Corruption case against Union Minister Virbhadra Singh

New Delhi: A court in Himachal Pradesh has framed corruption charges against union minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife, Pratibha.

The case against Mr Singh dates back to 1989, when he was chief minister of the state. The charges are based on a CD that reportedly has the minister talking about financial irregularities in the context of industrialists who wanted to invest in Himachal Pradesh. The CD was released in 2007 by a political rival, Vijai Singh Mankotia.

Father finds toddler's missing fingertip inside pet piranha

Chicago: Chicago-area parents thought their pit bull was to blame when they heard their 18-month-old daughter crying and discovered one of her fingertips had been severed.

Turns out, the culprit was a piranha the family kept in an aquarium.

Doctors determined the bite wasn't from a dog after the girl was rushed to a hospital by ambulance Tuesday night.

Cook County Sheriff's Department spokesman Frank Bilecki tells the Chicago Tribune the girl's father cut open one of two piranhas and found the fingertip. He says doctors tried to reattach the fingertip, but he didn't know if they were successful.

He didn't immediately respond to messages left Saturday by The Associated Press, and a hospital spokesman couldn't provide the information.

Mr Bilecki says the parents were distraught and aren't facing charges.

Government to announce steps to boost economy: 10 developments

The Indian government is expected to announce steps today to boost the sagging economic sentiment. Finance Ministry (FinMin) sources told NDTV that the announcement is expected after the meeting of FinMin officials early afternoon.



Here are ten latest developments:



1) Announcements today are likely to include raising the interest for NRI deposits, cutting down wasteful expenditures and unveiling a bond issue for overseas investors to improve capital inflows in the wake of the rout in rupee.



Also Read: NRI deposit rate hike, spending cut, bond issue possible steps by RBI, govt



2) As government prepares to unveil some measures to revive the economy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says India cannot expect "outside help" on a scale which can see the country through its difficulties. He will have to appoint a new finance minister soon. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is still "churning" in his mind as to who will take over the key finance portfolio from Pranab Mukherjee who will step down from the coveted post on Tuesday.



3) Economic growth fell to 6.5 per cent in 2011-12 - and to a nine-year low of 5.3 per cent in the March quarter - while industrial output continues to be sluggish with a mere 0.1 per cent growth in April. Inflation too remained at an elevated level of 7.55 per cent in May.



4) Hit by a weak global sentiment and subdued local macroeconomic performance, the rupee has lost over 25 per cent in the last one year. It also breached the 57 level against the dollar on June 22. Traders said that it could soon fall to 58 to US dollar.



5) Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had yesterday announced that the government and the RBI would take steps to arrest the declining rupee and improve market conditions. He said that he was concerned about the state of the economy.



6) Traders said the central bank likely sold $250-300 million dollars on Friday to rescue the Indian currency. Mukherjee said the government had discussed the situation with the central bank governor on Friday. The rupee dropped a little over 3 percent against the dollar this week, its worst weekly decline in nine months, weighed down by mounting concerns over the global as well as India's economy. Analysts say the rupee could continue to fall further in the near-term, dragged down by the momentum from the worsening global risk environment.



7) Market analysts expect RBI to announce an increase in interest rates for deposits of Non-Resident Indians. They also expect government to announce a bond issue to attract inflows. RBI may increase the interest rate on FCNR(B) deposit further and announce the issuance of bonds for Non-Resident Indians to address the issues in the short-term" Crisil Chief Economist D K Joshi said.



8) Experts also see steps being taken to reduce the twin deficits. CNI Research Head Kishor Ostwal said,"It might take steps to tame fiscal and current account deficits." "Private investment in India is constrained by lack of availability of funds. Government might announce some measures for attracting investments and also steps to cut down wasteful expenditures," said Y K Alagh, Chairman, Institute of Rural Management.



9) In 1998, India launched Resurgent India bonds soon after the announcement of nuclear tests and sanctions that followed. The scheme attracted $ 4.2 bn. In 2000, the government launched India Millenium Deposits on the back of rising fuel prices and slowing capital flows. The scheme attracted $ 5.5bn.



10) Experts feel that a $ 5bn scheme may not make any significant difference. According to a section of experts, India would need something close to $ 15 bn to $ 20bn to have a meaningful impact on the economy

World loses giant tortoise species with death of Lonesome George

Quito: Lonesome George has died, leaving the world one species poorer.

The only remaining Pinta Island tortoise and celebrated conservation icon passed away on Sunday, the Galapagos National Park Service said in a statement.

Estimated to be more than 100 years old, the creature's cause of death remains unclear and a necropsy is planned.

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Lonesome George's longtime caretaker, Fausto Llerena, found the tortoise's remains stretched out in the "direction of his watering hole" on Santa Cruz Island, the statement said.

Lonesome George was discovered on Pinta Island in 1972 at a time when tortoises of his type were already believed to be extinct. Since then, the animal had been part of the park service's tortoise program.

Repeated efforts to breed Lonesome George failed.

"Later two females from the Espanola tortoise population (the species most closely related to Pinta tortoises genetically) were with George until the end," the park service said.

In honour of Lonesome George, the park service said it was convening an international workshop in July on management strategies for restoring tortoise populations over the next decade.

The Galapagos Islands, situated about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) off Ecuador's coast, is considered a haven for tortoises.

'Dewani Tours - treat your wife to a killer holiday' t-shirts spark outrage in S Africa

Johannesburg: Selling of T-shirts carrying objectionable slogan referring to the gruesome murder of Indian-origin Anni Dewani have sparked a fresh controversy in Johannesburg, attracting criticism from different sections of the society, including that from the victim's family.

The apparel with the message "Dewani Tours - treat your wife to a killer holiday" apparently refers to the killing of Indian-origin honeymoon bride Anni Dewani in Gugulethu township of Cape Town in 2010, for which her British husband Shrien Dewani is facing extradition plans to stand trial after being implicated in the murder.

