Sony Takes Steps to Phase Out the FS700 with New Price Drop
The FS700 price drop can mean one of two things… Either the market has caught up to the device or it’s obsolete. We have a feeling we know which one it is.Top Image Courtesy of Coffeeandcelluloid.If you really break it down and look at this in terms of hardware aging, then the Sony FS700 is ancient. When it was released in June of 2012, the 700 was a beast of a camera. It came equipped with a 4K Exmor Super 35 CMOS sensor and used an array of recording medias, from SDHC to Memory Stick PRO Duo. But where the camera really made its bones was in the frames per second, which allowed up to 960fps, with 240fps in HD and up to 60fps in 4K.I’ve had several fellow filmmakers swear by the FS700, and I’ve been able to use the camera on several occasions. My experience with it has always been a pleasant one, but I was never able to use it in a run and gun situation, only a static one with it resting comfortably on a tripod.Now with this latest price drop I may finally get a chance to do just that.Sony has announced that it is dropping the price of the FS700 by $1,000, which brings the final price of the camera to $4,999. Now, here is where that question of what type of price drop this is comes into play.Sony, as recent as last year, dropped the price of the FS700 from $7,000 to $6,000. Now factor in another drop this year and the fact that it is now a full three years old, well… you can read the writing on the wall.We already have the FS700’s heir apparent in the Sony FS7, which starts at $8,000 and comes with the ability to record 4K internally – a feature missing from the FS700.But just to show you what the camera can do,check out this EPIC video of the FS700 in action by Neumann Films.The real question is: After purchasing the FS700, is it worth spending an extra $2,200 on the HXR Interface just to film in 4K? A year ago that question might have been easier to answer, but now with several affordable 4K cameras on the market, well, the sell is a little tougher. And I’m not sure the ability to shoot at such a high frame rate is enough.Want more content on camera equipment and news? Check out these articles from PremiumBeat.Is the AJA CION the Biggest Bust in Modern Filmmaking?Just How Expensive Are Real Cinema Lenses?Choosing Between The Blackmagic URSA and URSA MiniWhat are your thoughts on the price drop of the FS700? Is it enough to get you to buy one? Or will you go with another 4K option? What is that option? Sound off in the comments below.
The Victor Company of Japan (JVC) was instrumental in creating the home video market. This is how one company spawned independent filmmaking and allowed you to watch movies on your television.Cover Image via Universal PicturesIf you enjoy watching movies at home on your TV, phone or tablet — you should be thanking JVC. Believe it or not, there was a time you could only watch movies in a theater. Eventually you would start to see reruns on television.It was actually the television market that would help bring about home video. As the major networks realized that they could repurpose content and show the same episodes over and over again, they needed to find a way to store the episodes.Many of the original television shows were live broadcast and never recorded, which is why there is not an abundance of early TV shows available. By the 1950s, the networks began using magnetic tape to archive their shows. Enter JVC.JVC had already made a name for themselves in the Japanese market. In the 1920s and 30s, JVC produced phonographs, records, and radios. In 1939, they produced Japan’s first locally made television. It would be the 1970s that would skyrocket the company’s success.Image via Terra MediaIn the late 1970s, JVC introduced the Video Home System, better known as the VHS. To say that the VHS revolutionized the industry would still be an understatement. It literally changed everything. Going to miss your favorite TV show? Record it with a VCR. Want to instantly make home movies? Put a VHS in a camcorder. Want to watch a major motion picture at home? Buy or rent the movie, pop the tape in the VCR and push play. Don’t forget to be kind and rewind.The consumer market had never seen anything like this, and it was going to be in every single home. Of course, JVC would also have to face competition. Sony had actually introduced the Betamax videocassette tape a year before the VHS. It was actually a superior picture quality, but VHS allowed for longer record times. The ensuing videotape format war in the 1980s would eventually leave the VHS on top.Image via JVCIn 1985, JVC scored some incredible product placement in the film Back to the Future. Marty McFly used the JVC GR-C1 to film the time-traveling DeLorean. Even Doc Brown in 1955 proclaimed, “This, is truly amazing! A portable television studio!”VHS’s popularity peaked in the 1990s. The DVD was introduced in 1995 and starting gaining traction in the consumer market. The jump to HD footage truly amazed audiences, and by the 2000s DVD sales topped VHS.The home video market is just as big as ever. Last year, home video on digital platforms alone neared $1.4 Billion. The home video camera market has also transformed. Consumers are using everything from cell phones to DSLR cameras to record video. All of this has spawned from the innovations of JVC.What’s the first item of home video technology you remember from childhood? Let us know in the comments below!
