IMEI number Verification

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IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number which do not have for Chinese handsets will stop working from 1st December 2009 because all mobile operators across India are asked The Department of Telecommunication to stop services to such handsets. To check your IMEI Number or IMEI Number Check or IMEI Check from datebase or IMEI number verification or IMEI number Tracking can be made by following steps given below.

What is an IMEI number?

•IMEI is unique 15 digit identification number of the Mobile Handset. It's like Registration No.
•One can confirm his handset's IMEI No. by inputting / dialing *#06# on Handset.
•IMEI numbers are being allotted by five bodies authorized by GSMA.
•From IMEI number one can identify the make and model of the handset.

•To verify send a message “IMEI XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX to 53232 or to 57886.

Message displayed for correct IMEI – Success!!
Message displayed for incorrect IMEI – Alert!!! Invalid IMEI

•No two mobile handsets in the world should have the same IMEI number.
•IMEI number is an important tool for the handset tracking.

The Structure of an IMEI Number :

IMEI numbers either come in a 17 digit or 15 digit sequences of numbers. The IMEI format currently utilized is AA-BBBBBB-CCCCCC-D:

* AA: These two digits are for the Reporting Body Identifier, indicating the GSMA approved group that allocated the TAC (Type Allocation Code).
* BBBBBB: The remainder of the TAC
* CCCCCC: Serial sequence of the Model
* D: Luhn check digit of the entire model or 0 (This is an algorithm that validates the ID number)

IMEI Number Verification :

Moreover, even if your Chinese handset is showing an unique IMEI number, it is important to validate that it is an unique IMEI number and not a cloned or duplicate IMEI number because recently many local Chinese firms sent millions of cheap mobiles in India with duplicate or cloned IMEI number which are also equally invalid as per international and Indian laws.

People can validate IMEI numbers of their handsets by sending their IMEI numbers of two numbers 57886 and 53232.

First Type IMEI (in Capital) space IMEI number and then send it to either 57886 or 53232. Within few minutes, people will receive a message about validity of IMEI number.

e.g. IMEI 352536650070854

In both cases of no IMEI number or duplicate IMEI number, people can use a service started by Mobile Standards Alliance of India (Govt. Approved) to provide valid and unique IMEI to all such handsets by paying just Rs 199. After getting new IMEI number, any person can use such handsets for as long as he wants.

People can get the list of all available authorized service centers in their area by visiting this link http://www.msai.in/listofcentre.php. It is important to get new IMEI number from only authorized shops approved by Mobile Standards Alliance of India.

Home Remedies

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10 Simple and Natural Home Remedies for Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a common illness that refers to an infection of the lungs. It occurs in all age groups, and is a leading cause of death among children and elderly people in chronic conditions. The major symptoms of pneumonia are productive cough resulting in mucus, chest pains, fever, chills and breathing shortness.

Here, in this article you will find home remedies for pneumonia. These home remedies are simple, easy to prepare and easy to follow. You will get benefited from these home remedies if followed as instructed below. These remedies can be taken along with your medication to improve your health and give relief from pneumonia symptoms.

1. Turmeric has several medicinal properties and is widely used in treating a number of ailments. It also helps in treating pneumonia. Other herbs such as black pepper, fenugreek and ginger are also beneficial for your lungs. You can take these herbs in raw or cooked form.

2. Sesame seeds are also helpful in treating pneumonia. Add 15 grams of sesame seeds in 250 ml water. Add a pinch of common salt, a teaspoon of linseed, and a tablespoon of honey in this mixture. Consume daily to expel phlegm from the bronchial tubes.

3. Ginger is a popular home remedy for treating most of the respiratory disorders. Take 10 ml juice of the fresh ginger, or one or two grams dried ginger powder along with honey two times daily.

4. Add a teaspoon of honey to a glass of lukewarm water. Drink it two or three times a day. This drink has very soothing effect and relieves symptoms.

5. Mix some camphor with warm turpentine oil and apply it on the chest. Gently massage to get relief from pneumonia.

6. The patient should be kept in a clean, hot and healthy room. Make sure that sunshine enters in the patient room.

7. Try to keep the chest and the feet of the patient warmer than the other parts of the body.

8. Do not take foods that may lead to constipation. It may aggravate the condition.

9. To get relief from chest pain and discomfort, take a teaspoonful of garlic juice.

10. Holy basil is also very useful in pneumonia. Take the juice of few fresh leaves of holy basil. Add a pinch of ground black pepper to this juice and consume at six hourly intervals.

Copyright © Ryan Mutt, All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your website or in your ezine, make all the urls (links) active.

Read Home Remedies for Cough and how to make homemade cough syrup naturally. Also know Home Remedies for Common Cold.
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What life has taught - Read NO MATTER if u r OLD or YOUNG

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you always but the friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind & soothes the soul

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.   Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words   'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Listen, yield and share hugs and knowledge with abandon

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
--
AK Srivastava

Mutual Fund : Monthly Income Plans?