The message uses a popular English font type resembling Hindi script, reminding readers of Anni Dewani's Indian origins.

Also Read

• NRI honeymoon murder case: Shrien Dewani gets temporary relief
• NRI honeymoon murder: Top 10 developments

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"This is a blatant disregard and disrespectful way of showing no remorse over a killing that shocked not just South Africa but the world," said Mr Gugulethu resident Vusi Ndoda, noting the incident has severely impacted on tourism in the area.

He said he will talk to the Indian-origin businessman Dinesh Dowlath, who is the man behind the idea, to withdraw the clothing, failing which he would campaign for boycotting his stores and organise protests at his businesses.

Mr Dowlath, on the other hand, has rejected suggestions that he was making light of the horrific murder, pointing out that T-shirts with often controversial and ambiguous statements had been the speciality of his stores.

Although agreeing to the sensitivity of the matter, Mr Dowlath told the weekly Sunday Times Extra that there was a market for such clothing as people see the humour in them.

"These T-shirts are for a discerning intelligent market," Mr Dowlath said, adding that although he created most of the slogans on his T-shirts, this one was suggested by a customer.

Meanwhile the victim's family has decried the situation, calling on Mr Dowlath to "let decency prevail."

"As a family, we haven't even started our grieving because the case is on hold and yet, there are those horrible people out there who see profit in this," Anni's uncle Ashok Dewani told the weekly

Historical Dastgeer Sahib shrine in Srinagar gutted in blaze

Srinagar: A fire has broken out at the more than century old shrine of Dastageer Sahib in the Khanyar area of Srinagar. Fire tenders have been rushed to the spot to bring the blaze under control at the shrine that is mostly made up of wood. However ancient relics of the saint, housed in the Shrine have been saved and retrieved. Officials say since they were kept in a fire-proof safe they remained unharmed.

The fire started this morning around 6.30 am after prayers and eyewitnesses say that within a few minutes it had spread to the entire complex.

Scores of locals gathered at the shrine weeping and wailing while they watched the blaze.

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The shrine of the 11th century saint is highly revered across religions in Kashmir. While Muslims call the saint Ghaus-e-Azam, the Hindus revere the saint as Kahnoow.

8 new features in Windows Phone 8

Microsoft showcased the latest version of its mobile OS Windows Phone 8 to developers and select audience in San Francisco on Wednesday. While some are calling it Microsoft's last attempt at remaining relevant in the mobile space, others are really excited about the offerings in Windows Phone 8. Here are the top 8 features in Windows Phone 8.

1) Multi-core processor support
Windows Phone 7.5 was limited to single-core processors. With multi-core processors becoming the norm, this move will help Windows Phone based phones compete with the Androids and iPhones of the world.
2) Bigger, sharper screens
Windows Phone 7.5 maxed out at 480X800 (WVGA) resolutions. Windows Phone 8 supports two new screen resolutions - 1280x768 and 1280x720, opening the door to 720p displays.
3) MicroSD card support
Windows Phone 8 comes with MicroSD support, so users are no longer limited by the built-in storage.
4) NFC wireless sharing
NFC, or Near Field Communication, technology enables devices to communicate with each other over radio frequencies without any physical contact (much like Bluetooth). Windows Phone 8 comes with built-in NFC support that lets you share information (like a contact) with another NFC-enabled device.
5) Internet Explorer 10
The next version of Windows Phone comes with the same web browsing engine as Window 8 PCs and tablets. IE10 is faster and more secure, with advanced anti-phishing features like SmartScreen Filter to block dangerous websites and malware.
6) Wallet
You can keep debit and credit cards, coupons, boarding passes, and other important info in your Wallet. Paired with a secure SIM or NFC, it can even be used to make payments.
7) Nokia Maps
Maps in Windows Phone 8 will be powered by Nokia and will offer turn-by-turn navigation in several countries. The ability to store maps offline so they can be operated without a data connection will be a nice plus.
8) Revamped Start screen
New colours, user resizable tiles mean that the start screen is more personal than ever.

Google tracks on-site workers with Google Maps Coordinate

The Google Maps team at Sydney has come up with a new app called Google Maps Coordinate that provides real-time information of workers on location. The mobile and web-based versions of the app will allow organisations to update and track progress of various tasks assigned to the workers on-field. Announcing via a blog post, the search giant stated that companies can use the service for $15 a month to share location information and also maintain a permanent record of where everyone has been. Regarding the workings of the app, Google mentioned that it combines the power of Google's mapping technologies with modern smartphones to help organizations assign jobs and deploy staff more efficiently.
Once employees download the app on their device after agreeing to the terms and conditions, they can update their location every five seconds or at one-hourly intervals. Employees can also schedule their tracking with the Android app. They can choose to be invisible on the map or set it in a manner that allows them not to be tracked after work hours.
As of now , workers can update their job status through text. But Google also plans to allow employees to upload photos in the near future.
Here's a promotional video of the app from Google.

