UK unemployed numbers fall by 7,000

According to the latest data released, the total number of people without jobs in the UK fell by 7,000 between May and July.

The Office for National Statistics data showed that the number of unemployed stood at 2.59 million, which is about 8.1 per cent of the population. The data also showed that the number of people dependent on jobseeker's allowance fell by 15,000 to 1.57 million, recording its highest fall since June of 2010.

The average earnings increased by 1.5 per cent till July. However, the average earnings fell 0.3% on the previous month. The number of people employed in the country increased by 236,000 to 29.6 million. In London, the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance fell by a substantial 5,500, indicating that the London 2012 Games played a role in decreasing unemployment in the UK.

The data also showed that the number of part-time workers increased to its highest level since 1992 at 1.42 million. ONS revealed that the number of people employed in the public sector fell by 235,000 to 5.7 million and female unemployment rose by 3,000 during the quarter.

You may get call from Facebook if profile identity is suspect

Social networking giant Facebook is making a "huge effort" to weed out fake profiles to prevent misuse of such identities, a senior company official has said.

"Absolutely, there is a huge effort," Facebook India business manager Pavan Varma told PTI when asked about the company's action on this front.

If Facebook doubts the ownership of an account, it will ask the user to identify himself/herself, he said.

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The doubt about the authenticity of the account will arise if an account has a generic name instead of a proper name, uses images of celebrities/ cartoon characters as display pictures, or does not have "enough friends", Varma said.

"It could even be that Facebook comes back to you saying, `could you help us identify yourself if you don't have enough friends, because we don't want fake identities," he said.

"We are worried about the experience we deliver....It's not about protecting our brand identity so much," he said.

Recently there were reports of fake accounts being created by computer programs, which are used for inflating the number of "likes" on Facebook page for a brand.

Facebook had recently said it would be taking out fake "likes" generated by spammers, malware and black marketers.

Varma said advertisers must also shed the obsession with numbers. "How does an advertiser today treat a Facebook page? It is treated as a place where they just come with a number of people who are there. But that is a wrong way of doing it," he said, stressing that the conversations around the brand should assume importance rather than the numbers.

Mere "likes" on the page do not help a brand, he said. Companies generally pay Facebook for a dedicated page on its platform that helps them connect with the target audience.

IDBI Bank claims it has over five lakh fans on Facebook, Varma said, who was speaking to PTI on the sidelines of a banking summit.

He added that Facebook, as a medium, is completely secure and cited the case of ICICI Bank, which now offers basic services over the Facebook page by integrating its net banking platform with the social networking site.

The Top September 11 Conspiracy Theories

Numerous unfounded conspiracy theories about the September 11 attacks continue to circulate, especially on the Internet. Some of the most popular myths are:

1) The World Trade Center (WTC) twin towers were destroyed by controlled demolitions.

This is how the collapses may have appeared to non-experts, but demolition experts point out many differences:

•  Demolition professionals always blow the bottom floors of a structure first, but the WTC tower collapses began at the upper levels, where the planes hit the buildings.

•  Non-experts claim that debris seen blowing out of windows was evidence of explosive charges, but experts identify this as air and light office contents (paper, pulverized concrete, etc.) being forced out of windows as floors collapsed on each other.

•  Demolition firms had very sensitive seismographs operating at other sites in Manhattan on September 11. None recorded signs of any explosions prior to the tower collapses. Instead, seismic spikes were noted when debris began hitting the ground.

•  Cutting away walls, insulation, plumbing, and electrical conduits to place numerous charges on the towers’ structural columns in advance would not have gone unnoticed.

•  Clean-up crews found none of the telltale signs of controlled demolitions that would have existed if explosive charges had been used.

•  For more information, see ImplosionWorld’s article (PDF, 56 K) on the WTC collapses, the March 2005 Popular Mechanics, parts 4 and 5, “The Attack on the World Trade Center Towers,” and the video 9/11 Debunked: Controlled Demolition Not Possible.

2)  No plane hit the Pentagon on September 11. Instead, it was a missile fired by elements “from inside the American state apparatus.”

Conspiracy theorists making this claim ignore several facts:

•  The remains of the bodies of the crew and passengers of American Airlines flight 77 were found at the Pentagon crash site, and positively identified by DNA.

•  The flight’s black boxes were also recovered at the site.

•  Numerous eyewitnesses saw the plane strike the Pentagon. Some saw passengers through the plane’s windows. Missiles don’t have windows or carry passengers.

