Facebook down, world reacts on Twitter

Have you tried logging in or commenting on Facebook and have been unsuccessful in doing so? You are not the only one to face this problem, all Facebook users are facing this problem,At present, Facebook is working on making some advancements on its server. Due to this, many FB addicts seemed to have panicked with the fear of any type of hacking. As per official reports, Facebook claims to retreive your personal information without causing harm to your online privacy settings.

Moments after the error occurred, the hashtag #facebookdown shot to the top of the worldwide trends as netizens from all around the world poked fun at the effect it would have on their lives.

The phrase 'RIP Facebook' also made rounds on the microblogging site locally, as Filipinos wondered about what caused the error.

I.T. major Infosys appoints Vishal Sikka as CEO & MD

Infosys announces the selection of Vishal Sikka as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO & MD) of Infosys.

Vishal will be inducted as a whole-time director of the Board and CEO & MD (Designate) on June 14, 2014.

He will take over as CEO & MD on August 1, 2014 from Mr. S. D. Shibulal.

Congratulations Vishal! Welcome to Infosys.

The Next Nook Will Be a Samsung Galaxy Tab

Barnes & Noble finally found a home for its collapsing hardware business: Samsung.
The Korean hardware giant will build Nook software into Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 tablets and sell them in Barnes & Noble retailers as Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nooks.

The announcement comes roughly four months after Barnes & Noble CEO Mike Huseby promised new hardware by late this year. Now, in a partnership with Samsung, he seems to have delivered on his promise, while mostly exiting the hardware business.

The 7-inch Tab 4 will be a co-branded Android device, but will offer the Barnes & Noble's Nook reading experience.

The 7-inch Tab 4 will be a co-branded Android device, but will offer the Barnes & Noble's Nook reading experience. The Nook HD tablets were notable for a consumer-friendly interface that allowed users to configure profiles for each family member.

“Standing behind these great new devices will be the power of our 40,000 Barnes & Noble booksellers combined with our deep bookselling and retail expertise to provide sales support and personalized in-store customer service for our lineup of new Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook products," Huseby said.

The current Galaxy Tab 4 costs $199.99, runs Android 4.4 (KitKat), features two cameras (1.3 megapixel on the front and 3 megapixel on the back) and boasts a 1280 x 800 screen, which is actually a lower screen resolution than Barnes & Noble's last 7-inch Nook HD (1440 x 900). No word yet on whether or not the Tab 4 Nook's will also offer access to Google Play.

Barnes & Noble will continue to sell its own GlowLight e-readers alongside the Tab 4 Nooks starting this August, and confirmed to Mashable that it will build new e-readers as well. Late last year, Barnes & Noble delivered an ultralight, 6.2-oz. e-reader with e-ink, but did little to market it during the holiday buying season.

Man goes blind after texting girlfriend too much

Washington: A young Chinese man who constantly texted his girlfriend at night so much that his retina became detached.

This man was into messaging app WeChat, which allows intimate conversations, day and night.

According to Medical Daily, this 26-year-old WeChatted with his beloved so much in the dark that his retina became detached.

Retinal detachment tends to appear in those who already suffer from advanced myopia. It is also far more prevalent among those of advanced years.

There are many symptoms, including heaviness of the eyes and a vast increase in the number of floaters.

WantChina Times said that this lover needed surgery to ensure his eyesight remained intact.

Excessive use of cell phones has been linked by researchers to headaches, dry eye, and blurred vision. Doctors are relating early and constant screen staring with myopia in the very young.

Sunanda died of poisoning, SDM asks police to probe murder, suicide angles

New Delhi: The Sub-Divisional Magistrate, probing the death of Sunanda Pushkar, on Tuesday directed the police to investigate the case thoroughly including the murder and suicide angles after he categorically pin-pointed 'poisoning' as the reason behind the sensational demise. Significantly, Alok Sharma, the SDM in his report, said no family member of Sunanda doubted any foul play in her death, the sources said.

Doctors at AIIMS who conducted autopsy on Sunanda had said her death was 'sudden and unnatural' and it was caused by 'drug overdose' which in other words could be called drug poisoning. 52-year-old Sunanda was found dead in a 5-star hotel in South Delhi on Friday night, a day after her twitter spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over an alleged affair with Tharoor.

AIIMS sources said the autopsy report submitted to the SDM mentioned about over a dozen injury marks on both hands of Sunanda and a minor bruise on her left cheek which could be due to use of 'blunt force'. The report, however, ruled out death due to the injuries.

The autopsy report also said no food samples were found in Sunanda's stomach which according to doctors suggested that "she had not been eating".