Google CEO says "nothing seriously wrong" - source

Google Inc Chief Executive Larry Page has reassured employees about his health, but the company on Friday shed little additional light on an unspecified condition affecting his voice that will sideline him from two high-profile events in the coming weeks. Page told employees in an email on Thursday that there was "nothing seriously wrong with me," according to a source who had seen an internal staff memo.
The 39-year-old Google co-founder sat out his company's annual shareholders' meeting on Thursday because he had "lost his voice," according to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, who informed attendees of the news at the start of the event.
The condition will also cause Page to miss Google's annual developer conference next week as well as its quarterly results announcement next month.
Page continues to run Google's business, but has been asked to rest his voice, according to a Google spokeswoman. The company declined further comment on his condition.
The prolonged absence from the public spotlight raises questions about his condition, and the company's obligation to disclose issues of concern to shareholders.
Corporate governance experts say Google has met minimal disclosure requirements but will face increasing pressure while Page remains out of sight.
On Friday, Google's shares rose 1.1 percent to $571.48, lifted along with the rest of the Nasdaq.
"It gets them over the first disclosure hurdle, that is they've alerted shareholders to the fact he's going to have this health effect," said James Post, a professor of management at Boston University who specializes in corporate governance issues. "The tough questions still lie ahead, and there will be continued pressure to keep answering those tough questions."
While many people, including senior business executives, prefer to keep health matters private, public company CEOs have responsibilities to a "wide set of constituents, some of whom have a legitimate claim to know about material information," said Post.
The issue came to the fore several years ago when Apple Inc was criticized for being less than forthright about the health of CEO Steve Jobs, who died in October after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer.
"With the concerns over Steve Jobs, people are quick to jump to a conclusion that may not be the right conclusion to jump to," said Needham & company analyst Kerry Rice.
Page's health could be regarded as an especially significant issue because he, along with Schmidt and co-founder Sergey Brin, have majority control of the Internet company through special voting shares.
Wall Street analysts mostly took the news of Page's extended absence in stride, though some expressed concern about the lack of information.
"It's the number one thing I'm concerned about today just because there's so little data available," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.
JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth noted that Page has not posted any messages to his Google+ profile since May 25.
"We have no specific reason to think there is anything more to Larry's condition, but we find it odd that the company would already rule him out of the 2Q call, which is likely still a few weeks away," Anmuth wrote to clients late on Thursday.
"This could raise some questions among investors."
Simon Best, a head and neck surgery specialist at the Johns Hopkins Voice Center, said most cases where a doctor might order a patient to rest their voice involved either a vocal chord hemorrhage, or throat surgery of some sort.
"We actually very rarely put people on complete voice rest where they are not cleared to talk or allowed to talk," West said. "There are probably some practice differences between physicians and whoever is treating him, but there are only two scenarios where we put people on voice rest: if they've had vocal cord surgery, or if they've had a vocal chord hemorrhage."
Best, who has not treated Page, said hemorrhages were easily treatable, but a wide variety of conditions might necessitate surgery.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the details of Page's internal memo on Friday.
During the shareholder meeting on Thursday, Google's Schmidt tried to lighten the situation by relaying comments that co-founder Brin had made about Page's condition: Sergey "has said that this problem will make Larry a better CEO because he's going to have to choose his words very carefully."
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012

Samsung sells nearly 21,000 phones every hour

Samsung Electronics Co expects sales of its new Galaxy S III, launched at the end of last month as a main rival to Apple's iPhone, to top 10 million during July, making it the South Korean group's fastest selling smartphone. It also predicted earnings from its handset division would be higher in the current second quarter than in January-March, countering market concerns that tight supplies of the new Galaxy model and the weak global economy would pressure earnings at Asia's most valuable technology firm.
Shares in Samsung dropped more than 4 percent on Monday to a four-and-a-half month low, after more brokers cut their quarterly profit outlook, citing concerns over its chip and telecoms businesses. The benchmark KOSPI stock index was down 1.6 percent.
"The overall market condition was challenging due to euro zone issues and tight supply of components ... but (our) second-quarter results will be better than the first quarter," JK Shin, head of Samsung's mobile division, told reporters.
Profit from Samsung's mobile division nearly trebled in January-March to $3.6 billion, accounting for 73 percent of group operating profit.
Samsung kicked off global sales of its Galaxy S III on May 29, but shipments have been affected by the tight supply of parts such as the handset casing for the pebble-blue model.
"Supply remains very tight due to strong demand and component shortages, but we expect overall supply conditions to improve from next week," Shin said.
Samsung said in late April that new Galaxy smartphones would "substantially contribute" to second-quarter results.
Analysts have downgraded estimates for Samsung's second-quarter smartphone shipments in recent weeks, predicting that sales of the latest Galaxy model have triggered a steeper than expected drop-off in sales of earlier products. They also cited tight supply of the S III model and growing competition from low-end manufacturers such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp .
JPMorgan cut its forecast for Samsung's second-quarter smartphone shipments by a tenth to 50 million units.
Samsung sold 44.5 million smartphones in January-March - equal to nearly 21,000 every hour - giving it 30.6 percent market share. Apple sold 35.1 million iPhones, taking 24.1 percent market share.
Samsung introduced its first Galaxy in 2010, three years after the iPhone's debut, to counter Apple's roaring success in smartphones and take advantage of stumbles at bigger rivals Nokia and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion .

Sony Xperia U review

Post a separation from Ericsson, Sony seems to be eyeing the smartphone market with a new vigour and enthusiasm. Sony has recently launched three mid-range Android devices in the Indian market - Sony Xperia P, Sony Xperia Sola and Sony Xperia U. Price at Rs. 17,399, Sony Xperia U may be the cheapest of the three handsets but when compared to other similarly priced smartphones, will it be able to make a mark or fizzle out? We will find in this review.

