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Friday, May 1, 2015
R&B Legend Ben E King Dies at 76
Ben E King, the R&B and soul singer best known for Stand By Me, whose honeyed vocal tones helped first popularise the genres with mass pop audiences, has died aged 76.
King, who first found celebrity in his early 20s with the Drifters, died on Thursday, his publicist, Phil Brown, told the Associated Press, saying only that the death was from natural causes.
While he enjoyed long if sometimes intermittent success, with other big hits including There Goes My Baby and Spanish Harlem, King remains most closely associated with Stand By Me, a simple and plaintive number the singer co-wrote with the famed production and songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
It made No 4 in the US charts on its release in 1961, and No 1 in the UK in 1987 when it was featured on the Rob Reiner coming-of-age film of the same name, starring River Phoenix, as well as a Levi’s jeans commercial. Overall, the song has charted nine times in the US Billboard 100, seven of them covers by artists including John Lennon.
In March 2015 the Library of Congress inducted King's original version into the National Recording Registry, saying "it was King's incandescent vocal that made it a classic."
King shared songwriting credits on "Stand By Me" with Elmo Glick, a collective pseudonym for the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who produced the recording session. The Library of Congress also praised the song as "anchored by perhaps the best known bassline in recording history" and for its "soaring string arrangement."
King, who first found celebrity in his early 20s with the Drifters, died on Thursday, his publicist, Phil Brown, told the Associated Press, saying only that the death was from natural causes.
While he enjoyed long if sometimes intermittent success, with other big hits including There Goes My Baby and Spanish Harlem, King remains most closely associated with Stand By Me, a simple and plaintive number the singer co-wrote with the famed production and songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
It made No 4 in the US charts on its release in 1961, and No 1 in the UK in 1987 when it was featured on the Rob Reiner coming-of-age film of the same name, starring River Phoenix, as well as a Levi’s jeans commercial. Overall, the song has charted nine times in the US Billboard 100, seven of them covers by artists including John Lennon.
In March 2015 the Library of Congress inducted King's original version into the National Recording Registry, saying "it was King's incandescent vocal that made it a classic."
King shared songwriting credits on "Stand By Me" with Elmo Glick, a collective pseudonym for the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who produced the recording session. The Library of Congress also praised the song as "anchored by perhaps the best known bassline in recording history" and for its "soaring string arrangement."
India's Swift Response in Earthquake-hit Nepal Stumps China
Even as Nepal struggles to come to terms with its worst earthquake disaster in over eight decades, rescuers from around the world are scrambling to locate survivors and bring succour to the needy. Humanitarian efforts have poured in from all parts of the world, from the day the disaster struck the Himalayan nation, killing over 6,200 people. The rescue operations have also pitted two arch-rivals India and China who have sent their teams to the ravaged nation.
Although Chinese military apparatus is considered to be much more advanced, it is the Indian armed forces which are being lauded for their commendable efforts in carrying out relief and rescue work in a nation that is struggling to come to terms with the massive devastation.
India's swift action and its military's massive operation to evacuate thousands of Indians and foreign nationals from quake-hit Nepal has put China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) on the defensive with questions being raised as to why its efforts to rescue stranded Chinese nationals did not match that of India. The Chinese media has raised questioned why air force planes were not deployed to airlift over 8,000 Chinese many of who are still stranded in Nepal.
In a rare comparison of India's military with the PLA, the world's largest, Chinese defence spokesman Geng Yansheng was confronted with the question at a briefing as to why the military did not use planes to airlift stranded Chinese when India had done so to ferry its nationals.
There is considerable annoyance in China over the slow process of airlifting of Chinese tourists as well as workers employed in various Beijing-funded projects in Nepal as the task was given to a number of civilian airlines. There were also reports of some of the airline companies demanding heavy fare which was subsequently denied.
Besides airlifting thousands of its citizens, the Indian Air Force also transported about 170 foreign nationals from 15 countries to India. Several others were also transported through special buses from across the border to Bihar.
Defending the move to use civilian aircraft, Geng said "Whether to use military aircraft to transport people from a disaster area this is to be decided by various factors". He said after the earthquake, the Chinese government had organised a number of civilian commercial flights to evacuate Chinese citizens stranded in Nepal.
