Watch Yesteryear Heroes Make New Move to Survive
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Fallujah: Iraqi forces retake main government compound from ISIS
The Iraqi Army on Friday took control of the main government compound in the Islamic State group-held Fallujah, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, quoting top commanders. The commanders described the move as a massive step towards victory in the city.The government troops have now surrounded a central hospital captured by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, the Associated Press reported, quoting special forces commander Haidar al-Obeidi.
This comes about half-a-month after the Iraqi forces began assault against ISIS in Fallujah, about 69 km from Baghdad. The troops have gained control of at least 50 percent of the city, particularly in the south and east, according to AFP.”The counter-terrorism service and the rapid response forces have retaken the government compound in the centre of Fallujah,” Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, the commander of the operation in Fallujah, told AFP.
“This operation was done with little resistance from Daesh. There is a mass flight of Daesh to the west that explains this lack of resistance. There are only pockets of them left and we are hunting them down,” Saadi said. Daesh is Arabic acronym for ISIS.The security forces in Fallujah are unlikely to face further resistance from ISIS as many of its senior members have fled the city, security officials said. According to AFP, some of the ISIS fighters bribed the security forces to run out of the city.
“The top leaders are mostly gone and those left behind to defend the city are not their best fighters, which explains their performance,” a security officer said on condition of anonymity.Iraq’s federal police chief Raed Shaker Jawdat also confirmed that the forces have taken control of the centre of the city. “The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolises the restoration of the state’s authority” in Fallujah, Jawdat said.
The Iraqi forces launched the offensive against ISIS on May 30 with the backing of Iran-backed Shia militia and international raids. They faced resistance from ISIS, which was using the residents of Fallujah as human shields.On June 1, as many as 100 soldiers were killed when 10 ISIS suicide bombers targeted the Kubaisah town and the Al Sejar village, and attacked a convoy of the Iraqi Army at Amiriyat al-Fallujah, about 30 km south of Fallujah.
About 50,000 civilians were trapped inside the city when the government launched the offensive against ISIS. Since then, at least 42,000 people fled the city, the AP quoted the United Nations as saying. However, Doctors Without Borders and the Norwegian Refugee Council have said only around 30,000 people managed to flee to safer places.ISIS, which targeted several parts of Syria and Iraq, had gained stronghold in two major cities of Iraq — Mosul and Fallujah. The Islamist militant group captured Fallujah in January 2014 and Mosul in June the same year.
EgyptAir crash: Search teams recover both black boxes from plane
Search teams on Friday recovered both the black boxes — the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder — from EgyptAir flight MS804 that had crashed into the Mediterranean Sea last month killing all 66 people on board, according to reports. The Egyptian team investigating the plane crash have found the second black box from the Mediterranean Sea, the Associated Press said in a tweet.
The AP had earlier reported that Egyptian investigators had begun examining the cockpit voice recorder that had been retrieved first.Reuters quoted the investigation committee of Egypt as saying that a vessel owned by Deep Ocean Search, a Mauritius-based company, was forced to retrieve the box in stages because it was greatly damaged. However, the memory unit, which is “considered the most important part of the recording device,” has been recovered.
The public prosecutor in Egypt has ordered that the retrieved black boxes be submitted for analysis to the investigators of the Egyptian air accident.Reuters on Monday quoted Egyptian investigators as saying that radar imagery provided by the Egyptian military had established that the plane had initially swerved to the left, and then spun 360 degrees to the right before going off radar.The possibility of a terror attack or any such explanation behind the crash cannot be ruled out, Reuters quoted investigators as saying.
Creo Mark 1 gets new firmware update; brings 5 audio effects options
Home-bred smartphone maker Creo has released the new monthly update to the company’s flagship smartphone Mark 1.The new update brings five audio effects options, which are acoustic, bass boost, 3D surround sound, balanced and clear voice. These presets can be used to further fine tune the audio settings to one’s liking and can also be saved as multiple “Custom Audio Effects” to work across all music apps.
