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Samsung stops sale of Note7 as battery explodes

  Samsung's Note 7s are being pulled from shelves in 10 countries, including South Korea and the United States, just two weeks after the product's launch. Customers who already bought Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones in about two weeks, said Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile business. The decision follows reports in the US and South Korea of the phone "exploding" during or after charging. Samsung said it had been difficult to work out which phones were affected among the 2.5 million Note 7s sold. Some buyers reported their phones caught fire or exploded while charging, and Samsung said it had confirmed 35 such cases, caused by faulty batteries. Samsung said it has sold more than 1 million Note 7 smartphones since the product's launch. "There was a tiny problem in the manufacturing process, so it was very difficult to figure out,'' the president of Samsung's mobile business Koh Dong-jin told reporters. "It will cost us so much it makes my heart ache. Nevertheless, the reason we made this decision is because what is most important is customer safety," he said.  

150 women block Rahul Gandhi's car in Amethi

  The Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is in his constituency on a three-day visit ending today, was stopped by a group of protesters near Gauriganj, demanding a pay rise. The Congress vice-president was on the third day of his visit and was headed towards Lucknow from Amethi, when reportedly a group of anganwadi workers stopped his convoy and demanded a pay hike. Incidentally, there is a nationwide strike of 10 central trade unions who are protesting what they call anti-worker changes in labour laws and demand improvement in wages on Thursday.   Rahul came out of his vehicle to speak to the agitated workers, but as media approached him, he returned to his car refusing to talk to either the protesters or reporters. The report further said that Rahul's security personnel, in the course of intervening, allegedly misbehaved with the women protesters, following which the women spat on the road as a sign of protest.Earlier in his visit, apparently miffed over scrapping of a mega food park and a Hindustan Paper Mill project in Amethi and shifting of the Rajiv Gandhi IIIT to the main campus in Allahabad, the Congress Vice President said Modi was harming people of Amethi by scrapping development projects.

SC can't interfere in personal law: Muslim Board

  The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) submitted a reply on Friday, before the Supreme Court saying that personal laws cannot be challenged or rewritten in the name of social reforms as that would violate of Part III of the Constitution. A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur is hearing a batch of petitions on the conflict between fundamental guarantees in the constitution and personal laws in the country. Triple Talaq has been challenged by some Muslim women.   Among them is Ishrat Jahan, whose husband divorced her on the phone. Ms Jahan has argued that divorce through spoken words violates fundamental rights. “When serious discords develop in a marriage and husband wants to get rid of wife, legal compulsions and time consuming judicial process….in extreme cases husband may resort to illegal criminal ways of getting rid of her by murdering her. In such situations Triple Talaq is a better recourse,” AIMPLB told the apex court. “Marriage is a contract in which both parties are not physically equal. Male is stronger and female is a weaker sex. Securing separation through court takes a long time deters prospects of remarriage,” it added.

Twin Blasts At Court In Pak; 13 Dead

  According to reports a suicide bomber has attacked a court in the northern Pakistani city of Mardan, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 50 according to official sources. Senior police official said that the bomber shot his way through the main gate leading to the district court, before throwing a hand grenade and detonating his suicide vest among the morning crowds. Also on Friday, four suicide bombers targeted a Christian neighborhood near Peshawar before being shot dead. Both attacks took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and were claimed by Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. There will be three days of mourning, during which time the courts will be shut said officials. Amir Hussain, president of the Mardan Bar Association, said he was in a room nearby when the bomb detonated. "There was dust everywhere, and people were crying loud with pain," he said. His suit drenched in blood, he added: "I started picking up the wounded and putting them in cars to take them to hospital. I did not know if the people I was rescuing were dead or alive."

