Nurse Gang Raped in Delhi Five Star Hotel on Independence Day

A 28-year-old nurse, who was attending to a patient at a five-star hotel in Delhi, was allegedly gang-raped on 15 August by two men, bringing more national shame over the safety of women, ironically on the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for women's safety in his Independence Day speech in the Capital istelf.

The nurse, who works with a private hospital, used to visit a suite in the Oberoi Hotel located in central Delhi to attend to the hotel owner's 80-year-old wife since last two months. She has alleged that the two accused raped her inside the suite itself. According to the Times of India, the two men were attending to the octogenarian for several months.

The police has said that the duo took the woman to their room to rape her. "On Friday, the victim was on duty at the suite where the owner's wife has been staying for four years. The accused forcibly took her to their room and gangraped her," a senior officer told Hindustan Times.

The nurse was reportedly traumatised and did not report the crime on Friday, but confided in her husband on Monday after another attempt by the two men to rape her. Her husband then informed the police on Monday.

The accused, identified as Neeraj, 25, and Rajan, 23, have been arrested and are lodged in Tihar Jail. The nurse, who hails from Tibet, said the duo had sexually assaulted her before Friday's incident, but she had remained silent under threats to her life from the two.

The hotel management issued a press statement claiming that the two accused were not employees at the hotel.

"The incident is very unfortunate. The individuals in question are not hotel employees. We are fully cooperating with the police and local authorities with the investigation," the statement said.

The police said it would ask for CCTV footages from the hotel to corroborate the case, and will also record the statement of the hotel administration.

The incident that occured in a five-star hotel brings more shame about the safety of women in the country. The capital, in particular, has had a poor record in crimes against women, the most sensational being the 16 December gang-rape.

China Liberation Army intrudes 25 km deep in Ladakh

Chinese troops are reported to have entered 25 to 30 km deep into Indian territory in the Burtse area in Ladakh on Sunday and were still sitting on the ground on Monday with flags reading “This is Chinese territory, go back” in their hands. However, Army sources in New Delhi said no such incident had taken place but added that transgressions usually take place by Chinese troops due to differences between both countries in their respective perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

But news agency reports from Leh on Monday said a patrol of Indian troops noticed the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel on Sunday while moving from their base towards the higher “new patrol base” post in Burtse area of North Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. The area is at an altitude of 17,000 feet. These reports cited sources as having said that the troops, after walking barely 1.5 km from their base, spotted the Chinese personnel in Indian territory 25 to 30 km from the perceived Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Adhering to newly-drafted standard operating procedures, the Indian troops apparently returned back to their base but went on a patrol again to the “new patrol base” post in the early hours of Monday. However, the team found no change in the situation as it noticed the PLA personnel still sitting on the ground with flags reading “this is Chinese territory, go back” in their hands, the reports said, adding that a quick reaction team had also accompanied the Indian patrol but nothing could be achieved as the Chinese refused to budge from their position. Finally, the Indian troops reportedly returned to their base and informed their senior officers.

Sources in the paramilitary ITBP did not say where the said incident had taken place but added that transgressions do occur. The area where the incident took place is reportedly near the spot where Chinese troops had pitched their tents last year that had led to a tense three-week stand-off.

The Indian border patrol apparently attempted to reach the “new patrol base” from a place known as “Nallah one”, near its base. A satellite image of the area was likely to be taken to ascertain whether the Chinese PLA have pitched in tents like it did last year, the reports from Leh cited sources as saying, adding that there was a possibility of some tents being erected by the Chinese troops to facilitate their movement deep into the Indian territory.

The Burtse area, which is adjacent to Daulat Beg Oldie(DBO), forms part of the huge Depsang plains which India regards as its own territory. However, the Chinese side have been claiming it to be part of their territory as it gives them a tactical edge over the area.

Gujarat lions vanish from UP forest

what actually happened to the three Asiatic lions brought from the Gir forests of Gujarat to Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary in Kashi Wildlife Division is still a mystery. Last counted in 1965, their number was 11.

