American billionaire Bill Gates has become a rage in China after he opened an account on Chinese messaging application WeChat and greeted his followers in Mandarin, the media reported on Tuesday.

WeChat is the most widely used messaging application in China and has more than 800 million users, Efe news reported.

In a one-minute video uploaded on February 11, the co-founder and former head of Microsoft, greeted everyone in Mandarin and said he would "share about the people I meet, books I'm reading and what I'm learning".

The post has already been viewed more than nine million times and received more than 18,000 likes.

The China Daily, citing sources close to Gates, said the philanthropist will share information on global health, energy innovation and education reform through his account.

The opening of Gates' new account confirms his interest in China's growing content market.

Moreover, Beijing houses one of the most important offices of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which he has been jointly managing with his wife since he retired from Microsoft in 2008.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (AIADMK) newly elected legislature party leader E Palaniswamy will meet Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao on Tuesday evening and stake claim to form the next government in the state, officials said.

The meeting will take place at 5.40 pm at Raj Bhavan, officials said.

Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports in Tamil Nadu, Palaniswamy had earlier in the day, urged Rao to let him form a government.

Palaniswamy, a loyalist of party General Secretary VK Sasikala, claimed to have the support of 135 MLAs and informed that a meeting of the AIADMK legislators was held at the Golden Bay Resort near Chennai in the morning.

Palanisamy's election comes after the Supreme Court restored the earlier conviction of Sasikala and two relatives for having assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

A new district of Kalimpong was on Tuesday carved out of Darjeeling, which has seen separate statehood demands since 1980s, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee making the formal announcement here.

Announcing a slew of development projects for the newly created district at a colourful ceremony, Banerjee said "a Rs.220 crore road link project will be taken up to connect Kalimpong with Sikkim via the old Silk Route."

She said a Rs.50 crore water supply project by the public health engineering department will be taken up soon to address Kalimpong's water scarcity problem.

Darjeeling Hills has been witness to violent statehood movements since 1986 under the leadership of Subhas Ghising and after a few years' thaw, again under Bimal Gurung, the present chief executive of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, in a bid to break away from West Bengal.

While Subhas Ghising-led Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) had got the West Bengal government to set up the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's agitation had set the ball rolling for replacing DGHC with the present Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, a local governing body with certain powers.

"I urge all people in the Hills to live peacefully and not pay heed to any attempt of igniting violence," Banerjee said while referring to the burning down of forest and other government bungalows at Tagdah, Kalimpong and some other places in the Hills.

"We have rebuild the Tagdah bungalow and others. We will ensure all-round development of the Hills," she said after announcing the creation of the state's 21st district.

"Lepchas, Gurungs, Bhutias and all others are living together, we want you to light up diyas (lamps) of peace," she said.

"We are celebrating Kalimpong Day on Valentine's Day," the Chief Minister said in a lighter tone.

"After the formation of GTA, I set up several boards in the Hills for better development and all are working well," Banerjee said adding, "The new district has been formed for ensuring better development.

UPSC Results 2016: Aspirant, who are waiting for the UPSC Civil Services main 2016 results, expect that it will be declared in the last week of this month on the official website www.upsc.gov.in .

It was reported earlier this year that the UPSC would declare the main exam results 2016 in the mid of January, but that didn't happen. Union Public Service Commission hasn't declared the date for announcement of the main result 2016.

In 2016, UPSC had declared the Civil Services main examination results on February 19. Candidates appeared for the examination last year can expect the results at around the same time this year too.

Next to the declaration of the UPSC main results 2016 candidates can visit the official website and follow the mentioned instruction to check their exam results 2016.

The UPSC Civil Services main examination 2016 held from December 3 to 9, and the candidates who succesfully pass the examination need to get ready for the personal interview round.

UPSC has been recognized as an important examination for the recuitment of candidates in different departments including Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Revenue Service (IRS).

This year, officials have planned to recruit about 1,079 candidates.