Hardware/ Design
In terms of the design, Sony Xperia U looks quite similar to Sony Xperia P and Sony Xperia S but draws more resemblance to the latter. It sports a 3.5-inch screen with 854x480p resolution. Just below the screen are the three standard Android touch buttons for back, home and menu.
What stands out in terms of the design of Sony Xperia U is that there is the illuminated transparent strip at the bottom. This strip can light up in various colours such white, blue, green, red, purple or yellow, depending on the theme that you choose. The colours in this strip also change automatically when you are browsing pictures or listening to music in accordance with the mood. Additionally, Sony Xperia U also comes with interchangeable bottom caps that can be set in black, pink, or yellow colours.
The smartphone looks sturdy despite being made up of plastic. It also features rubberised finish on the back. Coming to the specifics, the Micro-USB cum charging port is on the right panel, while the left panel houses the power button, which also doubles as the screen lock/unlock button, the volume rocker and the two-stage camera button. The 3.5mm audio jack is placed at the top panel while the back panel houses the 5MP camera.
The colourful bottom caps do add a dash of freshness in the overall design of the handset but they aren't much of an eye-catcher.
Display
Sony Xperia U sports a 3.5-inch Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine, which is quite bright, even outdoors. It also provides good viewing angles. Display has a resolution of 480x854 pixels and offers a decent pixel density of 280ppi. Another plus for the screen is that it is scratch-resistant.
The only disappointment is the width of the display and we would have preferred a slightly wider one to avoid the cramped keyboard in portrait mode or the hardly visible text on webpages in zoomed-out view.
Camera
The smartphone comes packed with a 5MP auto-focus camera with LED flash. Pictures taken in broad daylight were quite sharp but the shots were grainy and washed out in low light.
The camera comes with a dedicated camera button, which is placed on the right panel. However, taking photographs with the help of this button needs some getting used to as it comes with a two-stage shutter button. Also zooming in and out on pictures via the volume rocker was a bit jerky.
In nutshell, this is not one of the best 5 MP camera that we have seen on a smartphone.
There is also a VGA front camera that works decently and will help in video chats.
Sony Xperia U is capable of recording 720p videos with 30fps, and the quality of videos captured is substandard, leaving a lot to be desired.
Software/ Interface
Sony has not been able to roll out Ice Cream Sandwich on any of its 2012 models as of now and the same is also true for Sony Xperia U. It runs on Android 2.3 and is expected to get an update in the coming months.
Sony has also added its own UI atop Gingerbread in the smartphone, which is quite light and is easy to use.
In terms of the pre-installed apps, Sony had some interesting additions such as Timescape, TrackID, Wisepilot, Liveware Manager, PlayNow, Neo Reader and Office Suite.
Timescape app stacks up email messages, Twitter and Facebook updates in one place and is certainly an interesting addition to the smartphone. TrackID is just like Shazam or SoundHound, an app that identifies the track being played.
Sony also has its own app store - PlayNow on board, which houses some interesting games, music and apps.
Performance/ Battery Life
With 1GHz dual-core NovaThor U8500 chipset powering this smartphone, Xperia U, is very snappy and responsive. Even while multi-tasking the handset does not cringe.
The browsing experience on this handset was good. The pages did open up quickly and the good display (small width aside) of this smartphone further enhanced the browsing experience.
The biggest drawback of Sony Xperia U is that does not have an expandable memory slot. This handset comes with an internal memory of 8GB, of which only 4GB is user accessible. Though, Sony is promising 50GB of cloud space with this handset but that is not really compensation for not having a microSD slot.
Like most phones from Sony, the audio quality for both voice calls and audio playback was quite good. Too bad you can't stock up your music collection on the Xperia U, thanks to the absence of the microSD slot
Sony Xperia U comes with a 1320 mAh battery and it gives a great battery performance. A moderate user can easily get a day/ day and half with a single charge.
Verdict
To wrap things off, Sony Xperia U is an interesting handset especially at Rs. 17, 399. If you can live with 8GB of memory with no expansion, this is a good Android smartphone to look out for. However, the competition around is quite tough and you might want to consider HTC One V for ICS goodness before you actually zero in on Xperia U.
For more pictures of the Sony Xperia U, please see our gallery.
Pros

• Good display
• Snappy and responsive

Cons

• Limited storage
• Not one of the best 5 MP cameras

Price: Rs. 17,399
Ratings (out of 5)
Design: 3
Display: 3.5
Camera: 2.5
Performance: 3.5
Software: 3.5
Ecosystem: 4
Battery Life: 4
Value for Money: 3.5
Overall: 3.5

