Three Naxals were on Saturday arrested and a 10 kg tiffin bomb was recovered from their possession in Chhattisgarh’s Kondgaon district, police said.

The cadres were apprehended from the forest between Ranapal and Nawagaon villages under Mardapal police station limits when a joint team of security forces was out on duty to ensure security to the road construction work, Kondagaon Additional Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Nag told PTI.

The construction of the road is underway between Ranapal and Bayanar in Mardapal area, around 250 kms away from here.

The composite squad, involving 41st battalion of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and local police, was carrying out patrolling to provide security to the construction works when it spotted three ultras hiding in the forest between Ranapal and Nawagaon, following which they were apprehended, he said.

A 10-kg tiffin bomb, one bundle wire, one dry battery, Maoist literatures and a Naxal banner in the name of East Bastar Division of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) were recovered from their possession, Nag said.

The arrested were identified as Laxminath Korram (28), Chandan Korram (19) and Jaitrm Korram (21), he said.

The trio admitted that they were possessing explosive to target security personnel involved in security of the under-construction road, he said.

They were booked under section 3 and 4 of Explosive Substances Act and relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the officer added.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has thanked his fans for showering love and appreciation to the teaser of Zero.

The teaser of his first creative collaboration with director Aanand L Rai released on the first day of 2018.

The teaser shows Shah Rukh essaying a vertically challenged man, dancing away at a party. The teaser ends with a dialogue in which he talks about people call him a zero and how he amplifies the lives of others if he stands behind them.

“Thank you all for making Zero feel like a hero. Sometimes our importance in life is not who we are, but what we make others become by our presence in their lives. Aanand L Rai‘s ‘Zero’ stands for that. Zero 20 million,” SRK tweeted.

Thank u all for making Zero feel like a Hero. Sometimes our importance in life is not who we are, but what we make others become by our presence in their lives. @aanandlrai ‘s ‘Zero’ stands for that. #Zero20Million

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) January 5, 2018

The central character of the Red Chillies Entertainment film is described as ‘Paagal’, ‘Aashiq’, ‘Awaara’ and more, but he is seen happy in his own world, not seeking empathy from anyone. His disability does not stop him to live a happy life.

The film, releasing on December 21, also features Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif, but the teaser does not divulge anything about their roles. The actors had last featured together in Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

Are you are feeling physically and emotionally drained out? Try taking a whiff of your romantic partner’s shirt — for it can help lower stress levels, suggests a study.

The findings showed that women feel calmer when they sniff their male partner’s scent.

“Many people wear their partner’s shirt or sleep on their partner’s side of the bed when their partner is away, but may not realise why they engage in this behaviour,” said lead author Marlise Hofer, graduate student at the University of British Columbia, in Canada.

“Our findings suggest that a partner’s scent alone, even without their physical presence, can be a powerful tool to help reduce stress,” Hofer added.

Conversely, being exposed to a stranger’s scent had the opposite effect and raised levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, possibly because of evolutionary factors.

“From a young age, humans fear strangers, especially strange males, so it is possible that a strange male scent triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response that leads to elevated cortisol. This could happen without us being fully aware of it,” she said.

The study could have practical implications to help people cope with stressful situations when they’re away from loved ones, the researchers said.

For the study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the team recruited 96 heterosexual couples.

Men were given a clean T-shirt to wear for 24 hours, and were told to refrain from using deodorant, that could affect their scent.

The women were then randomly assigned to smell a T-shirt that was either unworn, or had been worn by their partner or a stranger.

Women who smelled their partner’s shirt felt less stressed, those who both smelled their partner’s shirt and also correctly identified the scent had lower levels of cortisol, while women who smelled a stranger’s scent showed higher cortisol levels.

In a blow to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday sent a breach of privilege motion against the Gandhi scion to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

The move comes after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bhupendra Yadav served a privilege notice against the Congress president in the Rajya Sabha for alleging using “derogatory” words against Finance Ministry Arun Jaitley on Twitter.

