German Police seizes man’s gold Porsche, says it could blind others
A 31-year-old man’s Porsche Panamera covered in a reflective gold foil finish was seized by the German Police over concerns that it could blind other drivers. The man was first ordered to remove the foil and re-register his vehicle, but his vehicle was seized after he failed to comply. The Police then took his keys, papers, and licence plate.
Big B pays ₹70 crore in taxes for the financial year 2018-19
Actor Amitabh Bachchan has paid ₹70 crore in taxes for the financial year 2018-19, the actor’s spokesperson confirmed. The actor had earlier cleared the loans of 2,084 farmers in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Amitabh had also donated ₹10 lakh each to the families of the CRPF soldiers who were martyred in the terror attack in J&K’s Pulwama in February.
I called Azam Khan bhai, he called me naachne wali: Jaya Prada
Actress-turned-politician Jaya Prada, who will contest Lok Sabha elections from Rampur for BJP against SP’s Azam Khan, has said she considered Azam as her brother but he always insulted her. “Azam, I had called you a brother but you insulted me. Do our brothers look at us like ‘naachne walis’? That is why I wanted to leave Rampur,” she added.
Risk nahi lena chahiye: PM stops speech, asks people to get off trees
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped his speech midway during a rally in Karnataka’s Mangaluru on Saturday to urge people to get down from the trees. “Neeche aa jaiye…Dekhiye aisa risk nahi lena chahiye,” said PM Modi. “Are you safe? Please hold yourself together. If something happens to you, I will feel very bad”, he added.
RR post 3rd straight win against MI in IPL with last over victory
All-rounder Shreyas Gopal scored the winning runs in the last over as Rajasthan Royals defeated Mumbai Indians in their IPL 2019 match on Saturday. It was Rajasthan Royals’ third straight victory against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. Seventh-placed RR have now won two out of seven matches in IPL 2019 so far, while it was MI’s third loss.
Joseph, who took 6 wkts on IPL debut, gives 6 boundaries in 1 over
MI pacer Alzarri Joseph, who had taken six wickets on his debut a few days ago, conceded six boundaries in one over against RR’s Jos Buttler on Saturday. Buttler smashed the first delivery of Joseph’s third over for a six before hitting four consecutive boundaries. The 28-year-old also ended the over with a six, aggregating 28 runs off the over.
People in my company who don’t work not my brothers: JD.com Founder
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com’s Founder and CEO Richard Liu has said “slackers” in his company are not his “brothers”. He said, “JD.com in the last four, five years has not made any eliminations, so the number of staff has expanded rapidly.” Liu added the number of people giving orders has grown while the number of those who’re working has fallen.
I had alarm for every 2 hrs for 24-hr customer service: JD.com Founder
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com’s billionaire Founder and CEO Richard Liu has said that in the early days of the company, he would set his alarm clock to wake him up in every two hours to ensure he could offer his customers 24-hour service. It was a crucial step to JD’s success, he added. JD.com was founded by Liu in 1998.
Don’t congratulate me if you’re sexist: 1st black hole pic scientist
Andrew Chael, a scientist behind the first-ever black hole picture, asked people using his achievement as “sexist vendetta” against Katie Bouman, the mission’s female scientist, not to congratulate him. “I wrote much of the code for one of the pipelines…but Katie was a huge contributor,” Chael said. “I’m thrilled she’s getting recognition…and pointing this was a team effort,” Chael added.
Israel spacecraft lost signal 150m from Moon, crashed at 500kmph
Israel’s first mission to the Moon, the Beresheet spacecraft lost connection 150 metres away from the Moon’s surface and crashed at the speed of around 500 kmph, Israeli aerospace organisation SpaceIL revealed. “First technical issue occurred at 14 km above the Moon,” SpaceIL added. Launched by SpaceX in February, the spacecraft would have become the first successful privately funded lander.
Link drawn between RCom tax waiver & Rafale deal inaccurate: Govt
The Defence Ministry on Saturday said the connection drawn between tax waiver by France to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) and the Rafale deal was “totally inaccurate”. “Neither the period of tax concession nor the subject matter…relate even remotely to Rafale procurement,” it added. RCom’s France unit paid ₹56 crore to settle a ₹1,100-crore tax demand case in October 2015.
Scrapping India’s trade benefits could hit US consumers: Senators
The US’ plan to end the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for India could raise costs for American consumers, two US senators have told their country’s trade office. They called for withdrawal to be delayed until the end of India’s general elections and sought more negotiations. India exported goods worth $5.6 billion to the US duty-free in 2017 under GSP.