“Audio has become integral to the modern day smartphone user – from music and movies to sound effects in games. When the feature suggestion came from our active community in CREO Forums, we realized we must build a universal and seamless solution to tuning music in Fuel OS, applicable for all apps and customizable to your output. With this update, we believe audio will never be the same on Fuel OS, starting this June,” Sai Srinivas, CEO & Co-Founder of Creo, said in a statement.
For the uninitiated, this new audio-related firmware is second monthly update from Creo. The company is scheduled to release another software update next month, but what new features it will accompany is yet to be ascertained.During the unveiling of the Mark 1 in April, the company announced fans that the flagship smartphone will get updates every month with brand new features. So far, the company has kept its promise with timely updates for the last two months.
Also read: First software update for Creo Mark 1 brings Selfie Flash, Enhance, Data Manager features
How to install the new OTA (Over-The-Air) update on Android phone:
Settings >> About Phone >> System updates >> check
Since this OTA update roll-out process is staged in phases, it may take some more days to reach all corners of the country.
Asus unveils Pegasus 3 with fingerprint sensor, MediaTek quad-core SoC
WTaiwanese consumer electronics major Asus has unveiled the new generation budget smartphone series Pegasus 3 in China.The new Asus Pegasus 3 flaunts metal-based shell with fingerprint sensor on the back and it sports a 5.2-inch HD LCD screen with 2.5D glass on the front.Under the hood, it houses 2GB/3GB RAM, 16GB/32GB storage, a 4100mAh battery, 13MP primary camera with LED flash and a 5MP snapper with f/2.0 aperture on the front.
Asus Pegasus 3 release and price details:
The new Pegasus 3 is already on sale in China on the official Asus e-commerce site (HERE). It comes in two variants — 2GB RAM+ 16GB storage and 3GB RAM+ 32GB storage configurations —for ¥1299 (around $197/€175/Rs. 13,244) and ¥1499(around $227/€202/Rs.15,283), respectively. Both the models are available in gold, gray, rose gold and silver colour options.As of now, there is no official word from Asus whether the company has any plan of releasing Pegasus 3 series outside China or not.
Key specifications of Asus Pegasus 3:
Model Asus Pegasus 3
Display 5.2-inch HD (1280x720p) LCD screen with 2.5D curved glass
OS Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow-based ZenUI 3.0
Processor 1.3GHz MediaTek (MT6737) quad-core (Cortex A53 x 4) CPU
GPU Mali-T720
RAM 2GB/3GB
Storage 16GB/32GB (expandable)
Camera
Main: 13MP camera with f/2.2 aperture LED flash
Front: 5MP camera with f/2.0 aperture
Battery 4100mAh
Network 4G-LTE with VoLTE (Voice-over-LTE)
Add-ons Fingerprint sensor, dual-SIM slots, Bluetooth v4.0, USB v2.0, GPS, GLONASS
Dimensions 149.5 x 73.7 x 8.6 mm
Weight 158g
Colours gold, gray, rose gold and silver
Price
2GB RAM +16GB storage: ¥1299 (around $197/€175/Rs. 13,244)
3GB RAM + 32GB storage: ¥1499(around $227/€202/Rs.15,283)
OnePlus 3: 10 things to know before you buy
After a slew of leaks that outed most of the device details and an interestingly implemented VR launch event, the OnePlus 3 is finally here for customers to buy. But before you pull the trigger and get yourself one, we’ve rounded up some of the important things to know about the phone.
1. Goodbye invites
OnePlus have never shied away from ambitious marketing campaigns. While needing an invite to purchase the phone was in many ways a necessity for the small company to sustain itself, it did put off a lot of potential customers. With the 3, OnePlus has done away with the invite system, and the company claims it will never make a return in future.
2. Design differences
The famed sandstone texture the last two flagships were known for has been abandoned with the 3, for better or worse. After toying with glass as the build material for the OnePlus X, the all-metal formula has been employed this time around. The phone also has a super slim-profile, which is pleasing to the eye but makes the camera protrude a fair bit.
