Amid 'wife swap' controversy, Antony orders dismissal of tainted officer

New Delhi: Even as a controversy raged over 'wife swapping' charges in Navy's Southern Command in Kochi, Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday ordered the dismissal of a Naval officer after he was found guilty of having illicit relations with the wife of his superior.
The order of dismissal of the officer, who is a Lieutenant Commander (equivalent to a Major in the Army), from service was approved by Antony on the basis of the inquiry report submitted by the Naval Headquarters on charges against him, defence sources said.

Without divulging the name of officer, the sources told reporters that he was found to be guilty of 'stealing the affection of brother officer's wife', which is a punishable offence in the armed forces.

The dismissal of the officer came at a time when the Navy is in the midst of dealing with a police complaint by the wife of a Lieutenant in Kochi accusing his seniors and colleagues of sexual harassment. The woman also made 'wife swapping' charges.

The Navy has also sent a report to the Defence Ministry denying the charges of sexual harassment in an FIR filed in Kochi.

The Navy has denied the charges, saying the Southern Naval Command had investigated the charges at its level and found that they were wrong.

Taking serious view of the allegations levelled by the officer's wife, Defence Minister A K Antony had ordered the Navy to submit a report in this regard.

The Navy has been consistently defending its officers and issued a statement saying "the wife of the officer has levelled unfair allegations against superior officers in her husband's chain of command, their spouses and other officers who have interacted with her."

"These officers accompanied by their respective spouses had tried to unsuccessfully resolve the issues dogging the couple's personal life in a bid to leverage the strength of the Naval community bond," it had said.

The Navy has also promised full cooperation to the ongoing police investigations into the case.

Positive effects of Social Networking websites

 

 

During his study, Rosen also found positive effects of using Facebook or similar social networking sites. According to his study, teenagers who spent more time online will show better "virtual empathy" to their online friends. Also, these social sites will help the introverted adolescents to socialize with their friends and help them to overcome their shyness. Importantly, these sites also provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students. Interestingly, Rosen in his study urged parents not to waste their time in spying children on Facebook or other social networking sites. Rosen said that children can easily find the ways their parents used to monitor them. "If you feel that you have to use some sort of computer program to surreptitiously monitor your child's social networking, you are wasting your time. Your child will find a workaround in a matter of minutes," Rosen said. "You have to start talking about appropriate technology use early and often and build trust, so that when there is a problem, whether it is being bullied or seeing a disturbing image, your child will talk to you about it." Positive Effects of Social Networking Websites: Young adults who spend more time on Facebook are better at showing "virtual empathy" to their online friends. Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialize behind the safety of various screens, ranging from a two-inch smartphone to a 17-inch laptop. Social networking can provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students.

SC rejects Bhullar's mercy plea, upholds death sentence

 

New Delhi: In a judgement that will lay precedence for others, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected the mercy petition filed by Punjab militant Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, who was convicted of killing nine people with a car bomb in Delhi in 1993.

Delivering the verdict in a packed court room, a bench of justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya said that the petitioners failed to make out a case for commutation of sentence.

48-year-old Bhullar's Canada-based wife, Navneet Kaur, who was present in the court when the bench read out at 11.15 am two sentences of the operative portion of their verdict, looked dejected and refused to respond to questions from reporters as she left the court premises.

The apex court had reserved its order on April 19 last year on the plea of Bhullar's family which had filed a petition on his behalf pleading that his capital punishment be commuted to life imprisonment as there has been "inordinate" delay in deciding his mercy plea and he is not mentally sound.

It was submitted that prolonged incarceration of a death row convict awaiting his/her execution amounted to cruelty and violated the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Bhullar was awarded death penalty for triggering a bomb blast here in September 1993, killing nine people and injuring 25 others, including then Youth Congress president MS Bitta.

The apex court had on March 26, 2002, dismissed Bhullar's appeal against the death sentence awarded by a trial court in August 2001 and endorsed by the Delhi High Court in 2002.

He had filed a review petition which was also dismissed on December 17, 2002. Bhullar had then moved a curative petition which too had been rejected by the apex court on March 12, 2003.

