On August 15, Indians around the world celebrated their Independence Day, and the topic has carried on trending on Google+ on August 16.

The day marks India's independence from British rule, which occured on August 15, 1947. The day is marked by a national holiday, a state address from India's President and numerous cultural events. In honor of the event, Google also created a special Google Doodle which can be found at .

Elsewhere on Google+ China Mobile is causing a stir after rumors began to emerge that the Chinese network operator is edging closer to becoming a carrier for Apple's iPhone.

The speculation surrounding China Mobile and Apple stems from the announcement of the first-half financial results from the carrier on August 15. During this announcement it is reported that China Mobile's Chairman Xi Guohua stated, with reference to recent talks between China Mobile and Apple, that "Both sides sounded keen." Previously China Mobile and Apple have struggled to reach agreements due to a technical issue regarding the type of networks used in China and their compatibility with the iPhone, but it is believed that China Mobile could be among the country's networks to receive iPhone-compatible 4G licenses by the end of this year.

The top 5 most talked about topics on Google+ on August 16 at 9:00 AM GMT are:

01. 02. 03. 04. 05. tb/kc

(Reuters) - Consumers have a right under a federal law to revoke their consent to being contacted on their cell phones by automated dialing systems, a U.S. appeals court decided on Thursday in a defeat for computer maker Dell Inc.

Reversing a lower court ruling, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled in favor of a Pennsylvania woman, Ashley Gager, who complained that Dell hounded her with more than 40 calls in less than three weeks to collect a delinquent debt after she had sent a letter asking it to stop.

Circuit Judge Jane Roth said Congress intended the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 to protect consumers from unwanted automated calls, a conclusion supported by a 2012 Federal Communications Commission ruling in an unrelated case.

She rejected Dell's argument that because the law did not address whether consumers may revoke consent to be contacted by an autodialing system, such a right to revoke did not exist.

"We find that the TCPA provides consumers with the right to revoke their prior express consent to be contacted on cellular phones by autodialing systems," Roth wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel. "Because the TCPA is a remedial statute, it should be construed to benefit consumers."

Dell, which is based in Round Rock, Texas, and its law firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cary Flitter, a lawyer for Gager, did not immediately respond to a similar request.

According to court papers, Gager had in 2007 filled in her cellphone number in place of her home number on an application for a Dell credit line, which the Honesdale, Pennsylvania resident used to buy thousands of dollars of computer equipment.

After Gager defaulted, Dell began leaving the automated messages, and continued doing so even after receiving a letter in December 2010 from Gager asking it to stop, the papers show.

In May 2012, U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani dismissed Gager's lawsuit, saying that she should have told Dell at the time she gave her cellphone number not to make automated calls.

The 3rd Circuit sent the case back to Mariani's courtroom for further proceedings, and said Dell remains entitled to pursue the unpaid debt.

"Dell will still be able to telephone Gager about her delinquent account," Roth said. "The only limitation imposed by the TCPA is that Dell will not be able to use an automated dialing system to do so."

The case is Gager v. Dell Financial Services LLC, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 12-2823.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

NEW YORK (AP) -- A look at the 10 biggest volume decliners on Nasdaq at the close of trading:

ASB Bancorp Inc. : Approximately 100 shares changed hands, a 97.6 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.56 or 3.2 percent to $16.94.

Eastern Co. : Approximately 1,000 shares changed hands, a 95.8 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.11 or .6 percent to $17.33.

Landmark Bancorp Inc. : Approximately 100 shares changed hands, a 96.3 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.69 or 3.3 percent to $20.01.

Northeast Community Bancorp Inc. : Approximately 100 shares changed hands, a 98.4 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.35 or 5.1 percent to $6.51.

OBA Fincl Svcs : Approximately 100 shares changed hands, a 96.3 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.36 or 2.0 percent to $18.65.

Oconee Federal Financial Corp. : Approximately 100 shares changed hands, a 97.7 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.20 or 1.2 percent to $17.00.

RGC Resources Inc. : Approximately 100 shares changed hands, a 96.0 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.18 or 1.0 percent to $18.42.

Sevcon Inc. : Approximately 100 shares changed hands, a 98.5 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.45 or 9.4 percent to $5.25.

United Bancorp Ohio : Approximately 100 shares changed hands, a 97.5 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.05 or .7 percent to $6.93.

Wayne Savings Bancshares Inc. : Approximately 100 shares changed hands, a 96.4 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares remained unchanged at $10.60.

The league has a moratorium on teams discussing personnel business until players officially sign on Wednesday.

Howard made waves across the league by verbally committing to the Rockets on Friday rather than returning to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Amidst the excitement, both the Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and coach Kevin McHale publicly commented on securing Howard to draw the penalty.

