Daily News Updates

The first ever smartphone — a $900 clunky IBM Simon mobile phone —turned 20 on Saturday.
The phone with a battery life of one hour was developed by IBM and the American cellular company BelSelf and went on sale in 1994.
At around 23 cm long and weighing half a kg, it was about half the size of a house brick. “It was called Simon because it was simple and could do almost anything you wanted,” the Irish Times reported....

During the fifth Test’s opening day at the Oval, pigeons assembled at the practice pitches that are parallel to the main square. The birds blissfully foraged for worms and weeds. A peck here, a peck there and all was fine with the avian world.
Yes, a match was in progress but with the action centred entirely upon the middle, in the truest sense, as England seamers revelled, the close-in fielders caught well and Indian batsmen perished, the prospect of a well struck cricket ball scattering...

Terming military might as the biggest deterrent to war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the defence forces will be modernised to ensure that “nobody casts an evil eye” on the nation.
“Fighting a war and winning it has now become less difficult these days. But a modern military, armed with state of the art weaponry alone is a guarantee against war. When we are capable, no one can dare challenge us,” Mr. Modi said addressing a gathering...

He hoped that the country will scale new heights of development.
The Hindu Exclusive: Now that the speech has concluded, have a look at these exclusive pictures from The Hindu Archives - Of India celebrating her Independence over the years: From 1947 - 2014...