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Should you invest in Monthly Income Plans?

It's common for diversified equity funds to emerge as a top-of-the-mind investment when stock markets are booming. In such a scenario, hybrid funds like Balanced Funds and Monthly Income Plans (MIPs) are relegated to the sidelines. Investors can miss out on a very critical component in their portfolio by shutting out hybrid funds completely. Hybrid funds (powered by their flexibility to invest across asset classes) can add immense value to the investor's portfolio (especially during the down turn). While the role of balanced funds in the investor's portfolio has been well-documented, it is time for investors to sit up and recognise the value MIPs can add to their portfolio.

MIPs invest predominantly in debt instruments with a small portion of assets allocated to equities. The equity component provides MIPs with just the edge it needs to outperform conventional debt funds. The equity component usually varies between 5%-30% of assets. So under what circumstances would MIPs add value to an investor's portfolio? The graph below answers this question.

MIPs vs. Sensex
As is evident from the graph, during the crash in the stock markets last year, MIPs have fallen less as compared to the BSE Sensex indices. And this is where it adds value to an investor's portfolio. When the stock markets rally, they will lag conventional equity funds, but when the markets move down, they will limit the fall in an investor's portfolio.

Hence MIPs become important from an asset allocation perspective. Although, you can reach the desired asset allocation by allocating the assets in equity and debt; MIPs offer a convenient way of achieving the same.
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Time to cash out?


Though the stock markets continue to be volatile, they have recovered from the lows touched in March this year. The markets have posted a growth of around 93% (as on August 26, 2009) since March 8, 2009. Expectedly, many investors who have lost a huge chunk of their invested corpus in the stock market crash last year are now eager to recover whatever they can. Now the question is - is it the right time for you to cash out? While you would promptly say YES, at Personal FN we have a contrarian view on this.

Broadly, there could be two reasons for making investments. First, and the most ideal reason, is to invest for the purpose of meeting one or more of your future goals/objectives. Second, and unfortunately the most commonly practiced, is to make "quick bucks" by participating in market movements. The latter option amounts to timing the markets, something that many investors try to do, but rarely succeed.

In our view, redeeming investments should not be a function of market movements, but rather a result of the following:

1. Redeem if you are sure that the fund in question has failed to meet its purpose in your financial plan. The reasons behind this could include poor performance or change in investment mandate of the fund, which makes it a misfit in your portfolio.
2. Redeem if you have to rebalance your asset allocation. Also,before you cash out, make sure that you have decided where to reinvest the redemtpion proceeds.
3. Redeem when you have achieved your investment objective.

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Charles and Diana Divorce

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28 August 1996

After four years of separation, Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, and his wife, Princess Diana, formally divorce.

On July 29, 1981, nearly one billion television viewers in 74 countries tuned in to witness the marriage of Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, to Lady Diana Spencer, a young English schoolteacher. Married in a grand ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in the presence of 2,650 guests, the couple's romance was, for the moment, the envy of the world. Their first child, Prince William, was born in 1982, and their second, Prince Harry, in 1984.

Before long, however, the fairy tale couple grew apart, an experience that was particularly painful under the ubiquitous eyes of the world's tabloid media. Diana and Charles announced a separation in 1992, though they continued to carry out their royal duties. In August 1996, two months after Queen Elizabeth II urged the couple to divorce, the prince and princess reached a final agreement. In exchange for a generous settlement, and the right to retain her apartments at Kensington Palace and her title of "Princess of Wales," Diana agreed to relinquish the title of "Her Royal Highness" and any future claims to the British throne.

In the year following the divorce, the popular princess seemed well on her way to achieving her dream of becoming "a queen in people's hearts," but on August 31, 1997, she was killed with her companion Dodi Fayed in a car accident in Paris. An investigation conducted by the French police concluded that the driver, who also died in the crash, was heavily intoxicated and caused the accident while trying to escape the paparazzi photographers who consistently tailed Diana during any public outing.

Prince Charles married his longtime mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, on April 9, 2005.
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Chances of Death ?

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Now, a website to rank your chances of death

 

Want to know the chances of your death in the near future along with its cause? Well, then log on to DEATH RISK RANKING . Website that can rank people's chances of death (Getty Images)

 

The new website, developed by researchers and students at Carnegie Mellon University, allows users to query publicly available data from the United States and Europe, and compare mortality risks by gender, age, cause of death and geographic region.

 

The Web site not only gives the risk of dying within the next year, but it also ranks the probable causes and allows for quick side-by-side comparison between groups.

 

For example, if a person wanted to know who is more likely to die next year from breast cancer-a 54-year-old Pennsylvania woman or her counterpart in the United Kingdom.

 

"This is the only place to look. It turns out that the British woman has a 33 percent higher risk of breast cancer death. But for lung/throat cancer, the results are almost reversed, and the Pennsylvania woman has a 29 percent higher risk," said Paul Fischbeck, site developer and professor of social and decision sciences and engineering and public policy (EPP) at Carnegie Mellon.