Police sources said two strips of anti-depressant drug alprazolam, commonly known as alprax, were found in the hotel suite where she was found dead.

Anirudh in trouble over Youtube teaser

Chennai: A city-based advocate ap­proached the police co­mmissioner’s office on Monday to file a complaint against young music composer Aniru­dh Ravichander of Why this kolaveri fame, cont­e­nding that the musician’s new audio single, the teaser of which was recently released on YouT­ube, contains der­og­­atory marks against women.

The song titled, Aint nobody ****in with my music, released on the video-sharing website on January 16 and extensively publicised by him in social media websites, contains obsc­e­ne and immoral lyrics and degrades women in pa­r­t­icular, stated S. Jeb­adas Pandian in his co­mplaint. In his complaint, the advocate sou­g­­ht police action against Anirudh, citing that the song amounts to a crime under the Indian Penal Code and the Informat­i­on Technology Act.

Anirudh, who achie­v­ed celebrity status and fa­­me at a young age, had ch­o­sen to abuse the sa­me and corrupt youth by exposing them to perverse lyrics and provoking them, the complaint read.

The lawyer also alleged that the music video had been released without obtaining censor certification under the Indian Cinematog­r­aph Act. All releases, including teasers and trailers are subject to censor certification, the advocate said. The video has now been taken down from websites by the uploaders.

Fahadh Fazil to marry Nazriya

Bangalore: Breaking hearts of their fans, Mollywood sensations Fahadh Fazil and Nazriya Nazim have announced their decision to enter the wedlock.

Fahad, son of director-producer Fazil, reportedly fell in love with the young actor while shooting for their upcoming film ‘L for Love’, directed by Anjali Menon.

The official Facebook pages of both actors announced Monday morning that they got engaged. Fahadh posted a picture of Nazriya and wrote: “Got engaged with Nazriya Nazim”.

Nazriya uploaded a picture of Fahadh saying “Friends.. I have got engaged with Fahadh Faasil. Thanks for all your wishes.”

Sources said that the marriage will take place in August this year.

Fahadh, who made his debut in 2002 with the unsuccessful Kaiyethum Doorath, which was directed by his father, surprised all in his return in 2009 and since then delivered hit after hit.

The talented youngster won many awards too in his second innings and acted in critically acclaimed films such as Akam, Chaappa Kurishu, 22 Female Kottayam, Diamond Necklace, Annayum Rasoolum and Amen.

Latest reports say that he will be seen in renowned director Maniratnam’s next film along with Telugu star Mahesh Babu. Fahadh was earlier linked to actor Andrea Jeremiah.

Nazriya, on the other hand, debuted as a child artist in 2006 with the Mammootty film Palunku, directed by Blessy. She went onto become and a popular TV anchor and movie offers came searching for her soon after.

She is known for lead roles in Neram (Tamil and Malayalam), Raja Rani (Tamil) and Naiyaandi (Tamil). She has number of upcoming movies lined up with young heroes both in Malayalam and Tamil.

Nine killed as train catches fire

Mumbai: Nine persons were charred to death in their sleep when a fire broke out in three coaches of the Bandra-Dehradun Express in neighbouring Thane district in the wee hours today, the second fire mishap on a train within a fortnight.

The fire erupted in one of the three coaches and soon spread to other two coaches when the passengers were sleeping at about 2.50 AM. Among the nine dead, one is a woman and four are men while the rest were yet to be identified, said Western Railway PRO Sharat Chandra. Four persons have sustained minor injuries, said police.

The affected coaches were S-2 S-3 and S-4. The maximum numbers of passengers were in S-4 (64) followed by 54 in S-2 and three in S-3. Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge has expressed grief over the death of passengers and announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each to the next of kin of those killed. Rs one lakh will be given to those seriously injured and a sum of Rs 50,000 will be given to those who received minor injuries, Chairman, Railway Board, Arunendra Kumar said. The commissioner of Railway Safety will conduct an inquiry into the fire incident, he said.

"The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. However, the fire has been put out and the train has made its forward journey," Kumar said. Railway sources said short circuit cannot be ruled out as burnt cables were found lying under the electric board of S-3 coach. Chandra said that a gateman at a level crossing spotted the fire and immediately alerted the guard inside the train. The guard subsequently informed the motorman following which the train was stopped.

"Due to alertness of the gateman, a major disaster was averted," Chandra said. The train was halted at Gholvad Railway Station near Dahanu road where the fire was brought under control. Northern Railways have announced helpine numbers -23342954 and 24355954 -to those seeking information on the train and passengers.

