Polaris Slingshot: The three-wheeled supercar

The new Polaris Slingshot is a three-wheeled motorcycle launched at the company’s annual product show at the Minneapolis Convention Centre. It is rumoured to be so fast, it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of bike. Excited, yet? We certainly are.

Constructed in Spirit Lake, Iowa, the Slingshot comes fully loaded with a 173 HP, 2.4 litre engine that generates up to 166 lbs of torque with a 5-speed manual transmission.

With a cutting-edge exterior design that shows off sharp angles and a stylishly aggressive appearance, the low-slung chassis sits only 5 inches off the ground, giving the bike a low centre of gravity to improve handling. Electronic stability and traction control systems, combined with antilock brakes, give the driver total control of the vehicle.

Available in two different packages, the Slingshot and the Slingshot SL, comes as a base model, and a premium model. The base version is priced at $20,000 and is painted Titanium Metallic, fitted with 17-inch wheels in front and an 18-inch wheel at the rear.

The upgraded Slingshot SL is priced at $24,000 and is painted a bright red, featuring larger wheels and comes equipped with several extras including a blade-style windshield and a media centre that includes a 4.3 inch LCD screen, Bluetooth integration, a six-speaker audio system and a back-up camera. Fully loaded, and we love it!

Polaris, in a statement, explained that the key to their Slingshot design was mass centralization. The battery is mounted low, the GM powerplant, a 2.4-liter inline-4, a dohc aluminum-block Ecotec sits longitudinally, just behind the front axle, from where it sends power of 170 HP and 155 pound-feet of torque, to the rear wheel through an Aisin five-speed manual transmission with a classic H-pattern.

A short driveshaft then sends the power backward to a bevel gear that reaches the rear wheel via a toothed rubber belt reinforced with carbon fibre.

We can’t wait to take this one out for a spin.

'Change in gas pricing formula good news for India'

In a significant development, Qatar has agreed to waive $1 billion penalty on India for breaking a long-term LNG contract, and has also consented to change the pricing formula to reflect the slump in global energy rates.

After months of intense negotiations, RasGas of Qatar has agreed to not to press for the $1 billion in penalty that Petronet LNG Ltd, India's biggest import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has to pay for buying only 68% of the contracted 7.5 million tonne this year.

Also, RasGas has, in-principle, agreed to changing the current pricing formula based on a 60-month average of a basket of Japanese crude oil prices to a 3-month average of Brent crude, a move that will lower the cost of LNG to $7-8 per million British thermal unit as compared to $12-13 currently.

"There is good news for India," a source said. "Price renegotiations are almost complete."

Petronet is taking only 68% of the volumes it agreed to in 25-year contracts with RasGas after a slump in global energy prices led to gas being available in spot or current market a roughly half that rate.

As per the new deal being negotiated, Petronet will take the quantities it did not take this year during the remainder of the contract period.

Sources said Petronet has a take or pay contract with RasGas where if purchases less than 90% of contracted volumes, a penalty triggers where in it has to pay for all of the contracted volumes.

State-owned GAIL India Ltd, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) have committed to buy all of the 7.5 million tonne a year of LNG that Petronet is to import from Qatar. But with slump in global prices, they have opted to buy gas from spot market rather than use the long-term LNG.

The price of delivered spot LNG delivered has tumbled more than 50% in the past year to about $6.80 per million Btus. The price of benchmark natural gas futures in the US tumbled 38% in the past year, falling to lowest in more than three years.

The reduced offtake by the buyers forced Petronet to cut its purchase from RasGas.

This resulted in idling of three cryogenic ships it had chartered hired for ferrying gas in its liquid form at sub-zero temperatures from Qatar to its import terminal at Dahej in Gujarat.

And as per charter hire conditions, Petronet continues to pay the day rates. The demurrage charges come to about Rs 400 crore per quarter, source said.

While LNG in the spot market is available at $7-8 per million British thermal unit, the price of gas under the long-term contract with RasGas is close to $13 per mmBtu.

Pricing of LNG under the long-term deal is linked to the previous 12-month Japan Crude Cocktail (JCC), including caps and floors based on average JCC prices of the past 60 months.

New Android Adware Can Download, Install Apps Without Permission: Report

An adware family has been found to be capable of automatically installing apps on Android devices, targeting a flaw in the way Google's mobile operating system handles accessibility features, a report has found. The adware reportedly installs apps even if a user has cancelled the installation.

Dubbed Shedun, the Android malware has been found to download unwanted apps as well as exploit a vulnerability in Android that makes it possible for the malware to find alternative ways to interact with the infected device, security firm Lookout reports. Shedun is one of the three adware programs Lookout had reported earlier this month. Shedun, Kemoge, and Shaunet are part of the same Android adware family that root infected device to install malicious apps and serve ads. These adware programs have reportedly affected more than 20,000 popular Android apps via unofficial channels. Their official Google Play counterparts were not affected, the firm had added.

But it appears Shedun is capable of doing much more than initially anticipated. The adware attempts to fool users into enabling accessibility features because they are allegedly needed by a utility to help stop inactive apps. To gain a user's trust, the app notes that the notification is a "standard privacy risk reminder."

"By gaining the permission to use the accessibility service, Shedun is able to read the text that appears on screen, determine if an application installation prompt is shown, scroll through the permission list, and finally, press the install button without any physical interaction from the user," wrote Michael Bentley, head of research and response at Lookout in a blog post.

Once a user enables the accessibility feature, Shedun displays a pop-up ad for an app. This is where it gets trickier. Even if a user closes the pop-up, the app is downloaded and installed. This happens because any app with access to accessibility features can determine the text on the screen and scroll through the permissions list and initiate the installation without any interaction from the user. The culprits behind it have likely partnered with clients to guarantee them 100 percent ad display and installation.

"Shedun likely uses this technique in order to increase its revenue by guaranteeing the installation and execution of advertised applications. After all, marketing companies pay more money for advertising campaigns where the user actually interacts with the application after downloading it instead of simply downloading and forgetting about it," Lookout explained in a blog post.

The security firm expects to see more such malware in future. The state of security on Google's Android platform continues to remain alarming.

Aamir Khan Says Wife Kiran Suggested Leaving India, 'Alarmist' Says BJP

NEW DELHI:  Actor Aamir Khan, joining the debate on a perceived "rise in intolerance", has shared that he felt "alarmed" by a number of incidents and that his wife Kiran Rao even suggested that they should leave the country.

The ruling BJP calls the comments "alarmist" and unfair.

Speaking at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism awards on Monday, Aamir Khan said: "When I chat with Kiran at home, she says, 'should we move out of India?' That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day. That does indicate that there is this sense of growing disquiet, there is growing despondency apart from alarm."

The comments come at a time incidents like attacks on rationalists, a mob killing over beef-eating rumours and controversial statements by members of the ruling BJP or allied groups have been held up by rival political parties and a section of the civil society as instances of intolerance under the current regime. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also faced questions during his recent trip to Britain.

Mr Khan said it was important for political parties to take a stand. "The sense of insecurity grows when we don't see that happening," he said, also supporting scientists, writers and filmmakers who have returned their awards to register their protest.

BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said Aamir Khan is entitled to his view but India is a tolerant nation. "You can't take the exception to be the rule. You can't be alarmist over stray incidents. Let us not define our country based on that," he said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier tweeted in support of the actor, saying: "BJP should stop silencing voices through abuses and threats. It's high time that Central government took concrete steps to instil sense of security amongst people."