The engine and nine coaches of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derailed between Vasind and Asangaon stations in Maharashtra early today following a landslide, a senior railway official said.
No passenger is reported to be injured in the incident so far, Sunil Udasi, Chief PRO of the Central Railway, said. Udasi said the derailment was caused due to a landslide.
"The cause (of derailment) is sudden landslide due to heavy rains. But graciously enough, the driver did an excellent job of applying emergency breaks," he said.
However, another railway official said the exact cause of the derailment was not yet clear.
"It is suspected that a portion of the tracks was washed away due to heavy rains in the Kasara Ghats section since there has been long spell of incessant and torrential rains since the past few days," the official said.
The train had a total of 18 coaches.
Helpline numbers have been set up at CSMT, Thane, Kalyan, Dadar and Nagpur stations to help passengers.
A PTI correspondent, Justin Rao, who was on-board the train said, "At least six coaches along with the engine slipped off the tracks".
Rao, who was travelling in the A-2 coach that derailed, said the accident happened when most of the passengers were sleeping.
"While we were sleeping, we felt a jerk and several passengers fell off their berths. When we got up, we found our train's bogies derailed."
"Few people were stuck in the washrooms and were rescued by some passengers by breaking glasses of windows," Rao said.
Rao said, "Though relief and rescue came a bit late, everything was fine once the Central Railway team arrived." A team of doctors as well as senior officers are at the spot.
Proper arrangements have been made to transport stranded passengers from the site to CSMT or other destinations by buses and taxis.
Traffic operations in the affected section have been stopped and few trains have been diverted and short-terminated, official said.
A statement issued by the Central Railway said, "12859 CSMT-Howrah Gitanjali Express has been diverted via Kalyan-Karjat-Pune-Daund-Manmad route."
"Sectional officials and railway workers have arrived at the spot and the entire team has swung into action to rescue stranded passengers and restore traffic in the affected section," Udasi said.
"Our rescue team along with the Accident Relief Train along with engineering staff has reached the spot," he said.
This is the fourth train derailment in the country in a a span of 10 days.
About 100 passengers were wounded when 10 coaches of the
Kaifiyat Express train derailed in UP's Auraiya district after crashing into a dumper which strayed on to the tracks. Fourteen coaches of the high-speed Utkal Express jumped the tracks on August 19, with one of them crashing into a house adjacent to the track near Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, claiming 23 lives and over 60 injured.
On August 25, six coaches of the Andheri-bound local train derailed in Mumbai, injuring six of its passengers.
Locals in Rohtak have been asked to stay indoors as a preventive measure ahead of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's sentencing. All schools and colleges are closed in Haryana, and some also in neighbouring Punjab.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this big story:
Ram Rahim, 50, faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment at the prison-side court hearing. The chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect was flown out of Panchkula in a helicopter after his conviction as his followers broke into rioting and arson. To prevent a repeat, the judge is delivering the sentence at the Rohtak prison today.
Thousands of paramilitary troops and anti-riot police have blocked off all roads in the area. Large gatherings are banned in Rohtak. Mobile internet services remain suspended. All schools and colleges in Haryana are closed.
Barbed-wire barriers have been erected and residents have been warned to stay indoors in Rohtak. Senior members of Ram Rahim's Dera Sacha Sauda sect were placed under detention as a precautionary measure.
The Rohtak police has warned that it may shoot at any sign of trouble, three days after violence and rioting by supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda claimed 38 lives.
"We have made multi-layered arrangements so that nobody is able to reach the venue (prison) or enter Rohtak district itself," police deputy inspector general Navdeep Singh Virk told NDTV. "I am fully confident everything will go on peacefully and there will be no untoward incident."
Over 1,50,000 members of Ram Rahim's Dera Sacha Sauda had gathered in Panchkula in a show of support before Friday's verdict. Violent protests followed across his power base in the Haryana, with police deploying tear gas and water cannons, with little impact. It was clear the authorities grossly underestimated the risk posed by the army of Ram Rahim's devotees.
Over the weekend, more than 100 branches of the sect have been sanitised and sealed across Haryana. Petrol cans and sticks were found stockpiled. The police in Sirsa, where his 1,000- acre main base is located, have been urging about 30,000 devotees to emerge from the campus.
