IPL 2016: Despite talk about DD's youth, SRH were beaten by their experience

During the telecast of Delhi Daredevils' game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, Simon Doull interviewed team mentor Rahul Dravid. In the interview, Doull asked Dravid about the franchise's combination. "It is an interesting mix. We had 13 players from last season's squad and 13 new players coming in; a balance of youth and experience. We have looked to find the right balance," Dravid replied.

A lot has been said — and written — about the Daredevils' set-up this year. Most of it have been about how the youngsters have been brought in, with Dravid an obvious choice to lead them, hand-in-hand with Paddy Upton. It has worked so far; Karun Nair has looked good in the middle-order, Sanju Samson has started scoring runs again, Rishabh Pant has created waves in his few outings, while Quinton de Kock has been rock-solid at the top.

Shreyas Iyer's loss of form is a complete reversal of his Ranji fortunes, but it is the quintessential sinusoidal curve of any cricketer’s life. As such, only Pawan Negi has been a failure under this new regime, and most of it is because of that immense price tag and subsequent high expectations.

These have more or less been the main talking points, and they have superseded talks about Zaheer Khan's brilliant leadership, JP Duminy's revival, Amit Mishra's wrong ones, Chris Morris' all-round play, the excitement of Sam Billings' knocks and the sheer power in Carlos Brathwaite's sixes.

In a way, Billings, Brathwaite and de Kock do belong to that youngster classification. And it makes sense for the discourse to be about the youngsters, for the Daredevils climbed as high as second in the points table thanks to their performances. The seniors played a guiding hand in the first half of the season, until the team management decided to ring in unnecessary changes. Back-to-back losses against Rising Pune Supergiants and Kings XI Punjab saw them lose momentum.

Thursday night's game in Hyderabad assumed significance, as Delhi had a fight on their hands to stay ahead of the curve in the race for knock-outs. Mumbai Indians had started to catch up, while Kolkata Knight Riders, Gujarat Lions and the Sunrisers themselves were looking to pull out a gap. It was in this setting that the seniors in the Daredevils camp put their hands up, collectively, and made a firm impression.

The game started in a pattern that is becoming increasingly synonymous with their think-tank. Chop and change, whether out of necessity or not. Against the Sunrisers then, there was some sharp use for the former as Zaheer pulled out. Duminy was leading once again, and may yet do so for a couple more games. Against a strong batting order led by the explosive David Warner, they obviously felt the need to bolster the pace attack, and brought in Nathan Coulter-Nile. Billings and Brathwaite were dropped.

While it seemed a bold — and blind — decision at first, the Daredevils made it work. As such, for this stupendous victory over the table-topping Sunrisers, they have their seniors to thank who brought out their best performance of the season yet, that too collectively.

Duminy was as bold as Zaheer with his bowling changes. Never mind that Warner was setting the field ablaze once more, he persisted with Jayant Yadav up top and got the wicket he was looking for. The ball turned just enough to beat Warner's mighty swing and crashed into his stumps. The score read 67/1 in the 9th over, and that moment was the difference between Hyderabad ending up with 146 and not 20 runs more.

Of course, it is not to say the other batsmen were not up to scratch. But it has been well documented that Hyderabad  are mighty dependent on Warner, and play around him. Despite their high-flying standing, and the return of both Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh, they haven't yet found that pivot in the middle-order that they can revolve around in the latter half of the innings.

This is the weakness that Mishra and Morris exploited. In the early part of the season, the leg-spinner started off as their go-to man after the powerplay ended. As time progressed, he has been better utilised in the middle stages, and bamboozled the batsmen once again with a clever mix of googlies and slower leg-breaks. However, the two wickets he got were both of quicker ones, two seam-up deliveries that turned late into leg, both backed up by good fielding efforts.

So often, the word "platform" is used for batsmen as they lay charge in the death overs. On this instance, Mishra's spell laid the stage for Morris and Coulter-Nile. The leggie had put immense pressure on the batsmen to get a move on, struggling at 113/3 with five overs to go. Both the Australian and South African were right on the money with their bowling, at the start and the end of the innings. To say that they put on the squeeze on Sunrisers' scoring would be an understatement, as they came away with combined figures of 4-28 in their four overs. With Mohammad Shami coming to the party as well, Sunrisers were never allowed to get away.

It was then no surprise that their young batting polished up the chase with ease, never mind the shocking decision that went against de Kock.

With the business end of the season now taking off, Delhi needed this win to get their challenge going again after two consecutive defeats. And the handsome manner in which they won underlined that they have the wares to fight the tough battles ahead, both in terms of youth and experience.


Source: http://www.firstpost.com

Nargis Fakhri takes a month off for health reasons

Nargis Fakhri is out of country to address her health issues and not because of either a rumoured calling-off of a wedding with Uday Chopra or a decision to quit showbiz, the actress' spokesperson has said.

Nargis' sudden disappearance from showbiz -- even the promotions of her film "Azhar" -- has left fodder for gossip mongers.

There are media reports that Nargis was all set to announce her wedding with actor-producer Uday, but he called it off. Rumours were also rife that following the apparent relationship hitting rock bottom she had a 'nervous breakdown' and left the producers of all her upcoming films in a lurch.

However, the "Rockstar" actress' spokesperson has a different story to tell.

"Nargis has been extremely overworked working on three films simultaneously over the last year. For someone who is used to doing one film at a time, this was quite a bit for Nargis.

"In addition, she has been unwell right through the 'Azhar' promotions with multiple injuries - torn hamstring, anterior knee ligament thinning and mild socket dislocation along with burning of the stomach lining due to lead and arsenic poisoning.

"Due to these multiple issues and her overall exhaustion, she had a fever of about 101 degrees right through her promotions," read the official statement by the spokesperson.

The representative added that it is due to Nargis' deteriorating condition that she had to request Sajid Nadiadwala -- producer of her next film "Housefull 3" -- and "bow out of its promotions to go back home to New York for a month to address all her medical issues and recuperate".

In "Azhar", Nargis portrays Mohammad Azharuddin's second wife Sangeeta Bijlani. Next up, she will be seen in "Housefull 3" and "Banjo", and she will be back in action soon.

"She has no plans to leave B-Town and will be back to sets to complete the pending patchwork for her film 'Banjo' in the second week of June.

"In addition, she has already verbally agreed to two other projects for 2017 before she left and will complete the paperwork when she's back. That coupled with her brand commitments that extend over multiple years, is testament of her being here to stay for good," the spokesperson added.

Confirming that Nargis left mid-way through the work for "Housefull 3" due to her health, Nadiadwala said: "Our priority is Nargis's health. We do hope that she recuperates fast and can be there around the release of the film as she is an integral part of 'Housefull 3' team."

SOurce: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Mark Zuckerberg Announces Investigation Into Anti-Conservative Bias

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to accusations its company's "trending" topics list was suppressing conservative media, saying on Thursday the company was conducting an investigation.

No evidence of alleged manipulation had been found, but "if we find anything against our principles, you have my commitment that we will take additional steps to address it," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post.

Tech news outlet Gizmodo reported on Monday that a former Facebook worker alleged that articles from politically conservative outlets -- particularly when written about conservative subjects -- were deliberately omitted from Facebook's sidebar of popular stories.

