Seadrill Limited: Seadrill Limited – Disclosure of acceptances related to the mandatory offer for outstanding shares in Scorpion

Hamilton, Bermuda, July 19, 2010 – Reference is made to Seadrill Limited’s mandatory
offer to purchase all outstanding shares in Scorpion Offshore Ltd. at NOK40.50 per share
that expired on Friday, July 16, 2010. Seadrill has received acceptances for a total of
43,760,355 shares equaling approximately 48.7 percent of the total number of outstanding
shares and votes in Scorpion Offshore Ltd. As such, Seadrill following completion of the
offer period in total controls 88,771,206 shares, which represent approximately 98.8
percent of the outstanding shares and votes in Scorpion Offshore Ltd. Settlement for
shares tendered, is scheduled to take place on July 21, 2010.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to §5-12 vphl (Norwegian
Securities Trading Act)

Scana Industrier asa: SCI: Agreement regarding a directed issue of 9.9% of the shares in TTS Group

Reference is made to the press-release sent 5 July 2010 and today regarding RS Platou
Markets AS’ order to purchase up to 10% of the shares in TTS Group ASA.

TTS Group has entered into an agreement with Scana Industrier ASA to issue 6,722,920
shares in TTS Group ASA at a price of NOK 6.30 per share, constituting 9.9% of the share
capital in TTS Group through a private placement of shares.

RS Platou Markets AS acted as sole advisor in the transaction.

As a consequence of the purchase, Scana Industrier ASA will own 9.9% of the share
capital in TTS Group.

The issuance of shares to Scana Industrier ASA will be made by TTS Group’s board
pursuant to authorization granted by the company’s general meeting held on 3 June 2010
and is expected to be completed within the end of this week.

For further information, please contact:

Christian Rugland, CFO Scana Industrier ASA, tel. +47 952 952 55 (cru@scana.no)

Rolf Roverud, CEO Scana Industrier ASA, tel. +47 911 67 581 (rro@scana.no)

Frode Alhaug, Chairman Scana Industrier ASA, tel. +47 906 44 875

Johannes D. Neteland, President & CEO TTS Group ASA, tel. +47 918 46 906

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to §5-12 vphl (Norwegian
Securities Trading Act)

Jean-Georges Malcor est Nommé Directeur Général de CGGVeritas

PARIS–(Business Wire)–
Regulatory News:

CGGVeritas (Paris:GA) (NYSE:CGV) (ISIN: 0000120164 – NYSE: CGV) : Comme annoncé
en début d`année, le Conseil d`Administration de CGGVeritas réuni le 30 juin
2010 sous la présidence de Robert Brunck a décidé de dissocier la fonction de
Président de celle de Directeur Général. Robert Brunck conserve la présidence du
Conseil d`Administration et Jean-Georges Malcor, est nommé Directeur Général de
la Société.

Commentant cette décision, Robert Brunck a déclaré: « Jean-Georges et moi avons
travaillé ensemble depuis début janvier pour préparer cette évolution de notre
gouvernance. Nous partageons la même vision pour renforcer la position de
premier rang de notre groupe à travers ses technologies de pointe et son
excellence opérationnelle. Je sais que Jean-Georges a toutes les compétences et
les qualités managériales et personnelles pour diriger le groupe et poursuivre
avec succès son développement. En tant que Président du Conseil
d`Administration, je continuerai à m`attacher à la bonne gouvernance du groupe
et à ce que CGGVeritas poursuive sa stratégie de croissance rentable».

Jean-Georges Malcor a déclaré : « Au-cours de mes nombreuses visites de ces
derniers mois, j`ai pu constater les atouts technologiques de l`entreprise et
l`engagement des équipes à travers le monde ainsi que la qualité des relations
développées avec nos clients et nos partenaires. Je suis très fier d`assurer
après Robert Brunck la direction de ce groupe d`excellence et très honoré de la
confiance que m`accorde le Conseil d`Administration. J`emploierai toute mon
énergie à poursuivre le développement de CGGVeritas, pour le bénéfice de ses
employés, de ses clients et de ses actionnaires».

A propos de CGGVeritas:

CGGVeritas (Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.) est un leader mondial en
services et équipements géophysiques. Notre société fournit une gamme étendue de
services, d`équipement sous la marque Sercel, et de solutions technologiques à
une base élargie de clients opérant dans le monde entier, principalement dans le
secteur de l`exploration et de la production des hydrocarbures. CGGVeritas est
coté sur Euronext Paris SA (ISIN: 0000120164) et le New York Stock Exchange
(sous la forme d`American Depositary Shares, NYSE: CGV).