A few thousand were persuaded to leave for their homes across the state in buses and those efforts will continue today, said top government officials to NDTV, denying reports that they will forcefully enter the campus to evacuate devotees.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned yesterday that "Violence is not acceptable in the nation, in any form." But his party, the BJP, which governs Haryana, has come under heavy fire for failing to prevent the outbreak of violence and allowing the 50-year-old guru to travel in a luxury chopper to jail.
Followers of the flamboyant Ram Rahim, who is known as the "guru in bling" because of his penchant for bejeweled costumes and customised superbikes, continue to insist upon his innocence. "Our father can never do any sin," said devotee Trilok Insaan at a shop in Sirsa, adorned with posters of a heavily-bearded Ram Rahim.
The winner of the biggest jackpot in North American history - $758.7m (£590m) - has come forward to collect her prize.
Mother-of-two Mavis Wanczyk, 53, bought the ticket at a Chicopee, Massachusetts, petrol station.
The winner - whose lucky numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26, and 4 - told reporters she had already quit her job.
The biggest ever US Powerball jackpot was $1.6bn, although that was shared by three ticket holders in January 2016.
Massachusetts State Lottery told reporters the ticket in Wednesday night's draw had been validated.
"The first thing I want to do is just sit back and relax," said Ms Wanczyk, chewing gum.
Image copyrightWBZ-TV)Image captionThe winning ticket was bought at a petrol station in Chicopee, Massachusetts
"I had a pipe dream.. and it came true."
She told journalists she had picked her lucky numbers based on relatives' birthdays.
Ms Wanczyk said of her 32-year job at a medical centre: "I've called them and told them I will not be going back."
She added that she was "going to go hide in my bed".
Reporters asked if she had plans to treat herself to something nice, such as a fancy new car.
But Ms Wanczyk replied she just bought a new car less than a year ago, and now plans to pay it off in full.
One lottery official described the woman as "your prototypical Massachusetts resident".
Image copyrightEPAImage captionPeople wait outside a liquor store to buy lottery tickets in Hawthorne, California
He added that she seems like "a hard-working individual" and "clearly she's excited".
The $50,000 prize awarded to the business that sells the winning numbers will be donated to charity, said Pride petrol station owner Bob Bolbuc.
The jackpot payout, which can be made in 29 yearly payments or a lump sum, is estimated to be about $443m after taxes.
Powerball Product Group chairman Charlie McIntyre said in a statement that six other tickets - sold in Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and the Virgin Islands - won $2m each.
Thirty-four other tickets across the US scooped $1m.
Massachusetts lottery officials initially said the jackpot ticket was sold at a convenience store in the Boston suburb of Watertown, but corrected the location on Thursday morning.
It is not clear how the error was made.
Odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292.2 million.
“Park the Benz, just to ride the Wraith,” Quavo raps in Drake’s song “Portland,” which peaked at No. 9 on the charts this year. That Wraith he’s so thrilled about is a $300,000 automobile made by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd., which has quietly become the king of pop-culture music references, appearing in more top songs than any other brand.
Not Mercedes-Benz, not Ferrari, not even Lamborghini. Rolls reigns.
Bloomberg analyzed the lyrics of each song that made it into the top 20 spots of the Billboard Hot 100 from May 2014 to May 2017, counting the brands or products mentioned. Multiple mentions of the same brand or product in the same song weren’t included.
Particularly with the ascension of hip-hop, brand references became a shorthand for aspiration and status. As such, they’re also a good barometer for your brand’s cool factor, or its imminent dilution, depending on your marketing strategy. Bloomberg analyzed tracks that made it into the top 20 spots of Billboard’s Hot 100 over the past three years and found that eight of the 12 most popular product mentions have four wheels.
Rolls-Royce tops the list, featured in 11 different tunes by such artists as Future, The Weeknd, and Kodak Black. Ferrari is a close second. Chevrolet, Lamborghini, Bentley, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche each get touts in several songs. Among non-car shout-outs, old standbys Hennessy cognac and Nike’s Air Jordan sneaker label got the most. We also found that it’s not just alcohol, guns, clothing, and super luxury making it into songs anymore—software, cookware, and even Band-Aids are making the grade.