 

"Most Americans don''t have a particularly good understanding of their own mortality risks, let alone ranking of their relevant risks," said David Gerard, a former EPP professor at Carnegie Mellon.

 

They found that beyond infancy, the risk of dying increases annually at an exponential rate. A 20-year-old U.S. woman has a 1 in 2,000 (or 0.05 percent) chance of dying in the next year. By 40 years of age, the risk is three times greater, by age 60, it is 16 times greater; and by age 80, it is 100 times greater (around 1 in 20 or 5 percent).

 

"The risks are higher, but still not that bad. At 80, the average U.S. woman still has a 95 percent chance of making it to her 81st birthday," said Gerard.

 

The researchers are hoping that the new Web site will help bring focus to some of the discussion now raging over health care policy in the United States.

 

"It''s much easier to make a persuasive argument when you have the facts to back it up, and this site provides all sides with the facts. We believe that this tool, which allows anyone to assess their own risk of dying and to compare their risks with counterparts in the United States and Europe, could help inform the public and constructively engage them in the debate," said Fischbeck.

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Missing for 18 Years

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Kidnapped US Girl Resurfaces After 18 Years As Sex Slave

SAN FRANCISCO: A woman who was snatched as an 11-year-old from a bus stop was reunited on Thursday with her family after spending 18 years as the captive of a convicted rapist who fathered her two children, police said.

Throughout her capture, Jaycee Dugard, was held in a shed and other outbuildings hidden on the property of Phillip Garrido, 58, in a rural area of Antioch, California, some 80 km northeast of San Francisco.

Garrido and his wife Nancy, 54, were each being held on $1-million bail on a number of charges including kidnapping, rape and conspiracy.

"None of the children have ever been to school. They've never been to a doctor," a police representative told a press conference. "They were kept in complete isolation in this compound, if you will."

Police discovered Dugard Wednesday when they questioned Garrido after reported suspicious activity involving him and two children at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dugard was reunited with her family Thursday. Her stepfather, Carl Probyn, who was with her when she was abducted in June 1991, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the family was overjoyed at her appearance.

"She sounds normal. She told my wife she remembers everything," Probyn said.

"I gave up hope for 18 years, just went into recovery mode," he said. "I thought it would be nice just to recover her and capture the people and find out why they did this. Now, I just won the lotto. It's just unbelievable. This is going to be a great day today."
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Nokia's Laptop

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Nokia Booklet 3G Mini Laptop Unveiled

GLOBAL – Nokia has just whipped the dust sheet off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A brand new breed of portable device for Nokia, this mini laptop PC sees the company step foot on freshly cut turf, and we’re a little dumb-struck with excitement at the prospect of the experience that this bite-size Booklet promises to deliver when it arrives. Not to mention what it means bigger picture, and how this product could affect the entire mobile landscape for the better (we’ll save that for another story), but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

First, let’s get down off our tip-toes, take a deep breath, and soak up all the initial details on what the upcoming Nokia Booklet 3G mini laptop is set to deliver when it lands on laps. Read on for every shred of info currently available on this landmark new product, and get the first close-up look at the Nokia Booklet 3G mini laptop in our photo gallery.

The new Nokia Booklet 3G will be a Windows-based machine, supported by an efficient Intel Atom processor that promises the performance of a full-function PC. It’s efficiency credentials are boldly punctuated with battery life that stretches up to 12 hours (with normal daily use, of course – don’t expect a 12-hour Quake-fest off a single hit of juice).

Turning our attention to mini matters of a tape-measure nature, the Nokia Booklet 3G comes toting a glass 10.1-inch HD display (it has an HDMI port for HD video out). This lives within its smart aluminium shell which measures in at just 2cm thin and tips the scales at around a kilogram to ensure it’s extremely portable.

Connecting at speed is crucial with a product of this nature, so the Booklet 3G has been designed with fast downloading and uploading front of mind – it’s 3G/HSPA ready for rapid mobile broadband anywhere-access on the move. Wi-Fi has also been wedged into it’s slim body. Plus, it supports hot-swappable SIM card functionality.

It’s talents don’t end there, with Nokia’s mini laptop PC also featuring onboard assisted-GPS with Ovi Maps neatly sat in the passenger seat. There’s a single front-facing camera nestled above the 10.1-inch HD screen for video chat, with Bluetooth and a built-in SD card reader also making appearances.

You may be wondering why Nokia is adding to its range of products with an ultra portable laptop PC? Well, Nokia’s Executive Vice President for Devices, Kai Oistamo, summed it up simply as follows:

“A growing number of people want the computing power of a PC with the full benefits of mobility. We are in the business of connecting people and the Nokia Booklet 3G is a natural evolution for us. Nokia has a long and rich heritage in mobility and with the outstanding battery life, premium design and all day, always on connectivity, we will create something quite compelling. In doing so we will make the personal computer more social, more helpful and more personal.”