2. Ease of UseImage: Canon PowerShot G7 X via B&HWith documentaries, you’re capturing reality. And this sometimes requires more than just the head-and-shoulder interviews we so frequently see in mainstream docs. Quickness is often the name of the game in the documentary world, and nothing is faster than a point-and-shoot camera. They’re called point and shoot for a reason.You can achieve high-quality images in automatic mode but still have the option to switch to manual, controlling any aspect of your camera, including ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Also, when need be, you can easily hand off a point-and-shoot camera to a documentary subject or any average person and have them shoot for you. Again, it’s as simple as point and shoot.3. Low ProfileImage: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 via B&HIn some cases, showing up to a production with a compact camera will be met with eye rolls and worried looks from clients.“So….THAT’S the camera you’re using?”Point-and-shoot cameras simply don’t look professional. Of course, this can work in the favor of documentary filmmakers who don’t want to be noticed.Documentaries often focus on controversial topics, and they’re often shot in situations where shooting video is not allowed. The point-and-shoot camera can serve as a perfect tool for clandestine cinematography. If things get dangerous, just slip your compact camera in your pocket.“Filmmaker? Nah I’m just a tourist.”Try to go unnoticed with a shoulder-mounted camera with a tripod and a sound engineer. It’s not going to work. No matter what type of documentary you’re making, a point-and-shoot camera is a great addition to your arsenal.What’s your go-to point-and-shoot camera? Share your thoughts in the comments below.What’s Every documentary filmmaker should have a point-and-shoot compact video camera in their arsenal. Here are three reasons why.Top image via Gadget FlowThe point-and-shoot camera has come a long way in the last decade. These days you can get professional-quality, high-definition video out of a relatively cheap point-and-shoot camera. Even in full automatic, these compact cameras pack a punch for the price point. Depending on the style of documentary you’re working on, having one of these in your tool kit can serve you well. Let’s take a closer look at three benefits of the point-and-shoot camera.1. QualityImage: Sony DSC-RX100 IV via B&HIf you’ve ever shot with a good point-and-shoot camera, then you’ve noticed that the quality is surprisingly impressive. Compact cameras are capable of shooting full 1920x1080p video at 60p, with some models even shooting at 4k (and higher) frame rates. Both the Canon PowerShot G7x and Sony’s DSC-RX100 IV Digital Camera have fast lenses, with maximum apertures at f/1.8 – 2.8. This allows for high-quality images in low-light conditions, and the ability to achieve a very shallow depth of field.
Proper data protection during production is critical, and Pixar almost learned this the hard way with Toy Story 2. Here’s the story.I recently stumbled across a story from the history of film from YouTuber Austin McConnell that I had never heard before. In 1998, less than a year before the slated release date of Toy Story 2 an animator working on the film entered a command to delete files into the Unix-based, shared-network project system, intending to run a routine file cleanup. Little did this poor animator know that the hasty command entered into the system would result in an avalanche of errors that would nearly bring Pixar to its knees.Today, we are looking at the story of Toy Story 2 and how it was saved from 90 percent deletion.Saving Toy Story 2In 1998, Associate Technical Director Oren Jacob was working with Larry Cutler and Larry Aupperle when they began to notice elements of Woody’s outfit disappearing.‘That’s when we first noticed it, with Woody,’ recalls Oren Jacob.More assets kept going offline, and “Directory No Longer Valid” errors stopped the work on Toy Story 2 in its tracks.Eventually every animator and every TD, everyone working on the show, goes, ‘Oh, all machines down. Let’s go to lunch.’When Oren and the rest of the crew returned several hours later, the network drive was brought back online and it was discovered that only 10 percent of the film’s assets remained. Despite this, panic hadn’t broken out yet. Supervising Technical Director Galyn Sussman requested tape backups of the film from the IT department.The IT department furnished the archived work, which the team then used to restore the project and all of its assets. Once the department heads felt confident in the restoration, the rest of the production team was invited back to work on the film.Unfortunately, Pixar didn’t have regular testing of backup protocols in place at the time, and as a result, they were unaware of a critical error that prevented the tape backups from properly archiving the work done on the film. As the dust settled, the production team on Toy Story 2 began to realize the nightmare scenario they were in.‘We had restored the film from backups within 48 hours of the [deletion command], run some validation tests, rendered frames, somehow got good pictures back and no errors, and invited the crew back to start working. It took another several days of the entire crew working on that initial restoral to really understand that the restoral was, in fact, incomplete and corrupt.’The crew was again sent home, and a do-or-die meeting was called with Pixar executives and department heads to assess the situation and decide the fate of Toy Story 2. The film would have to be delayed, restarted, or scrapped altogether.‘Now sadly, what’s happened is that there is zero confidence in any solution, because the restoral is bad, the work on it is bad, the deletion was horrible, and the backup tapes are busted.’}The somber atmosphere of the sentiments being expressed in that board room must have been palpable. That’s when Galyn Sussman remembered the backup version of the film she kept when she was working from home to be with her newborn son.Sussman’s backups were the last chance Toy Story 2 had to be completed on time. A plan was hatched, and Oren and Galyn carefully retrieved her computer and brought it back to the studio.Here is an awesome, firsthand account from Oren and Galyn about the stress they were under while retrieving and returning the computer to the studio. After the stressful journey, the computer was delicately transported to the studio.