Worst power outages on first day of Ramazan

 

 ISLAMABAD: All the claims of the federal government on reduced electricity loadshedding during Ramazan and zero loadshedding during Sehr, Iftar and Taraveeh prayers fell flat as the people across the country had to face the worst power outages on the first day of the holy month, making it hard for them to make preparations for Sehr and Iftar.
In the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, the people had to suffer almost 12-hour-long power outages. Before the start of Ramazan, the situation was better as there was only six-hour to eight-hour loadshedding. With the commencement of fasting, the situation got aggravated and the power outages had gone up to 12 hours.

In the adjoining areas of the twin cities like Taxila, Attock, Chakwal, Gujjar Khan, Mandra, Jhelum and others, loadshedding had made the lives of people miserable.In Lahore, power outages during Sehri, Iftar and Taraveeh timings continued, making people’s lives miserable on the first day of Ramazan.

In addition to the curse of erratic power supply, people complained about power failure after every hour throughout the day. They said they felt intensity of outages had increased during the last couple of days. Since 4:00am on the first day of Ramazan, the power supply became disrupted after every hour till 7:00pm, said Khalid Khan, a resident of Bhatti Gate. This type of loadshedding had not been done before Ramazan during the daytime, he said adding that such ‘constant’ power failures also led to water shortages in their area.

The data of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) indicates that power availability during Sehri, Iftar and Taraveeh is not in accordance with the claims made by the Ministry of Water and Power. Against the demand of over 4,500MWs, Lesco is getting just 3,400MWs during Iftar and Taraveeh timings.

Throughout the day, as per the official data, people living in Lesco areas were made to suffer from over 50 percent shortfall in electricity supply. Against the peak demand of about 4,500MWs, Lesco is getting jut 2,400MWs of electricity during the rest of the day. The menace of unannounced loadshedding is in addition to the power suspensions made under the load management plan.

Lesco said on Monday some variations might occur in the revised load management plan for Ramazan due to system overloading issues, especially on grid stations being fed from 220KV New Kot Lakhpat grid station.

Under the revised load management plan, the industry faces the biggest brunt of outages. As many as 12 hours of outages are being observed in textile industry, furnace, continuous process industry and steel re-rolling mills.

Meanwhile, power shortfall was recorded at 4,500MWs on Monday. Power generation was recorded at 13,500MWs while the demand for electricity hovered around 18,000MWs. Hydropower generation was recorded at 5,100MWs.

Other districts of the Punjab, including Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Multan, Bhawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, were also the hit by loadshedding.The situation in rural areas of the Punjab was all the more serious as the people had to suffer more than 18 to 20 hours of loadshedding.

The power supply situation in other provinces was no different as in Sindh,particularly in the rural areas, the power outages had gone beyond the limit of human endurance. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the loadshedding issue had become so ugly that around 12 hours of prolonged and unscheduled power loadshedding was being carried out in the province.

In the upper parts of Hazara division, loadshedding added to the woes of the people who were fasting in sweltering heat.The local people complained that they were facing power outages at Sehr and Iftar. “The government had announced to reduce the duration of power outages during Ramazan,” said Mohammad Riaz, a shopkeeper.

He said the government should provide relief to the people in Ramazan and reduce the duration of power outages as the people were braving the scorching heat.“The people are fasting in scorching heat, so the government should provide them some relief,” he said.

Faiz, the leader of a traders body, said that they would take to the streets if the duration of power cuts was not reduced to less than five hours a day.“The government should provide relief to the people as they are fasting in sizzling heat without electricity that is out for hours at a stretch,” he said.

England and Sri Lanka in thrilling first Test draw

LONDON: England and Sri Lanka drew the first Test at Lord´s in dramatic fashion on Monday to leave their two-match series all square at 0-0.

Sri Lanka, set 390 to win after England captain Alastair Cook declared before play on Monday´s fifth and final day, were left clinging on at 201 for nine come the close.

Last man Nuwan Pradeep survived the final five balls of the match from Stuart Broad, including the penultimate delivery where he was given out lbw by Australian umpire Paul Reiffel only to successfully challenge the decision after replays confirmed an inside edge.

James Anderson led England´s attack with a remarkable return of four wickets for 25 runs in 19 overs but it wasn´t quite enough to secure a stunning win.

England piled up 575 for nine declared on the back of Joe Root´s unbeaten 200 not out -- his maiden Test double century.

