NASA unveils stunning images of massive Antarctic iceberg

NASA has released stunning dark images which show the movement of the trillion-tonne iceberg — one of the largest ever recorded — that recently broke off from Antarctica.

As Antarctica remains shrouded in darkness during the Southern Hemisphere winter, NASA’s Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) on Landsat 8 satellite captured a new snap of the 5,800 square kilometre iceberg that split off from the Antarctic Peninsula’s Larsen C ice shelf on July 10-12.

The satellite imagery is a composite of Landsat 8 as it passed on July 14 and July 21 and shows that the main berg, A-68, has already lost several smaller pieces.

The latest imagery also details a group of three small, not yet released icebergs at the north end.

The calving of the iceberg left the Larsen C Ice Shelf reduced in area by more than 12%, and the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula changed forever.

Icebergs calve from Antarctica all the time, but because this one is particularly large, its path across the ocean needs to be monitored.

DRAGON FRUIT MOJITO RECIPE

Gorgeous dragon fruit juice muddled together with mint, vanilla and lime in a fruity sparkling mojito cocktail!

Ingredients

Produce

• 3 oz Dragon fruit puree
• 3 Lime
• 4 Mint, sprigs

Condiments

• 3 tbsp Agave + more

Baking & Spices

• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 
  

Drinks

• 1 1/2 cup Sparkling water + more

Frozen

• 2 cup Ice cubes

Beer, Wine & Liquor

• 2 shots Rum, white

ASUS ZenFone AR with 8GB RAM launched in India at RS 49,999

Asus has unveiled ZenFone AR in January this year and it as world’s first Smartphone with 8GB RAM. This smart phone is first that is compatible with Google’s Tango and Daydream VR platform both. Priced at Rs. 49,999, the Smartphone is exclusively available from Flipkart in black colour only. It comes bundled with a range of offers such as 10GB data voucher per recharge of Rs. 309 and above, for up to 10 recharges until March 2018, a discount of Rs. 2500 on the Google Daydream view.

The ASUS ZenFone AR has a 5.7-inch Quad-HD display with Gorilla Glass 4 on top. 

The phone delivers a VR experience with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor. 

The phone runs on Android Nougat and has storage of 128 GB, which is expandable through a micro SD card. 

It has a 3,300mAh battery, which supports a quick charge and can offer 60 percent in 45 minutes.

ZenFone AR is equipped with 23-megapixel Sony IMX318 camera with dual- tone flash.

The phone has two rear cameras one which supports depth sensing and the other supports motion tracking.

The front camera is 8 megapixels with 85 degrees wide angle lens. It also has laser autofocus.

Asus said about the phone that “It was developed in close cooperation with Google to deliver the best user experience”. Asus ZenFone AR comes in Charcoal black colour along with leather finish; it is priced at RS 49,999 and is exclusively available on Flipkart.

Samsung ‘accidentally’ reveals Galaxy Note 8 on Twitter

Weeks after it was rumoured that Samsung will launch its next flagship Galaxy Note 8 device in September to counter its biggest rival Apple, the South Korean giant has “accidentally” revealed the device on Twitter.

In a tweet, Samsung promoted its new processor Exynos 8895 (commonly known as Exynos 9) that is used in the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus.

Samsung tweeted the message with an image of a device. But the smartphone used in the promotion was neither of the Galaxy S8 flagships.

The smartphone used in the photo has an Infinity Display which has even smaller bezels than the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus.

Galaxy Note 8 will have a 6.2-inch display, dual cameras, 3,300 mAh battery, the Exynos 8895 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset and 6GB RAM.

It is also rumoured that this upcoming flagship will be priciest one till now with a price tag of $900. Interestingly, the next iPhone is also rumoured to be the costliest Apple device till date with a cost price of $1,000 and will be launched in September.

WhatsApp has 1 billion daily active users globally

WhatsApp has garnered one billion daily active users around the world who transfer over 55 billion messages and one billion videos everyday, the company said on Thursday.

The monthly active users of Facebook-owned WhatsApp are over 1.3 billion and it supports 60 languages globally. Over 4.5 billion photos are shared around the world on WhatsApp every day.

The introduction of video call, Status (Posts that disappear after 24 hours), two-step verification security and a revamp in design has helped WhatsApp attract more users since last year when it had just one billion monthly active users.

Facebook recently updated the file sharing feature, letting users to share a file of any format. Users can also share multiple videos and photos at a time and send files up to 100MB size.

Users can now easily make their text bold or italic and also send GIFs which they can choose from app’s in-built gallery.