Howard is set to officially sign a four-year, $88 million contract to join the Houston franchise. (Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Ian Ransom)

GREENSBORO, North Carolina, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Patrick Reed hit the "best shot" of his life from a seemingly impossible position to set up a sensational play-off victory over fellow young gun Jordan Spieth at the $5.3 million Wyndham Championship on Sunday.

The 23-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Texas looked destined for defeat after slicing his drive almost out-of-bounds at the second extra hole, the par-four 10th at Sedgefield Country Club.

But Reed's ball stopped barely one yard in bounds and he took advantage of his lucky break by conjuring up a piece of magic with his second shot, threading a seven-iron that somehow avoided the trees and finished within seven feet of the hole.

"It was the best shot of my life, that's for sure," said Reed, whose caddie - and wife - Justine measured the shot at 167 yards.

"When I got the signal the ball was out of bounds my heart sank. I pulled my hat down and I was so frustrated and sad. If I didn't close that out and win it I would have been heartbroken."

But when Reed got word from other marshals that the ball was safe, his spirits soared.

"I felt I was back playing T-ball. The ball was so far above my feet that it almost felt like I was taking a baseball swing.

"The lie was fine. There was a little bit of dirt, a couple of pieces of grass, twigs, a couple of spiders, basically anything you'd find in a wilderness.

"The problem was the tree I had to go under. The tree trunk was right there and I had to hit the ball dead straight from a baseball lie. It's hard for me to do that, because I play draws.

"I knew it was going to be do or die. I had to make a great golf swing and to pull it off meant everything."

The vanquished Spieth was certainly impressed: "It was one of the best shots I've ever witnessed," said Spieth. "I walked over to his ball (because) I wanted to see what he had to do and he didn't have much.

"I didn't think he could hit the ball that high and stop it from that lie."

Spieth gave Reed a sporting thumbs-up, but it still wasn't over, because Spieth had a sharply-breaking 10-foot birdie putt that shaved the right edge of the hole but didn't drop.

That opened the door for Reed, who made no mistake with his birdie putt to capture his first tour victory, worth $954,000 and the Sam Snead Cup.

Reed's heroics prevented Spieth from becoming the youngest two-time winner on tour in more than a century. Nevertheless, the 20-year-old, who won last month's John Deere Classic, continued his emergence as one of the game's rising stars.

The play-off was a rollercoaster of emotion for Spieth, who seemed destined for defeat at the first extra hole after pulling his drive into the woods.

He had no choice but to pitch his second shot back to the fairway and a poor third shot left him 26-feet above the hole, from where he defied the odds and sank the par putt.

Reed still had a chance to win with a seven-foot birdie attempt, but his putt was poor and the hole was halved, setting up even more drama at the next hole.

Earlier, Reed (66) and Spieth (65) finished regulation tied at 14-under-par 266. They both made tap-in pars at the 72nd hole to finish two strokes ahead of fellow Americans John Huh, who bogeyed the final two holes, and Brian Harman. (Reporting by Andrew Both, editing by Simon Evans in Miami)

Sure, wins and losses aren't always the best way to judge a pitcher, but Scherzer was sure to savor those 13 straight victories to start the season.

"It was fun. I mean, are you kidding me? Being undefeated, that means your team is winning," Scherzer said. "To me, it wasn't a personal achievement, it was a team achievement, a reflection of my record. For me, that was fun."

Scherzer finally lost Saturday night, in his final start before the All-Star break, but that rough outing did little to detract from what the Detroit right-hander has accomplished over the last year. On a staff that includes former MVP Justin Verlander, Scherzer has earned a lot of the attention lately. At 28, he's in the prime of his career, and whether he starts Tuesday's All-Star game or not, he's a big reason why the Tigers are in first place in the AL Central.

"I'm doing everything I said I wanted to do," he said. "I'm pitching deeper into games. I'm minimizing my walks. I'm generating strikeouts at a high rate. ... I'm doing a lot of things right. Hopefully, I'm able to carry that into the second half."

Scherzer had pitched just one full season in the majors when the Tigers acquired him from Arizona before the 2010 season, part of a three-team deal that sent Curtis Granderson from Detroit to the New York Yankees. A former first-round draft pick, Scherzer was inconsistent at first in the Motor City, but since the All-Star break in 2012, he is 21-3 with a 2.99 ERA in 34 starts.

His 13-1 mark this year helped him emerge as perhaps the favorite to start the All-Star game at Citi Field in New York although the fact that he pitched Saturday may limit his availability.