CGGVeritas
Contacts Relations Investisseurs:
Paris:
Christophe Barnini, +33 1 64 47 38 10
invrelparis@cggveritas.com
ou
Houston:
Hovey Cox, +1-832-351-8821
invrelhouston@cggveritas.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

EU draft sees private debt as parameter-Italy formin

June 17 (Reuters) – A European Union draft document foresees the inclusion of private debt among parameters for the stability pact, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters on Thursday. “The reference to private debt was inserted into this morning’s document,” Frattini said. “The biggest resistance was expressed by Germany which has a very large private debt, but no other country so far has voiced such strong concern,” Frattini added.

(Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri, writing by Jo Winterbottom)

Tom Cruise opens up about budding dating lives of his kids

Washington, May 15 (ANI): Tom Cruise has no problems with his teenage daughter dating someone.

The actor returned to the Oprah Winfrey Show, five years after his famous ‘Jumping The Couch’ act.

Winfrey asked Cruise about his teenage children Bella, 17, and Connor, 15.

“I”m pretty easy. She”s a good girl. Whoever she likes is cool,” Radar Online quoted Cruise, as saying in reference to his daughter.

He added: “Bella has a very strong sense of herself.”

Also, Cruise admitted that his son looked older than his age.

Cruise said: “He”s chiseled. He”s pretty smart, I just listen. He has plenty of time and I”m just there to talk.”

On being asked how the family spends time on Saturday nights, Cruise replied: “We have dinner then it”s game. We play quick scrabble. Saturday night is usually movie night.” (ANI)

General Metals Reports 100 Feet Assaying 0.058 Ounces Gold in Hill Zone at Independence Property — Extends Wide, Near

RENO, NV, Apr 05 (MARKET WIRE) —
General Metals Corporation (the “Company”) (OTCBB: GNMT) (FRANKFURT: GMQ)
is pleased to announce drill results, including 100 feet of surface oxide
mineralization grading 0.058 ounces of gold per ton (opt Au) and 0.88
ounces of silver per ton (opt Ag) over the 100 foot interval from 305 to
405 feet in drill hole GM-112 in the Hill Zone at Company’s Independence
Gold – Silver Property. These results, for holes GM-94, 98, 102, 111 and
112 on Section 3800N, and confirm the northward extension of
mineralization from Section 3700N. Table 1 below summarizes significant
results for all drill holes completed on Section 3800N.

Table 1 Current Drill Results Section 3800 North

—————— ———– ———– ———– ———- ———
Drill
Hole From To Intercept Gold Eqiv. Gold Silver
—– ———– ———– ———– ———– ———- ———-
feet meters feet meters feet meters opt g/T opt g/T opt g/T
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
GM-94 0 0 40 12 40 12 0.018 0.68 0.011 0.42 0.47 17.57
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
GM-98 110 34 200 61 90 27 0.026 0.98 0.020 0.76 0.42 15.52
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
Inclu-
ding 110 34 135 41 25 8 0.047 1.78 0.035 1.32 0.47 17.46
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
And 155 47 180 55 25 8 0.038 1.44 0.030 1.13 0.57 21.28
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
GM-102 145 44 170 52 25 8 0.020 0.76 0.009 0.34 0.42 15.71
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
GM-111 305 93 405 123 100 30 0.060 2.27 0.058 2.19 0.88 32.91
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
320 98 355 108 35 11 0.100 3.78 0.080 3.02 1.33 49.73
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
GM-112 215 66 300 91 85 26 0.033 1.25 0.028 1.06 0.38 14.21
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
230 70 265 81 35 11 0.052 1.97 0.047 1.78 0.37 13.84
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
GM-122 245 75 270 82 25 8 0.025 0.94 0.023 0.87 0.18 6.77
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–
335 102 380 116 45 14 0.022 0.83 0.017 0.64 0.40 15.07
—– —- —— —- —— —- —— —– —– —– —- —- —–

COVENTION: To avoid confusion, where gold and silver are expressed in
imperial units it is expressed in troy ounces per short ton of 2000 pounce
expressed (opt) where expressed in metric units they are expressed in
grams per metric tonne of 1,000 kilograms (~2,200 pounds) expressed as
(g/T)

2009 – 2010 drill results have thus far encountered widths and gold and
silver grades equal to or greater than expected by the Company’s
consultants. Collectively the Hill Zone drilling continues to define a
cohesive, shallow to moderately west-dipping zone of near surface oxide
gold – silver mineralization.

