News Digest: IAF pilots pop pills to get fighting edge

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Monday, February 08, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		IAF pilots pop pills to get fighting edge The Indian Air Force has some new weapons in its armoury. No, they are not hypersonic cruise missiles, nor bunker-bursting ‘smart’ bombs. After NJAC, govt seeks oversight panel for judges Undeterred by the recent showdown with the higher judiciary on account of composition of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), the NDA government has proposed to bring a new legislation to constitute a National Judicial Oversight Committee for judicial accountability where the law minister will be one of the three members of the panel. Judges hear ridiculous cases, hit judicial discipline Why is the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, held in such high esteem by Indian citizens? If you thought it was because this institution has remained some what unscathed from the unsparing tentacles of corruption which has spread far and wide in other wings of governance, you may be off the mark. More India News»

		Business
		NPCI's mobile payment platform to link banking apps The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) - a new open source platform for mobile-to-mobile fund transfers without account details - will bring about a disruption, Nandan Nilekani, former chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), said. Times Auto Awards celebrate the best The star power from the automotive industry made the Times Auto Awards 2015 in partnership with ZigWheels a great success. China forex reserves fall $100bn in Jan China’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen to their lowest level in more than three years, the central bank said on Sunday, as Beijing sells dollars to stop the yuan from depreciating further. More Business News»

		Environment
		Corbett Reserve tops in tiger population: Report In a report unprecedented in its detail, the Wildlife Institute of India finds out that among 44 tiger reserves of the country, Corbett Tiger Reserve has the maximum number of 215 tigers. Corbett is followed by Bandipur and Nagarahole reserves in Karnataka with 120 and 101 tigers respectively Birds of 11 rare species found in Jharkhand Birds of 11 rare species thought to be extinct have been found during a survey of the water bodies in Jharkhand, a state forest department official said. For many species, noise pollution can be deadly Many birds and other animals use sound to locate food, avoid predators, navigate their environment, and even select a mate. But all of these life-essential functions can be disrupted by noise from ships and sonar probes in the sea, motor vehicles and industry on land, or airplanes, a study found. More Environment News»

		World
		Seven arrested in Spain over 'jihad' links Spanish police said they arrested seven people on Sunday with suspected links to al-Qaida and the Islamic State groups and uncovered an operation to smuggle arms to jihadists under the guise of humanitarian aid. 'Deadly air strike hits hospital in east Libya' An air strike hit a hospital in Derna in eastern Libya on Sunday, killing four people, including a woman and her child and two anti-government fighters, a doctor said. UK for collective step against North Korea The UK on Sunday condemned North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket and backed a collective response by the international community to Pyongyang's latest violation of UN resolutions. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Hrithik pairs with Yami Gautam in 'Kaabil' After a lot of speculation in the last couple of months, it is now confirmed that Yami Gautam will play the female lead opposite Hrithik Roshan in his next, 'Kaabil.' Katrina Kaif's red hot appearances 'Yo Yo Honey Singh had a weird shape' More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Sudden cardiac death may soon be a thing of past Scientists at a US university have developed a possible treatment to prevent hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) - a common cause of sudden death in young athletes - using a study conducted by researchers more than 15 years ago. Psychiatric disorders genetically linked to diabetes US scientists have found link between psychiatric disorders and type 2 diabetes. According to them, the "DISC1" gene which plays a role in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, influences function of pancreatic beta cells which produce insulin to maintain normal blood glucose levels. Young guys go gray, by choice On two magazine covers the singer Zayn Malik has graced in the last few months, the former member of the musical group One Direction, peers out of the photographs from beneath a silver mane. More Science News»

		Sports
		India-England Manchester Test was fixed: Ex-manager The match-fixing allegations are not new thing in cricket and this time India ODI skipper MS Dhoni seem to have found himself in the middle of a recent expose. EPL: Ozil, Ox get Arsenal back to winning ways Arsenal returned to third place in the Premier League after Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's goals ended a four-game winless streak with a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth on Sunday. Yasir Shah banned for three months for failed dope test Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah has been banned for three months after pleading guilty for a failed dope test last year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Sunday. More Sports News»

