1An Iranian semi-official news agency is reporting that the country's elite Revolutionary Guard has launched sophisticated rockets during military exercises.

The Monday report by Tasnim, an agency considered to be close to the Revolutionary Guard, said the launch of "smart and advanced" rockets came during an annual three-day maneuver which began on Monday in Iran's central desert.

The report did not elaborate on the model of the rockets or their capabilities, but said they successfully hit their targets.

Earlier in February, the United States said has put Iran "on notice" after the country test fired a medium-range ballistic missile. 

BSF troops seized a cache of 48 Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of Rs.2,000 from a man who was apprehended along the Indo-Bangla border in Malda town of West Bengal.

Officials said the seizure of the FICN in new notes with a face value of Rs.96,000 was made Sunday evening from Baishnabnagar area of Malda near National Highway-34, as part of an intelligence based operation.

This is the second such seizure along the South Bengal frontier of the Border Security Force that comprises five border towns of West Bengal.

The BSF said it apprehended Nadia resident Shariful Shah (32) with the cache as he was allegedly carrying the notes and was attempting to board a bus from the highway.

"The quality of the 48 Rs.2,000 notes, with the face value of Rs.96,000, is better than what was seized by the force sometime back along the India-Bangladesh International Border last week when 100 such notes were seized," they said.

More details about the quality of notes will be ascertained by concerned agencies, the BSF said.

Shah has been handed over to Malda police for further interrogation about the source of fake notes of Rs.2,000.

"Cash worth Rs.820, a mobile phone and an Aadhaar card was also seized from his possession," they said.

Last week, the force had seized a packet of similar FICN containing 100 notes of Rs.2,000 from a mango orchard in the border town of Malda.

It was then said that these 100 notes, flung in a packet from across the border, had copied at least 8-9 features out of the total 17 on the original currency.

The West Bengal Police had earlier seized 40 such fake notes from a man in Murshidabad, that also lies on the Indo-Bangla International Border in West Bengal.

BSF troops seized a cache of 48 Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of Rs.2,000 from a man who was apprehended along the Indo-Bangla border in Malda town of West Bengal.

Officials said the seizure of the FICN in new notes with a face value of Rs.96,000 was made Sunday evening from Baishnabnagar area of Malda near National Highway-34, as part of an intelligence based operation.

This is the second such seizure along the South Bengal frontier of the Border Security Force that comprises five border towns of West Bengal.

The BSF said it apprehended Nadia resident Shariful Shah (32) with the cache as he was allegedly carrying the notes and was attempting to board a bus from the highway.

"The quality of the 48 Rs.2,000 notes, with the face value of Rs.96,000, is better than what was seized by the force sometime back along the India-Bangladesh International Border last week when 100 such notes were seized," they said.

More details about the quality of notes will be ascertained by concerned agencies, the BSF said.

Shah has been handed over to Malda police for further interrogation about the source of fake notes of Rs.2,000.

"Cash worth Rs.820, a mobile phone and an Aadhaar card was also seized from his possession," they said.

Last week, the force had seized a packet of similar FICN containing 100 notes of Rs.2,000 from a mango orchard in the border town of Malda.

It was then said that these 100 notes, flung in a packet from across the border, had copied at least 8-9 features out of the total 17 on the original currency.

The West Bengal Police had earlier seized 40 such fake notes from a man in Murshidabad, that also lies on the Indo-Bangla International Border in West Bengal.

Second-placed RB Leipzig continued their excellent run this season with a 2-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach in a Bundesliga clash here.

Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner scored for Leipzig either side of the break here on Sunday evening while Jannik Vestergaard reduced the deficit for Mönchengladbach towards the end, reports Xinhua news agency.

Leipzig are currently second on the Bundesliga table with 45 points, having won 14 of the 21 matches they have played so far. They trail league leaders FC Bayern Munich by five points.

Meanwhile, Mönchengladbach slipped to 11th place on the table with 26 points.

Mönchengladbach started on a positive note while Leipzig failed to gain a foothold in the opening period. Mönchengladbach however, were unable to make good on their chances.