Sample Procedures and QA – QC

All drilling is Reverse Circulation (RC) style drilling, and all sampling
was conducted by industry accepted standards with samples split to
approximately 1/8 of the original volume using a “Jones Type” riffle
splitter. Samples were stored on site until either shipped to the
laboratory or picked up in the field by the laboratory. In keeping with
the Company’s practice of following industry accepted “best practices,”
drilling is sampled in five (5) foot intervals. The Company inserts a
series of Standards, blanks and Certified Reference materials at a rate of
approximately 1 in 30, for Quality Assurance – Quality Control.

Further details regarding the Independence are available on the Company’s
website www.gnmtlive.com.

About General Metals Corporation: General Metals Corporation is an
aggressive junior minerals exploration and development company, based in
Reno, Nevada. The Company is actively exploring and developing its 100%
controlled Independence property strategically located in the prolific and
highly prospective Battle Mountain Mining District of Nevada.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains “forward-looking statements,” as that term is
defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this
press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking
statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans,
expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking
statements include, among other things, that the proceeds from the recent
private placement will allow the Company to proceed with permitting at its
Independence Mine in Nevada or any shallow mining production later this
year, that any estimated ounces of gold or silver are contained in the
mineralized material in the “Shallow Target,” and is proposed to be mined
and loaded onto a cyanide heap leach pad, or any future financings that
the Company may enter into.

Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking
statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others,
the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration. We are
not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development
uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of
this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the
forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results
could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions
contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance
that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be
accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein
and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our
annual report on Form 10-KSB for the most recent fiscal year, our
quarterly reports on Form 10-QSB and other periodic reports filed from
time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:
Wayne Meyerson
Investor Relations
General Metals Corporation
615 Sierra Rose Dr. Suite 1
Reno, NV 89511
wayne@gnmtlive.com
775.583.4636 office
775.830.6429 cell

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

Freddie Mac to sell $3.0 bln in bills on Monday

NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) – Freddie Mac (FRE.N) (FRE.P) said on Friday it plans to sell $3.0 billion of reference bills at the beginning of next week.

Stocks | Bonds

The scheduled offerings on Monday are:

– $1.5 billion of three-month bills due July 6, 2010, to be sold Monday and settle Tuesday; and

– $1.5 billion of six-month bills due Oct. 4, 2010, to be sold Monday and settle Tuesday.

The bills will be sold over the Internet in a Dutch auction. In such uniform price auctions, successful bidders pay only the price of the lowest accepted bid rather than the actual price as in a conventional multiple-price auction.

Bids will be accepted from authorized dealers from 8:00 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. (Reporting by Caryn Trokie; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

Alex Reid says he is not insecure over Katie Price”s on-air ‘Pete’ gaffe

London, Mar 31 (ANI): Katie Price”s husband Alex Reid has said that he was not even a bit perturbed when his wife mistakenly called him “Pete” on air.

While talking to ‘This Morning’ presenters Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about her wedding plans, Katie uttered the words, ‘mine and Pete”s” in reference to the upcoming nuptials.

However, Reid, speaking in his weekly Star magazine column, said that goof-ups are common and their relationship is too strong to be shaken by such incidents.

“When Katie said: “Me and Pete” on This Morning, I didn’t have a problem with it at all. Slip-ups happen,” the Mirror quoted Alex as saying.

“I’ve called ex-girlfriends the wrong name before, or I’ve called Katie my girlfriend when she’s my wife. She was talking about Pete just before, so it is ridiculous to make a big deal of it.

“I do get jealous– I’m human – but that moment hasn’t made me insecure in the slightest. I know how strong we are as a couple,” she added. (ANI)

Telangana panel extends dates to receive views

New Delhi, Mar 22 (ANI): Justice Sri Krishna Panel on Monday extended dates to receive views and suggestion on creation of separate Telangana state from political parties and public to April 10.

According to an earlier advertisement, the panel asked interested parties to submit their views on creation of separate Telangana by March 21.

The panel took the decision in view of requests from some parties asking for more time, as the matter requires in-depth study and examination.