The accident comes within days of the Bangalore train tragedy. 26 people, including two children, were killed and 12 injured when a fire broke out in the Bangalore-Nanded Express on December 28.

Kashmir freezes at sub-zero temp

Srinagar: Cold wave tightened its grip further in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region as minimum temperatures in most places dipped several degrees below the freezing point.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, over two degrees down from the previous night's minus 1.6 degrees Celsius, a MeT department official said here.

The minimum temperature in Pahalgam, in south Kashmir, went over four degrees down from the previous night's minus 7.7 degrees Celsius to settle at minus 12.4 degrees Celsius last night.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg registered a low of minus 9.8 degrees Celsius, as against the previous night's minus 11.6 degrees Celsius.

The official said the minimum temperature in Qazigund- the gateway town to Kashmir valley - decreased by over four degrees to settle at minus 8.0 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 3.8 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Kokernag, in south, recorded a low of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius, down by over four degrees from minus 6.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said. The minimum in Kupwara, in north Kashmir, settled at minus 2.8 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night's minus 0.8 degree Celsius. Leh, in Ladakh region, recorded a low of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius against the previous night's minus 14.7 degrees Celsius.

The mercury in Kargil settled at a low of minus 16.1 degrees Celsius, over three degrees down from minus 13.0 degrees Celsius the previous night. The MeT department has said the weather would remain mainly dry over the next few days and there would be a further dip in the mercury making the conditions in the valley colder.

India squads for New Zealand tour announced

The All-India Senior Selection Committee met at the Cricket Centre earlier today, to pick the Indian teams for the ODI series and Test series against New Zealand, to be played in January-February 2014.

The teams are as follows:

INDIAN TEAM – ODI SERIES

M.S. Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ishwar Pandey, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron.

INDIAN TEAM – TEST SERIES

M.S. Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R. Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishwar Pandey.

Samsung woos users with upgrade plan

New Delhi: To push its mobile sales, Samsung on Monday launched a scheme under which customers can buy a phone on installments and after six months upgrade to a new handset.

"We are targeting a significant number of new users joining the Samsung family. This not only offers an 18-month EMI programme but also an Easy Buy Back, which will help users upgrade to newer models," Samsung Mobiles and IT's Country Head Vineet Taneja said in a statement.

The smartphones covered under the 'Stay New' scheme are Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 2, Samsung S4, Samsung S4 Mini, Samsung S3, Galaxy Tab 3 and Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The company has tied up with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Citibank and Standard Chartered for this program.

Customers can buy any of these smartphones through these banks' credit card and avail of 18-month instalment scheme, at applicable interest rates.

The scheme will be rolled out in stores across the country from January 1 to March 31.

Ingram Micro, distributor of Samsung gadgets, has facilitated the buy back scheme for upgrading mobile device.

Under this scheme, users can sell their Samsung devices by calling up Ingram Micro within 6-12 months of purchase so as to upgrade their phones.

‘Aishwarya Rai’ is 23-year-old and a Chhattisgarh voter?

Raigarh: Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai is the native of Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district if the electoral roll in Ghughri village in Pathalgaon is to be believed.

The Bollywood star’s name figures in the voter list of Ghughri village which falls under Pathalgaon constituency.

The accompanying photo makes it clear that it is not some namesake, but Mrs Abhishek Bachchan herself, Jashpur collector L.S. Ken said.

According to the voters’ list of polling station No. 15, Aishwarya Rai is 23 years old, and stays in house No. 376 in the village.

Her father is one Dinesh Rai. None by these names lives in the area, the official said.

Wife helps lawyer in raping minor

Ujjain: An advocate has been arrested along with his wife on charges of raping and holding a teenager girl hostage for 13 days at their residence here, police said on Thursday.

The 17-year-old who had gone missing since December 12 had gone to advocate Balkrishna Nagar's residence in Sampat Nagar here that day to get her caste certificate made.

Soon after the girl entered his office, the advocate downed the shutters and sexually assaulted her after which his wife Angrooabla helped her husband to tie the victim to a bed.

According to police, the advocate raped the girl for 13 days but on Wednesday when the residents heard the girl scream, cops reached the spot and freed the victim.

The advocate and his wife have been arrested and a case has been lodged against them under various sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Meanwhile, the victim has been sent for medical examination.

Samsung launches Galaxy Grand 2

Mumbai: South Korean mobile handset-maker Samsung today launched its latest offering 'Galaxy Grand 2' in a price range of Rs 22,990 to Rs 24,990.

The dual-SIM smartphone will be available in the market from first week of January next year.

"This new Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 delivers an improved HD viewing experience, more powerful multi-tasking features, a premium experience through design and entertainment on the go," Samsung India Country Head, Mobile and IT, Vineet Taneja said.