SC asks Sahara; source of Rs 18,000 Cr

  The Supreme Court on Friday demanded Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy to show the source of money as proof, after the group claimed that it has refunded Rs 18,000 crore to investors.  The SC said, “It is hard to digest such a large amount was refunded in such a short span.” Sahara, in turn, has responded to the Supreme Court that it will show the money trail on September 16. The apex court has said that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will investigate Sahara’s proposal to raise money. The Supreme Court had directed Sahara to return Rs 36,000 crore investors money it had collected in 2007-08 within 18 months. However, at the time, Sahara promoter Subrata Roy's lawyer Kapil Sibal had told the apex court that it was not possible for them to pay back the amount within the requested timeframe.   "There is no business house in the country or in the world, which can deposit Rs 36,000 crore in 18 months' time," he had said. Sahara meanwhile moved the SC seeking to raise Rs 300 Cr as an advance from Reuben brothers. Subrata Roy got arrested two years ago in February 2014 in a money fraud case, when it was found that his company Sahara had submitted to SEBI, dubious land documents which were found to be worth Rs 40,000 crores. Roy was charged in the case because of non-refund of around Rs 20,000 crores to investors. 

Ambani's 45min speech makes Airtel,Idea lose 13K Cr

  All it took was 45 minutes, during which Mukesh Ambani spoke about  the launch of RIL's telecom venture, the market value of telecom companies like Airtel and Idea took a massive beating.  Reliance Jio's aggressive plans for its mobile services launch left a $2-billion (over Rs 13,000-crore) hole in the pockets of shareholders of its listed peers  Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications. Sunil Mittal-led Bharti was the biggest loser with its market capitalisation dipping over Rs 8,500 crore to Rs 1.3 lakh crore, followed by Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Idea's more than Rs 3,500-crore loss to an m-cap of about Rs 33,700 crore. Ambani, who was talking at RIL's 42nd annual general meeting (AGM) in Mumbai, for the first time made a detailed presentation on Jio, RIL's telecom venture, including its data tariff plans and announcement of free voice call services across India.  Ambani promised free voice calling within India forever on Reliance Jio. Along with that, Jio offers data at Rs 50 per GB (base rate) against Rs 250 per GB charged on average by other operators. Even roaming is absolutely free.

Sidhu shocks AAP; Set to launch his own party

  Putting an end to what seemed like a never ending speculation, Cricketer turned Politician Navjot Sindhu has floated a new front called "Aawaaz-e-Punjab." This news has sent shock waves across political spectrum as there was news of him joining the Aam Aadmi Party, as the party's Punjab Chief Ministerial candidate for the upcoming elections in the state. "Along with Pargat Singh and Bains brothers we have formed a front, this will be against those working against Punjab," said Navjot Kaur Sidhu.  The front formed by Navjot Singh Sidhu, Indian Hockey captain Pargat Singh and Bains brothers willl be called "Aawaaz-e-Punjab". The 'Aawaaz-e-Punjab' will be formally launched next week, reports said.   A week after quitting Rajya Sabha, Navjot Singh Sidhu had broken his silence and targeted the BJP for asking him to stay away from Punjab to serve 'personal interests' but continued to keep everyone guessing on his next move, including whether he will join AAP. A fortnight ago, Arvind Kejriwal sought to scotch 'rumours' on Navjot Singh Sidhu's possible induction in Aam Aadmi Party, saying the cricketer- turned-politician had not put any pre-condition and just needed 'time to think'. Amidst all of this, there was news that Congress was also trying to rope him into the party ahead of polls in Punjab. But now it seems like the Punjab polls are going to turn out to be interesting, as this move by Sidhu could possibly be a game changer.  

Jio to offer zero roaming charges, free voice calls

  Mukesh Ambani on Thursday broke open the widely-awaited details of his Reliance Jio venture, billed as the country’s largest 4G network. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Thursday laid out his plans to unveil a 4G mobile network in the country, including making all domestic voice calls and roaming free, while asserting that data would be priced well below its competitors. Reliance Jio services have been on a trial run for a few months now, initially being limited to employees and then to those buying a Lyf smartphone from the company. From September 5, everyone will be able to access the service, which will still be free till the end of the year. Voice calls, meanwhile, will never be charged on the Jio service.   The data rates are also cheapest in the world, he said, announcing tariffs starting Rs 50 per GB or 5 paise per MB. The entire bouquet of apps will also be free till end of 2017. Reliance Jio’s data prices are roughly one-fifth of what customers have been charged so far - one gigabyte of data will cost Rs 50. For customers who use more than 75GB, the price will slide further to Rs 25 per GB. This, Ambani, said, take India from “Gandhigiri to data-giri.”It is further offering unlimited night LTE data for plans starting at Rs 499 onwards, along with unlimited national and local SMS. Starting Monday, any cell phone user, including those with smartphones as cheap as Rs. 2,999, will be able to sample all Jio services – including its library of movies and music - for free. The offer ends on December 31.