Yahoo on Tuesday launched Caller ID and photo upload features for its Yahoo Mail app that will help users identify a caller from their email contact list and also access their phone camera roll on a desktop.

The new features are now available and users can update Yahoo Mail app in the App Store (iOS 4.13) and Google Play (Android 5.13).

The new Caller ID feature will show a user who is calling even if the number is not saved in the smartphone, the company said in a statement.

Yahoo Mail uses contact information from emails. 

As soon as a user contacts you, the contact's name will surface with the call and Yahoo Mail will update names in your call history or when you dial. 

To enable this feature, simply go to Settings, then Phone, forward to "Call Blocking and Identification", toggle the switch for Yahoo Mail and save the settings.

Once the new photo upload feature is enabled, your recent camera roll photos will be instantly available when accessing your Yahoo Mail account on desktop. 

To enable this feature user's need to open the Yahoo Mail app on iOS or Android, go to Settings, then, Photo upload and tap the "Upload photos" toggle.

China is planning to develop a floating nuclear power platform in five years in a bid to provide stable power to offshore projects and promote ocean gas exploitation, it was reported on Tuesday.

Wang Yiren, vice director of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, made the announcement, the People's Daily reported. 

Wang said Chinese authorities had carried out research on relevant core technologies as well as the standardisation of maritime nuclear power plants, adding that the development of the facility was a crucial part of the country's five-year economic development plan, running through 2020.

According to Wang, a diesel generator is currently the main power source for China's offshore operation and the daily lives of residents on the Nansha and Xisha Islands. 

Diesel power is both inefficient and damaging to the environment. Developing a floating maritime nuclear power platform may solve these problems and facilitate the construction of larger vessels in the future, he said.

China won't be the first country to employ floating nuclear power plants. 

In the 1960s, the US installed a nuclear reactor inside the hull of a freighter to provide electricity for the Panama Canal Zone. Ever since, nuclear reactors have been used on American and Russian ships to provide electrical power.

"Once China's own platform has been created, the design will be put to use in ocean gas and oil exploitation. The country is doing its own research on the project, as well as seeking cooperation with Russia to hasten the process," Wang said.

Trading in line with mixed global markets, domestic bourses closed Tuesday’s volatile trading session on a flat note. The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended 12 points down at 28,339, and the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 13 points lower at 8,792.

However, broader markets again underperformed the front liners. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices dropped around 0.6 per cent each.

Country’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation jumped to 5.25 per cent in January 2017 despite negative inflation in food articles, government data showed on Tuesday.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Telecom index jumped the most, up 1.9 per cent, while Auto index became the top loser, down 1.1 per cent.

On Monday, the Sensex had closed 17 points higher at 28,352 and the Nifty had closed 12 points up at 8,805.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Gail (up 3 per cent), Bharti Airtel (up 2.5 per cent), Reliance Industries (up 1.9 per cent), ONGC (up 1.8 per cent) and ICICI Bank (up 1.1 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Tata Motors (down 3.7 per cent), Hero Motocorp (down 2.3 per cent), HUL (down 1.5 per cent), Power Grid (down 1.4 per cent), and Maruti Suzuki (down 1.4 per cent).

However, the Rupee was trading six paise higher at 66.95 against the US Dollar.

Researchers have found that a gene that controls food intake by triggering a feeling of fullness could help break the cycle of overeating and under-exercising, a study says.

The finding may lead to the development a drug that could help control obesity by reducing appetite and increasing the desire for exercise, according to the researchers.

In the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers reported discovery of the gene, encoding a transcription factor called ETS-5, which controls signals from the brain to the intestines. 

The discovery of ETS-5 is the first time a gene regulatory molecule of this type, and potential drug target, has been implicated in the brain-intestinal control of eating and activity, said one of the researchers Roger Pocock, Associate Professor at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

The researchers discovered the gene in worms, but they noted that a similar gene is found in people.

"The ETS family of genes is present in humans and has previously been linked to obesity regulation. Now that we've learned this gene family controls food intake through a feedback system to the brain, it represents a credible drug target for the treatment of obesity," Pocock said.