There’s already a lot of info to digest here, but there are still more details to come at Nokia World 09 on 2 September – expect official word on where the Nokia Booklet 3G will be available, news on how much it’ll cost, along with a detailed list of specs for the number-hungry among us.

In the meantime, share your opinions on the new Nokia Booklet 3G in the comments section below, and be sure to follow all our coverage of Nokia World 09 right here on Conversations.

SOS : Distress Signal

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SOS is the commonly used description for the International Morse code distress signal (· · · — — — · · ·).

This distress signal was first adopted by the German government in radio regulations effective April 1, 1905, and became the worldwide standard under the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention, which was signed on November 3, 1906 and became effective on July 1, 1908.

SOS remained the maritime radio distress signal until 1999, when it was replaced by the Global Maritime Distress Safety System. SOS is still recognized as a visual distress signal.

From the beginning, the SOS distress signal has actually consisted of a continuous sequence of three-dits/three-dahs/three-dits, all run together without letter spacing.

In International Morse Code, three dits form the letter S, and three dahs make the letter O, so "SOS" became an easy way to remember the correct order of the dits and dahs. In modern terminology, SOS is a Morse "procedural signal" or "prosign", and the formal way to write it is with a bar above the letters, i.e. SOS.

In popular usage, SOS became associated with phrases such as "Save Our Seamen", "Save our Ship", "Survivors On Shore" or "Save Our Souls". These were a later development, most likely used to help remember the correct letters (something known as a backronym).

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Seven New IIMs

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Cabinet Approves Seven (7) New IIMs

 

NEW DELHI: The country will soon have seven new IIMs, of which four will start functioning from next year with the Union Cabinet today approving a 

HRD ministry proposal to set up these management institutes.

 

The new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will be set up in Tami Nadu, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.

 

Aimed at generating a highly competent and trained manpower, the institutes are also expected to act as a major catalyst for developing a knowledge society that would inevitably impact on the economic growth of the country.

 

In the first phase, four IIMs at Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Rohtak (Haryana) will be set up in 2009-10, which would become functional from academic session 2010-11.

 

The IIMs in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan will be set up in 2010-11.

 

In phase-I there would be an intake of 140 students in the PG course and by the end of phase-II, it would reach 560 students per year.

 

The 11th Five Year Plan endorsed by the National Development Council (NDC) in December 2007, envisaged establishment of seven new IIMs in the country.

 

With these new IIMs, the country will have 13 B-schools. The Centre has also established one IIM -- Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM) in Shillong -- which has commenced its first academic session from 2008-2009.

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Some Fear for 1 - Few Dare to 14

1 Man - 14 Wives

 

MUMBAI: You may find it difficult to live a double life but a Mumbai man has been living 14 different lives - with 14 different wives - over the 

last couple of years.

 

The police arrested the 40-year-old man, who used to be an engineer with Air India, on August 18 for marrying 14 women in the last two-and-a-half years. Police officials said Tushar Waghmare alias Tushar Bapat was sacked from his job soon after that.

 

Five official complaints have been registered so far against Waghmare. The nine other victims were not coming forward to lodge complaints as they feared for their reputation, officials said.

 

Investigators said Waghmare registered his profile with a marriage portal and mentioned that he had divorced his wife in 2006. He mentioned on his profile that he was looking for working Brahmin women who could be divorcees or widows.

 

Officials said he ``took care'' of all 14 wives, including one from Nagar, though - in the end - it was they who looked after him after he had exhausted his monthly salary of Rs 70,000. Three of the women Waghmare married were architects or engineers, police officials said, and the others were homemakers.

 

Waghmare used to visit profiles of girls on marriage portals and would fix appointments with their parents at one of his rented apartments in Lokhandwala or Jogheshwari. ``None of the women or their parents ever thought of doing a background check on him as they would be impressed with his job profile,'' deputy commissioner of police R M Vhatkar told TOI.

 

Vhatkar said Waghmare would spend at least three consecutive days with each of his wives and then tell them that he had to travel to other states to attend official meetings; this way, he managed to spend time with all his 14 wives.

 

Senior inspector Vijay Raut said: ``Waghmare married the victims after showing a bogus divorce letter written on stamp paper that was signed and had a notary's stamp. We managed to get hold of five different marriage photographs of Waghmare.'' Interestingly, there are a couple of faces that are common to every one of the five pictures; one them would pretend to be Waghmare's father and the other would pose as his uncle.

 

Inspector Shivaji Phadtare said: ``Waghmare started marrying women one after the other since his first wife divorced him in 2006. Waghmare changed his surname to Bapat (a Brahmin surname) so that he could marry Brahmin girls.''

 

Waghmare was finally caught after he married a 29-year-old architect in Mulund on August 11; she was a divorcee and had a son, officials said, and added they were surprised by Waghmare's increasing audacity. He was living with one of his other wives when the architect's parents came to visit him at his Lokhandwala home and he just sent her to the market for a couple of hours.