The device runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and is a dual-SIM device with support for GSM+GSM. It also features a 5.25-inch HD TFT display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels.

Samsung has also introduced a single destination - Club Samsung - for its Indian infotainment content, company's Director, Mobile, Manu Sharma said.

"The Club Samsung digital entertainment store features 4 lakh songs, 5,000 movies, 500 gigs and live TV with over 90 channels all optimised for high-quality display on Samsung devices," he said. The device will be available in black, pink and white colour variants in select regions.

"The device will be launched across the country through its dealership network of 1.2 lakh dealers," Sharma added.

AAP to form govt on Thursday

New Delhi: Belying all claims of being a 'non-actor or no factor' in the Assembly elections by the Congress and BJP, Aam Aadmi Party founder Arvind Kejriwal on Monday gave a formal 'yes’ to form a government in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. He will be meeting Leutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung about staking claim to government formation.

Sources said that Kejriwal will take over as Chief Minister on December 26. Sources close to Kejriwal said the AAP intends to hold its oath-taking ceremony either at Jantar Mantar or the Ramlila Grounds, from where it had launched its anti-corruption crusade two years ago.

Speaking to reporters, AAP leader Manish Sisodia said: "If the Lt Governor permits, oath-taking will take place at Jantar Mantar."

Reacting to the AAP decision, Sheila Dikshit said that Congress will outside support to the government and it will be an issue-based backing. "We have not promised unconditional support to AAP. It is for their programmes, let us see if they deliver," she added.

"Aam Aadmi Party has compromised with a party that is known for corruption," said BJP leader Harsh Vardhan referring to the Congress. AAP has betrayed the people of Delhi, he added.

The AAP office in Ghaziabad was swarmed by supporters ahead of a crucial meeting that began at 10 am.

The engineer-turned-bureaucrat, who was largely instrumental in ending the 15-year rule of caretaker CM Sheila Dikshit, had declared he would take a call on government formation only after getting the feedback from citizens through 'jan sabhas' (public meetings), SMSes, phone calls, Facebook and his party’s website.

Warren Buffett adds $37 million per day in his fortune in 2013

New York: American business magnate Warren Buffett made a fortune of about USD 37 million per day in 2013, according to Wealth-X, making him the billionaire who made the most money this year.

With a gain of USD 12.7 billion in 2013, Buffett's net worth at the end of the year stands at USD 59.1 billion. The notable philanthropist had a fortune of USD 46.4 billion at the beginning of the year. However, Buffett is not the wealthiest billionaire on the top 10 list prepared by Wealth-X.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates added USD 11.5 billion to his personal fortune in 2013, ending the year with assets totalling USD 72.6 billion. Gates is also the richest person on the list.

According to the report, the top 10 individuals collectively gained USD 101.8 billion in 2013, an average gain of USD 10.2 billion each.

The combined wealth of these individuals stand at USD 347 billion in December this year, up from USD 245 billion in January 2013.

Besides, on an average, they made USD 29 million per day in 2013 and increased their wealth by 41.6 per cent, outperforming the 24 per cent returns seen in the S&P 500 this year.

Gates is followed by casino mogul Sheldon Adelson at the third spot, who raked in USD 11.4 billion in 2013 from his various properties in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore. His personal net worth is estimated to be more than USD 35 billion in December from USD 23.9 billion in January.

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos became richer by USD 11.3 billion to take his total fortune to USD 34.4 billion.

Besides, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg gained USD 10.5 billion taking his wealth to USD 24.7 billion. The report said that Masayoshi Son, head of SoftBank Corp, added USD 10.3 billion to his fortune.

Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have added USD 9.3 billion each to their personal wealth.

Brin's net worth stood at USD 30 billion, while that of Page was at USD 29.9 billion.

Hong Kong's business tycoon Lui Chee Woo made a fortune of USD 8.3 billion in 2013, while private equity investor Carl Icahn gained USD 7.3 billion in the year.
As per the report, the valuations are for the period between January 1 to December 11, 2013.

I'm not marrying Ranbir Kapoor

Mumbai, Dec 10: Actress Katrina Kaif said she is not getting engaged or married to her rumoured beau Ranbir Kapoor, but would love to dance at his wedding.

"I am not getting married or engaged to anyone soon. You can lock it. It's final. I am not getting married to anyone. I don't know if it (marriage) will happen in 10 or 20 years or so," Katrina told reporters here today when asked about her relationship with Ranbir.

Asked who Ranbir should get married to if not to her, the glamorous Bollywood star said he should tie the knot with the woman of his choice.