The researchers studied Caenorhabditis elegans, or the roundworm, because of the comparative simplicity of its brain — it has just 302 neurons and 8,000 synapses, or neuron-to-neuron connections, all of which have been mapped. 

The roundworm and humans share up to 80 per cent of their genes, as well as around half of all the known genes which are involved in human diseases, Pocock said.

"Because roundworms share so many genes with humans they are a great model system to investigate and gain a better understanding of processes like metabolism as well as diseases in humans," he said.

The researchers discovered the role of the transcription factor ETS-5 by analysing single neurons within the brain of the worm, monitoring its response to food. 

Polling for the 69 Vidhan Sabha seats in the hill state of Uttarakhand will be held on Wednesday.

Stakes are high for both the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the crucial assembly polls.

While the BJP is accusing the Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat of turning 'Devbhoomi' (land of gods) into 'loot bhoomi' (land of looters), the Congress is claiming that BJP makes tall promises and that people of Uttarakhand will reject the appeals by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Both Modi and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi have run an extensive campaign in the hill state trying to woo the 75 lakh plus voters in favour of their candidates.

A total of 628 candidates from different parties and independent backgrounds are trying their luck at the hustings this time round. A total of 10,685 polling booths have been made for the 75,13,547 voters.

Voting in the Karnaprayag seat has been postponed to March 9 as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Kuldeep Kanvasi died in an accident during canvassing. On request of the party leadership, the poll panel decided to hold the elections on March 9.

The BSP has been given time till February 20 to file a fresh nomination, scrutiny would be done of February 21 and date of withdrawal is February 21.

The Congress on Tuesday urged Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao to call a special session of the assembly to test the strength of rival AIADMK factions.

The Congress appeal came after the Supreme Court restored the conviction of party General Secretary V K Sasikala and two of her relatives for corruption.

"The governor must call a special assembly session to find a way forward," Congress leader Randeep Surjewala told reporters.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed the apex court decision.

BJP leader Nalin Kohli said: "The Governor was clear from the start that there is an uncertain situation which requires to be carefully assessed. Now whatever be the outcome in the AIADMK, it is their internal matter."

The Supreme Court on Tuesday restored the judgment of the trial court convicting and sentencing Sasikala and her two relatives – V N Sudhakaran and Elavarasi.

Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy set aside a Karnataka High Court order acquitting the three and the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The AIADMK is witnessing a power tussle between the two factions led by Sasiskala and acting Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.

A number of Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel on Tuesday marked Valentine's Day by getting married in a mass ceremony.

The 21 brides, wearing lacy white gowns and veils, in Quezon City streamed up the aisle after the ceremony commenced with organ music, singing by the choir and the scattering of flower petals by little girls wearing blue silk dresses, the colour of the PNP, Efe news reported.

Since the founding of the PNP over 25 years ago, free mass weddings are held annually for the personnel, who are encouraged to tie the knot to create an emotional support system to cope with the hardships encountered in the profession, according to senior officials.

Mass weddings are a popular event in the Philippines, where churches, civil society groups and local governments often sponsor ceremonies held in churches, town halls and even gymnasiums to help young couples cover the otherwise hefty costs of nuptial rites in a country where 86 percent of the population is practicing Roman Catholics.

A number of Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel on Tuesday marked Valentine's Day by getting married in a mass ceremony.

The 21 brides, wearing lacy white gowns and veils, in Quezon City streamed up the aisle after the ceremony commenced with organ music, singing by the choir and the scattering of flower petals by little girls wearing blue silk dresses, the colour of the PNP, Efe news reported.

Since the founding of the PNP over 25 years ago, free mass weddings are held annually for the personnel, who are encouraged to tie the knot to create an emotional support system to cope with the hardships encountered in the profession, according to senior officials.

