Discovery Plus Drops Line-Up of Exciting Titles to Celebrate Independence Day with Tales of Valour Documenting War Stories

Discovery Plus, India’s first aggregated real-life entertainment streaming app, which offers of thousands of hours of exclusive content across 40+ genres including Science, Adventure, Military, Survival, Food and Lifestyle, further strengthened its offering in the armed forces led content by dropping new episodes of Tales of Valour in the month of August. Beyond Tales of Valour, another series which will enthrall audiences seeking investigation led content is ‘Autopsy: The Last Hours Of…’ which will explain what killed some of the most famous celebrities including the likes of Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Whitney Hoston & Anna Nicole Smith. While, Planet Child, a three-part series, delves into the way children experience life exploring areas such as risk-taking, independence, morality and gender awareness.

Independence day special

Discovery Plus, in a short span of time, has augmented its position as the hub of armed forces led content. The line-up includes documentaries such as ‘India’s Paratroopers – Earning the Badge’, ‘Revealed: LOC’,’ Battle Ops’, ‘Revealed: National Defence Academy’, ‘Revealed Siachen’,‘1965: India’s Battles and Heroes’ and Breaking Point franchise on Air Force Academy, Indian Submariners, High Altitude Warfare School, Women Fighter Pilots and Commando School Belgaum.

The OTT platform will add new episodes of Tales of Valour this August focusing on

* Battle of Namka Chu releasing on August 05- During the Indo-Sino war of 1962, the Indian army fought in unfamiliar terrain. Celebrate the sacrifice of Subedar Dashrath Singh who lived to tell his tale of valour.

* Battle of Rezang la releasing on August 10 - The battle of Rezang La in 1962 was one of the toughest battles fought in the highest of mountains. Rezang La was the last stand of the C Company of 13 Kumaon, during the Sino-Indo War in 1962 where only about 120 Indian soldiers went up against Chinese troops.

* Battle of Longewala releasing on August 15- The Battle of Longewala was fought during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri and his brave band of soldiers led the defence at the Indian border post of Longewala, against the Pakistani forces.

* Battle of Asal Uttar releasing on August 24- The Battle of Asal Uttar was one of the largest tank battles fought during the Indo-Pak War of 1965.

* Battle of Haji Pur and Dograi releasing on August 31- In the second Indo-Pak war, India launched many aggressive operations to push the enemy out. The courageous capture of Haji Pir Pass and Battle of Dograi were part of it.

Other highlight shows which will keep audiences hooked include

Autopsy: The Last Hours Of…:

This Discovery Plus exclusive looks at crucial medical evidence that explains what killed some of the most famous celebrities as a forensic pathologist attempts to understand what their last days looked like. Celebrities covered in the series include Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Whitney Hoston & Anna Nicole Smith.

Planet Child:

This three-part series, streaming exclusively on Discovery Plus, delves into the way children experience life. The series explores key areas such as risk-taking, independence, morality and gender awareness in a range of scenarios, in order to understand how the development of kids is influenced by how they are raised and where they live.

Restaurant Stakeout

Willie Degel is known for running a tight ship at his restaurants. His secret: cameras canvassing every inch of his restaurant, allowing him to keep a close eye on his floor, staff and patrons. Starting August 24, Restaurant Stakeout follows as Willie takes his practices to troubled restaurateurs looking to find and rectify the hidden problems that lie within their establishments.

Mountain Life

The series follow families who want to get away from the hustle and bustle as they search for the ultimate mountain retreat. From the wooded peaks of the East Coast's Blue Ridge to Hawaii's tropical Mauna Loa, there are remote mountain locations you didn't even know existed.

Killer Whales: The Mega Hunt

Killer Whales: The Mega Hunt takes you inside the world of the predator that rules the oceans. Orcas – also known as killer whales - confidently and effortlessly stalk their prey fearing no other living creature. This fascinating programme streaming on the app on August 28, will give you an insight into how they live, feed and hunt; as well as a variety of incredible facts about their anatomy, behavioural traits and survival techniques.

