressive design. We achieved consumption levels with a 1585 kg weight car, which many smaller cars in India cannot achieve. This clearly signifies our philosophy - "Vorsprung durch Technik". With the arrival of this important model and the 2.0 TDi engine in India, we are confident that we might even increase our forecast for this year based on a strong response to the new A6."

 The Audi A6 has proved to be a very good executive sedan and has given its competition something to worry about over the years. The new car with its light weight body and incredible fuel efficiency will make for a very good car and will give its competition a run for its money.

Decline in shark population worldwide

Sharks are in big trouble on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and worldwide, according to scientists who claim to have developed the world's first way to measure rates of decline in shark population.

"There is mounting evidence of widespread, substantial, and ongoing declines in the abundance of shark populations worldwide, coincident with marked rises in global shark catches in the last half-century," said lead scientist Mizue Hisano at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.

He added: "Overfishing of sharks is now recognised as a major global conservation concern, with increasing numbers of shark species added to the International Union for the Conservation of nature's list of threatened species.

"First, many countries with coral reefs don't keep reliable records of catches or fishing effort. Second, around 75 per cent of the world shark catch consists of illegal and unreported finning. Third, sharks may be caught, discarded, and not reported when fishers are targeting other species."

The scientists have developed several alternative models, which combined birth rates and growth rates for sharks with a variety of different methods for estimating mortality.

They then used state-of-the-art statistical methods to combine the uncertainty associated with each of these methods and arrive at a more robust long-term population prediction for two GBR shark species -- the grey reef shark and the whitetip reef shark.

As a further check on their results, the scientists used their population projections to see how well their models could explain differences in shark abundances on fished and unfished reefs, based on how long the unfished reefs had been protected.

The team found that results obtained by all methods of assessing shark population were in close agreement that sharks are declining rapidly due to fishing.

"Our different approaches all painted a surprisingly consistent picture of the current state of population decline, but also of the potential recovery of these species if they are adequately protected.

"More broadly, we believe that our study demonstrates that this approach may be applied to a broad range of exploited species for which direct estimates of mortality are ambiguous or lacking, leading to improved estimates of population growth," Hisano said.

Water before meals aids weight loss

Have you tried out every trick in the book to lose weight - crash diets, gyms, or simply starving yourself?

Now, try a simple trick - drink a glass or two of water before meals, as that's the best way to curb appetite and shed those pounds - says a new research.

Scientists have reported that just two 8-ounce glasses of water taken before meals, can lead to weight loss.

"In this recent study, we found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake," said Brenda Davy of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

The simple reason is that it fills up the stomach with a substance that has zero calories. People feel fuller as a result, and eat less calorie-containing food during the meal.

And it gets even better if you replace sweetened calorie-containing beverages with it.

Although there's no exact amount of water one should drink, experts advise that most healthy people can simply let thirst be their guide.

The general recommendations for women are about 9 cups of fluids - from all beverages including water - each day, and men at about 13 cups of fluids.

Gold down Rs 75 to Rs 26,940 on weak global cues

Gold prices declined by Rs 75 to Rs 26,940 per 10 grams in the national capital on Wednesday due to sluggish demand at prevailing higher levels amid a weak trend in the Asian region.

However, silver rose further by Rs 200 to Rs 55,200 per kg on better offtake by industrial units at lower levels, after a steep fall earlier this week.

Trading sentiment turned bearish after gold declined in the Asian region, as investors sold the metal for cash to pay losses as commodities, including oil and copper fell on concerns that European leaders may fail to contain the region's debt crisis.

Gold in Asian markets, which normally sets the price trend on the domestic front, dropped by 1.1% to USD 1,632.05 an ounce in Singapore.

Besides, sluggish demand at prevailing higher levels also influenced the gold prices.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5% purity declined by Rs 75 each to Rs 26,940 and Rs 26,800 per 10 grams, respectively. The metal had gained Rs 275 yesterday.

However, sovereigns found some local buying, following beginning of 'Navratra' festival and rose by Rs 400 to Rs 21,600 per piece of eight grams.

On the other hand, silver ready rose further by Rs 200 to Rs 55,200 per kg, while weekly-based delivery met with resistance and lost Rs 345 to Rs 53,700 per kg.