•  Numerous photographs show airplane debris at the crash site, as was also witnessed by survivors and rescue personnel. See sections 4:57 to 6:00 of the “911 Case Study: Pentagon Flight 77” video for pictures of airliner debris.

•  For more information, see “Did a Plane Hit the Pentagon?” and Popular Mechanics, part 6.

3)  United Airlines flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania, was shot down by a missile.

•  The cockpit voice recorder of this flight was recovered and showed that the passenger revolt caused the hijackers to deliberately crash the plane. The hijackers controlled the plane until its impact. See full transcript.

•  The U.S. military did not learn that flight 93 had been hijacked until several minutes after it crashed, as tapes released in 2006 demonstrate.

•  The military never gave interceptor pilots authorization to shoot down United flight 93. See an article on the tapes.

•  Listen to the 45-second message to her husband left by flight attendant CeeCee Lyles on her home answering machine.

The Pentagon attack site on September 14, 2001. (© AP Images)

4)  World Trade Center building 7 was destroyed by a controlled demolition.

•  This allegation was fueled by a comment by the WTC owner that, after WTC 7 was judged to be unstable, he recommended pulling a group of firefighters out of the building, using the phrase “pull it” in reference to the contingent of firefighters.

•  Conspiracy theorists have interpreted the “pull it” remark as slang for demolishing the building with explosives. But demolition experts say “pulling” a building means attaching long cables to a weakened structure and literally pulling it down with bulldozers and other powerful machinery — not using explosives.

•  The audio tracks of video recordings of the WTC collapse showed no evidence of the extremely loud sounds that would have indicated the use of explosives. Also, seismographs recorded no telltale spikes or anomalies.

•  An exhaustive three-year investigation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded that fires caused by the collapse of the nearby WTC north tower caused fires that burned out of control in WTC 7. These fires caused steel beams to expand and buckle, leading to the collapse of the building.

5)  The planes that hit the World Trade Center towers were remotely controlled.

•  Boeing, which manufactured the planes that struck the towers, stated that all its commercial jet transports are configured so that they cannot be controlled from anywhere except the flight deck of the aircraft.

•  Passengers onboard the flights made several phone calls. All reported that hijackers had commandeered the planes.

•  For more information, see “The Attack on the World Trade Center Towers.”

6)  Insider trading in the stocks of United Airlines and American Airlines just before September 11 is evidence of advance knowledge of the plot.

•  The 9/11 Commission investigated this issue in detail, concluding, “Some unusual trading did in fact occur, but each such trade proved to have an innocuous explanation.”

•  For example, it stated, “much of the seemingly suspicious trading in American [Airlines stock] on September 10 was traced to a specific U.S.-based options trading newsletter, faxed to its subscribers on Sunday, September 9, which recommended these trades.”

•  For other examples, see The 9/11 Commission Report, “Notes” section, page 499, footnote 130.

7)  Four thousand Jews failed to show up for work at the World Trade Center on September 11.

•  It appears from media reports that some 10 percent to 15 percent of WTC victims were Jewish, indicating there were no mass absences.

•  The “4,000” figure apparently came from an early statement by the Israeli Foreign Ministry that some “4,000 Israelis” were believed to be in the New York and Washington areas, where the attacks occurred. This figure was apparently seized upon by conspiracy theorists, in an attempt to bolster the false rumor.

•  For more information, see “The 4,000 Jews Rumor.”

8)  Al Qaida is not responsible for the September 11 attacks.

•  Al Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden, have repeatedly confirmed that they planned and carried out the September 11 attacks.

•  In an audiotape released on May 23, 2006, bin Laden stated, “I was responsible for entrusting the 19 brothers … with those raids..”

•  In a November 2001 tape, bin Laden said, “We calculated in advance the number of casualties … who would be killed. … I was the most optimistic of them all. … Due to my experience in this field, I was thinking that the fire from the gas in the plane would melt the iron structure of the building and collapse the area where the plane hit and all the floors above it only.”

•  For more information, see “Al Qaida Confirms It Carried Out the September 11 Attacks.”

Out of the depths of sorrow and sacrifice will be born again the glory of mankind.

Isro's 100th mission: PSLV-C21 puts 2 foreign satellites in orbit

The Indian space odyssey crossed a historic landmark on Sunday when a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C21) put in orbit two foreign satellites.

It marked the 100th space mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) which started the journey in 1975 with the launch of its first satellite 'Aryabhata.'