Sri Lanka, however, responded with 453 featuring Kumar Sangakkara´s 147 and captain Angelo Mathews´s 102 -- both batsmen scoring their first hundred in a Lord´s Test.

England slumped to 121 for six in their second innings before Gary Ballance´s 104 not out, the Yorkshire batsman´s maiden Test century, took the side to 267 fot eight declared.

The second and final Test starts at Headingley on Friday. (AFP)

England pick uncapped trio for first Sri Lanka Test

London: England named a trio of uncapped players on Thursday in their squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's later this month.

Selecting his first Test squad since returning to the job, coach Peter Moores picked 24-year-old batsman Sam Robson and all-rounders Chris Jordan and Moeen Ali for the June 12 match.

Bowler Liam Plunkett, who last played Test cricket seven years ago against West Indies, has also been included in the 12-man squad alongside Chris Woakes.

Jos Buttler did not make the cut as Matt Prior was selected as wicketkeeper after recovering from an Achilles injury.

"We believe that this group of emerging talent will be very well complimented by the established core of experienced players that have been selected," said national selector James Whitaker. "We are expecting a tough series against Sri Lanka."

The 25-year-old Jordan, who took 12 wickets during England's 3-2 series defeat by Sri Lanka, has played 13 ODIs and seven T20s since making his England debut last September. The 26-year-old Ali made his ODI and T20 debuts earlier this year against West Indies.

Captain Alastair Cook's squad for England's opening Test of the summer also includes James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

England squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Matt Prior, Sam Robson, Joe Root, Chris Woakes.

First MERS infections detected in Algeria

ALGIERS: Algeria reported its first two cases of the deadly MERS virus on Saturday, both among pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia, where most cases and deaths from the disease have been reported.

The two Algerian men, aged 66 and 59, had gone on a pilgrimage to Muslim holy sites in Saudi Arabia, Algeria's health ministry said without giving further details about their condition.

Other countries including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have also recorded cases, mostly in people who had been to Saudi Arabia.

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus that appeared in Asia in 2003 and killed hundreds of people, mostly in China.

Like SARS, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature. But MERS differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure.

MERS has killed 187 people in Saudi Arabia since it first emerged in 2012, and hundreds more have been infected.

First Pakistani metro train to run in Lahore

 

SHANGHAI: The first metro train in the history of the country will run in Lahore. The historic 27-kilometre-long elevated mass transit project will cost $1.6 billion and is aimed at facilitating the commuters through the city.
Pakistan and China on Thursday signed the framework agreement on the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project.Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif signed the pact from Pakistan’s side at a ceremony, which was also witnessed by President Mamnoon Hussain and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chairman of the Chinese National Development Reforms Commission signed the pact.

Speaking on the occasion, Shahbaz said that the metro train would be a unique project and a milestone in Pakistan’s history. He further said that the metro train project would facilitate the commuters.

The train route will start from Ali Town to Thokar Niaz Baig, from Multan Road to Scheme Mor, Chowburji, MAO College, Mall Road, Lakshmi Chowk and Railway Station, from Garhi Shahu Bridge to GT Road and UET and from Pakistan Mint to Dera Gojran.

He said the project would begin by the end of this year and Chinese authorities would invest, design, construct and monitor the project.

Moon will block the sun in first solar eclipse Tuesday

SYDNEY: The moon will block the sun in the first solar eclipse of the year on Tuesday (April 29), and stargazers in Australia have some of the best seats on the planet.

Two online skywatching groups — the Slooh community telescope and the Virtual Telescope Project — will provide live webcasts of the solar eclipse from Australia, beginning at 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) on Tuesday. You can watch those solar eclipse webcasts live on Space.com. It will be Tuesday afternoon local time across Australia during the eclipse, with the sun setting before the event concludes.

Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between the sun and earth, as seen from the surface of the earth, and blocks part or all of the sun's disk. When the moon and sun align perfectly, a total solar eclipse occurs. Because the moon's orbit around earth is tilted, the moon and sun don't align in an eclipse every month.

Tuesday's solar eclipse will be what scientists call an annular solar eclipse. The event, also known as a "ring of fire" solar eclipse, occurs when the sun is too far from earth to completely obscure the sun's disk. The result is a bright ring of sunlight around the moon's silhouette, as viewed from the earth's surface.

But on Tuesday, the potentially dazzling "ring of fire" eclipse will only be visible from one uninhabited spot in Antarctica, where the only audience may be penguins on the frigid landscape.