3. Performance aplenty
The OnePlus 2 was among many phones last year that had to work around Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 processor, which gained notoriety for overheating and reduced performance. This year, with the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm is back in form, and the OnePlus 3 benefits from having the best silicon on the market.
4. The RAM war is won, for now
Just as the tech community began to come to terms with the idea of smartphones with 4GB of RAM, LeEco and now OnePlus have moved up a tier, and the 3 is equipped with 6GB LP DDR4 memory. The company itself admits that this is overkill at the moment, but as any power user would attest, there is no such thing as too much RAM. There have been some reports circulating online about the phone not being able to make the most of all the memory, but this is likely fixable with software updates. The RAM figure is also more about bragging rights, and rumours of 8GB RAM phones have already begun.
5. Resolution stays at FullHD; AMOLED makes an appearance
In an unconventional move for a phone with a reputation as a ‘flagship killer’ (a tag that has been wisely toned down in marketing for the 3), the display resolution is still 1080p, while every other flagship has graduated to a QuadHD display. However, OnePlus has moved on to AMOLED technology, which has become the standard of choice among mainstream manufacturers, resulting in a vibrant and more importantly, energy-efficient display.
6. Battery takes a cut, storage stays the same
The 3 sports a 3,000mAh battery, down from 3,100 on the OnePlus One and 3,300 on the 2. This is a result of the much slimmer 7.3 inch body, and a point that may put off some of the more demanding users out there. The lower-res screen and battery optimisations from Android Marshmallow (the device runs Android 6.0.1) do help, but a larger battery would have been welcome.
Storage is also limited to 64GB, with no memory card functionality available.
7. Fast charging, with a twist
Like many other super slim phones with smaller batteries, the OnePlus 3 supports fast charging to help top up at rapid speeds. The company uses a proprietary technology called ‘Dash Charge’, which builds in the fast charging tech into the adapter and cable instead of into the phone itself. The advantage is that the phone is less likely to heat up and slow down the charging process even if it is used while plugged in. The big downside however, is that the fast charging feature will only work by using the same adapter and cable that OnePlus provides. Using a different charger will not provide fast charging benefits.
8. Oxygen rich
After starting off in partnership with Cyanogen for their software, OnePlus deviated and made their own version of Android, dubbed OxygenOS (HydrogenOS in China) last year. This year, they have polished and fine tuned it and brought it back, and it stays close to stock Android with a few added features, such as gesture controls and a dark mode.
9. NFC and alert slider return
OnePlus has been listening to its customers, and after being panned for omitting NFC, an as yet little-used feature that is now set to drive the mobile payments ecosystem, it has incorporated it into the 3. This means that the phone can interact with NFC tags to perform actions, pair with supported devices and make payments via Android Pay, wherever it is available. The little slider on the OnePlus 2 that allowed for control of notifications, including muting them without turning on the screen, has also been brought back by popular demand.
10. Accessorise this
It may have traded away sandstone for sleek metal, but lovers of the textured finish can still have it in their palms by purchasing one of the cases the company has made for the device. Since the phone sports a unibody design, these are snap-on cases and not replaceable back covers. Other accessories OnePlus sells for the phone include a Dash Charge capable car charger.
These are a few things to consider if you’re looking to be one of the first to get the OnePlus 3. For more info, look out for our full review coming soon.
Nayantara Cares A Damn Even For Big Heroes!
Glamorous south actress Nayanatara has done several hit films in Telugu in the past and the Telugu audiences treated her with a lot of affection and respect.Yet, she has been displaying utter contempt for Telugu film industry these days. Though top producers of Tollywood are after her to do their films starring top heroes like Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna, she is bluntly refusing, though many other heroines are eagerly waiting to grab the chances.
The other day, director Krish is learnt to have approached Nayanatara to act beside Balakrishna in his 100th film Gautamiputra Satakarni, as he thought she would perfectly suit the role. But, she simply rejected the offer; and Krish had to put up with Shriya.Similarly, top director V V Vinayak also thought Nayanatara would be the right choice to pair with Chiranjeevi in his 150th film. Taking advantage of his acquaintance with her, Vinayak approached Nayanatara, but she rejected this film too.