Among those who watched the majestic rocket lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, 100km north of Chennai, was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

At the end of a 51-hour countdown that started on Friday, PSLV-C21 lifted off at 9.53am. After 17 minutes and 49 seconds, it injected the first satellite, the French SPOT-6, into orbit. Soon, the second satellite, the Japenese Proiteres was put in orbit. There were, however, some anxious moments when the trajectory on the giant screens at the mission control room showed the rocket's blip deviate slightly midflight, which appeared to have been corrected later.

Scientists cheered and shook hands as the mission was pronounced a success and the Prime Minister congratulated the scientists. "India is justly proud of its space scientists who have overcome many odds to develop our own technology for space missions," he said.

It was PSLV's 21st consecutively successful flight. PSLV-C21 is India's 38th satellite launch vehicle to lift off from Sriharikota. It has so far put in orbit 62 Indian satellites. The two numbers add up the century that Isro celebrated on Sunday.

Besides buttressing its technological mastery, Isro, with its latest launch, has cemented its place in among the space-faring nations as a sought-after commercial launcher. Isro's commercial arm Antrix Corporation has received several requests from foreign countries to launch their satellites for a price.

Russia rebuffs Clinton on Syria, Iran penalties

Vladivostok: Russia today soundly rejected US calls for increased pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to relinquish power.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to prod Moscow into supporting UN action to end the crisis in Syria and she expressed hope that Congress would repeal Cold War-era trade restrictions on Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, after meeting Clinton on the sidelines of a meeting of Pacific Rim leaders, told reporters that Moscow is opposed to US-backed penalties against the Assad government, in addition to new ones against Iran over its nuclear program, because they harm Russian commercial interests.

"Our American partners have a prevailing tendency to threaten and increase pressure, adopt ever more sanctions against Syria and against Iran," Lavrov said. "Russia is fundamentally against this, since for resolving problems you have to engage the countries you are having issues with and not isolate them."

"Unilateral US sanctions against Syria and Iran increasingly take on an extraterritorial character, directly affecting the interests of Russian business, in particular banks," he said. "We clearly stated that this was unacceptable, and they listened to us. What the result will be, I don't know."

Clinton, who also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Vladivostok, had urged Moscow to reconsider its opposition to the penalties, particularly against Syria in order to convince Assad that he should agree to a political transition, according to a senior US official.

Clinton told her Russian counterpart that the Security Council needed to do more to send "a strong message" to Assad, given the escalating level of violence in Syria, said the official, who was present during the meeting. Clinton made clear to Lavrov that the Security Council risks "abrogating its responsibility" if it fails to act.

ISRO's 100th mission ready to take off, Prime Minister to witness event

Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is on the verge of a historic century as it gears up for its 100th indigenous mission today. The space agency's old warhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), will blast off into space with two foreign satellites from the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to witness the landmark event as the PSLV is scheduled to take off at 9:51am.

"Reaching a hundred is an important milestone like in cricket, but this ISRO's century is unique as each mission is unique...there have been failures and successes but overall, the future is very bright," K Kasturirangan, former chief and a member of ISRO, said.

During the 51-hour countdown that began at 6:51 am on September 7, mandatory checks on the launch vehicle and spacecraft would be carried out and charging of batteries and pressurisation of propellant tanks on board the satellite would be performed, ISRO had said.

As part of the mission, 720-kg SPOT-6 remote sensing satellite from France (built by ASTRIUM SAS) and a 15-kg Japanese spacecraft PROITERES would be placed in orbit by ISRO's PSLV C-21. The launch of the foreign satellites is also indicative of the rapid strides made by ISRO in furthering the nation's space programme - today's launch, a purely commercial one, has firmly placed the country in a select club of rocket-makers on which private utilities can bank upon to launch their operational satellites in a cost-effective and reliable manner.

"In this 100th launch, there is a reversal of roles where an Indian launcher is carrying a French satellite," Francois Richier, French Ambassador to India, said on the major milestone. 

India, indeed, has come a long way since it launched its first satellite, Aryabhatta, in 1975. So far, the government has spent around $12 billion on ISRO, a miniscule amount compared to the US' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which has an annual budget of $17 billion. Despite that, the space agency has, to its credit, some major achievements.

So far, ISRO has launched 63 Indian-made satellites and 36 indigenous rockets. The country's first unmanned moon mission in October 2008, Chandrayaan-1, was a huge success. The space agency has also pioneered satellite television in the country and also catalysed the telecom boom.

But the successes have also been interrupted by some massive failures. ISRO has failed to master big rocket launches what with several mid-air rocket explosions. More recently, the controversial Antrix-Devas deal involving commercial satellites have clouded the agency. It has also been unable to meet the demands for more transponders for satellite television.