 

However, three days after they returned from honeymoon in Lonavala, this last of wives told Waghmare that her employers had asked her to go to Delhi on an assignment. ``I was shocked when Waghmare replied that I could take my own time and could return whenever I wanted to. What shocked me even more was when he told me he would not mind at all if I had extramarital affairs. This prompted me to go to his Lokhandwala flat on August 16, when I met a 29-year-old woman who claimed that Waghmare married her in April 2009,'' the victim mentioned in her complaint.

 

Investigators said they had received a letter from Air India, saying they were conducting a departmental inquiry against Waghmare for sexually harassing AI women employees since 2006. He has been remanded in police custody till August 29.

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TWO MODERN BROTHERS

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An Old Tale of Two Modern Brothers

Once upon a time there was an ambitious young man named Mukesh Ambani who invested Rs 38,000 crore to look for gas, deep on the ocean’s floor, off the turbulent coast of Andhra Pradesh. Some called him mad.

If ONGC, the government exploration company, had not found anything after wasting thousands of Crores of taxpayer’s money for decades, how could he risk his and his shareholder’s money in this reckless manner? What if nothing was found?

They did not know that Mukesh is one of life’s winners. Not only did he find the gas but the amount was beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. It was the biggest energy discovery in the world at the time. More impressive still, he has brought it into commercial production in half the normal time, thus, creating another world record. No wonder, he is a hero to millions. His breakthrough will reduce significantly the nation’s energy bill for importing oil and it reinforces our faith in private exploration. And there is still much more gas under the ocean floor, according to experts — Myanmar has also found gas at its end of the same ocean. Given the nation’s desperate need for energy, we must hurry and find it.

Mukesh Ambani has a younger, more flamboyant brother named Anil, who is also highly accomplished. But he has a different temperament — he loves glamour and power and cultivates politicians and film stars. In fact, he is married to one. All this does not go down well with his sober, older brother. After their father died, power passed on to Mukesh. Since he did not trust Anil, he ignored and marginalized him. Anil fought back. After a fearsome battle, their mother intervened and divided the business. We have a saying in India: “Haveli ki umar saath saal” which means the life of a business house is 60 years. After that the family splits up, usually in the third generation. But the Ambani brothers have split up in the second.

As part of the family division, Mukesh agreed to provide gas to a power plant which Anil intended to put up in Uttar Pradesh at a price of $2.34 per mmbtu. This was the price that Mukesh also agreed to supply NTPC, the mammoth government-owned power producer. Mukesh refuses to honour these contracts. He claims that the official price is $4.20, which is also closer to today’s market price (based on actual bids made in April 2007). The difference in the two prices is worth tens of thousands of Crores. So, a lot is at stake. Both the brothers, it seems to me, have a strong case, which is now before the Supreme Court, and i am glad i am not the judge.

Normally, a fight between two brothers should not matter to the nation. But it does in this case. The quantity of gas is so vast that it affects the nation’s finances. A lower energy price means lower inflation — it means a lower government subsidy to fertilizer and power plants. But a lower price also implies that the government will make a huge loss from its revenue sharing contract with Mukesh. Hence, the court has to bear in mind the interests of both the producers and the consumers of gas.

Whatever the outcome in the court, it is crucial that the image of India as a mature democracy with a rule of law is protected. Only then can we hope to attract investor-explorers in the future. They are all set to gamble vast sums without any certainty of finding the gas. They should at least have the comfort that they are dealing with a trustworthy government, which will not nationalize, nor change the rules of the game midway, and will uphold their contract. If the court judgement upholds the lower price, it will certainly dampen the spirits of investors. On the other hand, by upholding the prior contract between the brothers, the court will also send a positive signal to future investors that the rule of law prevails in India.

Investors are thus watching the government carefully. The state should not take sides in private conflicts. It should be neutral and fair. This is how trust is built. But last month Anil Ambani attacked Murli Deora, the petroleum minister, at the annual meeting of his company. He suggested that something smelled rotten — the government was favouring Mukesh. The suggestion of crony capitalism has shaken the confidence of investors. I cannot remember the last time when a businessman had the guts to publicly attack a cabinet minister. Businessmen have too much to lose — tax raids, denial of licenses and loans from public institutions. Why did Anil Ambani take this risk? Wait for the next episode.

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Most Powerful Volcanic Eruption in History

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27 August 1883 : Krakatau Explodes

The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurs on Krakatau (also called Krakatoa), a small, uninhabited volcanic island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia, on this day in 1883.

Heard 3,000 miles away, the explosions threw five cubic miles of earth 50 miles into the air, created 120-foot tsunamis and killed 36,000 people.

