India

New York, Sep 2 (IANS) For the first time, astronomers have used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to take a direct image of a planet outside our solar system.

The exoplanet called 'HIP 65426 b' is a gas giant, meaning it has no rocky surface and could not be habitable.

The exoplanet is about six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter, and these observations could help narrow that down even further.

It is young, about 15 to 20 million years old, compared to our 4.5-billion-year-old Earth.

"This is a transformative moment, not only for Webb but also for astronomy generally," said Sasha Hinkley, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Exeter in the UK.

The image, as seen through four different light filters, shows how Webb's powerful infrared gaze can easily capture worlds beyond our solar system, pointing the way to future observations that will reveal more information than ever before about exoplanets, the space agency said in a statement.

This image shows the exoplanet 'HIP 65426 b' in different bands of infrared light.

A set of masks within each instrument, called a coronagraph, blocks out the host star's light so that the planet can be seen.

Astronomers discovered the planet in 2017 using the SPHERE instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile and took images of it using short infrared wavelengths of light.

Webb's view, at longer infrared wavelengths, reveals new details that ground-based telescopes would not be able to detect because of the intrinsic infrared glow of Earth's atmosphere.

Since 'HIP 65426 b' is about 100 times farther from its host star than Earth is from the Sun, it is sufficiently distant from the star that Webb can easily separate the planet from the star in the image.

"It was really impressive how well the Webb coronagraphs worked to suppress the light of the host star," Hinkley said.

Taking direct images of exoplanets is challenging because stars are so much brighter than planets.

The 'HIP 65426 b' planet is more than 10,000 times fainter than its host star in the near-infrared, and a few thousand times fainter in the mid-infrared.

"Obtaining this image felt like digging for space treasure," said Aarynn Carter, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

In July, James Webb Space Telescope produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) The Congress on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to acknowledge the efforts of previous governments in building INS Vikrant -- India's first Indigenous aircraft.

"India's 1st indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant commissioned today is a collective effort of all govts since 1999. Will PM acknowledge? Let's also recall original INS Vikrant that served us well in 1971 war. Much reviled Krishna Menon played a key role in getting it from UK," veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

The aircraft carrier keel was laid in 2009 during UPA government and was launched during that period, he Congress said.

Prime Minister Modi commissioned the fully indigenous developed aircraft carrier INS Vikrant this morning. After unveiling the aircraft carrier, the Prime Minister said India has joined the select club of nations who have developed indigenous aircraft carrier.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minster said: "INS Vikrant a floating airfield, a floating town and the power generated in it can light up 5,000 houses, while the cables can run to Kashi from Kochi."

He that its deck is up to the size of two football fields and its the example of government aim to make India self reliant in defence sector.

Though the security of Indo-Pacific region is our priority, but in the past it was ignored, he said.

Unveiling the new flag of the Navy, the PM said: "Indian Naval flags carried a sign of slavery which has been replaced with a new one inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj."

The new Naval Ensign that draws inspiration from the seal of great Indian emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, depicts steadfastness, while the octagonal shape represents the 8 directions symbolizing multi-directional reach of the navy, Prime Minister Modi said.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will be meeting his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is reaching Kerala to participate in the South Indian Chief Ministers' conference, also being attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The discussions between the two Chief Ministers will be mainly centred around Siruvani and Mullaperiyar water sharing issues.

Located inside deep forests in Palakkad district of Kerala, the Siruvani dam is a major source of drinking water for the people of Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.

Notably, after the 2019 floods in Kerala, the state water resources department has been maintaining water levels below the Full Reservoir Level (FRL). The Kerala irrigation department has been maintaining the water level of Siruvani dam at 44 ft since 2019 instead of 49.5 ft which is the water level agreed between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Lowering of water level by five feet will lead to a shortage of 122.05 mcft (million cubic feet) which is 19 per cent of the storage capacity of the dam.

The Water level in Siruvani dam has gone up following incessant rains in the catchment areas of the dam and on Thursday the water level touched 43.5 ft and Coimbatore receives 101.4 MLD of water from Siruvani. However once the water level touches 44 ft, the water will be discharged.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department told IANS that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister will take this matter up with his Kerala counterpart and try to convince him of the necessity of maintaining the FRL of Siruvani dam so that drinking water for Coimbatore is not affected.

Mullaperiyar dam issue which is again a contentious one between Kerala and Tamil Nadu will also come for discussion during the meeting between the two Chief Ministers.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) An Udaipur-bound IndiGo flight returned to the Delhi airport due to a technical snag, a DGCA official confirmed.

The official said that the aircraft was grounded after it returned to Delhi on Thursday due to engine vibrations and a probe into is underway.

"IndiGo Airbus flight 6E-6264 from Delhi to Udaipur had returned to Delhi due to a technical snag. All passengers were accommodated on another aircraft which operated to Udaipur. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers," an airline spokesperson said.

Also on Thursday, a SpiceJet B737 flight operating from Delhi to Nashik returned to the national capital after the crew experienced a malfunction with the autopilot system.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) A deputy legal advisor with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) allegedly committed suicide at his south Delhi residence on Thursday, police said.

The deceased was identified as Jitendra Kumar, 48.

A senior police official said that they got a call at the Defence Colony police station at around 6.45 a.m. about a man found hanging, and a crime team, along with forensic mobile team, reached the spot.

"Kumar was posted as deputy legal advisor in the CBI. He was found hanging at his house in Hudco Place. He originally belonged to district Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. A suicide note was also found in which it was written that nobody was responsible for his death," the official said.