Interestingly, even the Kashi Wildlife Division officials have no idea or recorded facts about the fate of the big cats brought to the sanctuary when it was opened some five decades back. "There is no record with the department about the disappearance of the lions," said a forest official of Kashi Wildlife division. "It is believed that either they would have fallen prey to the hunters or migrated to nearby jungles of Bihar," said the officer.

"As the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, was not in force at that time, there was no effective control on hunting of wild animals," said forest officer of Kashi Wildlife Division Chandra Shekar Pandey, expressing his worst fear over the fate of the lions. But he added he was not sure about the ordeal the lions faced at that time in the sanctuary as there were no records.

"Lions were released in that region years back and probably all those animals died. We do not have any records maintained of that time, so it's difficult to say what happened of them. Moreover, enforcement was not strong at that time and there must not have been proper planning to release them," said PCCF (wildlife), UP, Rupak De.

The concept of reintroduction for purposes of conservation of Asiatic lions was accepted in 1956 by the Indian Wildlife Board, and the offer of UP government to host a population in the Chakia forests was accepted. In 1956 a lion and two lionesses were captured from Gir and placed in a zoo in Junagadh for nine months before being shifted to Chandraprabha sanctuary in 1957.

Initially, the lions prospered increasing in number to four in 1958, five in 1960, seven in 1962 and 11 in 1965, but after that they disappeared. The forest officials admit that there might have been some shortcoming in monitoring the wild cats.

In other such translocation, eight Gir lions -- four males and four females -- were brought from Gujarat's Junagadh and Hyderabad zoos to UP under animal exchange programme. While three pairs were put up at the Lucknow zoo, one was sent to the Kanpur zoo. Later, one pair was shifted to the Etwah lion safari in April.

Spread in an area of 9,600 hectares of forest, the Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary is located between Chakiya and Naugarh in Chandauli district, the neighbouring district of PM Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency. The sanctuary was set up in 1957, covering the reserved forest area in Chandraprabha and some parts of Jaimohini Range. The sanctuary has a variety of wild animals, including black buck, chital, sambhar, nilgai, wild boar, porcupine, Indian gazelle, gharial and python.

About 70km from Varanasi Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary are the picturesque Rajdari and Devdari waterfalls. The sanctuary is one of the Protected Areas (PAs) of the National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) that was adopted in 2002 emphasizing the people's participation and their support for wildlife conservation.

Organic foods have more antioxidants help prevent cancer

According to the researchers, organic vegetables and fruits contain more antioxidants and less frequent, fewer pesticide residues and have properties that help prevent cancer.The researchers examined 343 peer-reviewed publications particularly in South and North America and compared the safety and nutritional quality of organic and traditional plant-based foods, including vegetables, grains and fruits.The majority of the publications examined crops grown on similar soils - removing questions … Read more at candidshare.com

Pesticides killing birds

A new study has found that pesticides are causing deaths of large number of birds.The insect eating birds are at an increased risk of dying owing to the use of farm insecticides.Swallows are among the 15 insect-eating species of birds which are experiencing decline in population due to the use of farm insecticide called imidacloprid. It is the world's most extensively used farm insecticide.A Dutch research indicates the its effects results in an impact on the food chain to hit birds such as … read more at candidshare.com

spinach can convert sunlight into fuel

Spinach gave Popeye super strength. Now it is all set to boost up our engines.

Scientists have discovered that the humble spinach has the ability to convert sunlight into a clean, efficient alternative fuel.

Purdue University physicists are part of an international group using spinach to study the proteins involved in photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert the sun's energy into carbohydrates used to power cellular processes.

Read More at candidshare.com

Apple iWatch Launching Variants in October 2014

All you Apple lovers must read out the coming information as many rumors are coming for Apple iwatch. Apple is working on its final launching plans to release its new product Apple iWatch in the span of the coming months . The iWatch will be available to its users with two variants 1.7 inches and 1.3 inch screen . The smart watch will be available for both the genders ie. for Men and Women . The iWatch having smaller screen size  will be available for women with vibrant colors and combinations.