Panel’s member secretary V K Duggal said: “The committee has considered the requests made and agreed to extend the date for submission of responses by April 10.”

The panel also requested stakeholders to furnish the details at the earliest so that it “can start holding consultations” with the parties, organisations and groups concerned “as quickly as possible”.

The panel is mandated to “examine the situation in the state of Andhra Pradesh with reference to the demand for a separate state of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh”, is slated to submit its report to the central government by the end of this year. (ANI)

Pak police close to recovering abducted UK-born boy: Malik

Islamabad, Mar 8(ANI): Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik insists that police are close to recovering abducted five-year-old UK-born Sahil Saeed.

“I am hopeful that we will be able to recover the boy within the next few days. I appeal to those who did it that they release the child within 48 hours,” The Daily Times quoted Malik, as saying.

Malik further said the involvement of someone “very close to the family” could not be ruled out and the police were also looking the matter with reference to this angle.

“We have certain leads that I would not like to discuss, but I warn them (the abductors), we are very near to you,” he said.

Police officials, however, said they were still searching for clues with no fresh contact from the kidnapping gang.

Some unknown persons had kidnapped Sahil on last Wednesday after terrorising his family at a time when his father Raja Naqash Saeed was waiting for a taxi to leave for airport.

The boy has not been recovered despite tall claims of the federal and provincial governments regarding his early recovery. (ANI)

Anti-Avatar mails to ‘Hurt’ Oscar bid?

LOS ANGELES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering action against a producer of ‘The Hurt Locker’ who sent out multiple emails urging academy members to vote for his movie in the Oscar best-picture category and “not a $500 million film”, an obvious reference to close-competitor ‘Avatar’.

The emails by Nicolas Chartier, one of four nominated producers for ‘The Hurt Locker’ and who put up the financing to make the front-running film, violated the academy’s rule against sending mailings that “attempt to promote any film or achievement by casting a negative light on a competing film or achievement”, according to academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger.

“My naivete, ignorance of the rules and plain stupidity as a first-time nominee is not an excuse for this behavior and I strongly regret it,” Chartier wrote in an email. His emails might ruin director Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar hopes, which are high after she bagged the Critics Choice awards and the Baftas for the movie.

Centre creates “Invest India” company to promote foreign investment in the country

New Delhi, Sep 10 (ANI): The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the formation of a company ‘Invest India’ for the promotion of foreign investments under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Announcing the formation of ‘Invest India,’ Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said “The company will be a joint venture between the Government of India, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the State Governments will be responsible for promoting foreign investments into the country in a more focused, comprehensive and structured manner.”

The new company is expected to assist the government in its efforts towards projecting India as an attractive investment destination for foreign investors. The company will also assist foreign investors in identifying and realizing investment opportunities in India.

“The unique feature of this company is the partnership between the private sector organization and the Government of India and the State Governments. This is, unlike anywhere else in the world and seeks both to leverage the synergies of all three as well as address their investment priorities,” Sharma added.

Sharma informed that “The Board of Directors of the Invest India comprises of six members from Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and six members from FICCI.”

“Secretary DIPP will be its Non Executive Chairman. The Board of Directors will appoint a Managing Director and FICCI will provide the administrative, personnel and management support for day to day functioning,” Sharma said.

The authorized capital of the company will be Rs 10crore and the initial paid up capital Rs. one crore. While FICCI will have 51percent share in the equity, DIPP will have 49 percent share to begin with. DIPP’s share will be reduced overtime to 35 percent of paid up capital with induction of fresh equity by the State Governments.

The company will act as the first reference point for any investor interested in India and will also facilitate in setting up business within the country, by making available sector wise consultants and coordinating with the state government on feasible measures, Sharma said. (ANI)

Corruption cases against Pak PM’s wife withdrawn

Karachi, Sep. 5 (ANI): The corruption cases filed against Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s wife have been withdrawn.

Fouzia Yousuf Gilani and five others were accused of obtaining two loans from the Agricultural Development Bank for their companies in the late 1980s and not returning the money, The Dawn reports.

But the National Accountability Bureau which had filed the cases against Gilani, Syeda Samina Abrar, Anwar Nasreen, Ziaur Rehman, Khalid Hussain and Nasreen Munawar Chaudhry in 2000 told the court that the matter has been settled and charges withdrawn.

