At least 100 killed as train derails in India

A train in northern India has derailed, killing at least 100 people and injuring dozens more, police officials have said.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the express train travelling between the cities of Patna and Indore came off the tracks near Kanpur city.
Fourteen carriages left the tracks, railway officials said.

Two senior police officials in Kanpur said their teams have pulled out at least 100 bodies from the badly damaged carriages.
"Still many more passengers are trapped," a senior railway official in New Delhi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Twitter.
"Anguished beyond words on the loss of lives due to the derailing of the Patna-Indore express. My thoughts are with the bereaved families," he wrote.

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said the government would immediately investigate the causes of the derailment and promised accountability with the "strictest possible action".
India's railway system is the world's fourth largest, ferrying more than 20 million people each day, but it has a poor safety record, with thousands of people dying in accidents every year.
The nation suffers frequent train derailments, sometimes with tragic consequences, including another train accident in Uttar Pradesh in March last year that killed 39 people.

he hunt for the elusive Planet Nine could soon provide an answer to solar system mystery

 

THE hunt for the elusive Planet Nine could be over within 16 months, according to one of the scientists who first predicted its existence.

The mammoth celestial body has so far escaped our detection but the currently hypothetical planet which is believed to sit at the edge of our solar system certainly seems to make its presence known.
The scientists who first suggested its existence earlier this year believe they’ve found further proof of the influence it yields over its cosmic neighbours.
Researchers the University of Technology California claim Planet Nine is responsible for causing the solar system to “wobble” due to its massive size.
Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown first discovered the planet’s existence through mathematical modelling and computer simulations. They presented their evidence in January but the world has not yet been able to observe the planet directly.
Even though its believed to be 10 times the size of Earth, it has likely escaped the gaze of telescopes because it is so far away from the Sun.
This week the pair of scientists, along with fellow astronomer Elizabeth Bailey, stoked the flames of speculation by presenting a study at the annual meeting of planetary scientists of the American Astronomical Society claiming the mysterious planet is responsible for the perceived tilt of the sun.
We’ve known that the sun’s rotational axis is tilted for about 200 years, but scientists have never understood exactly why.
Bailey, Batygin and Brown believe a large planet lurking in the depths of the solar system is responsible and the latest addition to their theory was published this week by the Astrophysical Journal.
“Because Planet Nine is so massive and has an orbit tilted compared to the other planets, the solar system has no choice but to slowly twist out of alignment,” lead author Elizabeth Bailey said in a statement.

 

The sun rotates on a different axis to all the other planets. Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Jupiter all share a common plane but for some reason it is tilted by about six degrees in relation to the sun — causing our perception that the sun is tilted.
It’s a quirk that has long troubled scientists.
“It’s such a deep-rooted mystery and so difficult to explain that people just don’t talk about it,” said Mr Brown. “If you ask yourself where the sun is tilted in real life there’s where we predict it should be,” he added
He believes it’s a matter of time until we have visual confirmation of Planet Nine saying he is “pretty sure” we’ll track it down within about 16 months.
“I think that there’ll be enough people looking for it that … somebody’s actually going to track this down,” he said.
At the “next one of these (conferences) we’ll be talking about finding Planet Nine instead of just looking for it,” he added.
For now, researchers are left to speculating over the mind boggling measurements associated with the elusive space body.
Thought to be roughly 10 times the mass of planet Earth, scientists believe it lies hundreds of astronomical units from the sun. One astronomical unit is the mean distance between the earth and the sun which equates to 149.6 million kilometres.
They also think it would take the planet between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit around the sun.

World’s most extreme punishments

 

However, in correlation with the disciplines doled out for lesser or comparable wrongdoings in different nations, existence without the chance for further appeal is ostensibly the pick of the bundle.

Hanging, executing, stoning, electric shock and shooting by terminating squad are favored disciplines in numerous parts of the world, as indicated by Amnesty International.

Executions are frequently attempted in an amazingly open way, with open hangings in Iran or live communicates of deadly infusions in the US. As per UN human rights specialists, executions in broad daylight fill no true blue need and just increment the coldblooded, obtuse and corrupting nature of this discipline.

"All executions abuse the privilege to life. Those did freely are a gross attack against human pride which can't go on without serious consequences," Amnesty International's representative chief for the Middle East and North Africa Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said.