The social media giant has denied the allegations amid outrage over the claims.

Facebook said the popularity of news stories was determined by an algorithm, then audited -- never manipulated -- by review team members to confirm that the topics were in fact trending news items.

However according to Gizmodo, which also spoke to other former employees, stories covered by conservative media that were trending enough to be picked up by Facebook's algorithm were only included if they were also covered by "mainstream sites" such as The New York Times, the BBC or CNN.

There was no evidence that management mandated or was aware of any political bias at work, Gizmodo reported, noting that one former worker "described the omissions as a function of his colleagues' judgements."

Gizmodo reported that workers were told to put stories deemed as important by management in the trending news feed even if they weren't generating much buzz.

The charges unleashed a fierce debate in the US media and on the social network itself, which has around 1.6 billion users around the globe.

In his post, Zuckerberg also announced plans to invite "leading conservatives and people from across the political spectrum" to talk with him about accusations of political bias at Facebook.

SOurce: http://www.ndtv.com/

Italy May Out PM Modi Meeting If...': Agusta Middleman's New Claim

Italy will out a private conversation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he allegedly asked for information against Sonia Gandhi if Delhi does not release an Italian marine, claims Christian Michel, a man India wants extradited from the UK for its investigations into the AgustaWestland chopper scam.

Mr Michel, an alleged middleman, has suggested in an exclusive interview to NDTV that the Italian government "may do something unpleasant" if a marine charged with murder is not released by India. The "unpleasant" move would be to "admit to a meeting" between PM Modi and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, he said.

Both governments have emphatically denied that PM Modi met with his Italian counterpart in New York on the sidelines of a UN conference and offered to release the two marines facing trial in India on murder charges in exchange for information about the Agusta chopper deal that could embarrass or implicate Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Mr Michel insisted that the meeting did happen, arguing that the governments had only denied a formal bilateral. "Under the auspices of the UN bilateral discussions there was no meeting. I am talking about a casual brush-by meeting which has plausible deniability attached to it," he said, claiming that the Italian embassy in Delhi briefed Agusta's parent company Finmeccanica about the meeting, which in turn informed him.

He refused to reveal the name of the embassy official citing "very delicate negotiations" between the two countries on whether the marine will return to Italy. The two marines are accused of killing Indian fishermen in 2012; one of them has been allowed to return over health reasons while the other remains in Delhi. Italy says the marines mistook the fishermen for pirates.

"They (Italy) are very upset with the Congress for not supporting them on marines issue. They have a new government and a new opportunity to solve the issue. There is a suggestion of the deal on the table of the way of doing it...the trouble with the suggestion of the deal is it requires an illegal act to have happened involving Mrs Gandhi, which hasn't happened... and I knew it would be a mess," Mr Michel told NDTV.

On the possibility of India not sending the marines home, Mr Michel replied: "If the basis of a deal is flawed, the deal will collapse...the honourable prime minister is in a horrible position - if he lets the marine go, he will be accused of a deal. If he doesn't let him go, the Italians may do something unpleasant - admit to a meeting".

The scandal over kickbacks allegedly paid by Agusta middlemen in India resurfaced after a court verdict in Milan last month. The BJP has alleged that documents attached to the verdict give new proof that Congress leaders helped Agusta swing the deal to provide a dozen choppers to India.

Mr Michel raises very awkward questions for the Congress after he confirmed that he did describe Sonia Gandhi in a 2008 note as "the driving force" of the decision to acquire new helicopters for use by top politicians.

"The note is genuine. We were asked who are the important people in India today and we sent the message," he said. Asked to explain why the note suggested the British High Commissioner should "target" Mrs Gandhi and her advisers, Mr Michel said: "It is a note about lobbying, not kickbacks."

SOurce: http://www.ndtv.com

World's Oldest Person Dies In New York At The Age Of 116

The world's oldest living person, 116-year-old Susannah Mushatt Jones, died on Thursday in New York City, a research group said.

Jones' death makes Emma Morano-Martinuzzi, a 116-year-old woman in Italy, the oldest living person, according to the Gerontology Research Group.

Jones, who was born in the southern U.S. state of Alabama in 1899, was the daughter of sharecroppers and granddaughter of slaves.

After graduating from high school she moved north in 1922 to New Jersey and then New York, where she worked as a housekeeper and childcare provider, according to Guinness World Records and the Vandalia Senior Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where she lived.

Jones, who retired in 1965, had said that lots of sleep is the secret to her longevity and that she had never smoked or drank alcohol.

The oldest verified person was Jeanne Calment of France, who died in 1997 at 122 years and 164 days, the research group said.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.in

US navigation operations in South China Sea not an act of provocation: White House

Strongly refuting Chinese allegations, the US has said that its freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea is not an act of provocation, two days after an American navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the area.

The US, on the other hand, reaffirmed concerns of the international community, particularly of the countries in the region, against Chinese movements and actions in the resource- rich sea.


However, the White House yesterday refused to describe the situation in the South China Sea as headed towards tension.

"I would not describe it that way. I think that there are concerns about China's activities in the South China Sea, (which) are well documented. Our concerns that we have raised both publicly and privately with Chinese officials at a range of levels," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.


The freedom of navigation operation that was carried out by the US forces earlier this week is relatively routine, the presidential spokesman said.

"We have done that at least a couple of times just in the last four or five months. It is not intended to be a provocative act. It is merely a demonstration of a principle that the president laid out on a number of occasions, which is that the US will fly, operate and sail anywhere that international law allows," Earnest said, adding that th ..


A US navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea on Tuesday. The guided missile destroyer, USS William P Lawrence, passed within 22-kilometres of Fiery Cross Reef, the limit of what international law regards as an island's territorial sea. The reef is now an island with an airstrip, harbour and burgeoning above-ground infrastructure.

Chinese authorities monitored and issued warnings to the US destroyer when it passed.

Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Iraqi officials: Attack on cafe north of Baghdad kills 13

A group of gunmen, including two suicide bombers, stormed a coffee shop in a town north of Baghdad early Friday, leaving at least 13 people dead and 15 wounded, Iraqi officials said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault in Balad, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the Iraqi capital. The attack came on the heels of a two-day wave of bombings in Baghdad that killed nearly 100 people — attacks that have been claimed by the Islamic State group. The deadliest struck the sprawling Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in northeast Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 63 people.

The Balad attack started with three gunmen, armed with machine guns, who opened fire into the crowd in the cafe shortly after midnight Thursday, the officials said. Once police arrived at the scene, two of the attackers detonated their suicide vests, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The IS bombings this week exposed lingering gaps in Baghdad's defenses, which are manned by an array of security agencies and militias that don't always cooperate. They also point to the resilience of the extremist IS group, which has increasingly resorted to bombings in civilian areas far from the front lines as it has lost some territory to Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led airstrikes.

On Thursday evening, hundreds took to the streets in Baghdad's Sadr City to demand government accountability for the security breaches. Protesters carried signs calling for the interior minister to resign while others called for the minister of defense and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to also step down.

Anti-government protests first erupted last summer as temperatures soared and millions were left without electricity. While al-Abadi proposed a series of government reforms in August 2015 that he claimed would combat corruption, very little has been implemented. Repeated delays in Iraq's parliament sparked another wave of protests this year, led by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. In late April the cleric's supporters stormed Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone and the parliament building.