Silver coins moved up by Rs 1,000 to Rs 62,000 for buying and Rs 63,000 for selling of 100 pieces on account of festive demand.

CSK vs CC: Cape Cobras three down as Bravo s

Cape Cobras lost their third wicket when Dwayne Bravo clean bowled Dane Vilas in their Champions League Twenty20 clash at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.

Cobras got off to a bad start losing both their openers inside five overs.

Herschelle Gibbs hit 3 fours in his 14-ball 18 before Doug Bollinger had him caught by Michael Hussey at mid-on.

R Ashwin gave Chennai the first breakthrough when he trapped Richard Levi plumb in front of the wicket on his first ball of the match.

This was after captain Justin Kemp won the toss and chose to bat.

CSK's hopes of advancing to the semifinals hangs in balance after the defending champions failed to restrict a depleted Mumbai Indians in their opening match last week.

Cape Cobras are buoyed after the win over New South Wales Blues, and will be keen to extend their supremacy in group A with yet another victory.

The South African champions, though, were not really tested in their opening encounter, as they eased past the Australians with seven wickets in hand.

The side will rely heavily on the exploits of speedster Dale Steyn besides pinning hopes on the likes of Herschelle Gibbs and Richard Levi to come good.

Dhoni's men will look up to Michael Hussey, who was in brilliant nick during his knock of 81 against MI, and a lot will also depend on Suresh Raina and the skipper.

Murali Vijay, who was at loss against Lasith Malinga the other night, too, will look to rediscover his touch.

If the hosts wilt under pressure again, it will be the end of the road for them, and the dream to win a unique CLT20 double will remain just a dream.

Blackberry launches new Curve in India

Research In Motion (RIM) on Tuesday launched the next-generation BlackBerry Curve smartphone in India.

Curve 9360, sporting the QWERTY keyboard for which BlackBerry phones are well-known, runs on BlackBerry 7 operating software. It has a 2.4 inch screen with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels. However, unlike Bold 9900, the phone's screen doesn't support touch input.

The company hopes that the revamped OS, which features a faster browser and better graphics, will help it take on iPhone and Android devices. RIM said that the new Curve will be available in the market at a price of Rs 19,990.

Curve 9360 comes with an optical trackpad, a 5MP camera and support for up to 32GB micro SD card. The phone also supports NFC (near field communication) technology though currently there is lack of accessories and services that can make use of it.

"Curve series has been extremely popular in India and we are excited to launch Curve 9360. It features a new design along with a performance upgrade and better mobile social experience. It provides an ideal upgrade path for our existing Curve customers as well as the millions of feature phone users in the Indian market," said Frenny Bawa managing director for India at RIM.

According to a study done by Voice&Data few months ago, RIM had a market share of 5.9% in FY 2010-11 after registering over 60% annual growth in revenue in India compared to FY 2009-10. But this year the company has faced strong competition from full touchscreen Android phones that offer better multimedia and web browsing at a cheaper price.

Akshay Kumar's apology call to Abhishek Bachchan

It seems that everyone is taking on the responsibility to apologise for Russell Peters' potshots at Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's acting abilities.

On September 26, 2011 Mumbai Mirror reported that Speedy Singhs co-producer, Ajay Virmani, took it upon himself to do some damage control. And now we hear that Akshay Kumar called Abhishek to apologise for the same.

A source revealed, "Akshay said 'Sorry' to Abhishek. He respects Aishwarya and the Bachchan family a lot. He is naturally very embarrassed about Russell's remarks."

Apparently, Kumar, who made the call last weekend, took Abhishek by surprise. "It was definitely not Akshay's fault. It was a very kind gesture on Akshay's part. Abhishek told him to take it easy. After the call, Akshay felt a lot lighter," added the source.

When previously contacted, Virmani told Mumbai Mirror, "I have no control over what Russell says. What he says is not reflective of our opinion or what the film is all about. Aishwarya is a fantastic actress and a legend.

I apologise for his comments." Despite repeated attempts, both Akshay and Abhishek, remained unavailable for comment.

10 Tips for a healthy heart

A strong heart is a result of healthy lifestyle choices. Be active and stress-free

 Today's fast-paced life and workplace pressures escalate stress levels, taking a toll on one's heart. We must realise that the healing power of the body decreases when under stress, leading to many complications like hypertension and poor immunity. Today, even youngsters are prone to heart ailments. So, it's very important to stay healthy and manage your stress levels by understanding the risk factors - high cholesterol levels, stressful lifestyle, smoking, and lack of exercise - following simple changes in lifestyle.

