IPL Season 9 : Sunrisers Hyderabad Emerges As The Winner

Helmand: More than 50 Afghan police officers have been killed over the past two days in heavy fighting around the capital of the southern province of Helmand, officials say.

Helmand, with its strategic location, has been the scene of major attacks by the Taliban over the past year. As many as 24 officers were killed on Monday, and another 33 on Sunday, regional police commander Esmatullah Dawlatzai told Reuters news agency. Nearly 40 others were injured, he added. Taliban fighters have managed to enter the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, and residents could hear the sound of heavy gunfire and artillery throughout the night.

Mohammed Kareem Atal, Helmand member of parliament, said, “The situation is not good, we can hear the sound of guns just outside the city, and Taliban now operate within two kms of the city.” He said four government posts have fallen to the Taliban, as the fighters are trying to cut off the main road to the capital Kabul and the neighboring province of Kandahar. “The army is using helicopter gunships to support the ground forces. They have so far managed to retake one fallen post, and we are waiting for reinforcement to arrive from Kabul,” Kareem Atal added.

The areas hit by the latest fighting are Greshk, Nad Ali, and Nahr-e Saraj, which neighbor the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah to the north and west. A charity hospital in Lashkar Gah said it had treated at least 40 injured, among them 30 civilians and 10 security forces. Afghan officials have taken steps to recapture the lost areas, said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Anti-Corruption Bureau Files Case Against Chhagan Bhujbal & 11 Others

Mumbai: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a fresh case against former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and 11 others, including his four family members, for allegedly amassing Rs 203 crore disproportionate to known sources of his income, a police officer said today. 

The FIR was filed by ACB yesterday, in which Bhujbal, his wife Meena, son Pankaj, daughter-in-law Vishakha and nephew Sameer, have been named as accused, the officer said. 

Chartered accountants Sunil Naik and Chandrashekar Sarda, hawala operator Suresh Jajodia, directors of Bhujbal’s companies Pravinkumar Jain and Jagdishprasad Purohit, financial advisor Sanjeev Jain, and chief managing director of Snehal Cooperative Ltd Kapil Puri have also been named as other accused in the FIR, he said.  While investigating the alleged offences of cheating, forgery and corruption against Chhagan Bhujbal in two cases — Central Library land scam and Maharashtra Sadan scam — ACB further found “ill-gotten” wealth, after which the fresh FIR was filed. 

In the FIR, the anti-graft agency said that the amassed assets were beyond the known income sources. The official said ACB had carried out searches at Chhagan Bhujbal’s houses and offices and recovered documents showing properties at several places in the city, satellite cities of Mumbai as well as at Pune, Lonavala and Nashik. 

According to the investigators, Bhujbal, along with Pankaj, Sameer and Naik, had allegedly opened bogus companies for money laundering, police said.  In February this year, ACB had filed a charge sheet against Bhujbal and his kin in the multi-crore rupee Maharashtra Sadan construction scam. Subsequently, Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the Chhagan Bhujbal, the senior NCP leader, and Sameer in a money laundering case connected to the scam. Both of them are currently lodged at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai.

E-Raajas to Revolutionize Kolkata’s Rickshaw Business

Kolkata: City based Nezone Group and leading moulded plastic maker Ok Play has forged a partnership to manufacture indigenous e-rickshaws. Known as E-Raaja, these new line-up of rickshaws is a type of electric rickshaw and it is also an advertisement for the Made in India campaign.

Nezone group managing director M L Beswal said, “We have collaborated with Ok Play to manufacture eastern region’s first ICAT (International Centre for Automotive Technology) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) approved e-rickshaw.”

According to estimates, over a lakh e-rickshaws are plying across the state, most of which are either built with Chinese components and are unable to meet regulatory requirements.

PSU banks have also approved this product which will help buyers to get subsidized Mudra scheme loan to purchase the vehicle.

This is a complete green vehicle as even components used for body are all UV stable plastic body which is non-polluting, long lasting and edge free, Nezone officials said.

Feasibility is being carried out to make solar powered e-rickshaw as well, Benswal said. He said if some direct fiscal benefit scheme is offered by the West Bengal government it would help in quick switchover to authorized e-rickshaw in the state.