India's quick response to send search and rescue teams besides relief supplies has been reported by sections of the Chinese media while China too dispatched rescue teams and planes with supplies by which time the Indian presence on the ground had swelled.
Although Chinese military apparatus is considered to be much more advanced, it is the Indian armed forces which are being lauded for their commendable efforts in carrying out relief and rescue work in a nation that is struggling to come to terms with the massive devastation.
India's swift action and its military's massive operation to evacuate thousands of Indians and foreign nationals from quake-hit Nepal has put China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) on the defensive with questions being raised as to why its efforts to rescue stranded Chinese nationals did not match that of India. The Chinese media has raised questioned why air force planes were not deployed to airlift over 8,000 Chinese many of who are still stranded in Nepal.
In a rare comparison of India's military with the PLA, the world's largest, Chinese defence spokesman Geng Yansheng was confronted with the question at a briefing as to why the military did not use planes to airlift stranded Chinese when India had done so to ferry its nationals.
There is considerable annoyance in China over the slow process of airlifting of Chinese tourists as well as workers employed in various Beijing-funded projects in Nepal as the task was given to a number of civilian airlines. There were also reports of some of the airline companies demanding heavy fare which was subsequently denied.
Besides airlifting thousands of its citizens, the Indian Air Force also transported about 170 foreign nationals from 15 countries to India. Several others were also transported through special buses from across the border to Bihar.
Defending the move to use civilian aircraft, Geng said "Whether to use military aircraft to transport people from a disaster area this is to be decided by various factors". He said after the earthquake, the Chinese government had organised a number of civilian commercial flights to evacuate Chinese citizens stranded in Nepal.
India's quick response to send search and rescue teams besides relief supplies has been reported by sections of the Chinese media while China too dispatched rescue teams and planes with supplies by which time the Indian presence on the ground had swelled.
Tesla Unveils Suite of Batteries for Homes, Businesses
Tesla Motors Inc unveiled Tesla Energy - a suite of batteries for homes, businesses and utilities - a highly-anticipated plan to expand its business beyond electric vehicles.
Tesla introduced its home battery, named Powerwall, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery to store energy at residential level for load shifting, backup power and self-consumption of solar power generation.
"Our goal is to fundamentally change the way the world uses energy on an extreme scale. The goal is complete transformation of the energy infrastructure of the world," Chief Executive Elon Musk told media at Tesla's design studio at Hawthorne, California on Thursday.
When asked whether Tesla would consider changing its name to Tesla Energy, Musk would only say that the company now had two Web addresses: teslamotors.com and teslaenergy.com
Selling price for Powerwall to installers is $3,500 for 10kwh and $3,000 for 7kwh, which excludes inverter and installation prices.
Musk said Tesla's lead installation partner for home battery will be SolarCity Corp, but there will be many others.
Tesla expects to have low but growing gross margin in battery products in the fourth quarter and battery products to be materially profitable probably some time next year.
Deutsche Bank estimates sales of stationary battery storage systems for homes and commercial uses could yield as much as $4.5 billion in revenue for Tesla. Analysts expect Tesla will build stationary storage systems around the same basic batteries it will produce for its vehicles at a large factory the company is building in Nevada.
Stationary storage systems could be part of a fossil-fuel-free lifestyle in which an individual has solar panels on the roof, generating electricity that can power home appliances and recharge batteries in a Tesla Model S sedan parked in the garage.
Tesla introduced its home battery, named Powerwall, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery to store energy at residential level for load shifting, backup power and self-consumption of solar power generation.
"Our goal is to fundamentally change the way the world uses energy on an extreme scale. The goal is complete transformation of the energy infrastructure of the world," Chief Executive Elon Musk told media at Tesla's design studio at Hawthorne, California on Thursday.
When asked whether Tesla would consider changing its name to Tesla Energy, Musk would only say that the company now had two Web addresses: teslamotors.com and teslaenergy.com
Selling price for Powerwall to installers is $3,500 for 10kwh and $3,000 for 7kwh, which excludes inverter and installation prices.
Musk said Tesla's lead installation partner for home battery will be SolarCity Corp, but there will be many others.
