SPORTS | "She was there when I had no titles": Roger Federer On Wife Mirka

After claiming his 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Roger Federer has, with much emotion, acknowledged the support and companionship he has always received from his wife Mirka. 

Just a day after winning his fifth title at Melbourne Park, Federer showered appraisal on what he would like to call his 'No.1 fan'.

"She was there when I had no titles and she's still here 89 titles later," Federer said on Monday. He further added, "She had a big part to play in it – she knows it, I know it, everybody knows it.

Besides, the tennis maestro from Switzerland apparently is someone who happily puts his career aside when it comes to his marriage.

"She's a mum and wife first and only later does she become the supporter," he said. "I'm just happy she's my wife and she's my No.1 supporter."

Mirka was the first person Federer saw when he made his way off court after his incredible five-set triumph on Sunday night, following which the husband and wife shared a beautiful moment together as Federer made his way behind the scenes at Rod Laver Arena carrying the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

Roger and Mirka have been married since 2009. They have four children together - identical twin girls, Myla and Charlene, and twin boys Leo and Lenny.

Federer also acknowledged that what made his victory all the more special was simply the time, although a brief one, he got to share with his family.

"It was an amazing half-hour (with them)," he enthused.

TECHNOLOGY | WhatsApp To Introduce Real Time Tracking Of Contacts

Instant messaging app WhatsApp is working on a feature that will allow you to track your friends in real time. That means, no more "I'll be there in just 5 minutes" excuses while you're still stuck in the bathroom!

According to the WABetaInfo handle on Twitter, known for leaking information related to WhatsApp, the feature will function on beta version 2.17.3.28 for iOS and 2.16.399+ on Android.  It will be disabled by default.

Moreover, phonearena.com on Monday reported, “The tracking can be kept on for 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, or indefinitely. This comes in handy if you’re supposed to meet the gang at a certain location and time, and you want to see how far away from the destination every one in the group is.”  It also added that the live streaming is a function that can be disabled.

INDUSTRY | Vodafone In Talks With Idea For An All- Share Deal

We could soon be seeing Vodafone and Idea Cellular shake hands with each other for an all- share deal as Vodafone, on Monday revealed that it has started talks to merge its Indian operations with rivals Idea Cellular to counter the fierce competition in the market.

In a brief statement, Vodafone said that it has approached with Idea's parent, conglomerate Aditya Birla to establish the merger, which, it said, would involve Idea issuing new shares to Vodafone. They further added that this would result in Vodafone deconsolidating Vodafone India.

Beside, the merger between Idea and Vodafone could prove to be a threat for Airtel and Jio in the ongoing telecom game which began when Reliance Jio took the telecom industry with storm with its groundbreaking entry. 

Currently, the subscriber count for Airtel and Jio stands at 27 crore and 7.2 crore respectively. The Vodafone- Idea merger, if it were to happen, would result in a combined subscriber count of about 39 crore, thus making it number one in the Indian telecom industry.

KASHMIR AVALANCHE | Bodies of 4 Soldiers Recovered; 8 Rescued

The twin avalanche in Kashmir has revealed more horrors this Friday as four more bodies of soldiers who went missing after the snowslip hit Bandipora's Gurez valley were recovered. Since Thursday the death toll of soldiers due to the disaster has now risen to 14.

Colonel Rajesh Kalia confirmed the reports saying, "The bodies of four missing soldiers have been found.

The avalanches struck an Army patrol and a camp in Gurez on January 25 and 26, burying over 20 soldiers.

Hopefully, eight soldiers have been rescued.

READ: JUST IN | Avalanche in Kashmir Claims Lives of Nine

SCIENCE | The Newfound Secret Shortwings of The Sahyadris

Naturalists exploring the "sky islands" of The Sahyadri have stumbled upon some of its well kept secrets nestled in the forests of some of its highest peaks, confirming the founding of two new endemic genera and a new species of songbird.

The research team, comprising of V. V. Robin, Sushma Reddy, C. K. Vishnudas, Pooja Gupta, Frank E. Rheindt, Daniel M. Hooper and Uma Ramakrishnan, has published the reports of the undertaking in the latest issue of BMC Evolutionary Biology. 

The reports suggest that the team has designated two new genera: one, the Western Ghats shortwings identified under Sholicola (closely related to flycatchers), and second, the laughing thrushes as Montecincla (closely related to babblers). The newly described Sholicola ashambuensis is confined to the Agasthyar Malai mountain ranges.

The species in the Montecincla genera include Montecincla jerdoni, Montecincla cachinnans, Montecincla fairbanki and Montecincla meridionalis  and belong to the genus Montecincla. 

Sholicola major and Sholicola albiventris belong to Sholicola genus.