‘We dupe’d that data immediately, then set about the task of trying to verify and validate this tree, which we thought might be about two weeks old. We compared Galyn’s restoral with a much older one (from two months prior) and couldn’t determine a clear winner; there were too many inconsistencies. So, instead, we set about the task of assembling what effectively amounted to a new source tree, by hand, one file at a time. The total number of files involved was well into the six figures, but we’ll round down to 100,000 for the sake of the rest of this discussion to make the math easier.’From there, the team went to work verifying each asset from all versions of the film in order to determine what assets to restore to the project. Approximately 70 percent of the project was easily verified as restored, but that still left some 30,000 assets to sort through manually.The team pulled together, got their sleeping bags, and worked in 8-hour shifts around the clock to restore the film’s remaining assets over the weekend.‘In the end, human eyes scanned, read, understood, looked for weirdness, and made a decision on something like 30,000 files that weekend.’But, as a result of the effort, Toy Story 2 was saved.There is so much more to the story than I can cover here, so check out an in-depth article with Galya and Oren about all of the circumstances surrounding the deletion and recovery of the film.The Importance of Good Data ManagementI’ve talked before about the importance of proper data protection techniques. Recovering deleted or corrupt data is always extremely stressful and arduous. The prospect of losing over a year of work on a 100 million-dollar film is an important lesson, and it highlights some of the biggest ways in which any project can be brought to its knees without a highly systematized backup and archival process.To me, the lesson of Toy Story 2 is one of the most important an aspiring filmmaker can learn. Don’t get caught without a plan; it could mean the death of your project.All images via Disney.Looking for more on film and video production? Check out these articles.Exclusive: Designing Wakanda and the Amazing Sets of Black PantherPost-Production Lessons from a Star Wars RestorationVideo Tutorial: How to Create Annihilation-Inspired VFXA Look Inside the Post-Production Process Behind “It”The Secrets Behind the Sound Design of Blade Runner 2049
PremiumBeat talked with this versatile designer about the process and people involved in creating the look and feel of very different properties.Production Designer Malchus Janocko has explored the cell blocks of Orange is the New Black, the privileged lives in Gossip Girl, and the heightened Marvel universes of Spiderman and Luke Cage — to name a few.Orange is the New Black via NetflixPremiumBeat: When Netflix debuted Orange is the New Black, it was an instant hit. How has the production design evolved as the characters evolved on the show?Malchus Janocko: I joined the crew for Season Four and we inherited a strong history of design and characters, built by the previous team. The design evolved as the story grew and we moved from minimum security to maximum security, and then the addition of the ICE facility. We were given new characters and new flashbacks every season, which gave us a great deal of scope and scale, while remaining firmly in prison. For the final season, several of our characters are released and we follow them into new situations — outside jail — that are not flashbacks and we really get to see both the light and dark side of being released from prison. Adding the “Immigration and Customs Enforcement” story to our world made the stories very current.PB: As this is OITNB‘s final season, how do you emotionally leave a beloved project behind and reset your creativity for the next gig?MJ: I have loved working on Orange. It was such a creative and original, poignant and important show. The whole art department was in a sad state after we wrapped. I had the good fortune of restoring creativity and design mentality by teaching at Savannah College of Art and Design for the spring quarter. It was such an amazing opportunity and gear shift, with amazing students.Gossip Girl via Warner Bros.PB: Prior to Litchfield prison, it was the glamour of Gossip Girl. You obviously swim in all depths of the pool! What was the process involved in creating the world of privileged Upper East Side New Yorkers?MJ: I had worked in the events industry in New York for years, prior to being hired by Loren Weeks to art direct on Gossip Girl. He was switching gears from designing Third Watch to design Gossip Girl, and I was a good addition to his team. I got to move up to Production Designer and was able to use my experience in society functions, fashion shows, and parties in almost every episode. We got to scout and shoot in amazing townhouses and apartments all over New York — particularly on the Upper East Side. Our locations manager Randy Manion and his team gave us amazing options for every episode. We spent a lot of time at the Palace Hotel, and then the Empire Hotel. We bought lots of fashion magazines and high-end interior magazines, and looked at trends in color and pattern in both. We always strove to create the perfect backdrop for Eric Daman‘s spectacular costumes.Luke Cage via NetflixPB: The Marvel universe, I would imagine, is very hands-on with the look and feel of their brands. How much creative freedom were you given on Luke Cage and The Defenders?MJ: I was an art director on those shows. Loren Weeks (again!) and Toni Barton were the designers. They both had a great deal of say on creating the look of those shows and were truly collaborators with the Marvel writers. The scenery built the characters, was there in service of the story, and to create an environment for all of the action. Some of the writing called out for incredibly specific details, like the dragon cavern in The Defenders. But, still finding creative solutions for scale and construction is one of the most rewarding aspects of art direction.The Leftovers via HBOPB: Damon Lindelof is the man of mystery, having explored space in Star Trek and the enigmatic Lost! You worked with him on The Leftovers, another mystery-box exploration. Is there a specific design approach when working on realities that aren’t quite what they may seem?MJ: I was so excited to work with Damon Lindelof. As a huge fan of Lost, I could not believe my good fortune to work for him on The Leftovers. He is extremely charming and funny in meetings, and his thoughts on set are challenging and specific — creating deep backstory and mystical clues from wide and varied pieces of research. Diane Lederman layered-up amazing sets, with specific details requested by Damon directly.Orange is the New Black via NetflixPB: What advice would you give a newbie designer on navigating a successful career