Social Networking sites surface from Mumbai ashes

Bloggers across Mumbai fed live updates of the unfolding action after terrorists launched waves of attacks in the heart of India's financial capital, bringing the emergence of citizen journalism in news coverage to the fore in India.

Social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, were instantly updated with on-the-scene information by people. Minute-by-minute updates on social networking and micro-blogging sites not just satiated the writers’ hunger for expressing themselves, but also gave people more diverse news.

In fact, instead of switching on the television, many followed the action live on microblogging Twitter by searching the site for Bombay and Mumbai. In certain cases, Twitter updates reportedly appeared hours before the first TV stories.

The minute the news of the terrorist attacks broke out, sites like Twitter were inundated with a huge volume of messages. Twitter seemed to be the most popular choice among other social media sites. Just minutes after the first shots were fired; Tweeters (Twitter users) in Mumbai gave instant eyewitness accounts of the unfolding drama.

Messages, known as `tweets', were being posted to the site at a rate of around 80 tweets every five seconds when the news of the tragedy first broke, according to some estimates. Some bloggers provided running descriptions and commentaries from near the action, while others gave vent to their emotions.

"I've been tweeting almost all night from Mumbai. Upset and angry and bereft," said businesswoman Dina Mehta on her blog, http://www.dinamehta.com/blog.

Images of the attacks also surfaced on photo-sharing website Flickr. The site proved a useful source of haunting images chronicling the aftermath of the attacks.

Photographer Vinukumar Ranganathan has attracted hundreds of thousands of visits to his Flickr photo page where he has published a chilling slideshow depicting the aftermath of the attacks.

Twitter came in for some criticism as well in the blogosphere for divulging too many details that could prove helpful to the gunmen holed up in the hotels with their hostages and who may have been monitoring blog sites.

"It's a terrorist strike. Not entertainment. So tweeters, please be responsible with your tweets," said one blogger identified as primaveron@mumbai.

Unfortunately, the site also contained misleading threads, some of it purporting to be from intelligence services. In fact, many of the posts on Twitter amounted to unsubstantiated rumours and wild inaccuracies.

According to CNN, a rumour that the Indian government was asking Tweeters to stop live updates to avoid compromising its security efforts was published and republished on the site.

This was reportedly fueled by certain news websites, which posted the Tweet on their live update. It read: "Indian government asks for live Twitter updates from Mumbai to cease immediately. ALL LIVE UPDATES - PLEASE STOP TWEETING."

Several local Indian news channels were reported to have carried a live feed of the Twitter updates on the Mumbai attacks.

Twitter's contributors also questioned the veracity of certain TV news reports, pointing out contradictions and errors. When Indian reporters announced an end to Taj hotel siege time and again, Tweeters contended that gunfights were continuing. "Locals say gunfire still happening at Taj," said one feed, hours after fighting was said to have finished.

Many social network users also sent pleas for blood donors to make their way to specific hospitals in Mumbai where doctors were faced with blood shortage and rising casualties. Throughout the night, bloggers were active compiling news reports and contact information and information on blogging sites like mumbaihelp.blogspot.com.

Tweeters were also mobilised to help with transcribing a list of the dead and injured from hospitals, which were quickly posted online. mumbaihelp.blogspot.com also offered advice to those with friends and family in the city. "Suggest you avoid calling. Lines are bound to be jammed."

Other websites also quickly filled up with information: Wikipedia had a page up on the attacks by early Thursday morning. A Google map was created just hours after the explosions to mark the locations that had been hit.

Dozens of videos of the attacks have flooded the YouTube too. Gauravanomics has an exhaustive list of online coverage of the attacks. Slained Anti-Terrosism Squad (ATS) chief, Hemant Karkare, was reportedly the most searched topic on Google for nearly an hour after his death was declared.

Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s address to the nation on Thursday was highly viewed, followed by angry comments.

Source: Indiatimes Infotech