"This is a thoroughly bizarre eclipse," Slooh astronomer Bob Berman said in a statement. "When Slooh brings its live feeds from Australia, and we watch in real time as the inky black hemisphere of the moon partially obscures the sun, the greatest thrill might be an awareness of what's occurring — unseen by any human — in a tiny region of Antarctica."

The April 29 solar eclipse will begin at 1:15 p.m. local time in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and end at 3:59 p.m. local time. The time of greatest eclipse occurs at 2:41 p.m., when the moon will obscure about 65 percent of the solar disk. The event will begin later in the day for observers in Melbourne (3:58 p.m. local time) and Sydney (4:13 p.m.), with the sun setting before the eclipse ends.

Tuesday's solar eclipse is the second eclipse of 2014 after the total lunar eclipse on April 15. The next total lunar eclipse will occur on Oct. 8 and will be primarily visible from the Pacific Ocean and its bordering coastlines. A partial solar eclipse visible from most of the United States and parts of Canada will then follow on Oct. 23.

Zamad Baig becomes very first Pakistan Idol

KARACHI: Zamad Baig finally emerged as the very first Pakistan Idol after beating the runner up Mohammad Shoaib in the finale of the biggest musical contest of the country on Sunday.

Zamad Baig, the winner of the most popular musical competition, hails from Mandi Bahauddin.

At the conclusion of the first installment of Pakistan Idol, Geo TV President Imran Aslam conferred upon the winner the trophy as well as the prize money.

Egypt reports first case of MERS virus

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities have detected the first case of a dangerous SARS-like virus in the country, the state news agency said Saturday.

MENA said a 27-year-old civil engineer was diagnosed Saturday morning after returning from Saudi Arabia, where the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, has been centered.

It said the man was quarantined upon his arrival at Cairo airport Friday and transported to a nearby hospital.

MERS belongs to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses that include both the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed some 800 people in a global outbreak in 2003.

MERS can cause symptoms such as fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure.

There is no vaccine or treatment for the MERS virus, and it is still unclear how it is transmitted. It also has been detected in Asia and Europe.

Saudi Arabia´s Health Ministry said late Friday that five more people in the kingdom have died from MERS.

The ministry says 92 people have died and 313 have contracted the virus in Saudi since September 2012.

King Abdullah fired his health minister Monday as officials struggle to alleviate public concerns amid a spike in infections.

On Saturday, the new health minister, Adel Faqih, announced that the country was reserving three medical centers in several cities for treating MERS cases exclusively, as part of a nation-wide plan for containing the disease´s spread.

In a statement on the ministry´s website, Faqih said the centers would be equipped with the latest medical technologies for diagnosing and treating the virus. He also said he plans to invite experts from Germany, Britain, France and the United States to study the outbreak. (AP)

Hamid Mir attack: JC issues notices, first hearing on April 28

ISLAMABAD: The judicial commission, formed to investigate attack on Geo News anchorperson Hamid Mir, has issued notices to Home Secretary Sindh, IG Police and others officials concerned, Geo News reported.

The three-member commission comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rahman and Justice Ejaz Afzal will hear the case from April 28 to May 02 at Supreme Court Karachi Registry.

The first hearing will be held on Monday at 10:00 AM and notices have been issued to Home Secretary Sindh, IG Police, DG Rangers, Joint Director IB and DIG East and DIG Special Branch.

 

Hamid Mir attack: JC issues notices, first hearing on April 28

ISLAMABAD: The judicial commission, formed to investigate attack on Geo News anchorperson Hamid Mir, has issued notices to Home Secretary Sindh, IG Police and others officials concerned, Geo News reported.

The three-member commission comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rahman and Justice Ejaz Afzal will hear the case from April 28 to May 02 at Supreme Court Karachi Registry.

The first hearing will be held on Monday at 10:00 AM and notices have been issued to Home Secretary Sindh, IG Police, DG Rangers, Joint Director IB and DIG East and DIG Special Branch.

Body found of boy who made first call from Korea ferry: report

SEOUL: The body of a high school student who made the first distress call from a sinking South Korean ferry was recovered from the submerged vessel on Thursday, news reports said.

The student, identified by his surname Choi, had called the emergency 119 number at 8:52am on Wednesday last week, three minutes before the crew of the 6,825 tonne Sewol sent their first distress signal.

The timing of his terrified message -- "Save us. The ship is sinking" -- has fuelled anger over the slow response of the Sewol´s captain and crew as the disaster unfolded.

The confirmed death toll stood at 162 on Thursday, with 140 still unaccounted for -- their bodies believed trapped in the ship that capsized in circumstances that have yet to be fully explained.

