Rajinikanth enters politics - Thalaivar ready to be dalpati and contest in 2021 elections

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth on Sunday announced that he would float a political party that would practice "spiritual politics" and contest in all of the state's 234 constituencies in the next Assembly polls in 2021.

Announcing his decision at a large gathering at Sri Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai, Rajinikanth said his party will not be contesting in the local body elections as the time for that was less. He also said the decision to contest in the 2019 Parliamentary elections will be taken at an appropriate time.



This announcement ends the long-awaited suspense. Calling his entry as "compulsion of time", he categorically said that he was not entering politics for money or power, but to serve people and revive democratic values.

"If I was hungry for power, I would have entered politics in 1996", said Rajinikanth.

Rajinikanth urged his fans not to talk about politics or comment about other parties till his party is floated. He said the first task was to get many of his unregistered fan clubs registered with the parent body.

He said the politics in the country has gone very wrong. We are going to change the system, be transparent, spiritual-politics, said Rajinikanth. He appealed for cooperation and support from his fans.

Debut smartphone Flipkart Billion Capture+ - winner or loser

Billion Capture+ is the debut smartphone launched by flipkart. It looks ambitious to take on current players in the lower mid-range segment. Priced at Rs 10,999 for the 3GB + 32GB version and Rs 12,999 for the 4GB and 64GB variant, the handset will take on the likes of the Moto G5, Redmi Note 4 and Amazon's 10.or G, among others.
The design of this phone is almost the combination of Xiaomi's Redmi 4 and Mi A1. Flipkart's phone to a large extent borrows design cues from both the smartphones to some extent, which have become a sort of a gold standard in the budget segment. The Capture+ has an aluminium build, while the back has plastic on the top and bottom and a metal panel in the middle that feels smooth to the touch. Flipkart doesn't mention the plastic back, but once you hold the phone you'll find that the finish feels more plastic than premium. This makes it feel rather cheap, and the company could have provided a better metal finish like Xiaomi has with the Redmi Note 4. With that said, the Capture+ doesn't look unattractive, but it doesn't look inspiring either. 


The Billion Capture+ does have sturdy build to it and the frame is pretty solid, but it is also a bit on the thicker side at 8.5mm. It's mostly comfortable to hold and use with one hand, but it can feel a little heavy at 176 grams. The edges around the back are slightly curved and don't seamlessly join the frame, but it does give a good grip when holding it. If you look around the frame, you'll find the volume controls and power button on the right, a dual hybrid SIM tray on the left, a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top and a USB Type-C port on the bottom with speaker grilles on either sides.



Display
The Capture+ features a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920) display with bezels around it. I mention bezels because we're slowly moving towards edge-to-edge displays. While the trend started for high-end smartphones, we've seen 18:9 displays trickle down to budget phones like Micromax's Infinity and LG Q6 already. Next year, you can expect more phones to sport full-screen displays. The Capture+ has a traditional 16:9 screen, which is alright because there still a market for it and there will be for at least a few more years. But bezels aside, displays in general have improved in recent times, and Flipkart's phone leaves you wanting a little more.

Despite a full-HD display, the colours on screen are pretty dull and washed out. Moreover, the brightness levels aren't great and even at its maximum brightness, you will find it difficult to read the screen outdoors. A dull display may help increase battery life, but it really doesn't provide the best viewing experience, especially when watching videos. Moreover, you're going to want to keep the brightness level on maximum when watching videos or playing games to enjoy the experience, which will inevitably cause more battery drain. Overall, this isn't the brightest of sharpest display out there, which is a shame as its competitors like the Moto G5 and Redmi Note 4 do much better at producing crisp 1080p displays.

Performance and software

The Billion Capture+ is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor with Adreno 506 GPU and coupled with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM. The phone is decent at multitasking and is quite fast at opening and closing apps without any lag or stutters.

The phone runs on Android 7.1 Nougat and is powered by Smartron's AI smarts. Despite the company's promise of stock Android, the Billion Capture+ had a few too many pre-loaded apps, which will also disappoint many others. You get apps like Flipkart (obviously), Myntra, Ola, PhonePe, Microsoft's Office suite and tronX app to name a few. The latter is a Smartron-powered service that includes purchasable products, cloud storage and security features. We're seeing more and more budget smartphones including Amazon's 10.or range coming with stock Android that makes the Capture+ look heavy in comparison.

