HIV

HIV: 1st Trial Aiming to Cure Virus With Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Set to Begin, Reports Say

The National Organization of Transplants in Madrid recently said it plans to begin treating its first HIV-positive patient between December and January, news outlets reported.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi: Arun Shourie Calls Prime Minister's Government 'Congress Scaled Plus a Cow'

Shourie, a former Union minister, criticized Modi’s government for its “lack of direction” at a panel discussion in Delhi following the launch of a TN Ninan book.

Amazon

Amazon: Online Retailer Sues 1,114 Defendants Accused of Selling 'False, Misleading' Reviews

The suit filed in Washington Superior Court claims the unidentified defendants were selling reviews on online marketplace Fiverr.com. Fiverr is said to be cooperating with Amazon.

V.K. Singh

V.K. Singh: Union Minister Says Government Is Not Responsible for Deaths of 2 Dalit Children

"If someone throws stones at a dog, the government is not responsible,” Singh said Thursday with regards to the murders earlier this week, according to multiple news outlets.

Nestlé

Nestlé: Company Says It Will Bring Maggi Noodle Products Back to Stores After Lab Tests

The company said in a statement that it plans to put Maggi noodle products back "at the earliest" after tests showed all samples had lead "much below permissible limits.

Man Booker Prize

Man Booker Prize: Marlon James Named as Winner of Literary Award for 'A Brief History of Seven Killings'

James is the first Jamaican writer to win the prize in its history. "It was a unanimous decision, a little bit to our surprise," Michael Wood, the chair of judges, said.

Sachin Tendulakar

Sachin Tendulkar: Former Indian Cricket Captain Set to Play in US Exhibition Tour of 3 Cities

Tendulkar, along with former Australian player Shane Warne, announced a 10-day all-star cricket tour in November in a bid to increase the popularity of the sport with Americans.

Whats APP

WhatsApp: Android App Gains Ability to Back Up Messages, Pictures and Videos on Google Drive

Users will be able to back up WhatsApp media to Google Drive. This is similar to WhatsApp on iPhone, which backs up media to iCloud. The feature will roll out over the coming months, Google said.

Facebook

Facebook: Social Network Announces Test of Reactions Feature to Expand Upon Like Button

Reactions will allow users to press Like, Love, Haha, Yay, Wow, Sad and Angry buttons. The test is rolling out in Spain and Ireland to start, the company said in an announcement.

Rudrama Devi

Rudrama Devi: Film to Receive Entertainment Tax Waiver in Telangana

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the film qualified for the exemption because it showcased Telangana history and culture. The movie debuted in theaters on Friday.

All India Bakchod

All India Bakchod: Comedy Group Produces Qawwali Video for Truly Madly Dating Service

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEC0pKHJKNM

The "Creep Qawwali" video features two women singing back and forth, each giving examples of unwanted messages from online suitors. All India Bakchod's advertising wing made the video.

Nobel Prize in Literature

Nobel Prize in Literature: Belarusian Author Svetlana Alexievich Wins Prize

The Swedish Academy said Thursday she won "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time." Her works include "Voices from Chernobyl" and "War’s Unwomanly Face."

L'Oréal

L'Oréal: Company's Advertisement Among 82 Banned by Consumer Complaints Council

The council, under the Advertising Standards Council of India, received a total of 148 complaints in June, 82 of which resulted in bans for misleading, false or unsubstantiated information.

Lumia 950 and 950 XL

Lumia 950 and 950 XL: Microsoft Unveils 2 New Windows 10 Smartphones at Event

The Lumia 950 features a 5.2-inch screen, and the 950 XL packs a 5.7-inch display. Both smartphones run Windows 10 and will go on sale in November.

Microsoft Surface

 Microsoft Unveils 13.5-Inch Surface Book Laptop and Surface Pro 4 Tablet

The Surface Book features a 13.5-inch screen and a Nvidia GeForce GPU. The Surface Pro 4, which will be released on Oct. 26, packs a 12.3-inch display and includes a Surface Pen.

Nayantara Sahgal: Writer Says She's Returning Sahitya Akademi Award

"India’s culture of diversity and debate is now under vicious assault," Shagal wrote Tuesday on indianculturalforum.in. She's returning the literary award in protest against the Indian government.

Who's older, Tej or Tejaswi? Son's age gaffe stumps Lalu

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav is 25 and younger son Tejaswi Yadav is 26, if the affidavits filed by them with their nomination papers for Mahua and Raghopur assembly seats, respectively, in Vaishali district are to be believed!

Tej Pratap filed his nomination papers on Monday in presence of his father. Tejaswi filed his nomination on Saturday.

Neither Lalu nor anyone from his family, including his two sons, was available for comment on the age issue. Sources close to family said actually Tejaswi is 26 years old and Tej Pratap is around two years older. "We don't know how this mistake was made by those who helped both Tejaswi and Tej Pratap fill up the nomination papers," said the source.