The Delhi government has announced a subsidy of Rs 15,000 per e-rickshaw. The Maharashtra government has waived registration charges on such vehicles. Several state governments have waived VAT on e-rickshaws. The union government has reduced central excise to six percent on these battery operated vehicles.

Today #EXIN Fashion We share the evolve & types of cotton sarees

Indian Sarees are illustrious among women across the world. The main forte of wearing a Saree is that it accentuates the beauty of a woman. Generally, the length of Saree is between 5 to 5 and half meters. According to their ethnicity and customs, Indian women wear the Saree in different styles.

The Saree has its birth in both South and North India. The word 'sari' was taken from the Prakrit word 'sattika' as written in the most primitive Jain and Buddhist texts. The first known portrayal of the saree in Indian is the figurine of an Indus valley priest wearing a drape.

The Cotton printed sarees gives a pure comforting ease. Cotton Sarees are the most preferred sarees for Indian Women. You can exploit cotton sarees in your every day wear especially during the summer months. Cotton sarees are worn in holi, diwali, dussehra, lohri, baisakhi and all the other festivals of our country. Indian Cotton sarees can also be worn to the workplace, worn by teachers while going to schools/colleges, lady doctors and housewives in their daily wear.

The Indian subcontinent is the abode for the Cotton produce. The skill of weaving and dyeing of cotton was recognized in India some 5000 years ago. Every state of India has its own aboriginal area of expertise in cotton fabric, each different in weaves, textures, motifs, printing techniques and colors.

The famed cotton sarees area wise are as follows:-

1.       1. The jamdani cotton sarees from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are well-liked and they follow the customary patterns.

2.     2.  Then there are the Sambalpuri, Bomkai and Vichitrapuri cotton saris of Orissa. These sarees come in a multiplicity of colours and traditional motifs enthused by nature.

3.     3.  Chanderi Sarees in Madhya Pradesh are excellent cotton sarees with a silk warp and cotton weft.

4.     4.  Maheshwari sarees of Madhya Pradesh are either unadulterated cottons or silk/cotton mix, with check patterns being the forte .

5.      5.  Hyderabad is well-known for its antique cotton weaving practice. The Venkatgiri fine cotton saris are created here, which are idyllic for summers. These sarees are primarily in off-white colour and adorned with dull golden motifs.

6.     6. Nander in Andhra Pradesh is renowned for its fine eminence of cotton sari ornately worked in gold thread with silk border.

7.       7. Pochampalli sarees of Andhra Pradesh are woven with the ikat patterns, where the yarn is pre dyed based on pattern before weaving.

 However,we can conclude by saying that the allure of our Indian cotton saree is timeless. The Cotton printed sarees indeed give a classy, feminine, refined and elegant look to any lady.

Sexist Remarks On Tsai Ing-Wen Sparks Outrage

Beijing: Taiwan’s new president is “extreme” in her politics because she is an unmarried woman lacking the emotional balance provided by romantic and family life, a member of China’s body for relations with the self-governing island has written in a newspaper opinion piece.

In Beijing’s harshest attack on Tsai Ing-wen since her inauguration last week, the new president was denounced as a flawed human being and strident advocate of Taiwan's formal independence from China, something Beijing says it will use military force to prevent.

Tsai, Taiwan’s first female President, has been criticized by Beijing for refusing to explicitly endorse the “one-China principle” that defines Taiwan as part of China. But previous criticisms were not in such personal terms.

“As a single female politician, she lacks the emotional encumbrance of love, the constraints of family or the worries of children,” said the piece, written by Wang Weixing, an analyst with China’s People’s Liberation Army and board member of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, the semiofficial body in charge of contacts with Taiwan.

“Her style and strategy in pursuing politics constantly skew toward the emotional, personal and extreme,” 
Wang wrote, adding that Tsai was prone to focus excessively on details and short-term goals rather than overall strategic considerations.

The piece appeared on Tuesday on the website of the International Herald Leader, which is published by China's official Xinhua News Agency. The article has since been removed from Xinhua's website, but can still be found on other news portals and micro-blogging accounts.

Analysts said Beijing’s “sexist” attack on Tsai is unlikely to change Taiwanese voters’ opinion on their new president.