In his notice, Yadav said the Congress president twisted the spelling of Jaitley’s surname to ‘Jaitlie’ which was demeaning.

On December 28, Yadav had given notice under Rule 187 alleging that Rahul Gandhi had “intentionally, maliciously and disrespectfully twisted” the name of the Leader of the House.

However, since Rahul is a member of the lower house, Naidu has referred it to the Lok Sabha Speaker to take the process forward.

On December 27, 2016, Rahul had tweeted: “Dear Mr Jaitlie – thank you for reminding India that our PM never means what he says or says what he means. #BJPLies.”

The comment was in reference to Jaitley’s clarification in the House that PM Narendra Modi did not mean to question the commitment of his predecessor Manmohan Singh or former vice president Hamid Ansari.

Police arrested the brother on Saturday of the notorious criminal who was killed in an encounter and seized 1 kg of drugs from him in Shamli district.

Acting on a tip-off, Furkan, the younger brother of notorious criminal Sabir was arrested in Kairana on Friday, circle officer Rajesh Bhardwaj said.

Sabir was killed in an encounter with the police on January 3 in Jandhedi village in the district.

A case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act has been registered against Furkan, he said, adding that he has been sent to jail.

Werst Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wished Cricket legend Kapil Dev and Indian musical maestro AR Rahman on their birthdays.

Wishing both Kapil Dev @therealkapildev and @arrahman a very happy birthday

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 6, 2018

Kapil Dev, the legendary all-rounder of Indian cricket, is also popularly known as one of the greatest cricketers that India has ever produced.

The former Indian skipper had created history when he led the Indian squad to win the first World Cup for India in the year 1983.

The ‘Haryana Hurricane’, who turned 58 today, will always be remembered for his many feats with the bat, including his knock of 175 runs in the 1983 World Cup, or his exploits with the ball on number of occasions that gave India some famous wins, home and abroad.

Kapil Dev was also the coach of Indian team for 10 months between October 1999 to August 2000.

AR Rahman: The ace music composer, who turned 51 today, has done it all, from winning the two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, fifteen Filmfare Awards and sixteen Filmfare Awards South and four National Film Awards to being awarded the third-highest civilian honor by government of India, Padma Bhushan.

In 2009, Rahman was included on the Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people.

Fondly called as the Mozart of Madras, Rahman is considered as one of the most respected and popular musicians of all time across the globe and his songs are something that you just can’t hate.

Fans are naturally enthralled when they meet any celebrity. But at times they get too overboard with excitement. To control a crowd like that gets impossible and in such situations, the particular celeb has to face trouble. There have been many incidents where stars — whether it’s Hollywood, Bollywood or Television, actors — have been harassed by the audience.

It is not way back when Harry Styles, the One Direction singer, got sexually harassed by a fan in the crowd, while he was performing on the stage. Ileana D’Cruz, Bollywood actress, also tweeted about the incident when she got harassed by a male fan. There are much more on the list and one such incident has entered the list on this Friday.

Hina Khan, the Big Boss 11 participant and popular television star known for her character in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, got mobbed when she went out with the fellow contestants Vikas Gupta, Shilpa Shinde and Luv Tyagi for the Live Voting session. The incident took place in Inorbit Mall, Mumbai. The mob went crazy after seeing the celebrities live and portrayed their excitement in a very indecent way. Someone from the crowd pulled her hair in a way that she actually screamed out of pain. They continued to misbehave during the interactive session too. Check out the video:

This is sick!!
Shilpa fans were shaking hands with Shilpa n one fan pulled hina’s hair!!

Disgusting! Shilpa was still busy in shaking hand with fans…Vikas protected Hina!
Such a Gentleman ❤#VikasGuptaFTW #VikasGupta #BB11 @TeamVikasGupta pic.x.com/Srw4Z3nmSU

— Garima (@IamGarimaS) January 4, 2018

These cases that have been reoccurring shouldn’t be taken lightly. Celebrities do not fight back in public or misbehave in return just out of courtesy. That does not allow the public to continue such behaviour. Twitteratis came out in support of the actress and frowned the incident through tweets.