		Technology
		8 controversial logo changes of tech companies Uber recently went for a worldwide 'brand refresh.' BlackBerry Priv review: High on price, low on performance BlackBerry launched its first Android smartphone BlackBerry Priv in India at Rs 62,990. We bring you a complete review of the device and is it worth the price. 8 gadgets & tech you should definitely use in 2016 Internet connection is tardy, find it tough to share files between iOS and Android, charging is slow, these are some of the most common complaints that people have with their gadgets.Here are some gadgets and technologies that provide simple solutions to these and many other such problems. More Technology News»

		Education
		Biometric attendance for Allahabad University students For the first time at Allahabad University, attendance of students would be registered through biometric attendance machine. National civic fest: Students and their ideas steer change at civic level  It was a whirlwind of thought-provoking ideas at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium on Friday, thoughts that poured out of young minds and actually helped fix civic woes. GIAN attracts foreign faculty, but just in tech institutes Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), the much-touted programme to attract foreign faculty to teach for a term in India, is slowly finding its feet but primarily in IITs, NITs and techical education. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Duped actor cannot access 34L till case is finally closed In an interesting development in the cheating case involving film and TV actor Sachin Pilgaonkar and his wife Supriya, the Bombay high court hearing the bail application of the accused Anagha Borikar, has said neither Pilgoankar nor Borikar can withdraw the Rs 34 lakh deposited by latter until the conclusion of the trial or till quashing of the FIR. Customs blow to make life-saving drugs costlier The Centre's recent tweak in levies — removing customs duty waiver as well as imposing excise duty on certain lifesaving drugs including for cancer, HIV, haemophilia, diabetes and infections may result in price increases between 10-25% on both imported and indigenously-produced drugs, swelling treatment costs and restricting key drugs for patients. Woman flyer attempts to smuggle in 80L gold, held A businesswoman, who had arrived in Mumbai from Dubai, was arrested after she was found with 3.2 kg smuggled gold worth Rs 80 lakh at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Sunday. Customs officials found 26 gold bars weighing 3.03 kg and another 18 gold bangles weighing 198 gm with 30-year-old Shaikh Mumtazben Ishak. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Sachin asks kids to push helmet drive Indicating that elders are failing to set example for youngsters to behave safe on roads, Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday reached out to school students to educate their parents and elders notto drive without wearing helmet, seatbelt and they follow traffic rules. Boyfriend strangles DU girl, hides body in shaft at home Arzoo Singh Chauhan, a 23-year-old Delhi University student, was allegedly strangled by her boyfriend last week during a tiff over his impending marriage with someone else. IAF pilots pop pills to get fighting edge The Indian Air Force has some new weapons in its armoury. No, they are not hypersonic cruise missiles, nor bunker-bursting ‘smart’ bombs. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		They drive home the message to wipe out hunger from classrooms Three hundred bikes zooming along Bengaluru's roads on a Sunday morning could have been mistaken for a customary ride by flamboyant biker clubs. But this rally had a motive larger than mere adventure ­ to eradicate hunger from school classrooms. 30% universities lack nodal officers for foreign students Foreign students in the state have been panicky after the attack on a Tanzainan girl by a mob in north Bengaluru on January 31. Students compete to make sense of Bengaluru's trash For two months, two teams of 13-year-olds from Bengaluru have been researching and studying garbage for the FIRST LEGO League, a competition in the US. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Murder case solved, 5 held Chilakalguda police have arrested five per sons for their role in the murder of au to driver Md Shafi. Cong, TDP, BJP face doom after polls The landslide victory of TRS all over amidst impressive performance of AIMIM in its strongholds in GHMC elections virtually silenced the loud-mouths in the Congress, TDP and BJP who had created revulsion among voters with their bragging. Minor boy rams into sentry post A 16-year-old Intermediate student was arrested on Sunday after he drove a car into the sentry post in front of former Union minister P Shiv Shankar's house. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		TN Cong invites ticket seekers Tamil Nadu Congress Committee has invited applications from prospective candidates for the assembly elections. Short film on child labour, made by engg students, wows audience A group of engineering students has made a 14-minute short film with six songs, a first of its kind, to create awareness among people about child labour and the importance of child education. Coral reefs may die en masse AS EL NINO HOTS UP Chinnathambi barely ventured into the sea last year. The sea soned fisher man from Rameswaram knows exactly where to look for fish by observing the currents and the wind. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Global experts to meet at Dantiwada to discuss agricultural policy for future Fifteen years down the line, there would not just be demand for more food but for affordable and quality food that can feed rapidly growing urban areas. Pakistan abducts 12 Gujarat fishermen off Kutch coast In yet another incident of fishermen's abduction by Pakistan, 12 fishermen with their two boats were abducted by Pakistan Marine Security Agency from International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) off Jakhau coast on early Sunday morning. 10 arrested after Patels, Thakores clash in Mehsana At least 10 persons were arrested following clashes between two groups of different communities over a petty issue in Gojariaya village of Mehsana on Saturday. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Around 1.25 crore devotees likely to take holy dip on Mauni Amavasya With around 30 lakh devotees and pilgrims already flocked Sangam to take holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya snan scheduled on Monday, men-in-khaki on Sunday turned the entire Magh Mela campus into a fortress. `Ayodhya issue should not be politicised' Shankaracharya of Puri Jagadguru Swami Adhokshayajananda on Saturday targeted the Sangh Pariwar outfits for “playing with the sentiments of people and raising sensitive issues keeping in mind the 2017 UP assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections in 2019." No reservation for creamy layer, says Justice Sacha Former Justice Rajinder Sachar said “creamy layer“ should not get advantage of reservation system in the present context and caste system should be abolished. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Congress raps PM Modi for criticizing them Congress on Sunday came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for criticizing their party’s work culture while addressing a huge gathering at Paradip after dedicating the oil refinery of the IOCL to the nation. Signature logbook of forefathers impresses Narendra Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi was pleasantly surprised to see the signatures of his own and forefathers, who had visited Jagannath temple in 1959, being preserved in a document maintained by a priest Raghunath Gochikar, who escorted Modi to the shrine on Sunday. Cuttack cancer hospital to get shelter home Realising the accommodation difficulties faced by poor cancer patients and their attendants in Millennium City, Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has decided to construct a shelter home on the premises of Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC) here. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		GPS to track prisoners in Madhya Pradesh prisons Following the escape of two murder convicts from Bhopal Central Jail, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to keep an eye on the prisoners through Global Positioning System (GPS). This is probably the first time the system will be enforced in any prison in the country. Key proof of Vyapam scam still in deep freeze Seven months after taking over investigation into Vyapam scam from the Special Task Force (STF), CBI has not been able to send the most crucial and controversial evidence to Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Hyderabad for the examination. Seminar discusses Biological Diversity Act and its flaws Cell for awareness and research in environmental law studies (CARES), National Law Institute University, Bhopal, in collaboration with Madhya Pradesh state biodiversity board organized BIOSANCTUM 2016-a national seminar on Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and ABS Regulations, 2014 on Saturday. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		'Legalising soft drugs could be dangerous' Reacting strongly to a suggestion to legalise sale of poppy husk and cannabis in Punjab at a seminar on drug abuse on Sunday, Voice of Tobacco Victims, an organisation of doctors, said it could turn out to be “extremely dangerous for Punjab.” Interactive session on Nano Science and Nano - Technology organized Aryans College of Engineering, Chandigarh on Sunday organized an interactive session on Nano Science and Nano - Technology and discussed on various aspects of Advances in Manufacturing Technology. Punjab falters on helping drug dependents Punjab has lost the battle against drug de-addiction even before it has begun, a study by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi has indicated. More Chandigarh News»

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