Bhullar, meanwhile, had filed a mercy petition before the President on January 14, 2003. The President, after a lapse of over eight years, dismissed his mercy plea on May 25, 2011.

Today's decision will pave the way for his hanging and is likely to have an impact on 17 other convicts on the death row including those held guilty in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

Those held guilty in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case had pleaded that their death penalty should be commuted because the President took 11 years to reject their appeal. They have already spent 22 years in prison

Harbhajan is a backstabber says Sreeshant

New Delhi: S Sreesanth has cooked up a storm by claiming that it was Harbhajan Singh’s fault that led to the infamous ‘slapgate’ incident during the inaugural season of Indian Premier League in 2008.

He has said that continuously blaming him for it is disgusting.

The 30-year-old pacer has claimed that when he went to shake Harbhajan Singh’s hand after his then-IPL team, Kings XI Punjab, had beaten Mumbai Indians, the spinner lost his cool and premeditatedly hit him with his elbow.

“Whn I went to shake hands afte the match..he had lost it..he had already planned to hit me(elbow me)all his anger,” Sreesanth posted on his Twitter account on Friday.


“I don`t want Bhajji to feel bad now..I need to tell the truth to the world..wht happend was bad..it`s not my fault at all..and all media ???”

“Disgusting ..that`s all I can say..u should get hold of the video..them u all will know te truth..wht he did is completely out of control.”

Sreesanth also claimed that Bhajji never slapped him and he is really annoyed at the media for comparing this incident to whenever anything untoward incident occurs in IPL.

“It`s not my fault at all ..Nd I keep getting compared to all this bull s##*..whn ever anything bad happens in ipl or cricket match..crazy.”

“I had enough of this..I really request ll the media to show the world wht happend..then u all will realise..wht really happened.”

“To be whr Iam ..I ve no complaints..but now I want u All to know the truth.He (Bhajji)never Slapped me.the video will show u all..wt he did.”

“Can`t take this anymore..evrytime..Enough..,” Sreesanth posted on the microblogging site Twitter.

Sreesanth also wrote that he was scared of losing his place in the team and that is why he never said anything about the incident.

“Nd yeah..all I did is to tell u all wht happend.u all should know the truth.i was scared of loosing my place. I had no support wtsoevrr.”

Sreesanth was angered by the reports in the media that compared the spat between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir on Thursday to the “slapgate” incident.

Sushmita Sen to tie the knot with Wasim Akram?

Former Miss Universe and Bollywood diva Sushmita Sen is finally getting married! Sushmita Sen is reportedly tying the knot with Pakistani cricket star Wasim Akram. The two had become friends on the sets of a dance reality show. 
The latest buzz doing the rounds is that Bollywood beauty is seeing cricketer Wasim Akram and is also taking the relationship to the next level. The two were rumored to be seeing each other for couple of years.
According to reports, Sushmita had recently declared that she will get hitched soon. As she thinks that now is the time to settle down in life.
Sushmita Sen who has two adopted daughters Renee and Alisah has been linked up with a series of Bollywood men like -  Vikram Bhatt, Mudassar Aziz and actor Randeep Hooda. She was also linked to businessman Imtiyaz Khatri.
Now the twist in the tale is that cricketer Wasim Akram is reportedly seeing an Australian model and is living with her in Karachi currently.

Sachin Tendulkar to now enthral fans in an animated avatar

New Delhi:  Indian cricket's master blaster Sachin Tendulkar now has an animated avatar. It will be seen in "Master Blasters", a 3D action, comedy and adventure TV animation series.

In the show, the animated Sachin is appointed by the Programme for International Training of Cricket Heroes (PITCH) to head a cricket camp and mentor 12 young cricketers from around the world.

A dog will accompany them too. Another cricket camp will be headed by an animated version of cricketer Peter Taylor, who will compete with Sachin's team members. Sachin is excited.

"I have always been fascinated with the world of animation and have enjoyed watching it with my children. The challenge for the production team will be to ensure that some human values and learnings are imparted while continuing to entertain the viewers through the series," Sachin said in a statement.