The fingerprint sensor on the rear isn't the fastest out there. It takes about 0.8 seconds to unlock which is quite slow and one expects a far snappier sensor in 2017 and at this price point. But the sensor is mostly accurate so there is some takeaway in that. The dual speakers on the bottom could have been more powerful.

Camera
One of the biggest highlights of the Billion Capture+ is its dual rear camera system that comprises of a pair of 13-megapixel sensors, one RGB and one Monochrome and with f2.0 aperture. Dual rear cameras have become somewhat of a standard this year with almost every other smartphone from budget to high-end now sporting a dual camera system. Flipkart says the phone offers impressive low-light shots, more light in each frame and DSLR-like bokeh effects, among other things. It also comes with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

To be honest, the dual cameras were largely disappointing. Outdoor shots under bright sunlight lets in too much light and the images look overexposed. The reds and greens were too bright and lacked accuracy. The cameras also have a hard time focusing on the subject and you'll likely capture a few hazy shots before one really clear image. The images also lack detailing so I wouldn't suggest zooming in on them or seeing them on a display bigger than 5.5-inch. SInce the sensors let in a lot of light, it works better in low-light conditions.

The Portrait Mode was pretty underwhelming as well. The subject would look artificially laid on a blurred background, which makes it look photoshopped rather than seem like a natural depth of field image. This is probably because the bokehs generated rely on software, which isn't great at differentiating the subject from the background. You'll find that the subject will have heavy blurring around the edges or look cut out and artificially  pasted on the background. There is a Supernight mode that you can use to capture low-light shots as it smoothes out the photos via software and removes a lot of noise. I found the feature to be pretty good and prefered using the mode almost always for low-light photography.

Front camera disappoints as well, but perhaps not as much as the primary cameras. The 8-megapixel sensor looks good on paper, but doesn't really work great in real life. Selfies captured were oversaturated and lacked sharpness. The colours looked on the warmer side of things and will look quite hazy when viewed on a larger display.

Battery
The other big highlight apart from the dual rear cameras is the battery. The Capture+ packs a large non-removable 3500mAh Li-Polymer battery that promises up to 30 hours of calls over 3G and 12 hours of video streaming. Now, my experience with this has been quite middling. On an average, streaming movies or TV shows on Netflix or videos on YouTube for an hour drops the battery level down by about 10 per cent. On an average, you should get about 9-10 hours of battery life, which is decent. I found myself needing to the charge the phone only once before going to bed.

The headset supports Quick Charge over USB Type-C and it takes about an hour and a half to charge from zero to 100 per cent, which is pretty fast considering its large battery capacity. The only real problem I have is with the standby time. Considering the battery you're getting, the standby time isn't exceptional here and you'll probably get about 4 days idle time on 4G before the phoned dies on you.

Flipkart's entry in the smartphone game comes at a time when the market is quite crowded and some players like Motorola and Xiaomi are seated firmly in the budget to mid-range segment. Xiaomi, especially, has been dominating the budget to mid-range market in recent times and has invested a lot in advertising both online and offline as well. For Flipkart, the Billion Capture+ will largely ride on the e-commerce platform's name. The company will need to promote the phone a lot more especially on its website if it wants to grab people's attention.

As far as competition is concerned, the Billion Capture+ will face off against the likes of the Moto G5, Redmi Note 4 and Amazon's 10.or G to name a few. Flipkart has launched a decent first smartphone and provides a few compelling features such as good battery life, fast charging, a decent build and performance that could attract buyers. But the phone feels wanting in pretty much every other area such as design, camera and software, which makes it fall short in front of its competition, especially since most others offer near stock Android experience and have upped their camera game. Without proper marketing, the Capture+ risks getting shunned to the background.