"It would mean a lot," Scherzer said. "I just know how many great pitchers there are in the game the other pitchers who are on top of their game right now, and how well they're pitching. So, if I get the nod over those guys, I mean, that's a real nice moment."

Tigers manager Jim Leyland who is picking the All-Star starter since he's managing the American League traces some of Scherzer's growth to the 6-foot-3 right-hander's first season with Detroit. He was sent to the minors for a couple weeks in May 2010 after a poor start to the season. Scherzer returned around the end of that month and posted a 2.46 ERA the rest of the way.

"It's not punishment when people are sent down," Leyland said. "I think the best part of the message is, when you get sent down, if you go down there with the right attitude and agenda and a purpose, sometimes it can work out pretty good for you."

Although Scherzer was sharp for the rest of 2010 and won 15 games the following year, there was still a sense that he was capable of more. His next big step came down the stretch last season.

Scherzer is a believer in some of baseball's advanced metrics that have started working their way into the mainstream and his 2012 season was a good example of how traditional numbers don't always tell the whole story. At the end of May, he had a 5.55 ERA, but his strikeout rate was strong. He was allowing a .395 average on balls in play a number likely to decrease if his luck would improve.

He looked like a second-half breakout candidate, and sure enough, by the end of the year, Scherzer's ERA was down to 3.74. He finished second in the majors in strikeouts behind Verlander and helped the Tigers win the division and AL pennant.

"Everybody asks me about the sabermetrics. They work over the long term. They work at determining what generates success. Obviously, it's generating swing-and-misses, minimizing walks and finding a way to keep the ball on the ground," Scherzer said. "But at the end of the day, none of that plays when you go out on the mound. It's all about the scouting reports and pitch execution."

Scherzer has pitched amid personal tragedy. He has not said much publicly about the death of his brother last season, but it has obviously been a difficult time for his family.

Scherzer is known around the clubhouse for his smart, outgoing personality and his willingness to engage teammates in good-natured debate about pretty much any sport he can think of.

"He's the president of all pools. The March Madness, NBA Finals, the golf, Kentucky Derby any kind of Derby, anything," outfielder Torii Hunter said. "Hot dog-eating contest. I mean, he has a bracket for everything, and it's perfect.

"Scherzer is definitely one of the smart guys in the clubhouse who can run things, but he's a lot of fun. He's funny, he's always keeping the guys interacting."

Scherzer's focus on process helped keep him grounded as his undefeated streak grew. He was 13-0 before Saturday's loss to Texas, but run support plays a significant role in that, and he was careful not to make too much of his sparkling win-loss record.

"People love 'counting numbers,'" Scherzer said. "A lot of people don't try to give credit when you don't have 'counting numbers' it is what it is."

Although Scherzer's record has stood out, it's far from the only reason he made the All-Star team for the first time.

That honor was years in the making.

"That's going to be a blast, especially as my first one," he said. "You always worked hard to put yourself in a position to be there, and finally it's happened for me. I can't wait to go."

The sweeping U.S. , passed in 1972, bans taking dolphins, seals, whales and other marine mammals from the wild, but American institutions can apply for permits to remove these creatures from their habitats or import them for the purpose ofpublic display.

The Georgia Aquarium's request to do just that marked the first such application in more than 20 years. (The new arrivals in today's aquariums are typically rescued animals or ones that have been bred in captivity.)

The Georgia Aquarium wanted to feature the whitefrom Russia at its own marine park in Atlanta and at partner facilities, including SeaWorld's various locations.

But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Fisheries Service denied the request this week. They agency received some 9,000 public comments on the request, many of them against bringing the whales into captivity.

Thewere rounded up in Russia's Sea of Okhotsk between 2006 and 2011, NOAA says, and there is "little reliable scientific information" about the stock of whales in this population. The agency also noted that five of the beluga whales the aquarium wanted to import might have been still nursing when they were captured. What's more, NOAA argued that granting the permit could increase the demand to capture beluga whales, which could hurt the wild population.

"We believe the ongoing live-capture trade since 1989 may have contributed to a cumulative decline over the past two decades, and we considered this in combination with other past, present and foreseeable future actions," a statement from NOAA said.

Beluga whales are listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are found in the arctic and subarctic waters of Russia, Greenland and North America and they face threats including ship strikes, pollution and habitat destruction, according to NOAA.

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JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he was concerned by growing religious intolerance in the country with world's largest Muslim population, which many analysts say his administration has failed to contain.

Indonesia has recently seen a series of increasingly violent attacks on religious minorities like Christians, Shia Muslims and members of Ahmadiyah, a small Islamic sect which is considered heretical by mainstream Muslims.

"I am very concerned about the continuing incidents of intolerance and communal conflict we see, which are often violent," Yudhoyono said in an annual address to parliament.