Yonhap news agency said divers had retrieved the boy´s body from inside the ferry on Thursday morning and it had been identified by his parents.

A DNA test was being carried out to formally confirm his identity, Yonhap said.

The boy was one of 325 students from the same high school who were on the ferry, bound for the southern resort island of Jeju, when it capsized.

During his 119 call, Choi was bombarded with questions about the ferry´s coordinates and the number of people on board.

A coastguard official later told reporters that emergency services had mistaken him for a crew member.

The captain and 11 crew members have either been arrested or taken into police custody awaiting charges.

Mini-sub on second mission after first MH370 search aborted

PERTH: A mini-sub searching for missing Flight MH370 was again sweeping the Indian Ocean seabed Wednesday after drawing a blank on a first mission aborted at daunting depths in a laborious operation that could take months.

The unmanned submarine equipped with sonar gear was deployed Tuesday night after data analysis of the first failed foray produced nothing of interest, Australia´s Joint Agency Coordination Centre said.

After more than three weeks of hunting for black box signals, the autonomous sub had been deployed for the first time on Monday night from the Australian ship Ocean Shield, which has spearheaded the hunt for the Boeing 777 that vanished on March 8 with 239 people aboard.

"The autonomous underwater vehicle was again deployed last night (Tuesday) from ADV (Australian Defence Vessel) Ocean Shield," JACC said.

"The data from Bluefin-21´s first mission has been downloaded and analysed. No objects of interest were found," JACC said.

The US navy explained that the Bluefin-21 had automatically aborted after six hours upon breaching its maximum operating depth.

JACC added that it had "exceeded its operating depth limit of 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) and its built-in safety feature returned it to the surface".

The sub was undamaged and had to be re-programmed, said US Navy Captain Mark Matthews.

"In this case the vehicle´s programmed to fly 30 metres over the floor of the ocean to get a good mapping of what´s beneath," he told CNN from Perth after the aborted dive.

"It went to 4,500 metres and once it hit that max depth, it said ´This is deeper than I´m programmed to be´, so it aborted the mission."

US defence chief to visit China's first aircraft carrier

TOKYO: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected to get a rare tour Monday of China´s first aircraft carrier, becoming the first foreign visitor to go aboard the ship.

A senior defense official said Hagel requested the visit, which comes a day after he told reporters that China must better respect its neighbors — a pointed allusion to Beijing´s ongoing territorial dispute with Japan and others over remote islands in the East China Sea. He also has continued to urge Beijing to be more transparent about its expanding military.

China spent a decade refurbishing the derelict Soviet-era carrier bought from Ukraine before commissioning it as the Liaoning in 2012. It moved to Qingdao in February 2013 and is part of a major expansion of the Chinese navy that includes sophisticated new surface ships and submarines.

Early this year the Liaoning completed sea trials in the South China Sea. The official Xinhua News Agency said the carrier tested its combat system, conducted a formation practice and "attained the anticipated objectives.

"On Dec. 5, early in the Liaoning´s trial run, one of the Chinese ships accompanying it was involved in a near collision with a US Navy cruiser, the USS Cowpens, when it was operating in international waters in the South China Sea.

US Navy officials said the Cowpens maneuvered to avoid the collision, but it marked the two nations´ most serious sea confrontation in years. At the time, a Chinese media report said the U.S. ship got too close to the Liaoning.

Hagel is on a 10-day trip to the Asia Pacific region and was leaving Japan Monday to travel to China. He is scheduled to meet with senior Chinese leaders before traveling to Mongolia, then returning home.

Mali's first post-war premier resigns

BAMAKO: Mali's first post-war prime minister has been replaced just six months into office after he announced the resignation of his entire government, a statement from the presidency said.

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita made leading economist Oumar Tatam Ly his prime minister in September as the troubled west African nation began to set up a government charged with turning the page on months of political chaos and war.

"The president of the republic... has brought to an end the duties of Prime Minister Oumar Tatam Ly, upon receipt of the resignation of the government of the republic," a statement from Keita's office read out on state television said.

Keita appointed planning minister Moussa Mara -- at 39, 11 years Ly's junior -- to take over and asked him to form a new government, the statement said.

It gave no details about the reasons for the government's resignation.

Ly, a 50-year-old career technocrat and the son of a celebrated writer, was an adviser to the governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), based in the Senegalese capital Dakar, before being appointed to the premiership.