Leipzig punished Mönchengladbach's wastefulness as they broke the deadlock through Forsberg, who drilled the ball into the bottom left corner from 16 meters following an assist from Werner in the 31st minute.

The hosts should have levelled before the break, as Leipzig defender Marwin Compper brought down Lars Stindl inside the box to concede a penalty. But Thorgan Hazard failed to beat Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi from the spot.

After the restart, things went from bad to worse for Mönchengladbach as Leipzig's Timo Werner doubled the lead after slotting home Forsberg's through ball from a sharp angle into the far corner.

Dieter Hecking's men were able to score their consolation as Jannik Vestergaard headed home a corner kick to reduce the arrears in the 81st minute. 

But this goal came too late for the hosts, as Leipzig secured their 14th win of the season.

"Leipzig were not better but they were more effective," Mönchengladbach head coach Dieter Hecking said after the match.

Leipzig's coaching staff sang a similar tune.

"We were the slightly better two of two good teams," Leipzig head coach Ralph Hasenhuettl noted.

Elsewhere, Cologne and Schalke shared the spoils following a 1-1 draw as Anthony Modeste cancelled out Schalke's early opener through Alessandro Schoepf.

Cologne remain on seventh place in the standings whereas Schalke jumped to the 10th position.

Second-placed RB Leipzig continued their excellent run this season with a 2-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach in a Bundesliga clash here.

Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner scored for Leipzig either side of the break here on Sunday evening while Jannik Vestergaard reduced the deficit for Mönchengladbach towards the end, reports Xinhua news agency.

Leipzig are currently second on the Bundesliga table with 45 points, having won 14 of the 21 matches they have played so far. They trail league leaders FC Bayern Munich by five points.

Meanwhile, Mönchengladbach slipped to 11th place on the table with 26 points.

Mönchengladbach started on a positive note while Leipzig failed to gain a foothold in the opening period. Mönchengladbach however, were unable to make good on their chances.

Leipzig punished Mönchengladbach's wastefulness as they broke the deadlock through Forsberg, who drilled the ball into the bottom left corner from 16 meters following an assist from Werner in the 31st minute.

The hosts should have levelled before the break, as Leipzig defender Marwin Compper brought down Lars Stindl inside the box to concede a penalty. But Thorgan Hazard failed to beat Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi from the spot.

After the restart, things went from bad to worse for Mönchengladbach as Leipzig's Timo Werner doubled the lead after slotting home Forsberg's through ball from a sharp angle into the far corner.

Dieter Hecking's men were able to score their consolation as Jannik Vestergaard headed home a corner kick to reduce the arrears in the 81st minute. 

But this goal came too late for the hosts, as Leipzig secured their 14th win of the season.

"Leipzig were not better but they were more effective," Mönchengladbach head coach Dieter Hecking said after the match.

Leipzig's coaching staff sang a similar tune.

"We were the slightly better two of two good teams," Leipzig head coach Ralph Hasenhuettl noted.

Elsewhere, Cologne and Schalke shared the spoils following a 1-1 draw as Anthony Modeste cancelled out Schalke's early opener through Alessandro Schoepf.

Cologne remain on seventh place in the standings whereas Schalke jumped to the 10th position.

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday asked real estate developer Unitech to deposit 14 per cent interest on Rs.16.55 crore for delay in delivery of flats to 39 buyers.

“SC asks Unitech to deposit 14 per cent interest on the principal amount of Rs.16.55 crore deposited by 39 flat buyers,” reports stated, adding, “The interest on the principal amount will be calculated from January 1, 2010”.

Meanwhile, setting the time limit for deposit of interest amount, the apex “court has asked Unitech to deposit interest amount in eight weeks," sources said.

The SC, in October last year, had asked the company to refund the deposited amount to 39 homebuyers of its Gurgaon project for delay in delivery of flats.

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday asked real estate developer Unitech to deposit 14 per cent interest on Rs.16.55 crore for delay in delivery of flats to 39 buyers.