Samsung Galaxy S III review

Samsung's rise in the mobile phone arena in the last few years has been phenomenal. The company has truly come a long way and the success of its last two flagship smartphones played a huge role. It is in this backdrop that Samsung's latest flagship phone becomes so important to the company. When JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung, was standing on the podium on May 3, 2012, stakes were high and everyone was anticipating a smartphone that would leave the competition behind. It was going to be the third iteration of company's much successful Galaxy S smartphone. He did unveil something that was extraordinary and full of exciting features and industry leading specifications, but will this new smartphone be able to leave the competition behind and prove powerful enough to take on Apple's upcoming iPhone and HTC's flagship One X? We will find out in this review.
Hardware
Smartphone after smartphone, Samsung has showcased that it continues to put more emphasis on the display of the smartphone and same is visible in S III. The 4.8-inch display on the phone is the single main highlight of the phone. It almost takes the whole of the front, leaving little space for the buttons, front camera and sensors. We don't mind that because by limiting the bezel and removing any unwanted space, Samsung has been able to fit the huge display in much smaller device, which is easier to hold and operate. But, you still have to adjust your grip at times and use both hands while operating the phone at many occasions.
There is nothing extraordinary about Galaxy S III design apart from the fact that it houses so much in such a thin body. Company has played safe and conservative, while the direct competitor to the phone One X is a result of HTC's attempt to do something different, which actually works quite well.
We are not saying that the Galaxy S III design is bad but it is definitely uninspired. However, it is quite functional and well-built. The no frills design borrows quite a few elements from company's last two Galaxy S models. The home button makes an appearance once again, coupled with same Android button arrangements, and familiar speaker/ ear-piece grill.
Similar to other flagships, a single sheet of glass carefully covers the front; the only bumps are home button and ear-piece grill on the top. As we are on the topic of the home button, it is important to point out that home button was actually a little disappointment for us. In the attempt to fit everything in smaller case, Samsung has reduced the size of home button considerably. We would've preferred a capacitive touch button instead of this small physical home button.
Back to the build of the smartphone, thanks to the plastic body and the usual paper thin battery cover, company has been able to keep the smartphone weight to just 133 grams, which is just 3 grams more than HTC One X.
It is interesting to note here is that Samsung has been able to pack a 2100 mAh user- removable battery in just 8.6mm thick body along with microSD card slot. So, rather than paying more for a bigger internal memory version of the phone, you can actually just pop in a card when required.
It also packs a Micro-USB port at the bottom, which is also used for charging, data transfer via PC and to connect to HDMI devices.
Overall, with all the glossy finish and rounded corners, the build quality is quite decent. Despite being plastic, the smartphone feels nice in hand and is very well put together.
Display
The huge 4.8-inch display on Galaxy S III is obviously the first feature that you will notice on the smartphone and it won't let you down. S III comes with a Super AMOLED HD display, which has the same underlying technology as Galaxy Nexus but has been improved a lot during the time period between both the launches. However, HTC's One X is still able to score over Galaxy S III in the display category; the LCD on One X has great viewing angles, best in the class clarity and colour balance. On the other hand, the bluish tinge is present on Galaxy S III display and the automatic brightness doesn't work as expected.
We won't go in Pentile vs non-Pentile debate here, as that doesn't really matter in the real-life usage of the smartphone. Overall, the colours are vivid, text is clean, readable and viewing angles are great.
Camera
HTC has set a high bar for smartphone cameras with its One X but Samsung has been able to best it with Galaxy S III. The image quality of the smartphone is simply outstanding. The images are sharp and clear, and even the full resolution images are pretty neat.
The 8MP camera on-board provides a holistic imaging experience and removes any need to carry multiple devices for basic photo needs.
Company has also included burst mode in smartphone camera, which allows consumers to capture 20 shots in one go with around 6 shots per second.
The camera software is pretty similar to what you might have seen on Galaxy S II; it is simple and easy to use. Most of the settings and controls are present on the left and the video/photo mode toggle along with capture button is on the right. It might not be as intuitive as One X's camera app, but the quality of images taken from camera fills up that gap.
Samsung has added HDR mode to Galaxy S III, which takes multi shots at various exposure values and combines them to create a single image. HDR helps you in situations where two parts of your photo frame have very different lighting condition.
The 1.9MP front camera on the smartphone is pretty neat and gives decent output. As the smartphone comes with built in video call support over telecom network, you will find using it quite often.
Moving on to the video recording, thanks to the ultra-fast processor inside the device, recording video worked as expected, auto-focus is slightly spotty but rest works fine. Galaxy S III also allows tap-to-focus in video recording, thus helping you in capturing even better videos.
The only missing part is on the optical side, Galaxy S III only supports a maximum aperture of f/2.6, which is well behind than f/2.0 on HTC One X. It means, Galaxy S III will be slightly worse in low-lighting conditions.
Software/ Interface
Samsung Galaxy S III runs on Android 4.0.4, but if you remember Ice Cream Sandwich from its stock looks, then you won't be able to recognise it on the smartphone. Samsung has gone all out to skin the hell out of ICS on S III.
There is hardly any part of the smartphone that looks like ICS on Galaxy Nexus. But, then it is expected from the Korean manufacturer to help it differentiate the device in such a competitive market.
Do these customisation work or are they just adding bloat to refreshing Ice Cream Sandwich? Well, up to a large extent, they do work.
One of major part of Samsung's Galaxy S III announcement was dedicated to the several software customisations that company has made in this smartphone. Several new features that have been added to it are not present in any other Android smartphone even from Samsung.
Samsung has not only added these features but has also decided to stay away from Android buttons introduced in ICS ( Home, Back and Multitasking) and has chosen to use good old Gingerbread style buttons - Home, Back and Menu (no multitasking button here and it can be managed by long pressing the home button).
Apart from home screen, the first customisation to be noticed on Galaxy S III is the set of quick toggles present in notification bar. Other such improvements include trash icon shortcut in Gallery app, and quick access of detailed volume control.
Many of the old Touchwiz features are still present in S III, like swiping the contact name left or right to message or call. Lock screen has been customised as well to include app shortcuts, which can further be altered as per your preferences.
The additions are not just limited to these little tweaks; company has made some big feature additions as well. One of our favourites from these features is "Pop up Play," the ability to play video anywhere on your screen simultaneously while doing other tasks. S-Beam is another enhancement from the company that has been made over Android beam, which is present by default in ICS. Samsung has actually combined the functionalities of NFC and Wi-Fi Direct in S-Beam, thus allowing you to transfer not only small packets of information but also big amount of data. S-Beam currently works with Galaxy S III only, so the functionality is limited right now.
Coming to the Samsung's answer to Apple's voice assistant Siri, S-Voice, we must say that it is just a big gimmick and adds no value whatsoever. Even in terms of gimmick quotient, the functionality of S-Voice is very limited when compared to Siri. S-Voice only responds to typical command, there is no personality to it at all, so if you were planning to ask some random question, stop right there, it won't answer.
It works well with commands and we are not sure how much of use would that be to you. After looking at the next version of Siri at WWDC, S-Voice is now looking even more inferior. One positive with S-Voice over Siri is that the former understands the Indian accent better.
Other such features include Smart Stay, Direct Call, Social Tag, Buddy Photo Share, and All Share Play/Cast. During our time with Galaxy S III, the Direct Call functionality that allows you to directly call a person whom you are sending a text by simply picking up the phone and putting it next to your ear, worked perfectly. However, we are disappointed by Smart Stay; it did not work as advertised by the company. The results were irregular, only working sometimes. You can read more about them in our detailed article on these features.
If you are wondering about the stock ICS features, under the Samsung's nature inspired UI, all of the additions that were made by Google in ICS are also present on the phone including Face Lock, detailed data info, and battery usage charts.
Well, not everything is hunky-dory here. Some of the Samsung's tweaks to Android 4.0 actually fall flat and the method of creating folders is one of them. The dragging and dropping an app on another to create folder doesn't actually work in Galaxy S III. To make a folder, you will have to open app drawer select one app and then drag that to create folder icon, which will then be placed on the home-screen. Another such fail is the removal to Play Store shortcut from top right corner of app drawer screen; Samsung has replaced that with a link to downloaded apps.
Performance/ Battery Life
No surprises here. The 1.4GHz Exynos Quad powered Galaxy S III is really a powerhouse and it is clearly visible in every single action on the smartphone. If you liked using Tegra 3 powered tablet or even One X, you will like the S III even more.
We won't go into any technical jargon or benchmarks here, although they agree, but in real-world usage, the Galaxy S III performs brilliantly and does everything that you throw at it without showing any strain.
Whether you are working on image heavy documents, opening huge webpages or watching 1080p clips, there is no lag at all. The performance is simple unsurpassed. We can't wait for the apps that fully exploit the S III's power.
Call quality and network reception are both superior and you will not face any issues.
Performance review cannot be completed without actually talking about the battery life of the smartphone and the Galaxy S III packs in a big 2100 mAh battery, which is also user-replaceable (do need to keep in mind that stock battery also houses NFC chip).
Despite the big HD display and quad-core processor on board, Samsung Galaxy S III will not give you a battery low warning in a day's judicious use, but heavy users might not be so lucky. Because of the presence of a big battery, Galaxy S III also takes around three hours to get fully charged.
Verdict
Consumer expectations were very high after Galaxy S II and Galaxy Nexus, and Samsung has been able to beat them by presenting a technological marvel in the form Galaxy S III. The camera, processor, and the software customisations, all are best in the class right now. It might not have the looks of One X, but it scores in almost everything else.
In the end, it all comes down to one thing - the pricing is, somewhat surprisingly, on the upside. Priced at Rs. 43,180, it is way more than HTC One X's Rs. 37,899 maximum retail price. Street price might be a little lower, but looking at the current pricing, HTC One X is the better deal however Galaxy S III is a better phone. So, if price is no barrier to you, go for it.
Check out our gallery for more pictures of the Samsung Galaxy S III. Pros