Indian Museum’s Collection Going Online With Google

Kolkata: Beginning with its prized collection of Buddhist art including the famous Gandhara sculptures, the Indian Museum is now putting all of its galleries for 360- degree panoramic viewing for anyone to see online.

As part of a tie-up with the Google Cultural Institute, which allows art lovers to explore artifacts from all over the world on its website, the Indian Museum is launching an e-version of its exquisite exhibition titled Indian Buddhist Art on Wednesday.

 “This is the first virtual exhibition we are organizing after which all our galleries will gradually be available on the Google Cultural Institute website,” museum director Jayanta Sengupta said. Three galleries, including those on Buddhist sculptures, are ready for 360-degree panoramic viewing on the internet. “This allows anyone to have a walk through the gallery and see it as you do it with your eyes. You can scroll around to see even the ceiling and the floor,” he added.

Since last year, a team of Google from the UK and the US have been working hard with their specialized and patented camera technology to click high-resolution photos of the treasures lying in the museum.

Over 200 years old, Indian Museum is the oldest and the largest multi-purpose museum in Asia.

The biggest repository of Indian antiquity, some of the museum’s prized possessions include an Egyptian mummy, Buddhist stupa from Bharhut, Buddha’s ashes, Ashoka pillar, fossil skeletons of pre-historic animals and a collection of meteorites.

The museum director rejects suggestions that once all galleries are online the number of visitors at their campus will decrease. “Internationally this has been the case. After people see it online they are more motivated to see the real thing and so they walk into the museum,” he said.

Spread over 10,000 square feet area, it boasts of over sixty galleries of art, archeology, anthropology, geology, zoology and botany sections. It houses rare artifacts of great archival and heritage value numbering more than a lakh.

ISRO Successfully Test Launches India’s First Ever Indigenous Space Shuttle

Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)  successfully test launched its maiden winged reusable launch vehicle (RLV) early Monday from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

“We have successfully accomplished the RLV-TD mission. The lift-off was at 7.00 a.m. from the first launch pad here,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director Devi Prasad Karnik was quoted as saying to IANS after the mini-shuttle returned to the Earth.

The 6.5 metre long ‘aeroplane’-like structure weighing 1.75 tons was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km northeast of Chennai off the Bay of Bengal coast. The test launch is considered a significant step in India’s space endeavour. The project, which began more than a decade ago at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, costs about Rs 95 crore.

This is the first time ISRO has launched a winged flight vehicle, which glided back onto a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal, some 500 kilometres from the coast.

Known as hypersonic flight experiment, it was about 10 minutes mission from liftoff to splashdown. It has been configured to act as a flying testbed to evaluate various technologies, including hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air-breathing propulsion.

Scientists describe the RLV-TD mission as “a very preliminary step” in the development of a reusable rocket, whose final version is expected to take in ten to 15 years. ISRO chairman Kiran Kumar explained that the experimental RLV it is essentially an attempt by India to bring down the cost of making infrastructure for space. “The RLV is a mechanism for us to bring down the cost of launch. We intend to go through a series of technology demonstration exercises, the first one of which we call HEX-01, that is a hypersonic experiment. It is called a winged body,” Kumar said.

EgyptAir Crash - Flight Ms804 Crashes With 56 Passengers And 10 Crew On Board

Paris: Debris from missing EgyptAir Flight MS804, including passengers’ body parts and belongings have been found.

In a tweet on Friday early evening local time, EgyptAir said that the Egyptian Military and Marine Forces had “discovered more debris”, adding that the wreckage found also included luggage and aircraft seats. “Search is still in progress”, the Egyptian flagship carrier tweeted.

Meanwhile, the Aviation Herald, which reports on aviation news, reported on Friday that it had received information from “three independent channels” that the plane’s communications system had sent messages saying that there was smoke in the lavatory and in “avionics” and that there were faults in the “FCU” and “SEC 3.” Reportedly, the avionics bay is where much of a plane’s electronic equipment is housed. The FCU, or flight control unit, refers to a control panel used by the pilot to control settings such as speed and altitude. Reportedly, SEC 3 is a computer that controls the plane's spoilers and elevator computers.