Bharat Bandh on Sept 2; 15 Cr workers to strike

  More than 15 Crores of workers, working in banking, telecom and other sectors will go on strike tomorrow to press their demand for better pay and in protest against new labour and investment policies. Trade unions have given call for ‘Bharat Bandh’ on September 2. In Bengaluru, more than one lakh employees of state-owned Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSTRC) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will participate in strike. Commuters are likely to witness another travel nightmare barely a month after KSTRC and BMTC workers went to indefinite strike. Similar situation would be witnessed in Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai as auto-rickshaw unions have decided to keep off the roads on Friday.     The unions also oppose a government directive to state-run pension funds to put more money into stock markets. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is affiliated with the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the BJP, is not joining the strike.  All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) Secretary Amarjeet Kaur said the unions view the announcements made by a government panel, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, as an eyewash. "It is like cheating the people," she said, adding that the number this year will be bigger than 15 crore who participated in the strike last year.

13 Indians affected with Zika Virus in Singapore

  External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Indian Embassy in Singapore has reported that 13 Indians have been affected by Zika virus. “According to our mission in Singapore, 13 Indian nationals have tested positive for Zika in Singapore,” said Vikas Swarup. US health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. Malaysia confirmed on Thursday the first cases of Zika in the Southeast Asian country in a woman who recently travelled to Singapore for three days on August 19. Malaysia’s health minister said the woman tested positive for Zika in her urine after she experienced a rash and fever for a week after her return from Singapore.   The number of confirmed Zika cases in Singapore surged past 100 late Wednesday, including the first pregnant woman to be infected by the disease which can cause deformities in babies. The United States and Britain joined Australia and Taiwan in advising pregnant women to avoid non-essential travel to the city-state, while a local health expert warned the infection rate would rise. Zika can be a major risk for India considering the country’s 1.3 billion population and creaky healthcare system. The country is already struggling to bring mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chickungunya under control. These two diseases alone kill scores of Indians almost every year and the number of cases reported have been on the rise in recent months.

Yuvraj Singh's fiancée Hazel alleges racism

  Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech have been engaged for a while now. Hazel has been seen in films such as Bodyguard and is a famous face in India. Hazel, recently alleged that she was racially discriminated. The actress tweeted her displeasure as she posted in a series of tweets. Hazel was denied money by a cash transfer firm in Jaipur, allegedly on grounds that her name did not sound 'Hindu enough.' The actress took to Twitter to highlight her anger. "Mr Peeyush Sharma @WesternUnion in Jaipur is the most racist person ive met and refused to give money because my name is not "Hindu" enough," she tweeted. "Im sickened by the attitude of these people,in front of my HINDU mother + my muslim friend," she added further.   She concluded by saying why her name and religion matters when she needs to transfer money. Yuvraj too voiced his anger and stated how serious action needs to be taken against the official. The left-handed batting star joined his fiancee to raise his voice against this 'racial discrimination.' “Shocking behaviour this is @WesternUnion We all are human beings is that not enough racial discrimination will not be tolerated @hazelkeech” and continued “Mr Piyush Sharma @WesternUnion in Jaipur this behaviour will not be tolerated,we would expect some serious action to be taken against him !”

Homemaker saves injured jawan from stray dogs

  In an exceptional act of spontaneous action and bravery a homemaker from Kotkhai area of Shimla saved the life of a jawan who had lost his footing and fell into a 50-foot-deep roadside ditch while trying to escape a pack of stray wild dogs. The army jawan, Mukesh Kumar of Assam Rifles was on a routine patrolling with his platoon when a pack of stray wild dogs attacked him. As he ran away from the approaching attack, he fell into a 50-foot deep pit. And not only that, he hit his head on a rock and lost his consciousness also.   His fellow soldiers started panicking as Mukesh lay motionless. They thought he was dead, and started crying for help. Veena Sharma, 42, the good Samaritan, rushed there on hearing their cries for help. She lost no time in trying to revive him by performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. "Finding no other way to shift the injured man, I called my 72-year-old father Ramesh Sharma, who rarely drives these days, to bring the car. Since none of the soldiers knew how to drive, it was left to my father to transport the injured soldier to Jutogh military hospital," she added. He was then referred to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, where timely specialized treatment saved his life.