Aakash 2: Challenging to make a quality tablet @ Rs 2276

Chinese PC maker Lenovo on Wednesday said it may look at the proposition of a participation in India's Aakash tabletproject, though it would be difficult to produce a tablet with a great user experience at the proposed price of Rs 2276 ($41).

"We are aware of the project and looking at that proposition. We don't disclose about tenders we are participating. In my personal view, it's very challenging to produce a tablet at that price, which can carry a great customer experience," said Keith Liu, Business Development Director for Mobile Internet Digital Home division at Lenovo across Asia Pacific & Latin America regions.

Liu heads the tablet business for Lenovo, second largest tablet player in China after Samsung. "As a person who studies the tablet market closely, I can say that the bill of materials will be high if you want to produce a quality tablet. At that (proposed) price, you may have to make the tablet limited in certain ways and functions," Liu said.

India's Aakash tablet project is envisaged by its Ministry of Human Resource and Development. It plans to distribute about a million tablets in colleges in the coming years, at a procurement price per tablet of Rs 2276 ($41). It has awarded a contract for 100,000 tablets to UK'sDatawind, which is under testing phase at IITs since a year.

The limitations on price has made many large tablet players such as Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and HCL to not participate in the past tablet tender. The world's tablet market is expected to cross about 45 million tablets this year. India is expected to sell about 1.5 million tablets in 2012.

"Besides cost, repair of a tablet currently is a large percentage of the actual price. Servicing the tablets can cause the margins to easily dip into negative territory," he added. The Aakash project being run under India's National Mission for Education through ICT, mandates the contracted party to also handle the service and support for the tablets.

"We are instead bringing out tablets with all the features which we think will be great for the user at retail and corporate levels," Liu said. Lenovo became the largest PC seller in India last quarter beating leader Dell. The firm will launch its ThinkPad 2 tablet next month on Windows 8 Pro, expected to be priced upwards of Rs 10,000 depending upon memory size and OS version.

Lenovo is setting up its global tablet manufacturing facility at Wuhan in China.

India is however insisting on a made (or assembled) in India stamp for its cheapest tablet project. IIT Bombay is currently testing the Aakash tablets which are assembled in Hyderabad. The IIT has proposed to upgrade the tablet features to 1GHz processor, from the current 800 MHz processor. It has also proposed to upgrade the operating system from Android 2.2 to Android 4.0 for the same price of Rs 2276.

Taiwan to step up cyberwar capabilities: Report

Taiwan plans to beef up its cyberwar capabilities to counter a perceived threat from Chinese hackers targeting government and security websites, local media reported Sunday. 

Taiwan will expand its cyberwar units next year while scaling back military spending due to budget constraints, the Taipei-based Liberty Times reported, citing a 2013 budget plan submitted by the National Security Bureauto parliament for approval. 

In the six months to June, hackers launched more than one million attacks on the bureau's website, making it one of the most heavily targeted government sites, the paper said. 

"All the attacks were detected and blocked, and no hackers have ever broken into the bureau's official website," the paper said, without specifying the number of attacks from China. 

But in a report also sent to parliament for reference on Beijing's continued military buildup, the bureau highlighted the perceived cyberwar threat from China, the paper said. 

"China's cyberwar capabilities were organised by the military and government units, using Internet viruses to attack Taiwan's government, economic and military websites," it cited the military report as saying. 

Taiwanese government websites have frequently come under cyberattack from China, usually during disputes between the two sides. 

Ties have improved markedly since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008 on a platform of ramping up trade and tourism links with the mainland. Ma was reelected in January for a second and the last four-year term. 

China still considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the island has ruled itself for more than 60 years after their split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. 

China‘s biggest search engine Baidu enters mobile browser fight

China's dominant search engine Baidu Inc rolled out a mobile browser on Monday to help secure its share in a mobile Internet market that surpasses the US population in size and to fend off smaller rivals such as Qihoo 360 Technology Co.

In China, the number of users who access the Internet from mobile phones has risen to 388 million, according to a government report in July, outstripping the number of users who access it from a desktop computer for the first time.

The Baidu Mobile Browser, which will compete with UCWeb Inc's UC Browser, Google Inc's Chrome and default Android browser, and Apple Inc's Safari, is about 20 per cent faster than its rivals based on internal tests, Li Mingyuan, Baidu's general manager of mobile and cloud computing, told reporters on Friday at a pre-launch briefing.