According to the affidavits, Tej Pratap passed intermediate in 2010 from Bihar School Examination Board, and has assets worth Rs 1.12 crore and loan of over Rs 18 lakh. Tejaswi, on the other hand, passed Class IX in 2006 from DPS RK Puram, New Delhi, and has assets worth Rs 1.40 crore and loan of Rs 34 lakh.

Nasa shares stunning photos of the India-Pakistan border

Nasa shared a photo of the international border between India and Pakistan as seen from outer space on their Facebook page on Sunday.

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this nighttime panorama while looking north across Pakistan’s Indus River valley. The photo was taken on September 23 with a Nikon D4 digital camera using a 28 millimetre lens.

The photograph shows one of the few places on Earth where an international boundary can be seen at night. The winding border between Pakistan and India is lit by security lights that have a distinct orange tone.

Another photo, which was shared by Nasa in 2011, shows the border zone looking southeast from the Himalaya.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow: 10 new features

After months of waiting, Google has finally started rolling out the next version of its mobile OS Android, Marshmallow. Also, the next update of the OS is numbered Android 6.0, instead of Android 5.2 as previously speculated.

Announced at Google I/O 2015, Android Marshmallow brings with it a number of new features to spruce up your smartphones and tablets (provided they get the update). Here we take a look at 10 of the features you can look forward to with the next build of Android…

Google Now on Tap

One of the key Android Marshmallow features is Google Now on Tap, a more advanced version of the company's digital assistant. While Google Now is presently available, on most phones, only via the Search app, Android 6.0 will make it all-pervasive.

This means that you will be able to pull up Google Now to make a quick search across any app while using the smartphone. All you need to do is to select any section on the screen, for example any particular text, and Google Now on Tap will pull up relevant information, including context-based definitions.

Chrome Custom Tabs

Many a times, you click a link in an app and it either takes you to the default browser (like Chrome, Opera etc) or opens the link on the in-app browser. With Android 6.0, app makers will be able to integrate Chrome tabs into their apps, but retain the app’s customized look. The toolbar colour, enter & exit animations, and custom actions as well as overflow menu can be picked by the app makers even if the link is of an external website.

One of the key uses for the app makers is that the user stays within the app and gets a seamless experience. For the users, Custom Chrome Tabs saves them the trouble of logging into websites they are already connected to or authenticate permissions more than once. Moreover, this feature has provision to pre-fetch content, so autofill data and passwords can be entered with just a tap.

Battery life enhancements

While Android Lollipop’s Project Volta did not bring as much battery life improvement as was promised by Google, the company claims to have brought a fix with Android Marshmallow’s Doze feature. Basically, this feature is said to bring your smartphone to a near-off state when it has been idle for a long time. 

In Google’s tests, Android 6.0’s Doze resulted in two times the battery life compared to Android 5.0 on the same device with the same apps.

Though Doze allows important notifications and alarms to pass, it does not let apps refresh in the background, so you won’t be able to get key updates as soon as you pick up your phone after a while.

Fingerprint support goes native

While many manufacturers, like Samsung, HTC, OnePlus, Oppo etc, have been using fingerprint sensors in their smartphones for quite some time, Google is making fingerprint sensor support native with Android 6.0. The new Nexus phones also feature a fingerprint sensor.

This will not only add a new security layer to all smartphones (if manufacturers want to add this feature, that is) but also allow payment authentication via Android Pay.

Moreover, fingerprint support can be added to other apps as password for login

USB Type C and faster charging

Google is doing away with microUSB as the standard for the Android smartphones with the Android Marshmallow update, replacing it with USB Type C. Google's new Nexus 5X and 6P also come with USB Type C.

This relatively new USB type is backwards-compatible, which means that (like Apple’s Lightning adapter) the charging cable can be inserted in the port either way, making it a convenience for all users.

USB Type C has two other advantages: It allows for faster data transfer rates and charges devices faster. In fact, Google says USB Type C can charge products up to 3-5 times faster than the current crop of microUSB chargers.

App permissions

Google has rebooted app permissions with Android 6.0. Marshmallow will allow users to accept or deny permissions to apps as when they are updated; for example, if an app you download wants to access your camera, you can choose to deny to that requirement while approving the others.

This is different from the current setup, where you must accept all permissions if you want to download an app.

If an app adds new features and wants to access more of your phone’s hardware, you can choose to accept to deny those changes while downloading the update.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow also allows you to revisit app permissions; for example, you denied any particular permission initially, you can go in settings and accept it later.

Android Pay

Android 6.0 Marshmallow will bring in Android Pay, an NFC-based payment system that will rival Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Though it will be launched with Android Marshmallow, it will still be available for devices running on Android 4.4 and above.