Despite WhatsApp’s move to adopt end-to-end encryption by default for its billion users around the world, rights groups have termed the policies of the instant messaging app too weak to protect user privacy from governments.

Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in early 2014.

Bandh in Jammu to condemn Amarnath terror attack

Several political organisations, including the VHP, JKNPP, NC and Congress called for a bandh in the city on Tuesday, in the wake of a terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

“We have called for Jammu bandh tomorrow (Tuesday) against the death of seven Amarnath pilgrims in a terror attack at Anantnag,” VHP spokesman Rajesh Kumar said on Monday.

A similar call was made by the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the National Conference (NC) and the Congress. Congress spokesman Ravinder Sharma condemned the attack and said the party supported the bandh.

Terrorists killed seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, and injured 32 others as they struck at a bus in Kashmir’s Anantnag district, in the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since the year 2000.

The bus bearing the registration number GJ09Z 9976 was attacked at around 8.20 PM near Khanabal when it was on its way to Jammu, police said.

Apple slashes iPhone, Mac prices in India

Tech giant Apple has slashed prices of its products in India, including iPhone, iPad and Mac, from July 1, as it looks to pass on the benefits accrued from the recently rolled out Goods and Services Tax (GST) to customers.

The iPhone 7 Plus (256GB version) - the most premium device in Apple’s smartphone portfolio - will be available at Rs 85,400. This is Rs 6,600 cheaper than the earlier price tag of Rs 92,000.

Similarly, the price of iPhone SE (128GB) has been reduced by Rs 2,200 to Rs 35,000.

The new prices listed on the company’s website is upto 7.2 per cent lower than previous iPhone prices.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro (512GB) will see its price coming down from over Rs 1 lakh to Rs 97,000.

Apple declined to comment on whether the price reduction was on account of GST, which will see smartphones being taxed at 12 per cent as compared to an earlier range of 8-18 per cent depending on the states.

Interestingly, the government has also introduced a 10 per cent basic customs duty on mobile phones and certain parts, in a bid to promote domestic manufacturing.

However, domestic players like Micromax and Lava are unlikely to revise their prices after GST implementation.

India is an important market for Apple and this move could help the US-based firm further consolidate its position here.

According to industry estimates, Apple has a 44 per cent share of the premium market (USD 400 and above), while rival Samsung had 41 per cent share in the January-March 2017 quarter. Other players in the category include the likes of OnePlus, LG, Sony and HTC.

Apple’s revenue grew more than 20 per cent in India in the quarter ended March 2017.

Acknowledging that Apple is “underpenetrated” in India, CEO Tim Cook has said the US tech giant is strengthening its local presence in the country and is optimistic about its future given the fast-growing economy and improving 4G network infrastructure in the country.

Kashmiri separatist leaders condemn terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims

Separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir condemned the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag district tonight, saying the incident “goes against Kashmiri ethos.”

In a joint statement, Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik expressed grief over the killing of seven Amarnath yatris.

“The incident goes against the very grain of Kashmiri ethos. The Amarnath yatra has been going on peacefully for centuries and is part of yearly rhythm and will remain so,” it said.

“Our heart goes out to the families of the bereaved and we express our heartfelt condolences,” they said.

A Sun Up On Tatooine

If you thought Tatooine from Star Wars was a weird planet with two suns, then what about the huge planet that astronomers discovered during the past year about 320 light years away that has three suns?

The Greenland Shark

Greenland sharks are now the longest-living vertebrates known on Earth, scientists say.

Researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine the ages of 28 of the animals, and estimated that one female was about 400 years old.

The team found that the sharks grow at just 1cm a year, and reach sexual maturity at about the age of 150.

The research is published in the journal Science.

Lead author Julius Nielsen, a marine biologist from the University of Copenhagen, said: "We had our expectations that we were dealing with an unusual animal, but I think everyone doing this research was very surprised to learn the sharks were as old as they were."

The former vertebrate record-holder was a bowhead whale estimated to be 211 years old.

But if invertebrates are brought into the longevity competition, a 507-year-old clam called Ming holds the title of most aged animal.

Slow swimmers

Greenland sharks are huge beasts, that can grow up to 5m in length.

They can be found, swimming slowly, throughout the cold, deep waters of the North Atlantic.

With this leisurely pace of life and sluggish growth rate, the sharks were thought to live for a long time. But until now, determining any ages was difficult.

Leprotic Squirrels

There are squirrels living the United Kingdom which are carrying a particular strain of leprosy that can be traced back to our own human ancestors who lived in Medieval Europe.