• Great performance
• Excellent camera

Cons

• S-Voice is of limited utility
• Pricing

Ratings (Out of 5)
Design: 4
Display: 4
Camera: 4.5
Performance: 5
Software: 4.5
Battery Life: 4
Value for Money: 3.5
Overall: 4

Charging an iPad for a year is cheaper than a cup of coffee

That coffee you're drinking while gazing at your iPad? It cost more than all the electricity needed to run those games, emails, videos and news stories for a year. The annual cost to charge an iPad is just $1.36, according to the Electric Power Research Institute, a non-profit research and development group funded by electric utilities.
By comparison, a 60-watt compact fluorescent bulb costs $1.61, a desktop PC adds up to $28.21 and a refrigerator runs you $65.72.
The group, known as EPRI, studied the power consumption of Apple Inc.'s iPad to determine the effect that the newly-popular devices might have on the nation's electricity use.
The answer: not much.
If the number of iPads triples from the current 67 million, they would need the electricity from one small power plant operating at full strength.
But if people are using iPads instead of televisions to play video games, or ditching their desktop computers for iPads, the shift to tablets could mean lower overall power consumption. A desktop computer uses 20 times more power than an iPad.
Baskar Vairmohan, the EPRI researcher who conducted the iPad test, said the group is now studying usage to understand whether the explosion of tablets is adding to power consumption, or reducing it.
Residential power demand is on track to fall for the third straight year, according to the government. A weak economy is keeping people in smaller houses and shacked up with others. At the same time, efficiency programs are pushing more efficient light bulbs, air conditioners and other devices into homes. Refrigerators use a quarter of the power they used a generation ago, according to EPRI.
For the iPad test, Vairmohan measured the amount of power used to charge up an iPad with a drained battery. He assumed that users would charge up every other day. Over a year, the latest version of the iPad consumed 11.86 kilowatt-hours of electricity. (Older versions consume somewhat less power.)
The juice would cost $1.36 at the U.S. average residential price of 11.49 cents per kilowatt-hour.
But there's an even cheaper way to go than the iPad. EPRI calculated the cost of power needed to fuel an iPhone 4 for year: just 38 cents.

Turkey calls for NATO meeting over jet downed by Syria

Ankara: Turkey on Sunday called for an extraordinary meeting of NATO after one of its planes was shot down by Syria in international airspace after it had mistakenly strayed into Syrian territory.

Turkey insisted the plane was not on a spying mission, and filed an official protest note to Damascus.

State-run TRT television reported that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had called the meeting for Tuesday over article 4 of the NATO charter concerning Friday's incident.

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The article says member countries "will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened."

The wreckage of the plane was discovered in the Mediterranean on Sunday at a depth of 3,281 feet (1,000 meters), TRT reported. The pilots still have not been accounted for.

Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday that he was "gravely concerned by the Syrian regime's action in shooting down" the plane, and said Davutoglu had told him no warning was given.

"This outrageous act underlines how far beyond accepted behaviour the Syrian regime has put itself and I condemn it wholeheartedly," Hague said in a statement. "The Assad regime should not make the mistake of believing that it can act with impunity. It will be held to account for its behaviour. The UK stands ready to pursue robust action at the United Nations Security Council."

Hague met last week with U.N and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan for talks on plans for an international summit, while British officials discussed the issue in Geneva on Saturday with members of Annan's team.

"This deplorable incident underlines the urgent need to find a solution to the current crisis in Syria in order to bring an end to the violence and to achieve a genuine political transition," Hague said.

Davutoglu said earlier Sunday that the jet was downed in "international airspace" after it mistakenly strayed into Syria, but the plane was not on a spying mission. He said the plane had entered Syria on Friday, but quickly left when warned by Turkey.