Flight MS804 disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean Sea in the early hours of Thursday while en route from Paris to Cairo. It was carrying 66 people — 56 passengers, including a child and two infants, as well as three of the airline’s security staff and seven crew members.

A veteran pilot - Mahamed Saeed Ali Shouqair – was the flight’s commander.

Reportedly, Greek air traffic controllers communicated normally with the pilot as the plane left Greek air space but were unable to contact the plane shortly after when attempting to hand communications to Egyptian air traffic controllers. The plane was about ten miles into Egypt’s air space and at an altitude of 37,000 feet when it disappeared from radar screens.

PNB Witnesses Biggest Quarterly Loss In India’s Banking History

New Delhi: Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Wednesday posted a record Rs 5,367.1 crore net loss in Q4, making it biggest quarterly loss by any public sector lender in the Indian banking history.

A three-fold surge in provisioning for bad loans, including for power discoms and Punjab foodgrain related loans, were the main drags on the bank’s performance and it expects the pain to continue for some more time.

In the corresponding quarter last year PNB had posted net profit of Rs 306.5 crore. PNB Managing Director Usha Ananthasubramanian said, “We have done Asset Quality Review (AQR) fully... The bank has provided Rs 11,380 crore for bad loans during the quarter including Rs 385 crore for discoms.”

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans rose to 12.9 percent in March from 8.47 percent in December, and 6.55 percent a year earlier.

The bank, however saw its operating profit rise to Rs 3,228 crore, from Rs 3,203 crore in the year-ago quarter. Total income during the quarter declined to Rs 13,276 crore, from Rs 13,456 crore a year ago. Interest income also fell to Rs 10,824 crore, from Rs 11,651 crore in the fourth quarter of 2014-15. The net interest income fell to Rs 2,768 crore from Rs 3,792 crore.

On full year basis, the bank reported a loss of Rs 3,974 crore for 2015-16, as against a profit of Rs 3,062 crore in the previous fiscal. However, full-year total income rose to Rs 54,301 crore, from Rs 52,206.09 crore in 2014-15.

Founded on 19th May, 1894, PNB celebrates its 122nd anniversary today. It has its headquarters in New Delhi. The bank has over 6,300 branches and over 7,900  ATMs across 764 cities. It serves over 80 million customers.

Harmony Of The Seas - World’s Largest Cruise Ship Reaches Southampton

Southampton: The largest cruise ship in the world, Harmony Of The Seas — measuring more than four football pitches in length with a maximum capacity for 6,780 passengers — has docked in Southampton for final preparations before its maiden voyage.

A small crowd of well-wishers welcomed the £800million Harmony of the Seas as it arrived just after dawn today, but tens of thousands of people are expected to visit the coastal city this week to catch a glimpse of the gigantic vessel before it carries paying customers for the first time.

After sailing from a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and spending May 16 cruising the English Channel, Harmony of the Seas sailed up Southampton Water and arrived at Southampton shortly after 6:15 AM.

Harmony Of The Seas is 330 ft longer than Titanic. With a gross tonnage of 227,700 GT, MS Harmony Of The Seas is the largest passenger ship in the world.

It will depart on a short cruise on Sunday – a four-day taster voyage to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands – and on 29 May will make its maiden voyage to Barcelona, where it will be based for 34 seven-night tours of the western Mediterranean this summer. It will sail between Florida and the Caribbean this winter.

Royal Caribbean International’s 18-deck ship has set new records for length (1,1188ft), gross tonnage (227,000), width (215.5ft), passenger capacity (5,479 at double occupancy or a maximum of 6,780) and staterooms (2,747).

With a crew of 2,100 from 77 countries, the floating city boasts seven ‘neighbourhoods’, a ten-storey slide that is the tallest at sea, 23 swimming pools, 20 dining venues, 52 trees, surf simulators, robot bartenders, a casino and climbing walls.

UNICEF & EU Launch #EmergencyLessons Campaign On Education In Crisis Zones

New York: On Monday, the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union (EU) announced the launch of a new social media-driven public awareness campaign aimed at reaching 20 million Europeans and highlighting the importance of education for children affected by emergencies.