Tanzania’s Helium

A vast underground reserve of helium gas has been discovered by scientists in the Tanzanian Rift Valley.

The discovery of one of the world's biggest helium gas fields is the first time that the gas has ever been found intentionally. Previous discoveries have always been accidental and revealed small quantities of helium while people were drilling for oil and gas.

Researchers from Oxford and Durham universities estimate that just one part of the helium gas field contains 54 billion cubic feet of the gas, more than six times the global annual consumption of helium. The gas, which is vital for use of MRI scanners, welding equipment and nuclear reactors is commonly extracted from natural gas, where it makes up about seven per cent of the substance.

Helium is the second most common element in the universe and is produced in large amounts by the sun, but it's particularly scarce on Earth. In 2010, Nobel prize-winning physicist Robert Richardson warned that world supplies could run out in 30 years.

Bird Happiness

An Australian Geographic study found that domesticated birds who had been able to mimic human sounds, and then managed to escape, had been able to teach those sounds to other wild birds. I mean, that’s not a direct influence on your own personal happiness but just knowing that happens makes me a little bit happier.

Lengthy gestation Period for Dolphin

A dolphin’s gestation period will vary depending on species. For small species such as the Tucuxi dolphin, the period is around twelve months, while the orca is around seventeen months.

U.S. team in Pakistan for security talks

U.S. Senate delegation led by top Republican John McCain flew over Pakistan’s tribal areas on Monday after meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss regional security, as Washington gears up to send more troops to neighbouring Afghanistan.

The visit by members of the influential Senate Armed Services Committee came days after Islamabad slammed Washington’s decision to sanction a Kashmiri militant leader. The relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan has been strained at times with some in Washington believing Islamabad has not done enough to bring its influence to bear to persuade the Afghan Taliban to renounce violence.

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North Korea fired ballistic missile, says South Korean military

Korea launched a ballistic missile on Tuesday, the South's military said, just days after Seoul's new leader Moon Jae-In and U.S. President Donald Trump focused on the threat from Pyongyang in their first summit.

The launch, which comes as the U.S. prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, was the latest in a series of provocations that have ratcheted up tensions over the nuclear-armed North's weapons ambitions.

The "unidentified ballistic missile" was fired from a site near Banghyon in North Phyongan province, the South's military said in a statement, and came down in the East Sea, the Korean name for the Sea of Japan.

The device may have come down in Japan's exclusive economic zone, a spokeswoman for Tokyo's defence ministry told AFP — waters extending 200 nautical miles from its coast.

Pyongyang has carried out multiple launches since Moon — who backs engagement with the North but also stresses the need for sanctions — was elected in May.At their summit in Washington at the weekend, Trump declared that the U.S. had run out of patience with North Korea over its weapons drive, which includes developing a missile capable of delivering a warhead to the U.S. mainland.

"Together, we are facing the threat of the reckless and brutal regime in North Korea," Trump said. "The nuclear and ballistic missile programs of that regime require a determined response."

Rupee goes up by 9 paise

The rupee took a cue from stocks and climbed 9 paise to 64.79 against the dollar today as fresh sale of the US currency by exporters paced up.

The local unit was in a sweet spot also because of a weak dollar overseas.

Yesterday, the rupee plummeted by a whopping 30 paise to close at an over one—month low of 64.88 against the US dollar, weighed down by fresh demand for the American currency from importers.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading higher by 131.84 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 31,353.46 in opening trade.

Police offer Rs. 2 lakh reward in Junaid case

With investigations into the Junaid murder case suggesting that the prime accused was probably not related to those arrested so far, the Haryana Railway Police announced a reward of Rs. 2 lakh for any information leading to his arrest.

Eight gems missing from Padmanabha idol

Eight diamonds, forming part of the naamam (tilak) of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy idol in the eponymous temple in Thiruvananthapuram, are missing, and the Crime Branch is investigating the alleged theft, the amicus curiae reported to the Supreme Court. Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, the amicus in the court-monitored case to bring transparency in the administration of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, said the diamonds were a vital part of the daily rituals.

Mr. Subramanium told the court that the temple’s outgoing executive officer K.N. Satheesh reported the fact of the missing diamonds — used in daily rituals and kept in cellars near the sanctum sanctorum — in May 2017. The alleged “theft” was discovered when the temple treasurer checked the valuables.

Though the stones are officially valued at over ₹21 lakh, Mr. Subramanium suggested that they were worth much more owing to their antiquity. On checking the Muthalpadi (temple treasurer) records, the amicus found that the “missing diamonds” were first mentioned in August 2015. They were again referred to in a report from the priest in March 2016. An FIR was registered in August 2016.