Baidu's mobile browser also allows users to access a plethora of web-based mobile applications (apps) and run high-definition video through the browser without having to download apps or supporting software.

The browser, together with Baidu's other mobile products such as its mobile operating system and cheap smartphones launched with partners, forms the core of what Baidu hopes will eventually become a source of revenue.

"Monetizing mobile is hugely important for Baidu," said Michael Clendenin, managing director of RedTech Advisors, who added that the drive to monetize would be a medium-term concern for Baidu as its advertising clients still need to create mobile-friendly websites.

The shift to mobile could pose problems for Baidu if it can't find a way to make money from search traffic. Baidu currently makes the bulk of its revenue from users searching from laptops and desktops.

Baidu's goal is for 80 per cent of China's Android handsets to have downloaded the Baidu Mobile Browser by the end of 2012, Li said.

The Baidu Mobile Browser also comes as Baidu is fending off threats on its home turf. Anti-virus software firm Qihoo 360 Technology's entry last month into search caused Baidu's shares to tumble 17 per cent to date.

Baidu is also moving into cloud computing, a term used to describe data storage or processing on the Web.

Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Li said on Monday the firm will invest more than 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) to set up its cloud computing centre. 

America's recovery Good news, but is it good enough?

AMERICAN employment put in a respectable performance in July. Non-farm payrolls rose 117,000, or 0.1%, and the unemployment rate edged lower to 9.1% from 9.2%, both better, but not dramatically so, than Wall Street had expected. Any other time this would have been cause for mild satisfaction. In these grim times, it constitutes a massive relief bordering on joy. Economic data in recent months, including a stunningly weak job performance in June, had suggested the odds America could fall back into recession were rising, and were perhaps as high as 50%

.

The jobs report is consistent not with renewed recession but the orthodox view that the American economy hit a bump in the spring thanks to several unexpected blows, most importantly a rise in petrol prices and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, which interrupted global manufacturing supply chains. As those restraints have lifted, activity has improved slightly.

The guts of the report support this story. Manufacturing employment rose 24,000 in July, the best in three months, and retail employment gained 26,000. Private payrolls grew a decent 154,000. Government continued to be a drag with total payrolls down 37,000. Even that, however, overstates the bad news. The Bureau of Labour Statistics reports that state employment fell 23,000 almost entirely because of a state-government shutdown in Minnesota which has since been resolved. Other good news: May and June, it turns out, weren't as bad as previously reported. Job gains in both were revised up, by a total of 56,000. Hourly earnings also jumped 0.4%, lifting the 12-month increase to 2.3%, the best since 2009. This suggests solid gains in personal income which should support consumer spending in coming months.

Given that positive glow, the market reaction is, to say the least, anticlimactic. After a brief rally, American stocks are now once again hovering around negative territory, and bond yields have risen only slightly from the fear-induced lows hit during Thursday's global equity rout. Why? Well, the employment report is hardly a sign of an economy in ruddy health. Neither average weekly hours or the number of temporary employees rose; both are indicators of future labour demand. The decline in unemployment was due to a contraction in the total number of people looking for work. The number of employed actually fell. Indeed, the share of the working-age population that is now employed fell to 58.1%, the lowest level since 1983. (These figures are drawn from the smaller household survey that is separate from the payroll survey.) The economy may not be falling back into recession but neither does is appear to be growing at the 3% economists hoped to see in the second half of the year.

More important, perhaps, is that there is much more on the markets' minds than just the latest data. There is a global flight from risk underway, fueled in great part by perceptions that the risks to the world economy have grown and policymakers are either unable or unwilling to respond adequately. The European Central Bank's apparent resumption of purchases of Portuguese and Irish bonds seems woefully inadequate when the much larger and more important debts of Spain and Italy are under attack. The fact that German Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann apparently opposes even this modest step militates against the ECB using its balance sheet more aggressively in order to contain the contagion.

In America, all eyes are now on the Federal Reserve's meeting next Tuesday, August 9th. After June's meeting Ben Bernanke, the chairman, appeared to set the bar quite high for a third round of quantitative easing (QE)—the buying of bonds with newly created money. Mr Bernanke cited the still firm level of overall inflation and the Fed's forecast that the slowdown in the economy was temporary. Today's report was positive enough to spare the Fed the need to act, or even conspicuously signal action, next Tuesday. But given the other crummy data and the meltdown in markets it will have to tone down its confidence in a second-half rebound and implicitly raise the odds of action. The most astute Fed watchers I know now expect QE3; just not yet.