Since the unprecedented breach of the compound, which is home to many of Baghdad's ministries and foreign embassies, the country's government has been largely gridlocked as many lawmakers are boycotting parliament.

Iraqi officials and analysts warn that the deepening political crisis may be distracting Iraq's security forces from the fight against IS. The Iraqi government claims IS only occupies 14 percent of the country's territory after a string of battlefield losses, but the extremist group still controls key border areas between Iraq and Syria as well as Iraq's second largest city of Mosul.

SOurce: http://www.newindianexpress.com

Turkey: Eight soldiers, 21 PKK militants killed as violence widens in southeast region

Eight Turkish soldiers and 21 militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were killed on Friday, according to the military and media reports, as violence in the largely Kurdish southeast widened a day after two bombings.

After the collapse of a ceasefire between the PKK and the government last July, Turkey's southeast has seen some of its worst violence since the height of the Kurdish insurgency in the 1990s.

Six soldiers were killed and eight were wounded in clashes with militants in the southeastern Hakkari province, the military said in a statement.

Two more soldiers were killed in a separate incident when a military helicopter crashed in Hakkari due to a technical fault, the military said. Six PKK militants were also killed in an operation in that region, it said.

Fifteen militants were killed in clashes in Sirnak province, broadcaster NTV reported, citing the Turkish military.

On Thursday, four suspected bomb makers were killed and 17 people wounded when an explosion ripped through a village in the southeast as PKK militants loaded explosives onto a small truck, the government said.

That blast was just hours after an explosives-laden car blew up near a military base in Turkey's biggest city, Istanbul, wounding six soldiers and a civilian.

No one has claimed responsibility for Thursday's bombing in Istanbul.

Turkey has suffered a series of bombings this year, including two suicide attacks in tourist areas of Istanbul blamed on Islamic State and two car bombings in the capital, Ankara, which were claimed by a PKK offshoot.

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) says it has split from the PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, but experts who study the two militant groups say they retain close links.

Source:http://www.dnaindia.com

2 Britishers, Mexican become first foreigners to scale Everest in 2 years

Two British and a Mexican climber on Thursday became the first foreigners to scale Mount Everest in two years together with three Nepalese guides, officials said.
The six climbers reached the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak early Thursday and were heading to lower camps, said Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

The Brits are Kenton Cool and Robert Richard Lucas, and the Mexican is David Liano Gonzalez.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/mount-everest-climbers-two-britishers-mexican-foreigners-nepal-2796943/#sthash.24u3sktf.dpuf

Two British and a Mexican climber on Thursday became the first foreigners to scale Mount Everest in two years together with three Nepalese guides, officials said.

The six climbers reached the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak early Thursday and were heading to lower camps, said Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

The Brits are Kenton Cool and Robert Richard Lucas, and the Mexican is David Liano Gonzalez.
Source:http://indianexpress.com

Google's own interpretation of Amazon's Echo is coming soon

All of a sudden, it's as if everyone is working on voice-controlled personal assistants, and reports suggest that Google's version of something similar to Amazon's Echo could land as soon as the Google I/O event next week -- which would make sense. According to sources at Recode, it's currently being developed under the codename, Chirp.

Interestingly, Nest (now a part of the same company) shied away from the idea of an Echo like device, citing privacy concerns about talking to Google, its search engine, algorithms and other internet magicks. Recode's sources suggest voice search and intelligent responses from your Google devices will be the centerpiece of Google's showcase, alongside virtual reality developments. Okay, Google. Show us what you've got.

Source : http://www.engadget.com/

SC on Subrata Roy's wealth: Why is such a rich person not paying dues?

The Supreme Court on Wednesday was surprised at the extent of wealth Sahara group's chief Subrata Roy has and wondered why "such a rich person didn't pay a fraction of wealth and stayed in jail for two years".

The court was hearing a plea to extend the parole of Roy, who is now out from jail after his mother's death. During the proceedings, Sahara's counsel Kapil Sibal submitted details of all the properties of the Sahara group in India and abroad in a sealed cover and requested the court not to disclose the details of properties.
Subrata Roy.

Subrata Roy.

On May 6, the court had directed release of Roy on parole for four weeks to attend rituals following the death of his mother Chhabi Roy and allowed him to visit Haridwar and Ganga Sagar for the rites and ceremonies.

Prior to this, the bench had directed the Sahara group to furnish details of all its properties in a sealed cover to ascertain the fact as to whether they are sufficient for paying back the entire amount to the investors.

Roy has been in Tihar jail since March 4, 2014, on the orders of the apex court in relation to a long running dispute with market regulator SEBI.

The bench comprising chief justice T S Thakur and justices A R Dave and A K Sikri, which eventually gave relief to Roy on Wednesday, noted that the fresh list of properties provided in the sealed cover speaks that "value of your properties was far more than your liability".

When the court saw the list of Roy's assets it expressed surprise why "such a rich person didn't pay a fraction of wealth and stayed in jail for two years."

"Why person with this kind of fortune shall be hesitant to make payment," the bench asked.

Sibal replied, "What is your fear? I will run away. I am going to give an undertaking that I will get Rs 500 crore in two months."

Seeking extension of interim parole for Roy till August 4, Sibal said the Sahara chief has already spent more than two years in jail and his client was ready to give an undertaking that he would pay a substantial amount of money in a span of 180 days.

"We have already suffered a lot. We have learnt the lesson. We have done everything we could do. We have even authorised SEBI to sell our properties at circle rates. Give us an opportunity. Give me a chance, I will arrange the money once I come out," Sibal said.

According to a report in the Times of India, Sibal submitted two checks - of Rs 500 crore that can be encashed in August and another Rs 4,500 crore as a guarantee. However, the court finally

However, the court finally gave Roy extension until 11 July and asked him to pay up Rs 200 crore to Sebi before that date. If he fails to do this, he will have to surrender and go back to jail. The court has also allowed him to travel anywhere in India.

The court's surprise is understandable. But, as R Jagannathan said in an earlier article in the Firstpost, in the case of Sahara there are always more questions than answers.

"...The group primarily operates in areas where regulation is weak or where regulators are not sure of their jurisdiction. Sahara has also been very nimble about shifting from one regulatory jurisdiction to another in order to stay ahead of the law-enforcers. What is crystal clear is that the group is primarily into money-raising schemes that operate on the edges of the law," he had pointed out in the copy arguing that it is a fit case for an SIT investigation.

Remember, the group's claim that it had repaid most of the investors in the illegal OFCD had raised many an eye brow in 2012.

In August 2011, the group was to pay back Rs 24,029 crore to 29.6 million investors. But in just one year, the group claimed that it has paid up and the amount is just Rs 5,120 crore. This revelation had raised suspicion as it came just before the Supreme Court order of August 2012 that barred the group from making any refunds directly to the investors.

How did the group manage to decrease the amount to be repaid to just Rs 5,120 crore in just one year? This remains a mistery even now.

In other words, the Supreme Court has just added one more to the list of unanswered questions about a group mired in mistery and controversy.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com

Call Drops: Airtel Announces Self Regulation on Service Quality

A day after the apex court waived call drop penalties from telecom service providers, Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced a 25 percent more stringent voluntary call drop benchmark.