The plane had no "covert mission related to Syria," Davutoglu said, adding that it was purely on a training flight to test Turkey's radar capabilities.

Davutoglu said the plane was shot down one mile inside the airspace several minutes after it left Syria.

Syria on Saturday insisted the shooting was "not an attack," and that the plane had violated its airspace.

Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first elected leader says 'national unity is the only way out'

Cairo: Egypt's Mohamed Morsi on Sunday became the first Islamist to be elected president of the Arab world's most populous nation and after a divisive election battle pledged to be a leader for all Egyptians.

Morsi, the country's first elected leader since a popular uprising ousted president Hosni Mubarak, won 51.73 percent of the vote against ex-premier Ahmed Shafiq.

"I will be a president for all Egyptians," Morsi said just hours after he was declared the winner.

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"I call on you, great people of Egypt ... to strengthen our national unity," he added. National unity "is the only way out of these difficult times".

Morsi, who resigned from the Muslim Brotherhood to take the top job, also thanked the "martyrs" of the uprising for the victory.

"The revolution continues," he added.

The 60-year-old engineer also vowed to honour international treaties, adding: "We come in peace." Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, in 1979.

The election comes after 18 months of a tumultuous military-led transition from Mubarak's rule, marked by political upheaval and bloodshed.

"The winner of the election for Egyptian president on June 16-17 is Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-Ayat," the head of the electoral commission, Faruq Sultan announced earlier Sunday.

The announcement saw hundreds of thousands of Morsi supporters erupt in celebration in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the uprising that brought down the Mubarak regime in February 2011.

Cheering Egyptians waved flags and posters of the Islamist leader, who was jailed during last year's uprising.

"God is greatest" and "down with military rule" they chanted, as fireworks went off over the square.

Across Cairo, cars sounded their horns and chants of "Morsi, Morsi" were heard.

US President Barack Obama congratulated Morsi on his victory and pledged his country's support for Egypt's transition to democracy, a White House spokesman said.

Obama had also called Shafiq to encourage him to keep supporting the democratic process "and working to unify the Egyptian people."

Losing candidate Shafiq, who was widely perceived as the military's candidate, joined the country's military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi in congratulating Morsi, the official MENA news agency reported.

The interim head of the Coptic Church, many of whose faithful have feared the rise of Islamists, also congratulated Morsi.
Morsi won with 13,230,131 votes to Shafiq's 12,347,380, said Sultan, announcing the official results. The election, in which more than 50 million voters were eligible to cast their ballot, saw a 51.8 percent turnout.

Following Morsi's victory, the Muslim Brotherhood announced that he had resigned his posts in the group and in its Freedom and Justice Party, which he headed.

Shafiq supporters, who had gathered to hear the result with his campaign team in the suburbs of Cairo, were devastated by the result.

Some women screamed and others cried as several men held their heads between their hands in despair.

"It's a very sad day for Egypt," one Shafiq supporter, Maged, told AFP.

"I don't think Morsi is the winner. I'm very sad that Egypt will be represented by this man and this group."

The capital was tense before the announcement, with the city's notoriously busy streets deserted and shops and schools closed.
Extra troops and police were deployed and military helicopters flew overhead.

The road to parliament was closed to traffic, and security was tightened around vital establishments as Egyptians waited nervously for the result.

The election had polarised the nation.

While some feared a return to the old regime if Shafiq won, others wanted to keep religion out of politics, fearing that the Brotherhood would stifle personal freedom.

Shafiq ran on a strong law-and-order platform, pledging to restore security and stability. He is himself a retired general, but as a Mubarak-era minister he is reviled by the activists who spearheaded the 2011 revolt.

President-elect Morsi was the Islamists' fallback representative after their deputy leader Khairat El-Shater was disqualified from running.

During his campaign he sought to allay the fears of secular groups and the sizeable Coptic Christian minority by promising a diverse and inclusive political system.

Both Morsi and Shafiq had claimed victory in the election for a successor to Mubarak, and tensions rose after the electoral commission delayed announcing the official outcome of June 16-17 second-round run-off.

The results had initially been due on Thursday and the delay raised suspicions that the outcome of the election was being negotiated rather than counted.

But the dispute between the Brotherhood and the military remains unresolved.

The Brotherhood had rejected a constitutional declaration by the military that dissolves the Islamist-led parliament and gives the army a broad say in government policy and control over the new constitution.

The move effectively strips away any gains made by the Islamist group since the popular uprising.

It was adopted just days after a justice ministry decree granted the army powers of arrest.

N Srinivasan questioned by CBI again in Jagan assets case

Hyderabad: The President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), N Srinivasan, was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Hyderabad today in connection with the disproportionate assets case against YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy. Mr Srinivasan was questioned by the CBI earlier on June 18 in the same case.

Mr Srinivasan had been summoned by the CBI on June 8 because he is the Managing Director of India Cements Ltd, which invested in Bharathi Cements and Jagathi Publications, companies promoted by Jagan Reddy. The CBI has alleged that India Cements invested in these companies in a quid pro quo - that two plants of the company in Andhra Pradesh received huge water allocations when Jagan Reddy's father YS Rajasekhara Reddy was Chief Minister of that state. This, the CBI alleges, helped India Cement increase production substantially.

Mr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, or YSR as he was universally called, died in a helicopter crash in 2009. Soon after his father's death, Jagan Reddy split with the Congress and formed his own party, the YSR Congress. The CBI alleges that while YSR was in office, he conspired with other ministers to influence entrepreneurs to invest in his son's companies; in return, the CBI alleges, they were granted licences and other permissions required for their businesses.

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As part of its investigation in the case, the CBI questioned Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah for over eight hours last week. Mr Lakshmaiah was the irrigation minister in the YSR Cabinet and he was reportedly questioned about the extra water that India Cements received.