in this business?MJ: Just say yes! Work with all different kinds of designers and decide who you want to be. Remember to listen, and learn when to keep your mouth shut. Be patient in your day to day, and patient in your long term. Make sure to do what you are asked, and then go further and offer your own take as an additional option.Being a good person, with great timing, can win over being a great designer and a bad person.There are designers out there who are creative AND nurturing. Loren Weeks was my mentor when I transitioned into television, as he had made a similar move in his career. I hope that I can match his generosity of spirit and creative drive. When you can help someone else, do it.Learn something new every day. Keep adding to your skills. Draw all the time, make art, be creative. See movies, watch TV, read books, listen to music.There are good days and bad days. If you keep smiling, you can turn the bad day into a good one.Top image Orange is the New Black via Netflix.Want more industry insights? Check out these interviews.Industry Interview: Emmy-Nominated Editor Vera DrewIndustry Insights: “Better Call Saul” Production Designer Judy RheeLandscapes of Sound: An Interview with Mandell WinterEditor Tom Jarvis on “Carpool Karaoke” with Paul McCartneyIndustry Insights with Cinematographer Michael Franks
Want to close sales fast? Here is your recipe!Get there early: Creating and winning opportunities means getting there early. If you want to win, the earlier you enter the client’s buying cycle the better. Being in front of a deal brings speed.Wire the relationships: Creating new opportunities and winning them means already having the building wired before hand. Once you have the relationships, you will know about potential opportunities. You’ll also know who is involved in those opportunities. And more importantly, they will know you.Develop a deep understanding: You need a deep understanding of your dream client’s needs. One of the reasons relationships are so important is that they provide you access to individuals and information. This access provides you with a deep understanding of what your client’s need and how best to deliver it.Collaborate: You can go in with a disruptive idea and create dissatisfaction. That works. Sometimes. But much of the time your client has some ideas about what the right solution would look like for them. When they look at you they need to see that solution reflected in your recommendation. Closing business requires that you collaborate on that solution so that it exactly fits your clients needs.Build consensus. If you want to win opportunities, there has to be agreement within your client organization that your solution is right and that they will benefit from it. You need to help them develop consensus around those solutions so that when it comes time to pull the trigger, everyone is already on board.Resolve concerns. No matter how well you do in meeting your buyers needs, at the end they’re going to have concerns. You might think that they’re giving you objections, but what they’re really telling you is that they need more information to be confident. They need proof. You make it easy to say yes when you resolve those concerns as the process moves forward instead of leaving them unresolved. If you want them to say yes when you ask for their business you resolve the concerns ahead of time.Ask. I don’t believe the answer to winning new business can be found in a yellow dummies closing book. I think buyers are too sophisticated for all that. Instead I think you need to ask directly for the business.Now that you’ve read this list you know there’s no possible way that you can close the business in five minutes. In complex B2B sales, you will have likely invested months working through this process. But having gone through this process, wrapping up the sale is easier and faster because you’ve done all the hard work that leads to the easy yes.The truth of the matter is you can close in 30 seconds. You can say, “I feel like we’ve done what we needed to in order to successfully execute on this project. Can we begin working on it or is there something else you need to see first?”Fast is slow. Slow is fast. Essential Reading! Get my first book: The Only Sale Guide You’ll Ever Need “The USA Today bestseller by the star sales speaker and author of The Sales Blog that reveals how all salespeople can attain huge sales success through strategies backed by extensive research and experience.” Buy Now
Let’s say you are calling on a customer that spends $250,000 on whatever it is that you sell. For you and your company, that’s not a huge deal, and it isn’t a small deal either. It’s just slightly larger than your average deal with a customer. So you treat this $250,000 deal like it is no big deal.But what if you looked at the deal through another lens? What if you viewed this $250,000 prospect based on the lifetime value of that customer? What if you looked at the value based on their spend and your retention rate?If you keep your clients for an average of 7 years, the deal you are competing for is really $1,750,000. Would you treat a $1,750,000 deal differently than a $250,000 deal?Preparation: You prepare differently for big deals than you do for small deals. You read more about your prospect. You study more. You put together agendas. You prepare your questions, your answers to the questions you expect to receive, and you prepare collateral material to support your efforts. You show up with the intention of winning.Time Invested: You invest more time with prospects who spend more in your category. You invest more time in discovery, more time meeting with stakeholders to build consensus, and more time internally building the right solution. You look at the time as an investment, because you know it is what it will take to win a deal.Effort: You try a lot harder to win big deals, don’t you? You work to do everything in your power to win. You engage more people inside your company, and you ensure that your management and leadership teams are involved, so that they feel some ownership of the deal. You work harder to get your dream client exactly what they need.The deals that you are selling now are bigger than you believe. The opportunities that you are working right now are worth 5, 7, or 10 times as much as what the deal is worth over the course of the first year. By looking only at a client’s potential first year’s revenue, you aren’t selling as well as you might be were you to take a longer view of what that customer is worth to you.By thinking longer term, your $1,000,000 deal might really be worth $10,000,000. How differently will you treat that deal?