The amicus, however, highlighted that the Administrative Committee never sought an in-depth enquiry into the case of the missing stones and used “vague expressions” to suggest that the diamonds were only “damaged”, and not in fact, lost.

In fact, if it was not for a direct query from the amicus when he had darshan, the factum of these eight missing diamonds would not have surfaced… It is respectfully submitted that this court may ensure a thorough probe into the matter and seek an urgent status report on the missing diamonds. The amicus curiae believes that the true value of these diamonds is far beyond the figure which has been mentioned in the report of the executive officer,” the report dated June 14, 2017 informed the court.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar is scheduled to hear the case on July 3.

Temple tanks restored

The report further informed the court that the cleaning work in relation to the Mithranandapuram tank, undertaken by the Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra under the supervision of the Executive Officer, has been completed.

“The amicus is extremely happy to record that the work of renovation of the Mithranandapuram tank has been completed to perfection, and in accordance with the traditional rituals; the saligramams have been installed in the tank. The said tank was inaugurated on June 11, 2017,” the report said.

As far as the Padmatheertham tank is concerned, the amicus said work has commenced and is proceeding at a reasonable pace. The amicus has also recommended the name of V. Ratheesan, IAS, for appointment as the Executive Officer of the temple.

Trump vows to support and defend religious freedom in US

United States President Donald Trump vowed to support and defend religious liberty, telling a gathering of evangelical Christians that the threat of terrorism “is one of the most grave and dire threats to religious freedom in the world today.”

“We cannot allow this terrorism and extremism to spread in our country, or to find sanctuary on our shores or in our cities,” Mr. Trump said on Saturday night at a “Celebrate Freedom” concert honouring veterans. “We want to make sure that anyone who seeks to join our country shares our values and has the capacity to love our people.”

The evangelical megachurch First Baptist Dallas and Salem Media Group sponsored the event at the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts. First Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress was a strong backer of Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign.

The event at times felt like one of Mr. Trump’s signature campaign rallies, with the President promising an adoring crowd that America would “win again” and prompting cheers with attacks on the news media.

Indian Government asks Microsoft for discount on Windows OS

The government has asked global software giant Microsoft to offer a “one-time special” discount to its users in India so that they can move to the latest operating system (OS) and stay protected against malware and ransomware attacks.

“We have asked Microsoft to offer a one-time special pricing, so that people are able to replace their old OS with the latest OS (Windows 10),” National Cyber Security Advisor Gulshan Rai told PTI.

The response from Microsoft has been positive and they have agreed in-principle, he added.

While the pricing discount is still under discussion, the government would like it to be Rs 1,000 or lower, Mr. Rai said adding that the idea is to ensure that people are able to upgrade their systems in the wake of ransomware attacks. Microsoft did not respond to email queries.

Windows 10 Home is currently available for about Rs 8,000, while the Professional version costs about Rs 13,000. Millions of computers in India operate on Windows operating system. However, only a small portion of this is powered by the latest Windows 10 OS.

Piracy is also rampant in the country, which makes users vulnerable to cyberattacks as they do not receive security patches in India.

Earlier this week, ‘Petya’ ramsomware hit one of the terminals at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and partially disrupted operations of private port operator APM Terminals Pipavav. In May, another ransomware WannaCry had affected systems in over 100 countries, including India.

Once infected by the ransomware, the systems are locked and a ransom is demanded — usually in cryptocurrency like Bitcoins — to recover the files. However, it is not clear whether the systems are decrypted after the payment is made.

Hours After Messi's Marriage, News Comes That There Is Some 'Tension!'

For a man who has won everything there's to win at club football level and has collected every individual accolade there is to collect at personal level, there's one which he still eagerly awaited and on Jun 30th, 2017, when the priest announced the greatest footballer ever, Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo married, he finally got his proudest moment in his life which in itself is studded by proud moments.

For a man who serves as a perfect example of the game, devastating on the pitch, humble off it, there are some dark moments surrounding his life which aren't let off the hook till now. One must not forget that the Spanish court sentenced him to 21-month prison following tax fraud allegations and just 24 hours after his marriage, there are reports of a long ongoing feud between the two families.

Finally, Leo Messi can call himself a married man, the couple has been together since they were kids, and on Jun 30th, they tied the knot, capping off 20 plus years of relationship. While although it seems everything is fine on paper, beneath the surface, it's anything but that, in fact, there are reports of a rift between the two families.