“SC asks Unitech to deposit 14 per cent interest on the principal amount of Rs.16.55 crore deposited by 39 flat buyers,” reports stated, adding, “The interest on the principal amount will be calculated from January 1, 2010”.

Meanwhile, setting the time limit for deposit of interest amount, the apex “court has asked Unitech to deposit interest amount in eight weeks," sources said.

The SC, in October last year, had asked the company to refund the deposited amount to 39 homebuyers of its Gurgaon project for delay in delivery of flats.

RJD leader Lalu Prasad left for Lucknow on Monday to campaign for Congress and Samajwadi Party candidates in the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

An aide said Lalu Prasad will campaign on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Congress and later for the Samajwadi Party. He is expected to focus on the assembly constituencies that border Bihar.

The former Bihar Chief Minister has repeatedly claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will be defeated in Uttar Pradesh.

Lalu Prasad said BJP leaders had realized there was no Modi wave in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP will also taste defeat in Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand, he said.

RJD leader Lalu Prasad left for Lucknow on Monday to campaign for Congress and Samajwadi Party candidates in the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

An aide said Lalu Prasad will campaign on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Congress and later for the Samajwadi Party. He is expected to focus on the assembly constituencies that border Bihar.

The former Bihar Chief Minister has repeatedly claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will be defeated in Uttar Pradesh.

Lalu Prasad said BJP leaders had realized there was no Modi wave in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP will also taste defeat in Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand, he said.

Dustin Johnson powered to a five-shot victory in the Genesis Open, his long-sought first win at Riviera Country Club propelling him to number one in the world.

Pulling double duty in the weather-disrupted US PGA Tour event, Johnson used his formidable length off the tee and a sure putting stroke to build a big lead and held on down the stretch.

On a marathon final day he produced a third-round 64 and a final round of even par 71 for a 17-under par total of 267.

He led by as many as nine strokes before a few late miscues, but with the win will end Australian Jason Day's 47-week reign atop the rankings.

"I believe in myself, I think I'm a great player," Johnson said. "The best in the world — until now I probably wouldn't have said I was the best in the world, but now I can say it."

Johnson admitted the top spot wasn't something he dreamed of as a young golfer.

Now that he's there, he said, "It's going to just push me to keep working harder and stay there."

Day could have maintained his position by finishing at least tied for third but closed with rounds of 75 and 71 to finish equal 64th on two-over 286.

"He deserves it," Day said of Johnson's rise — which also took the American past second-ranked Rory McIlroy, who has been sidelined by a rib injury.

"If he keeps playing the way he's playing we've all got to pick our games up."

With number one on the line, Johnson made a blistering start on Sunday piling up seven birdies in his third round.

That included three straight birdies to cap the round — a streak he continued when he returned less than 20 minutes later to open his final round with back-to-back birdies.

A birdie at the sixth moved him to 20-under for the tournament — on pace to tie or break the 72-hole tournament record of 20-under 264 set by Lanny Wadkins in 1985.

But Johnson's run of 49 holes without a bogey ended at the ninth, and back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16 saw his lead shrink further, although in the end that meant nothing.

"Those were more playing a little too safe maybe," said Johnson, who can now boast at least one victory in 10 straight seasons. "I knew I had a big lead, so as long as I didn't make any drastic mistake I was going to be just fine.”
Belgian Thomas Pieters had eight birdies in a final-round 63 that pulled him into a share of second place on 12-under 272. He was tied with Scott Brown, who closed with a 67.

England's Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose had an eagle and four birdies in a three-under par 68 to head a group sharing fourth on 11-under 273.

That included PGA Tour rookie Wesley Bryan, who started the final round in second, five shots behind Johnson.

Bryan, a three-time winner on the Web.com developmental tour last year, followed his third-round 63 with a one-over 72. Kevin Na shot a 70 and Charley Hoffman signed for a 67 to join the group on 11-under.

The frantic race to finish 72 holes by nightfall followed a first-round fog-delay and a Friday storm that prevented most players from completing the second round.