Aside from medication related offenses, individuals were executed for violations, for example, infidelity, lewdness, defilement, seizing and "scrutinizing the pioneer's strategies".

Capital punishment is legitimate in 58 nations. The five top killers in 2015 were China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the USA.

Appendage removals, caning, emasculations and different types of torment are additionally served as disciplines for different wrongdoings — including betting and contact between an unmarried couple — in a few nations.

The Indonesian parliament a week ago passed another law taking into consideration harder disciplines for kid sex guilty parties, including arrangements for capital punishment, substance emasculations and electronic following of discharged convicts. The correction was embraced notwithstanding dismissal significantly the governing body and in addition moral complaints raised by restorative affiliations.

 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo presented the arrangement of extreme disciplines for tyke sex guilty parties in May through a crisis announce, taking after a clamor over the lethal group assault of a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

Be that as it may, the move has been vigorously scrutinized from global helpful gatherings who have regarded the act of concoction emasculation "insensitive".

Synthetic mutilation includes regulating medicine — by means of infusion or tablets — to take away sexual intrigue and make it inconceivable for a man to perform sexual acts. The impacts are reversible, after the individual quits taking the medication.

Widodo said substance emasculation will cut down sex violations, wiping them out totally with time. He likewise cautioned if specialists decline to complete emasculation, lawful powers may swing to military specialists for the methodology.

The procedure of substance emasculation has been utilized as a part of different structures, either persuasively as a sentence or as a route for guilty parties to decrease their prison time in a few nations.

Western Australia and Victoria courts as of now have the circumspection to force concoction maiming as a state of discharge for high-hazard pedophile guilty parties.

In New South Wales, guilty parties can volunteer for the treatment.

Here are some different types of serious and disputable disciplines that are legitimate in different nations:

 

STONING

Countries:Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria

Stoning is a type of execution by torment where the person who tosses the dangerous stone can't be distinguished.

In a few nations, those sentenced to stoning, or "lapidation" as it is additionally called, are covered in a gap and secured with soil (men up to their abdomens; ladies to a line over their bosoms), as indicated by Article 102 of the Islamic Penal Code.

A chose amass then executes the affirmed philanderers utilizing rocks and sticks. Those ready to get away from the opening amid stoning can be liberated, by law, a deed that is substantially more troublesome for ladies than for men since a great deal more of their body is secured amid lapidation.

Stoning is viewed as a type of group equity and has what's coming to its of faultfinders both among human rights gatherings and Islamic pastors.

In Somalia, a 13-year-old young lady was covered up to her neck and stoned to death by 50 men in a stadium with 1000 observers. After her demise it was uncovered she had been assaulted by three men and she was captured in the wake of attempting to report the assault to aggressors who controlled the city.

HANGING

Nations: Iran, Pakistan, USA, Egypt, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Botswana, India, Belize, Brunei, Cameroon, Gambia, Antigua and Barbuda, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, Eritrea, Nigeria, Oman, the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, South Sudan and Sudan, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tunisia, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Execution by hanging is the most well-known strategy for the death penalty.

Iran — where 369 individuals were accounted for executed in 2013 — drives the world in hangings.

On April 26, an Iranian detainee was freely hanged in the wake of being sentenced assault. Another Iranian, indicted kill for murdering an adolescent with a blade in a road battle in 2007, was held tight April 15.

Terminating SQUAD

Nations: Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, India, China, North Korea, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Nigeria, Oman, Yemen, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Gambia, Somalia, Eritrea, Benin, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Syria, Uganda, USA.

The United Arab Emirates utilizes terminating squads for all executions, yet capital punishment sentences are infrequently done. Somalia for the most part uses terminating squads to complete its capital punishments.

It's trusted Belarus has completed under 10 executions in the previous decade. Execution in Belarus is finished by shooting the detainee in the back of the head, however capital punishment's utilization is covered in mystery. Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, part of the 'Bali Nine', were sentenced sedate carrying and trafficking in Indonesia. They were executed by terminating squad a year ago.

Decapitating

Countries:Saudi Arabia, Benin, Yemen, Qatar

In Saudi Arabia, the typical technique for execution is decapitating by a swordsman.

It was for the current week uncovered that a Saudi ruler was executed in Riyadh after a court discovered him blameworthy of giving dead a kindred Saudi in an uncommon case of a decision relative subjected to capital punishment.