Former MD of IL&FS unit with ₹17,500 crore debt arrested
The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) on Friday arrested Ramesh Bawa, the former MD and CEO of IL&FS Financial Services. The company, part of the IL&FS Group, had borrowings of around ₹17,500 crore. Bawa was arrested for his alleged role in granting loans to entities which were not creditworthy and causing wrongful loss to the company and its creditors.
Coachella builds special tent that supports space-themed AR
The 2019 Coachella Festival, annual music and art festival in California, has developed space-themed Augmented Reality (AR) filters for phones to be used inside its ‘Sahara Tent’ venue. The filters will be available through the Coachella app during both weekends of the festival, April 12-14 and April 19-21. The app will generate planetary objects, space stations, astronauts and other elements.
EC officials trek 13,583 feet to conduct polls in Arunachal Pradesh
Election Commission officials trekked 13,583 feet to conduct polls in Arunachal Pradesh’s Mukto Assembly constituency. “Whatever the challenges, they do cross them all to reach the voters afterall!” EC spokesperson Sheyphali Sharan tweeted on Saturday. Polling for 60 Assembly constituencies and two Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh was held simultaneously on April 11.
Real Madrid secure 575 million euro loan to remodel stadium
Real Madrid have stated that the club secured financing worth €575 million to pay for the remodelling of the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The 71-year-old Santiago Bernabeu Stadium will get a retractable roof and a 360-degree video screen. Notably, the club recently recalled former manager Zinedine Zidane to take over the position of the club’s manager.
Tottenham take third spot after Lucas Moura hat-trick
Tottenham reached the third spot in the Premier League points table after Lucas Moura hit a hat-trick against relegated Huddersfield. Spurs have now won three games out of three at their new stadium and kept three clean sheets. Three of Tottenham’s remaining five Premier League fixtures are at home and they will also visit Manchester City in the Champions League.
FBI-linked sites hacked, agent info published online: Report
A hacker group breached several FBI-affiliated websites and published dozens of files having personal information of thousands of federal agents and law enforcement officers online, TechCrunch reported. “We hacked more than 1,000 sites…we are structuring all the data and soon they will be sold,” a hacker reportedly said. “Experience and money” was the group’s end goal, the hacker added.
Facebook fined ₹3,200 for not storing data in Russia
A Russian court has fined Facebook around ₹3,200 (3,000 rubles) for not storing data in Russia-based servers, the maximum permissible fine for which is 5,000 rubles. This comes days after Twitter was also fined 3,000 rubles for violating the same data localisation norms. Notably, professional networking platform LinkedIn has been banned in Russia since 2016 over the same.
Facebook nominates PayPal exec to board; Netflix CEO leaving
Facebook has nominated Peggy Alford, PayPal Core Markets Senior VP since March 2019, to its board, who will become the first-ever black woman to join its board, if elected. Alford was earlier the CFO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Facebook also announced Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles are leaving the board.
France waived Anil Ambani’s ₹1,100cr tax, RCom denies ‘favouritism’
French newspaper Le Monde claimed France waived off over ₹1,100 crore taxes of Anil Ambani’s France-based telecom company ‘Reliance FLAG Atlantic France’ after PM Narendra Modi announced Rafale deal in April 2015. France accepted a ₹57 crore settlement in October 2015, it added. However, Reliance Communications denied any “favouritism” calling the initial tax demands “unsustainable and illegal”.
Depp hit me, wrote messages using his blood: Ex-wife Amber
Responding to a defamation lawsuit filed against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp, actress Amber Heard shared details of the alleged abuse she faced during their marriage. Heard claimed that Depp once wrote messages on a mirror using his blood and paint after cutting his finger while attacking her. She further accused Depp of choking, kicking and threatening to kill her.
Laluji let’s address media, people will know who offered what: JDU VP
After former Bihar CM Rabri Devi claimed JDU Vice-President Prashant Kishor offered a pre-poll alliance with RJD, Kishor asked Lalu Prasad Yadav to address media together so everybody would know “who offered what to whom”. “Those convicted or facing charges of abuse of public office and misappropriation of funds are claiming to be the custodians of truth,” he added.