Johnson led by one after 36 holes, and was thrilled to triumph on a course where his six prior top-10 finishes included a playoff defeat in 2015 and one other runner-up finish.

"It feels good to finally win because I felt like I've been so close quite a few times, and it's one of my favourite courses to play on tour all year," Johnson said. 

Actress Lindsay Lohan expressed her wish to star as Ariel in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

In a plea to Disney to cast her in her first major theatrical role since 2013 "Scary Movie 5", the 30-year-old actress and vocalist even pitched her sister Ali to sing the theme song, with Bill Condon as director in the studio's 1989 hit film remake.

"I will sing again, as #ariel #thelittlemermaid," Lohan wrote on Instagram with a side-by-side photo of her and the underwater princess.

"@disney approve that "#billcondon directs it along with my sister @alianamusic singing the theme song for the soundtrack," she added.

"Also @kgrahamsfb plays Ursula," she said about her personal trainer. "Simply because, she is the best. Take one.

@disneystudios." 

But the actress later updated the caption to just read "#thelittlemermaid." 

Actor-writer Lin-Manuel Miranda will team up with Alan Menken, who composed the music for the original animated movie.

Marc Platt, who is working with Miranda on Mary Poppins Returns will produce the remake.

Chloe Grace Moretz was attached to play the lead role but dropped out in September.

 A former Filipino police official has accused President Rodrigo Duterte of heading death squads to kill off detractors during his tenure as mayor of Davao city, a media report said.

In a news conference in the Senate, Arturo Lascanas, who served as an officer in the National Police until December 2016, admitted the Davao death squad was real, Efe news reported.

Lascanas said Duterte used to pay them "20,000 pesos ($400) for each kill", and sometimes even 50,000 or 100,000 pesos.

However, in October, Lascanas, one of the policemen closest to Duterte in his over 20 years as Davao mayor in the period between 1988-2016, had denied the existence of death squads.

The former policeman regretted his earlier statement and called it "all lies" and confessed to his role in some of the killings allegedly ordered by Duterte.

He added Duterte gave him 3 million pesos to hire a hitman to kill radio commentator Jun Pala in 2003.

Lascanas added in 1993 he had direct orders from Duterte to kill religious leader Jun Barsabal for land-grabbing in Davao, and also submitted an affidavit saying he was ready to testify before any government agency, including the Senate.

Last year, the upper house of Parliament conducted a probe into the Davao death squads — said to be responsible for killing over a thousand people – but did not find sufficient evidence to prove their existence.

BJP chief Amit Shah on Monday said the entire Uttar Pradesh was upset with the Samajwadi Party (SP)-Congress alliance and the partnership can’t bring development in the state.

Mocking UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Shah said: “One (Akhilesh) has annoyed his father (SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav) while the other’s (Rahul) mother (Congress chief Sonia Gandhi) is fed up with him.”  

Speaking at a public rally in Kaptanganj ahead of the fourth phase of UP assembly polls on February 23, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief said both Akhilesh and Rahul lacked the calibre to ensure progress in the state.

“These two cannot develop Uttar Pradesh… Rahul Gandhi asks PM (Narendra Modi) to give account of his work done till now. I ask him, what has the Congress achieved in 60 years?” said Shah.

Chronic exposure to a common food additive found in everything from chewing gum to bread can decrease the ability of small intestine cells to absorb nutrients and act as a barrier to pathogens, warns a study.

Ingestion of the compound, known as titanium dioxide, is nearly unavoidable. It can enter the digestive system through toothpastes, as titanium dioxide is used to create abrasion needed for cleaning. The oxide is also used in some chocolates to give it a smooth texture.

"Titanium oxide is a common food additive and people have been eating a lot of it for a long time — don't worry, it won't kill you! — but we were interested in some of the subtle effects, and we think people should know about them," said one of the authors of the study, Gretchen Mahler, Assistant Professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

For the study, the researchers exposed a small intestinal cell culture model to the physiological equivalent of a meal's worth of titanium oxide nanoparticles — 30 nanometers across — over four hours (acute exposure), or three meal's worth over five days.