It said in a statement it has set a benchmark of 1.5 percent for mobile call drops against the current Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) prescribed norm of 2 percent under the quality of service regulations.

"Based on the calculation of the call drop rate during network busy hour on a monthly average, any amount calculated for exceeding the 1.5 percent voluntary benchmark, subject to a maximum of Rs.100 crore per annum, will be contributed by Airtel towards the education of underprivileged children in rural areas," the statement said.

After the Supreme Court verdict on Wednesday, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "Consumers expect mobile operators to provide good services. I as the minister will keep a check that they are doing it."

"At Airtel, we are absolutely passionate about serving our customers and have deployed globally benchmarked technologies and processes. This self-regulation on Quality of Service further underlines our commitment to our customers despite the challenges of limited spectrum availability and acquisition of sites in urban areas," said Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel.

"We have already rolled out Project Leap, our pan-India network transformation programme, under which we transparently report our site deployments and invite our customers to log their network issues and site requirements," he added.

Following the new benchmark, Airtel will contribute Rs.1 lakh for every 0.01 percent increase in call drop rate beyond 1.5 percent every month in each circle of operation, the statement said.

"Airtel has decided to apply this standard benchmark across the country despite the constraint of difficult operating conditions in some areas, in particular hilly regions such as Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and North East," it added.

Airtel's mobile network in India serves over 250 million subscribers across the country.

Download the Gadgets 360 app for Android and iOS to stay up to date with the latest tech news, product reviews, and exclusive deals on the popular mobiles.

Source: http://gadgets.ndtv.com

Google bans 'deceptive' payday loan adverts from search results

Google is banning adverts for payday lenders from its search results, adding the short-term loan industry to a blacklist that includes guns, tobacco and drugs, and dealing a bitter blow to the industry.

The internet giant announced that from mid-July it would ban payday loans from its AdWords system that displays adverts at the top of search results.

The move cuts off a crucial channel for many online-only lenders. Google’s dominant search engine is a key online storefront, with lenders bidding fiercely against each other for a prime position at the top of its results.

The announcement added to a series of setbacks to the industry, which has been criticised for extortionate interest rates and predatory behaviour. Since 2014 lenders have been limited in the interest rates and additional fees they are allowed to charge, and the number of short term loans has subsequently slumped.
"These loans can result in unaffordable payment and high default rates for users"Google's David Graff

Although Google’s policies prohibit a long list of illegal or offensive practices, it is very rare for a licensed and regulated industry to be expressly blacklisted.

“When reviewing our policies, research has shown that these loans can result in unaffordable payment and high default rates for users so we will be updating our policies globally to reflect that,” Google’s director of global product policy David Graff said.

“This change is designed to protect our users from deceptive or harmful financial products.” He said any loans where repayment is due within 60 days would be banned.



The move was instantly criticised by the Consumer Finance Association (CFA), which represents short-term lenders.

“UK consumers enjoy a vibrant, highly competitive credit market and we will be interested to read the evidence that Google uses to justify overruling open market advertising of a legal, regulated industry to deny people freedom of choice,” the CFA’s chief executive Russell Hamblin-Boone said.

“Short term loans are a legal source of credit used by millions of people across the UK and the industry is highly regulated with a cap on the total cost of credit.”

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

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Expect unconditional apology, not silence, CM Chandy to PM Modi after Somalia remark

Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced more heat on Thursday for comparing Kerala to Somalia with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy saying people of the state expected an unconditional apology from him and not his silence after it whipped up a controversy.

The comparison made by Modi at a poll rally in the state early this week when he said the “infant mortality rate among the scheduled tribe community in Kerala is worse than Somalia” has set off a political storm and triggered criticism in the social media.

Twitter users have responded with hashtag #PoMoneModi (Get lost Modi), a take off from the Mohanlal starrer, which features the famous punch line “Po Mone Dinesha” to ridicule some of the characters of his hit film ‘Narasimham’. Chandy flayed Modi for not withdrawing his controversial comment while CPI-M leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said his statement would result in a setback to BJP in the ensuing polls as it has insulted the people of the state. Kerala goes to polls on May 16.

In his Facebook post, Chandy said Modi had kept mum on the controversy and what Keralites want is not his silence, but an unconditional apology from the Prime Minister. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi left the election campaign rally without answering my questions. It could be due to the wide criticism he had received not only from the state, but also from Malayali community world over,” the senior Congress leader said.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to face impeachment trial

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is set to face trial after the Senate on Thursday voted to impeach and suspend her.

Fifty-five of the 81 members of Brazil's upper house voted in favour of the motion. Twenty-two voted against, BBC reported.

Rousseff, the country's first woman president, is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014, which she has denied.

Vice-President Michel Temer will now assume the presidency while Rousseff's trial takes place which may last upto 180 days, media reports said.

Rousseff made a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court on Wednesday to stop proceedings, but the move was rejected. Her suspension brings an end to 13 years of the rule of her Workers' Party.

The senators were each given 15 minutes to speak, with a buzzer indicating when their time was up. In total 71 of the house's 81 members spoke.

Former president Fernando Collor de Mello, himself impeached by the senate in 1992, said that he feels the country has "regressed politically", CNN reported.

His colleague Armando Monteiro said the impeachment was politically motivated and would set a dangerous precedence.

"We will, indeed, be promoting a rupture in the nation's institutional order."

Rousseff, who was first sworn into office in January 2011 and started a second term in 2015, has called the steps to remove her a "coup".

Rousseff has been also blamed for the worst recession since the 1930s, now in its second year.

Senator Waldemir Moka told the upper house during the motion that if the impeachment trial was successful, the future president would assume a government with a 250 billion Brazilian real debt ($72 billion) according to conservative projections, with the possibility of being up to 600 billion real ($174 billion).

Rousseff would be suspended during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro which starts on August 5.

When the investigation ends -- which could be as late as November -- the process would return to a special Senate committee.

At that point, Rousseff would have 20 days to present her case. Following that, the committee would vote on a final determination and then present it for a vote in the full senate.

It would take a two-thirds majority to then remove the president from office.

Source : http://www.business-standard.com

UPDATE 1-Uganda blocks social media, clamps down as president sworn in

May 12 Ugandan authorities blocked social media sites including Twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp on Thursday as President Yoweri Museveni was sworn in after a disputed re-election that led to a crackdown on dissent.

Museveni, 71, who took the oath of office at an event in Kampala, officially won 60 percent of the vote in the February ballot, extending his 30-year rule by another five years.

The opposition said the vote was rigged and protests broke out, leading to clashes with police and dozens of arrests.

Ugandan officials said it was free and fair, and dismiss accusations that they have clamped down on free speech.

On Wednesday, police arrested opposition leader Kizza Besigye after a street protest. Besigye, who heads the Forum for Democratic Change party, won 35 percent of the vote. He has been under house arrest on and off since then.

Godfrey Mutabazi, the executive director of Uganda's telecommunications regulator, said security agencies had asked access to social media websites to be blocked "to limit the possibility of terrorists taking advantage" of visits by dignitaries.

Uganda is hosting several heads of state for the ceremony.