Mass weddings are a popular event in the Philippines, where churches, civil society groups and local governments often sponsor ceremonies held in churches, town halls and even gymnasiums to help young couples cover the otherwise hefty costs of nuptial rites in a country where 86 percent of the population is practicing Roman Catholics.

Taking a few classes on how to write a resume and handle job interviews is not enough to land that dream job. Instead, millenials —those in their late teens till around 30 years of age believe internship,working on industry projects and taking part in competitions may work better in helping them get the jobs they want. A survey conducted by career-development portal Glints of 1,000 millennials either students or graduates of polytechnic and universities asked them about the challenges they face in entering the job market and what they are doing to overcome these challenges.

Nine out of 10 of those surveyed agreed that the workforce they will be graduating into will be radically different. However, slightly more than half of the respondents (56 per cent) believe that what they are learning in school is inadequate. As a result, 78 per cent said they have actively searched outside of school for opportunities, to take part in industry-led competitions or work internship opportunities which they believe will help them gain skills for their future job.

Eight in 10 said they were willing to sacrifice personal leisure time to take part in these opportunities. Looi Qin En, co-founder and chief operating officer of Glints, noted that university and polytechnic students are already being encouraged to go on internships. He said students are also on the lookout for opportunities on their own. Being industry- ready is not just about resume and interview preparation workshops, but having real experiences through internships, competitions and projects. This is the new norm.Many companies are also changing the way they recruit young talents. They are offering internships and holding competitions to find talent. “Companies are beginning to create opportunities for students to develop and showcase their skills, while using these opportunities as avenues for talent attraction and employer branding,” he said.

One example is IT solutions firm JOS, which launched a competition last year to get students to use technology to design practical solutions for modern-day problems. The Innovation Award saw over 80 submissions from student teams from polytechnics, universities and private tertiary institutions. JOS spokesman Valerie Cai said a similar competition held in Hong Kong led the company to offer internships to some of the finalists.

The company, which has 2,200 IT professionals worldwide, hopes to net some talents from Singapore. Roger Grant,co-founder of personal development firm Personna, said that in today’s highly disruptive world of work, the people who are succeeding are those who are cocreating their work with their prospective employers.Actual work experience helps to differentiate between a passing hobby and a longer-term passion. It also helps you pick up valuable skills.

Taking a few classes on how to write a resume and handle job interviews is not enough to land that dream job. Instead, millenials —those in their late teens till around 30 years of age believe internship,working on industry projects and taking part in competitions may work better in helping them get the jobs they want. A survey conducted by career-development portal Glints of 1,000 millennials either students or graduates of polytechnic and universities asked them about the challenges they face in entering the job market and what they are doing to overcome these challenges.

Nine out of 10 of those surveyed agreed that the workforce they will be graduating into will be radically different. However, slightly more than half of the respondents (56 per cent) believe that what they are learning in school is inadequate. As a result, 78 per cent said they have actively searched outside of school for opportunities, to take part in industry-led competitions or work internship opportunities which they believe will help them gain skills for their future job.

Eight in 10 said they were willing to sacrifice personal leisure time to take part in these opportunities. Looi Qin En, co-founder and chief operating officer of Glints, noted that university and polytechnic students are already being encouraged to go on internships. He said students are also on the lookout for opportunities on their own. Being industry- ready is not just about resume and interview preparation workshops, but having real experiences through internships, competitions and projects. This is the new norm.Many companies are also changing the way they recruit young talents. They are offering internships and holding competitions to find talent. “Companies are beginning to create opportunities for students to develop and showcase their skills, while using these opportunities as avenues for talent attraction and employer branding,” he said.

One example is IT solutions firm JOS, which launched a competition last year to get students to use technology to design practical solutions for modern-day problems. The Innovation Award saw over 80 submissions from student teams from polytechnics, universities and private tertiary institutions. JOS spokesman Valerie Cai said a similar competition held in Hong Kong led the company to offer internships to some of the finalists.