Krakatau exhibited its first stirrings in more than 200 years on May 20, 1883. A German warship passing by reported a seven-mile high cloud of ash and dust over Krakatau. For the next two months, similar explosions would be witnessed by commercial liners and natives on nearby Java and Sumatra. With little to no idea of the impending catastrophe, the local inhabitants greeted the volcanic activity with festive excitement.

On August 26 and August 27, excitement turned to horror as Krakatau literally blew itself apart, setting off a chain of natural disasters that would be felt around the world for years to come. An enormous blast on the afternoon of August 26 destroyed the northern two-thirds of the island; as it plunged into the Sunda Strait, between the Java Sea and Indian Ocean, the gushing mountain generated a series of pyroclastic flows (fast-moving fluid bodies of molten gas, ash and rock) and monstrous tsunamis that swept over nearby coastlines. Four more eruptions beginning at 5:30 a.m. the following day proved cataclysmic. The explosions could be heard as far as 3,000 miles away, and ash was propelled to a height of 50 miles. Fine dust from the explosion drifted around the earth, causing spectacular sunsets and forming an atmospheric veil that lowered temperatures worldwide by several degrees.

Of the estimated 36,000 deaths resulting from the eruption, at least 31,000 were caused by the tsunamis created when much of the island fell into the water. The greatest of these waves measured 120 feet high, and washed over nearby islands, stripping away vegetation and carrying people out to sea. Another 4,500 people were scorched to death from the pyroclastic flows that rolled over the sea, stretching as far as 40 miles, according to some sources.

In addition to Krakatau, which is still active, Indonesia has another 130 active volcanoes, the most of any country in the world.

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Class X Boards to Become Optional From 2010 ~ 11

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NEW DELHI: From the coming academic year (2010-11), the Class X board exams will become optional in all CBSE schools. The board will make a formal 

 

Sources in CBSE said board chairman Vineet Joshi will, on Thursday, hold the last presentation and consultation session in Madhya Pradesh on the changes being brought about before the draft is finalized and made public.

 

The sources said CBSE has prepared the format of an aptitude exam which schools can use to test Class X students on their level of understanding in each subject. The emphasis, however, will be on continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) through the year instead of a single public exam at the end of Class X.

 

``CBSE has decided to go strongly on making the Class X board exam optional and implement CCE grading system and other alternatives. The process of review of the present Class X exam system is over,'' Joshi told TOI.

 

He said that CBSE had also conducted a survey among students on whether they want the board exam to continue. ``In a couple of days, we will come out with final modalities of the new system,'' he added.

 

Joshi said there were apprehensions that the new format would create two categories of students, those who take the exam and others who don't. ``Concerns have also been raised on the problem of certification for those who opt out. We have addressed these issues in the new plan and provided alternatives,'' he said.

 

Among these alternatives is the provision of an online, on demand test for those who don't take the board exam but want certification later on. ``The certificate issued after this online exam would be equivalent to the Class X certificate. This test will also help students who want to change streams in Class XI,'' Joshi said.

 

In another major decision aimed at ensuring that schools maintain the minimim basic standards, CBSE has decided to have an independent agency for accreditation of CBSE schools. All schools under the board will have to get themselves evaluated by this agency within three years. New schools will get CBSE affiliation three years after they have been accredited by this agency.

 

Joshi said the accreditation agency could be either a government or private body. ``The Quality Council of India has shown interest in the project,'' he added.

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Youngest Mother In The World

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Lina Medina was born on 27th September 1933 in Paurange. At the age of 5 years 8 months, she gave birth to her first child on 14th May 1939. She still holds the record for the youngest mother in the world.

Lina Medina's parents thought their 5-year-old daughter had a huge abdominal tumour so her father carried her to a hospital, just over a month later; she gave birth to a boy.

"Born at full term at Lima's maternity clinic, her child was taken through a caesarean operation (Dr. Lozada and Busalleu, operators, Dr. Colretta, anaesthesiologist). The child (boy), weighing 2,700 grams, was well formed and in good health. Child and mother were able to leave the clinic after only a few days.

Doctor Lozada has conducted very detailed studies since the diagnostic of the pregnancy which aroused much curiosity in the country; he took an x-ray of the child and her baby, established a diagnostic of the foetal situation, and observed the state of functionality of the little mother who had begun menstruating at the age of 8 months. At four years old she had already developed breasts as well as pubic hair, her body proportions were a bit amazing and her bone hardening a bit advanced things that are often observed in cases of such premature pregnancy."

The child was named Gerardo, which was the name of one of the doctors who attended Medina and who became their mentor. When he reached 10 years old, he discovered that the person he had grown up believing to be his sister was actually his mother.

Within a week of Gerado being born, the story was all over the newspapers.

"Gerardo died in 1979 at age 40 from a disease that attacks the body's bone marrow, but it was said it was not clear there was any link with his illness and the fact his mother had been so young at his birth."