According to the prosecution, the accused, who were directors of the Pakistan Green Fertiliser, had obtained a loan of 71.163 million rupees from the ADBP in November 1987 and not returned the amount after which the National Accountability Bureau had filed a reference against them.

The second reference pertained to a loan of 100 million rupees taken from the bank in July 1989 for the Multan Edible Oil Extraction Company.

The court had dismissed applications for acquittal in July.

The MD of the firms, Munawar Hussain Sindhu, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on March 10, 2001, while Gilani and others were awarded three-year terms in absentia for failing to appear before the court. (ANI)

50 things that are being killed by the Internet

London, Sep 4 (ANI): The Internet has been touted as one of the most useful tool for the last two decades, and has had a huge impact on our lives, but along with its benefits, the World Wide Web has also had some negative impacts on people.

While tasks that once took days can be completed in seconds, traditions and skills that emerged over centuries have become redundant.

The Telegraph has compiled a list of 50 things that are in the process of being killed off by the web and other tools of modern communication, from products and business models to life experiences and habits.

These things are:

1. The art of polite disagreement

2. Fear that you are the only person unmoved by a celebrity’s death

3. Listening to an album all the way through

4. Sarah Palin

5. Punctuality

6. Ceefax/Teletext

7. Adolescent nerves at first porn purchase

8. Telephone directories

9. The myth of cat intelligence

10. Watches

11. Music stores

12. Letter writing/pen pals

13. Memory

14. Dead time

15. Photo albums and slide shows

16. Hoaxes and conspiracy theories

17. Watching television together

18. Authoritative reference works

19. The Innovations catalogue

20. Order forms in the back pages of books

21. Delayed knowledge of sporting results

22. Enforceable copyright

23. Reading telegrams at weddings

24. Dogging

25. Aren’t they dead? Aren’t they gay?

26. Holiday news ignorance

27. Knowing telephone numbers off by heart

28. Respect for doctors and other professionals

29. The mystery of foreign languages

30. Geographical knowledge

31. Privacy

32. Chuck Norris’s reputation

33. Pencil cricket

34. Mainstream media

35. Concentration

36. Mr Alifi

37. Personal reinvention

38. Viktor Yanukovych

39. The insurance ring-round

40. Undiscovered artists

41. The usefulness of reference pages at the front of diaries

42. The nervous thrill of the reunion

43. Solitaire

44. Trust in Nigerian businessmen and princes

45. Prostitute calling cards/ kerb crawling

46. Staggered product/film releases

47. Footnotes

48. Grand National trips to the bookmaker

49. Fanzines

50. Your lunchbreak (ANI)

Pak says it is ready to probe US charge of Harpoon missile fraud

Islamabad, Sep.1 (ANI): Pakistan on Tuesday said that it is ready to conduct any investigation on a charge made by the United States with regard to the alleged modification of Harpoon missiles.

Earlier, a New York Times report had said that the Obama administration had lodged a diplomatic protest with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani over the alleged alterations to the anti-ship missiles Islamabad bought in the 1980s thus making them capable of hitting land based targets and posing a threat to India.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs PJ Crowley said that the Obama Administration has taken up the matter with Pakistan.

“This is something that we take very seriously. We have raised the issue with the Pakistani government. The (Pakistan) government has responded with an agreement in principle for mutually agreed inspections,” Crowley revealed.

“In this particular case, we have some concerns. We shared them with the government of Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan has been responsive,” he said, adding “We would wait and see if those inspections can address the concerns that we have raised.”

The Indian Government too had raised concerns about this development during Admiral Nirmal Verma’s takeover as the new chief of naval staff on Monday. His predecessor Admiral Sureesh Mehta had also raised similar concerns.

Pakistan till now has rejected Washington’s claims and said the accusations were part of a campaign to “malign it” and its armed forces.

A statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said that it “categorically rejected” the article in The New York Times and that there were no modifications made to the missiles under reference.

The US has sold a total of 165 Harpoon missiles to Pakistan. The missiles were provided to Pakistan by the US administration as a defensive weapon in the Cold War era. (ANI)

Bombay HC accepts Ansari’s petition challenging POTA court verdict

Mumbai, Aug 28(ANI): The Bombay High Court Friday admitted an appeal filed by suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) member Ashrat Ansari challenging capital punishment awarded to him by a POTA (Prevention of Anti Terrorism Act) court.