Based on Google Wallet, this feature allows you to save your credit cards and loyalty cards in one place. When you want to make a transaction, you will be able to authenticate the transaction via your fingerprint or via your virtual card number (given by Android Pay while registering).

Direct Share

Sharing on Android is already pretty convenient, but Google is trying to make it easier with Android 6.0 Marshmallow with it a new feature called Direct Share.

Though a lot is not known about this feature yet, we know that Direct Share will enable apps to share content (for example images) to specific contacts with just one click.

So, if you share stuff with particular contacts frequently, the software will recognize this behaviour and show those contacts on top. It is expected that the APIs will allow for more features, but it will eventually depend on the app makers to integrate them.

New boot animation

Google is bringing in a little change to the boot animation with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which will now show four colourful circles moving about and morphing into various shapes before settling into the Android logo.

This replaces the Android 5.0 Lollipop boot animation, which had four colourful spheres bouncing about for a few seconds before turning into the Android logo.

Customizable toggles

While most custom Android skins allow users to personalize the toggles in the notifications drawer, it is still not a native feature for Google’s mobile operating system.

That is, however, about to change with Android Marshmallow, as users will be able to customize the toggles they want on Nexus devices as well (along with any other smartphone that runs on the stock version of Android 6.0).

India tops Asia in sending scientists and engineers to US: Report

Among Asian countries, India continues to be the top country of birth for scientists and engineers who have made the US their destination for key research and development, latest data has revealed. 

With 950,000 out of Asia's total 2.96 million, India's 2013 figure represented an 85 per cent increase from 2003, according to a new report from the National Science Foundation's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 

From 2003 to 2013, the number of scientists and engineers residing in the US rose from 21.6 million to 29 million. 

"An important factor in that increase over the same time period, the number of immigrant scientists and engineers went from 3.4 million to 5.2 million," the report noted. 

Govt: All app-based taxi companies have to register like normal firms

App-based players such as Ola, Uber and TaxiForSure would have to register with state transport departments like all normal taxi operators and there would be no exception for those which claim to be "aggregators", the transport ministry said on Monday.

"We don't recognize the aggregators as a separate category. They have to follow the norms set for other taxis by the respective state governments. It's for the states to set norms and implement them. They can follow the provisions in the guidelines," Union road transport secretary Vijay Chhibber told TOI on the sidelines of a road safety summit organized by International Road Federation.

Apple, Google again named best global brands

Technology giants Apple and Google have been adjudged the best brands in the world for the third consecutive year as technology companies dominated Interband's 16th annual best global brands report.

"For the third year in a row, Apple (ranked first) and Google (ranked second) claim the top positions. Valued at $170.276 billion, Apple increased its brand value by 43%," Interbrand said.

"Google, valued at $120.314 billion, increased its brand value by 12%," the brand consultancy firm said in a release.

Flipkart

Flipkart: Hyderabad Man Allegedly Cons E-Commerce Portal Out of Rs 20 Lakh, Report Says

Veera Swamy, 32, ordered electronic goods and returned fake products for refunds more than 200 times, India Times reported. Flipkart is said to have filed a report with local police.

Digital India

Digital India: Ankit Fadia Named Initiative's Ambassador After Government's Denial

The government confirmed the appointment of four brand ambassadors, including Ankit Fadia, after initially denying that Fadia was appointed on Tuesday.

Airtel

Airtel: Advertising Standards Council of India Rules Telecom Company's Ads Are Misleading

Airtel's 4G speed challenge ad campaign, launched in August, claims that the company offers the fastest network. The company said it would provide technical data to the agency to prove the claims.

Khadi: Sales of Hand-Woven Clothing Jump After Prime Minister Touts Products in Mann ki Baat

Stores selling khadi have seen increase in sales since Narendra Modi urged people to buy the discounted clothing to help poor weavers in his Sept. 20 address, The Times of India reports.

Central Bureau of Investigation: Government Body Clears Manmohan Singh in Coal Case

There is no evidence that the ex-prime minister was involved in a coal block allocation case currently under investigation, a CBI spokesperson said Monday.

Prem Ratan Dan Payo

Hewlett-Packard: No Employees Gave Reportable Amount to Ex-CEO Fiorina's Campaign, Report Says

Of the 302,000 employees at HP, no staff and one current board member gave over $200, according to GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina’s campaign filings, The Daily Beast reported.

Sushma Swaraj: India's External Affairs Minister Addresses UN General Assembly in Speech

India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hit back powerfully at Pakistan saying it must “give up terror” if the two countries must “sit down and talk.”

Addressing the UN General Assembly in Hindi, Swaraj landed a solid left hook to counter Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's four-point peace initiative. “We do not need four points, we need just one - give up terrorism and let us sit down and talk.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered praise on Sushma Swaraj for the bold tone, which was a foregone conclusion after Sharif’s turn at the UN barely 24 hours ago.