Flipkart will probably use the Capture+ to test the waters a little and see how consumers are reacting towards it. It may come out with a another phone that will look to fix some of the shortcomings of the Capture+ based on user feedback and I would suggest waiting for that one to arrive. The Billion Capture+ just isn't compelling enough to buy right now considering what other brands have to offer today.

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma wedding reception venue in Mumbai - photos

Our very own 'Virushka' are the flavour of the season. After hosting their first grand reception in the country on December 21 at the Taj Diplomatic Enclave in the national capital Delhi, it's now the time for the second reception in Mumbai that would see the presence of Bollywood celebrities and cricketers. And the venue for the grand reception is the luxurious St.Regis hotel in Lower Parel. The party will be held at the Astor Ballroom on December 26.


The largest hotel tower in the country, St. Regis hotel in Lower Parel, Mumbai or “The Address”, is the venue for Virushka's second reception in Mumbai.


St Regis is a part of American hospitality corporation Starwood Hotels & Resorts. It is a 40-storey skyscraper which was formerly occupied by Palladium.


The guests for Virushka reception are invited to the Astor Ballroom at St. Regis on December 26, 2017. The Astor Ballroom can seat 300 guests inside its dazzling chambers. The Astor Ballroom, located on level 9 of St. Regis, sports 23-foot-high ceilings and exquisite crystal chandeliers. It is spread across an expansive 6,433-square-feet, and divided into three sections.


The Drawing Room is located on Level 9M and serves select champagne, exotic teas and high-end coffee along with another cafe fair.

Raja and Kanimozhi aquitted from entire 2G case - Justice Delivered Or Justice Escaped

Former telecom minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi again proved that our indian judicial system is the most easiet for criminals to escape. The verdict given by special CBI court today  in the 2G spectrum allocation says that both the above accused do not stand guilty for thr 2G "scam".

Raja, a leader of Tamil Nadu-based DMK party, which was an ally in the Congress-led UPA government, blamed vested interests for propagating the presumptive loss theory.

"Vested interests manipulated public perception by leveraging the media and sensationalising fabricated allegations," he said.

"It has been repeatedly proven that the presumptive loss to the exchequer which formed the basis for the conspiracy theorists to run amok, was cooked-up."



Raja, who was the minister in the Congress-led UPA government when 122 telecom spectrum licences were issued to 8 companies in 2008 on first-come-first-serve basis, said his actions were for the benefit of masses, which brought competition in the telecom sector.

"I brought a revolution in the telecom sector. It is not unknown to the history that a person who did a revolution is often termed as a criminal," he said.

In its charge sheet filed in April 2011 against Raja and others, CBI had alleged that there was a loss of Rs 30,984 crore to the exchequer in allocation of 122 licences for 2G spectrum which were scrapped by the Supreme Court on February 2, 2012.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had put the loss to the exchequer at Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

On being asked, if he felt let down by Congress, the former minister responded "that we will see later".
Raja's sentiments were echoed by DMK MP Kanimozhi as well who said that she had been waiting for this day for the last six years.
Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha MP and daughter of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, was accused of conniving with former telecom minister A Raja and other co-accused in "parking" illegal gratification of Rs 200 crore in Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, of which she was a promoter.
Dubbing her last six years as "harrowing and excruciating", she said in a statement that as the 2G episode was behind her she will do all she can to strengthen the party and work for the people of Tamil Nadu.
"The last six years have been harrowing to say the least...I owe a debt of gratitude to my family and party workers who were a pillar of support to me and stood by me during these six excruciating years. There is no evidence against me and justice has been delivered", she told media persons in New Delhi after the verdict was pronounced.

The DMK MP said she always believed that she would see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Suhaib Ilyasi likely to be sentenced for wife's murder

The former TV host was convicted by a Delhi court of murdering his wife. The detailed judgment is not made public yet,but sentence is likely be pronounced on December 20.

On January 10, 2000, 29-year-old Anju Ilyasi had been rushed to an east Delhi hospital with fatal stab wounds in her belly. She had bled excessively and could not be revived. When police questioned him, Ilyasi had told them that his wife had stabbed herself during a heated argument with him.