Why is Nayanatara so repulsive about Telugu films? The answer is that she is giving top preference to Tamil films, where she is getting a lot of importance.She doesn’t mind acting even with budding heroes in Tamil, as she is being paid hefty remuneration of Rs 3 crore. Moreover, she is also doing solo films in which she plays lead roles. That is precisely why she is not interested in doing Telugu films.
With Loads Of Gold, Tirupati Looks For Banks With High Rates
The management of Tirupati Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh has said it will look for banks that offer highest interest rates for its gold available for investment.The investment committee chaired by Executive Officer D. Sambasiva Rao on Wednesday reviewed the investments made in banks, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) said in a statement.Expressing satisfaction at the interest rate at which the temple made its investments in banks, the committee called for exploring investments for a period of one year or three years with banks that quote the highest rate of interest for the gold which is readily available for investment.
The committee also discussed as to how companies can participate in various services of the TTD under corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, the statement said.The TTD said in April that it deposited 1,311 kg of gold with Punjab National Bank (PNB) under the Gold Monetisation Scheme and is negotiating for better terms for making more such bank deposits.The TTD manages the Balaji or Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. It is believed to be the richest temple in the world, with annual offerings from devotees worth hundreds of crores of rupees.
The deposit with the PNB was made under the three-year short-term Gold Monetisation Scheme. PNB was chosen because it quoted the higest interest rate at 1.75 percent per annum.The short-term scheme has the advantage that the deposit can be redeemed in gold which temples like Tirupati favour.The TTD has requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the central government that deposits under medium- and long-term schemes of the Gold Monetisation Scheme should also be redeemable in gold so that depositor-temples get more attractive returns.
The temple receives offerings from devotees in cash, jewellery, gold, silver, other precious metals, gems, property deeds and demat share transfers.”Gold offering will be around one tonne per year. In the case of property deeds, due procedure is followed by the concerned department to transfer the title. The temple also gets silver, diamond and other items,” a TTD official told IANS earlier.According to the TTD official, the revenue this year is likely to be about Rs 2,600 crore, of which the devotees’ offerings in hundi is estimated at around Rs 1,000 crore.
The interest receipts are likely to be around Rs 800 crore and the revenue from sales of tickets, prasadam and others is estimated to be around Rs 600 crore.The proceeds from auctioning of human hair offered by devotees to Lord Venkateswara were expected to be about Rs 140 crore, the official said.The major outgo will be towards wages and salaries, estimated at around Rs 500 crore this year.
Why Is Naidu So Goody-Goody With BJP?
Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been maintaining a lot of restraint despite provocative statements from leaders of his party’s ally Bharatiya Janata Party.He is adopting a soft approach towards the BJP and is even pulling up his own party leaders who get into confrontation with the BJP leaders in their respective constituencies.
Reason: Naidu is apprehensive that the BJP leaders might rake up the cash-for-note case at the national level and damage his reputation. That is why, he has been trying to be goody-goody with the BJP leaders.The other day, there was a confrontation between Endowments Minister Manikyal Rao, who happens to be from the BJP and West Godavari Zilla Parishad chairman Mullapudi Bapiraju, who is from the TDP, over a protocol issue at Tadepalligudem.Apparently, Manikyal Rao expressed resentment over the local TDP leaders taking up various developmental works without inviting him though he is a minister and local MLA. Peeved at being ignored, Manikyal Rao threatened to resign from the cabinet.
However, Naidu pacified him and prevented him from taking the extreme step. He called Bapiraju and pulled him for ignoring the minister.When Bapiraju tried to lodge a complaint against Manikyal Rao stating that the latter was making provocative statements against Naidu by raising cash-for-vote case, the Chief Minister asked the TDP leaders to keep quiet and not to bring such complaints before him.