Avoid smoking

Smoking reduces life expectancy by 15-25 years. If you are a smoker, you are twice more likely to have a heart attack than a non-smoker. The moment you stop smoking, the risk of heart attack begins to reduce.

 Cut down on salt

Too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Watch your diet

Try to have a balanced diet. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, starch foods such as wholegrain bread and rice.

Monitor your alcohol

Too much alcohol can damage the heart muscle, increase blood pressure and also lead to weight gain. Avoid intake of alcohol or at least limit it to one to two units a day, gradually decreasing the consumption.

 Get active

At least aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day. Keeping yourself fit not only benefits the heart but also improves mental health and well-being.

Monitor your BP, blood sugar and cholesterol levels

Routine medical check-ups will ring an alarm, if you need medical help.

 Manage your waist

Cholesterol deposition in blood vessels begins in the first decade of life. Carrying a lot of extra weight as fat can greatly affect your health. Make small but healthy changes in your diet.
  
Manage your stress level

If you find things are getting on top of you, you may fail to eat properly, smoke and drink too much. This may increase your risk of a heart attack. Practice yoga/meditation. Take a vacation.

 Check your family history

If a close relative is at risk of developing coronary heart disease from smoking, high BP, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, obesity and diabetes, then you could be at risk too.

Laughter is the best therapy

Laughter anytime will work wonders for you. It is an instant way to unleash the pressure and it makes you feel light.

Facebook Charging fees : Hoax

A new version of an old hoax is spreading on Facebook, trying to warn users that the company will soon start charging you to use the service. It’s bogus, of course.

Facebook users are warning each other that the social network will soon start charging its users due to the upcoming profile changes. While these people likely have good intentions, the truth is that this is a hoax and Facebook will never ask you to pay to use its service.

The “advice” comes in the form of the following message:

IT IS OFFICIAL. IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING. DUE TO THE PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON, IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY
The hoax, which is spreading like wildfire on Facebook, is not the first of its kind. Many scams have claimed Facebook will ask you to pay in one form or another, but they’re all bogus. The company even tries to remind its users on the website’s main login page (if you’re logged in, you’ll have to log out to see it): “It’s free and always will be.”

Facebook makes a lot of money from the ads viewed and clicked by its 800 million active users. In fact, the social networking giant is expected to make $4.27 billion in revenue this year, 89 percent of which will come from advertising.

As a general word of caution, don’t believe everything you read on the Internet. Also, don’t blindly copy and paste warnings just because your Facebook friend’s status tells you to do so. Although you probably mean well, you could be helping a hoax become more popular on the social network.

Take tea without milk for weight loss

Beware, especially if you want to lose weight - don't add milk to tea, or you would pile on the pounds.

Scientists have discovered that tea contains high levels of compounds that help reduce the amount of fat but proteins found in cows' milk neutralise this fat-fighting ability.

New research has shown that the compounds, called theaflavins and thearubigins, prevent obesity when given to rats that were also on a high-fat diet.

Researchers now believe this could explain why people in Britain appear not to benefit from the healthy affects of tea despite being among the world's biggest consumers of the beverage, the Telegraph reports.

Devajit Borthakur, a scientist at the Tea Research Association at Jorhat in the Indian state of Assam, said: "When tea is taken with milk, theaflavins and thearubigins form complexes with the milk protein, which causes them to precipitate."

"It means that we don't get the health benefit from these compounds nor from milk protein. Therefore, it is always advised to take tea without milk."

A study by scientists in Japan, reveals that extracts from tea leaves inhibit the absorption of fat in the guts of rats being fed high-fat diet.

These rats also had less fat tissue on their bodies and lower fat content in their livers, reports the Journal of Nutrition.

Hiroaki Yajima, a scientist with the Kirin Beverage Company in Japan who carried out the Japanese research, said: "Black tea extracts may prevent diet-induced obesity by inhibiting intestinal lipid absorption."

Samsung to launch Microsoft Mango phone in October

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics, the world's second-biggest handset maker, said that it will release its first smartphone based on the latest version of Microsoft Corp's mobile operating system starting in Italy from the end of October.