70% IIT students don't take bath daily;50% cheat

  Indian Institute of Technology is the most prestigious institute in the country. A recent survey conducted at the campus has brought to light some weird fact about the lives about the students there. As many as 56% of the students admitted that they had resorted to cheating for better grades, stated a survey of fresh IIT-B graduates, carried out by the institute’s student media body – ‘IITB Insight’.   Added to this there is another survey says that six of 10 residents at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) showered once every two or three days, finding the "task" taxing. A small 10% that took a bath just once a week and just about 30% took a bath everyday.  332 candidates of the passing-out class, including undergraduates, dual-degree students, MSc and MTech graduates took the survey. Given a chance, 11% of the students would never want to attend lectures, they said, while 32.5% said they would want to attend only before exams. About 38% of the graduates admitted that they would resort to malpractices as they were not interested in the course, while 18% said they thought twice before cheating but did it anyway.

Woman wants Sushma Swaraj to save her marriage

  External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is the most active Union Minister on social networking sites and has also earned herself a nick name of Superwoman for the unbelievable work she has been doing savingIndians world over. A woman named Sujatha Suukri recently tweeted to Sushma Swaraj asking for her help to catch her cheating husband’s girlfriend. From her earlier tweets, it became clear that Sujatha, who lives abroad, was in India to attend her mother's funeral. But unfortunately, so was her husband's Thai girlfriend who Sujatha found out to be in Delhi as well, through Caller ID.   The woman asked for Swaraj's help in tracing the girlfriend because she's doesn't know the Thai woman's name. " @SushmaSwaraj Mam I saw on true caller ID Thai she's in Delhi. But can't trace hey name. I don't have anyone in Delhi. Please help me" she wrote to the minister on twitter. However, powerless over cheating husbands, Swaraj replied saying, "Sujatha - All my sympathies are with you. Unfortunately, I have no power to punish or reform such errant husbands.@SujathaSuukri".

Hyd:Youth hangs self after watching online videos

  In yet another case of distress among young people, a youth from Hyderabad hanged himself after researching on YouTube as to how to kill oneself. 26-year-old engineering graduate committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling fan in Anupama men's hostel at SR Nagar here on Wednesday. The deceased, identified as Naveen Kumar  of Motkur in Nalgonda district, chose to hang himself after searching on YouTube for various ways of ending one’s life. Police recovered a suicide note written by the deceased Navin Kumar, in which he had written 10 points on killing self with a rope. The hostel staff, on seeing the youth hang from the ceiling fan, alerted the police who rushed to the place, recovered the body and sent it to mortuary for post-mortem.   A suicide note was found in which the youth attributed his decision to end his life to family issues. He also said that he had searched for ways of committing suicide by surfing the social media site, YouTube. "According to the suicide note, the youth had listed a plan of action like how to tie the rope to the ceiling fan and how to tighten the nook by watching videos on the same on a social media platform," the Inspector said.

Irregularities in Vadra deals hints Panel report

  If reports are anything to go by, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi's son in law, Robert Vadra could be in trouble for his land deals in Haryana. The Justice S.N. Dhingra-led commission, which is probing the grant of licences for change in land use (CLU) in four villages of Gurgaon, including the licence granted to a company (Sky Light Hospitality Private Limited) owned by Robert Vadra, today submitted its report to the Haryana Government. "I have brought the irregularities to light and people behind it," Justice SN Dhingra said without naming Robert Vadra or then Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. "If there were no irregularities in land allotment, I would have submitted a one-sentence, not an 182-page report," Dhingra told reporters after submitting his report to the Haryana government.   Sources said Justice SN Dhingra's report finds that Mr Hooda acted "contrary to the law" and distributed land licences in "an ad hoc manner." Mr Hooda has called it a "political witch hunt," and has demanded a CBI inquiry. Justice Dhingra, who retired from the Delhi High Court, was assigned last year to investigate 250 licenses or allocations of plots by Mr Hooda, who lost the state election in 2014 to the BJP. Ashok Khemka, an IAS officer, repeatedly raised concerns over the land deal. He also set aside the mutation of the property sold by Vadra to DLF. Mutation is very important as it changes the title ownership of property from one entity to another. The report of the commission was earlier scheduled to be submitted in June. However, at the last minute, Justice Dhingra decided to hold back his report. He reasoned that he had received certain important documents that indicated some benami transactions.  