As far as the song including the most name-checks, the crown goes to “Bad and Boujee”by hip-hop group Migos, which climbed all the way to the No. 1 spot on the charts early this year. It includes 19 brand mentions, from Instagram and Klout to Segway scooters and, um, Crock-Pot slow cookers. Car references are sprinkled throughout the song, too. They rap about a “lamb” and a “frog,” nods to Lamborghini and Porsche. There’s also a reference to the Ferrari 458 Spider, a drop-top convertible that costs more than a quarter-million dollars. The Rolls-Royce Ghost gets some attention as well.
Across the 280 songs we reviewed, 212 brands are highlighted. Cars, fashion, television, and movies make the most appearances, followed by technology, alcohol, music, and drugs. Many are prestige items like Rolex watches or Gucci jackets. Others are less glamorous brands, such as Kit Kat candy bars, Grey Poupon (thank you, Kendrick Lamar), and 7-Eleven convenience stores. Drug brands range from Rolaids to Xanax. The universe of dropped names is huge: Everything from Barbie dolls to Glock pistols, Trojan condoms to A1 steak sauce.
Most references come from hip-hop tracks or a rapper who sings a few verses in a pop song. But not all: Taylor Swift, for instance, has brand mentions in her hits, such as Band-Aid bandages in “Bad Blood” and Polaroid cameras in “Out of the Woods.” Katy Perry includes Dom Perignon in “Birthday.” Meghan Trainor even managed to squeeze a reference to software—in this case, Adobe Photoshop—into her chart topper “All About That Bass.”
The obvious question when musicians mention obscure brands is, are they getting paid? Sometimes they do. As with television shows and feature films, brands like to insert themselves into pop culture, and music is no different. Dozens of music videos show off stuff from Beats, the Jimmy Iovine/Dr. Dre headphones brand owned by Apple Inc. The item appears in several of Lady Gaga’s music videos, from her breakout hit “Just Dance” to “Poker Face” and “Telephone.” Beats Pill speakers, meanwhile, are clearly visible in videos from Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Nicki Minaj.
It’s often unclear what’s a paid placement and what’s not, however, since artists generally don’t disclose the deals. No, Drake wasn’t paid by Rolls-Royce to include the Wraith in “Portland,” or its bigger and pricier cousin, the Phantom, in “Jumpman,” according to the manufacturer. But Chris Brown’s 2008 hit “Forever,” which featured the line “double your pleasure,” turned out to be an extended version of a chewing gum jingle for Wrigley’s Doublemint.
There’s a middle ground, however. Rolls-Royce, for example, will sometimes provide cars to be featured in music videos, said company spokesman Gerry Spahn. When someone uses the car as a shorthand for luxury, it helps the brand, he said. And besides, celebrities and musicians make up about 20 percent of the automaker’s customers, so it has the potential to be a sales strategy, too.
The $400,000 Phantom is Rolls-Royce’s signature vehicle, but the company has attracted much hype for three other models it’s released since 2009: the Ghost, Wraith, and Dawn. All have garnered song mentions, with the Wraith topping the tally with four.
While parent company BMW AG keeps close tabs on the Rolls-Royce brand, Spahn said they’re more than happy for the exposure. Last year, Rolls-Royce had its second-highest sales numbers ever, delivering more than 4,000 cars to wealthy customers around the world. Even if the car’s desirability increased, production constraints limit the company to a maximum of 6,000 cars a year, said a person with knowledge of its operations.
More demand for limited supply, of course, makes the car even more exclusive. So for a company like Rolls-Royce, what’s the actual financial value of all those brand mentions?
“Assigning a value to a product placement in a music video, or TV show or video games, is completely different from the way traditional commercials work—which values how many people watched it,” said Cristel Russell, an associate professor of marketing at American University. “So you wouldn’t want to use the same type of metrics and value measure for something that advertises on a subtle basis.”
Russell, who studies product placement, said even if a company doesn’t pay for placement, the mention might still come with an indirect financial return for the artist. “Sometimes they do it because they hope to get the company interested in them and eventually get some type of promotional gig,” she said. “It’s their way of saying, ‘Hey, I like your car.’ Not an immediate financial return for them, but it’s an eventual exchange of services.”