Residents said the sites had been inaccessible since late Wednesday.

The authorities also blocked social media during voting and shortly afterwards, a move criticised at the time by the United States and rights groups, who said it undermined the integrity of the process.

EU monitors said the election was held in an intimidating atmosphere and the electoral body lacked independence and transparency.

The government has also banned live television or radio coverage of protests.

One mobile operator, South Africa's MTN Group, told customers in a message that social media had been temporarily blocked at the request of the authorities.

In the days leading up to Museveni's swearing-in, authorities also placed more security patrols on the streets of Kampala and residents said there was a strong presence of military and police on Thursday.

Opposition to the president is strongest among youths in urban areas, where frustration has been fuelled by unemployment, corruption and crumbling public services.

Since coming to power in 1986, Museveni has been credited with restoring order after years of chaotic rule.

The economy has been growing, but experts say it has failed to keep pace with the rising population, and critics also complain about Museveni's failure to stem corruption and a clampdown on opposition voices. (Additional reporting by Elias Biryabarema in Nairobi; Editing by Edmund Blair and John Stonestreet)

Source: http://in.reuters.com

Brazilian Senate set to launch Dilma Rousseff impeachment

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was only hours from possibly being suspended at the start of an impeachment trial Wednesday in a political crisis paralyzing Latin America's largest country.

Her government lawyer lodged a last-ditch appeal with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether the court would even respond in time.

Barring a dramatic twist in events, the Senate was to start debating impeachment at approximately 9:00 am, with voting expected either

Her government lawyer lodged a last-ditch appeal with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether the court would even respond in time.

Barring a dramatic twist in events, the Senate was to start debating impeachment at approximately 9:00 am, with voting expected either late at night or in the early hours of Thursday.

A majority of more than half of the senators in the 81-member chamber would trigger the opening of a trial and Rousseff's automatic suspension for up


A majority of more than half of the senators in the 81-member chamber would trigger the opening of a trial and Rousseff's automatic suspension for up to six months. In the final judgement, removing her from office would require a two-thirds majority.

She is accused of breaking budgetary laws by taking loans to boost public spending and mask the sinking state of the economy during her tight 2014 re-election campaign.


Rousseff says the accounting maneuvers were standard practice for many governments in the past and describes the impeachment as a coup mounted by her vice president, Michel Temer, who will take over if she is suspended.

A onetime Marxist guerrilla tortured under Brazil's military dictatorship in the 1970s, Rousseff therefore faces possibly her final day in power Wednesday.

Her official agenda released daily to the public contained a solitary item: "Internal paperwork."
Rousseff vows to resist.

"I am going to fight with all my strength, using all means available," she told a women's forum in Brasilia on Tuesday.

Rousseff called her opponents "people (who) can't win the presidency through a popular vote" and claimed they had a "project to dismantle" social gains made by millions of poor during 13 years of Workers' Party rule.

In an effort to cripple Temer's ambitions, Rousseff allies went to the top electoral court asking that the prob ..

The country's first female president has also become deeply unpopular with most Brazilians, who blame her for presiding over the recession and a massive corruption scandal centered on the state oil company Petrobras.

In an already chaotic week in which the interim speaker of the lower house tried to order the upper house to halt impeachment proceedings -- only to back down hours later -- there was no patching over the sprawling South American country's deep divisions.

Workers' Party faithful on Tuesday burned tires and blocked roads in Brasilia and in Sao Paulo in a potential taste of more street trouble to come.

Lawmaker Jose Guimaraes, a Rousseff ally, said that despite almost certain defeat in the initial Senate vote, the impeachment trial itself would be an all-out fight.

"We will have 180 days in the Senate, talking with every one of them, to get them to change their minds," he told journalists, warning that "our main fight today will b ..

Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

slamic State detonates car bomb in Baghdad market, kills 45

An explosives-laden car bomb ripped through a commercial area in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 45 people and wounding dozens in an attack that was swiftly claimed by the extremist Islamic State group.

Shortly after the explosion, one of the deadliest recently in the Iraqi capital, the Sunni extremist group — which sees Shiite Muslims as apostates — said it was behind the assault. IS said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, but Iraqi officials denied that.
Security forces and citizens inspect the scene after a car bomb explosion at a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad. AP

Security forces and citizens inspect the scene after a car bomb explosion at a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad. AP

The bombing showed that while IS has suffered a number of territorial defeats in the past year, the militants are still capable of launching significant attacks across the country. They also have recently stepped-up assaults inside Baghdad, something officials say is an attempt to distract from their recent battlefield defeats.

Wednesday's bomb struck a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad's eastern district of Sadr City, two police officials said, adding that the blast also wounded up to 65 people, several seriously, prompting fears the death toll could rise further.

Ambulances rushed to the scene where dozens of residents walked through the twisted and mangled wreckage of cars and other debris that littered the pavement, trying to help the victims. The street was stained red with blood in many places and front-side facades of several buildings were heavily damaged. Smoke billowed from ground-level stores gutted out by the explosion.

Karim Salih, a 45-year old grocer, said the bomb was a pickup truck loaded with fruits and vegetables that was parked by a man who quickly disappeared among the crowds of people.

"It was such a thunderous explosion that jolted the ground," Salih told The Associated Press.

"The force of the explosion threw me for meters (yards) away and I lost consciousness for a few minutes," the merchant added. He suffered no injuries, but two of his workers were wounded.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the car bomb. AP

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the car bomb. AP

Four medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to release the information to reporters.

In its online statement, IS said it had carried out a suicide attack that targeted a gathering of Shiite militiamen. The AP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the claim but it appeared on a website commonly used by the Sunni militants.

IS also a controls significant area in northern and western Iraq, including Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul. Commercial and public places in Shiite-dominated areas are among the most frequent targets for the Sunni militants seeking to undermine Iraqi government efforts to maintain security inside the capital.

In February, the group carried out devastating back-to-back market bombings in Sadr City, the stronghold of followers of an influential Shiite cleric. That attack claimed the lives of at least 73 people.

According to the United Nations, at least 741 Iraqis were killed in April due to ongoing violence. The U.N. mission to Iraq put the number of civilians killed at 410, while the rest it said were members of the security forces. A total of 1,374 Iraqis were wounded that month, UNAMI said.

In March, at least 1,119 people were killed and 1,561 wounded in the ongoing violence.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com

Xiaomi Mi Max: Top 5 Features of Xiaomi's Largest Smartphone

Xiaomi launched its largest display smartphone on Tuesday, the Mi Max. Featuring a 6.44-inch display, the smartphone is available in three variants, ranging from a 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage model up to a 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage model.

China and its massive adoption of large-screen smartphones, or phablets as they are called, was single-handedly responsible for making Apple reverse its decision on smartphone display sizes being limited to 4 inches. It's in this phablet-obsessed market that Xiaomi has launched its largest smartphone till date.

(Also see: Xiaomi Mi Max Full Specifications)

The company says the "supersized screen" on the Xiaomi Mi Max makes it ideal for watching movies and TV shows on the go. We take a look at the new smartphone from the Chinese manufacturer, and try to single out its top features.

