Brexit will make UK ‘the greatest place on earth’: UK PM
UK PM Boris Johnson on Thursday promised to withdraw his country from the European Union by October 31. “Our mission is to deliver Brexit…for the purpose of uniting and re-energising our great United Kingdom and making this country the greatest place on earth,” Johnson said in his first speech as Prime Minister.
My roommates stole my passport, had to go back to Canada: Nora Fatehi
Talking about her initial days in Bollywood, actress Nora Fatehi recalled she was sharing an apartment with eight girls and her roommates stole her passport. “I had to leave India and go back to Canada for a while,” she added. Fatehi further claimed an agency refused to give her ₹20 lakh back after she decided to stop working with them.
Man approaches Delhi High Court to ban IPL auctions, fined ₹25,000
Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which had challenged auctioning and selling of cricket players as part of Indian Premier League (IPL). The man, who had filed the petition comparing the auctioning of cricketers to human trafficking, has been fined ₹25,000. The plea had stated that IPL auctions also promoted corruption and nepotism.
England dismiss Ireland for 5th lowest total to win Test at Lord’s
England defeated Ireland by 143 runs in the one-off Test at Lord’s after dismissing them for the fifth-lowest Test total (38). Ireland were dismissed in 94 deliveries, the shortest Test innings in last 83 years. England also became the first team in 111 years to win a Test despite getting all out for 85 runs or fewer in first innings.
China says gave India data on floods; MEA calls it standard practice
China’s Ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, said that China had provided satellite data to India to assist in flood relief efforts on ISRO’s request. Responding to Weidong, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the data was shared under the International Charter Space and Major Disasters, of which ISRO is a part, and called it “standard practice”.
Billionaire Agarwal sells Anglo American stake, may make $500 mn
Metals tycoon Anil Agarwal, the biggest shareholder in London-based mining giant Anglo American, on Thursday said he is selling the nearly 20% stake he has held since 2017. Bloomberg reported that Agarwal could make $500 million before costs from the investment. The self-made billionaire, who controls Vedanta, said the targeted returns had been achieved “even sooner than expected”.
No connection between VRS and transfer to Power Ministry: SC Garg
Senior IAS officer Subhash Chandra Garg said he discussed his voluntary retirement with Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on July 18, much before his transfer orders were issued on July 24. “It (VRS) has no connection with the orders,” he said. Garg was removed as Finance and Economic Affairs Secretary and transferred to the Power Ministry as its top bureaucrat.
Blackstone may invest ₹1,720 crore in Biyani’s Future Lifestyle
US private-equity giant Blackstone Group is reportedly investing around ₹1,720 crore in Kishore Biyani’s Future Lifestyle Fashions, which owns retail chains Central and Brand Factory besides a number of clothing brands. The funding will be done through a combination of equity and structured debt, reports said. Future Lifestyle operates 97 Brand Factory and 47 Central stores.
Punia among 5 wrestlers selected for Senior World C’ships
Five wrestlers including Commonwealth Games gold medallist Bajrang Punia have been selected for the 2019 Senior Wrestling World Championships. The tournament is the first phase to earn a spot in the 2020 Olympic Games. Other wrestlers who were selected in their respective categories are Ravi Kumar (57 kg), Deepak Punia (86 kg), Mausam (97 kg) and Sumit (125 kg).
Apple denies claims it favours own apps in App Store searches
Apple has denied claims made by the Wall Street Journal that it ranks its own apps higher than its competitors’ in the App Store. The report had alleged the iPhone maker’s own apps “routinely” appeared in search results and ranked first in over 60% basic searches such as “maps”. Apple said search result rankings are based on 42 undisclosed factors.
Mumbai’s boAt raises ₹16 crore in debt from InnoVen Capital
Mumbai-based consumer electronics brand ‘boAt’ has raised debt funding of ₹16 crore from venture debt and lending platform InnoVen Capital. This comes days after the brand received a ₹20-crore debt commitment from Flipkart Co-founder Sachin Bansal’s co-founded fund BAC Acquisitions. Founded by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, ‘boAt’ had raised ₹6 crore from Fireside Ventures in May 2018.