Two and a half months after the incident, on March 28, Ilyasi had been arrested and charged with harassing his wife for dowry (Section 498A of IPC), causing dowry death (Section 304B) and tampering with evidence (Section 201).
"Additional sessions judge S K Malhotra convicted Ilyasi under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murder on Saturday," said lawyer Satender Sharma, counsel for the complainants, Anju's mother and sister.
Advocate Manu Sharma, who argued in Ilyasi's defence, told TOI he would be in a better position to comment once he read the detailed judgment. "The copy of the court order has not been provided to us," Manu Sharma explained. He, however, added that an appeal against the conviction would be moved in Delhi high court once the sentence is read out on December 20.

Zumba dance helps you relieve stress and to stay emotionally fit

Researchers have conducted a study and shown that involving yourself in zumba dance for five weeks not only helps you stay physically fit but also improves mental health and quality of life.

Zumba is an exercise fitness programme which involves dance and aerobic movements performed to energetic music. The choreography incorporates hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, merengue and mambo. Squats and lunges are also included.

In the study, published in the Health Education Journal, people with sedentary lifestyle participated in the five-week exercise programme based on the Zumba Fitness discipline. Zumba helped them improve their quality of life, especially the emotional aspect, which was recorded as the least in these participants.



Quality of life is a broad concept comprising various aspects and is divided into eight dimensions: social, emotional, physical state, physical pain, physical functioning, vitality, mental health and general health.

"It is interesting to note that the emotional dimension, which was the one with the lowest values at the beginning, was the one with the highest values at the end of the exercise programme

"Therefore, the one that experienced the greatest improvement," said lead researcher Yaira Barranco Ruiz, from the University of Granada (UGR) in Spain.

Moreover, even two months after the intervention ended, most of the dimensions continued to maintain levels above those recorded at the beginning of the programme, the researchers said.

LG Signature Edition smartphone with 6-inch 6GB RAM launched

LG has launched its latest premium smartphone under the Signature series. It comes in White and Black colour options. These will be limited editio phones and  the company confirmed that only 300 phones will be available for sale. The pricing of the device is not yet disclosed. Its made of zirconium ceramic which makes the device scratch resistant.

The company is also allowing customers to get their names engraved on their smartphones.





Specifications:

1.LG Signature Edition comes with a 6-inch QHD+ OLED display with 18:9 aspect ratio and 1440x2880    pixel resolution.
2.The display is protected with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
3. The smartphone runs Android 8.0 Oreo operating system and is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.
4. The smartphone offers 6GB of RAM and 256GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 2TB by inserting microSD card. The device camera setup with 16MP and 13MP modules.
5. The 16MP primary camera comes with f/1.6-aperture, 71-degree wide-angle lens, laser autofocus and dual tone LED flash. The 13MP secondary sensor offers f/1.6-aperture, 71-degree wide-angle lens. The smartphone also offers a 5MP front camera with 90-degree wide-angle lens and f/2.2 aperture for selfies.
6. Fingerprint sensor and Water, dust resistant (IP68)
7.Measuring 151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3mm, the smartphone comes with IP68 rating which makes it dust and water resistant. It packs a 3300mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and wireless charging support.
8. In terms of connectivity, the smartphone offers 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and USB Type C.
Recently, LG started sending out invites for the launch of its flagship smartphone in India. The company has scheduled an event for December 13, where it will launch the LG V30+ smartphone.

Ribbon showcases the most unexpected sweet thing which happens for newly married couples

Kalki Koechlin and Sumeet Vyas are newly married couple. Both are busy in their work life and then this unexpected news comes to them.

It can be tough for working copules to digest the news of them becoming parents if its unplanned and contains an element of surprise. This is what happens with this couple in the movie. Then starts the new life struggling with the never-ending demands of the infant, and the consequent impact on careers, and other things that used to effortlessly be a priority.

Sahana (Koechlin) and Karan (Vyas) are couple based in city Mumbai. She is fast-tracking a corporate job; he is an engineer working on big building projects.
Nice to see man and woman working, and dealing with stuff that happens post-marriage: all the messy, irritating stuff that has not been part of the happily-ever-after Bollywood landscape. In many places, Ribbon makes us feel for these two people.
Koechlin leaves a mark as a harried professional, reluctant mom, and a good wife. Vyas is competent too. Some thorny issues are brought up: the troubles that women face at workplaces, the having to outsource child-care, the predators that lurk in the most unexpected places.
But as often as the film astutely touches upon the tough choices, and the problems that can crop up, it leaves them, and us, hanging. You are left wanting a little more.