He is the son of the late novelist and political activist Ibrahima Ly, who fled Mali after spending time in jail and complaining of being tortured under the regime of Malian military dictator Moussa Traore.

His mother, Madina Tall Ly, served as an ambassador under Alpha Oumar Konare, president of Mali during most of the 1990s.

Ly pipped a number of more obvious choices, including Tieman Coulibaly and Soumeylou Boubeye, both recent foreign ministers.

One of his stated priorities was to make good on the president's pledge when he was inaugurated in September to unite Mali and end endemic corruption.

Keita won a landslide victory in the presidential election in August last year after a campaign focused on law, order and ending the culture of impunity in public office.

His election in the first presidential polls since 2007 was seen as crucial for unlocking more than $4 billion in aid promised by international donors who halted contributions in the wake of a coup.

Army officers angry at the level of support they had received to combat a separatist Tuareg rebellion in Mali's vast desert north overthrew the democratically-elected government of president Amadou Toumani Toure on March 22, 2012.

In the chaos that followed, the Tuareg seized control of an area larger than France before being ousted by Al-Qaeda-linked groups.

Their actions drew worldwide condemnation and prompted France to launch a military offensive at Mali's behest in January last year that ousted the groups.

Mara is the middle of three children of former soldier and justice minister Joseph Mara, who was jailed for five years in the late 1970s under the dictatorship of Mousse Traore.

Active in Bamako and then national politics since his late 20s, Mara was a losing candidate in last year's presidential election.

He managed 1.5 percent of the vote in the first round as president of Yelema -- "change" in Mali's indigenous Bambara language -- a party he founded in 2010.

Aishwarya Rai, Big B, Kajol at Rajinikanth’s ‘Kochadiiyaan’ first look launch

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan launched the first look of Tamil superstar and friend Rajinikanth’s much awaited film ‘Kochadaiiyaan’ in Mumbai on Sunday (March 30).

In Pics: Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan launch Rajinikanth’s ‘Kochadaiiyaan’

Amitabh Bachchan was joined by his wife Jaya Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Aishwarya, who has worked with Rajinikanth in blockbuster ‘Robot’, was also seen with her mother Brinda Rai at the event. However, film’s lead actress Deepika Padukone did a no show at the event.

Big B has earlier tweeted, “Launching first look of dear family friend, colleague and admirer of Rajnikanth, tonight, of his film Kochdiiyaan’.

Bollywood actress Kajol, actors Anupam Kher and Kunnal Roy Kapur along with filmmaker Subhash Ghai were among the attendees.

Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan had launched the music for the film in Chennai, where he was accompanied by the film’s lead actress Deepika Padukone and other celebs.

The film’s director and Rajinikanth’s daughter Soundarya initially wanted Amitabh Bachchan to the launch the film’s music however due to other commitments Big B could not make it.

  

Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan is busy promoting his upcoming film ‘Bhoothnath Returns’ and is also shooting for the television serial.

Australia field first after winning toss

DHAKA: In the second match of the day at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Mirpur, Australia won the toss and invited India to bat first.

Australia will be playing for a consolation win as the result of this match will have no impact on the tournament. India has already qualified for the semi final and Australia are out of the tournament.

India have made 2 changes to their side. A.Rahane and Mohit Sharma come in for S.Dhawan and M.Shami.

Australia go in the match with one change. C.White comes in for J.Faulkner.

First Look: Fahadh, Nivin and Dulquer in Bangalore Days

Director Anjali Menon’s forthcoming film Bangalore Days stars some of the hottest young actors of Malayalam cinema like Fahadh Faasil, Dulquer Salmaan and Nivin Pauly.

Nazriya Nazim, Isha Talwar, Nitya Menen and Parvathy are a part of the cast as well.

Kuttan (Nivin Pauly), Arjun (Dulquer Salmaan) and Divya (Nazriya) play cousins, who arrive in Bangalore for different reasons.

"Bangalore has always been special for Malayalis. It gives one the feeling that one has the liberty to break free from all traditional concepts. The city can change you and that is all I can reveal about the story,” smiles Anjali Menon.

Bangalore Days has been produced jointly by Anwar Rasheed Entertainments and Weekend Blockbusters.

The camera work is by Sameer Thahir and music by Gopi Sundar.