The opposition parties on Saturday took serious umbrage at the BrihanMumbai Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta’s statements that he was under pressure “to go slow” on the probe into the December 29 pub fire that killed 14.

Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam lashed out at Mehta and challenged him to “reveal” and expose the politician who pressurised the civic body, ruled by the Shiv Sena.

“Mehta should not talk like a politician — Don’t make vague statements. Disclose the names of those who pressurised you to drag the probe,” Nirupam said.

“I reiterate that he is repsonsible for the incident and must be booked for it,” Nirupam told IANS.

ALSO READ: Kamala Mills fire; Two managers of ‘1 Above’ pub arrested Mumbai

He also asked the BMC chief to declare all the names of the owners of the 17-18 high-end pubs and bars functioning within the Kamala Mills Compoud complex which was the scene of the inferno last week that left another 55 injured.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena spokesperson Sandeep Deshpande demanded that Mehta should be made to undergo “narco-test” to get to the truth in the matter.

“Who called up Mehta ‘to go slow’ on the action against illegal constructions in the Kamala Mills Compound – whether its from the ruling (Shiv Sena) or the Opposition ‘bhaiyyas’ (Congress),” Deshpande asked.

Mehta’s controversial statement was made late on Friday after the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) submitted its probe report into the pub blaze.

ALSO READ: Flying embers from illegal hookah cause of Kamala Mills fire

The MFB report has clearly confirmed that the blaze erupted in The Mojo’s Bistro and quickly spread to the adjacent 1Above and other premises, trapping an estimated 400-500 people present there that fateful night. IANS had reported on December 29, quoting BMC officials, that the fire was first noticed in The Mojo’s Bistro.

The BMC chief Mehta will submit the report to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis next week and it effectively corroborates the oft-made contentions of 1Above pub in the matter that the cause of fire was in The Mojo’s Bistro, which the latter has countered.

Five bodies were on Saturday recovered from a spot in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district where a passenger vehicle was hit by a huge avalanche of snow, trapping seven persons.

A passenger vehicle was hit by a huge avalanche of snow at Khooni Nallah near Sadhan Top on the Kupwara-Tangdhar road on Friday.

“Five bodies were recovered from the avalanche site,” deputy commissioner Kupwara Khalid Jehangir told PTI.

He said that the total number of people killed in the avalanche has risen to six.

The body of a Beacon officer was recovered last night after the rescue operations were launched, Jehangir said.

Three people have been pulled out alive from the avalanche site, he said, adding that the rescue operations are underway.

Ace music composer A R Rahman has done it all, from winning the Academy Award for best original score to representing the nation on a global level. The musician has made every Indian proud with his contributions in the field of arts and music.

Fondly called as the Mozart of Madras, Rahman is considered as one of the most respected and popular musicians of all time across the globe and his songs are something that you just can’t miss.

On the occasion of his 51st birthday, we recall five instances when the ace musician made us all proud to be an Indian;

Jai Ho moment

A R Rahman composed the music for Hollywood film, Slumdog Millionaire, and was universally appreciated for his incredible tunes and the song Jai Ho. Rahman became the first ever Indian musician to win an Oscar for Best Original Score at the 81st Academy Awards. That’s quite an achievement to be proud of that the music maestro from India achieved. He also won the Best Original Score award at the Grammys, BAFTAs and Golden Globes in the same year.

He has united communities through his music

You just can’t hate the man. Rahman has a massive fan following in the Asian diaspora and is one of the most respected music artistes of all time. His songs have time and again showcased different religions coming together for a common cause. The musician’s fan following is the proof of the love and respect his fans have for him in such a diverse world.