The POTA court had sentenced Hanif Sayed Anees (46), his wife Fahmida (43) and Ashrat Ansari (32), for their role in implementing the plans of LeT.

They were also sentenced for creating terror in India through bomb attacks.

The 2003 bomb blast near Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazar and in a bus killed over 50 people.

The bench of the High Court comprising of Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice A R Joshi asked the Maharashtra government to produce Ansari and two other convicts Hanif Sayed and his wife Fahmida on the next hearing.

The bench fixed the next hearing after eight weeks.

Meanwhile, the POTA court has made a reference to the High Court to confirm the death penalty awarded to the three convicts.

The bench has also directed the Maharashtra Government to produce the case papers and the verdict of the POTA court before it. (ANI)

UNICEF celebrates 200 episodes of Kyunki… Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai.

New Delhi, Aug.28 (ANI): UNICEF recently celebrated the telecast of the 200th episode of its entertainment education serial Kyunki… Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai on Doordarshan National.

A serial with all the emotional and dramatic twists and turns that make soaps so popular, Kyunki… has emerged as an innovative and effective agent for behavior change communication amongst Indian television viewers.

Watched by over 125 million viewers across India, the gripping social drama promotes life-enhancing, life-saving messages, critical to the welfare and survival of children and mothers everywhere.

From safe motherhood to HIV prevention, infant feeding to girls’ education, Kyunki promotes prosocial attitudes, behaviours, and practices that contribute directly to the reduction of infant and maternal mortality rates

Naysan Sahba, Programme Communication Specialist at UNICEF India Country Office, who conceptualized the serial says “When we began to work on the show’s concept about four years ago, at the height of the popularity of the saas-bahu sagas, everybody said impossible, there’s no audience for this. Well, we went ahead, carefully if courageously, and you can imagine our delight in that not only is our show doing well but a new wave of socially conscious TV serials, serials tackling hard-hitting issues effecting women and children, have followed suit and are taking the country by storm” .

Kyunki… has a rather unique viewership including unexpected regulars in the form of youngsters and men. A favorite of many across India, the serial is one of the top rankers in its primetime spot of 8:30 PM to 9 PM and is the leading daily soap on DD National.

Not shying away from taking up socially sensitive issues such as the ill effects of child marriage and early pregnancy, gender equality, proper use of contraceptives and prevention of HIV/AIDS, Kyunki… has been a catalyst in encouraging dialogues amongst young girls and families in rural India about things that they earlier had next to no say about.

Concurrent audience research shows that there has been a consistent increase in the number of viewers who say they intend to take action as a direct result of watching Kyunki…, including informing others about the importance of education, motivating children to join school, immunizing one’s own children and regularly washing hands with soap .

The serial has also become a helpful tool and an excellent reference point for frontline workers who promote positive changes in social and health behaviors through interpersonal communication. In depth interviews with health workers, teachers and other influencers has shown that Kyunki… in fact reinforces many of the same ideas they work with and introduces contemporary issues in an interesting, entertaining and practical manner. (ANI)

Airframe tests to help ensure better air travel safety

Washington, August 27 (ANI): Recent tests by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will provide much needed, independent data on how electromagnetic radiation penetrates aircraft, helping to ensure continued air travel safety.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires aircraft manufacturers to demonstrate that their aircraft have effective high intensity radiated field (HIRF) protection.

The manufacturers conduct tests on their aircraft and provide those results to the FAA as part of the certification process.

The tests are designed to show where and to what extent electromagnetic radiation, across a wide spectrum of frequencies, penetrates a given craft’s airframe.

This information is important in determining if and where shielding is needed to protect vital electronic instrumentation from malfunction or damage while flying through ground-based radar beams, for example.

This effort was undertaken to assist the FAA with HIRF measurement procedures and data processing methodologies.

The FAA has struggled with data sets provided by HIRF testers because they use a wide range of measurement/data processing techniques that are not standardized.

For an independent analysis of the situation, a NIST team recently performed HIRF tests on three representative aircraft to give FAA officials a frame of reference for the procedures and data reduction techniques used for typical low-level airframe HIRF attenuation/shielding tests.

Having this information will help the FAA ensure that commercial aircraft are indeed meeting minimum shielding requirements and, ultimately, make the safety of tested aircraft more transparent.

“This will get everyone on the same page,” said Chriss Grosvenor, a NIST electronics engineer. “The FAA and aircraft manufacturers now have a lot of unbiased data they can look at, and our method is just another method to obtain that information,” he added.