Ruler Turki canister Saud al-Kabir had conceded to shooting Adel al-Mohaimeed after a fight, the service of inside said in an announcement on state news organization SPA.

It didn't say how the ruler was killed on Tuesday.

A great many people executed in the kingdom are decapitated with a sword. Individuals from Saudi Arabia's decision family are just once in a while known to have been executed. A standout amongst the most noticeable cases was Faisal canister Musaid al Saud, who killed his uncle, King Faisal, in 1975.

The family is assessed to number a few thousand.

While individuals get month to month stipends, and the most senior rulers order extraordinary riches and political influence, just a couple in the family hold broadly imperative government posts.

"The legislature is quick to keep arrange, balance out security and realize equity through actualizing the guidelines endorsed by Allah," a service proclamation read.

In 2013, a terminating squad was utilized as a part of the execution of seven men sentenced plundering and furnished theft. Squeeze reports at the time recommended it was on the grounds that a swordsman was not accessible.

Electric shock

Countries:USA

The USA is comprehended to be the main nation that still uses electric shock as a strategy to do capital punishment.

Tumbling FROM A HEIGHT

Nations: Iran

Judges here and there sentence a person to be tossed from a precipice or other stature.

Thais Sing Special Royal Anthem Version To Honor Late King

 

BANGKOK:  A massive crowd gathered in central Bangkok on Saturday to sing a special version of Thailand's royal anthem in honor of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died this month.

A large field in front of the ornate Grand Palace complex was packed with black-clad mourners, as were all the approach roads. Police eventually closed the roads to traffic.

The king's body is lying in one of the palaces in the complex while royal funeral ceremonies are going on. No date has been set for cremation, which will likely take place after a year.

Led by the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra and a 100-strong choir, the crowd sang an emotional version of "San Sern Pra Baramee," or "Salute to the Monarch."

The singing was recorded and will be played on television and at cinemas. The playing of the anthem is a fixture before every movie showing in Thailand.

Bhumibol died Oct. 13 after reigning for 70 years, plunging the country into grief and extended mourning. The official mourning period is one year.

Reliance Jio 4G: 5 things to know before you get Jio SIM

Reliance on Thursday officially announced the Jio services in India. It is a truly disruptive launch. Not only it is a service with comparatively affordable data plans but it is also available to anyone with a compatible 4G phone for free for until December 31. Sounds tempting? Yes, it does and we are sure that you must be hoping to get a Jio SIM. But before you decide to get one, here are the key bits that you need to know:

1. The Jio is a 4G service. Well, we are sure that you know this but it is worth repeating. If you have an older that only supports 3G, it may not work on your phone. Also, just to add, it won't work on feature phones. You need 4G connectivity.
2. To make calls, Jio uses VoLTE network. This is something new for India. This means calls are made using data connection. Now, it won't be a problem for Jio to Jio calls. But for the Jio to GSM calls, which means calls to Airtel and Vodafone numbers etc, you will have to install an app called Jio Join because the calls will use interconnecting infrastructure that current telecom operators use. Even then there is a chance that many calls may fail. Reliance CMD Mukesh Ambani said the existing telecom operators are not doing their bit to make the service good for consumers. For example, he said, that in the last one week 5 crore Jio calls failed.
3. If you want a Jio SIM and are in Delhi or Mumbai, go to a Jio store with your Aadhar card, This will simplify the process of getting the SIM. In other parts of the country, the same process will be rolled out in the next 4 to 6 weeks.
4. The Jio SIM cards are free. And they will be available from September 5. Don't pay any price to any dealer to get the SIM. It's not required. "Jio's Data, Voice, Video and the full bouquet of Jio applications and content will be available for EVERYONE absolutely FREE, till 31st December 2016," says Ambani.
5. If you are a student, go to the Jio store with your valid ID card. Although the Jio services are free until December 31, after that you will pay around Rs 50 per GB. But students will get 25 per cent more data once the commercial plans get active.

Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime India Launch Expected on Monday

 

Samsung India on Friday started sending welcomes for a Galaxy J-arrangement cell phone dispatch in Gurgaon on Monday. The organization is required to dispatch the Galaxy J7 Prime, which was propelled in Vietnam in late August.

