World in your Hands

A powerful blast killed nearly 50 people, including children, during Friday prayers at a packed minority Shia mosque in Pakistan's Sindh province, the deadliest sectarian attack to hit the country in recent times. The explosion, carried out by Jundullah, a splinter group of Taliban, brought down the roof of Imambargah Maula Karballa in Lakhi Dar area of Shikarpur - around 470 kilometres north of here - and buried worshippers. At least 49 people were killed while 55 others were injured, some critically, in the attack when worshippers had assembled for the 'Zuhr' afternoon Friday prayers.   Many were trapped under the debris and hundreds of people rushed to the scene to dig out survivors. The explosion was heard several kilometers away. Children are also said to be among the victims. Deputy commissioner Hadi Bakhsh Zardari confirmed the toll, saying at least 49 people were killed in the blast. Civil Hospital Shikarpur also issued a list of 49 victims.

The Moto E was launched in February last year. This means now is the time for the successor. So far we haven't heard anything about the 2nd generation Moto E. But looks like as the launch date approaches -- it has to happen in the next one or two months -- some information has started trickling in. Android Police   , a website that covers Android-related news, has apparently received two images (posted above) of the Moto E. If true, it looks like the new Moto E will use a slightly tweaked design compared to the current model. The new device takes the design cues from the new Moto X. It also seems to have a ring around its camera, though it is not clear if this ring has a flash or not. From the photos, it looks like flash is missing. On the front, the dual speakers are gone. It looks like Motorola will use mono speakers on the new version of the Moto E. However, the front camera, which the current models lacks, is there in the 2nd generation Moto E. In a break from the rec

  Tweet to Transact You can now initiate transactions using just the Twitter account and your registered mobile number. ICICI Bank opens yet another avenue to carry out your banking transactions while on the social media with icicibankpay. You can transfer money, recharge any prepaid mobile, check balance and view the last 3 transactions using your Twitter account. TRANSFER FUNDS   Steps to transfer money using Twitter     Create an voucher by sending a Direct Message to @icicibank in the following format:   #Pay <Receiver's Twitter account> <Amount>   Share the passcode received from @icicibank with the receiver (the person you want to send money to)   Example:   To transfer Rs. 1000 to Mr. Rishi from your bank account number 00000123456, send a Direct Message to @icicibank: #Pay @rishi123456 1000. You will receive a 4 digit passcode as a response to your message. Mr. Rishi will receive a tweet from ICICI Bank about the fund transferre

In its latest video, ISIS has threatened to behead Barack Obama and convert US into a Muslim province. "This is the fate of anyone who opposes Islam. Know, oh Obama, that we will reach America. Know also that we will cut off your head in the White House and transform America into a Muslim province," the ISIS fighter in the video said. The video, which shows a ISIS fighter clad in black uniform beheading a Kurdish soldier, threatens to behead the US president inside the White House.  The video was discovered by Memri TV which translated it from Arabic. "Every time you launch a missile, we will send you back the head of one of your soldiers", the militant warns the Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barazani who is currently leading the fight against ISIS in Iraq. Apart from US, the video, titled "Bombardment of Peaceful Muslims in the City of Mosul," also threatens attacks in France and Belgium. The video emerged two days after Kurdish fighters exp

South Korean tech major Samsung's new budget offering post the Z1 Tizen smartphone launch, the Galaxy J1 has finally gone official. The Galaxy J1 (SM-J100H) which is the first handset in the company's new Galaxy J series has officially been listed on Samsung's Malaysian website. The listing gives us all the specifics concerning the innards of the Samsung Galaxy J1 entry-level smartphone, but fails to reveal the exact pricing and availability details of the said device. Notably, the specifications are in line with what was earlier reported. The new Samsung Galaxy J1 features a 4.3-inch WVGA TFT display with a 480x800 pixels resolution. It is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (unspecified chipset) coupled with 512MB of RAM. It comes with 4GB of internal memory which is expandable up to a whopping 128GB via micro-SD card. The dual-SIM device runs Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box, however, there's no word yet if it would be updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop a

After weeks of speculation and alternative plans, the government finally announced the programme for the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to India for three days beginning January 25. Despite reports to the contrary, their daughters Malia and Sasha will not be joining them on the visit, according to U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, who told journalists that “their priority is school.” According to the programme, the U.S. first couple will fly in on Air Force One, landing in Delhi at 10 a.m. on January 25, and are due to be received by the designated Minister in waiting, Power Minister Piyush Goyal. After a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan and a visit to Rajghat, President Obama will hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin here on Thursday.

Oil prices rose on the news of the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Thursday, but the king’s death is not expected to change the course of oil prices over the next several months. The price of U.S. crude was up 88 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $47.19 a barrel in after-hours trading. Brent crude, an international benchmark, was up 2.1 percent to $49.58 a barrel. “Commodity markets might have a knee-jerk reaction but it will soon settle down,” said Larry Goldstein, a veteran oil adviser at the Energy Policy Research Foundation. Oil prices have plummeted nearly 60 percent since June. Global supplies have soared, thanks mostly to a boom in U.S. oil production, at a time when growth in global demand for crude has slowed. Saudi Arabia occupies a unique position in world oil markets because it is one of the world’s biggest producers, it has the strongest voice within OPEC as its largest exporter, and it is the only oil producer that has the ability to significantly increase or decr

Saudi Arabia's Ki ng Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world's top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam said in an official statement. King Salman has named his half-brother Muqrin as his crown prince and heir, rapidly moving to forestall any fears of a succession crisis at a moment when Saudi Arabia faces unprecedented turmoil on its borders. The rise of Islamic State in war-torn Syria and Iraq has brought to the kingdom's frontiers a militant group that vows to bring down the Al Saud dynasty. In Yemen, the Iran-allied Shi'ite Houthis have all but seized power and plunged the country to the brink of total chaos, opening space for al Qaeda, which waged an insurgency in Saudi Arabia from 2003-06 and nearly killed a top prince in 2009. The problems in all those countries are being played out against an overarching backdrop of bitter rivalry between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and its arch regional foe

Last night, Microsoft showcased the consumer-centric features of Windows 10, which will be released later in the year. The company had already shown the 'business-centric' features of the OS late last year. Previously, the company had even released a technical preview of the OS, which is meant for people who have signed up for its Windows Insider program. Next week, the company will release a new build of the Windows 10 technical preview, which will contain new bits and some of the features it showcased at the event. The event not only focused on Windows 10, but also a new breed of hardware that Microsoft has created for it. Here is a recap of everything cool and important that Microsoft announced at the event. Microsoft HoloLens The HoloLens comes first because without doubt it was the most innovative and arguably ground-breaking announcement that was made at the event. If you have seen a science fiction movie or a TV show like a Star Trek or even the recent Iron

WhatsApp, the world's most popular instant messaging app, is finally available on a computer. Sort of. It is still not as simple as opening a web page and logging into an account to send messages. But it is simple enough and should satisfy millions of consumers who were rooting for web access to WhatsApp. In a blog post on Wednesday night WhatsApp said that the service was now available to users who have installed the app on phones running Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry OS. "Today, for the first time, millions of you will have the ability to use WhatsApp on your web browser. Our web client is simply an extension of your phone: the web browser mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device -- this means all of your messages still live on your phone," WhatsApp noted on its website. The feature currently won't be available for iPhone users because. "Unfortunately for now, we will not be able to provide web client to our iOS users due to