As for fiscal policy, the best thing that can be said is this: just as a similar rout following Congress' initial rejection of TARP in 2008 paved the way for a more activist political response, one can hope that this week's market plunge will embolden adults in Congress to stare down their more extreme colleagues and get something positive done. Agreements to move on three stalled free-trade agreements in September and reopen the Federal Aviation Authority, at least for a few more months, are ever so faint positive signs in this regard.

Economic cycles are, above all, psychological things. The economy is growing, but slowly enough that a few more pieces of bad news could push it into negative territory. As our cover leader this week warns, the self-reinforcing loss of confidence produced by this week's action in politics and markets could still do just that.

Gold and silver reach new heights

Precious metals gold and silver reached new heights on Tuesday as investors continued piling into these metals with an aim to hedge against potential inflation risks.

Spot gold jumped to $1,696.91 an ounce, the highest level the yellow metal hit since mid-March. Though, it then eased slightly to $1,695.46 per ounce.

The U. S. gold jumped 0.6 per cent to $1,698.20 per ounce. Asia's physical market witnessed some scrap selling of the yellow metal as prices reached a level of $1,700 per ounce.

Gold in India climbed to its all time high on Friday. Following the international market rally on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech, gold for October delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange was trading 1.20 per cent higher at 31,342 rupees per 10 grams, after hitting a high of 30,405 rupees earlier in the day.

Speaking about soaring prices of gold, a Singapore-based dealer said, “People think prices will possibly keep rising and are quite cautious on selling at this point.”

The U. S. silver futures contract climbed as much as 3 per cent to hit four-&-a-half month high of $32.38 an ounce. However, later it eased faintly to $32.27 an ounce.

Over the past two weeks, silver has jumped nearly 10 per cent, while gold has climbed 4 per cent, despite gloomy growth outlook for the global economy. Silver is known for more price volatility than gold. Silver is more price volatility due to the relatively small size of the market plus limited liquidity.

Radical bi-directional flying wing design gets NASA funding

A team that has created a supersonic jet design resembling a flying shuriken has been awarded a US$100, 000 grant from NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program to continue development of the aircraft. Aside from looking suitably futuristic, the concept plane’s four-pointed star design serves a practical purpose. By rotating in mid air, the plane can transition between broad-wing subsonic and shorter wingspan supersonic configurations.

Aircraft design is usually a compromise between subsonic and supersonic performance. At low speeds, broad wings provide more lift and help minimize takeoff distance, while swept back wings with a smaller profile enhance performance at high speeds. Variable-sweep wing (or swing wing) aircraft, such as the F-14 Tomcat and B-1 Lancer, get around this with wings that are spread broadly at takeoff and low speeds and can be swept back while in flight for improved performance at high speeds.

The supersonic bi-directional flying wing (SBiDir-FW) aircraft tackles the problem in a different way. It would take off in one orientation with broader wings, before rotating 90 degrees in flight to transition to high-speed mode with a shorter wing span.

“No matter how fast a supersonic plane can fly, it needs to take off and land at very low speed, which severely hurts the high-speed supersonic performance for a conventional airplane,” said Ge-Chen Zha, a professor in the University of Miami’s College of Engineering and principal investigator of the project. “The SBiDir-FW removes this performance conflict by rotating the airplane to fly in two different directions at subsonic and supersonic. Such rotation enables the SBiDir-FW to achieve superior performance at both supersonic and subsonic speeds.”

While conventional commercial aircraft consist of a tube-shaped fuselage attached to two wings that responsible for generating lift, as a flying wing, the entire surface of the SBiDir-FW is used to generate lift. Passengers and cargo would be contained within the wide span, thick, rounded airfoil used at low speeds, while the high-speed wing would have a shorter span and a thin-sharp-edged airfoil to reduce drag at supersonic speed.

The aircraft would rotate into supersonic configuration by folding winglets attached to the end of the wings in subsonic configuration. Folding them up again would see the aircraft rotate back again to subsonic orientation once again. The engine pod on the back of the aircraft would also be rotated when switching modes.

Zha hopes his SBiDir-FW will produce no sonic boom, have low supersonic wave drag, and low fuel consumption. A preliminary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation for a SBiDir-FW business jet indicates that at speeds of Mach 1.6 to 2.0, there is no sonic boom.

“I am hoping to develop an environmentally friendly and economically viable airplane for supersonic civil transport in the next 20 to 30 years,” said Zha. “Imagine flying from New York to Tokyo in four hours instead of 15 hours.”

