Apple, Google employee shuttles under attack in California

Apple and Google have been forced to reroute their shuttles ferrying employee after the vehicles were attacked with either pellet guns or rocks several times on the way to office.

According to a report in Slate Magazine on Friday, six buses operated by these tech companies to shuttle employees to their offices have been attacked on the highway over the past week.

"The California Highway Patrol reports that four Apple and one Google bus had their windows shattered by unidentified projectiles; the patrol suggests that they could have been rocks or bullets from a pellet gun," the report added.

Another Apple bus had its window damaged. Apple has filed a police report with a description of a suspect.

The rerouting has prolonged the commute timings for employees by 30 to 45 minutes.

Facebook, however, told TechCrunch that its employee buses have not faced such problems.

The shuttles are not marked with the logos of the companies that chartered them.

However, the vehicles have identifiable colours -- white for Google, silver for Apple and blue for Facebook.

According to Fortune, people started attacking Google buses some four years ago, as a way of protesting the tech-company-driven gentrification taking place around San Francisco.

"The protests that took place in 2013 and 2014 were prompted by gentrification in the Bay Area, due to the high salaries of tech company employees, and also by anger over surveillance and automation," it added.

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Banks stocks shoot up on 100% FDI in private banks reports

Banking stocks on Thursday zoomed following reports that the government may allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in private sector banks.

The S&P BSE banking index surged by 1.64 per cent -- almost 500 points higher -- with stocks of major private banks in the lead.

Around 1.30 p.m., stocks of Yes Bank traded higher by 2.99 per cent, followed by HDFC Bank (up 2.79 per cent), IndusInd Bank (up 2.01 per cent), ICICI Bank (up 1.84 per cent), Kotak Bank (up 1.28 per cent) and Axis Bank (up 0.47 per cent).

State-run State Bank of India's shares traded higher by 0.88 per cent while those of Bank of Baroda fell by 0.12 per cent and Punjab National Bank dipped by 0.37 per cent.

On the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty Bank index traded higher by 1.83 per cent.

The Nifty Private Bank index edged higher by 1.85 per cent and the Nifty Public Sector Bank index by 0.21 per cent.

Reports on Wednesday said the government may allow 100 percent foreign direct investment in private banks and also consider increasing the permissible limit for FDI in public sector banks to 49 per cent from the current 20 per cent.

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Kohli clinches top ICC awards (Second Lead)

After a prolific run with the willow last year, India skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday swept the International Cricket Council (ICC) annual awards as the 29-year won the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for being the World Cricketer of the Year 2017.

Kohli was also named as ICC ODI cricketer of the year 2017 and the captain of both ICC Test and ODI teams. It is the second time Kohli has been named as the ODI cricketer of the year as he won the same honour in 2012 when he was 24 years old.

Kohli's Australian counterpart Steve Smith bagged the honour of being the Test Cricketer of the Year. The 28-year-old Smith posted six centuries in just 11 Tests in 2017; three on Australia's tour of India and three in the recently-completed 4-0 Ashes triumph over England.

The award, which was decided for performance based on the period between September 21, 2016 to December 31, 2017, the Indian skipper scored 2,203 Test runs at an average of 77.80. 

The right-handed batsman also scored eight centuries in the time period in the longest format, including five double hundreds. 

In ODIs, Kohli hammered 1,818 ODI runs at an average of 82.63 including seven centuries, and 299 T20I runs at a strike rate of 153. With Kohli as skipper, India went on to register 9 consecutive series win in the longest format.

Apart from Kohli, who was named as the captain for the ODI Team of the year, Rohit Sharma, who smashed a double ton against Sri Lanka in December, becoming the only batsman in the world to have three double centuries in the format, was also included in the squad. 

The only other Indian apart from the two, who made it to the team was seamer Jasprit Bumrah, who took 56 wickets in 31 matches at an average of 22.73 in the year 2017.

Three Indians made it to the 2017 Test team of the year -- Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, who was also named as the captain for the side.

Rising leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was also recognised for his tremendous perfomance in T20 cricket and his 6-wicket haul against England in Bengaluru was recognised as the ICC T20I Performance of the Year.

Among others, Pakistan quick Hasan Ali was named the Emerging Cricketer of the Year after he helped Pakistan win the ICC Champions Trophy in June, while Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was named Associate Cricketer of the Year.