To review, the Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime was tipped by a set up Mumbai retailer to dispatch soon in India. Mahesh Telecom guaranteed the cell phone would dispatch at Rs. 18,790, and will wear a MRP of Rs. 19,400. The value uncovered is a nearby match to the Vietnam estimating, making it conceivable.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime is the updated form of the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016), and highlights a unique mark sensor on the home catch moreover. Different contrasts incorporate the nearness of a full-HD show rather than a HD show, more memory (3GB RAM rather than 2GB), more inbuilt stockpiling (32GB rather than 16GB), and a higher determination front camera (8-megapixel rather than 5-megapixel).

(Likewise see: Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime versus Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016))

Alternate determinations of the Galaxy J7 Prime totally coordinate the Galaxy J7 (2016). The double SIM (Micro-SIM) Galaxy J7 Prime boats with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The cell phone bears a 5.5-crawl full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) IPS show with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4, and keeps running on a 1.6GHz octa-center processor combined with 3GB of RAM.

The Galaxy J7 Prime components a 13-megapixel back camera with a f/1.9 gap and LED streak, while there is a 8-megapixel front camera with a f/1.9 gap additionally on board. The cell phone accompanies 32GB of inbuilt stockpiling that is expandable by means of microSD card (up to 256GB) - to take note of, the Galaxy J7 (2016) just backings microSD cards up to 128GB in limit.

The most recent Samsung J-Series cell phone offers 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, GPS/A-GPS, Bluetooth v4.1, Micro-USB (with OTG), and 3.5mm sound jack as far as network choices. It is fueled by a 3300mAh battery, and measures 151.5x74.9x8.1mm.

LeEco To Launch A Phone With 8 GB RAM And 25 MP Camera

Two or three telephones were dispatched as of late with an exceptionally extensive 6 GB RAM limit, LeEco Max 2 and OnePlus 3. (For point of view, the portable PC from which this article is being composed has 4 GB RAM.) But even that is by all accounts not exactly enough for the Chinese telephone producer LeEco, which is currently going to dispatch another 8 GB RAM gadget.

The conceivable dispatch date is 29 June. The telephone will have both of the Qualcomm's most recent chipset, Snapdragon 821 or 823 and a 25 MP back camera.

LeEco is wanting to value the telephone at around 3000 Yuans (around ₹ 30,000). The organization is on a telephone propelling spree, with 3 new cell phones dispatched in China as of late.
It is making advances in India as well. Their late dispatches have been graced by the music author Pritam and his group. Furthermore, the telephone producer pulled in some spotlight by propelling two new telephones in which it has discarded the earphone jack for another standard, called CDLA (Continual Digital Lossless Audio) combined with USB C connectors.

Apple iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus available for pre-orders in India

 

Each one of those Apple fans out there in India holding up frantically to lay there hands on the following iPhones - iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus - can now pre-request the new cell phones.

Most IWorld stores, Apple's Premium Resellers in Northern India, are tolerating pre-appointments for Apple's new iPhones. Clients can likewise pre-book (store to purchase in store) the gadgets on the organization's site. Another Apple Premium Partner in India, Unicorn, too is tolerating pre-orders for the two new iPhones. Intrigued purchasers can pre-book the cell phones subsequent to paying a development installment of Rs 5,000. Delhi-based Unicorn has nearness over a few states in the nation.

Notwithstanding, two of the greatest buyer hardware retail locations in the nation, Tata Group's Croma and Reliance Industry's Reliance Digital, are still to begin pre-appointments for both the cell phones. Another conspicuous electronic retail location in the nation Jumbo said that it will acknowledge pre-orders beginning one week from now.

Formally as well, Apple India is yet to declare the opening of pre-appointments for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Additionally, while Beetel Teletech Ltd, one of the wholesalers for Apple in India, said that it will begin conveyances of the two telephones at 7pm on October 7, businessperson at both IWorld and Unicorn said that there stores will begin offering the cell phones at spot 12 am on October 7. Another Apple wholesaler Rashi Peripherals too has reported that it will begin offering the most recent iPhones from October 7 in India. The organization, in any case, has so far not unveiled the time when it will begin deals at its 1,000 areas the nation over.