Fatima Sana Shaikh is famous again for a 'Low Waist Sari Selfie'

Fatima Sana Shaikh is famous again for a 'Low Waist Sari Selfie'

Actress Fatima Sana Shaikh is trending on social media for uploading a picture in her instagram page in a sari. Fans are loving the picture but few people are offended and criticizing her for the post. In the picture, she is wearing a low waist sari. Those offended say it is disrespectful clothing while others have branded it 'shameful'.

"Really shame on u," quoted from one user.

"Allah say toh Daro jahanoom he milega tume burkha pehnooo," wrote another.

But, some comments are in favour and defended her saying she has right to wear what she likes.

"Ignore them dear. You're looking fabulous," wrote one follower while another wrote: "Beautiful you Sana.....people would say without even thinking for a sec overlapping the fact that someone could look that beautiful."

But what delighted the Dangal actress' fans was the caption Fatima had written on her picture that read: "Shameless selfie." It seems Fatima really knows how to deal with the trolls.

Fatima was cast with Aamir Khan in last year's Dangal, which has already touched the 200 crore mark worldwide. It was tremendously hit with both film critics and audience.Fatima will next feature in Thugs Of Hindostan, co-starring Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Amitabh Bachchan.

Blockbuster deals from Flipkart- Big Diwali Sale for Smartphones,Electronics and Appliances etc.

Flipkart is back with great offers for Diwali. Big Diwali Sale will be on from 14 October to 17 October. Flipkart will be offering discounts and cashback offers on almost all product categories during the sale. Some popular deals are Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (usually Rs. 12,999) is down to Rs. 10,999. Moto C Plus is available at Rs. 5,999 (usually Rs. 6,999). Lenovo K8 Plus (3GB) is available at Rs. 8,999 (usually Rs. 10,999).

HDFC Bank debit and credit card users can get an instant discount of 10 percent on their purchases. The minimum order value must be Rs. 3,000 while the maximum discount per transaction is Rs. 1,750. Customers can get a maximum discount of Rs. 3,500 per card. There's also a no-cost EMI offer on HDFC Bank credit cards. Flipkart is also offering a 20 percent cashback (up to Rs. 200) on payments made using its PhonePe app.

We've picked out some more of the best deals on smartphones, LED TVs, gaming laptops, and more from Flipkart's Big Diwali Sale.

Apple iPhone 8 64GB
The newly launched Apple iPhone 8 is available at a discounted price of Rs. 59,999 (MRP Rs. 64,000) on Flipkart's Big Diwali Sale. You can get an additional discount of up to Rs. 20,000 by exchanging your old smartphone. Flipkart is also offering a Buyback Guarantee scheme where it promises a minimum of 50% value for buying this phone back from you next year, at an additional Rs. 99. The iPhone 8 features a 4.7-inch Retina HD display and comes with a 12-megapixel rear camera along with a 7-megapixel front-facing camera. The smartphone is powered by Apple's new A11 Bionic chip.

Price: Rs. 59,999 (MRP Rs. 64,000)

Apple iPhone 8 Plus 64GB
Flipkart is offering a discount of Rs. 5,001 on the iPhone 8 Plus 64GB. This brings down the price to Rs. 67,999 (MRP Rs. 73,000). You can make use of the bundled exchange offer to get an instant discount of up to Rs. 20,000 by swapping your old phone. The iPhone 8 Plus features a 5.5-inch Retina HD display and a dual-camera assembly consisting of two 12-megapixel cameras at the back and a 7-megapixel front-facing camera. The iPhone 8 Plus is powered by Apple's A11 Bionic chip.