"We should always be able to prevent these if we prioritize dialogue and if the country's leaders, in government and religious institutions, take collective responsibility."

Yudhoyono, in office since 2004 and whose current term ends next year, has been criticized for failing to defend the rights of religious minorities.

"President Yudhoyono seems to say all the right words. But he does not talk about legal discrimination that his administration had created over the last nine years," Andreas Harsono, Indonesia director for Human Rights Watch, told Reuters in an email.

Human Rights Watch released a damning report this year that listed more than 260 violent incidents against religious minorities in 2012. It accused some cabinet members of fanning the violence.

Nearly 90 percent of Indonesia's population considers itself Muslim but the constitution guarantees freedom of worship in a country that was once home to powerful Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms.

Most Indonesians follow a moderate form of Islam but militants linked to al Qaeda have carried out several major attacks on foreign targets since 2002.

Indonesia has largely managed to root out militant networks though sporadic attacks continue.

Yudhoyono also said he would continue to battle corruption in one of the world's most graft-ridden countries and another key problem which many observers accuse his government doing little to counter.

Two days before his speech, a top energy official was arrested by the anti-corruption agency (KPK) over allegations he pocketed more than half a million dollars in bribes from an oil firm.

It is the latest in a string of corruption scandals that have also damaged many of the major political parties, including Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party whose popularity has been sliding ahead of next year's general and presidential elections.

But Yudhoyono made no mention of the latest arrest.

"We continue to try and prevent and eradicate corruption to strive for a 'Clean Indonesia'," he said. "And I continue to push law enforcement agencies like the police, attorney general's office, and even the KPK, to take effective steps to fight corruption."

(Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Robert Birsel)

The Israeli-American actress, who won a best actress Oscar in 2011 for her role in ballet drama "Black Swan," will also play Oz's mother, who committed suicide when he was 12.

"She (Portman) read 'A Tale of Love and Darkness' and asked me for the rights to make a film adaptation around five or six years ago," Oz told Reuters by telephone.

"I agreed because of my high esteem for her work. She's an excellent actor."

"A Tale of Love and Darkness" recounts Oz's childhood in war-torn Jerusalem in the 1940s and 1950s, his mother's death and his journey through a kibbutz and Israel's shifting politics after the birth of the nation.

Oz said that he has been helping prepare the script, and Portman was likely to come to Israel in September for film preparations and begin shooting in January.

Portman's publicist was not immediately available to comment.

Portman, 32, was born in Jerusalem to an Israeli father and an American mother, but was raised in the United States. Her first feature film role was 1994 thriller "Lon: The Professional" and her breakout role came in her teens as Queen Padm Amidala in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace."

Apart from her Hollywood career, the Harvard-educated, Hebrew-speaking actress has also worked in Israeli film.

(Reporting Dan Williams; writing by Mary Milliken; editing by Eric Kelsey and Cynthia Osterman)

The verdict came in a packed courtroom in the capital, Dhaka, in the presence of defendant Ali Ahsan Mojaheed, the secretary-general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party. The tribunal found him guilty of kidnapping and killing a journalist, a music director and a number of other people.

Mojaheed faces seven charges, including genocide, murder, conspiracy and complicity in atrocities during the war. He is accused of leading a notorious group that during the war kidnapped and killed many teachers, journalists and writers who supported the cause for independence.

But the court said five charges were proven beyond doubt, while the prosecution failed to prove two other charges.

The defense attorneys said they would appeal the verdict.

Two tribunals dealing with the war crimes have already delivered five verdicts against three incumbent leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and a former chief and another expelled man of the party. Jamaat-e-Islami and its leaders had openly campaigned against the creation of Bangladesh and are accused of forming citizens' brigades to aid Pakistani army in the battle against the fighters who fought for independence. Bangladesh became independent with the help of India on Dec. 16, 1971, when Pakistani army surrendered in Dhaka.

Bangladesh says the Pakistani army killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women, while about 10 million people took shelter across the border in India during the war.

To denounce the verdict, Jamaat-e-Islami enforced a daylong general strike across the country on Wednesday. No major violence was reported. The party indicated that it might extend the general strike to Thursday if Mojaheed was sentenced to death.

Protests over previous verdicts have turned deadly.

The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formed the tribunal in 2010 amid criticism from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Zia has said the tribunal is meant to weaken the opposition. Jamaat-e-Islami is the main political ally of Zia's party, and shared two posts in the Cabinet during Zia's latest premiership in 2001-2006.

Hasina's government says it had pledged before the 2008 election to prosecute those responsible for war crimes. A political alliance led by Hasina's Awami League party won the election with a two-thirds majority.