Wednesday 31 October 2012

Cyclone Nilam expected to make landfall between Puducherry and Chennai this evening: 10 latest developments


Chennai:  Cyclonic storm Nilam is expected to make landfall between Puducherry and Chennai this evening. The Meteorological Department has said that the cyclone will hit the coast anytime between 4 and 6 pm today.





Here are the 10 latest developments on this story:

The cyclone is currently 250 kilometres away, and is moving towards Chennai. They city has been witnessing incessant rain and strong winds since Tuesday morning.

Under the influence of the system, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in Tamil Nadu and south coastal Andhra Pradesh over the next 24 hours. Besides Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore and Villupuram too have been witnessing rains. Schools and colleges across several districts, including Chennai and Cuddalore, remained closed for the second day today on account of incessant showers. 

In Andhra Pradesh, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur and Ongole districts are on high alert. A warning signal has been issued in Krishnapatnam, Vadarevu, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam ports while fishermen have been warned not to venture into the sea.  Nellore and Prakasam are expected to face a major impact of the cyclone.

Heavy rain in Bangalore today also has been attributed to cyclone Nilam.  The sudden dip in temperature in the city and also several other parts of Karnataka are also due to cyclone Nilam, the Met Department has said. The rain has also resulted in traffic jams at several places in Bangalore. 

Though Nilam has been categorised as a "marginal cyclone", authorities in coastal Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh say they are prepared for the worst and all preparations are in place. Tamil Nadu government has deputed 13 IAS officers to supervise preparations and relief work.

The cyclone is expected to reach wind speed of up to 90 kilometres per hour at the time of landfall. Low-lying areas of Tamil Nadu like Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts could be inundated due to the storm surge, officials have warned.

There have been no major evacuations so far. However all arrangements are in place. In Chennai, 282 schools will serve as relief centres. Community kitchens have also been arranged. Cyclone shelters have also been organised in Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts with essential supplies. The government plans to send generators and sand bags to vulnerable areas in the districts.

According to officials, the sea will be "very rough to high" and fishermen in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts have been advised to stay off the sea. Boats have been moved to low-lying areas.

The Chennai port on the southeast coast has stopped cargo operations after a cyclone. The port handles about 10 percent of traffic passing through India's major ports, covering a variety of cargoes including crude oil, petroleum products and agricultural commodities.Windspeeds can reach upto 90 km in Chennai and there could be some disruption in communication lines, say officials. Danger signals ranging from five to seven have been hoisted at Chennai, Ennore, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Puducherry ports.

Monday 29 October 2012

IRDA asks health insurers for indicative premiums for five years on new products

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked health insurance companies to indicate premium to be paid by the policyholder in the first five yearswhile filing new products for its approval.

Typhoon-triggered flooding leaves 70 boats missing on China-Vietnam border river

NANNING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Son-Tinh has brought strong wind and downpours to south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region since Sunday, sinking six boats and causing another 70 to go missing on a China-Vietnam border river, police said Tuesday.





No casualties have been reported so far, said a spokesman with the public security bureau of the city of Fangchenggang.

The typhoon caused a flood on the Beilun River, with 70 boats reported missing, six sunken and another one stranded in Vietnamese territory, the spokesman said.

The region's flood control and drought relief headquarters said heavy rains are still pounding the city of Dongxing. The headquarters has asked the local government to take precautionary measures to prevent mudslides or other disasters.

Typhoon Son-Tinh has killed one person and left another five missing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Monday.

It weakened to a strong tropical storm on Monday morning after sweeping across south China's Hainan province, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and north Vietnam, forcing the relocation of tens of thousands of residents.

Maritime authorities in Guangxi rescued 26 Vietnamese women and children who were trapped on their boats on the Beilun River on Monday morning.

Friday 26 October 2012

Apple: Innovative IPad Mini

Apple has unveiled its widely-anticipated 7.9in tablet, the iPad Mini. The iPad Mini will compete straight with cheaper similar-sized tablets lately launched by Google, Amazon, Samsung and others. The iPad Mini launch ends years of speculation that Apple was considering launching a new, smaller version of its bestselling iPad range.