On whether she would like to dance at Ranbir's wedding, Katrina said she would love to do so and even mentioned a popular song from the just released 'Besharam' (which features Ranbir) in this regard.

'Chennai Express' shatters through the 100-crore club, breaks multiple records

Shah Rukh Khan’s rise to the top hasn’t really been too difficult. His swarms of fans have followed him through his near three-decade long career through all the ups and downs and sudden U-turns.
After you excuse all the ‘bokwaas’, realisation sets in that despite all the criticism, SRK’s latest film 'Chennai Express' has become the fastest film to earn 100 crores at the box office (domestic). The film did 103.50 crore in 4.5 days, breaking 'Ek Tha Tiger's record of Rs 100 crores in five days!

'Chennai Express' managed a cool Rs 6.75 crores in paid previews on Thursday, earning another first for the movie in ‘highest paid collections’. It broke the '3 Idiots' paid preview record (of Rs 2.75 crores) and 'Ek Tha Tiger''s first day collection record (close to Rs 33 crores). The film and its cast, including the film’s director, has been trending on twitter for four days now.

So if you’re wondering about the film’s earnings in total, try to wrap your head around these figures. But keep in mind the numbers are just for three days, the film is still running to full houses.

Opening day: Rs 33.12 crore

Saturday: Rs 28.05 crore

Sunday: Rs 32.5 crore

The Red Chillies and Disney UTV film is directed by Rohit Shetty and stars SRK and Deepika Padukone in lead roles.

Here are some numbers to boggle your mind:

Highest Paid Preview Collections:

'Chennai Express': Rs 6.75 cr

'3 idiots': Rs 2.75 cr

'Kites': Rs 1.85 cr

'Ghajini': Rs 1.75 cr

'Jism 2': 1.50 cr

Fastest Rs 100 crore Ever:

'Chennai Express': Four days (plus paid previews)

'Ek Tha Tiger': Five days

'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani': Seven days

Chennai Express climbs box office charts in the US; ranks at 13th

Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Chennai Express' has climbed up the popularity chart in the United States and is ranked at 13th spot in the very first weekend.

Released in 196 theaters across the United States, ‘Chennai Express’ collected $2,416,513 (about Rs 1.4 crores), in the first four days of its release, BoxOfficeMojo reported Monday, adding that it collected $2,220 in the first weekend.

BoxOfficeMojo, keeps tracks of all major movie releases in the US, according to which the film was ranked at 13th spot on the popularity chart, which was topped by ‘Elysium’ with $29.8 million collection, followed by ‘We are the Millers’ ($26.4 million) and ‘Planes’.

'Chennai Express' breaking records, racing towards 100-cr mark

'Chennai Express' has taken off on the fast track on the very first day, it seems. The film made Rs 6.75 crores by way of paid reviews and Rs 33 crores through regular screening on Friday itself. It broke the '3 Idiots' paid preview record (of Rs 2.75 crores) and 'Ek Tha Tiger''s first day collection record (close to Rs 33 crores).

The film continued to make Rs 28 crores on Saturday followed by Rs 30 crores on Sunday. As a result, the film has already made close to Rs 98 crores, even before it has entered weekdays.

The only film to have made Rs 100 crores within five days of its release was Salman Khan’s 'Ek Tha Tiger'.

But if the numbers are anything to go by, 'Chennai Express' might just overtake that. Given the smooth run that the film has had so far, trade analysts believe that the film will make Rs 150 crores at a minimum, but the real challenge for the film now is to cross the Rs 200 crore mark. Given the fact that it will face competition from 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbai' next week, the collections are expected to dwindle a bit.

Bomb threat to Thalaivaa theatres

Chennai: With nine prominent theatres of the city receiving bomb threats on Tuesday night warning them against screening the Vijay starrer, Thalaivaa, advanced bookings were stopped by all theatres for the film slated for release on Friday.

The manager of Inox Cinemas approached the Mylapore police station Wednesday morning with a threat letter from an organisation which called itself the Oppressed Students’ Revolutionary Union.

The letter alleged that Vaendhar Movies, one of the producers of the film, had cheated students of Tamil Nadu and other states of money and was pumping it into the movie business. It warned against screening the film Thalaivaa as it too had been made with such money.

Representatives of Satyam Cinemas and Devi Cineplex also approached the police with similar letters later in the afternoon, according to sources.

When contacted, the Mylapore police confirmed that cinema houses in the city had received threats and the matter was under investigation. But pointing out that there was no such group as the Oppressed Students Revolutionary Union , some police officers felt the letters could be a hoax.