He is a Mentor

Rahman not only composes great music but also cares for the aspiring artiste. He cares about nurturing them and provides various opportunities, where the young ones can proof themselves. Apart from teaching at the Berklee College of Music, Rahman has collaborated with the college to set up scholarship for Indian students. Well he’s someone who can inspire the young artists.

Vande Matram

The Vande Matram album was released on the occasion of India’s 50th Independence Day and is till date the largest selling Indian non-film album. The songs Vande Matram and Maa Tuje Salaam composed and sung by Rahman had a profoundly positive and unifying impact on the nationalistic and patriotic mood of the country. The popularity of the songs witnessed a worldwide reception and foreign critics have regarded the songs as some of the best songs from India

His collaborations with Hollywood musicians

Everyone remembers Slumdog Millionaire‘s soundtrack and the rewards that came with it. But only a few know that Rahman has collaborated with Hollywood musicians as well in the past. He has collaborated with the likes of will.i.am, Black Eyed Peas and The Pussycat Dolls. His collaborations with these musicians are another reason for his global popularity.

The White House has reportedly been granted access to a print of Steven Spielberg’s Oscar- tipped newspaper drama The Post for screenings.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Donald Trump’s team made a request to show the film at both the White House and Camp David, where the president is set to hold a summit over the weekend.

The film, which stars Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, tells the story of the journalists who fought against the government in the 70s to publish classified information about the administration’s failings in the Vietnam war.

Both Streep and Hanks have publicly criticised Trump.

Hanks recently said that if The Post did screen at the White House, he would not attend.

“Individually we have to decide when we take to the ramparts. You don’t take to the ramparts necessarily right away, but you do have to start weighing things. You may think: ‘You know what? I think now is the time.’

“This is the moment where, in some ways, our personal choices are going to have to reflect our opinions. We have to start voting, actually, before the election. So, I would probably vote not to go,” he told The Hollywood Reporter last month.

The Post is nominated for six awards at Golden Globes.

 The CISF has taken over the security of Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun, an arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), an official said on Saturday.

With a sanctioned strength of 63, a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) unit headed by an Assistant Commandant took over the security of the Institute on Friday.

With this, a total of 340 units are under CISF security cover, CISF Assistant Inspector General Hemendra Singh told IANS.

The IRS is a premier training and educational institute set up for developing trained professionals in the field of remote sensing, geo-informatics and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for natural resources, environmental and disaster management.

“The institute is listed in the schedule 4(b) of The Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Admission) Act, 2006 as one of the institutions of excellence, research institutions, institutions of national and strategic importance.

“In the light of the increased threat perception to the Department of Space Installations situated across the country, IIRS is inherently vulnerable to threats from anti-nationals and may be a potential target. Hence, the government us the opportunity to protect the institute,” Singh said.

The official said that the IIRS campus also housed the headquarters of the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific, affiliated to the UN and first of its kind established in the region in 1995.

The headquarters of Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS), the largest non-governmental scientific society in the country, is also located in the Institute campus, he added.

An international ban on ozone-destroying chlorine that contains manmade chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) has led to less ozone depletion, NASA scientists have reported.

CFCs are long-living chemical compounds that eventually rise into the stratosphere, where they are broken apart by the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation, releasing chlorine atoms that then go on to destroy ozone molecules.

“We see very clearly that chlorine from CFCs is going down in the ozone hole, and that less ozone depletion is occurring because of it,” said lead author Susan Strahan, an atmospheric scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland.

The ban on the CFCs resulted in about 20 per cent less ozone depletion during the Antarctic winter from 2005 to 2016, while chlorine levels declined by an average 0.8 per cent annually, the scientists said.

Stratospheric ozone protects life on the planet by absorbing potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, suppress immune systems and damage plant life.

The Antarctic ozone hole forms during September in the Southern Hemisphere’s winter as the returning sun’s rays catalyse ozone destruction cycles involving chlorine and bromine that come primarily from CFCs.