During the presentation, Mr. Schiller stressed out the importance of being able to hold the device in one hand a nod to the more travel-friendly appeal of the slighter devices. However, Adam Leach, principal analyst at Ovum, said he had expected the iPad Mini to be more competitively priced. It forecast that Apple would hold a 68% share of the marketplace in 2012, compared to 29% for Android tablets.

Android application: leaks private facts

Research indicates Millions of people are using Android apps that can be tricked into enlightening personal data. Scientists tested 13,500 Android apps and establish almost 8% failed to protect bank account and social media logins. Google has yet to remark on the study and its findings. An invader could even re-direct a request to transfer funds, whereas making it look to the app user like the transaction was proceeding unmoved.




These apps unsuccessful to apply standard scrambling systems, allowing man-in-the-middle attacks to expose data that passes back and forth when devices communicate with websites. Most prominently, investigate is needed to study which counter-measures offer the right amalgamation of usability for developers and users, security benefits and economic incentives to be deployed on a large scale.

Thursday 25 October 2012

American Muslims overwhelmingly support Obama: Poll


 

American Muslims overwhelmingly support President Barack Obama in his re-election bid, according to a new poll. 

Sixty-eight per cent of the respondents said they will vote to re-elect Obama, while only seven per cent said they will vote for his Republican rival Mitt Romney, the poll released by Council on American-Islamic Relations. 

The poll, conducted by an independent research firm on behalf of the Washington-based CAIR, also indicates that 91 per cent of registered Muslim voters will go to the polls on November 6.
The random survey of 500 registered Muslim voters, conducted in the first two weeks of October, has a margin of error of five percent. 

The survey also indicated that 25 per cent of American Muslim registered voters are still undecided about whom to vote for in this November's presidential election. 

"These results indicate that a large percentage of American Muslim voters are still open to appeals from presidential candidates and that American Muslims are potentially in a position to decide this year's election," said CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad. 

According to the survey, the top five issues of importance to American Muslim voters are jobs and the economy, education, health care policy, Medicare and Social Security, and civil rights. 

As many as 55 per cent of Muslim voters consider themselves moderate and 26 per cent liberal, while 16 per cent consider themselves conservative, it said. 

The percentage of those who said they are closer to the Democratic Party grew from 49 per cent in a similar poll taken in 2008 to 66 per cent today.

Friday 19 October 2012

New York bomb plotter son of Bangladeshi banker

London: A Bangladeshi student who allegedly planned to blow up the US Federal Reserve is the son of a prominent banker who spent all his savings sending him to the US, the Daily Mail reported Thursday.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis travelled to the US in January after he reportedly talked his father, vice-president of a bank in Bangladesh, into financing his education in Missouri.

But he left after just one term and moved to New York City, claiming he hoped to transfer his studies - when in fact he began plotting how to "destroy America".

His family, from a middle-class neighbourhood of Dhaka, wept as they called the arrest "a racist conspiracy" and referred to Nafis as their "pride and joy", the Mail said.

He was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly tried to remotely detonate a fake 1,000-pound car bomb outside the building in lower Manhattan.

Quazi Mohammad Ahsanullah said his son, who he said was a devout Muslim, had asked him to finance his education in the US, telling him it was worth the money.

"I spent all my savings to send him to America," Ahsanullah told reporters from his home. He called on the Bangladesh government to intervene to get his son back.

Devices with next-generation screens: HTC and Sharp

HTC and Sharp have unveiled devices featuring next-generation screens. This offers 25-40% higher decree than comparable devices from Samsung, Apple, Nokia and LG. Sharp's new Aquos Pad tablet is the initial to use its new Igzo technology which promises sharper metaphors while using less power. Sharp suggests at least one of its consumers also intended to incorporate the modernization in its devices.



The Taiwanese firm is marketing both the size and resolution of its screen as being ideal to watch 1080p movies. Its size spaces it anywhere between a typical smart phone and tablet in a category some term a "phablet". Over the next fortnight Microsoft, Apple and Google have all planned major product launches. According to Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group Europe, Screen decree has become a differential point for many manufacturers.