Samsung, the top seller of Google's Android phones, has adopted a multiplatform strategy, rolling out smartphones also running on Microsoft's software and its own proprietary "bada" software.

Samsung said in a statement that its Omnia W, which runs the latest release of Windows Phone, code-named Mango, features a 3.7-inch AM-OLED display and a 1.4 GHz processor. It will be gradually rolled to globally including Europe, CIS, Latin America, Africa, South East and South West Asia.

A Samsung spokeswoman said the date for a US rollout has not been decided yet.

Microsoft launched an update of its Windows phone software in May, hoping a host of new features will help it close the gap on smartphone leaders Google Inc and Apple Inc

Meanwhile, Samsung said on Sunday that sales of its Android smartphone Galaxy S 2 had topped 10 million units in five months, making it the company's fastest-selling phone.

Samsung also unveiled two LTE versions of its Galaxy S 2 smartphones in South Korea on Monday, seeking to keep alive its smartphone momentum and to step up challenge against Apple's iPhone.

Smartphone sales are one of few bright spots in the businesses of Samsung, which also leads global sales of memory chips, flat-panel screens and TVs.

Solid smartphone sales are expected to lead to higher-than-expected earnings for Samsung during the July to September period, analysts said.

Paris Hilton gives $100 to Indian beggar

Hotel heiress and international celebrity Paris Hilton, who is in India on a three-day business trip, showed her humanitarian side when she tipped a beggar $100.

"Yesterday (Sunday) when Paris was travelling to launch her bag store, a woman with a baby was begging near her car; she was so moved that she gave her a $100 note," a source told IANS. Paris arrived in India Saturday to launch her new line of bags and her stores in collaboration with Brand Concepts Pvt. Ltd.

Abhishek injured again, fractures finger

Actor Abhishek Bachchan, who received six stitches above his right eye earlier this month after an accident on a movie set, has now injured his left finger - during shooting for the same film. "...I fractured my finger. It's what I would like to call a sympathy wound," Abhishek posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Last time he got injured on the sets of " Bol Bachchan" in Jaipur and this time it happened when the 35-year-old was returning to his hotel room after shooting for the Rohit Shetty film. Abhishek's father, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who suffered a hairline rib fracture on the sets of "Department", tweeted: "My hairline fracture on rib has a companion - Mr Abhishek Bachchan.

He has had a hairline fracture on his finger on shoot in Jaipur for 'Bol Bachchan'." "Was on his way to the hotel after pack up and the crew playing cricket hit a ball in his direction, which he tried to prevent from hitting his face and damaged his finger. Its got a fracture and he is in a splint and bandage, but operational !!" further added the 68-year-old.

Things to never do on Facebook

There is a set of guidelines to follow in a relationship, and then there is another set to be followed when exposing your personal life on a social-networking site. A breach of these could result in the shocking tragedy of Malini Murmu, the 23-year-old IIM student who committed suicide after reading her former boyfriend's tactless status update: "Feeling super cool today. Dumped my new ex-girlfriend. Happy Independence Day."

The onus of Malini's actions does not rest solely on her ex-boyfriend's keyboard happiness; there is more to the matter than meets the eye. However, this is an immense cause of concern about the far-reaching effects social-networking sites can have on people's lives. Especially since people tend to have more 'courageous' online personalities than offline ones.

Clinical psychologist Alina Philip says, "Much like the media, social networking sites reach everybody. Therefore, we need to follow ethics and be extremely sensitive to what goes up on them. "

Admit it
As much as social networks allow us to stay connected with people across the demographics, they are partly superficial.

And we get to be pretentious. Most status updates and pictures are to show how witty you are, how much fun and interesting your life is, how deep you are - basically a concentrated effort to dictate a perception of the unique snowflake that is you.

While there is nothing wrong in this, tread carefully when relationships with others are involved. Making and maintaining relationships need effort, time and direct communication - and all of it invested offline.

Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Varkha Chulani, says, "There's a fine line between sharing of information and emotional exhibition." "Love you darling. Muah", "Thanks for last night", "We need to talk" and "I think your sister is fat" does not need to make it on the Wall. These conversations are best had person to person. And if this is not the kind of thing you would say to his/her face, it makes it all the more cowardly to say it online.