Essential Reading! Get my first book: The Only Sale Guide You’ll Ever Need “The USA Today bestseller by the star sales speaker and author of The Sales Blog that reveals how all salespeople can attain huge sales success through strategies backed by extensive research and experience.” Buy Now The very fastest way to have your email or your voicemail deleted is to leave a cryptic message.For years, some people in the sales training and development world have suggested that you leave very vague voice mail messages, saying as little as possible to get your call returned. They’ve suggested trust-destroying ideas like recommending that your dream client’s competitor said something about them, pretending to be disconnected in the middle of a statement, or just leaving your name and phone number with a message that you “need to speak with them about an important matter.”The same idea is now being applied to email. In the past few days, I have received emails titled, “Just following up,” and “Information you requested,” when neither of these statements were true. There was no trust yet established, but now both of these salespeople are working from a deficit (isn’t selling challenging enough without starting from behind?).An email I received through LinkedIn said, “To give elaborate details of the purpose of this connection, please email directly on . . .” That’s the pitch? The note is super-compelling, just not in the way the salesperson or his company intended it to be. My mouse found the delete button in milliseconds.When prospecting, regardless of the medium, your job is to establish yourself as a value creator. Your message needs to prove that you have the ability to make a difference for your prospective clients. The more cryptic or opaque your request, the more certain you can be that it will be ignored, rejected, and deleted. It can’t be any other way when you haven’t established value.Your second outcome when prospecting is to have a sales call value proposition that is compelling enough that your dream client can confidently agree to give you a meeting. When you try to hide your intentions, you prove one of two things; either you have no value proposition, or it is so self-oriented that it is the same as not having one. There has to be something in it for your dream client. It’s always about them.If you want a meeting, you have to deserve the meeting. Trying to be sneaky, tricky, and deceitful isn’t a strategy for consultative salespeople.
Most sales leaders don’t spend too much time worrying about the top 20 percent. The salespeople who make up the high performers on their team tend to do well no matter what. They also tend to get a lot of attention, because they create a lot of opportunities, and those require conversations.The bottom 20 percent of salespeople also get attention, usually in the way of a performance improvement plan. Sales leaders tend to work with the bottom 20 percent to move them up, or to move them out.That leaves the 60 percent in the middle. They’re not doing well enough to get the attention of a high performer, nor poor enough to get the attention of a poor performer. So they live in a sort of limbo.One of the reasons I wrote The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need is to provide sales leaders and sales managers with a new lens through which to view their sales force. The truth of the matter is, the high performers can perform even better. The low performers, if they are willing, can also improve their performance. And the middle 60 percent provide an opportunity for great gains for sales leaders who are willing to put forth the effort to coach them up.Selling successfully today requires a powerful and empowered mindset, and an upgraded skill set.The first half of The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need is a lens through which to view a salesperson’s mindset. It looks at self-discipline, optimism (attitude), competitiveness, resourcefulness, and initiative, among other things. When a salesperson is missing any of these elements they do not produce the results of which they are capable. For example, a salesperson who lacks resourcefulness will also lack the creative ideas they need to gain appointments and open new opportunities or to think outside of the box when solving a prospective client’s problem.The second half of the book covers the skills a salesperson needs to succeed today. It’s more than closing, prospecting, and presenting. Today’s salesperson needs to have business acumen, the ability to lead and manage change, and leadership skills. Without business acumen, for example, there is no way a salesperson is going to have the insights that compel prospective clients to abandon the status quo and make the changes they need to make.The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need provides the salesperson with a plan to develop the nine attributes that make up a powerful mindset and the eight skills all salespeople require now.It also provides sales leaders and managers with a lens through which to view their sales force, including the 60 percent in the middle. By diagnosing and discovering each salesperson’s deficiencies, whether they be mindset or skill set, the sales leader or sales manager can develop a custom plan to coach and develop each individual salesperson on their team.What you will discover is that some great salespeople can become even better when they understand which attributes and skills they need to develop. Good salespeople can become great when they shore up their deficiencies in the attributes or skills they need to improve. And poor performers can improve their performance to an acceptable level.You can download sample chapters of The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need at preorder.theonlysalesguide.com. Essential Reading! Get my first book: The Only Sale Guide You’ll Ever Need “The USA Today bestseller by the star sales speaker and author of The Sales Blog that reveals how all salespeople can attain huge sales success through strategies backed by extensive research and experience.” Buy Now
Pune: A Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight SG999 was delayed for over nine hours at Pune Airport on Wednesday, as it had to be grounded owing to a broken windshield glass.The airplane was scheduled to take-off from Pune Airport at 7:20 a.m., but it did not get off the ground before 4:35 p.m.According to authorities, the windshield needed urgent repair, and the requisite spares had to be flown in. This caused the delay and inconvenienced the passengers.The flight was rescheduled several times, according to passengers. Shekhar Khakurdikar, a city-based businessman and a passenger on the flight said, “Initially, we were told that there were problems with the windshield glass and that the flight would take-off by 10:30 a.m. It was postponed to another couple of hours later, while repairs were underway, then another couple of hours and so on.”He said, “I left my home at 5 a.m. and have been stranded here ever since. While we appreciate the Airline’s commitment to safety, the planes ought to be serviced more regularly to avoid such delays.”A statement issued by SpiceJet earlier in the day expressed regret for the delay informed and informed that the that maintenance work was underway. It also said some of the passengers had been diverted to other flights.