Price: Rs. 67,999 (MRP Rs. 73,000)

Apple MacBook Air 2017
If you missed it the last time around, the deal on MacBook Air 13.3-inch is back. Now available at a discounted price of Rs. 49,990 (MPR Rs. 56,990), the MacBook Air is a great buy if you're looking to switch to a Mac at a lower price. The MacBook Air comes with a 13.3-inch display and is powered by the fifth-generation Intel Core i5 processor supported by 8GB of RAM. It includes a 128GB SSD and runs macOS Sierra out of the box. You can upgrade it later to macOS High Sierra as a free update.

Price: Rs. 49,990 (MRP Rs. 56,990)

JBL Tune portable speaker
If you're looking for a budget portable speaker, the JBL Tune is down to Rs. 1,699 (MRP Rs. 4,990) on Flipkart's Big Diwali Sale today. The small portable speaker can pair wirelessly with your mobile devices using a Bluetooth connection. There's a memory card slot in case you want to play music from an external source. There's a built-in FM radio too. The speaker also features a display so you can use it as a bedside clock too.

Price: Rs. 1,699 (MRP Rs. 4,990)

Lenovo Z2 Plus 32GB
The Lenovo Z2 Plus is down to Rs. 8,999 (MRP Rs. 17,999) on Flipkart. You can get an additional 10% instant discount with HDFC Bank debit and credit cards. The Lenovo Z2 Plus features a 5-inch display running at full HD resolution. It comes with a 13-megapixel primary camera and a 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip, supported by 3GB of RAM.

Price: Rs. 8,999 (MRP Rs. 17,999)

Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop
If you're looking for a gaming laptop with decent specifications, the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop is available for Rs. 59,990 (MRP Rs. 79,990) on Flipkart's Big Diwali Sale. The laptop features a 15.6-inch display with touchscreen support. It is powered by the eighth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, supported by 8GB of RAM. There's a 1TB hard drive on board and it runs Windows 10 out of the box. The laptop includes NVIDIA GeForce GTX1050 graphics card with 4GB of video RAM. You can also exchange your old device to get an additional discount of Rs. 10,000 on your purchase.

Price: Rs. 59,990 (MRP Rs. 79,990)

Sony Bravia 40-inch full HD smart LED TV
The Sony Bravia 40-inch full HD LED TV is down to Rs. 44,998 (MRP Rs. 51,900) on Flipkart. You can get an additional instant discount of up to Rs. 15,000 on exchanging your old TV. The Sony Bravia LED TV comes with support for two HDMI ports and two USB ports. If you are looking to buy a big-screen LED TV this year from a reputed brand, the Sony Bravia smart LED TV won't disappoint at all.

Price: Rs. 44,998 (MRP Rs. 51,900)

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus comes with wireless charging, A11 Bionic processor and True Tone display

It is official that Apple has released the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus featuring with faster processors, a True Tone display, and upgraded cameras.

Apple says the change from the iPhone 7 to the iPhone 8 is pretty significant. Though the look of the new iphone is almost same as iphone 7 and 7 plus, but the features are told to be pretty much at par. 

To enable inductive wireless charging, iphone 8 and 8 plus are coming with glass back panel. 3.5mm headphone jack is missing similar to earlier version.

Wireless charging enables the phone to be placed on a charging pad, and it'll charge up. They are using the widely used Qi charging standard, which makes the availability of compatible wireless pads easy.

Apple has improved the display on the iPhone 8 line, adding the same True Tone technology it offers on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro to automatically adjust the screen based on the ambient light in the room to offer more accurate colors.

Internally, Apple has upgraded the processor from the A10 Fusion found in the 7 to the A11 Bionic. It's a six-core chip with two performance cores that are 25 percent faster than the A10, and four performance cores that the company says are 70 percent faster that the old model. There's also a new Apple-designed GPU that's 30 percent faster, with the same performance as the A10 at half the power.

On the camera front, there's a new 12-megapixel sensor on the iPhone 8 that is larger, faster, and finally has optical image stabilization. The iPhone 8 Plus also has new sensors, and offers f/1.8 and f/2.8 apertures now. The dual cameras on the 8 Plus also have a new "Portrait Lighting" feature to adjust the lighting for portrait shots. And Apple says that the improvements apply to video, too, with Apple executive Phil Schiller claiming that the new devices have the "highest quality video capture ever in a smartphone," with support for 4K/60fps video. Slow motion videos now support up to 1080p resolution at 240fps, doubling the the iPhone 7's 120fps option.