SpaceX launches 18th ISS resupply mission, recovers booster
Elon Musk-led aerospace startup SpaceX has successfully launched its 18th mission for NASA to deliver experiment, research and supply materials to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was launched using twice-flown Dragon capsule and marked SpaceX’s 44th successful recovery of a Falcon 9 rocket booster. SpaceX had used the booster two months ago for the last ISS resupply mission.
One dead, 11 injured in explosion at Ludhiana factory
A person died while 11 others were injured on Friday after an explosion at a factory in Ludhiana’s Mundian Kalan area. The incident took place in DC Steel factory after a pipe exploded due to excessive pressure. “One person was brought dead while nine others with less than 25% burn injuries are admitted to the hospital,” a doctor said.
Brazil President’s cell phones hacked amid leaked chats scandal
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said that his cell phones were hacked by a group which also targeted other cabinet ministers, prosecutors and judges. Conversations leaked from Justice Minister Sérgio Moro’s cell phone revealed that as a judge, he had colluded with prosecutors to keep jailed former President Lula da Silva out of the 2018 presidential race.
2-yr-old swept away on airport conveyor belt, injures right hand
A two-year-old boy injured his right hand after he climbed onto a baggage conveyor belt at an airport in Atlanta, US. The boy rode on the conveyer belt through restricted areas of the airport until officials saw him and stopped the belt. He climbed onto the belt when his mother put him down to print her boarding pass.
Dhoni doesn’t need protection, he will protect citizens: Army chief
Talking about MS Dhoni who is set to serve his Army regiment in Kashmir, Army chief General Bipin Rawat said, “Dhoni has carried out his basic training and we know he’ll be able to accomplish the task.” “I don’t think we will need to protect him, he will protect the citizens and garrison entrusted to his task,” he added.
Google-parent posts $9bn Q2 profit, to buy back stock worth $25bn
Google’s parent firm Alphabet has posted a revenue of nearly $39 billion, representing a year-over-year rise of about 19%, with a profit of over $9 billion for the June quarter. It also announced a share repurchase of around $25-billion worth of stocks. Following the announcement, the technology giant’s stock went up nearly 9% at the end of trading on Thursday.
US lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard sues Google for $50mn over suspended ads
US Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has sued Google for at least $50 million over a six-hour suspension of her campaign’s ad account after the first Democratic debate. Gabbard, the first-ever Hindu elected to US Congress, was briefly the most-searched-for candidate on Google after the debate, as per NYT. She accused Google of threatening free speech, fair elections and democracy.
CRED raises $4 million from Sequoia Capital India
FreeCharge Co-founder Kunal Shah’s credit card bill payment startup CRED has raised $4 million from Sequoia Capital India, as per regulatory filings. The Bengaluru-based startup is reportedly planning to raise $120 million at a valuation of $400 million. CRED is reportedly in talks with US-based General Catalyst, China’s Hillhouse Capital and existing investors for the fundraising.
We will look for other options if US doesn’t sell F-35 jets: Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the country would turn elsewhere for fighter jets if the US won’t sell it the F-35 jets, adding that a US decision to cut Turkey from the programme would not deter it from meeting its needs. The US removed Turkey from the F-35 programme over Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence system.
Thieves dressed as policemen steal ₹276cr gold from Brazil airport
Armed thieves dressed as policemen stole around 750 kilograms of gold and other precious metals worth over ₹276 crore from South America’s busiest airport— the Guarulhos airport in Brazil on Thursday. The thieves disguised their truck as a police vehicle and forced airport workers to transfer the gold into their vehicle. They left with two workers taken as hostages.
Amrapali firms bought gold worth ₹5.88cr with home-buyers’ money: SC
The Supreme Court has said the Amrapali Group companies used home-buyers’ money to buy gold bars and other forms of gold worth ₹5.88 crore and recorded the transactions as festival expenses. “This does not seem to be a normal business transaction…this amount should be recovered from the management of the company,” it said. The court ordered cancellation of Amrapali’s registration.