Jay-Z took offense, called for a boycott, and stopped rapping about it. About a year later, he started touting Armand de Brignac, another fancy Champagne that earned the nickname “Ace of Spades” for its flashy logo. Jay-Z coincidentally has a financial interest in that label. Years later, Cristal was still throwing jabs at the rapper who shunned it.
Rolls-Royce, meanwhile, is one of those brands that believe that, if not all, most publicity is good publicity. “We make no judgments,” said Spahn. “We want to be connected to success.”
A bench of Justices RK Agrawal and AM Sapre said they are setting aside the Bombay High Court order which denied Purohit bail. The Supreme Court said it has imposed certain conditions on Purohit while granting bail, PTI reported.
On 14 August, the apex court had set the date of 17 August to hear Purohit's plea, sayingthat the "matter requires lengthy hearing".
Earlier, a bench of Justices RK Agrawal and MM Shantanagoudar observed that the issue of granting bail to Purohit and cancellation of bail of Pragya Singh Thakur, also accused in the case, needed detailed consideration, as both the pleas are on similar facts.
Purohit moved the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court's order dismissing his bail plea, while the father of one of the blast victims has challenged the Bombay High Court order granting bail to Thakur, alleging she was a "powerful person" and could influence the witnesses.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Purohit, argued his client had been in jail for the past nine years but charges have still not been framed against him. Salve said the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) charge against his client had already been dropped and he pleaded in the apex court to grant Purohit interim bail in the "interest of justice".
The father of the victim has sought a stay on the high court's 25 April order granting Thakur bail, saying there was "no prima facie evidence against her".
On 28 July, the NIA said there were "several incriminating circumstances" against Purohit, which proved his "deep involvement and complicity" in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, but there was no evidence against Thakur.
Seven people were killed in a bomb blast on 29 September 2008, at Malegaon, a communally-sensitive textile town in Nasik district of north Maharashtra.
A special MCOCA court earlier ruled that the Anti-Terrorist Squad wrongly applied this law against Thakur, Purohit and nine others. The 4,000-page chargesheet alleged that Malegaon was selected as the target because of its sizeable Muslim population.
Thakur, Purohit and co-accused, Swami Dayanand Pandey were named as key conspirators. Pandey was accused of instructing Purohit to arrange RDX, while Thakur allegedly owned the motorcycle which was used in the blast.
On 31 July, a special court rejected Pandey's plea which claimed that his arrest was made on the basis of mistaken identity.
NEW DELHI: It's official, the next version of Google's mobile operating system Android O is coming next week. Search giant Google has announced that it will reveal the name of the next Android OS and showcase some of its new features at an event on August 21 in New York. The company has also released a teaser video hinting at the name of Android O.
In a post on its official page Google said, "Android O is touching down to Earth with the total solar eclipse, bringing some super (sweet) new powers! On August 21st, a solar eclipse will sweep across the entire United States for the first time since 1918. Android is helping you experience this historic natural phenomenon so you can learn more about the eclipse and count down to the big day—when you'll meet the next release of Android and all of its super (sweet) new powers, revealed via livestream from New York City at 2:40PM ET."
Google had showcased its upcoming Android O for the first time at its Google I/O developer’s conference back in May. Through the new Android version, Google aims to make Android more useful and bring a more fluidic Android experience to the users. While Google had released a beta version of the OS back then, it now looks set to launch the Android O within a week. In all probability, the new Android OS will be launched on August 21 and will be rolled out to Nexus and Pixel devices first. Here is what the new Google OS will bring to your Android devices:
1. First and foremost is the picture-in-picture functionality that will allow Android O users to perform two tasks simultaneously. This may include texting someone while watching videos on YouTube or any other similar tasks. Currently, such tasks can only be performed in a multi-window view.
2. Smart Text Selection: Google Android O will use machine learning to accurately identify entities in a piece of text, like names, addresses and more. This will further help in improved copy-paste tasks and interconnectivity between apps e.g. an address can be easily highlighted and searched for on Google Maps.