NAGPUR: Twenty-five year old Pankaj Doifode, who was one of the eight men who drowned in Vena reservoir near Nagpur on Sunday evening, was extremely active on Facebook. His Facebook wall suggests he shared a new photo every third day.“He had an obsession to visit new places, wear new clothes and shoes and click pictures of himself which he would immediately post on Facebook and WhatsAap. He was a royal man and social media was his only obsession. He would keep a complete record of the number ‘Facebook Likes’ and comments,” Vikrant Borkar, a close friend of Pankaj, told The Hindu.Pankaj’s obsession with “selfies and likes” was visible in the video he shared on his Facebook page just moments before the boat, carrying him and his friends, capsized in the reservoir killing him and seven others.The live video he shared on Facebook Live, minutes before the boat capsized, has gone viral.Until Tuesday evening, Pankaj’s last post had more than 3,500 likes, 606 Comments and had been shared by 1,528 people. However, the man, who always craved for such response from people, was not alive to see it. Pankaj was an employee of the HDFC bank and the sole breadwinner of his family after his father died a few years ago. His mother is in a shock. “She has fainted four times in the last 24 hours,” said Pankaj’s cousin Anand Doifode.Another deceased Rahul Jadhav was an executive with Bajaj Finance Company.Rahul’s family members were insisting on his marriage and were planning to go to a prospective bride’s place on Sunday evening but he did not return home that day.Paresh Katoko, another victim, was also an employee of HDFC bank. He was engaged a month back and was to be married on November 21.The two local villagers from Peth village — Akshay Khandare and Roshan Khandare — who also died on Sunday, were cousins.According to their family members, Akshay and Roshan were good swimmers and rarely went towards this reservoir.“It was Atul Bawane (one of the survivors) who took them along. Both were reluctant to go but he told them they would get ₹1,500 for taking the youngsters from Nagpur to the reservoir. Even those boys requested our kids to accompany them since they had come all the way from the city,” said Askhay’s father Mohan Khandare.Three survivors of Sunday’s tragedy — Amol Dodke, Roshan Dodke and Atul Bawane — continue to be in a state of “mental shock” and are admitted to a hospital here.The hospital authorities did not allow reporters to speak to the survivors, but according to some friends of Mr. Dodke, who spoke to him, the boat lost its balance when Rahul Jadhav stood up.“Roshan and Amol swam from the reservoir and shouted for help but no one came forward to help as the boat had capsized in the middle of the reservoir. Roshan insisted on going back again to save his friends but some onlookers stopped him,” a friend of Mr. Dodke told The Hindu.
The Sangli District and Sessions court on Thursday remanded six policemen, accused of brutally beating a 26-year-old suspect to death, in 12 days’ police custody.Sub-inspector Yuvraj Kamte and five other staff members of the Sangli city police station were suspended and arrested on Wednesday for torturing Aniket Kothale to death.Following Kothale’s death on Monday night, Mr. Kamte and his team had burnt his body by dousing it in petrol, near Amboli ghat. Mr. Kamte later tried to mislead his superiors by claiming that Kothale and his accomplice had fled to Karnataka.The accused were produced in court in the afternoon amid heavy security.Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena activists demonstrated against the police atrocity in Sangli and Kolhapur, demanding the resignations of District Superintendent of Police Dattatrey Shinde and Inspector General of Police, Kolhapur range, Vishwas Nangre-Patil. There were similar protests by youth Congress activists and relatives of the deceased earlier in the week.Kothale and his accomplice, Amol Bhandare, were held for robbing an engineer of ₹2,000 and a mobile phone last week.
Are you doing charity by paying ₹6,500 to a rape victim, asked the Supreme Court on Thursday after going through an affidavit filed by the Madhya Pradesh government on the compensation given under the Nirbhaya Fund scheme.Maximum fundsThe apex court said it was “shocking” that Madhya Pradesh, which was among the States that received maximum funds from the Centre under the Nirbhaya scheme, was disbursing a meagre ₹6,000-₹6,500 to each victim of sexual assault.The Nirbhaya Fund scheme was announced by the Centre in 2013 after the horrific December 16, 2012 gang-rape and murder case in Delhi, to support the initiatives of governments and NGOs working for women’s safety.A Bench comprising Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta, while perusing Madhya Pradesh’s affidavit, said: “According to your (Madhya Pradesh) affidavit, on an average you are paying ₹6,000 to a rape victim. Are you doing a charity? How can you do so? You value a rape at ₹6,500?”“For Madhya Pradesh, the figures are fantastic. There are 1,951 rape victims in Madhya Pradesh and you are giving them ₹6,000-₹6,500 each. Is that good, commendable? What is this,” the Bench asked, adding, “this is total insensitiveness”.Pulls up HaryanaThe Haryana government also faced the wrath of the top court for not filing its affidavit giving details of the Nirbhaya Fund disbursement.The court had last month directed all States and Union Territories to file an affidavit indicating the amount received by them under the Nirbhaya Fund, the amount disbursed by them and the number of victims who had received it. As many as 24 States and UTs are yet to file their affidavits.When Haryana’s counsel said they haven’t filed the affidavit, the Bench observed, “It is a very clear indication of what you feel for safety of women in your State.” “You take your time and tell the women in your State that you do not care for them,” the Bench said.In its order, the Bench noted that despite all talks, discussions and intent expressed on gender justice, 24 States and UTs have not yet filed their affidavits.It asked these States and UTs to file their affidavits within four weeks, “if at all they were interested” in the welfare of women.
