Assorted

Miami, Dec 8: Life expectancy in the United States dropped last year for the first time since the peak of the HIV/AIDS crisis more than 20 years ago, as deaths rose from nearly every major cause, federal data showed today. The total US population's life expectancy in 2015 was 78.8 years, a decrease of 0.1 year from 2014, said the report by the National Center for Health Statistics. Deaths from...

Kasargod, Dec 7: As part of addressing the menace of street dogs, as many as 632 stray dogs have been sterilised by the Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre here. The mission had sterilised 178 dogs in November alone. The break-up is — Kasaragod municipality - 126, Madhur grama panchayat - 97, Mogral-Puthur - 53, Kumbla - 151, Chemnad - 30, Chengala - 48, and Badiadukka - 127. District panchayat...

Chennai, Dec 6: Her supporters hailed her as 'Amma' (mother) and 'Puratchi Thalaivi' (revolutionary leader); her critics called her a ruthless autocrat who usurped democratic processes. But in a state where the reel is inexorably fused with the real, Jayaram Jayalalithaa proved herself to be one of the most tenacious politicians who served the state as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for three terms...

New Delhi, Dec 5: The Alibaba-backed digital payments and commerce platform Paytm is transferring its wallet business into the newly created entity for its planned payments bank. This is a mandatory step being followed by the company to fulfil the rules laid out by the Reserve Bank of India. Paytm , which is run by One 97 Communications, has two key businesses--payments business and commerce...

Udupi, Dec 5: A new book titled “Soliloquies – II” authored by Mathew C. Ninan, Principal of Little Rock Indian School, was released by Roy Philip, Managing Trustee of Priority One India, at Brahmavar in Udupi district, recently. This is a sequel to the author’s first book, “Soliloquies of a Principal”, published earlier, stated a press release issued here on Sunday.

London, Dec 5: A number of Hindu temples in the UK have decided to ban the new five-pound notes as it contains traces of animal fat. It was found last week that these notes contain tallow, which comes from beef or mutton fat, triggering anger among vegetarians and religious groups. Now the Bhaktivedanta Manor, one of the UK's largest Hare Krishna temples in Hertfordshire, southern England, posted...

New Delhi, Dec 3: Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor India has launched its iconic model GT-R in India, priced at Rs 1.99 crore (ex-showroom Delhi). The Nissan GT-R is the iconic supercar that embodies the pinnacle of Japanese firm's engineering prowess and driving performance. In its latest incarnation, the model comes with Nissan's latest design language and is replete with cutting-edge technology....

Mumbai, Dec 1: Amassing 52 million subscribers in less than three months, Reliance Jio chief Mukesh Ambani today announced extension of free voice and data offer for existing and new consumers till March 31. Reliance Jio, he said, is the fastest-growing technology company in the world. "In the first 3 months, Jio has grown faster than Facebook, WhatsApp or Skype," Ambani said. "Starting December 4...

New Delhi, Dec 1: A new variant of an Android malware called "Gooligan" is believed to have breached the security of over one million Google accounts. According to security firm Check Point Software Technologies, the malware roots Android devices and steals email addresses and authentication tokens stored on them. This can give attackers access to users' sensitive data from Gmail, Google Photos...

Mumbai, Dec 1: CoutLoot, an end-to-end fashion re-commerce platform, has been selected for Facebook's developer-focused "FbStart" programme, receiving access to $40,000 worth of credits and services from the social networking giant. Launched last year, "FbStart" helps developers grow their startups by leveraging valuable tools and services, worldwide events and opportunities to engage with the...