The three aircraft chosen for the representative tests were a Boeing 737-200 and a Bombardier Global 5000 business jet, both owned by the FAA, and a Beechcraft Premier IA carbon-fiber composite business jet, owned by the Hawker-Beechcraft company.

By measuring all three aircraft and comparing the results, NIST was able to provide a guide for the optimization of HIRF testing standards for the EMC aircraft manufacturing community.

The tests were conducted over a two-year period using a commercial measurement system that incorporates NIST-developed ultra-wideband antennas, a network analyzer and an optical fiber link to obtain high-resolution measurements from the megahertz to gigahertz range. (ANI)

New model of quantum gravity may rewrite Einstein’s theory of general relativity

Washington, August 25 (ANI): Scientists at Texas A and M University in the US have developed a controversial new model of quantum gravity, which might reproduce Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

The theory, which Einstein developed in the early 20th century, says that matter curves spacetime, and it is this curvature which deflects massive bodies – an effect that we interpret as the influence of gravity.

The theory has been tested to extremely high accuracy and without it, our satellite global positioning system would be off by about 10 km per day.

Despite the success of general relativity, one of the most important problems in modern physics is finding a theory of quantum gravity that reconciles the continuous nature of gravitational fields with the inherent ‘graininess’ of quantum mechanics.

Recently, Petr Horava at Lawrence Berkeley Lab proposed such a model for quantum gravity that has received widespread interest, in no small part because it is one of the few models that could be experimentally tested.

In Horava’s model, Lorentz symmetry, which says that physics is the same regardless of the reference frame, is violated at small distance scales, but remerges over longer distance scales

The team at Texas A and M, which includes Hong Lu, Jianwei Mei and Christopher Pope, report their investigations into how the modifications proposed in Horava’s theory will broadly affect the solutions of general relativity.

Lu and his team’s calculations suggest that Horava’s model only reproduces general relativity on unobservable scales, “larger than the size of the Universe”.

The research team’s paper is an important contribution to testing the Horava model and shows that a good deal of work remains to understand its full implications. (ANI)

Samajwadi Party targets opportunistic Congress, but says will support UPA

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) Aug.21 (ANI): Concluding a three-day National Conference here on Friday, a sulking Samajwadi Party leadership accused the Congress of being “opportunistic” and announced a mass agitation programme against UPA government, but ruled out withdrawal of outside support to it for now.

Having lost in four Assembly seats where bypolls were held in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party in a resolution also targeted the Mayawati Government in the state, saying it and the UPA were pursuing “anti-people” and “anti-national” policies.

It said that the Samajwadi Party had supported the Congress-led coalition at the Centre to weaken communal forces.

“But the government after announcing revolutionary steps to end unemployment, educational reforms and foodgrains support in 100 days, had done nothing so far in this regard,” it alleged, while announcing the agitation against the Centre and UP government in January next year.

However, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, asserted that “there is no question of withdrawing support from UPA as of now.

“We will take to the streets against both Congress and BSP. We will launch a ‘Jail Bharo’ agitation between January 19 and 23, 2010 against BSP, during which both me and Kalyan Singh will court arrest,” Yadav told reporters on Friday.

The political and economic resolution cleared by the party’s national executive made no reference to SP withdrawing support from the UPA.

Asked about the results of bypolls to four assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, where two seats were wrested from it, Yadav said, “this is not the people’s verdict. State government officials ensured BSP’s victory. They had arrested our cadre to ensure our defeat.”

The results are being seen as a setback for the party, which is trying to regain its position in the state after the 2007 assembly polls and the recent general elections.

“We want to make people aware why there is a need for an agitation against BSP in Uttar Pradesh. During this period, our party workers will hold meetings with the people at grassroot levels where they will highlight the weaknesses of the BSP government in UP,” Yadav said.

He also cited the ongoing farming season as a reason for the timing of the agitation.

The SP lamented India “kowtowing to foreign powers and sacrificing the country’s economic interests”.

The government, the party resolution alleged, had failed to boost agricultural production, control prices, take action against food adulteration, tackle unemployment and give Indian languages their rightful place in official and court work.

It criticised the US and other developed countries for their “double standards” on the issue of greenhouse emissions.

It also referred to the alleged attempts by China to disturb the flow of Himalayan rivers which could result in environmental disaster for India. (ANI)