The $100,000 NIAC grant is intended to help the research team refine the aircraft design using CFD, examine the feasibility of the design, and conduct wind tunnel testing to verify the aircraft’s performance at supersonic speeds and its sonic boom signature. If all goes well, the team will be eligible for an addition $500,000 to continue development of the aircraft.

NASA’s WISE mission reports discovery of “millions” of black holes

US space agency NASA made an announcement about some of the results of its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission, under which "millions" of likely super-massive black holes in space have been uncovered.

The WISE mission - involving the infrared space telescope which was launched to low-Earth orbit in late 2009 - has thus far obtained at least five images covering nearly 95 percent of the sky at four infrared wavelengths.
Along with reporting the discovery of millions of black holes, the mission has also found nearly 1,000 dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs), which have extremely high-temperatures, and have been labeled by NASA as "hot DOGs."
According to the information shared by NASA, the mammoth black holes identified by the WISE telescope could probably be examples, in the early universe, of the colossal black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. With galaxies and black holes being fairly young in the early universe, the super-massive black holes apparently provided the power source for the highly luminous objects called `quasars.'
Revealing that the WISE mission has discovered "a bonanza of black holes in the universe," astronomer Daniel Stern - of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California - said during an August 29 news briefing that the telescope can now identify numerous hidden quasars in the universe," and added: "We think these quasars are really important for shaping how galaxies look today."

Oil Prices Skyrocket in London

It has been uncovered in a new report that oil prices have risen significantly on Tuesday, when a few minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve were being expected on Wednesday with lowered interest rates by the central bank.

However, low rates of interest, as per the findings, are good when it comes to prices of oil. Since, investors are saved from both ways, including safe haven investments such as Treasurys as well as from commodities and oil i. e. riskier assets.

But, it has been found that the prices have instead been increased from $78 in late June to some $96 per barrel now-a-days. The report says that the midday trading in London with the electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange has seen just a 4 cents drop from $96.68 on Monday.

Besides, Brent crude in London has augmented up to $114.48 per barrel. Brent Crude is meant for pricing international varieties of oil. It is being said that investors would from now on be seeking and checking completely new information on U. S. stockpiles of refined and crude products.

President Obama along with UK Prime Minister David Cameron has thus said, "If oil prices rise high enough that they will authorize a release of oil from their strategic reserves".

Samsung launches ‘world’s thinnest’ notebook at Rs 1 lac

Samsung has launched its second-generation Series 9 notebook in India. The company claims that the device, which has a 13-inch screen, boasts the world's thinnest and most compact notebook chassis.

The laptop features Samsung's MaxScreen technology, which minimizes the bezel size while maximizing the screen size by an extra inch. It weighs just 1.16kg — 28% smaller than its predecessor. The laptop is powered by a third-generation (Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i7 processor. It has 256GB solid state drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics chip and a 1.3-megapixel web camera. The laptop is priced at Rs 1,02,990.

"The Series 9 notebook embodies the originality and heritage of its predecessor while eliminating unnecessary factors. The refined aerodynamic design of the new Series 9 represents the best of Samsung's design with top performance and functionality," said Ranjit Yadav, country head for Samsung's mobile and IT division.

Samsung claimed that Series 9 is result of 9,000 hours of design work and 24,000 hours of R&D by the company's engineers.

Samsung also launched Notebook Series 5 550P and Series 3 350 on Friday. The model with 15-inches screen in the series 550P weighs just 2.5 kg and is priced at Rs 62,990. It comes with Intel's 3rd generation quad core, a dedicated graphics card from Nvidia, Blu-Ray drive and up to 2TB hard disk. The Series 3 350 notebook is priced at Rs 48,490.

New camo face paint protects soldiers against bomb blasts

For millennia, face paint has helped soldiers avoid being seen by enemy forces. This Wednesday, however, a team of scientists from the University of Southern Mississippi announced that a new type of face paint may soon also be able to protect against the heat of bomb blasts and other explosions. Additionally, a clear version of the paint could be used by civilian firefighters.

The team created the material at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense, which was looking for an unobtrusive way of protecting soldiers’ exposed skin from the thermal blasts created by weapons such as roadside bombs.

It was definitely a challenge, as the scientists weren’t able to use traditional hydrocarbon-based makeup ingredients, as they are flammable when exposed to intense heat. Instead, they used silicones, as the wavelengths at which they absorb radiation are outside of the intense heat spectrum.