Want to be part of PM’s nomination team: Bismillah Khan’s grandson
Nasir Abbas Bismillah, grandson of Shehnai maestro late Ustad Bismillah Khan, has written to PM Narendra Modi, seeking permission to join his nomination process. Nasir said his family got the invite to be part of the process in 2014, but they turned it down as they had “no knowledge about politics” and claimed “some members from Congress had brainwashed” them.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg taking base salary of $1 for 3 years
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking a base salary of $1 for the past three years, however, his “other” compensation was $22.6 million (over ₹156 crore) in 2018, more than double of 2017’s amount. Of this $22.6 million, nearly $20 million was spent on security for Zuckerberg and his family. Zuckerberg received $2.6 million for personal use of private jets.
Microsoft probing e-mail chain of sexual harassment claims: Report
Microsoft is probing sexual harassment claims after women employees described them in an e-mail chain, according to a Quartz report. Started on March 20, the chain reportedly contains allegations from sexist comments to being told to sit on a co-worker’s lap. An employee reportedly claimed a partner company’s employee threatened to kill her if she didn’t perform implied sexual acts.
I’ll never understand: Mahindra on Uber raising money with no profit
After ride-hailing startup Uber warned that it “might not achieve profitability”, ahead of its IPO, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said, “Maybe today is the day I admit I am from a ‘jurassic’ era of business”. He added, “I don’t think I’ll ever understand how to conceive of a business model that raises money on this promise”.
Nine from outside IAS to join as Joint Secretaries in government
The Union Public Service Commission on Friday announced the recruitment of nine professionals to Joint Secretary-level posts in various central government departments. The domain experts include IIT, IIM and Oxford alumni who have worked with the United Nations, KPMG and other organisations. Over 6,000 candidates applied for the lateral entry scheme announced by the government in June last year.
Tourist arrives with 6 cats, 7 dogs, 1 goat at hotel; told to leave
A hotel in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad asked a US citizen to leave the premises after she arrived with 14 pets, including six cats, seven dogs and a goat. The tourist called the police after the hotel asked her to vacate, however, she didn’t register a complaint. Hotel authorities said they weren’t informed about the pets at the time of the booking.
J&K girl commits suicide, sibling says father raped her for years
A girl from Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district committed suicide by consuming poison on Saturday after she was allegedly raped by her father for years. The girl’s sister alleged her uncle also raped his daughter, following which their father also started doing the same. She claimed her grandfather told her to not reveal it to anyone to avoid humiliation.
SpiceJet to induct 16 Boeing 737s amid Jet Airways crisis
SpiceJet on Friday said it will lease 16 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft that could be deployed in 10 days, subject to regulatory approvals. “The sudden reduction of aviation capacity has created a challenging environment in the sector,” SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh said. The move comes amid Jet Airways’ liquidity crunch, which forced the airline to ground most of its fleet.
PV Sindhu loses to Okuhara, crashes out of Singapore Open
Indian shuttler PV Sindhu crashed out of the Singapore Open after losing to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the semi-final stage of the tournament. Okuhara, who had earlier beaten Saina Nehwal in the quarter-final, took just 37 minutes to finish the match. Prior to her loss, Sindhu was the sole Indian left in the tournament.
Bottas to take pole position in Formula One’s 1,000th race
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas is set to take the pole position in the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix, which will be Formula One’s 1,000th world championship race. Bottas, who leads the championship by one point from title-holder and teammate Lewis Hamilton after two races, registered the best timing of one minute and 31.547 seconds.
Removed 60 lakh videos in India since July 2018, says TikTok
China’s most-valuable startup ByteDance-owned lip-syncing video app TikTok said it has removed over 60 lakh videos that violated Community Guidelines in India, since July 2018. It has also introduced an ‘age-gate’ feature to only let users aged 13 years or above create an account. This comes after several demands were raised to ban TikTok over pornographic content and teenage addiction.
Prez Kovind, PM pay tributes on 100yrs of Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Paying tribute to the martyrs in Jallianwala Bagh massacre, President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted, “A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred…a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India.” “[The martyrs’] memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of,” PM Narendra Modi tweeted.
ICC rejects request to investigate US war crimes in Afghanistan
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected its prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s request to investigate US forces for possible war crimes in Afghanistan. The decision noted that the prosecutor hasn’t been able to secure cooperation from the parties, making it very unlikely the probe would succeed. Earlier, US revoked Bensouda’s visa in response to her request to investigate the war crimes.
Man sets himself on fire outside White House; hospitalized
A man in a wheelchair-type electric scooter set himself on fire outside the White House on Friday. The man, who was hospitalised with non-life threatening injuries, lit his outer jacket on fire. US Secret Service said the man is believed to have mental health problems and that it does not believe there was any threat to President Donald Trump.