Like Philip says, "Would you go to the middle of Azad Maidan screaming that you have broken up? Then why publicise on Facebook? Your personal space is your personal space. Respect it. Do not make a mockery out of it. Maintain the sanity of your relationship."

This extends to changes in relationship messages. From Single to Taken to It's complicated, it's less of sharing of good news and more of hungering for attention. Wouldn't it be wiser to decide on the status of your relationship after you've finished fighting and decided mutually on it?

Also announcing the cementing of your relationship through status change can be awkward if you have not had 'the talk' offline first. Otherwise ABC is happily 'in a relationship' with XYZ, but XYZ hasn't really changed her status from Single.

Be a suit
Taking office gossip and team rivalry online will not reflect well on your resume. Even here, it is better if you solve your problems face-to-face rather than resort to vague sarcastic comments on their status messages and photos.

And no matter how bad your day has been, don't bitch about a client or boss on your blog and Twitter. You may have a friend who knows a friend, who knows the boss. Besides, your future employers could be online and they will think twice about hiring a person with no discretion.

Keep it positive
A rule of thumb is to announce only the positive - a new job, a celebration or new degree. Steer clear of washing dirty linen in public. Do not talk about your bad day at work or your unpleasant marriage. Remember: 500 friends of friends do not need to know.

Pictures have ceased to be snapshots for posterity and grown into frames of exhibitionism. And here you need to be more careful. What seemed funny when you were drunk and in college, will not be as ticklish when you land a job, or when you wake up sober. When the pictures are of somebody else, the responsibility is greater.

You do not know what could land a friend or colleague into trouble and it is best to avoid uploading any picture or video that brings even a shadow of doubt. Happy smiling family pictures may be boring, but they are less likely to land you in a lawsuit.

Pictures of you with your arm around a bikini-clad babe, or shirtless dude after a break-up point less to you being cool and more to you being lame. "This reflects that you are providing solace to yourself that you have a good life, while revealing emotional instability," says Chulani.

Eat less, don't exercise, shed flab

Those wishing to shed some pounds should simply eat less rather than doing exercise, a leading surgeon has claimed.

Lord McColl of Dulwich also criticized the UK government's focus on promoting exercise as the key to tackling the obesity epidemic.

His comments came despite the scientifically proven fact that regular exercise results in a lower risk of many chronic diseases - including heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

And his view also flies in the face of research that shows it can also boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy - as well as reduce risk of stress, depression, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

"We are in the middle of the most serious epidemic to have hit this country for 100 years - the obesity epidemic. The cure is free - you just have to eat less," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

Sachin scared of me, says Shoaib Akhtar in his biography

Pakistan cricket's enfant terrible Shoaib Akhtar has stirred yet another controversy, this time questioning the class and temperament of India's batting stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

In his just-published biography " Controversially Yours", the temperamental Pakistan speedster has accused Tendulkar of being scared to face his scorching pace on a slow Faisalabad track.

He also claimed that Tendulkar and Dravid were not match-winners nor did they know the art of finishing games.

"....Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and the likes of them are great batsmen who dominated with the bat and were truly match-winners. Initially, when I bowled against Sachin, I found these qualities missing. He might have had more runs and records, he lacked the ability to finish the game," he said in the book, to be formally launched on Friday.

Akhtar, who announced his retirement during the World Cup this year, also cited an example where he felt that Sachin was mighty scared to face him.

"We would have faced a humbling defeat in the series but for the fact that we reined in Sachin Tendulkar.

"What went in our favour was that Sachin was suffering from tennis elbow! This severely handicapped the great batsman. We managed to psychologically browbeat him.

"We bounced the ball at him and were able to unnerve him. I returned to the dressing room that first day with the knowledge that Sachin was not comfortable facing fast and rising ball. He was distinctly uncomfortable against me. That was enough to build on", he said.

"I bowled (Sachin) a particularly fast ball which he, to my amazement didn't even touch. He walked away! That was the first time, I saw him walk away from me-- that, too, on the slow track at Faisalabad. It got my hunting instincts up and in the next match I hit him on the head and he couldn't score after that", Akhtar wrote.

The 36-year-old Akhtar, who had scalped 178 wickets in 46 Test and 247 I wickets in 163 ODIs, said that Tendulkar and Dravid who have together conjured over 56,000 international runs (over 33,000 by Tendulkar and over 23,000 by Dravid) are not "match winners".