Large display
Of course, without question, the top feature of the Mi Max is its large display. The 6.44-inch screen features a full-HD resolution of 1080x1920 pixels, and comes with a Sunlight Display mode that enhances legibility even under harsh sunlight. The company is also touting a night reading mode, apart from the "dynamic global pixel adjustment".

Large battery
Of course, with such a large display, a large battery would also be required. The Xiaomi Mi Max bears a 4850mAh battery, the highest capacity battery on any of the company's smartphones. While Xiaomi has not provided detailed battery life figures, it says the battery can support up to 14 hours of streaming video (via Wi-Fi) on a single charge.

High-res camera
The Xiaomi Mi Max features a 16-megapixel rear camera with a 5-lens setup and a large f/2.0 aperture. It is accompanied by a dual-tone flash, and supports phase detection autofocus (PDAF) apart from HDR. The front-facing camera on the other hand sports a 5-megapixel sensor, and is accompanied by the same large f/2.0 aperture apart from an 85-degree wide-angle lens.

Slim build
While not especially slim for a phablet - after all, as the size of the smartphone increases, it is easier to space out components to keep thickness in check - the Xiaomi Mi Max is just 7.5mm thick. This was touted by CEO Jun Lei ahead of the launch as well, and should be useful in slipping the massive phone away into a pocket.

Fingerprint sensor, infrared emitter
Once again, while the fingerprint scanner is by no means an extraordinary addition in the smartphone segment, the inclusion of the sensor on the Mi Max will be useful for users, from authorising online payments to unlocking the smartphone. The Mi Max also comes with an infrared emitter, which can be used as a universal remote controller - a handy feature.

Honourable mentions
Other standout features of the Xiaomi Mi Max that didn't make the list include the presence of 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in the top variant, the ability to expand storage via a microSD card, as well as VoLTE connectivity.

SOurce: http://gadgets.ndtv.com

Donald Trump, Bucking Calls to Unite, Claims ‘Mandate’ to Be Provocative

Donald J. Trump’s behavior in recent days — the political threats to the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan; the name-calling on Twitter; the attacks on Hillary Clinton’s marriage — has deeply puzzled Republicans who expected him to move to unite the party, start acting presidential and begin courting the female voters he will need in the general election.

But Mr. Trump’s choices reflect an unusual conviction: He said he had a “mandate” from his supporters to run as a fiery populist outsider and to rely on his raucous rallies to build support through “word of mouth,” rather than to embrace a traditional, mellower and more inclusive approach that congressional Republicans will advocate in meetings with him on Thursday.

Mr. Trump’s strategy is replete with risks. Roughly 60 percent of Americans view him negatively, according to pollsters, who say more-of-the-same Trump is not likely to improve those numbers. While a majority of Republican primary voters said they were looking for a political outsider, Mr. Trump will face a majority of voters in November who prefer a candidate with political experience, according to primary exit polls and several national polls. Many Republicans think they will lose the presidency and seats in the House and Senate if he continues using language that offends women and some racial and religious groups.

Still, Mr. Trump’s message, tone and policy ideas have drawn followers who are more passionate than Republican nominees typically enjoy, and he has monopolized the political conversation and news coverage of the race. Some Republicans argue that he cannot afford to change his stripes too much, while strategists in both parties say he is shrewdly sticking with a style that drowns out attacks that could deepen his negative rating.

“His rally rants and Twitter brawls are meant to dominate the media coverage and public conversation so that Democratic challenges have less space to break through all of the noise,” said Guy Cecil, the chief strategist and co-chairman of Priorities USA, the “super PAC” supporting Mrs. Clinton. “He doesn’t want people talking about his record or positions.”

Mr. Trump, in a telephone interview, compared his candidacy to hit Broadway shows and championship baseball teams, saying that success begot success and that he would be foolish to change his behavior now.

“You win the pennant and now you’re in the World Series — you gonna change?” Mr. Trump said. “People like the way I’m doing.”
Graphic: Why Republicans in Congress Are Opposing or Supporting Trump

He argued that he stood a better chance of inspiring voters in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania if he was his authentic self, rather than shifting from populist outsider to political insider to please a relative handful of Republican elites who are part of the establishment he has railed against for months. He said his huge rallies, where outbursts of violence and racist taunts have vexed many Republican leaders, and his attacks against adversaries on Twitter and in television interviews would continue because he believes Americans admire his aggressive, take-charge style.
Continue reading the main story
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“I think I have a mandate from the people,” Mr. Trump continued, referring to his victories in 29 states, including Nebraska and West Virginia on Tuesday night. “The people are tired of incompetent leadership at the highest level. They’re tired of trade deals that are ripping our jobs apart and taking their wages.”

Mandates are usually claimed after a presidential candidate wins a general election, not a party nomination, but part of Mr. Trump’s style and strategy is to project a supreme confidence in himself and his popularity with voters. Several Republicans said they put little stock in his claim, arguing that he had won support from only a fraction of the electorate and that he had yet to prove he was worthy of leading the entire Republican Party, rather than just his fractious and highly visible wing.

“Donald Trump did earn a mandate from Republican primary voters,” said Senator Patrick J. Toomey, a Republican facing a tough re-election fight in Pennsylvania, whose primary Mr. Trump won with 57 percent of the vote. “My advice to him is that he should now consider how he will appeal to the many Republican and non-Republican voters who have serious concerns about his candidacy.”

Former Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire said that electoral mandates were a fallacy in American politics, and that leaders only did well when they focused on “ideas in the center that unite people.”

“I don’t even think the 1980 Reagan landslide gave Reagan a mandate,” said Mr. Gregg, whose state gave Mr. Trump his first win in the primaries, and who has not decided if he will follow through on his pledge to support the Republican nominee. “He was effective because the country was in terrible shape and he was able to bring large numbers of people behind his ideas. Trump hasn’t done that.”

But Patrick J. Buchanan, the conservative commentator and past presidential candidate, said Mr. Trump was rallying historic numbers of voters with a mix of conservative ideas and anti-establishment populism that evoked, among other politicians, Ross Perot and his magnetic appeal in the 1992 campaign. Mr. Perot lost, of course, but Mr. Buchanan said that Mr. Trump might stand a better chance.

“With the largest Republican turnout ever, Trump eliminated 16 rivals and is on track to winning more votes than any Republican nominee in history,” Mr. Buchanan said. “That gives him a mandate to lead the Republican Party and move ahead with his plans to secure the border, pull back from foreign interventions and wars, and end these terrible trade deals.”
The Electoral Map Looks Challenging for Trump

With many Republican leaders and elected officials torn between supporting their presumptive nominee and withholding their endorsement as leverage, Mr. Trump sounded torn himself. He said he wanted party unity but was unwilling to abandon the brand of politics and communication that has energized many Americans and divided others. He described his eight million followers on Twitter as a singular “advantage” and indicated that their support mattered more to him than the backing of Mr. Ryan, whose statement last week that he was “not ready” to endorse Mr. Trump led to the meetings Mr. Ryan is organizing on Thursday.

David Winston, a Republican pollster who worked on Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign in 2012, said Mr. Trump was putting himself at a severe disadvantage in the general election.

“At this point, at a minimum, he’s at least 50 million voters short of what he’s going to need,” Mr. Winston said. “He has created an interesting dynamic in that, during the course of the campaign, he was basically calling those individuals names, which didn’t endear him to their supporters.”