Unseasonal rains and hailstorm have damaged rabi crops in some parts of Rajasthan, while the harvest of wheat, mustard and barley is barely a fortnight away. The showers and hailstorm have hit the farmers in Jaipur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Alwar and Sawai Madhopur districts.The harvested mustard crop lying in the open fields in Neemrana region of Alwar district was also damaged in the rains on Sunday. The rainfall led to decline in temperature, with a dip of 4 degrees Celsius in the minimum and maximum temperatures, while cloudy conditions prevailed in Jaipur and elsewhere.The unseasonal rainfall has caused losses to the farmers in the Shekhawati region, who have been protesting against discrepancies in the State government’s offer for loan waiver announced in the 2018-19 budget. Farmers have rejected the one-time relief restricted to those who obtained loans from cooperative banks and have demanded a blanket farm debt waiver.Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has expressed concern over the situation and ordered a survey of crops at the earliest in order to assess the extent of damage. The District Collectors and Disaster Management Department will shortly submit a report to the State government in this regard.Congress walkoutThe Congress MLAs staged a walkout in the State Assembly on Monday, while accusing the government of ignoring the plight of farmers whose standing crops have been damaged.
Notwithstanding the Supreme Court order, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav appear not very keen on giving up the official bungalows allotted to them.While Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party has declared the official residence occupied by her as a memorial for party founder Kanshi Ram, the Samajwadi Party chief has sought two years’ time to vacate the premises arguing he does not have other place where he could live with his kind of security cover.Apex court orderThe development comes despite the apex court’s May 7 order that former Chief Ministers cannot occupy their official residence after demitting office, and a Uttar Pradesh government notification on May 17 asking the ex-CMs to vacate their official bungalows within 15 days.As Ms. Mayawati makes preparations to shift to a new house, a board came up on Monday at the government bungalow which she currently occupies — 13 A Mall Avenue — declaring it as ‘Sri Kanshi Ram Ji Yadgar Vishram Sthal’ (Sri Kanshi Ram ji Memorial Rest House); she will move just across the road to the 9, Mall Avenue bungalow which she had bought in 2010. The board also carries a picture of BSP founder ideologue Kanshi Ram.“The party chief (Mayawati) will vacate the government accommodation well before the 15 days given by the State’s Estate Department,” a BSP functionary said.“As per our knowledge, the bungalow was allotted to Mayawati in her capacity as a former CM. But since a board has come up there in the name of Kanshi Ram ji, we will look into our records,” said a senior officer of the Estate Department. Also on Monday, Mr. Yadav wrote a letter to the State Estate Officer asking that he be allowed to live in his 4, Vikramaditya Marg residence for two more years.Z-plus security cover “The administration has also provided me Z-plus security cover (including NSG commandos) for which I need adequate space. Being the current national president of Samajwadi Party, I have various visitors,” Mr. Yadav wrote.Besides the SP and BSP chiefs, the May 17 notice was issued to four other former Chief Ministers — Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kalyan Singh, and Rajnath Singh.Mr. Rajnath Singh, currently the Union Home Minister, has made the first move to shift to his private house in the Gomti Nagar area of the State capital.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday spoke to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and took stock of the flood situation in the State, besides assuring him of all central help, officials said. During a telephonic conversation with Mr. Sonowal, the Union minister reviewed the situation in Assam where large areas are inundated by flood waters. Mr. Singh told the chief minister that all possible support is being provided to Assam and other northeastern states for overcoming the flood situation, a Home Ministry official said.In the State’s seven districts, more than 30 people have lost their lives in the floods. Over 68,000 people were affected by deluge in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Charaideo, Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). Karimganj is the worst-affected district with nearly 44,000 people hit by the current wave of floods, followed by Hailakandi with around 10,000 affected people. The much-awaited publication of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), a list of state’s citizens, on June 30 has been deferred due to floods in the state. In Arunachal Pradesh, four personnel of the Indo Tibetan Border Police were crushed to death on Friday when a huge boulder, loosened by monsoon rains, rolled down a mountain and hit their vehicle on the Basar-Akajan road in Lower Siang district. This was the second landslide-related incident in the state within a week. The toll due to landslides this monsoon in Arunachal Pradesh has risen to nine.