English women cricketer Anya Shrubsole bagged the ICC Spirit of Cricket award while South African umpire Marais Erasmus was awarded the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year.

Pakistan's ICC Champions Trophy 2017 win over arch-rivals India in June was adjudged the ICC Fans Moment of the Year. The Sarfraz Ahmed-led Men-in-Green thrashed India by 180 runs to bag the title at The Oval in London.

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Ex-CIA officer suspected of helping China arrested

A former CIA officer suspected by investigators of helping China dismantle Washington's spying operations and identify informants has been arrested, the Justice Department said.

Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a naturalised US citizen, was held after arriving at New York's JFK airport on Monday. Lee worked for the CIA between 1994 and 2007. He later left for Hong Kong.

When Lee returned to the US in 2012, FBI agents searched his hotel rooms in Hawaii and Virginia and found finding two small books with secret records, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Lee, 53, was charged in a federal court in northern Virginia with the "unlawful retention of national defence information and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, if convicted", the Justice Department said.

He appeared in Brooklyn court on Tuesday and was being held there. He does not have a lawyer, an official said. 

It was unclear why Lee decided to risk arrest by coming to the US this month, according to the report.

In the books the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents found, Lee had written down details about meetings between Central Intelligence Agency informants and undercover agents, as well as their real names and phone numbers, the court papers stated. 

Prosecutors said that material in the books reflected the same information contained in classified cables that Lee had written while at the agency.

Lee, also known as Zhen Cheng Li, began his CIA career as a case officer, maintained a top secret clearance and signed non-disclosure agreements. He has made no public comments on the issue.

Officials expressed concern that Lee's case and at least one other represent a troubling pattern of Chinese intelligence targeting former agency officials, an easier task than trying to recruit current CIA operatives.

In June, a former CIA officer was charged with providing classified information to China and making false statements. Prosecutors said that the former officer, Kevin Patrick Mallory, 60, of Leesburg, Virginia, had top-secret documents and incriminating messages on a communications device he brought back from Shanghai.

In March, prosecutors announced the arrest of a longtime State Department employee, Candace Marie Claiborne, accused of lying to investigators about her contacts with Chinese officials. 

According to the criminal complaint against Claiborne, who pleaded not guilty, Chinese agents wired cash into her bank account and lavished her with thousands of dollars in gifts.

IANS

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Hyderabad University student killed in car crash

A female student of Hyderabad Central University was killed and two techies were injured in a car crash on Outer Ring Road on the city outskirts early on Tuesday, police said.

Ananya Goel, 22, hailing from Uttar Pradesh's Shamli, was on long drive with her two friends after celebrating birthday of one of them when the accident occurred.


According to police, the car overturned near Burjugadda under Shamshabad Rural police station limits while they were on their way to Gachibowli from Pedda Amberpet.

Ananya, Nikhita and Nitin, whose birthday it was, sustained grievous injuries and were shifted to a corporate hospital where Ananya succumbed. Nikhita and Nitin were undergoing treatment.

Police said the car was being driven at a high speed and this led to the accident. They registered a case and were investigating.

Details will be known after recording the statement of the injured, a police official said.

Police shifted the body to government-run Osmania Hospital and informed Ananya's family about the accident.

She was pursuing MA at the HCU.

IANS

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Direct tax collections up 18% in April-December

India's direct tax collection between April and December in the current fiscal at Rs 6.56 lakh crore was 18.2 per cent higher than for the corresponding period last year, according to an official announcement on Tuesday.

A Finance Ministry statement said the collections till December represent 67 per cent of the total budget estimates for direct taxes for fiscal 2017-18.

"Provisional figures of direct tax collections up to December 2017 show that net collections are at Rs 6.56 lakh crore, which is 18.2 per cent higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year," the Ministry tweeted.

"Net direct tax collections represent 67 per cent of total budget estimates of direct taxes for FY 2017-18 (Rs 9.8 lakh crore)," the release said here.

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), gross collections before adjusting for refunds have increased by 12.6 per cent to Rs 7.68 lakh crore during April-December 2017. Refunds amounting to Rs 1.12 lakh crore have been issued during this period.

A total of Rs 3.18 lakh crore has been received as advance tax till December, reflecting a growth of 12.7 per cent on this count over the corresponding period of last year, the statement said.