Apple is touting the iPhone 8 as the first smartphone designed for augmented reality, with cameras calibrated for AR, along with a new gyroscope and accelerometer for better motion tracking.

The iPhone 8 will start at $699 for a 64GB model, while the 8 Plus will start at $799 for 64GB of storage. Both models will also have larger 256GB models, for as yet unannounced prices. Both phones will be available for preorder starting Friday, September 15th, with a release date a week later on September 22nd.

"Sach Kahoon" claims that human remains were buried inside Dera's Sirsa headquarters

Even before the start of official seach operation by security agencies inside the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters near Sirsa town in Haryana, the dera mouthpiece "Sach Kahoon" on Thursday admitted that human remains were buried inside the premises.

The Dera newspaper, while defending the action of the Dera management in burying the human remains, said this was done as sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh encouraged followers to donate the remains to the sect for burial and prevent these from being immersed in rivers, causing pollution.

The newspaper claimed that the human remains were buried within the campus and trees were planted on these.Some persons, who were earlier associated with the sect but left it later, have alleged that the sect chief got killed those who opposed his activities and got them buried inside the 70-acre campus of the sect.

Ram Rahim was convicted on two counts of rape of two female disciples in 1999 by a CBI Special Court in Panchkula on August 25. He was recently sentenced to 20 years of life imprisonment and is currently held in the District Jail at Sunaria near Rohtak.It provoked violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, resulting in death of 38 people and 264 injured. Incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several other places in Punjab.

Security was tightened around the Dera headquarters near Sirsa town on Wednesday following the approval granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the state government to search and sanitise the premises. The search, to be supervised by a court commissioner, is likely to begin on Friday.

Retired District and Sessions Judge A.K.S. Pawar, who was appointed as the Court Commissioner by the High Court on Tuesday to oversee the search and sanitisation operation of the Dera premises, arrived in Sirsa on Thursday.

Armed security personnel from central paramilitary forces and the Haryana Police were stationed outside the Dera premises. Bomb disposal squads and dog squads have also been stationed near the Dera premises.

Gauri Lankesh - renowned journalist shot dead in bangalore at her house

55 years old Journalist-turned-activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by three men on bike outside her residence in Rajarajeshwarinagar, West Bengaluru on Tuesday night.

Reports say that three men on a motor bike opened at least seven rounds of fire on Gauri when she was opening the main door of her house. Gauri's head, neck, and chest received three bullets while rest of the four hit the walls. Police declared that she died instantly on the spot.

According to neighbours, Gauri was returning from her office when the murder took place. 

"Usually, she would drive back home late night. At around 8pm today, we heard gun shots and rushed out. For a few minutes, we could not understand what had happened. Then we realized that Gauri had been shot at and saw her lying in a pool of blood near the door," neighbours said.

Senior police officials including city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar rushed to the spot and said that three special teams will be formed to nab the assailants.

New poster of Kedarnath starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan

Kedarnath, a love story set against the holy temple town of Kedarnath, stars Sara Ali Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead role. Director Abhishek Kapoor annonuced the start of the movie on september 5.

 

To make the occasion special, the makers have released the poster of the film which just like the previously released motion poster is spiritual in nature. From the Trishul, an idol of Lord Shiva to the shrine of Kedarnath and the majestic Himalayas, the poster is painted in the shades of blue as it is the colour used to depict Shiva in Hindu mythology. The tagline of the movie, "Love is a pilgrimage" still intrigues us and we wonder what's going to follow.

Well, that too will be revealed on Tuesday as the lead actor Sushant promises to release the first look of the Abhishek Kapoor directorial at 10 pm. Sharing the poster on Instagram, the actor wrote, "We will be launching the first look of Kedarnath tonight at 10 pm. PFB the copies for Sushant." However, on Twitter, the Raabta actor described the film as, "A journey of faith…and love."