The company, which has 2,200 IT professionals worldwide, hopes to net some talents from Singapore. Roger Grant,co-founder of personal development firm Personna, said that in today’s highly disruptive world of work, the people who are succeeding are those who are cocreating their work with their prospective employers.Actual work experience helps to differentiate between a passing hobby and a longer-term passion. It also helps you pick up valuable skills.

Actress Emma Watson says the music in Beauty and the Beast, a live-action adaptation of the studios animated classic, features music which is magical.

"I love that the music has this kind of classical, theatrical feeling to it yet still seems somewhat modern," Watson said in a statement issued on behalf of Disney.

"It rides that perfect line where it's not pop music and not stage music…it's kind of that perfect sweet spot in the middle, and it's just really magical," she added.

Releasing on March 17,Beauty and the Beast features an ensemble cast including Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci with Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson.

In addition to building upon the story from the animated classic, director Bill Condon believed that, musically, the story could move in a slightly more realistic direction, either by finding interesting variations on the existing songs or with the addition of new songs.

"At the end of a song, you should feel as though you've arrived somewhere different from where you started… Otherwise, it feels like the story just stops," Cordon said.

The film's makers have thus given importance to the songs — be it the opening number "Belle", the duet "Something There", the Beauty and the Beast or the showstopper Be Our Guest.

The actors always had mics, even when singing to playback. The human characters recorded their vocals and dialogue leading to the musical numbers prior to principal photography. The characters were pre-recorded and their recordings used as a guide track when shooting.

Then in post-production, once the visual effects were completed, they recorded their tracks to match the exuberance on the screen.

Actress Emma Watson says the music in Beauty and the Beast, a live-action adaptation of the studios animated classic, features music which is magical.

"I love that the music has this kind of classical, theatrical feeling to it yet still seems somewhat modern," Watson said in a statement issued on behalf of Disney.

"It rides that perfect line where it's not pop music and not stage music…it's kind of that perfect sweet spot in the middle, and it's just really magical," she added.

Releasing on March 17,Beauty and the Beast features an ensemble cast including Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci with Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson.

In addition to building upon the story from the animated classic, director Bill Condon believed that, musically, the story could move in a slightly more realistic direction, either by finding interesting variations on the existing songs or with the addition of new songs.

"At the end of a song, you should feel as though you've arrived somewhere different from where you started… Otherwise, it feels like the story just stops," Cordon said.

The film's makers have thus given importance to the songs — be it the opening number "Belle", the duet "Something There", the Beauty and the Beast or the showstopper Be Our Guest.

The actors always had mics, even when singing to playback. The human characters recorded their vocals and dialogue leading to the musical numbers prior to principal photography. The characters were pre-recorded and their recordings used as a guide track when shooting.

Then in post-production, once the visual effects were completed, they recorded their tracks to match the exuberance on the screen.

A 7.8 magnitude quake that hit New Zealand's South Island last year has made navigation for ships unsafe, Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee said on Tuesday.

The quake, which killed two people in the tourist town of Kaikoura on November 14, had raised the seabed and made nautical maps obsolete, Xinhua news agency quoted Brownlee as saying.

"With actual depths now significantly less than charted depths, nautical charts are no longer accurate and safe navigation in the region has become an issue," said Brownlee.

"The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has sent eight hydrographers to Kaikoura to survey the area's sea floor and map the shifts caused by the earthquake," he said.

The results of the hydrographic survey would be to update the nautical chart of the Kaikoura Peninsula.

Landslips caused by the quake wiped out road and rail links to Kaikoura, stranding hundreds of tourists and leaving the town accessible only by sea and helicopters.

The NZDF mobilised 815 personnel, 11 aircraft and four ships to support the relief and evacuation operations.

Brownlee said the government was aiming to restore full road access by the end of this year.

Ministry of Civil Defence national recovery manager Dave Brash said excavators were on site and work had started on clearing the slips from the road.

Some rail links were open, but more than 700 sites needed work and seismic activity was continuing, Brash said.

"At the same time, diggers have removed more than 5,000 cubic metres of material from the Kaikoura harbour to deepen the channel," he said.