"The growth in corporate income tax advance tax is 10.9 per cent and that in personal income tax advance tax is 21.6 per cent," it added.

IANS 

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Governor's 'indictment' proof of J&K government's failure: Omar

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday accused the Mehbooba Mufti-led collation government of "failure on all fronts".

Abdullah said the "open criticism of the coalition government by the Governor was proof of its failure on all fronts".

The National Conference leader was referring to Governor N.N. Vohra's statement during a commemoration function here on Monday in honour of late Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.

Vohra had said the "state faces many problems, some of our own doing and some of others' contributions". He urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to perk up its performance.

Abdullah said the Governor's statement was an "indictment" against the PDP-BJP collation government, proving its failure on all fronts.

He said the situation in the state had drastically deteriorated since the PDP-BJP government assumed power. He said the government's promise of development was nowhere to be seen.

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India to be testing ground for questionable genetic control of mosquitoes?

 If approved by its regulators, India will become testing ground for a new but controversial technology that its US developers claim can wipe out malaria from the country.

Malaria is spread by female mosquitoes of genus Anopheles with several species capable of carrying the parasite. Using gene-editing technology, researchers at the University of California (UC) -- at its campuses in Irvine (UCI) and San Diego (UCSD) -- modified the Anopheles Stephensi mosquitoes to create a strain that resists infection by Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria.

And employing what is called "Gene Drive", they showed that the gene which prevents malaria transmission in these genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes can be passed on to their offspring. This implies that, in several generations, the entire population of A.stephensi in the wild can potentially be replaced by one incapable of transmitting malaria.

But, will this silver bullet that works in laboratory, perform in the real world?

That is what the US team is planning to find out using malaria endemic India as the test-bed for their experiment under a generous $70 million (Rs 460 crore) grant from India's Tata Trusts.

This is the largest foreign investment ever received by UCSD and 50 per cent more than the annual budget (Rs 300 crore) of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) -- India's nodal agency for the control of all vector-borne diseases, not just malaria.

Suresh Subramani, professor of molecular biology at UCSD, says his team will work with a new Centre being created in India at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (InStem) in Bengaluru. The collaboration, he says, "Represents a fantastic opportunity to train scientists of Indian origin in the new technology of 'active genetics' for the benefit of society."

According to UCSD spokesman Mario Aguilera, "Gene Drive technology has not yet been applied for vector control anywhere." Field trials in India, if allowed, will be the world's first.

Some scientists like P.K. Rajagopalan, former head of Vector Control Research Centre in Puduchery, says GM mosquito field releases should never be allowed.

"I am 88 and have spent all my life with mosquitoes in the field," Rajagopalan told this correspondent. "Mosquitoes had evolved by natural selection long before man. To think one can replace the natural population with another is a pipe dream."

Rajagopalan noted that Sri Lanka controlled malaria "by super-active surveillance and hard field work, making the environment inhospitable for mosquito breeding. Nowhere in the world has anyone controlled mosquitoes or vector borne diseases using GM releases."

R.S. Sharma and A.C. Dhariwal, two former NVBDCP directors, agreed. "Now everybody is pushing their agenda without knowing the biology of vector diseases in the field," Sharma said.

Dhariwal wondered "why the Tata Trust is pumping money into a California University and not into the Indian Council of Medical Research". The Trust's chief trustee, R. Venkataramanan, did not reply to request for a comment.

Govindarajan Padmanabhan a renowned biochemist at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, is an ardent proponent of GM crops but is wary about Gene Drives.

"There are issues of stability of the genetic elements over generations and also potential for resistance development to the spread," he told this correspondent, adding: "The environmental and ecological consequences are also being debated globally and I am not sure release of such engineered mosquitoes would ever become a reality in India, where even the Bt brinjal embargo has not been lifted."

But not everyone is opposed. L.S. Shashidara, biology professor at Indian Institute of Science Engineering and Research (IISER) in Pune, does not want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

"I am quite confident that this is a safe technology," he said. "Of course, it has to be proved beyond doubt. By not doing research itself, we may miss a great opportunity to help the society."

"This new approach is at a very early stage," admitted K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, responsible for ensuring safety from the use of GM organisms. "Results from laboratory studies will determine how fruitful this approach is."

It is not the first time India is sought after as testing ground for release of GM mosquitoes. In 1975 a US-funded project that planned to release them at Sonepat in Haryana for control of dengue, was terminated by the then government on suspicion that the data collected from the experiment could have implications in biological warfare.