The #EmergencyLessons campaign specifically targets people 25-years-old and younger in Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom to inspire them to raise their voices on behalf of millions of children and adolescents whose education has been interrupted by emergencies, UNICEF said.

“Young people understand better than anyone how important education is to their lives today and to their futures,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Who knows better than they that their tomorrows depend on what they learn today? Who, better than today's youth, can demand that the world provides them with the skills they will need to build a better world? Their future, and ours, depends on it,” he added.

The campaign draws on the real-life experiences of children living through emergencies in countries such as Guinea, Iraq, Nepal and Ukraine. Throughout the next seven months, their stories will be shared on social media through #EmergencyLessons.

UNICEF noted that a number of celebrities are lending their support to the campaign, such as Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian European Space Agency astronaut; Bostjan Nachbar, Slovenian basketball player; Kriszta D. Toth, Hungarian news presenter and media personality; and Jaro Bekr, Slovakian dancer.

Nearly one in four of the world’s school-age children – 462 million – now live in 35 countries affected by crises, including an estimated 75 million children who are in desperate need of educational support, UNICEF stressed. Apart from missing out on education, and the benefits it yields for them and for their societies, out-of-school children are more vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and recruitment by armed forces, the agency said.

Three Spice Girls Reunite To Make First New Music In 16 Years

London: The Spice Girls are back! The iconic girl group has recorded new music for the first time in 16 years, confirming reunion plans. 

Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Melanie Brown (Scary Spice) and Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) have reunited for a 48-hour secret session at London’s Play Deep Studios to work on fresh material ahead of their 20th anniversary in July. Former producer Eliot Kennedy, who worked with the band on their Spice World soundtrack in 2007, forecast the unheard material was already sounding like a certain chart-topping contender. He tweeted last night: “Now that was a day for the history books. Like 20 years had never happened. Proper friendship! Hit Song.”

Mel B also admitted that the Spice Girls want their comeback to be “from scratch”, saying: “It's funny, because back in the day people thought we had everything written for us but we've always written all our own songs.” “That's why we've won Ivor Novello awards and all sorts. Everything always comes from us, and to do something for our 20-year anniversary is the ultimate dream,” she added.

The meeting comes Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice) became the second Spice Girl to pull out after Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) to focus on her solo music last month. The new record is expected to be released later this year, marking two decades since the original fivesome released their first single Wannabe in 1996.

Live shows for 2017 are expected to be announced in due course.

Adele, who is a superfan of the group was ecstatic with the new and even stepped in to fill in forone of the two vacant sports. Speaking at her gig in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday, she said: “I love the Spice Girls. I hear they’re doing a reunion with only three of them, so if you need me to step in girls, I’m on my own world tour right now, but after that I’ll come with you. I would like to be Geri, Ginger Spice.”

Two Class XI Students At DPS Noida Hospitalised After Ragging

Noida: Two class XI students of Delhi Public School (DPS) have been admitted to a hospital due to injuries to their limbs and torso.

There are contradictory reports on how the students of the DPS Noida branch sustained the injuries. The family of one of the students has claimed that the boys were being ragged by their seniors. The Noida Police have, however, filed a case pertaining to a scuffle between the students.

“Based on the complaint filed by the student and his family, we have filed an FIR under IPC sections relating to a scuffle,” a police officer said. The police said the incident happened on Monday night when Yashpratap Singh, 15, was coming back to his hostel after having dinner.

Singh’s father Arjun said it was not the first time that Yashpratap had been ragged. “On May 5, a group of seniors had bullied him. They asked him to imitate animals and stand in various postures. His blood pressure shot up and his heart started to beat fast. He was admitted to Max Hospital in Noida after initial treatment at school health centre. He came back to the hostel only on Sunday,” Arjun Singh said. He added that Yashpratap was roughed up by a group of around 15 students on Monday night.

“Another Class XI student, Dhruv, tried to intervene but he also got beaten up. Yashpratap called his mother and told her about the incident. We rushed to the school but could not find him. The hostel warden refused to tell us where he was. Later, a security guard told us that an ambulance from Kailash Hospital had come to take two students. I figured my son was one of them,” the father stated.

According to doctors, the students had blunt injury marks on their upper arm, shoulders, knees and legs. The boys were later discharged as they did not have any major injuries.