Senior Congress leader and CWC member Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar of backstabbing the people of the Ahirwal region who had paved the Bharatiya Janata Party’s way to power at the State and the Centre.He was addressing a “Parivartan Rally” at the Ram Lila Ground in Pataudi. The meeting was organised by Rao Arjun Singh, the grandson of former Haryana Chief Minister Rao Birender Singh.‘Insulted party MPs’Touching a chord with the audience, Mr. Surjewala said the people of the Ahirwal region voted for the BJP in large numbers to elect the party’s MLAs from all the 11 Assembly constituencies. The BJP formed its government in the State only because of their support as they believed that the BJP would bring ‘Chaudhar’ (leadership), ‘taqat’ (power), ‘water’ and ‘employment’, but they got cheated on all counts, he added.Mr. Surjewala said the Prime Minister had insulted the people of the region, Bhiwani and Sonipat, by not meeting the three BJP MPs for the last two months. They wanted to meet him regarding the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal issue. Though the BJP MPs woke up to the people’s concerns after four-and-a-half years of their government, but the PM was not giving appointment to his own party MPs, he said, adding that it was the height of arrogance.Mr. Surjewala also criticised the BJP for cancelling the Jaipur Express corridor and the North-South corridor projects and putting prestigious projects like Defence University, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and AIIMS Cancer Institute on the back-burner. He also highlighted various local problems such as water scarcity and lack of development, educational facilities and basic amenities in the Pataudi region.Mr. Surjewala blamed the Central and the State BJP governments for the skyrocketing prices of petrol and diesel. He also lashed out at the governments, claiming that they have failed on all fronts and no section of society was happy with them. The brave people of the State would teach a befitting lesson to the BJP for the treachery in the next polls, he claimed.
The police in western Assam’s Goalpara district have detained seven personsfor interrogation in the case of a witchcraft-related killing four months ago.People of Garopara village, about 25 km from district headquarters Goalpara, had allegedly killed Robinson Marak in June after accusing him of practising witchcraft that led to an outbreak of a contagious disease. The village was on the Assam-Meghalaya border.On Tuesday, anti-witchcraft crusader Birubala Rabha took Marak’s wife and son to Goalpara deputy commissioner Varnali Deka seeking protection.“A case has been registered and a magisterial enquiry ordered. The police have already picked up seven people for interrogation in this case,” Ms Deka said.Activists said trouble for Marak began when villagers identified his family as that of witches.“We were made to pay Rs 2.5 lakh over the next few months as a penalty for practising witchcraft. We somehow paid to live peacefully, but life became unbearable when a few villages contracted some disease four months ago,” his wife said.She left the village with her son after the villagers allegedly lynched her husband and buried him in the village. “We have been in hiding all these days,” she said.Ms Birubala, 69, said superstitious villagers tend to target vulnerable families and blame them for all their ills. “We have asked the police to exhume Marak’s body if needed for the investigation,” she said.The crusader said that the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act, 2015, assented to by President Ram Nath Kovind in July, had provisions to hold the entire village responsible for Marak’s death if it was proved to be an outcome of witch-hunting.Data with the Assam Police said, 193 people – 114 women and 79 men – had been branded as witches and killed and 202 cases registered between 2001 and 2017.
Infighting within the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab surfaced again on Tuesday, soon after the party announced the names of five candidates for the 2019 elections.Announcing the list, AAP’s core committee chairman Budh Ram said the party had decided to field its sitting MPs Bhagwant Mann and Sadhu Singh from their respective constituencies Sangrur and Faridkot. Ravjot Singh , who had contested the 2017 Assembly elections from Sham Churasi, will contest from Hoshiarpur, while Narinder Singh Shergill will contest from Anandpur Sahib. The party has announced its Majha zone incharge, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, as its candidate from Amritsar.‘Door closed’Expressing surprise over the announcement, AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who is leading eight dissident MLAs, said: “Such unilateral move will only marginalise the party in Punjab and grossly damage its prospects. The announcement is a clear indication that the party’s door for unity are now closed.”Mr. Khaira added that the dissidents were open for talks but it should not be considered as their weakness. “In the interest of Punjab, we are still open for talks. But before any talks they should correct their misdeeds. We have given them time till November 8,” he said.On the selection of the five candidates, Mr. Budh Ram said, “All the candidates are old members of the party and have worked hard at the ground level for the upliftment of the party. Fulfilling the aspirations of the workers, the party has allotted tickets to people who are raising the voice of the people of Punjab.” Party spokesperson Baljinder Kaur accused the Congress government in Punjab and BJP government at the Centre of failing to fulfil the aspirations of the people.“[Chief Minister] Captain Amarinder Singh came into power with hollow promises of providing jobs to the youth, but has now reduced the salaries of the government [teachers] employees. The farmers of the State are ending their lives due to the apathy of State government. The education system has completely collapsed in the State,” she alleged.She added that after getting the power at the Centre the BJP has let the people of the country down by not fulfilling the promises made during the poll campaigns.
That dogs evolved from gray wolves is well accepted but there’s much debate about where and when man’s best friend was first domesticated. Previous genetic studies suggested a Middle Eastern or East Asian origin, but controversial new research that makes use of complete mitochondrial genomes of ancient canids as well as modern ones indicates that the first dogs come from Europe. The work finds that today’s pooches are more closely related to ancient canids than to modern wolves, indicating that the dog’s wolf ancestor no longer exists. Others take issue with the results because none of the ancient samples come from the other putative sites of origin.