Read More at candidshare.com

Facebook Researchers Manipulated News Feeds in 2012

A Facebook Inc. (FB) researcher apologized after conducting an experiment that temporarily influenced what almost 700,000 readers saw on their news feeds, reviving some customers’ concerns about privacy issues.

The number of positive and negative comments that users saw on their feeds of articles and photos was altered in January 2012, according to a study published June 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. People shown fewer positive words were found to write more negative posts, while the reverse happened with those exposed to fewer negative terms, according to the trial of random Facebook users.

Adam Kramer, a Facebook data scientist who was among study’s authors, wrote on his Facebook page yesterday that the team was “very sorry for the way the paper described the research and any anxiety it caused.”

The data showed that online messages influence readers’ “experience of emotions,” which may affect offline behavior, the researchers said. Some Facebook users turned to Twitter to express outrage over the research as a breach of their privacy.

“Facebook knows it can push its users’ limits, invade their privacy, use their information and get away with it,” said James Grimmelmann, a professor of technology and the law at the University of Maryland. “Facebook has done so many things over the years that scared and freaked out people.”
Photographer: Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images

The number of positive and negative comments that users saw on their feeds of articles... Read More

Even so, the anger won’t have a long-lasting effect, Grimmelmann said. While some users may threaten to leave Facebook, most people “want to be where there friends are” and there is no alternative to the social networking site that provides more privacy, he said.
Face to Face

In the study, the researchers, from Facebook and Cornell University, wanted to see if emotions could spread among people without face-to-face contact.

The Facebook study is “really important research” that shows the value of receiving positive news and how it improves social connections, said James Pennebaker, a psychology professor at the University of Texas. Facebook might have avoided some of the resulting controversy by allowing users to opt out of taking part in any research, he said.

“It will make people a little bit nervous for a couple of days,” he said in an interview. “The fact is, Google knows everything about us, Amazon knows a huge amount about us. It’s stunning how much all of these big companies know. If one is paranoid, it creeps them out.”

Facebook said none of the data in the study was associated with a specific person’s account. Research is intended to make content relevant and engaging, and part of that is understanding how people respond to various content, the Menlo Park, California-based company said in a statement yesterday.
Internal Review

“We carefully consider what research we do and have a strong internal review process,” Facebook said. “There is no unnecessary collection of people’s data in connection with these research initiatives and all data is stored securely.”

Facebook’s Kramer conducted the study with Jeffrey Hancock, a Cornell professor in the communications and information science departments, and Jamie Guillory, also a researcher at Cornell.

“We were concerned that exposure to friends’ negativity might lead people to avoid visiting Facebook,” Kramer wrote. “We didn’t clearly state our motivations in the paper.”

“Having written and designed this experiment myself, I can tell you that our goal was never to upset anyone,” he continued.

Susan Fiske, a psychology professor at Princeton University, edited the study for PNAS. She contacted the authors and was told it passed Cornell’s human subjects’ ethical review. The data had already been collected when the Cornell researchers became involved.

“From that point of view, this is an issue about Facebook, not about research ethics,” she said in an interview. “My own decision was not to second-guess the Cornell” review board.

“People are relating to Facebook as if it has betrayed their trust,” she said. “The level of reaction is understandable. That doesn’t mean what Facebook or Cornell did is unethical.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Miller at kmiller@bloomberg.net Bruce Rule

-bloomberg

Iraqi forces claim to have retaken Tikrit

Having launched a robust offensive against the Sunni extremists, Iraqi forces claimed to have retaken the strategic town of Tikrit from the ISIS (Islamic State of Syria and Iraq) rebels, the state TV reported on Sunday.

Armed with tanks and helicopter gunships, Iraqi forces carried out airstrikes on Sunni fighters of the ISIS in Tikrit and claimed to have killed dozens of insurgents.

According to the state media, the ISIS had been completely eliminated from Tikrit, the hometown of dictator Saddam Hussein, which had fallen to the militants on June 11.