October 7 is the official dispatch date of the up and coming Apple cell phones for India. The organization is dispatching the gadgets in India in the third stage. In the principal stage, the new iPhones will go at a bargain in 28 nations over the world on September 16. In the second stage, starting September 23, the twosome will be accessible in more than 25 nations including Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Qatar, Romania,

Apple revealed its most recent iPhones at an even in San Francisco on September 7. The cell phone mammoth has not yet uncovered the complete valuing points of interest of its new cell phones in India. The organization, in any case, recently said that the cost of the iPhones will begin at Rs 60,000 in the nation. This is prone to be the cost of the base iPhone 7 model with 32GB interior stockpiling. Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus come in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB stockpiling variations. The shading alternatives accessible are Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, Black and Jet Black. Of these, the Jet Black shading variation comes

Apple iPhone 7 highlights a 4.7-inch show with 3D touch, while the iPhone 7 Plus has a 5.5-inch Retina HD show with 3D touch. Both the cell phones are controlled by another quad-center Apple A10 Fusion processor, which the organization cases is 40% quicker that Apple A9 and it runs iOS 10. just in 128GB and 256GB variations.

114 Countries South Africans Can Travel To Without A Visa

 

A visa grants official permission for a non-citizen to enter a country and remain there for a limited duration. Each country can attach its own conditions to their visas, such as duration of stay, the territory covered by the visa, dates of validity, whether the visa is valid for more than one visit, etc. Historically, visas were originally granted by immigration officials on a traveller’s arrival at the borders of a country, but increasingly today a traveler wishing to enter another country must apply well in advance for a visa.

The stricter visa policies are due in part to immigrants from impoverished countries flocking to more economically developed countries in search of better opportunities, placing strain on many countries’ healthcare systems and other social services. However, many countries have bilateral agreements in place to waive visa requirements altogether for visitors intending to stay for brief periods of time.

Do you know that with South African passport, you can now visit these 114 countries around the world VISA FREE or VISA ON ARRIVAL? There are a number of countries that require that South Africans secure visa before they are allowed into the country which in most cases, leads to endless paperwork, unplanned spending and more bureaucratic stress. However, it is important that you are aware that your South African passport is more than you think of it in terms of what it can do as it can grant you entry to quite a number of countries without visa but note that entry requirements change constantly so it is always advisable to check with the embassy of any country close to the time of your travel. Nonetheless, as of today, here is a comprehensive list of countries for which no prior visa arrangement is needed for entry if you are a South African with a South African Passport:

Countries South Africans can go to without a Visa?
Due to good international relationship between South Africa and several other countries, you would not be wrong to expect an ample number of countries to be on the list below:

• Brazil – 90 days
• Antigua and Barbuda – 1 month
• Argentina – 90 days
• Costa Rica – 90 days
• Ireland
• Vanuatu – 30 days
• Bahamas
• Barbados – 6 months
• Chile – 90 days
• Belize
• Venezuela – 90 days
• Benin – 30 days
• Haiti – 3 months
• Botswana – 90 days
• Guyana – 3 months
• Saint Kitts and Nevis – 3 months
• Nepal – 90 days
• Jamaica
• Ecuador – 90 days
• Dominica – 6 months
• Colombia – 180 days
• Saint Lucia – 6 weeks
• Guatemala – 90 days
• Malawi – 90 days
• Dominican Republic – 30 day tourist card must be purchased on arrival.
• El Salvador – 90 days
• Zambia – 90 days
• Peru – 180 days
• Namibia – 3 months
• Fiji – 4 months
• Nauru Georgia – 90 days within 180 days
• Paraguay – 90 days
• Micronesia – 30 days
• Rwanda – 90 days
• Grenada – 3 months
• Nicaragua – 90 days
• Uruguay – 90 days
• Philippines – 30 days
• Honduras – 90 days
• Panama – 180 days
• Lesotho – 30 days
• Israel – 90 days
• Malaysia – 90 days
• Mozambique – 3 months
• Tanzania – 90 days
• South Korea – 30 days
• Mauritius – 90 days
• New Zealand – 90 days
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – 1 month
• Singapore – 30 days
• Zimbabwe – 3 months
• Swaziland – 30 days
• Trinidad and Tobago – 90 days
• Thailand – 1 month (air) / 15 days (land)

Below are more countries that offer fewer restrictions to South Africans. All the listed countries would allow you to travel without a visa however, most of the countries in this section would preferably issue a visa on arrival. This removes the hassles and delays involved in securing visa before travel as the visas are almost always granted once you have a genuine reason and as mentioned earlier, it is imperative that you check with the country’s immigration very close to the time of your travel as visa policies change frequently.