Lina married over 25 years later and in 1972 she had a second son, which was 33 years after her first.
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Class XII Marks Crucial from 2011

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Class XII Marks May Play A Crucial Factor in IIT-JEE from 2011

 

This may be a good news for those who had scored very good percentage in their XII board exam as Marks scored in the Plus Two board examinations are going to decide your eligibility in the Joint  Entrance Examination (IITJEE) for admission into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) by 2011.

Union human resource development ministry  has set up a committee of IITs professors ,  to suggest reforms to JEE, is expected to submit its report recommending ways to consider the marks scored by students in higher secondary examinations while preparing the IIT merit list. A meeting of all IIT directors and JEE representatives in Chennai over the weekend discussed the proposed changes.

“We hope to devise a methodology to compute a normalised Plus Two cut-off eligibility score for each educational board (CBSE, ICSE, and State Boards). once it’s approved, then only students who have scored this cut-off mark would become eligible to appear for JEE,” said IIT Madras deputy director V G Idichandy, who is heading the committee.

Four years ago, IIT standing council had proposed 85% marks in XII as  minimum cut off percentage for JEE but it has been reduced to 60%  by considering it too high for benchmark

In the current  scenario the admission processes in IITs ,nowhere consider the XII marks in process which is opposed by various committees as it totally ignore the importance of XII board exam and give rise to coaching culture

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How to Evaluate Stocks .....?

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IndianMoney.com Research Team

Warren Buffet is considered to be a genius when it comes to stock investment. He recommends an important thing to the investors that the stock (company) you are thinking to buy or invest should have been around for at least ten years. There are a number of factors to be considered befere investing in a stock. This article will help you in understanding such factors.

Techniques to Evaluate Stocks
Following are the things that will guide you in taking an investment decision. They will show you the strength of the financial position of a company. So that it will be easy for you to select a stock and invest in that.
• Company History
• Dividend
• Market Cap
• Cash Flow
• Price Earnings Ratio (P/E)
• Return on Assets & Return on Equity (ROA & ROE)
• Financial Leverage

Company History
It is better to invest in companies that have in existence from minimum 10 years. Over the course of a decade, many things can happen to a company. There will be good times and bad times for everything. If a company can survive the bad times for at least ten years then they are more likely to handle future bad times with equivalent skill. So if a company has been around for at least ten years then you can choose these companies to invest. But remember along with this you have to consider other factors also.

Dividend
A dividend is an amount paid out by the company to its existing share holders. Dividends can be paid out at various times of the year, most of the times it seems to be given out on a quarterly basis. These dividends are especially useful for long term investors because your dividends will compound over a period of time.

Market Cap
A market cap is basically how much sales a company will generate in a given year. Invest only in companies with a market cap of a hundred million or more. Anything less than this and the company might go bankrupt if their sales don't pick up.

Cash Flow
Cash flow generally indicates how much profit the company makes per year. If the company has a good cash flow then they are more likely to avoid bankruptcy. And it is great news for investors. Banks or other similar financial institutions are examples of high cash flow. This is mostly due to these companies accept deposits and offer loans to people. Financial institutions can be great stocks.

Price Earnings ratio (P/E)
P/E stands for Price Earnings Ratio. This generally tells you what people expect from this stock. If the P/E ratio is between 10 and 30 then it is considered a reasonably stable stock. On the other hand, if it is really high then that means people have high expectations on this stock. And if those high expectations are not met then the stock is much more likely to lose investors, which will lead the stock to lose its value drastically, this is something that you don't want to happen. So if the stock has a high P/E ratio just be aware of the possible outcomes. If the stock is above 25 then it is usually considered as high.

Return on Assets & Return on Equity (ROA & ROE)
ROA stands for Return on Assets and ROE stands for Return on Equity. Normally, investors like to see both of these figures going up or staying stable over a period of years. If the ROA or ROE is negative or falling, you should think twice about purchasing that stock.

Financial Leverage
Financial leverage generally tells us how much the company has acquired in debt. You should try to avoid investing in companies that have a financial leverage higher than 5. But again, it is normal for banks and other financial institutions to have a financial leverage ratio more than 5.

Picking stocks is a difficult work. It takes time and patience to learn all of the jargon and other tricks of the trade. But when the day is done, you'll be glad to see that your hard work is paying off.

Instructions for Equity Traders/Investors
Following are the things to be considered by an equity trader before executing the trade. Successful stock trading involves many factors such as selecting a good company, diversifying the portfolio, support of a good broker, etc. If you are lacking any of these factors, it affects your trading very badly. Following are the things to be taken care by an investor before trading or investing.

• Know your Risk Tolerance
• Invest in the company not in the stock
• Know your broker
• Reduce your risk by diversifying

Know your risk tolerance
Understanding yourself is very important; you should know your risk tolerance, how much you can afford to invest, how much loss you can suffer, etc. Before investing in any type of stock, know how much risk you are willing and capable to take. In simple terms it means having a look at how much money you can afford to lose.