This Year Durga Puja Is About To Get A Chinese Twist

Kolkata: As part of a plan to build people-to-people relations between West Bengal and Yunnan province, China will bring in tourists to Kolkata from Kunming city during the festive season of Durga Puja. Kolkata and Yunnan province will be connected through the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor.

“We are making arrangements so that a group of maybe around 100-200 people from China can come to Kolkata during the Durga Puja in October. Just like Indians, Chinese also have a huge interest in culture. There is a lot of synergy in eastern cultures,” Chinese consul general Ma Zhanwu said.

They are also planning to tie-up with Durga Puja pandals in the city so that Chinese symbols like those related to dragons, umbrellas etc. can also be showcased during the four-day-long festival.

“It will be an exchange of culture,” he added.

A team of government officials from Yunnan province will be in the city later this month to hold talks with the state tourism department officials and big Puja organizers.

“Once the new state government takes charge, we will talk with the tourism department,” the diplomat said.

The group of Chinese tourists will be taken on a tour all over the city to showcase some of the most attractive pandals, beside the regular attractions of colonial-era Kolkata. Chinese symbols like those related to dragons, umbrellas etc will also be showcased during the four-day-long festival here.

Durga Puja will take place early in October this year.

16-Year-Old Fighting Cancer Scores 95.8 Per Cent In Class 10

Kolkata: Refusing to be cowed down by cancer, Raghav Chandak had the burning desire to excel in his ICSE examination and so he took text books and notes to his hospital bed to score 95.8 per cent.

Raghav, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) in April, last year, was able to attend classes in the Heritage School for only about two months. "My cousin who also studies in the same class supplied all notes to me,” the 16-year-old boy told PTI.

“He was in hospital for one-and-a-half months at a stretch. And then he had to go for about seven days each month to the hospital for chemotherapy which weakened his immune system but not the spirit to fight,” his proud father Manoj Chandak said. The school gave him all the support he needed and was even asked to call up teachers directly for any help. Class notes were also arranged for him even when he was having chemotherapy sessions at the Tata Medical Centre.

The family was stunned when Raghav was diagnosed with cancer. “We thought he will not be able to appear for the exams. We went to the school and told them about it. They said, you take care of the medical condition and we will take care of his studies,” the father said.

“I would not have been able to do this without everyone’s support - my parents, teachers, friends, cousin and our family doctor,” the teenager said. A football fan, he dreams of getting into the IITs after finishing school.

Hyundai Motors To Unveil Two New Vehicles Every Year

Seoul: Hyundai Motors India Ltd. (HMIL) will introduce two products every year in a bid to become the market leader, a top official said.

Y.K. Koo, Managing Director, HMIL, said: “At present, we have 10 products and with the addition of two more products, we will have offerings in each segment.”

The product pipeline includes smart hybrid, sub four-metre Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and Automated Manual Transmission powered vehicles. With the help of new products, the company hopes to grow at around six-seven per cent year-on-year. For 2016, HMIL has planned to manufacture more than 6.6 lakh cars (including 1.6 lakh cars for exports) against 4.7 lakh units produced and sold in the domestic market during 2015. From January to April this year, HMIL sold 1.26 lakh cars, representing a market share of 16.9 per cent, one per cent more than the year-earlier period.

“While the market grew by four percent, HMIL grew by eight percent. For the last four years, we have been growing better than the market rate. We are looking forward at maintaining the momentum,” said Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice President - Marketing and Sales. About the possibility of setting up a third unit, Srivastava said: “With the help of the existing facilities at Sriperumbudur, HMIL can produce seven lakh cars per annum and this can be stretched to 7.1 lakh cars. We will produce cars for the domestic and export markets as well. “With the existing facilities, we can manage the volume for the next three to four years,” Koo said.

On Friday, the second largest car manufacturer and largest exporter announced the commencement of year-long 20 Foundation Day celebrations at its factory in Sriperumbudur, near here. Mr. Koo unveiled the company’s vision for the next 20 years and said they would like to make Hyundai a great place to work, attain market leadership position in the Indian automobile market and make it the most beloved and trusted car brand in India. He also said that more GDSI (global dealership space identity) and digital showrooms, automated workshops and introduction of ‘Experience Hyundai’ programmes for brand, product and sponsorships were in the offing.