The change in ozone levels above Antarctica from the beginning to the end of southern winter — early July to mid-September — was computed daily from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) aboard the Aura satellite every year from 2005 to 2016.

When ozone destruction is ongoing, chlorine is found in many molecular forms, most of which are not measured. But after chlorine has destroyed nearly all the available ozone, it reacts instead with methane to form hydrochloric acid — a gas measured by MLS.

The Antarctic ozone hole should continue to recover gradually as CFCs leave the atmosphere, but complete recovery will take decades, the researchers said, in the paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

“CFCs have lifetimes from 50 to 100 years, so they linger in the atmosphere for a very long time,” said Anne Douglass, a fellow atmospheric scientist at the Goddard Centre.

“As far as the ozone hole being gone, we’re looking at 2060 or 2080. And even then there might still be a small hole.”

Behold the man who is a bean. Farewell, the man who is a bean.

This is the day when we got the legend who gave a new definition to comedy and made our childhood amazing; the one who said nothing but made us burst into laughter. Yes, I am talking about Rowan Atkinson popularly known as Mr Bean. The brilliant actor turns 63 today. On his birthday we bring forth the top 5 episodes among many, from his show. Watch the episodes to relive your childhood days.

1. Mr Bean In Room 426: The one where Mr Bean stays in a hotel and believe me he would be the most memorable visitor ever. From the lunch buffet disaster to turning into a ‘hairy’ woman he does it all. It is must a watch.

2.Back To School Mr Bean: The one where Bean revisits his school memories as he visits an exhibition. Unsurprisingly, he turns the world upside down there too. The classic scene, which no one can forget where he lost his green little car while he was busy having a cupcake. Do you recall that?

3. Hair By Mr Bean of London: If you ever visit a salon, pray not to run into someone like Mr Bean or you might end up getting a head-turning haircut — the one where he pretends to be a barber and gives the fellow customers amazing haircuts. Watch it, find out what happens next.

4. Merry Christmas Mr Bean: No one can celebrate Christmas as fabulously as Mr Bean does. Have you ever got a turkey stuck in your head? Yes, only he can do that (and also Joey).

5. Tee Off, Mr Bean: The one where Mr Bean wears a skirt and showcases the most graceful walk. The laundry day can be that interesting only if he is around. He loses his pants, washes his clothes and handles a bully all at a time.

Well, each one of us misses the character but the best we can do is binge watch the show. Grab a popcorn and dedicate the day to everyone’s favourite Mr Bean.

A Gurgaon court will pronounce on Monday its order on the bail application of a 16-year-old student, accused of killing 7-year-old Pradhuman Thakur at Ryan International School.

Additional Sessions Judge Jasbir Singh Kundu reserved the order after hearing arguments of the counsel for the accused, the CBI and the complainant.

The defence counsel claimed the charge sheet in the matter was not filed within one month, as prescribed in the Juvenile Justice Act, and he was not given required documents.

Opposing the contention, the CBI said the mandatory period for filing a charge sheet is 90 days under CrPC provisions.

The counsel for the CBI said that “circumstances have changed” as the accused had been declared an adult by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). Therefore, the charge sheet needed to be filed within three months.

Seeking dismissal of the bail plea, the CBI said the JJB order to try the accused as an adult spoke about his mental status and the fact that he committed a heinous crime.

Advocate Sushil Tekriwal, appearing for Pradhuman’s father Barun Thakur, questioned the maintainability of the application and said the accused should file a fresh bail plea before the court due to the changed circumstances.

On the contention of the accused that necessary documents were not provided to him, the CBI said the records had already been produced before the court and the accused never demanded any paper, nor any direction was passed by the court in this regard.

Pradhuman was found with his throat slit in the school’s washroom on September 8 last year.

The Gurgaon Police had claimed the crime was committed by a school bus conductor, which was later refuted by the CBI.