His wife Jyoti lives in Mandi and brother Rajender in Chandigarh. The Delhi Police also shared the information with senior officers of the CBI who came on the spot.A

"No foul play was found. The body of the deceased was shifted to mortuary. The postmortem will be conducted tomorrow (Friday)," the official said.

--IANS
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Kochi, Sep 1 (IANS) Ahead of Onam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched various projects of Kochi Metro and the railways worth Rs 4,500 crores in Kerala.

These include commissioning and also foundation stone laying of various projects which will hugely improve connectivity in the state.

The Prime Minister flagged off the extension of the first phase of Kochi Metro and laid the foundation stone for its phase 2.

Then, there were five different projects of the Indian Railways.

"These projects will speed up the ease of living and also ease of doing business. The road map for development of the country in the next 25 years is beginning in Kerala from today. The Unified Metropolitan Authority which comprises of the metro, the water metro, and the bus service in Kochi is going to be multi-model connectivity which will see faster transportation, lesser pollution, and lesser traffic congestion," said Modi.

He then pointed out that steps will begin as part of these developments to convert three railway stations -- two in Kochi and one in Kollam - in Kerala to match the facilities one sees in airports.

He also recalled that the Centre by now has invested Rs 1 lakh crore in various infrastructure projects in Kerala which includes Rs 55,000 crore, six-lane NH 66 which is the lifeline of the state and pointed out that connectivity will boost tourism and trade in the state.

Soon after arriving at Kochi in the evening, Modi addressed a meeting of his BJP workers and from there he visited Sri Adi Shankara Janma Bhoomi Kshetram, the birth place of Adi Shankaracharaya at the Kalady village, near the airport.

After the inauguration of the rail infrastructure projects, he took part in the core committee meeting of top state-level BJP leaders.

On Friday, he will commission indigenously-designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, the largest warship to be built in India, in the Indian Navy.

--IANS
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London, Sep 1 (IANS) Vaccinated people who were infected by the earlier Omicron subvariants have four times greater protection than vaccinated people who were not infected against the new variants like BA.5, finds a new study.

The study indicates that previous infection in vaccinated people (the so-called hybrid immunity) continues to confer immunity for the variants that are known for their ability to evade the immune response.

"Vaccinated people who were infected by Omicron sub variants BA.1 and BA.2 have a protection against infection with subvariant BA.5, in circulation since June, about four times greater than vaccinated people who were not infected at any time," said lead author Luis Graca from the University of Lisbon.

"Infections in 2020 and 2021 that occurred through infection with earlier variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (ancestral lineage, Alpha and Delta variants) also confer protection against infection for the more recent Omicron variant, although this protection is not as high as that of individuals infected with the BA.1 and BA.2 variants, at the beginning of 2022," Graca added.

For the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine journal, the team accessed the registry of Covid-19 cases at Portugal's national level.

"We used the Portuguese national registry of Covid-19 cases to obtain information on all cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the population over 12 years of age residing in Portugal," the researchers said.

"The virus variant of each infection was determined considering the date of infection and the dominant variant at that time. We considered the infections caused by the first variants of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 together," they added.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 1 (IANS) Heavy rainfall lashed Chennai and its surrounding areas on Thursday leaving several low-lying areas in the state capital inundated.

The rainfall, which commenced at 12 p.m., is continuing unabated and has thrown normal life out of gear.

The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in many parts of Tamil Nadu for the next four to five days. It has also predicted heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu and parts of Puducherry including Mahe.

The district administrations of Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Myladuthurai and Tanjavur have declared holidays for all educational institutions following heavy to very heavy rainfall.

The Greater Chennai Police and the State Disaster Response Force are geared up for any eventuality.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has declared a Rs 25 lakh reward on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

The probe agency said that whosoever will provide information to it about Dawood shall be rewarded.

The NIA has also declared a reward of Rs 20 lakh on Chhota Shakeel and Rs 15 lakh reward on Anis Abrahim, aides of Dawood.

"NIA has declared reward of Rs 15 lakh each on Dawood's other aides Javed Chikna and Tiger Memon, wanted accused in Mumbai serial blasts," said an official.

The NIA has said that Dawood is funding terror outfits to carry out terror-related activities across India.

The probe agency said that Dawood is working with LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed, the international terrorist organisations.

In February, the NIA had lodged a fresh case against Dawood.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) Bharti Airtel on Thursday launched a new Cloud portfolio to offer specialised products for multiple business segments, as the company plnas to roll out 5G services in the country.

The new cloud offerings will fall under Edge Cloud Portfolio and will include Edge content delivery network (CDN).

Airtel Cloud's Edge CDN accelerates web and video content delivery by using its edge network to bring content as close to users as possible.

This reduces latency, costs and load on servers making it easier for enterprises to focus on app performance for OTT, ed-tech, gaming and healthcare sectors.

"Airtel has three key strengths to offer a differentiated set of cloud offerings – we have 12 large data centres and 120+ edge locations. We also have a network with comprehensive coverage across the country and to most locations across the globe," said Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO, Airtel Business.

Airtel is currently working with two of the largest OTT companies in India and others on this platform.

"With 5G around the corner, businesses will leverage the low latency, high bandwidth and high device density of the 5G spectrum to solve critical problems using edge computing," said Chitkara.

Airtel said it will utilise Edge Cloud applicationd eveloper Qwilt's 'Open Edge Cloud' solution for deployment.

"Our edge architecture provides a new economic model for streaming delivery, in which Airtel Cloud's Edge CDN plays a central role in the end-to-end value chain," said Alon Maor, CEO, Qwilt.

Airtel recently became the first company to test a captive private network at the Bosch facility in Bengaluru. Airtel is also rolling out its Edge compute service to customers.

The company said there will be many targeted cloud solutions coming in for specific industry requrements soon.

--IANS
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