Making things more difficult was the fact that the paint did have to include DEET, the flammable insect repellant – the U.S. military stipulates that all camouflage makeup it uses must be composed of at least 35 percent DEET. In this case, the researchers got around the problem by encapsulating the DEET within a hydrogel, to keep it from igniting.

When tested in a lab setting, a layer of the paint that was thinner than a sheet of paper was found to be very effective. It was able to reflect intense heat, similar to that created by a bomb blast, for up to 15 seconds. At that point, its temperature rose to a point at which its wearer might experience first-degree burns. As a point of reference, thermal blasts from explosives typically only last for about two seconds.

In some situations, the paint was even found to provide protection for up to 60 seconds. This could allow soldiers time to move away from fires, or let firefighters work with greater safety.

Along with its heat-reflecting and insect-repelling qualities, the paint can also be made in colors for day and night use, it’s non-irritating, easy to apply and remove, and waterproof. The team are now looking into its application on items such as clothing and tents.

Gujarat Solar Park the largest solar park in the world.

Gujarat Solar Park the largest solar park in the world.
It’s the biggest solar farm in the world, covering 2,000 ha of northern Gujarat, India, and it has the capacity to generate 600MW of power. Gujarat Solar Park is estimated to save 8m tonnes of CO2 emissions every year. ♥

This solar panel laid on the vast stretches of agricultural channels in Gujarat generates 1 MW of electricity per KM & prevents evaporation of 1 crore liters of water every year !!...  

‘Samsung to launch Android-powered camera during IFA‘

Samsung is likely to launch an Android-powered smart-camera during the IFA in Berlin, Germany, according to an online report. The purported point-and-shoot Samsung Galaxy S Camera will have a 4.8-inch touchscreen, just like the Samsung Galaxy S III, and a 16MP sensor, whose size is not known as of now, says the report on GSMArena. 


According to the website, the camera is said to be twice as thick as the Galaxy S III and will run on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Reported to be launched in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+3G variants, the device will feature 10x zoom and pop-out Xenon flash. The connectivity options reported to be for data only and the device will not support calls. 

The manufacturer is showing the smart-camera to various carriers. There is no indication of the pricing and availability of the model till now. 

Previously, Samsung has broken cover of several unique products at the IFA, such as its first-ever tablet Galaxy Tab, its very-first Amoled tablet Galaxy Tab 7.7 and its popular phablet Samsung Note. 

Japanese electronics major Nikon recently launched an Android-powered camera in the market called Coolpix S800c.  

TCS among 50 Most Engaged Workplaces in US

India's no. 1 IT companyTata Consultancy Services has been recognized as one of the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces in the United States. The annual award recognizes top employers that display leadership and innovation towards engaging their employees. 

The Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces award is judged by a panel of judges that evaluate each applicant based on the eight elements of employee engagement: communication, leadership, culture, rewards & recognition, professional & personal growth, accountability & performance, vision & values and corporate social responsibility. 

"The Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces understand these practices are not only good for employees but also the bottom line. Companies that focus on employee engagement tend to perform better financially, attract and retain the best talent and enjoy improved customer service and client retention," said Razor Suleman, founder and chairman of Achievers. "These companies serve as role models for other businesses to engage their own employees and build success." 

This year, the panel of judges included Bruce Bolger, managing director of enterprise engagement alliance; Stacia Garr, principal analyst of Bersin & Associates; Debbie McGrath, founder and chief instigator of HR.com and Razor Suleman, founder and chairman of Achievers. 

"We are truly honored to receive the prestigious distinction as one of the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces in the United States," said Surya Kant, president, TCS North America, UK and Europe. "At TCS, our people are indeed our most valuable asset and the driving force behind the innovative products and solutions that we deliver to our customers, both in the US and around the world. We will continue our dedication to recruiting, retaining and inspiring the very best talent in the industry to ensure TCS' success in the future." 

WhatsApp: 10 billion messages exchanged in a day

WhatsApp, the popular messaging app for various smartphones, has achieved a new record with a total ten billion messages sent and received in one day. 

People behind the app disclosed the news this week on Twitter. 

"New daily record: 4B inbound, 6B outbound = 10b total messages a day!"," its creators tweeted.

WhatsApp, which is called 'text message killer' offers different features such as the ability to share photos, videos and audio notes, The Telegraph reports. 

People download the app, scan their address book to see which friends are already signed up and invite others to join WhatsApp via a message sent through the service. 

According to a report by The Next Web, the American company says it is not an " SMS killer". 

Instead it refers to itself as a "drug to get people hooked on data plans".