First animals created oxygen for life to begin

Sponges feed by pumping water through their bodies, thus helping oxygenate the shelf seas that they live in. (AP)

The evolution of first animals may have oxygenated the Earth’s oceans 600 million years ago, scientists say, challenging the long-held belief that rise in oxygen triggered development of complex life on our planet.
New research led by the University of Exeter, UK, builds on the recent work of scientists in Denmark who found that sponges – the first animals to evolve – require only small amounts of oxygen.
“There had been enough oxygen in ocean surface waters for over 1.5 billion years before the first animals evolved, but the dark depths of the ocean remained devoid of oxygen,” Professor Tim Lenton, who led the study, said.
“We argue that the evolution of the first animals could have played a key role in the widespread oxygenation of the deep oceans. This in turn may have facilitated the evolution of more complex, mobile animals,” said Lenton.
The researchers considered mechanisms by which the deep ocean could have been oxygenated during the Neoproterozoic Era (from 1,000 to 542 million years ago) without requiring an increase in atmospheric oxygen.
Crucial to determining oxygen levels in the deep ocean is the balance of oxygen supply and demand. Demand for oxygen is created by the sinking of dead organic material into the deep ocean. The new study argues that the first animals reduced this supply of organic matter – both directly and indirectly.
Sponges feed by pumping water through their bodies, filtering out tiny particles of organic matter from the water, and thus helping oxygenate the shelf seas that they live in.
This naturally selects for larger phytoplankton – the tiny plants of the ocean – which sink faster, also reducing oxygen demand in the water.
By oxygenating more of the bottom waters of shelf seas, the first filter-feeding animals inadvertently increased the removal of the essential nutrient phosphorus in the ocean.
This in turn reduced the productivity of the whole ocean ecosystem, suppressing oxygen demand and thus oxygenating the deep ocean, researchers said.
A more oxygen-rich ocean created ideal conditions for more mobile animals to evolve, because they have a higher requirement for oxygen.
These included the first predatory animals with guts that started to eat one another, marking the beginning of a modern marine biosphere, with the type of food webs we are familiar with today.
“The effects we predict suggest that the first animals, far from being a passive response to rising atmospheric oxygen, were the active agents that oxygenated the ocean around 600 million years ago. They created a world in which more complex animals could evolve, including our very distant ancestors,” Lenton added.
“This study provides a plausible mechanism for ocean oxygenation without the requirement for a rise in atmospheric oxygen,” Professor Simon Poulton of the University of Leeds, who is a co-author of the study, added.
The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

FIRST DAY COLLECTION OF ‘QUEEN’,‘GULAAB GANG’ & 'TS'

Yesterday, three films had hit the screens, ‘Queen’,‘Gulaab Gang’ and 'Total Siyapaa'. ‘Queen’ and 'Total Siyapaa' mainly targets at the multiplex audiences, while ‘Gulaab Gang’ targets at the single screens.

‘Queen’ started on a slow note with the occupancy of around 20%, but because of positive reviews the film saw a good jump in the evening and night shows. The movie has collected Rs. 2.20cr on day one, which is quite good looking at the number screens (800 screens) the movie has been released. We can expect a good jump in the collection on Saturday and Sunday.

While, ‘Gulaab Gang’ which released in around 1600 screens has only collected Rs. 3cr. The expectations from the film were high. It needs a good jump on Saturday and Sunday, to get a decent collection in its first weekend.

The third release 'Total Siyapaa' has only collected Rs. 1.25cr on day one, there are no expectations from the film to grow on weekend.

First look: Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom

The first look shows Priyanka Chopra in a boxing ring wearing her full boxing kit and all set for a bout.

 

Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom. 

The exclusive first look of Priyanka Chopra’s look in her much awaited biopic on World Boxing champion Mary Kom is finally out.
The first look shows Priyanka Chopra in a boxing ring wearing her full boxing kit and all set for a bout.

The first schedule of the film began towards the end of 2013 with debut director Omung Kumar.
Priyanka Chopra also made several trips to Mary Kom’s homeland Manipur to understand and get into her character better. Priyanka observed her life there closely and the struggles she faced.
Priyanka Chopra also missed out on her cousin Saurabh’s wedding celebrations in Delhi, for her ‘Mary Kom’.The former Miss World tweeted, “Missing mere brother Saurabh ki shaadi celebrations in delhi!The whole family is there!Grrr! Can’t wait to go.Full chopra style gaana shaana.”
After a few weeks of shooting, ‘Mary Kom’ project remained uncertain. However, director Omung and producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali were sure of taking the project forward.
With the first look of the film going viral on social networking site, Priyanka Chopra looks all set to finish this schedule of ‘Mary Kom’ before she moves on to Zoya Akhtar’s film.