The probe agency had claimed the teenager had killed Pradhuman in a bid to get the school closed so that a parent-teacher meeting and an examination could be deferred.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by the accused against an order of the JJB denying him bail.

Tekriwal had said the appeal for bail was at a “premature stage” as the investigation was yet to be concluded.

The JJB had on December 20 held that the teenager would be tried as an adult and directed that he be produced before the Gurgaon sessions court.

The JJB had noted that the accused was mature enough to recognise the consequences of his actions.

If convicted, the accused will stay in a correctional home till he is 21 years old after which the court can shift him to a jail or grant him bail, it had said.

The board had earlier rejected the bail plea of the Class 11 Ryan International School student.

It had set up a committee which included a psychologist from the PGI, Rohtak, for an expert opinion on the accused, who was taken into custody by the CBI in November 2017.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 lowers the age of juveniles from 18 years to 16 years for heinous crimes such as rape, murder and dacoity-cum- murder, which warrants at least seven years of imprisonment.

However, the JJB first decides whether the crime was “child-like” or was it committed in an “adult frame of mind”, following which it orders the accused to be tried as juvenile or adult.

As Neeraj Pandey’s ‘Aiyaary’ is inching closer to its release, the cast visited the sets of Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss 11 yesterday to promote their film.

Sidharth Malhotra and Manoj Bajpayee who are seen in the mentor-protege bond in the film were seen posing for a selfie with the host Salman Khan.

Actor Sidharth Malhotra took to his social media platforms to share the picture saying, “#Aiyaary team at #bigbossseason11 this sunday ! with @BeingSalmanKhan @BajpayeeManoj @Rakulpreet”.

The trio looked every bit of dashing in the picture making the audience excited to witness more. The episode will be aired on Sunday.

‘Aiyaary’ revolves around two strong-minded army officers having completely different views, yet right in their own ways. The film portrays Sidharth Malhotra as an army officer sharing a mentor-protégé bond with Manoj Bajpayee.

Neeraj Pandey is known to present films backed by power packed performances by an ensemble cast. Starring Manoj Bajpayee and Sidharth Malhotra as the mentor and protege, ‘Aiyaary’ also stars Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Rakul Preet Singh, Kumud Mishra, Pooja Chopra, Adil Hussain and Vikram Gokhale in pivotal roles.

The trailer of ‘Aiyaary’ has got everyone hooked and is adding to the excitement to the film. Neeraj Pandey who can be regarded as a pioneer of espionage thriller is set to present Aiyaary which will prove to be a treat this Republic day.

Plan C and Jayantilal Gada (Pen) presents ‘Aiyaary’ A Neeraj Pandey Film. Produced by Shital Bhatia, Dhaval Jayantilal Gada, Motion Picture Capital is slated to release on 26th January, 2018.

Want to have smarter kids? Eating foods such as egg yolks, nuts and cruciferous vegetables — that are rich in nutrient choline — during pregnancy can boost your kids’ memory and brain skills, a study has found.

The study suggested that maternal consumption of choline rich foods like lean red meat, fish, poultry and legumes daily during the last trimester of pregnancy improved the kids’ processing speed and visuospatial memory at the age of four, seven, 10 and 13 months.

“In animal models using rodents, there’s widespread agreement that supplementing the maternal diet with additional amounts of this single nutrient has lifelong benefits on offspring cognitive function. Our study provides some evidence that a similar result is found in humans,” said Marie Caudill, Professor at the Cornell University in New York, US.

The finding, published in The FASEB Journal, is important because choline is in high demand during pregnancy yet most women consume less than the recommended 450 milligrams per day.

But, eating choline rich foods close to twice than the recommended amount daily during the last trimester of pregnancy helps in producing optimal cognitive abilities, the researchers said.

For the study, the team divided pregnant women in two groups. While the first group consumed 930 mg per day, the second group consumed 480 mg per day.

While children in both groups showed cognitive benefits, higher brain development was significantly faster for the first group, the results showed.