Mr. V. V. Robin, a member of the research team, stated,"Though many people had noted some differences in feather patterns across populations in different mountain tops or 'sky islands', they were still considered a single species. It wasn’t until we had genetic data that we realised the traditional story was wrong."

The taxonomy of the birds also posed a challenge to the researchers. "What used to be called Western Ghats shortwings actually turned out to be flycatchers, and what used to be called laughing thrushes are actually more closely related to other babblers," Mr. Robin added.

"When we reconstructed their genetic relationships, it was clear that these two lineages were very different from the genera in which they were previously placed," Ms. Reddy said.

Another lucky break was the discovery of old forgotten specimens in the Trivandrum Natural History Museum. “They were locked away in a cabinet and forgotten for nearly 100 years. When I found them in 2009, I never thought that it would lead to the discovery of a new species!” Mr. Vishnudas said.

"For Western Ghats, already known for its rich and unique biodiversity, we have just increased the number of bird species found nowhere else in the world and each of these now have narrower distribution," said Ms. Ramakrishnan.

The discontinuous patches of forests on the highest peaks of The Westers Ghats are home for these birds; and these happen to be some of the most vulnerable parts of the ecosystem crumbling under the increasing pressure from human activities and climate change. However, Ms. Ramakrishnan seemed hopeful of the fact that the knowledge of the distinct evolution of these birds, and of ecology would be helpful in increasing conservation efforts.

JUST IN | Avalanche in Kashmir Claims Lives of Nine

Image for representational purpose only

An avalanche in Bandipora’s Gurez area today has claimed the lives of nine people including five soldiers, while four other soldiers remain trapped beneath the snowslide. 

According to a spokesperson, the soldiers were killed when the avalanche hit an army installation near Sonamarg, where more than five feet of snow has accumulated. Four others are missing, preliminary reports suggest.

An official revealed that the soldiers' bodies have been recovered, adding that a major rescue operation is on in the area to locate the survivors.

Besides, four civilians were killed in another avalanche in Bandipora’s Gurez area.

“Four people died in the avalanche that struck Gurez’s Budugam on Tuesday night. A rescue operation has been launched with the help of the police and the Army," sub-district magistrate Gurez Rouf-ur-Rehman said.

The bodies of Habibulah (50), Azizi (48), Gulshan Bano (19) and Irfan (17) have been recovered.

Kashmir has been witnessing heavy snowfall since Tuesday.  Warnings of avalanches in higher reaches of north and south Kashmir have already been issued by the divisional administration in the regions.

OSCAR TALKS: Complete List of Nominations for the 89th Academy Awards

The nominations for the 89th Academy Awards have been revealed, and Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone starrer La La Land seems to be the leading contender with a record- equalling 14 nominations in categories including Best Picture, Best Director for Damian Chazelle, Best Actress for Emma Stone and Best Actor for Ryan Gosling.

Offering competition to La La Land in the Best Picture category are eight other films: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell Or High Water, Hidden Figures, Lion, Manchester By The Sea, and Moonlight.

In the Best Actor category Ryan Gosling is contending with Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) and Denzel Washington (Fences), while in the category for Best Actress, the nominees include Emma Stone (La La Land), Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Ruth Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman (Jackie) and Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins).

The award ceremony is scheduled for 22 February in Los Angeles. Check out the complete list of nominations below.

Best Picture
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell Or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight

Best Director
Denis Villenueve – Arrival
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Damian Chazelle – La La Land
Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge
Kenneth Lonegan – Manchester By The Sea

Best Actor
Casey Affleck- Manchester By The Sea
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington – Fences

Best Actress
Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Ruth Negga – Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Emma Stone – La La Land
Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Jeff Bridges – Hell Or High Water
Lucas Hedges – Manchester By The Sea
Dev Patel – Lion
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis – Fences
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Nicole Kidman – Lion
Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams – Manchester By The Sea

Original Screenplay
Hell Or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester By The Sea
20th Century Women

Adapted Screenplay
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

Cinematography
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

Makeup and Hairstyling
A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad

Costume Design
Allied
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

Film Editing
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

Production Design
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Passengers

Sound Editing
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully

Sound Mixing
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi

Visual Effects
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo And The Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Documentary Feature
Fire At Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made In America
13th

Documentary Short Subject
Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond The Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres Of The Shoah
A Girl In The River: The Price Of Forgiveness
Last Day Of Freedom

Live Action Short Film
Ennemis Interieurs
La Femme et Le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode

Animated Short Film
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl

Animated Feature
Kubo
Moana
My Life As A Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia

Best Foreign Language Film
Land Of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann

Original Score
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passenegrs

Original Song
‘Audition’ – La La Land
‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ – Trolls
‘City Of Stars’ – La La Land
‘The Empty Chair’ – Jim: The James Foley Story
‘How Far I’ll Go’ – Moana