Since then, India has been wary about similar proposals under the banner of collaboration. Permission is pending for another proposal by the British firm Oxitec for release of GM mosquitoes for controlling dengue.

Resistance to the field trial of the anti-malarial GM mosquitoes by the UCSD team is likely be fierce because of the unpredictability of Gene Drives and the potential they hold for altering entire ecosystems.

And, a recent report in the journal "Nature Methods" said: "Gene-editing technology can introduce hundreds of unintended mutations into the genome."

Recognising these pitfalls, the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said: "Gene Drive systems raise many questions with respect to their safety related to public and environmental health due to their intrinsic qualities of rapid spread and irreversibility."

The Convention on Biological Diversity has called for "a moratorium on development and release of genetically engineered gene drives".

Gene Drives are also considered controversial because their self-propagating nature makes them an ideal tool in the hands of would-be bioterrorists to spread disease-causing organisms.

While consensus is still to emerge, the US team indicated it will not push this untested technology on unwilling people. Asked when the Indian field trial with his GM mosquitoes for malaria control will start, UCI vector biologist Anthony James told this correspondent: "It will depend entirely on community acceptance and the regulatory requirements. I do not have a way to put a date on these."

IANS

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NetApp unveils new Hybrid Cloud services

Cloud firm NetApp on Friday introduced new Hybrid Cloud offerings to help customers efficiently use data for competitive advantage.

NetApp introduced "NetApp HCI", the industry's first enterprise-scale hyper-converged solution for better performance, independent scaling, and Data Fabric integration.

The other offerings include new consumption purchase models and improved all-flash capabilities.

"The announcements of enterprise-scale HCI and new Hybrid Cloud software and services extend our Data Fabric architecture and leadership in providing data services that simplify management of applications and data across clouds and on-premises environments," George Kurian, NetApp Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement.

NetApp's Hybrid Cloud innovations allow customers to break down barriers to transformation by helping them to unify data across the widest range of cloud and on-premises environments. 

IANS

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Will Flipkart's own smartphone capture a billion hearts?

In India's fertile mobile landscape, dominated by Chinese manufacturers (along with South Korean giant Samsung at the top) an urge to obtain "signature" handsets has charmed buyers from diverse fields -- from telecom honchos to cricket moguls, from Bollywood heartthrobs to now e-commerce giants.

The scope is huge -- amid razor-thin profits -- with several smartphones now being launched across the price spectrum every quarter.

The truth is that not all will have profitable quarters and most won't survive, but then, it is a lucrative business and if things are set in motion from the word go, one may enter the top 10 slots in India in about one-two years of consistent growth.


Will Flipkart be successful with its somewhat mid-segment yet affordable device named "Billion Capture+"?

"The landscape today is dominated by Chinese-owned brands and it is high time that Indian design and engineering got a fair chance in this field. The Billion Capture+ is hence designed, engineered, manufactured and tested in India," Hrishikesh Thite, Category Head, Billion at Flipkart, told IANS.

"We arrived at the specifications of the Billion Capture+ after analysing millions of customer reviews on Flipkart. This launch should fill some critical gaps between customer aspirations and what is currently on offer in the market," Thite added.

The Flipkart device comes in two variants. The Rs 10,999 model will house 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage while the Rs 12,999 handset will come with 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM.

"We have partnered with multiple designers, developers and manufacturers across the country who have all brought in their understanding of the Indian customer and their expertise -- in design or in engineering," Thite explained.

The device is being manufactured in Noida. Bengaluru-based Artificial Intelligence (AI)-startup Smartron has provided software engineering and design for the phone. According to Flipkart, the unlimited Cloud storage is provided through Smartron's India-based servers.

"More and more smartphone buyers are already buying their phones online given the large selection at their disposal. We plan to offer the phone exclusively on Flipkart," Thite noted.

Analysts, however, are divided on the future of the device.

"It will certainly be very interesting to see how this move by Flipkart pans out. Flipkart, of course, has advantages of long experience and data about consumer behaviour of online buyers," Navkendar Singh, Senior Research Manager at IDC India, told IANS.

Moreover, Singh added, Flipkart is getting into the $100-$200 (Rs 6,500-Rs 13,000) smartphone segment which, despite being hyper-competitive, constitutes almost half of the Indian market.