The CBI inquiry into Mr Reddy's business empire and the source of its funds was ordered by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in August 2011. On May 27 this year, Jagan Reddy was arrested by the CBI and lodged in Chanchalguda jail, where he is under judicial custody till June 25. His party swept the Assembly by-polls held on June 15 on 18 seats.

So far, the CBI has arrested Jagan, his financial advisor V Vijay Sai Reddy (currently out on bail), former AP Minister Mopidevi Venkatramana Rao, industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad and senior bureaucrat K V Brahmananda Reddy. Apart from Mr Lakshmaiah, the agency has questioned two other AP ministers -- Sabitha Indra Reddy and Dharmana Prasada Rao -- over the government orders that allegedly benefited some companies.

MLA begins fast unto death demanding prohibition in Tirupati

File photo

Tirupati: Newly-elected legislator B Karunakara Reddy (YSRCP) on Sunday began a "fast unto death" demanding that the temple town be declared as liquor-free zone.

Mr Reddy, former Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which manages the Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, said the state government, which had promised to take steps to protect the sanctity of the temple town, should impose prohibition without any delay.

Fire at Home Ministry building in Delhi

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New Delhi: A fire broke out at the Home Ministry office in North Block in Delhi today. The fire reportedly started at conference room number 102 on the second floor of the building. However, the situation was brought under control by the authorities after seven fire engines were rushed to the spot.

Home Minister P Chidambaram and Home Secretary RK Singh visited the site after the fire was doused. Officials from the Central Forensic Lab also inspected the spot where the fire broke out.

Reports say that the fire was caused by a short circuit. Sources have told NDTV that the short circuit could have been caused by an air-conditioner which was reportedly left running through the night.

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"One possibility is a short circuit; the other could be because of some garbage at the window. It's just one part of the window that caught fire and it was put out very quickly. Four or five electrical cables were burnt," Mr Singh said today.

The extent of the damage caused by the fire is not known yet. However, sources say that any damage to important documents or property is unlikely.

Being a Sunday, not many people were present in the office when the fire erupted.

The fire in the Home Ministry office comes just two after a major fire broke out at the mantralaya in Mumbai in which five people died and many important documents were burnt.

Mahi dies in borewell: The 85-hour-long ordeal

Khaow village, Gurgaon: In the end, the village of Khaow near Gurgaon's Manesar area had nothing to cheer about.

After an Army jawan lifted the body of five-year-old Mahi Upadhyay out of a 70 feet deep borewell that the little girl fell into on Wednesday night, there were few in the crowd of onlookers who felt the girl might be alive.

30 minutes later, doctors at the nearest government hospital pronounced Mahi dead on arrival. Sources at the hospital said the girl probably died just hours after falling into the borewell outside her house, when she was playing with her friends after her birthday celebrations. Mahi had turned five on Wednesday, and her parents had thrown a party at this village, mostly populated by migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar - all of whom work at various construction sites across Gurgaon.

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The operation to get Mahi out of the borewell was a complicated one. After the child fell into the borewell on Wednesday night, her parents first alerted the Gurgaon police, who arrived at the spot only to realise that they weren't equipped at all to deal with the situation. Mahi had fallen into a very narrow pit, with no space for anyone else to get in and help the child.

On Thursday, about 200 troops from an Indian Army unit stationed in Gurgaon were called in to help. A highly specialised digger was also called in. The Army took over the entire operations, and started working on two fronts simultaneously. First, a CCTV camera was lowered into the borewell using a rope. Footage from the camera showed a motionless hand stretched out to one side. Doctors thought the child may have fallen unconscious. At this stage, oxygen pipes were also lowered in to the pit to help the child get the required supply of oxygen.

Another team also started digging a new pit, just parallel to the one in which the child had fallen. The idea was to get to the required depth and then to dig horizontally till a passage was created between the two tunnels. Sources in the Army told NDTV that a local person who specialised in digging borewells in the area was also called in to help as he had the best idea about the area and its soil.

By Saturday, the Army came up against a roadblock. Though a pit adjacent to Mahi's pit was dug, Army officers realised that huge rocks were in between the two pits, and a passage could only be created by manually removing the rocks. A team of highly specialised experts were called in from the Delhi Metro, to help with the exact location of the child, so the Army jawans could dig the parallel passage between the two pits in the right direction.

Getting to the child took till Sunday afternoon. By that time Mahi had died. For all the days since Wednesday, the child could not be given any food, or a single drop of water. When Mahi's body was brought out from the pit, an Army jawan was holding her - she was covered in a white sheet. The body was placed in an awaiting ambulance and rushed to the nearest government hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

17-year-old boy falls into 30-feet-deep well, rescue operations on

Howrah: A 17-year-old boy today fell into a 30-feet-deep well in the Liluwa village in West Bengal's Howrah district.

Roshan, a construction worker, was trying to draw water out of the well when he slipped and fell into it at around 4 pm.

A disaster management team is at the site and rescue operations are on to save the teenager. "The disaster management group personnel have reached the spot with gas masks as there are toxic gases in the well. The fire brigade personnel are also there. We hope he will be rescued quickly," said Javed Khan, Disaster Management, Fire and Emergency Services Minister.

The minister also said that search lights were being used with divers ready to go into the well. "Our estimate is the well is 30 feet deep. Some others are saying it is 70 feet deep," he said.

The firemen initially tried to pump out water from the well. "But no sooner we pumped out some water, it again started getting filled up," said a fire brigade official.

Area lawmaker Rajib Banerjee said efforts were on to send a crane to the spot so that if any rescuer entering the well fell sick, he could be brought out with the help of the crane.

The incident occurred almost around the same time as the body of five-year-old Mahi Upadhyay was recovered from a borewell in Gurgaon's Khaow village. Mahi had fallen into the borewell on Thursday. Despite a massive rescue operation that lasted 85 hours, she could not be saved. (Read: Five-year-old Mahi dies in borewell)