FB Introduced Flower Sticker and Emojis for Messenger to Celebrate Mothers’ Day

New Delhi: The world’s second popular social networking platform Facebook has put a Mother’s Day special thought to celebrate the day for women across the world through their chatting platform, Messenger.

With the upcoming event of Mother’s day, celebrated worldwide at May 8, FB wants to release stickers and flower emoticons for Messenger, the chat platform. Reports are that the flower icon will be accessible between 7 and 9 May.  FB asserted that they will make the second Sunday of May a very special one and celebrate it with ‘all women who makes our life blossom.’

Facebook officially wrote a post and declared the following: “For those countries that celebrate Mother’s Day this coming weekend, we’ve created a special new feature for you to send flowers to your Mom, your friends who are Moms, and of course, all the other people that make your life great – no matter if they are Moms or not.”

According to sources, FB will also test a special reaction ‘thankful’ for the day, symbolized with a purple flower. Available for a few countries outside US, the purple flower emoji was first spotted by Twitter user Sreedev Sharma.

The FB post declaring their effort to decorate a Mothers’ Day Special sticker, said: “If you’re already in a conversation with someone, you’ll see a purple flower icon in the lower right corner of the composer. Tap that, and you’ll see that the flower fills in with darker purple, and you’ll see instructions that ‘your message will be decorated with flowers.’ Then choose the content you want to send, or type your note and press ‘Send.’”

Though, a first attempt to create temporary emoticons and stickers to mark a special day, Facebook authorities said that they will further add more ‘temporary reactions’.  

Deepika Padukone Auditions for Tom Cruise’s The Mummy; Rumor Mount over Her Rejection

New Delhi: After her Hollywood debut with Fast and Furious 7, Deepika Padukone appeared opposite Van Diesel for xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. A shortly received darling of Hollywood, Padukone was almost ready and was auditioning for her second Hollywood movie- The Mummy Reboot, featuring Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella in lead roles.

Report is that earlier another Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi had auditioned for the same role opposite Tom Cruise. “Huma has recently auditioned for the third part of the successful franchise starring Hollywood star Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella playing the lead antagonist,” an official statement by Huma’s spokesperson asserted.

None of the Bollywood actresses received a positive message from The Mummy team. However, an entertainment website first disclosed the news of Deepika’s rejection from the cast of the upcoming Tom Cruise film. “They are looking at other options. Even if Deepika doesn’t make the cut, the very fact that she was in the running for an important role in a Tom Cruise starrer is quite a high in itself,” the website said.

According to reports, The Mummy is one of the many projects planned by Universal Pictures in an effort to create an ‘interconnected universe’ for classics like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Bride Of Frankenstein, and Vampire Hunter Van Helsing.

ITC to Close Cigarette Production from May 4 Following Apex Court’s Pictorial Warning Rule, share dropped

Kolkata: The largest cigarette making company of the country, ITC, announces to close their cigarette plants from May 4, this year. Following the warning from the federal government that asked the cigarette making companies ‘to comply with a new stipulated pictorial warnings rule,’ ITC said in an official press release that ‘until the company is in a position to comply with the interim requirements’ will not resume the same.

Following the announcement made by ITC, the leading Indian FMCG company dropped its shares by 1.02% to Rs 314.30 at 10:10 IST on BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange). The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice for the cigarette companies. The notice adhered to incorporate larger health warnings on cigarette packs, assumed as a ‘major setback’ for the $11 billion industry, sources said.

“The Company has had to shut its cigarette factories from May 04, 2016 until the Company is in a position to comply with the interim requirements pending hearing in the Karnataka High Court,” ITC said after the court issued the order. Further hearing of the case will take place on Karnataka High Court. Also, other leading cigarette manufacturing companies have objected the new federal rule, as sources said.

The direction by the Apex Court on Wednesday had told tobacco makers of their ‘duty to society’ and to carry ‘pictorial warnings’ spread over 85% of both sides of their packaging as mandated by the government.

Rio Mayor Denies Any Impact of Graft and Political Turmoil in Olympics

Rio de Janeiro: Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes said in a press release at Thursday that the Olympic preparation will not be disturbed by Brazil’s political turmoil. The mayor also added that the city authority will take every effort to mitigate corruption and make it a zero while projection of the games will undergo in the city.

According to reports, in a conversation with Brazil’s vice president Michel Temer, the duo had decided the same: “I think the Olympics games are above governments and particular officials. I don't see any risk for the Olympics because of these political problems.” With continuous allegations of corruptions and turmoil in the political scenario, the Rio Olympics 2016 already have received federal investigations. However, Paes denied any wrongdoing and asserted that he is confident that there are ‘no problems with anything under his responsibility’.

According to Federal prosecutor Carlos Lima: “Brazil's biggest-ever corruption investigation involving a massive kickback scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras.” Apart from Petrobas, Lima said that suspicion also surrounds Rio’s metro service and port area that is currently under revitalization. Also, projects directly linked to Olympics games projection are also under scrutiny.

The federal investigation team, which is investigating the preparations for Olympic Games, is more into suspicions more about Paes’s team as they have been caught up in the Petrobas graft probe. 

84.24%Turnout In Sixth Phase Of West Bengal Polls

Kolkata: On Thursday,  in the sixth and last phase of assembly election in West Bengal, over 84 percent of the electorate exercised their franchise till 5 PM.

While East Midnapore district recorded 85.09 percent polling, 82.71 percent votes were cast in Cooch Behar. The overall average till 5pm was 84.24percent.

Two Trinamool Congress candidates in Cooch Behar district faced the poll panel’s ire for allegedly interfering with the electoral process and threatening polling personnel. FIRs (First Information Report) were lodged against Rabindranath Ghosh, Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate from Natabari and Udyan Guha from Dinhata following complaints from the respective returning officers.

In Dinhata, the presiding officer was also removed by the Election Commission (EC) for not being able to stop Guha from entering the voting cubicle inside the booth.

Over local issues, some people at two booths at Moyna constituency in East Midnapore district boycotted today’s poll, officials said.

The West Bengal police said they made 30 arrests during the day, out of which 29 were preventive arrests.

For the first time since Independence, 9,776 residents of border enclaves in Cooch Behar exercised their franchise. Polling in the border enclaves of West Bengal happened because of the formal inclusion of the enclaves in the Indian territory last year. Among them was 103-year-old Asgar Ali who came along with family members of three generations to cast ballots for the first time.

State chief electoral officer Sunil Gupta said enthusiasm was noticed among the first-time voters over 80percent of whom turned out at the polling booths. An electorate of over 58 lakh was eligible to cast ballots at 6,774 polling stations till 6pm in 25 constituencies. In all 170 candidates, including 18 women, are in the fray in this phase.

WB Assembly Elections: Sixth Phase Records 51% Polling Till 1pm with Sporadic Violence

The sixth phase of the West Bengal Assembly Elections at Coochbehar and East Midnapore district covering 25 constituencies started at 7 am amid strict security. Reports are that the final phase of the Assembly Elections will make as many as 58.04 lakh voters to cast their vote and decide the fate of 170 candidates. Today’s polling also adds 18 female candidates contesting for their luck. Among the total, 27.8 lakh are women voters and only 68 voters belong to the third gender.

A tight security is deployed to turn out a peaceful polling in both of the districts. The Election Commission of India has issued 361 companies of central forces with 50, 000 security personnel in it, the largest deployed force among all the phases. The central force will be assisted by a contingent of 12,000 state police personnel, sources said.

Also, this is the first time after independence when people from the border areas of Coochbehar district will cast their vote. The people were unable to cast their vote due to a former exclusion from the voters list. They were included as citizens of the nation only last year. Apart from the history made by including Chitmahal with the mainland, the oldest voter, 103-year-old Asgar Ali from Mosaldanga was found to be the oldest voter casting his opinion for the first time.

A total of 61.88 percent of polling turnout was reported till 1 pm in the sixth phase. Reports are, in both of the districts, the Commission has marked 714 ‘vulnerable’ areas and 1685 ‘vulnerable’ voters. Also, a tight vigilance on Nandigram in East Midnapore is kept to tackle any unfriendly situation.