The Flipkart move should be seen from two viewpoints.

"Reducing dependency on partners (read smartphone brands) for getting more control over design and supply side of the device and for improved margins and earnings from smartphone sales," Singh said.

According to Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, being one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets globally, India continues to be an attractive destination for mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other ecosystem players.

"However, in order to be successful, players need to target a diverse set of user base with their value-for-money and differentiated offerings. Just launching a device might not shake things at the ground level," Pathak told IANS, adding that Flipkart needs to do more than just place the device in the online channel.

The competitors in the mid-segment have grown over a period of years and now have deep expertise in hardware sourcing. More than that, they are better placed at spotting trends and are able to quickly align their portfolio accordingly.

"Flipkart needs a strong overall strategy, from hardware to bundling to execute," Pathak added.

According to Faisal Kawoosa, Principal Analyst, Telecom and ESDM, CyberMedia Research (CMR), Flipkart's strength is not in products but in facilitating their sales. "I don't see the device being a major disruptor," he told IANS.

It is pertinent to note that the market dynamics have changed a lot in the last few quarters.

The fight for customers' mind-space and retail-shelf space is increasingly getting difficult and expensive; China-based vendors are able to build brands across both online and offline channels and consumers are demanding the latest design and highest specifications at an affordable price.

"These can certainly present a few challenges for Flipkart as it starts its own smartphone business," Singh noted.

Thite, however, is upbeat.

"Given the large and diverse consumer base, there is space for a multitude of offerings from both e-tailers and manufacturers. We believe that different brands should continue to innovate and bring new offerings for the customer," Thite stressed.

"At the same time, we will also continue to look for need gaps specifically in the Indian market and put out 'Made for India' offerings," the Flipkart executive told IANS.

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Infosys to train employees in self-driving car engineering

IT major Infosys on Thursday announced plan to train its employees in self-driving car engineering technology in partnership with online learning company Udacity.

The programme, known as Udacity Connect, a combined in-person and online training offering, will give Infosys employees the skills needed as the company continues to focus on autonomous technology across a range of industries, including automotive, manufacturing and mining, the IT major said in a statement.



The 20-week curriculum will train Infosys employees on engineering technologies for self-driving vehicles, including advanced courses in deep learning and machine learning.

"The goal of this programme is to train 500 engineers by the end of 2018," Infosys said.

"Infosys is committed to re-skilling and training its employees in groundbreaking technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and autonomous technologies," said Ravi Kumar S., President and Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Infosys.

"We are proud to expand our partnership with Udacity with the launch of the in-person and online Self-Driving Car Engineer Nanodegree programme as we accelerate the pace of skill adoption and ensure our clients continue to be at the forefront of innovation," he added.

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Gionee M7 Power: Long battery, 3D photos and much more (Tech Review)

The dominance of Chinese smartphone players in the Indian market is not going to wither away any time soon, and Gionee India, with a customer base of 12.5 million and over six per cent market share, has ramped up its efforts to become one of the top five brands in the country.

With the launch of M7 Power in the mid-price segment at Rs 16,999, Gionee aims to further solidify its position in the competitive market.

The device is the first from Gionee that offers "FullView Display" and the unique 3D photo feature.

Let's see what the handset (4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory) has to offer.

The 3D photo feature of the aluminum-body M7 power stands out as one of the key highlights.

Go around an object to form a three-dimensional (3D) dynamic picture and the "live photo" feature shows the object with multiple angles with deeper detail. Turn the phone or slide screen to enjoy the 3D image.

Equipped with a 5,000mAh high-quality battery, the device is a delight for multi-taskers. The intelligent power management system efficiently controlled consumption as we took the device on with heavy usage.

The "FullView Display" complemented with Gorilla Glass 3 on the front makes the device look trendy.

With an 85 per cent higher screen-to-body ratio, the wider field of vision offers a better visual experience while watching videos, playing games or reading.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Octa-core Processor offers a basic frequency of up to 1.4GHz. The 4GB RAM ensured glitch-free experience -- be it gaming or social media use.

Equipped with 13MP rear F2.0 camera and 8MP front camera, the device clicked some great snaps during daylight conditions.

The advanced software algorithms in the front shooter automatically blurred the background, making the selfies look beautiful.

When it comes to security, M7 Power offers "Private Space 2.0" feature, fingerprint security and app lock. Multi-function fingerprint identification can quickly unlock the phone in a safe way.