"It will indeed be a different experience to see one's own rendition on the animated screen, performing larger-than-life action much beyond the limitation of the real world," he added.

The show, co-produced by Shemaroo Entertainment and Moonscoop LLC, will feature 26 episodes. But it is yet to be decided where the show will be telecast.

The show is likely to have good quality computer generated imagery.

Young cricketers will play a series of international, competitive matches in a futuristic, high-tech, spaceship-like cricket stadium that can actually fly and land anywhere in the world.

"Cricket runs in the blood of every Indian and working with an icon like Sachin is a dream come true. We plan to introduce this unique format to non-cricketing countries as well," said Smita Maroo, vice president, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd.

Smartphone war: Apple's iPhone4 sales outshine iPhone5's as consumers lap up discounts in exchange offer

KOLKATA: iPhone4 sales have trebled during the last five days over the preceding week, surpassing the demand for the iPhone5 in India, as customers rushed to avail of the recently launched buyback scheme, said four large handset and electronics retailers. Apple is offering a discount of at least Rs 7,000 on the iPhone4 in exchange for any smartphone.

A senior official of a leading Apple premium reseller said the Cupertino-based company has decided to aggressively push the older model in India because it wants to position the two-year-old phone in the sub- Rs 20,000 segment, where brands like Samsung Galaxy, Sony Xperia, Nokia Lumia and BlackBerry are jostling for dominance.

The iPhone4 costs Rs 26,500 in India, and the exchange scheme allows an existing smartphone user to buy the Apple model for less than Rs 20,000.

Changing Tack for India

"Apple follows a single pricing policy across the world and the company or its distributors have resorted to indirect discounting to improve penetration of iPhones in India. Smartphone volumes in India either come from the entry-level or the Rs 12,000-22,000 segment, which is where Apple wants to position the iPhone4," said the official working with a premium reseller.

The buyback scheme could be an international first for Apple as well. While globally, Apple offers gift vouchers or discounts for existing iPhone, iPad, or Mac customers to buy company products, this is perhaps the first time that the company is offering such a scheme to entice customers of competitors.

Leading multi-brand retail chains like The Mobile Store, Future Group's eZone, Next Retail and Reliance Digital, which together have run more than 1,100 stores, said the iPhone4 has become one of the top three selling handsets by value, along with Samsung's Galaxy Grand and Note II. While executives in these chains refused to share specific sales data, they said iPhone4 sales have shot up three times since the exchange offer was unveiled last week.

This is how the scheme works. The customer will get a minimum discount of Rs 7,000, but if the value of his phone in the second hand market is more, his discount will be higher. For instance, if his model is fetching Rs 8,500 in the used phone market, he will get the entire amount as a markdown on his iPhone4 purchase.

The retailer, in turn, is getting reimbursed by Apple's distributors through a Rs 5,000 credit note. In addition, the retailer will pocket the money earned from selling the customer's old phone in the second-hand market.

Apple's arch-rival Samsung has been quick to respond to the buyback scheme, triggering a potential price war in the mid-to high-end smartphone segment, The Korean company, which is the clear market leader in India's fast-growing smartphone category, is offering markdowns of up to Rs 5,600 on mid-to-high-end Galaxy phones and tablets such as the Galaxy Tab, SIII, Grand and Note II that are purchased through credit cards. As per estimates, around 80% of the Rs 15,000-plus handsets and tablets are bought on credit or debit cards.

Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO of the Essar Group-owned The Mobile Store, India's largest cellphone retailer, says Apple has never chased volume market share as aggressively in India as it is doing now. "And with Samsung almost simultaneously launching its scheme, it will further energise the market," he said.

Veteran handset industry expert and ex-CEO of BlackBerry India Sunil Dutt says the Apple-Samsung war in India might lead to price cuts by other brands as well. "The Indian mobile phone market has never witnessed anything like this. Apple wants to grow fast in India while Samsung wants to protect its turf and keep ahead of Apple," he says.