If confirmed, this would be a major gain for the Iraqi Army which has so far shown a feeble resistance to the lightning ISIS offensive.

Also, reports said that Iraqi force were now preparing to advance towards north and aiming to wrest back the control of Mosul from ISIS militants.

According to the BBC, the counter-offensive launched by Iraqi Army in Tikrit was being co-ordinated with American military advisers. The report added that the soldiers were aided bu Sunni tribesmen and Shia militias.

However, the US denies that its military advisers are directly involved in hostilities and they are in Iraq just to protect the American personnel on ground.

The US has sent 300 military advisers to Iraq and has also confirmed flying armed drones there, but only to protect its interests.

America, which has ruled out direct military intervention in Iraq, has pushed for the formation of a new “inclusive” government in Iraq which can address the problems of all, especially the Sunnis and Kurds, who have felt marginalised during Shiite PM Nuri al-Maliki's rule.

The US has not directly called for PM Maliki's resignation, but has dropped broad hints that Iraq's crisis will be solved only after a new government is formed.

Also, Iraq's influential Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Sistani has called for the appointment of PM by Tuesday  before the new parliament is convened.

Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry had visited Baghdad and told that Maliki had assured him that a new Iraqi cabinet will be formed by July 1.

Iraq is in throes of a deadly insurgency crisis as the ISIS militants have so far continued to advance ahead consistently, massacring Shia soldiers and also posting the videos online.

According to the UN, over 1,100 have been killed since the ISIS offensive and over a million have been displaced.

-zee news

10 killed most of them children in Delhi building collapse

At least ten people including five children were killed when a three-storey residential building in Tulsi Nagar area of Inderlok, Delhi collapsed on Saturday.

The Home Ministery yesterday condoled the loss of lives and prayed for speedy recovery of those injured in the accident

A team of NDRF officials reached the spot to help the people affected by the tragedy, HMO India said.

North Delhi Mayor Yogendra Chandolia said that inquiry was ordered against three officials.

On the other hand, NDMC chairman Rajesh Bhatiya said, “Illegal construction was going on in the adjacent plot. Neither map of the building was sent for approval to MCD nor any information was provided to the authorities. One junior engineer and an assistant engineer were suspended."

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal visited the site of the incident and said that the people who are responsible for the collapse of the building must be punished, adding, "This is sad incident,I pray for the strength of families of the deceased."

According to the eye-witnesses, the incident occurred in the morning around 8.30 am due to construction work on the adjacent plot. They also said that the building was 50-year old and many families were staying there.

While 14 people were pulled out from the debris.

The injured were rushed to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.

Several firebrigades, cranes and ambulances carried out the rescue work.

-ZN

Practice doesn’t always make you perfect

While repetition enhances the factual content of memories, it can reduce the amount of detail stored with those memories and may even lead to false memories, a new study has found. University of California – Irvine neurobiologists Zachariah Reagh and Michael Yassa have found that with repeated recall, nuanced aspects may fade away. In the study, student participants were asked to look at pictures either once or three times. They were then tested on their memories of those images. (Read: Learning a lot during adolescence good for your brain)

The researchers found that multiple views increased factual recall but actually hindered subjects’ ability to reject similar ‘imposter’ pictures. This suggests that the details of those memories may have been shaken loose by repetition. This discovery supports Reagh’s and Yassa’s Competitive Trace Theory – published last year – which posits that the details of a memory become more subjective the more they’re recalled and can compete with bits of other similar memories. The scientists hypothesise that this may even lead to false memories, akin to a brain version of the telephone game. (Read: Revealed – What happens to your brain when you’re learning)

Yassa, an assistant professor of neurobiology & behaviour, said that these findings do not discredit the practice of repetitive learning.However, he noted, pure repetition alone has limitations. For a more enriching and lasting learning experience through which nuance and detail are readily recalled, other memory techniques should be used to complement repetition. (Read: Learning a new language during childhood alters your brain!)

Source: IANS