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Umpire Sundaram Ravi, whose no ball howler cost Royal Challengers Bangalore heavily in an IPL match and led to an angry outburst by RCB skipper Virat Kohli, is unlikely to be sanctioned due to lack of officials with international experience on the BCCI roster. Currently there are only 11 Indian Umpires allotted for on-field and TV duty for 56 IPL games, which means Ravi might get negative marking from the match referee but BCCI can hardly take any corrective measures beyond that. "Currently we have only 17 umpires assigned on-field and for third umpires' duty. Out of them 11 are Indian and six foreigners from the Elite Panel. Apart from them, we have six more Indians as fourth umpires," a member of the now defunct Umpiring sub-committee, who is privy to allocation of assignments, told PTI on Friday. Ravi, the only Indian in the ICC's Elite Panel, failed to spot an obvious no ball from Mumbai Indians' Lasith Malinga as RCB lost by six runs under co...

Film: Notebook ; Starring: Pranutan Behl, Zaheer Iqbal; Director: Nitin Kakkar; Rating: ****(4 stars) It is significant that Salman Khan is a producer on the tenderest most lyrical love story of his career. Salman has repeatedly expressed his version to physical love on screen, PDA at its most public if you please. He doesn't ever kiss his heroines. Neither does his new discovery Zaheer Iqbal, strapping young athletic debutant who demonstrates unexpected spurts of compassion at pertinent points in the plot. Zaheer is a lambi race ka ghoda. ThisA isA a romance where the lead pair doesn't meet. They touch each other's lives through words.  Not poetry, mind you. This is not an occasion to do a Pakeezaah on us. Director Nitin Kakkar whose last film "Mitron" is a neglected gem, creates a stirring alchemy in the romance. The mood is as somber as the Valley when the guns are silent. The narrative moves at its volition heedless of how rapidly the world moves...

India's destruction of a satellite with a missile created hundreds of pieces of "space junk," a potentially dangerous situation that established space powers have tried to avoid for years. India has sought to minimize the threat to orbiting satellites posed by Wednesday's test of an anti-satellite weapon, which experts said was not technically illegal. "Unfortunately, there is no binding international legal rule (yet) which prohibits the wanton creation of space debris," said Frans von der Dunk, professor of space law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. At the same time, the test "strictly speaking" was a violation of the obligation under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty to inform other countries of the test "since they might well suffer harmful interference with their own satellite operations," von der Dunk said. "These kinds of tests increasingly go against the trend and spirit of international law, which is increas...

Get ready to witness another fresh pairing on screen! The Bollywood starlet, Janhvi Kapoor, who made her debut with 'Dhadak', has bagged yet another film. Janhvi will be next seen opposite Rajkummar Rao in the upcoming horror comedy 'Rooh-Afza'. Indian film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the news on his Twitter handle. He also announced the release date of the film. "Janhvi Kapoor joins Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma in #RoohAfza... Directed by Hardik Mehta... Produced by Dinesh Vijan and Mrighdeep Singh Lamba... Shoot begins in June 2019... 20 March 2020 release... Official announcement," he wrote. The upcoming film, co-starring 'Fukrey' fame Varun Sharma, will go on floors in June 2019. As per media reports, Janhvi will play a double role in the film and both her characters namely Roohi and Afsana will be contrasting personalities. Giving out more details about the film, Adarsh had tweeted in December, revealing that the...

The Trails features dual-purpose Ceat Progrip tyres and bash plate handlebar brace The new Royal Enfield Bullet Trials 350 and Trials 500 continue to ride on 19-inch front and 18-inch rear spoke wheels The Royal Enfield 350cc trials Bullet was the first production motorcycle to feature swinging arm suspension The Royal Enfield Bullet Trials 350 and Bullet Trials 500 has been launched in India at Rs 1.62 lakh and Rs 2.07 lakh respectively The Royal Enfield Bullet Trials 350 is based on the Classic 350. Seethepictures

The Central Railway has banned the sale of lemon and other syrup-based juices at food stalls under its jurisdiction after a video of such a drink being allegedly prepared unhygienically went viral on social media . The video, apparently recorded by a commuter, purportedly showed a man using water from the tank placed over a food stall on a platform at Kurla railway station in Mumbai for preparing lime juice. The person was also seen squeezing lemons in a drum and stirring the mixture with his bare hands. The video went viral on social media Monday evening after the commuter tagged it to the Central Railway's (CR) Twitter handle. Central Railway's Principal Chief Commercial Manager Shailendra Kumar told PTI that lemon and other synthetically flavoured juices made my mixing water would not be sold at its stations now. The ban, which came into effect on Wednesday, does not include fresh juices made by crushing fruits, he said. The decision was taken in view...

In the Match 7 of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Mumbai Indians (MI) would fancy their chances against an erratic Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) when the two star-studded teams square off at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday. Virat Kohli's RCB, who are yet to win IPL title and regularly draw a lot of flak for that, were bundled out for 70, the sixth-lowest score in IPL history, in their first game of IPL 2019 against Chennai Super Kings. Jasprit Bumrah fit to play The injury of Jasprit Bumrah has given the sleepless night to India and Mumbai Indians a sleepless night after he injured his shoulder during the last ball of the Delhi Capitals innings. However, according to various media reports, he is fit as it was just a case of shoulder spasm. But it would be interesting to see whether Mumbai Indians team management will pick him in their playing 11 or give him more time to become match fit. Mumbai Indians get Lasith Malinga boost ahead of ...

Google showcased an innovation for its mobile payments app Google Pay on Wednesday, wherein merchants at stores can initiate payment requests by punching in a customer’s mobile number on their point-of-sale (POS) terminals. With this the California-based firm is taking on PhonePe and Paytm in their own home ground and is also challenging its US rival Amazon . Google also unveiled two other services through which its payments application users can book train tickets and buy gold. “ Digital payments has been a phenomenal story for India,” said Ambarish Kenghe, director, product management, Google Pay, India. “We want to address use cases that are close to our (customer’s) heart.” Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction volumes have outpaced all other forms of digital payments including wallets, mobile banking, and credit and debit cards. It has grown 40 times in 18 months, from 17 million transactions in August 2017 to 673 million in February 2019. Read Complete Arti...

After four consecutive years as Asia’s best restaurant , Bangkok’s Gaggan has finally been dethroned. Odette in Singapore managed to wrestle the title from the iconic Indian-fusion restaurant, famed for its emoji-filled menu. Chef Julien Royer, who named the place after his maternal grandmother, steered Odette to first place from ninth in 2017 with multiple-course French fare that has included “seared foie gras, miso caramel, lemon quinoa and Japanese strawberries.” Gaggan landed in second place, still retaining the title of Thailand’s best—a bittersweet run for a restaurant that is due to close in 2020 as chef-owner Gaggan Anand plans new ventures in Japan. Tokyo kaiseki eatery Den; German restaurant Sühring, run by twin brothers in Bangkok; and French-inspired Florilège in Tokyo rounded out the top five of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Den Chef Zaiyu Hasegawa, who also won the chef’s choice award, said he introduced Japanese truffles to his dishes over the past year,...

In Match 6 of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2019), Kings XI Punjab will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the backdrop of mankading controversy at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday. Skipper R Ashwin is in the eye of a storm after 'Mankading' Jos Buttler but a winning start will keep Kings XI Punjab upbeat against home favourites Kolkata Knight Riders. The Mankading controversy that rocked IPL 2019 It was Ashwin's mankading of Jos Buttler that had triggered a dramatic collapse with Kings XI Punjab restricting Rajasthan Royals to 170 for nine to notch up a 14-run win. Buttler was looking in imperious touch with 69 from 43 balls and Rajasthan well on course to overhaul the target of 185 but following the dismissal they went on to lose eight wickets for 62 runs to hand Kings XI Punjab their maiden win in Jaipur. Though the dismissal was within the rules of the game, it sparked a huge furore with spin legend and Rajasthan Royals brand ambassador Shane Warne la...

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei on March 26 announced the P30-series smartphones in a global unveiling event from Paris. The series includes two devices – the Huawei P30 Pro and the Huawei P30 – both boasting OLED screen, triple camera module on the back (excluding time-of-flight 3D sensor in the P30 Pro), and in-display fingerprint sensor. Taking forward the imaging capabilities that the P-series stands for, the premium P30 Pro has been rated the best camera smartphone with an overall score of 112 by camera benchmark company DxOMark. Huawei P30 Pro camera specifications and features The P30 Pro is Huawei’s first to boast a periscope telephoto lens capable of 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom and up to 50x digital zoom. The phone boasts a 40-megapixel primary sensor of f/1.6 aperture on the back, mated with a 20MP ultra-wide angle lens, 8MP telephoto lens, and a ToF sensor for 3D mapping. The phone’s primary sensor and the telephoto lens are backed by optical image stab...

India has become the fourth country in the world to hit a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite in space, with Indian scientists using an anti-satellite missile to bring down an LEO satellite. The mission was completed in 3 minutes. "India has shot down an LEO satellite to make ' Mission Shakti ' a benchmark in the history of our country," said Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation on Wednesday. "Till now, only US, Russia and China had achieved this; India has become the fourth country to achieve this feat," the Prime Minister added. "Mission Shakti is a huge step forward! It will ensure our spy satellites will not be shot down by China in case of war."

Diversifying its midrange smartphones portfolio, South Korean electronics giant Samsung on March 26 unveiled the Galaxy A70 . Expected to launch in India on April 10, the smartphone will be the fourth device in the 2019 series of the Samsung Galaxy A smartphone series. The current range of Galaxy A-series smartphones includes the Galaxy A50 (review), Galaxy A30 and the Galaxy A10. The Galaxy A70 boasts the company’s first 25W fast-charging technology for quicker battery replenishment time. Powered by a 4,500 mAh battery, the phone has a 6.7-inch fullHD+ AMOLED screen with a waterdrop notch on top, accommodating a 32-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies. On the back, the phone has a triple-camera module, featuring a 32MP primary sensor of an f/1.7 aperture, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP depth sensor. The camera supports a scene optimiser for auto scene selection that can recognise up to 20 scenes. It also features ‘flaw detection’, which automatically identifies and no...

Apple Inc. infringes a Qualcomm Inc. patent and some imported iPhones should be blocked from the U.S. as a result, a U.S. trade judge said in one of two cases before the U.S. International Trade Commission. ITC Judge MaryJoan McNamara said she would be recommending an import ban on certain model iPhones, which are made in China, according to a notice posted on the Washington agency’s electronic docket. The judge found no violation of two other Qualcomm patents in the case. The judge’s findings are subject to review by the full commission, which has the power to block imports of products that infringe U.S. patents. A final decision is expected by July. Qualcomm jumped as much as much as 2.6 percent in New York and were trading at $58.11 at 3 p.m. Apple pared gains and was down less than one percent. The judge’s full findings aren’t yet public, and won’t be until both sides get a chance to redact confidential information. Readmore

Are you worried about not being able to vote in Lok Sabha elections 2019 because you are on the move? Well, you're not the only one. India's 900 million voters are expected to take part in the world’s biggest democratic exercise, but, according to an analysis published by Business Standard, despite a mammoth number of voters, India is behind several countries when it comes to the number of people turning up to vote. India had a record voter turnout of 66.4 per cent in 2014. This is still lower than the global median of 68.03 per cent. There could be many reasons for this. One of the causes for the 'lost vote' is that many registered voters are on the move or have relocated in search of jobs. According to a report by the Times of India, 281 million registered voters did not vote in Lok Sabha Elections 2014 because they were on the move. These would include voters who move in search of work or for higher education, those who shift from city to city on work every few ...

Some, including the NITI Aayog chief, have slammed the Congress party of fiscal imprudence in proposing minimum income guarantee, or NYAY, of Rs 6,000 per month to 20 per cent poorest households. The estimated Rs 3.6 trillion payout looks prohibitive. However, a closer inspection of the proposed scheme and current political dynamics make it eminently workable. To begin with, Congress does not intend to implement it as soon as it comes to powe r, that is if it does, on May 23, 2019. Experts in the party, which include Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram, who were helped by its data analytics chief Praveen Chakravarty in putting together the scheme, have proposed a new committee that would be constituted to steer the implementation of the scheme. It is likely that former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian could head such a committee. Subramanian, as Chakravarty has acknowledged in his interviews, is closely involved in helping Congress with the details of the scheme. In t...

A Singapore Airlines flight heading from Mumbai to Singapore with 263 passengers on board Tuesday received a bomb threat, the carrier said. However, the flight landed safely at Singapore's Changi International Airport on Tuesday morning around 8 am local time, the airline added. "Singapore Airlines confirms there was a bomb threat concerning SQ423 operating from Mumbai to Singapore. The aircraft arrived in Singapore on 26 March, 2019, at about 0800hrs (local time). "There were 263 passengers on board. We are assisting the authorities with their investigations and regret that we are unable to provide further details," a statement issued by the airline said. The flight had departed from Mumbai airport around 11.50 am on Monday. 

Cupertino, US-based technology giant Apple on March 25 introduced the Apple Card, a digital credit card bundled with reward programmes and daily cash benefits. Built into the Apple Wallet app on iPhone, the digital credit card has several advantages compared to physical credit cards. Some of these benefits are that it is easy to apply, there are no late fees, over-the-limit fees, international fees, and there are very low interest rates. Importantly, the Apple Card stores all the information related to user and transactions in the phone – not on Apple servers – making it a secure digital payment service. Apple Card Credit Card features Manage spendings Apple Card uses machine learning and Apple Maps to label each transaction with merchant names and locations. Purchases are automatically totalled and organised by colour-coded categories like food and drinks, shopping, entertainment, etc. The Apple Card also provides weekly and monthly spending summaries, making it convenient...

In a big bang election promise , Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday announced that 20 per cent families belonging to the poorest category will be given Rs 72,000 each annually as minimum income if his party comes to power. Making the announcement at a press conference here, Gandhi said 50 million families and 250 million will directly benefit from the scheme. "Final assault on poverty has begun. We will wipe out poverty from the country," he said Gandhi said the Congress has studied the fiscal implications of the scheme and consulted renowned economists and experts before finalising the scheme. "It is an extremely powerful, ground-breaking and well-thought through idea. We have consulted many economists on the scheme," he said. "People have suffered in the last five years and we are going to give justice to them," he added. A Congress official said any family earning less than Rs 12,000 a month would receive Rs 6,000 every month....

The Crime Branch-CID of the Tamil Nadu police, probing the Pollachi sexual assault case , has summoned Thendral Manimaran, son of DMK's Coimbatore rural district secretary Thendral Selvaraj. Manimaran has been asked to appear on March 28. In the Pollachi sex scandal, more than 50 women were allegedly lured and sexually harassed by a gang of four and the acts were filmed. Four accused persons identified as Sabarirajan, Sathish, Thirunavukarasu and Vasan Kumar were arrested in the case under Sections 392, 354 (A), 354 (B) of the Indian Penal Code and 66A of the Information Technology Act. On March 15, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored probe into the sex scandal. The case was transferred to the CB-CID which initiated an inquiry into the matter on March 13 after receiving requisite documents from the local police. Earlier this month, the Crime Branch had registered an FIR against DMK president MK Stalin's son-in-law, Sabareesan, f...

It has been barely three days since the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2019) kicked off in Chennai, and the blockbuster T20 championship has already got embroiled in controversy over Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain R Ashwin's unusual dismissal of Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler. During the KXIP vs RR match on Monday, when Ashwin 'mankaded' Buttler — dislodged the bails on the non-striker's end of the wicket while cutting short his bowling stance to run out BUttler, who had already stepped out of the crease before the ball was delivered — the Rajasthan Royals opening batsman became the first victim of 'Mankading' in the IPL history. The controversial dismissal of Buttler has polarised the cricket world, with some fans and former cricketers labelling Ashwin’s act disgraceful and against the spirit of the game, and others defending it as it is indeed a ligitimate way to dismiss a batsman according to cricket rule books. Also, this is not t...

This gotta give you goosebumps! Deepika Padukone, who won hearts with her performance in 'Padmaavat', is leaving everyone stunned with her first look of an acid attack survivor in her upcoming film ' Chhapaak '. Revealing the look of real-life acid attack survivor, Laxmi Agarwal, Deepika posted a picture on her Instagram account and the resemblance is uncanny! Deepika's character will be called 'Malti' and she looks absolutely unrecognisable in the picture. The picture is as powerful as it can get! Apart from the amazing prosthetics, it's the intensity in the actor's eyes that will win you over. Deepika effortlessly emotes the undying human spirit and determination of the survivor in the picture. In the caption, the actor revealed that the film goes on floors today and also shared the release date of the upcoming drama. "A character that will stay with me forever...#Malti Shoot begins today! #Chhapaak Releasing-10th January,...

Before you start the day, take a look at the major events in the country that are likely to make headlines today. From RR vs KXIP IPL 2019 match to Jet Airways board meeting, here are some of the most important news events scheduled for today. 1. Jet board approval to crisis-hit Jet Airways management change today: The lenders to Jet Airways worked through the weekend to finalise the details of a new resolution plan to rescue the failing airline. That includes an emergency funding of at least Rs 1,500 crore. The plan prepared by the lenders’ consortium, led by the State Bank of India, will be discussed at the Jet board meeting scheduled for Monday, according to sources in the know. It is learnt that a change in the Jet management, including a new board chairman, could be executed immediately after the board approvals. 2. IPL 2019: RR vs KXIP match today: In Match 4 of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Rajasthan Royals will start their IPL campaign against Kings X...

WhatsApp , a Facebook-owned instant messaging platform, on March 25 launched the second phase of its ‘Share Joy, Not Rumors’ campaign, encouraging its subscribers to use the platform with responsibility. This is one of the steps that the company has undertaken to control the spread of fake news before the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. The campaign is available in the form of short online videos (available on YouTube) showing step-by-step tutorials on how to exit a group, block a contact and the significance of the forwarded label. “ Proactively working with the Election Committee and local partners for a safe election is our top priority. Expanding our education campaign to help people easily identify and stop malicious messages is another step towards improving the safety of our users,” said Abhijit Bose, Head of India, WhatsApp. Take a look at the campaign videos: WhatsApp bans accounts engaging in bulk messaging and automated behavior to stay ahead of highly-motivated ab...

Amazon India is hosting a four-day sale on smartphones and is offering discounts, exchange offers, no cost equated monthly instalment (EMI) schemes, and cashback on EMI transactions from an SBI bank credit card. Named Amazon fab phone fest, the sale is currently live and would continue till March 28. Here are some of the deals and offers on smartphones: OnePlus 6T This midrange flagship smartphone from Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus, priced at Rs 37,999 for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, is eligible for Rs 2,000 additional exchange value, meaning you can trade your old smartphone for the OnePlus 6T and get Rs 2,000 additional discount on the exchange. For example, if you want to trade the Nokia 7 Plus for the OnePlus 6T, you will get an exchange discount of Rs 5,100 (Rs 3,100 phone exchange price plus Rs 2,000 additional exchange value). iPhone X This Apple’s ten-year anniversary edition is available at a discounted price of Rs 73,999, down from its original listed price...

Redmi Go, an Android Oreo Go operating system-based smartphone from Xiaomi, is set to go on sale exclusively on Flipkart , Mi stores and Mi online stores on Monday. Priced at Rs 4,499, the phone will be available in black and blue colours. Aimed at first-time smartphone users, the phone comes bundled with a cashback offer worth Rs 2,200 and 100GB additional data from Reliance Jio. To avail the offer, Jio customers need to recharge their account with either Rs 198 or Rs 299 recharge plan. On a successful recharge, Jio would credit 44 discount vouchers of Rs 50 each to customer account along with 100GB additional data – both of which can be redeemed on future monthly recharge. The Redmi Go is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 system-on-chip (SoC), paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage -- expandable up to 128GB through microSD card. The phone boots Android Oreo Go, an operating system designed for entry-level smartphones with limited hardware resources. The OS comes preloaded...

India doesn’t have much of a history with popular computer games, unlike the U.S. or Japan. But now one of the industry’s kill-or-be-killed titles has become a smash hit -- and the backlash from the country’s traditionalists is ferocious. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a Hunger Games-style competition where 100 players face off with machine guns and assault rifles until only one is left standing. After China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. introduced a mobile version of the death match that’s free to play, it has become the most popular smartphone game in the world, with enthusiasts from the U.S. to Russia to Malaysia. Nowhere has resistance to the game been quite like India. Multiple cities have banned PUBG, as it’s known, and police in Western India arrested 10 university students for playing. The national child rights commission has recommended barring the game for its violent nature. One of India’s largest Hindi newspapers declared PUBG an “epidemic” that turned children i...