"I think players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid weren't exactly match winners to start with, nor did they know the art of finishing the game," Shoaib said.

Akhtar who played for Shah Rukh Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders during IPL has accused the Bollywood superstar and former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi of "cheating."

"Shahrukh and I talked about my not being happy with the money settled on me. Shahrukh and Modi got me to agree. I should have never listened to Modi and Shahrukh," he said in the book.

Akhtar also spoke at length about politics in Pakistan Cricket Board. He didn't shy away from taking a dig at two former captains Wasim Akram and Shoaib Malik.

He didn't stop short of calling Malik a "stoodge of PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf" and that's why he was made the captain.

First year IIT-Kanpur student hangs self

A BTech (first year) student of material and metallurgical engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) committed suicide on Thursday.

Mehtab Ahmed (17), who hailed from Kannauj district, was found hanging in his room No D-307 of hall No IX on the campus on Thursday evening.

After hearing the news, IIT-K director Sanjay Govind Dhande, other officials and students rushed to the Mehtab's room where he used to live alone.

"Born on 18 June 1994, Mehtab Ahmed (Roll No 11397) was a good student. Son of S-I Shaikh Ahmad, Mehtab had joined IIT-Kanpur on July 20 this year. At around 4.45 pm, when the friends knocked at the door and found that the room was locked from inside, they broke open the door only to discover Mehtab hanging from the ceiling fan," said Dhande.

Mehtab's batchmates said he showed no signs of any discomfort till last night and even in the morning and later in the afternoon and talked to them on various topics and issues.

When questioned about the reason which forced the youth to take such an extreme step, Dhande hinted towards Mehtab's relationship with a girl and gave some poems written by him to newspersons.

When further questioned about ragging being a cause, the director ruled out any such possibility.

It is important to mention that Mehtab had written "I am tired of IIT-Kanpur" on the wall of his room with a pencil. He also wrote names of his three childhood friends Shubham Shukla, Ravi Kashyap and Umesh Chauhan on the wall. Dhande said that those were Mehtab's friend staying outside the IIT-K campus.

Dhande also revealed that the student was homesick since he was new to IIT-K but added that he was frequenting his home place in Kannauj as few rail tickets were also recovered from Mehtab's room.

The director informed that Mehtab had appeared in four examinations out of five in the mid-semester, which ended on September 17. He further said that the result is yet to come out.

Dhande said that he could not appear in humanities subject owing to his mother's illness.

No suicide note was recovered and the police are investigating the reason why the student took the extreme step. The police have recovered a mobile phone from Mehtab's room.

After going through the call details, it was learnt that the boy had last spoken to his mother in Kannauj.

"A few hours before his death at around 1:27 in the afternoon Mehtab had made a call to his mother Zulekha Banu in Kannauj from his cell phone informing her that he had badly performed in his physics paper and the duration of the call lasted for nearly 9:40 minutes," investigating officer Jai Singh said while talking to TOI.

The boy seems to be depressed as his mother Zulekha had also visited him at his hostel on September 20, he said. The boy had used a very thin but a fresh and strong nylon rope to hang himself, he said.

"The boy had committed suicide between 2 and 4.30 pm. It would be too early to draw any conclusion and investigations are still underway," said another senior police official.

DIG Rajesh Rai said that the body will be only sent for post-mortem examination in the presence of victim's kin, who had arrived at IIT-K in the evening. The institute authorities did not allow newsperson to enter the hostel.

"There is no evidence to suggest that there was foul play in the incident. We are still investigating. It appears to be a case of suicide," another police official said.

Android: Oracle wants $1.16bn from Google

Oracle Corp estimated it suffered roughly $1.16 billion of damages from Google Inc's alleged copyright and patent infringement of Java technology used in the Android operating system.

In a court filing, Oracle said Google's claim that the damages sought exceeded $2.2 billion "mischaracterizes" a report by Oracle damages expert Iain Cockburn, a Boston University business professor.

The lowered damages estimate is one-fifth the maximum $6.1 billion that Oracle had earlier sought in the case.

Oracle had sued Google in August 2010, claiming that the Internet search company's Android system infringed Java patents that Oracle had acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems Inc seven months earlier. It also alleged copyright infringement.