Countries that Issue South Africans Visa on Arrival

• Indonesia – 30 days
• Bolivia – 90 days
• Madagascar – 30 days
• Armenia – Visa on arrival
• Tunisia – 1 month
• Comoros
• Mauritania
• Jordan – 30 days
• Guinea-Bissau – 90 days
• Maldives – 30 days
• Burundi – 30 days; obtainable at Bujumbura International Airport
• Cambodia – 30 days
• Oman
• Iran – Conditions apply
• Palau – 30 days
• Ethiopia
• Gabon – Visa not required for children under 16
• Botswana
• Djibouti
• Samoa – 60 days
• Zambia
• Senegal – 3 months
• Rwanda
• Saint Helena
• Madagascar (Visa on arrival)
• Malawi
• Cape Verde
• Timor-Leste – 30 days
• Seychelles 1 month
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Senegal
• Gabon
• Guinea-Bissau
• Somalia
• Mozambique
• Uganda
• Zimbabwe
• Togo – 7 days Benin
• Kyrgyzstan – 30 days
• Laos – 30 Days
• Somalia – 30 days provided an invitation letter issued by the sponsor has been submitted to the Airport Immigration Department at least 2 days before arrival.
• Tuvalu – 1 month
• Turkey issues e-visa for 3 months

When it comes to crossing international frontiers, there’s one travel document that opens more doors than any other. And it isn’t a U.S. passport. German citizens, it seems, have the potential for the greatest mobility in the travel world. With a German passport, travelers can enter 177 out of 218 countries and territories without a visa, according to the 2016 Visa Restrictions Index.

Immediately behind Germany, holding its position as runner-up for the second year running, is Sweden with visa-free access to 176 countries.

Japan and South Korea were also among the group in the top three in 2014 and 2015, but have slid down to fifth and sixth place respectively this year. Belgium, Denmark and Netherlands stand alongside the U.S. in fourth.

At the bottom of the list, labeled countries with the “worst passports,” are Afghanistan, at 104, followed by Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria.

The top ranking country in Africa is Seychelles -an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean off East Africa, with a population of 90,000 people. Seychelles citizens have access to 129 countries.

The Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revealed it places a priority on negotiating for bilateral visa waiver agreements when it engages in diplomatic relations with any state. While the majority of these visa waivers are obtained for all Seychelles passport holders, there are at least 5 according to the Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs website which are for diplomatic and official passport holders only.  Negotiations are ongoing with some of those countries to allow visa free entry for all passport types, including with the United Arab Emirates which the Seychelles government says it is currently finalizing negotiations on the matter. Currently, only citizens holding Seychelles diplomatic and special passports can enter in the UAE without a visa as part of a visa waiver agreement which the Seychelles government signed in 2012.

Mauritius is second on the list, with 124, and South Africa is third, Botswana, Kenya and Namibia follow suit.

MS Dhoni The Untold Story: Almost everything you see in the film happened in Dhoni's life

MS Dhoni

Arun Pandey, who has been long-time friend and business partner for MS Dhoni, is entreprising. You can here it in his voice, how dedicated he is to his passion project releasing on September 30. The project is none other than a Bollywood film based on the life of Dhoni, India's most successful captain. He emphasises more than a few times that the film was made purely to motivate youngsters in India and around the world.

He repeats it so many times, that it actually becomes irksome. Dhoni is a very marketable commodity. And it's hard not to see the financial prospects in telling the life story of a man like him. He is a World Cup winning captain, has pan-India appeal and it only makes sense that his underdog story be sold to the highest bidder. However, the trailers suggest they have tried to capture the essence of the cricketer's life. Both Neeraj Pandey (director) and Sushant Singh Rajput (playing Dhoni himself) look sincere. Will MS Dhoni: The Untold Story break the jinx with Bollywood and biopics, we'll have to wait and watch.

1.       What was that one element in Dhoni's life story that separates him from the rest of the underdog stories in the world? Why does the world need to hear Dhoni's story?

A majority of the population is the youth, out of which a big number come from the small towns. And how many stories like Dhoni do you have that can motivate you to this extent? The ascent from where he started to what he has achieved, it is so massive, how do you not get inspired by a story like that? But it's not even about his victories and the success and the money that he has made. It is how he has conducted himself through those phases of life. You hear him in interviews, and he's always talking about a process. What is a process? The effort we put in today. A lot of people dream like Dhoni did, but did they put in the effort that Dhoni did? Dhoni himself never dreamt that he would play for the country, let alone lead it. What purpose the story will serve is to tell the youth, if you have dreams big or small, if you put in the effort today, you will be closer to achieving it than you were yesterday.