Uniting people behind Mr. Trump is “eminently doable, but it will take significant focus,” he said.

In Mr. Trump’s view, the rallies and the Twitter wars — even when he is punching down against a little-known evangelical leader (Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention) and a cable talk show host (Joe Scarborough of MSNBC), as he did recently — are crowd-pleasers, creating buzz that is critical to dominating the political landscape and overshadowing Mrs. Clinton’s message and attacks. Last week, he kept his commitments for rallies in Nebraska, Oregon and Washington State, even though he already had a lock on the nomination.

“In a Broadway theater, the best, the best, absolute best sale is called ‘word of mouth,’ ” said Mr. Trump, who once dabbled in theater producing. “If people love a Broadway show, it’s better than if you write a good review. Word of mouth is the No. 1 thing. And the word of mouth at my rallies is like, ‘You’ve got to go see it.’ And, you know, one person goes and they talk about it to 20 people.”

Over the coming weeks, Mr. Trump will offer policy speeches, including one on law and order, and another on judges — the latter being, in part, a response to conservatives who have said he cannot be trusted to pick Supreme Court justices.

But Mr. Trump is reluctant to trade in pitchfork populism for something more demure. He was gleeful, in fact, that so much attention was being paid to his Capitol Hill meetings on Thursday.

“Somebody said the paparazzi is going crazy over that meeting,” he said.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com

Is the worst behind Axis Bank post disclosure?

Some of the private sector banks are increasingly looking like public sector ones. After ICICI Bank declared that Rs 44,000 crore are at risk of turning toxic, it was the turn of Axis Bank to declare that it was monitoring Rs 22,600 crore worth of assets, 60% of which can turn non-performing. The result: ICICI Bank reacted negatively to the disclosure, but Axis Bank trades higher.

Part of the reason for no reaction in the market is that the news was already discounted because the disclosure was made at the time of results in April. Further, the maximum stress in Axis Bank’s books is in the power and iron and steel sector. Most of the issues in the power sector are sorted out, especially on the environment and fuel availability fronts. Similarly, iron and steel sector is in a revival mode with the government imposing heavy import duties on cheap imports from China, Japan and South Korea.

According to veteran banker KV Kamath,  the economic growth and asset resolution will take care of the challenge. Kamath pointed out that China, nearly 13 years back, had a non-performing asset of nearly 50% of its GDP. India’s NPAs were then only 5 to 10%, the same proportion as of now.

Indian banks have been disclosing their non-performing assets that were earlier hidden. The sharp rise in provisioning by banks across the board in the final quarter is a result of the change in norms.

In a conference call with analysts, Axis Bank said they are maintaining provision coverage of 70% which adds up to Rs 9,000 crore, much higher than the average of Rs 2,208 crore. Axis Bank’s management pointed out that there is scope of NPA’s increasing from outside the watch list. Accretion to the list can be from small and medium enterprises books and the retail book.

Motilal Oswal, in a note on the bank’s results, has said that with the disclosures, Axis Bank has identified nearly 14% of corporate loans as additional stress. Giving some colour to the watchlist, Motilal Oswal’s report points out that nearly 79% of these loans were disbursed between FY10 to FY12 and 17% were prior to FY09. Iron and steel account for 24% while Power accounts for 23%.

But what is worrying is that out of the known ‘leveraged groups’, nearly 75% of them are outside the watch list. Also, 28 per cent of loans of restructured assets are not in the list.

So is the worst behind Axis Bank now that it has transparently declared its problem assets?

As in the case of ICICI Bank, analysts downgraded their earnings estimate of Axis Bank. Motilal Oswal has downgraded its earnings estimates by 10% for the present fiscal and the next. But given the strength of the bank’s network and presence, the research firm says that the bank is geared up to ride the next growth cycle. Its strong presence in the retail and SME (small and medium enterprises), strong capitalisation of 12.5% and expanding liability franchise makes it rightly positioned to catch the next wave of growth.

Analysts have appreciated the transparency shown by the bank. Angel Broking in its note says that the disclosure by the bank gives better clarity on earnings going ahead; further, the core business of the bank continues to grow strong.

In the analyst community, all seems to have been forgiven for Axis Bank.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com

Google proposes new set of emoji to better represent professional women

A team of four Google employees has developed a set of 13 emoji designed to better represent women in the professional world. In a presentation to the Unicode Consortium, the body that approves and standardizes emoji, the team says the new emoji depict "a wide range of professions for women and men, with a goal of highlighting the diversity of women's careers and empowering girls everywhere."

These aren't just female versions of existing male emoji. The Google team is proposing that new male and female emoji be displayed by combining characters that are already in place; for example, a female farmer would be coded under the hood as woman plus tractor, while a male surgeon would be man plus hospital. The professional fields include business, healthcare, science, education, technology, industry, farming, food service, and music, with the latter category featuring an homage to the late David Bowie.

the Google team cites a recent New York Times op-ed called "Emoji Feminism" as capturing the motivation behind its work, quoting the following excerpt:

    "Where, I wanted to know, was the fierce professor working her way to tenure? Where was the lawyer? The accountant? The surgeon? How was there space for both a bento box and a single fried coconut shrimp, and yet women were restricted to a smattering of tired, beauty-centric roles? This was not a problem for our male emoji brethren. Men were serving on the police force, working construction and being Santa. Meanwhile, on our phones, it was Saturday at the Mall of America —” women shopping while men wrote the checks."

"We believe we can have a larger positive impact by adding 13 new emoji that depict women across a representative sample of professions," the Google team writes. "We believe this will empower young women (the heaviest emoji users), and better reflect the pivotal roles women play in the world."

The team says it would like to get the new emoji standardized by the end of 2016, and it probably has a good shot of achieving that goal — one member, Mark Davis, is co-founder and president of the Unicode Consortium.

Source: http://www.theverge.com

Cong has lost confidence of people in Uttarakhand: BJP

With its hopes of wresting power in Uttarakhand dashed, BJP today lashed out Congress and Rahul Gandhi, saying he should not give sermons as his party has "murdered" democracy by "paying off" legislators and has "lost" the confidence of the people of the state. "Congress, which is a murderer of democracy, is undemocratic and is a champion of corruption, should not give sermons to BJP on democracy. Congress has lost the confidence of people of Uttarakhand by purchasing the majority in the state assembly," BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma alleged.

He said Congress has not just lost its MLAs, but also the confidence of the people of the state, who will give a "befitting" reply to it in the next assembly elections slated a few months away.

"The people will give a befitting reply to Congress for the insult heaped on them," he told reporters.

Sharma claimed the constitutional crisis in Uttarakhand was created because of Congress' "anti-people" policies and due to "anger" of its leaders against the party's central leadership.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today termed Rawat's reinstatement as a victory of democracy and voiced hoped that the Prime Minister will "learn the lesson".

"They (BJP) did their worst. We did our best. Democracy won in Uttarakhand.

"Hope the PM learns the lesson that people of India and institutions built by our founding fathers will not tolerate murder of democracy," Rahul said on Twitter.

Attacking Rahul Gandhi, the BJP leader said, "Congress leadership does not meet its own leaders and Chief Ministers, but spends time with anti-national elements who raise anti-India slogans."