In the poster, we see the silhouette of a man kissing the forehead of a woman and presumably the man and the woman are the leads of the film Sushant and Sara. Also, there is a pitthu, a person who carries pilgrims on his shoulders  standing at the brim of  destruction which hit Kedarnath back in 2013. If reports are to be believed Sushant Singh plays a pitthu in the movie and Sara is a pilgrim stuck amidst the floods.

Air India lauches first direct flight connecting washington DC to Hyderabad

People residing in telangana and andhra pradesh have a good news who travel abroad to US. Air India has announced its first direct flight from Hyderabad to Washington making travel to US easy.

Starting on July 8, Air India's new flight Air India 104 will connect Washington with Hyderabad via Delhi with three services every week. Washington will be the second city in the US after Chicago which will be connected with Hyderabad.

SGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) said, "As the gateway to south and central India, we are glad to add Washington to our international network. We are thankful to Air India for launching this new service. This new service will provide a convenient option of travel between south and central India and Washington along with other nearby areas in the US like east coast, which is home to a large Indian diaspora especially from Telangana."

He further added "the new Air India flight will provide a hassle free experience, with passengers travelling from Washington being able to checkin their bags through to Hyderabad, and complete immigration and customs formalities after their arrival at Hyderabad. Those travelling from Hyderabad to Washington too will enjoy similar benefits through Air India's existing international connector flights from Hyderabad airport, which will offer seamless transfers onto the Washington flight at Delhi.Soon Hyderabad airport will also get connected with Sri Lanka giving an additional travel and tourism option to our passengers."

Google Chrome for Android adds support for full screen feature to web apps

Google’s Chrome for android mobiles is widely used web browser and it is getting a feature update in version 58. It will soon be available from the Google Play Store, and the update comes with some new additions as well.

The update allows the bottom Android navigation bar and the top status bar to disappear when the browser runs a Progressive Web App. This means users will get a full screen experience, which is especially helpful if the web app happens to be a game.

Along with full screen, there are other new features that include changes in its Settings section. “Autofill” option is rename to “Autofill and payments”, and this section allows to separate the saved addresses and credit cards in separate sections.

The browser’s History feature is now shown as its own section, instead of showing up as a URL link. If you want to clear your browser history, that should also be easier with Chrome 58, as that feature has been moved up to near the top of the History section, instead of at the bottom.

State Bank Of India will deduct fine for not maintaining Minimum balance from April 1 2017

State Bank of India or SBI has introduced minimum balance requirement in savings accounts from April 1. The minimum balance requirement for SBI customers varies depending on geographies such as metro, urban, semi-urban and rural. If the minimum balance drops below a particular threshold, SBI will charge a fee from the account holder. SBI says the minimum balance in your savings bank account is the monthly average balance - the average of daily balances in the account during the month. SBI requires its savings bank account customers in metros to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs. 5,000.

Holders of SBI's savings bank account in urban areas need to maintain a monthly average balance (MAB) of Rs. 3,000, Rs. 2,000 in case of those in semi-urban areas and Rs. 1,000 in rural areas. This was said on Thursday by SBI - which recently merged its operations with six other banks - on Twitter.

The Monthly Average Balance for an SB account is 1000: rural areas, 2000: semi-urban areas, 3000: urban areas and 5000: metros. pic.twitter.com/FOz1D2RJAO

— State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) April 20, 2017

Hitting 31 crore depositors, SBI will charge a fee ranging from Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 plus service tax in case of non-compliance with minimum balance requirements.

For metropolitan areas:
Shortfall SBI charges
Over 75% Rs. 100 plus service tax
50-75% Rs. 75 plus service tax
Under 50% Rs. 50 plus service tax
For rural areas, the penalty for non-maintenance of minimum balance ranges from Rs. 20 to Rs. 50 plus service tax.

Meanwhile, SBI offers other types of accounts where it customers are not required to maintain a minimum balance. Small savings bank account and basic savings account are two such products offered SBI.

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore, besides Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), became part of SBI with effect from April 1. After the merger, SBI has entered the league of top 50 global banks with a balance sheet size of Rs. 41 lakh crore, 2.77 lakh employees, 50 crore customers, over 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs.