Ankita Raina holds key as India aim for Fed Cup World Group II

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February 5, 2019

India’s top singles players Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi will have to punch above their weight when the battle to qualify for Fed Cup tennis tournament’s World Group II, begins in Astana on Wednesday.

India have been placed in Pool A where getting past Thailand on Thursday is not expected to be a problem. The real challenge would be to upset hosts Kazakhstan, who have two top-100 singles player, on Friday.

Kazakhstan’s world number 43 Yulia Putintseva and Zarina Diyas, ranked 96, won’t be easy to beat for the Indian players in their quest to top Pool A.

The winners of Pool A and B, which has four teams, will clash to determine the nation which will qualify for World Group II.

Pool B has China, featuring world number 40 Shuai Zhang and world number 42 Saisai Zheng, along with Korea, Indonesia, and Pacific Oceania.

In all likelihood, China will top Pool B and it will be toss up between India and Kazakhstan in Pool A.

Last year at home in New Delhi, Ankita, in her unbeaten singles campaign, shocked Putintseva but the Kazakh will be favourite in home conditions this time.

Karman lost to Zarina last year but is expected to fight better now.

Even if India manage to upset Kazakhstan, the job gets only tougher in the Promotion Play-off.

Due to sub-zero temperatures, the matches will be played indoors.

A lot would depend on how Ankita fares and has shown the will to fight it out even against higher-ranked players.

When asked about Ankita’s win over Putintseva last year, Uppal said, “It’s new year and different conditions. Having said that Ankita is looking forward to playing her again and fancies her chances.”

Harbhajan Singh suggests how finger spinners can remain relevant in ODIs

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February 5, 2019

Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels Ravindra Jadeja is still in with a chance to make India’s World Cup squad on the back of his all-round skills but to survive purely as a finger spinner, he will have to improvise.

Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have become India’s preferred choices in the shorter formats over the last 18 months, while Jadeja and R Ashwin have gone down in the pecking order.

Harbhajan, who has played three 50-over World Cups including two finals, is still not ready to count Jadeja out even though he was not a part of the playing XI during the just-concluded ODIs in New Zealand.

“If you remember, during the 2017 Champions Trophy, the weather in UK was hot and humid. So, if conditions are same, Jadeja could still be used as a package, if the opposition team has five to six right-handers in their line-up. Play him as No.6 with Hardik Pandya as No.7. Also he is still your best fielder,” Harbhajan told agencies during an exclusive interview.

One of the finest off-spinners of his generation, Harbhajan agreed that finger spinners’ stocks are down compared to wrist spinners.

“The art of reading the spinners out of the hand is on the decline. Most of the overseas batsmen, if you see, are trying to read wrist spinners after pitching and that’s dangerous,” he lamented.

Hazare on Day 7 of hunger strike, loses over 5 kg weight

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February 5, 2019

Social activist Anna Hazare whose ongoing indefinite hunger strike enters the seventh day on Tuesday has lost over 5 kilograms and is in a critical condition, doctors attending to him said.

“Annaji has lost 5.5 kg weight till now. He is in critical condition. We have informed him. The ketone bodies in his urine are 3+ and sugar level is also reduced. We have advised him to call off the strike as soon as possible,” Dr.Dhananjay Pote said.

Hazare went on a hunger strike from January 30 demanding the setting up of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states.

The 81-year-old has refused to take saline or ORS offered by the doctors, said Dr Pote who pointed out that if Hazare continues with the hunger strike, it may do irreversible damage to his kidney and brain.

“Today, the entire village will not cook food and we will sit here. The agriculture minister is coming today to discuss the demands of Annaji. Our village will go for self-immolation if Annaji’s demands were not fulfilled. His protest should stop in any condition and for this, our village is ready to do anything,” said Lankesh Auti, deputy sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi village.

Minister of State Defence Subhash Bhamre representing the central government and Girish Mahajan from the state government who met Hazare on Monday also tried to convince him to call off his hunger strike.

“Their proposal does not have strong decisions, it is only meant to misguide the people. Our protest will continue,” Anna said on the government’s proposal.

Under the banner of ‘Jan Andolan Satyagraha’, Anna Hazare launched his indefinite hunger strike on January 30 at his village Ralegan-Siddhi to demand the setting up of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states as the Narendra Modi government “had failed” to set up the anti-corruption bodies.

“Through Lokpal, even the prime minister can be investigated if people will give any evidence against him…Similarly, in Lokayukta a chief minister and all ministers and MLAs under him can be investigated if somebody gives any evidence against them. That’s why they don’t want it. No party wants it. Lokpal was passed in Parliament in 2013, but the government is yet to appoint it,” Hazare had told agencies earlier.

Residents claim 2 persons landed with parachute in Navi Mumbai

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February 5, 2019

Two unidentified persons reportedly landed with a parachute in neighbouring Navi Mumbai’s Ghansoli area, prompting a probe by various agencies including police and the Maharashtra ATS, an official said Tuesday.

The purported incident occurred Saturday night when, according to eye witnesses, two persons landed with a parachute on the palm beach road near the Ghansoli creek, a police official said.

He said one of them was reported to be a woman who could be a foreigner.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-I) Sudhakar Pathare said the police are verifying the claims of residents.

“We are investigating the incident. Inquiry is on,” said Pathare.

The DCP said various teams of police are analysing footages from CCTV cameras in the area.

Meanwhile, another police official said the CCTV footage shows two persons at the spot being mentioned by the local residents, but the images are unclear.

“Witnesses told police that the two persons, including a woman, landed on the road in night, sat in a car waiting for them, and left,” he said.

The Anti-Terror Cell of local police, Maharashtra ATS and other agencies are investigating the incident, he said.

Navi Mumbai is a planned city off the west coast in the Konkan region of Maharashtra.

In September 2016, panic gripped Uran area in Navi Mumbai when some people claimed that they had spotted a group of suspicious armed men in Pathan suits.

A “highest state of alert” was then issued along the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Raigad coasts where several sensitive establishments and assets are located.

However, the operation to trace the ‘suspicious’ men was later called off, after the agencies concluded that the report was a hoax.

JSPL aims to clear all debt in next 2 years: Naveen Jindal

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February 5, 2019

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) aims to clear all its debt by 2021-22 before embarking on an expansion plan, its Chairman Naveen Jindal said on Tuesday.

“First we will clear all our debts, then we will begin working on our expansion plan. We aim to clear it by 2021-22. There is a debt of Rs 39,000 crore on the group, and on steel Rs 18,000-19,000 crore,” Jindal said at an event here.

In October last year, Jindal announced the company’s plans to increase the capacity of its Angul plant to 20 million tonnes per annum by 2030, set up an industrial park in Odisha and lay a 200-km slurry pipeline from Barbil to Angul for transportation of iron ore.

On the status of 1 lakh tonne rail order by Indian Railways, Jindal Tuesday said the company has already completed over 50 per cent of the order and the rest will be completed by March 10.

Part of the USD 18 billion OP Jindal Group, JSPL has a presence in steel, power, mining and infrastructure sectors.

The domestic steel sector is facing many challenges including cheap imports.

Against this backdrop, JSPL’s Joint MD N A Ansari said the local steel industry continues to face the challenge of steel imports especially from countries with which India has Free Trade Agreements.

About the interim budget, he said, “we had expected duty cut on coking coal”.

Domestic demand for coking coal, a key raw material for making steel, is met through imports.

On the government’s proposal to extend tax sops given to real estate firms for developing affordable housing until next fiscal, he said the move would push demand for long steel products.

OYO net loss marginally widens to Rs 360 cr in FY18

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February 5, 2019

Hospitality firm OYO Tuesday reported a marginal widening of net loss to Rs 360 crore for the financial year 2017-18 for its operations in India.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 355 crore for the previous fiscal year 2016-17, OYO said in a statement.

“The marginal fluctuation was primarily due to spends on technology, team building and further investments in newer categories that the company entered during the said financial year,” OYO Hotels and Homes CFO Abhishek Gupta said.

As per consolidated audited financials, OYO India revenue growth has jumped over three fold. The firm reported operating revenue of Rs 416 crore for the fiscal year 2018, compared to Rs 120 crore reported for the 2016-17 financial year, it added.

“The growth trend continues in FY 2018-19 with revenue estimates of over Rs 1,400 crore,” OYO said.

The revenue growth has been driven by strong underlying business drivers notably increase in exclusive room supply, two times increase in stayed room nights and consistent margin expansion, OYO said.

“To maintain this three-fold growth year-on-year, the supporting infrastructure needs to be bigger and we need to invest ahead of time, in people and technology,” Gupta said.

The company has also invested in new categories, which, while leaders in their respective segments are still nascent businesses, he added.

Partnering with OYO significantly improves the quality of the standalone hotel and improves occupancy from 25 per cent to 65 per cent on an average, increasing the yield on under-utilised assets for asset owners, the company said.

“Over 93 per cent of OYO’s demand comes through its own channels signifying low dependence on third-party online travel agents (OTAs),” it added.

MSMEs provide jobs to 10 cr people in last 4 years: Union Minister

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February 5, 2019

Union minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday said micro, small and medium enterprises in the country have provided jobs to 10 crore people between 2014-18, terming it a “tight slap” on people raising a “propaganda” to defame MSMEs.

His comments came days after media reports suggested that a periodic labour force survey of the National Sample Survey Office found the unemployment rate in 2017-18 was the highest since 1972-73 when it was 2.2 per cent.

Singh, the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), observed that between 2014 and 2018, 18 lakh entrepreneurs availed loans under the credit guarantee scheme, as against only 11 lakh entrepreneurs between 2010-14.

He also said that two lakh entrepreneurs benefited from the Prime Minister’s Employment Guarantee Programme between 2014-18 taking the overall number to 20 lakh.

According to him, existing MSME units gave employment to a minimum of seven crore people while enterprises set up by new entrepreneurs provided jobs to three crore people.

“How is employment falling when 20 lakh entrepreneurs are standing up. If someone says it is night now I will not agree because I am talking during the day. With full confidence and full evidence I say that a situation to spread confusion is being created in the country,” he said, addressing the stakeholders’ consultation meeting on national SC/ST hub.

“MSMEs have provided jobs to 10 crore people in the past four years. This is not word of mouth but based on a survey. It is a tight slap on the names of people who are raising propaganda to defame MSMEs. When the GDP is rising, inflation is falling, how can the employment fall,” Singh said.

Liam Neeson reveals he wanted to kill a black guy after friend’s rape, draws flak online

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February 5, 2019

Hollywood actor Liam Neeson has recalled a disturbing incident when he contemplated a racist revenge attack after somebody close to him was raped.

“I went up and down areas with a cosh (a club), hoping I’d be approached by somebody, I’m ashamed to say that, and I did it for maybe a week, hoping some ‘black bastard’ would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him,” Neeson shared in an interview with a leading British newspaper.

According to an online portal, the actor revealed that he had found out about the rape after returning home from a trip. Without going into exact details he mentioned that the person who was raped was a family member.

“There’s something primal – God forbid you’ve ever had a member of your family hurt under criminal conditions,” he said.

Talking about the rape victim Liam said, “She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way. I asked, did she know who it was? No. What color were they? She said it was a black person.”

Promoting his new film, “Cold Pursuit,” a tale of revenge, Neeson admitted that he did “learn a lesson” from his reaction to incident and noted that while he understands the primal drive for revenge, it eventually leads to more bloodshed.

The actor is now facing backlash on social media with people calling him racist.

Gwyneth Paltrow signs Netflix deal to create Goop show

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February 5, 2019

Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow has signed a deal with Netflix under which her lifestyle brand Goop will produce a 30-minute docu-series focused on wellness.

The still untitled docu-series, which will premiere on the streaming service later this year, consists of episodes hosted by the site’s editors, chief content officer Elise Loehnen and Paltrow.

According to Variety, Goop will take help from experts, doctors, and researchers to examine issues relating to physical and spiritual wellness.

“We were speaking to the platform question, and where our people are. They’re watching Netflix. Some of the more strategic, bigger stories we want to tell require a TV budget. Obviously, there’s no better partner in that,” Loehnen said.

“Gwyneth is a highly visual, tactile person. The quality of everything that we produce is very important to her. She’s always looking for white space. Whether it’s developing physical products or thinking of content. With this show, I think she’s only really interested in opportunities where we can uniquely be ourselves and do things potentially disruptive,” she added.

Goop’s eponymous podcast has also signed an exclusive distribution deal with Delta. The podcast, which was hosted by Paltrow and Loehnen, was one of the iTunes store’s most-downloaded in 2018.

The team is also developing standalone podcasts with in-house beauty expert Jean Godfrey-June, a food program hosted by an award-winning chef, and a Goop book club featuring author interviews and reviews.

AR Rahman was ‘starving’ to look thin a day before his Oscar win

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February 5, 2019

AR Rahman created history in 2009 by becoming the first ever Indian to win two Academy Awards in a single night but the music composer says on the eve of the ceremony, he was “starving” to look in shape.

Rahman bagged two Academy Awards, one for the original score for “Slumdog Millionaire” and the other for the hugely popular global hit “Jai Ho.”

While things changed dramatically for Rahman post his win, when asked what was his mental space on the eve of the big award event, Rahman told media, “Actually nothing. I was just starving to look thin for the ceremony!”

The Danny Boyle-directed drama swept the 81st Academy Award with 8 trophies out of 10 nominations.

Rahman shot to global fame with his win and went on to get two more Oscar nominations in 2011 for his original score and song for Boyle’s “127 Hours”.

When asked if it is difficult to move past the shadows of two Oscars, Rahman said, “Yes. I have moved on because it’s a great identity for me and I needed that identity to be in Hollywood. Now, whenever I am mentioned there, people know my name.

“That helped me move further not just in music, but also producing movies and going into technologies like virtual reality and cinematic virtual reality and so much of the stuff that’s going to come this year. So, all this freedom came with this power.”