Acute exposures did not have much effect, but chronic exposure diminished the absorptive projections on the surface of intestinal cells called microvilli, showed the findings published in the journal NanoImpact.

With fewer microvilli, the intestinal barrier was weakened, metabolism slowed and some nutrients — iron, zinc, and fatty acids, specifically — were more difficult to absorb. 

Enzyme functions were negatively affected, while inflammation signals increased, the study said.

"To avoid foods rich in titanium oxide nanoparticles you should avoid processed foods, and especially candy. That is where you see a lot of nanoparticles," Mahler said.

Seeking to declare Saturday's vote of confidence in the Tamil Nadu Assembly null and void, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Monday moved the Madras High Court and sought urgent hearing of the matter.

"The vote of confidence was not done in a manner it should be done," the DMK alleged according to reports.  

“The bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh and Justice R Mahadeven, posted the petition for hearing on Tuesday,” the reports added. 

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has on Saturday won the vote of confidence in the state assembly. Palaniswami, was on Thursday sworn in as Chief Minister and was given 15 days' time by Governor Vidyasagar Rao to prove majority on the floor of the house.

The makers of Rangoon have planned to organise a special screening of the film for the armed forces.

Rangoon, which is set against the backdrop of World War II, and has an army set is making waves and has been the talk of the town ever since the trailers have released.

In the film, Shahid Kapoor is seen playing the role of a soldier with a strong sense of duty and a big patriot. The movie also showcases the struggle his character faces during the difficult times of the war.

Even Kangana Ranaut recently had a warm interactive day with the jawans at the BSF camp in Jammu. 

The makers of Rangoon are hence keen to show the movie to the armed forces due to the special connect the movie shares with the people who fight for the country at all times.

Rangoon, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, is all set to hit the theatres on February 24.
 

Scientists, including one of Indian origin, may have just found a solution for one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the next wave of rechargeable batteries – small enough for cell phones and powerful enough for cars.

Sri Narayan and Derek Moy from the University of Southern California (USC) in the US have developed an alteration to the lithium-sulphur battery that could make it more than competitive with the industry standard lithium-ion battery.

The lithium-sulphur battery, long thought to be better at energy storage capacity than its more popular lithium-ion counterpart, was hampered by its short cycle life.

Currently the lithium-sulphur battery can be recharged 50 to 100 times – impractical as an alternative energy source compared to 1,000 times for many rechargeable batteries on the market today.

The solution devised by Narayan and Moy called the "Mixed Conduction Membrane," or MCM, is a small piece of non-porous, fabricated material sandwiched between two layers of porous separators, soaked in electrolytes and placed between the two electrodes.

The membrane works as a barrier in reducing the shuttling of dissolved polysulfides between anode and cathode, a process that increases the kind of cycle strain that has made the use of lithium-sulphur batteries for energy storage a challenge.

The MCM still allows for the necessary movement of lithium ions, mimicking the process as it occurs in lithium-ion batteries.

This novel membrane solution preserves the high-discharge rate capability and energy density without losing capacity over time.

At various rates of discharge, the researchers found that the lithium-sulphur batteries that made use of MCM led to 100 per cent capacity retention and had up to four times longer life compared to batteries without the membrane.

"This advance removes one of the major technical barriers to the commercialisation of the lithium-sulphur battery, allowing us to realise better options for energy efficiency," said Narayan, professor at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

"We can now focus our efforts on improving other parts of lithium-sulphur battery discharge and recharge that hurt the overall life cycle of the battery," said Narayan.

Lithium-sulphur batteries have a host of advantages over lithium-ion batteries: They are made with abundant and cheap sulphur, and are two to three times denser, which makes them both smaller and better at storing charge.

A lithium-sulphur battery would be ideal for saving space in mobile phones and computers, as well as allowing for weight reduction in future electric vehicles, including cars and even planes, further reducing reliance on fossil fuels, researchers said.

The actual MCM layer that Narayan and Moy devised is a thin film of lithiated cobalt oxide, though future alternative materials could produce even better results.

The research was published in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society.