You watch Lincoln, Wolf of Wall Street and even A Beautiful Mind, from the last 15 year's Oscar-winners you'll find at least 10-12 of the films were based on real life stories. That's why we thought the story needs to be told. 2. Neeraj Pandey's earlier films have a completely different flavour compared to what this biopic would need. How did he come on board?

When we first thought of making the movie, we had a few names about who could be candidates for the director's job. As soon as I heard, that Neeraj was the man behind A Wednesday, I jumped and was convinced he was the man who would make it. I'm a great fan of A Wednesday, how he's made this whole movie around one incident and how in middle of it is the story of a common man. So I asked my people, and they set up a meeting. And after that one meeting, Neeraj was on board to direct.

3. Was Sushant the first choice to play Dhoni? What convinced you he could pull it off?

I was coming back on a plane when I saw Kai Po Che. And I saw Sushant, the way he batted, bowled and how he talked about the sport. We thought he would be a good boy to work with. We wanted someone raw, hardworking and we got both those things from Sushant who really worked hard to get Dhoni's physique.

4. When did Fox Star come into the picture?

So there was Dilip (Jha, the writer) who was writing about the various incidents in Dhoni's life. He used to go everyday, meet him and hear his stories and wrote that down. After Neeraj came on board, he started reviewing Dilip's work and he started asking questions and started piecing together a narrative for the film. After that it took close to 10 months to find the right studio who will help us tell the story like it should be told. Vijay Singhji (CEO, Foxstar) was a visionary enough to see the potential in the story and after that we began shooting.

5. A film like this can be risky, it requires scale to look convincing, were there dark days when you thought you couldn't pull this off?

I didn't doubt myself for a single second, since I decided to start work on making this biopic. The kind of love and affection MS gets from people all over India, never doubted the project for a single second. And Fox backed us completely, whatever was the requirement for the movie from my side, from Neeraj's side was fulfilled without question.

6. There is a tendency to sugar-coat biopics, has Neeraj Pandey attempted to take on the grey areas of Dhoni's life?

The definition of grey area tends to differ from person to person. And as far as clarifications related to conflict of interest has already been given, it's all there out in the open. There was no glamourisation of anything, in fact I can tell you positively that 98 percent of the what happens in the movie, is based on Dhoni's real life. Ask Neeraj, when he came on board and how difficult he found to find the grey areas in Dhoni's life. He was surprised that there was hardly any negativity in his life. He was appalled that he had to work so hard, talk to so many people, and he still couldn't find any grey areas in MS Dhoni's life.

7. When was the decision taken about dubbing the movie into Marathi, Tamil and Telugu?

It was always on the cards, even before the trailer was released. Dhoni has a pan-India appeal and we thought it would be a good idea to reach out to people in the other regions as well who will be equally eager to hear Dhoni's story. Even better if it is in their local language.

8. Raj Thackeray's MNS objected to the Marathi-dubbed version. Are you going to go ahead and release it in Marathi or is that on hold?

I have to speak to the people at Fox about that, I've not really been in the loop about that. I'll have to check up on it, it slipped my mind.

9. How comfortable was Dhoni opening up on the details of his love-stories? Which are two from the movie?

Whatever happened in real life, he sat down and spoke to Neeraj. And that's been included in the movie.

10. Has Dhoni seen the movie yet? What was his reaction?

Of course, he got emotional. It was a little awkward too for him, but he hardly ever expresses. He was a little overwhelmed seeing his life story adapted to the big screen.

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Slated to begin at Sarnath on October 3 this year, the International Buddhist Conclave will be attended by delegates from more than 40 countries. The conclave seeks to highlight Buddhist heritage and pilgrimage sites in India.
The foundation for Buddhism was laid down by Prince Siddhartha at a time when he renounced his family and went on to become the Buddha. The knowledge he gained through his enlightenment started spreading far and wide. It spready not only in different parts of India, but other parts of the world as well.
Now, Buddhism has a global following in excess of 500 million people, and is among the leading faiths of the world. Starting from India, where Buddhism originated, the profound teachings of this faith spread in Asia and beyond over the centuries. The philosophies and thoughts attached to Buddhism remain relevant even in the modern world.

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