3. Notification Channels: With Android O, users will be able to change the way each of the notification channels act. This includes grouping and new visuals added to notifications for the user’s ease while viewing the notifications. This will result in a fresher, personalised and more convenient display of app notifications.
4. Background Limits: Android O will follow the path of Android Nougat to further improve the battery performance of Android devices. Android O will target implicit broadcasts, background services, and location updates by apps to minimalize their effect on the phone’s performance while the app is running in the background.
5. Autofill API Support: Users will be able to store their information like passwords, addresses and more in an Autofill app to promote ease of use of the information across the Android ecosystem.
6. Keyboard Navigation: Google has built an easier way of navigation in the Android O using an ‘arrow’ and ‘tab’ model. As per Google, this will help improve the reliability and predictability of the navigation process in Android OS.
7. Wide-gamut colour for apps: Android imaging apps like photo editors can now use devices that support the wide-gamut colour display. A wide-colour profile has to be embedded in order to use the feature.
8. Connectivity: Android O will come with enhanced connectivity options like the LDAC codec for high-quality Bluetooth audio. It will also incorporate Wi-Fi Aware, a Wi-Fi feature which will allow nearby devices to communicate through Wi-Fi without an internet access.
9. Font resources in XML: Google has branded Fonts as a fully supported resource type in the new Android O. This will allow apps to use fonts in XML layout and define font families in XML.
10. WebView enhancements: Google has added an API that lets apps handle errors and crashes for better security and app stability.
11. AAudio API: This new API has been designed especially for the apps that need high-performance audio on a low-latency. This will be done by reading/ writing data through streams.
A massive rally has been organised by the Jammu and Kashmir National Students Federation in Jandali area of PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) to demand freedom from Pakistan.
Local leader Liyaqat Khan said, "Pakistan sends terrorists here to ruin this peaceful place". In a video shared by ANI, the protestors are seen raising pro-freedom slogans and raising banners to demand freedom from Pakistan.
#WATCH: Pro-freedom slogans raised at a rally by J&K National Students' Federation in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir's Jandali. pic.twitter.com/ZrDdjDTZvQ
This is not the first time that demands of freedom from Pakistan have been raised from the troubled region. In the past as well, anti-Pakistan protests have taken place across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Pakistani forces have been accused of committing human rights violations and inflicting atrocities on the people of PoK.
On April 24, 2017, hundreds of locals in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir's Kotli area took to the streets to protest against the forcible land-grabbing by Pakistan Army. The protesters raised anti-Pakistan army and anti-Pakistan government slogans.
On February 5, 2017, Islamabad observed the annual Kashmir Solidarity Day in support of the Kashmiri people. Enraged at Pakistan's high-handedness and denial of basic human rights in their region, PoK residents took to the streets to express their ire at the corridors of power in Islamabad.
PoK residents claimed that the Pakistani government, via its intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the administration, was committing atrocities on innocent citizens.
On October 22, 2016, Kashmiris across PoK held a protest demanding immediate withdrawal of the Pakistani forces from their territory.
The Pakistani Army on October 22, 1947, disguised as tribal invaders, attacked Jammu and Kashmir, killing thousands of people. The tribals, known as Kabailies, were employed by Pakistan to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir by executing genocide on the people. It was an attack by Pakistani Pathans on the Kashmiri people.
A 'Black Day' was also observed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on October 24, 2015. An 'anti-Pakistan' protest was organised by the National Students Federation.
In April, 2016, anti-Pakistan protests erupted in various parts of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) over Islamabad's discrimination in employment to local youth.
The protesters raised issues regarding lack of jobs in PoK where the Pakistani youth were being preferred to Kashmiri youth.
About 100 individuals owing allegiance to Jammu and Kashmir National Students Federation (JKNSF), along with some members of Jammu and Kashmir National Awami Party (JKNAP), carried out a demonstration rally in Muzaffarabad area of PoK, condemning the oppressive rule by Pakistani authorities and the local PoK government.
The protesters carried placards which read "Kashmir Bachanay Nikley Hain, Aao Hamaray Saath Chalo".
PoK has witnessed a series of protests by residents in the past against the Pakistan government for the atrocities and human rights violation by Pakistani forces.