Tesla expects to have low but growing gross margin in battery products in the fourth quarter and battery products to be materially profitable probably some time next year.
Deutsche Bank estimates sales of stationary battery storage systems for homes and commercial uses could yield as much as $4.5 billion in revenue for Tesla. Analysts expect Tesla will build stationary storage systems around the same basic batteries it will produce for its vehicles at a large factory the company is building in Nevada.
Stationary storage systems could be part of a fossil-fuel-free lifestyle in which an individual has solar panels on the roof, generating electricity that can power home appliances and recharge batteries in a Tesla Model S sedan parked in the garage.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
US Again Raises Ford Foundation Issue with India
After the US state department protested against the Indian government's action of putting global NGO, Ford Foundation, on its watch list, the issue was raised during the just concluded foreign office consultations.
The US side, led by under secretary for political affairs Wendy Sherman, is believed to have quizzed the Indian delegation on two key issues — why was the Indian government going after one of the biggest US NGOs, and that India should do more to support former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed.
India has denied any suggestion of a witch hunt against Ford Foundation or any of the big NGOs that are currently under the scanner. Sources said Ford Foundation, as an NGO donor, is not allowed to make donations for political causes to 'companies', which is a violation of FCRA regulations. They also point to other discrepancies of the organization which may have been shared with the US side.
On Nasheed, India ploughed its standard line that it would not "interfere" in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries, but would continue to deal with the government of the day in Maldives. Nasheed enjoys a great deal of popularity in the West, but India has always regarded him with a pinch of salt.
India-US strategic dialogues tend to be a long laundry list of ambitious projects. But with two back-to-back summits, India and US have another job — to fulfil the list of projects.
Sherman, who is in Delhi for preparatory talks with her counterpart, foreign secretary S Jaishankar, said on Friday that the forthcoming dialogue will focus on "completed projects".
Assistant secretary of state Nisha Biswal said US secretary of state John Kerry had asked the Pakistani authorities to make sure they tried to re-arrest LeT chief Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi after he was set free by a Lahore court.
The rebadged India-US dialogue, which will now include the foreign and commerce ministers on the Indian side and secretary of state and commerce secretary on the US side, is likely to be held around September this year. "We will focus on completed projects, business agreements done, regional activities ...," she said indicating that counter-terrorism cooperation will be taking a greater space in the India-US relationship.
The US side, led by under secretary for political affairs Wendy Sherman, is believed to have quizzed the Indian delegation on two key issues — why was the Indian government going after one of the biggest US NGOs, and that India should do more to support former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed.
India has denied any suggestion of a witch hunt against Ford Foundation or any of the big NGOs that are currently under the scanner. Sources said Ford Foundation, as an NGO donor, is not allowed to make donations for political causes to 'companies', which is a violation of FCRA regulations. They also point to other discrepancies of the organization which may have been shared with the US side.
On Nasheed, India ploughed its standard line that it would not "interfere" in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries, but would continue to deal with the government of the day in Maldives. Nasheed enjoys a great deal of popularity in the West, but India has always regarded him with a pinch of salt.
India-US strategic dialogues tend to be a long laundry list of ambitious projects. But with two back-to-back summits, India and US have another job — to fulfil the list of projects.
Sherman, who is in Delhi for preparatory talks with her counterpart, foreign secretary S Jaishankar, said on Friday that the forthcoming dialogue will focus on "completed projects".
Assistant secretary of state Nisha Biswal said US secretary of state John Kerry had asked the Pakistani authorities to make sure they tried to re-arrest LeT chief Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi after he was set free by a Lahore court.
The rebadged India-US dialogue, which will now include the foreign and commerce ministers on the Indian side and secretary of state and commerce secretary on the US side, is likely to be held around September this year. "We will focus on completed projects, business agreements done, regional activities ...," she said indicating that counter-terrorism cooperation will be taking a greater space in the India-US relationship.
40% of India Still Banks on Monsoon for Agriculture
In the 21st century, why does the forecast of a deficient monsoon send the same ripple of fear through India as it would 5,000 years ago? The short answer is that for almost 40% of the population, agriculture has not changed — it is still dependent on the "rain god", or the South-West monsoon as it is known today.