Invest in the company not in the stock
People normally go behind the stocks without knowing much about the company. Some stocks might perform well in short term without a strong base of business but this growth is not stable. If a company has to perform well in long run it should have a strong and deep rooted business. It is always better to invest in such companies than going behind market trend.

Know your broker
Take time to understand your broker, enquire about his history, past performance, commission charged, etc. Sometimes brokers might have a vested interest in some stocks, including ownership of the stock, in this case they might compel you to buy more stock to raise prices. This could be false inflation of the stock's value therefore making it even more risky.

Reduce your Risk by Diversifying
Reduce your risk in stock investments by diversifying. Purchase good stocks from different industry, this will help you to reduce the investment risk because if one stock fails badly, the other will generate profit this will help you to avoid the overall loss.

There are thousands of stocks in the market to choose from, how do you determine the one that best suits for you? After all, if you pick incorrectly, you could lose all of your hard-earned money. But if you can understand the terms mentioned above then the likelihood of you losing your money will diminish significantly and the chance of making huge profits is more.
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Raped by DAD & UNCLE

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16 Year Old Repeatedly Raped by Dad Uncle

NAGPUR: The story of a pregnant 16-year-old girl, rescued by neighbours of Vandevi slums recently from the clutches of her 35-year-old father, brought to the fore the grotesque brutality she was made to undergo at home. She has been suffering at the hands of her uncle and then her father for years in Uttar Pradesh and later in city. Neetu (name changed), joined the ranks of the hapless girls who were not spared by the persons whom they trusted the most.

Neetu had lost her mother Chanda when she was just an infant. She desperately looked upon her father to rescue her from an uncle in Uttar Pradesh who was exploiting her repeatedly. Her father did ‘rescue’ her in 2008, but allegedly started forcing himself upon her.

The pregnant girl, sick and mentally upset, is now sheltered at government’s girls’ hostel. Yashodhara Nagar police have arrested father Gurucharan Yadav, alias Gopal, on Sunday. Yadav was nearly lynched by Vandevi Nagar residents before police saved him. He is reminiscent of Austria’s dungeon dad Josef Fritzl and Mumbai businessman Kishore Chowdhury.

The girl, whose case is similar to that of a teenager from Hingna who had indicted her father for rape recently, has named her dad and his younger brother as tormentors.

Neetu had studied till eighth standard in Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh and was keen to continue further. Though the account of her early years could not be known, it is learnt that Neetu had to strive hard to survive since her mother died and father remarried. She had to work as domestic help too.

Yadav left his daughter and migrated to city some years ago. He started earning his livelihood as an auto-rickshaw driver. Meanwhile, he had a son and a daughter from his second wife Nirmala. Neighbours claimed Nirmala, apparently left disgusted by Yadav lifestyle, left him.

“We were curious about the girl. Yadav said she was his daughter. Once I went to see what was going on inside the shanty and was aghast to find him (Yadav) in his towel. There were two pillows on the bed,” said neighbour Noorjahan Quereshi adding that she was sensing some foul play as the girl was never allowed to mingle much with others.

The matter came to fore when Farzana Banoo, another neighbour, was approached by the distraught girl who told Banoo she needed help. “Her father (Yadav) had once urged me to look after her as she was not well. I was shocked when she told me her father was having physical relations with her. I immediately urged her to stop coming to me as it was against my religious belief and there are children who come for spiritual lesson at home,” said Banoo.

They could ignore no longer when the girl started having ill-health. Yadav and three neighbours-- Quereshi, Shaikh Raju and Hamida Begum-- took Neetu to a health centre at Shanti Nagar. She was referred to another clinic at Kamal chowk. There she was discovered to be pregnant.

“We approached the girl the following day in absence of her father to know the truth,” said a neighbour adding that the girl was being sheltered at different places in city including Pension Nagar before she was brought here. “She divulged the facts,” said the neighbour.

She also told them her uncle had raped her repeatedly when his wife was away at native place for delivery. “Yadav and the girl were away from home for a day. When they returned, we challenged Yadav and contacted the police,” neighbour Raju said.

Senior inspector Rajendra Pardesi, in-charge of Yashodhara Nagar police station, said that police wanted to concentrate on the culprit (Yadav) who is in the custody। “It would be better if we decide to make a strong case out of the apprehended culprit and not make it too complicated,” said Pardeshi indicating he did not intent to pursue Yadav’s younger brother although the girl has clearly named him too.
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कलयुग / महा - कलयुग
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Punished for Drinking Beer

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Muslim Body Punishes Female Model for Drinking Beer

Kuala Lumpur, August 24: A Muslim model, Malaysia's first woman to face caning for drinking beer in public, got a temporary reprieve as her punishment has been postponed till after the fasting month of Ramadan.

Kartika Shukarno, 32, a part time model and a permanent resident of Singapore, was sentenced to six strokes of the cane last month by a religious court for drinking beer as consumption of alcohol is forbidden under the country's Shariah law.

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