Latest News of 29th October

Protest spirals: Top scientist to return Padma Bhushan

Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology founder-director P M Bhargava on Wednesday became the first Indian scientist to join the bandwagon of writers and filmmakers returning their awards when he told TOI that he will return his Padma Bhushan to protest against “the government's at tack on rationalism, reasoning and science“.

12 filmmakers to turn in their national awards

Twelve filmmakers, includ ing `Khosla Ka Ghosla' director Dibakar Banerjee, documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and `Gulabi Gang' director Nishtha Jain, are set to return their national awards over “growing intolerance“, reports Anahita Mukherji. They also expressed solidarity with FTII students who on Wednesday called off their strike against Gajendra Chauhan's appointment as FTII chairman.

53% vote in 50 seats in phase 3 of Bihar polls

The Bihar capital saved the state the blushes by turning out in large numbers and bettering its previous record by 10% in some seats in the third phase of assembly polls on Wednesday , reports Vithika Salomi. At 53.32% turnout, polling was up 3% from the last assembly polls in 2010 and general elections in 2014. As in the first phase, women took the lead in voting.

Second Metro link to Noida by Dec 2016

Connectivity to Noida via the New Delhi Metro corridor is set to be sooner than scheduled. The Janakpuri (west) to Botanical Garden line, which will have two stations in Noida, was scheduled to be complete by July 2017 on the Noida end. It will now be completed by December 2016January 2017, said sources at Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

The Janakpuri (west)-Botanical Garden corridor, also known as line 8, will only be the second corridor to connect Delhi with neighbouring Noida. According to officials, line 8 was supposed to be completed by 2016 till Kalindi Kunj, which is the Delhi side of the corridor. This was to be commissioned in sections. On the Noida side though, the two stations--Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Botanical Garden--were to be completed by mid-2017.

CLICK ON THE WALL - Zuckerberg gets hero rating in IIT-D, insists internet.org is not a villain

 New Delhi: Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said that he supported net-neutrality “100%“, but added that he also strongly backed zero-rating.

Facebook's initiative, In ternet.org, rebranded as `Free Basics' a couple of months ago, has generated much debate on the subject. The service, delivered in collaboration with telecom operators, allows access to online content on “basics“ such as health, education and employment and subscribers aren't charged for the data used.

Chemicals in shampoos may up breast cancer risk

Parabens -common chemicals found in personal care products such as shampoos, body lotions and sunscreens -may increase breast cancer risk even at low doses, according to a new study .

Parabens are a class of preservatives widely used in consumer products. They are considered estrogenic because they activate the same estrogen receptor as the natural hormone estradiol.