Sharma also questioned Rahul for his "silence" on the sting videos purportedly showing Harish Rawat and said "it was shameful" as Congress has "looted" the state.

The BJP leader also accused Rawat of having "sold out Dev Bhoomi" for saving his own chair in the state and for "paying off" lakhs and crores to legislators. "Congress is celebrating today as it is hoping to clean the muck of corruption that it is embroiled in.

"The sting videos have shown how Harish Rawat was paying his MLAs to save his own chair, which made it clear that he trying to sell Uttarakhand," he alleged.

Rawat yesterday won the trust vote in the Assembly and the Supreme Court today put its stamp on it, clearing the decks for his reinstatement.
It was a setback for BJP which had earlier claimed that Rawat would lose the trust vote and it will form government in the state. SKC RT

Source: TOI

UK's refusal to deport Vijay Mallya is a big setback for the Modi government

The decision of the UK government to turn down India’s request to deport liquor-baron Vijay Mallya is a big blow to the Narendra-Modi government and kills any remaining hope for 17 banks, including State Bank of India, to get back Rs 9,000 crore Mallya’s grounded airline, Kingfisher owes to them. This is a classic case of banks and investigative agencies acting too late in a high profile case and ending up letting the defaulter escape the law.

This is also a egg on the face of Modi government, which has hurriedly taken up the issue at bilateral level even before making a foolproof case against Mallya.
Vijay Mallya. Reuters

Vijay Mallya. Reuters

As Firstpost highlighted from the very beginning, the Modi government hurried in this case taking it to a bilateral level even before making a foolproof case against Mallya. It is too difficult to handle now and would even raise questions on the bilateral commitment between India and UK on the cooperation of dealing with offenders.

Mallya has been defiant to the threats of the Indian government to deport him and arrest him in the case and is least shaken even after multiple courts have issued arrest warrants against him in cheque-bouncing cases. This was evident from the tycoon’s interview to UK based Financial Times, where he said ‘they aren’t getting any money by arresting me’ and he is more than happy to stay safe in the UK as the outcry in the UK continues.

Though the UK has offered India further assistance in the case asking the country to request extradition, it wouldn’t be easy for India. Extradition from the UK is a too difficult a process and Mallya can easily fight his case in the UK courts.

If one goes by reports, there are around 131 extradition requests from India in the UK, which involves even wanted criminals. Chances are very little that India can make a convincing case for Mallya’s extradition given that it doesn’t have a foolproof case against him beyond loan default and alleged financial fraud.

Legal experts point out several cases in the past where the Indian government has failed to bring back absconders and criminals (Iqbal Mirchi, Nadeem Saifi and Abu Salem). For someone like Mallya, it wouldn’t be difficult to seek asylum using his money power. This is why the case is going out of hands of India government, which has hurried to take up the case at a bilateral government level before gathering convincing evidences against Mallya.

There is apparent difference between India’s investigating agencies — the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the Mallya case.

While the government’s action of cancelling Mallya’s passport and seeking his deportation from UK was primarily due to pressure from ED, CBI has largely remained silent on the case.

Even if India manages to get back Mallya from the UK, it would be difficult to nail him in the court of law unless there is strong evidence of fund diversion by the promoter.

What makes the case even more difficult is the fact that a section of banks, including IDBI, in the lender consortium, has so far maintained that there is no evidence of fund diversion to abroad by Mallya as alleged by ED.

On the whole, this case is going in the Lalit Modi way, where India’s chances are pretty less to get the alleged offender back. Chances of Mallya never returning to the country cannot be ruled out since this case grown far beyond the definitions of a typical banker-borrower default for Modi government, hence the government is politically responsible to take follow up actions.

The possibility of a friendly settlement in the Kiingfisher case is absent since banks have twice rejected Mallya’s offer for partial payment.

The onus, as mentioned earlier, lies on the government and its investigating agencies for letting Mallya flee the country just in time to escape the proceedings of the law. When Mallya left on 2 March, there were already investigations on against him and banks were on the final stages of moving to Supreme Court to seek his detention.

There is very less probability of banks getting back their Rs 9,000 crores form Mallya now, which is ultimately a loss to the taxpayer. There is all probability that the Mallya episode would turn into another version of Lait Modi case.

If Mallya is a lost case for the Indian government, the ones to be blamed are the banks and investigating agencies for acting too late in this case, and the government for acting prematurely. The whole episode raises more questions than answers.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com

WhatsApp desktop for Mac and Windows arrive: Here’s how to get started

Whatsapp has now introduced a desktop app which will be available for both Windows and Mac. The WhatsApp desktop client will offer all the same features and shortcuts, which we have already seen on WhatsApp for Web. However, the difference is the fact that the new app will not depend on the mobile version of the communication platform.

WhatsApp stated in a blogpost, “Today we’re introducing a desktop app so you have a new way to stay in touch anytime and anywhere – whether on your phone or computer at home or work. Like WhatsApp Web, our desktop app is simply an extension of your phone: the app mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device.”

To download the app, visit WhatsApp’s blog from a desktop browser. Open the app and scan the QR code using the WhatsApp app on a smartphone. You can look for WhatsApp Web menu under Settings.

The desktop app is available for systems running Windows 8+ and Mac OS 10.9+ and gets synced with WhatsApp on one’s smartphone. It is because that the app runs natively on the desktop, users will get support for native desktop notifications, better keyboard shortcuts, and more.

WhatsApp has been all over the news for a while now. The company is indeed ramping up it’s service and introducing tons of new features. Along with the rumoured call back button, zip file sharing support and voicemail, WhatsApp is also rumoured to be working on video calls, NFC tags and group invites too. According to Android Police, video calls are coming very soon to WhatsApp, but whether they will be rolled out to beta participants only, to everyone, or as the same silly invite-like system of voice calls, is yet unknown.

In addition, the leak reveal the option to send group invites via links and NFC tags. WhatsApp is also trying out ways with which members of a limited group can invite other WhatsApp users to join as well. Recently, a report by PhoneRadar stated that WhatsApp for iOS and Android will now get a “Call Back” that will show notifications for a missed call with a call back button. With this new addition, a user will be able to dial back, without opening WhatsApp.

WhatsApp will also introduce voicemail for iOS devices. The new “Record Voice Mail” and “Send Voice Mail” buttons will soon allow users to send a voice mail during a call itself. One can also expect the voicemail to record and share in-call audio.

Source: http://tech.firstpost.com

UPSC declares Final Result of Civil Services Examination 2015, Tina Dabi secures 1st rank

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) declared the final result of Civil Services Examination 2015 on Tuesday.

The first position was secured by Tina Dabi (roll no 0256747), followed by Aamir Ul Shari Khan Akthar (0058239) and Jasmeet Singh Sandhu (00105512) in second and third positions respectively. The full list is available on upsc.gov.in

The final merit list was prepared based on the results of the written examination held in December, 2015 and the interviews for Personality Test held in March-May, 2016.

A total of 1078 candidates have been recommended for appointment to Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Central Services, Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’.



Breakup as per category: 499 (General), 314 (OBC), 76 (SC) and 89 (ST)

Source: http://zeenews.india.com