Assorted

New York, Feb 17: Last month was the third warmest January in 137 years of modern record-keeping, according to a monthly analysis of global temperatures by Nasa scientists. Last month"s temperature was 0.20 degrees Celsius cooler than the warmest January in 2016. However, it was 0.92 degrees Celsius warmer than the mean January temperature from 1951-1980. Two of the three top January temperature...

Feb 17: In November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stunned the country by announcing that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were as good as garbage. Despite his insistence that the ban was meant to curb black money and put terrorists out of business, many analysts said it was motivated by politics rather than economics, and done with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh (UP) elections. Since the rise of...

Geneva, Feb 16: Using smartphones, laptops and other technology to work from home may help you do away with rush hour traffic, but also lead to longer working hours, higher stress and sleeping problems, according to a new UN study in 15 countries including India. "This report shows that the use of modern communication technologies facilitates a better overall work-life balance," said Jon Messenger...

Paris, Feb 16: The world's oceans have lost more than two per cent of their oxygen since 1960, with potentially devastating consequences for sea plants and animals, marine scientists said Wednesday. In those five and a half decades, parts of the oceans devoid of oxygen, called anoxic waters, have quadrupled, said a study in the science journal Nature. And the production and flow of nitrous oxide...

Bengaluru, Feb 16: Kalale Keshavamurthy, who contested the 2013 Assembly polls on JD(S) ticket in Nanjangud constituency, joined the Congress on Wednesday in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president G. Parameshwara. Mr. Keshavamurthy will be the Congress candidate in the crucial bypoll to the Legislative Assembly from Nanjangud reserved segment. Meanwhile, Congress leaders...

London, Feb 14: A heroic Indian-origin Scotland Yard officer has been honoured with a top bravery award in the UK for risking his own life to save a family trapped in a burning house, winning the vote of thousands of Londoners. Shand Panesar, along with colleague Craig Nicholson, won the Total Excellence in Policing Awards at the annual ceremony last week for rescuing a couple from a burning...

Chennai, Feb 14: The 28-hour countdown for the launch of a record 104 satellites by India on board a single rocket from the spaceport of Sriharikota, about 125 km from here, commenced today. India will become the first country to script history if it succeeds in launching the 104 satellites in a single rocket. The countdown for the launch of PSLV-C37/Cartosat2 Series satellite mission began at 5...

Yadgir, Feb 14: Nearly 30 sheep died after a wolf attacked them in Anakasugur village in Shahapur taluk of Yadgir district recently. Officials of the Animal Husbandry Department from Shahapur visited the spot and assured Rs. 5,000 compensation for each dead animal. “There is a provision to release compensation of Rs. 5,000 for each dead sheep and the amount will be released soon,” a senior officer...

Mangaluru, Feb 14: The 35th Convocation of Mangalore University will be held on March 3 at noon at Mangala Auditorium, Mangala Gangothri. The chairman of the Indian Science Academy Ajay K. Sood will deliver the convocation address. Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala and Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayaraddi will be the other dignitaries at the event.

Mumbai, Feb 13: Led by growth in business process outsourcing, the Indian government is set to spend $7.8 billion on IT in 2017 - an increase of 9.5 per cent over 2016, market research firm Gartner said on Monday. This forecast includes spending on internal services, software, IT services, data centre systems, devices and telecom services. "Government spending on IT services will total $2,093...