Here are the facts: about 46% of India's net sown area (land on which cultivation is done at least once a year) is irrigated. The balance 54% is unirrigated and hence dependent on water that rains down from the clouds, mostly in the four monsoon months.
Back in 1997, a government committee calculated that the Ultimate Irrigation Potential ( UIP) for India was about 140 million hectares (Mha). That's the possible extent of irrigation facilities that can be created. How much of this is actually utilized currently? In 2011-12, the net irrigated area was just 65 Mha, as per latest data available with agriculture ministry.
Here are the facts: about 46% of India's net sown area (land on which cultivation is done at least once a year) is irrigated. The balance 54% is unirrigated and hence dependent on water that rains down from the clouds, mostly in the four monsoon months.
Back in 1997, a government committee calculated that the Ultimate Irrigation Potential ( UIP) for India was about 140 million hectares (Mha). That's the possible extent of irrigation facilities that can be created. How much of this is actually utilized currently? In 2011-12, the net irrigated area was just 65 Mha, as per latest data available with agriculture ministry.
Clearly, the single most important input needed by farmers — water — has not been provided for a very large number of farmers leaving them vulnerable to the erratic monsoon. That's why the ancient fear still lurks in these modern times.
Scientists Discover Key Driver of Human Aging: May Lead to Slowing or Reversing Aging Process
A study tying the aging process to the deterioration of tightly packaged bundles of cellular DNA could lead to methods of preventing and treating age-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.
In the study, scientists at the Salk Institute and the Chinese Academy of Science found that the genetic mutations underlying Werner syndrome, a disorder that leads to premature aging and death, resulted in the deterioration of bundles of DNA known as heterochromatin.
The discovery, made possible through a combination of cutting-edge stem cell and gene-editing technologies, could lead to ways of countering age-related physiological declines by preventing or reversing damage to heterochromatin.
"Our findings show that the gene mutation that causes Werner syndrome results in the disorganization of heterochromatin, and that this disruption of normal DNA packaging is a key driver of aging," says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a senior author on the paper. "This has implications beyond Werner syndrome, as it identifies a central mechanism of aging--heterochromatin disorganization--which has been shown to be reversible."
Werner syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes people to age more rapidly than normal. It affects around one in every 200,000 people in the United States. People with the disorder suffer age-related diseases early in life, including cataracts, type 2 diabetes, hardening of the arteries, osteoporosis and cancer, and most die in their late 40s or early 50s.
The disease is caused by a mutation to the Werner syndrome RecQ helicase-like gene, known as the WRN gene for short, which generates the WRN protein. Previous studies showed that the normal form of the protein is an enzyme that maintains the structure and integrity of a person's DNA. When the protein is mutated in Werner syndrome it disrupts the replication and repair of DNA and the expression of genes, which was thought to cause premature aging. However, it was unclear exactly how the mutated WRN protein disrupted these critical cellular processes.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Nepal Earthquake Death Tolls Increased to 5006
Nepal Earthquake Death Tolls Increased to 5006. Its really sad for world and specially Nepal, because after severe Earthquake of death tolls are increasing rapidly. As days are passing many and land is being cleared, number of dead, injured and buried people is increasing rapidly. Its seems this could be one of the biggest Natural Disaster ever felt. Approx 71 Earthquake are felt in Nepal, even in India too. Indian Government has taken many several steps to save and help Nepal.
Nepal Earthquake Death Tolls Increasing Rapidly
According to Economic times, The number of people killed in Nepal by the Himalayan country’s worst earthquake in eight decades has risen to 5,006, a home ministry official said on Wednesday. That number represented a jump of 300 from earlier on Wednesday. Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told Reuters on Tuesday the toll from the 7.9 magnitude quake could reach 10,000.
According to Znews, Nepal’s Kathmandu and Sindhupalchowk districts, among the worst hit, have reported 1,039 and 1,176 deaths respectively. The situation is almost equally worrisome in Nuwakot (478), Dhading (303), Gorkha (256), Rasuwa (250), Kavre (248), Bhaktpur (243), Lalitpur (159), Dolakha (50).
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