The lawsuit is one of several among phone and software companies seeking a greater share of profits in the growing market for smartphones and tablets.

A trial is set to begin on October 31 before U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco. The judge had on July 22 rejected Oracle's request for up to $6.1 billion, but gave the company a chance to revise its claim.

In a letter to Alsup, Oracle lawyer Steven Holtzman said the revised damages estimate includes as much as $202 million for patent infringement, and as much as $960 million for copyright infringement.

He urged the judge to deny Google's request to exclude parts of Cockburn's report from the case.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Google is based in Mountain View, California, and Oracle in nearby Redwood City.

Shiv Sena against Anna Hazare's trip to Pakistan

Shiv Sena on Thursday voiced its strong opposition to social activist Anna Hazare's plans to visit Pakistan in connection with anti-corruption movement.

While speaking to a two-member delegation from Pakistan at his native village Ralegan Siddhi, Hazare had said he would like to go to Pakistan if "my visit is going to help the anti-corruption movement there".

"Anna should have told the delegation that they should tell Pakistan to stop terrorism," Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said here.

"Shiv Sena is of the opinion that no one should have any relations with Pakistan," Raut said.

The delegation, comprising Justice Nasir Aslam Jahid, a former judge of Pakistan's Supreme Court, and Karamat Ali, a well-known peace activist, had extended an invitation to Hazare to visit the neighbouring country.

The success of Hazare's anti-corruption movement had boosted the morale of the activists in Pakistan and people of Pakistan wanted Hazare to visit the country, Ali had said.

Saina sails to quarters of Japan Open, others disappoint

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal emerged as the lone survivor for India at the Japan Open, defeating Mingtian Fu of Singapore in straight games to reach the quarterfinals of the women's singles competition at Tokyo on Thursday.

Fourth seed Saina took 33 minutes to beat Mingtian 21-17, 21-16. She will take on Juan GU of Singapore on Friday.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist P Kashyap played his heart out before going down 15-21, 21-6, 18-21 to sixth seed Jin Chen in the men's singles match which lasted for one hour and six minutes.

Ajay Jayaram, who stunned World number seven Tien Minh Nguyen on Wednesday, also became a second round casualty after losing 20-22 16-21 to Indonesian Simon Santoso in a 42-minute battle.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also failed to get past seventh seeded Jung Eun Ha and Min Jung Kim in the women's doubles event. The Indian duo lost 9-21, 21-18, 22-24 to the Korean pair in 49 minutes.

The Indian mixed doubles pair of Jwala and V Diju also lost their second round battle 15-21, 10-21 against fifth seeded pair of Hung Ling Chen and Wen Hsing Cheng in just 24 minutes.

The 21-year-old Saina, however, kept India's tricolour fluttering at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

In the first game, Saina opened up a narrow 9-5 lead and though Mingtian caught up with her at 14-all, the Indian was able to hold her fort to get ahead.

In the second game, Mingtian dominated the initial proceedings and had her nose ahead at 6-4 but Saina drew parity at 13-all and then broke off at 15-15 with six straight points to seal her place in the quarterfinals.

Big B injured on film sets, fans send in recovery tweets

Actor Amitabh Bachchan was injured while shooting on the sets of Ram Gopal Varma's Department on Wednesday evening. No sooner than Bachchan Senior tweet about the accident, his fans flooded him with messages wishing him speedy recovery. Some even derided Varma for asking Big B to do an action sequence.

Bachchan tweeted: "A minor incident on the set during a semi-action sequence, got hit on rib cage, some damage inside, pain on breathing, bearable. Guess it's the season for injuries... first Abhishek, now moi... happens... will repair on its own said doc."

Bombarded with concerned messages, Bachchan tweeted: "People of Twitterworld, relax, should never have mentioned... just an accidental hit by either an elbow or the butt of a carbine."

Some fans prayed for his quick recovery, some asked him to take care and some even were angry with director Ramgopal Varma.

A fan tweeted: "RGV crazy to ask you to do a action sequence. Do not test your body, Amitabh Ji. Hope it heals soon."

Bachchan is said to be playing the role of a gangster-turned-politician role in Department.

Varma said, "I really didn't know about this till I read his tweets. He shot with me for over an hour after he hurt himself." He later tweeted to Big B: "O hell, Sarkar, and you never told me about this."