Embedded with Amigo 5.0 (Android 7.1 Nougat) operating system, the device has a unique WhatsApp clone feature that enables users to create three WhatsApp accounts.

The device also allows split-screen, making it possible to juggle various activities on one screen at the same time.

The device comes with the "intelligent eye protection" feature that cuts down blue light -- making it a good choice for those who prefer to read on their phones.

The phone has "Smart Gesture" feature where one can flip the device to pause the alarm while it rings.

The "black screen gesture" helps users directly access apps like camera, Internet browser, music, torch and selfie camera.

In the sleep screen mode, smart vibration feature alerts you if there were missed calls or messages.

The phone also has "Glove Patterns" feature that allows users to navigate through the device while wearing gloves especially during the winter season.

What doesn't work?

The camera can be better when it comes to low-light photography.

Conclusion: To sum up, the device with next-generation "FullView Display" and long-lasting battery is set to create a space in the crowded mid-segment -- especially against Moto G5s Plus, Nokia 6 and LG Q6 Plus -- for an upgraded user experience.

IANS

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Aaradhya's presence brings happiness in our home, says Big B

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says that his granddaughter Aaradhya's presence brings a lot of happiness in their home and life.

On Aaradhya's 6th birthday on Thursday , Big B wrote on his blog: "Her presence makes the happiness in our home and in the environ she presents herself in as ever bright and sprightly and one of maturity beyond."

Amitabh, 75, also shared a photograph of Aaradhya on Twitter on Wednesday night. In the image, she is seen holding a poster of herself and smiling towards the camera.

"When she shall tell us how much she has grown. It's actually 6 years but it's 60 for most of us...," Big B captioned the image.

Aaradhya is the daughter of actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and actor Abhishek Bachchan, who tied the knot in 2007.

On the professional front, Amitabh currently has two films in his kitty -- "Thugs Of Hindostan" and "102 Not Out".

IANS

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NIA arrests 4, recovers Rs 9.1 lakh fake currency

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday said that it has arrested four people from Kolkata and recovered Rs 9.1 lakh fake currency.

The agency arrested all four from the vicinity of Howrah Railway Station in Kolkata on Tuesday night, the NIA said in a statement.

The counter-terror probe agency said that it had received information on Tuesday regarding certain individuals in possession of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) with the intention of handing them over to certain persons for pushing into monetary system as genuine Indian currency.

"A team of NIA officers was immediately tasked to carry out this operation. Late into the night, the team seized FICN having face value of Rs 9.1 lakh in the denomination of Rs 2,000," the agency said.

The arrested have been identified as Barkat Ansari, Utpal Chowdhury, Fijul Mia and Rabjul Mia, all residents of West Bengal's Malda district.

A case was registered against them under various sections of criminal conspiracy for using forged or counterfeit currency notes or bank notes as genuine and possession of forged or counterfeit currency notes. 

IANS

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India-Sri Lanka 1st Test delayed due to rain

The first Test between India and Sri Lanka was delayed due to rain here at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Staying true to the weather forecast, the skies remained overcast since morning with light drizzle starting little over an hour before the scheduled start of the game and half an hour ahead of toss.

Both teams did not have practice on the eve of the match due to rain as the covers were on throughout the day.


It was the same picture on the day of the tie as well with pitch cover removed for a short while when rain was away, only to be put back minutes later after the skies refused to relent keeping both captains confined to their dressing rooms during toss time.

A depression over the Bay of Bengal triggered almost incessant downpour since early on Wednesday throwing traffic out of gear in the city also.

India captain Virat Kohli spoke to reporters at the team hotel. While Sri Lanka's captain Dinesh Chandimal and team manager and national selector Asanka Gurusinha came to the Eden for their team's press conference.

Chances of a washout of Day 1 could not be ruled out as more rain was predicted for the day by the weatherman.

On Friday also, there is forecast of showers while according to local MeT office, Saturday could also see scattered thunderstorms.

The eastern metropolis did not receive a drop of rain since October 30.


India are playing Sri Lanka for the second time in three months after the hosts battered the tourists in their own den in July-August 9-0 across all formats.

Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), K.L. Rahul, M. Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma.

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Lahiru Thirimanne, Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Gamage, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Dasun Shanaka and Roshen Silva.

IANS

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