RSS Goa chief sacked for going against BJP

The Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) on Wednesday removed its Goa chief Subhash Velingkar for his continued agitation and protests against State BJP government over the contentious issue of introducing Konkani and Marathi as medium of instruction (MoI) at the primary school level. The action comes a week after an organization run by Mr Welingkar showed black flags to BJP chief Amit Shah during his visit to Goa. “Subhash Welingkar has been removed from his post with immediate effect for faulting a political outfit and working against Goa government,” said RSS publicity head Manmohan Vaidya. Mr Welingkar had said on Monday that the BJP may not win the election in Goa next year since it had "betrayed" people's trust by going back on its promise of regional languages as a medium of instruction in schools. The leader has been campaigning against government grants to English medium schools. Welingkar was heading the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manchto which spearheaded the campaign against the BJP government. BJP president Amit Shah had raised the issue with RSS top brass in a meeting last week in Bhopal which was attended Bhaiyaji Joshi and Krishna Gopal. Amit Shah had reportedly raised the issue with RSS top brass at a meeting last week in Bhopal which was attended by the RSS second-in-command Bhaiyaji Joshi and joint general secretary Krishna Gopal. Once a staunch supporter of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Welingkar fell out with him recently for “taking a u-turn” on the language issue.

SC quashes Singur land acquisition; Setback for TATA

  In a win for the Mamata Banerjee government, and a setback for Tata Motors, the Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the Singur land acquisition made in 2006. The acquisition had been made to facilitate Tata Motors to set up its Nano plant in the state. The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the allotment of 1,000 acres by the former CPI(M)-led government in West Bengal to Tata Motors in 2006 for the company's aborted project to start a Nano car plant in Singur, declaring that the “entire acquisition process was illegal”. "The land acquisition process adopted by the then CPM government, which was opposed by the TMC (Trinamool Congress Party), was wrong on many counts," theSupreme Court said in its judgment about the land acquired by the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government.   The court held that the acquisition could not be said to be for a “public purpose” and hence the land should be remitted back to farmers within 12 weeks. Farmers who got compensation from the govt will not return it because they were deprived of their livelihood for the last ten years, the court said. Upon hearing the verdict, farmers and locals erupted in joy and celebrated by throwing gulal on each other. They also raised slogans in praise of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who first came to power riding on the wave of protests against the acquisition of land in Singur. Tata Motors moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the law. The acquisition of the land was upheld by a trial court and the law passed by the Trinamool Congress-led state government was declared unconstitutional on appeal.

Ola drivers gangrape & kill 12 yr old Girl

  In a gruesome incident, two drivers working for an online cab aggregator, repeatedly gang raped and killed a minor in Kolkata. The duo - Shankar Shaw and Guddu Singh - allegedly kidnapped the girl last night by forcing her into an Ola taxi and drove her to the Park Circus flyover where they took turns to rape the minor inside the vehicle, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said. The body of the girl has been recovered and both the drivers have been arrested. After killing her, Shaw and Singh threw her body into a canal below the Park Circus flyover. “Around 5 AM we received information that a girl was picked up in a car. From traffic control room the number of the car was established,” reports quoted a Kolkata Police officer as saying.   The teenager girl used to stay with her mother and wash utensils in the nearby sweetmeat shops of the city. "She was kidnapped around 03:30 in the morning. She used to stay with us. We got to know that she is dead now," Santi Rani Rai, victim's sister, said. The victim's sister also said that the two drivers were not known to the family. "We do not know the drivers. We have experienced such an incident for the first time," said Sibu Das, the victim's brother. The drivers had consumed alcohol at Watgunge and then started going around the city looking for soft targets to "have some fun" and it was then they spotted the girl on the pavement on Brabourne Road, the officer added.