President Xi Jinping and former PLA chief of joint staff Fang Fenghui ahead of a meeting in Beijing in 2017. Fang was jailed for life in February for taking bribes. Photo: Reuters
* At least one general and two lieutenant generals on the list of those punished for links to jailed former chief of joint staff, according to sources * They were 'found guilty of offering bribes in exchange for promotions'
More than 70 serving and retired senior officers with the People's Liberation Army have been demoted for their involvement in a corruption scandal that has rocked the PLA leadership, military sources said.
The officers – who included at least one general and two lieutenant generals – were punished for their connections to Fang Fenghui, the former chief of joint staff.
Their demotions were based on confessions given by Fang, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in February for taking bribes, according to three separate military sources, who requested anonymity.
"Among the officers, 44 of them belonged to the Beijing Military Command where Fang was the commander from 2007 to 2012," one military source said.
WNU Editor: Chinese President Xi consolidated his power by pursuing an anti-corruption campaign. No one was immune, and over the years scores were punished. But the culture of corruption is still very strong in China, and it is not going to disappear anytime soon.
Leaders of Britain, France and Germany "deeply troubled" by escalating Iran tensions, call for "signs of goodwill" all around to ease strain over nuclear deal and oil tankers. https://t.co/XHQXYm2J7I
VIDEO: Riot police and protesters fought running battles in a Hong Kong shopping mall as unrest caused by a widely loathed plan to allow extraditions to mainland China showed no sign of abating pic.twitter.com/K4kx8yPZAh
Heroin has been wreaking havoc in South Africa's cities and rural areas since the early 2000s. Highly addictive, the nyaope cocktail is made of heroin cut with methamphetamine, codeine and substances -- even powder from flat-screen televisions https://t.co/peFx44wJGE
Riot police use pepper spray to disperse pro-democracy activists inside a mall after a march at Sha Tin District of East New Territories, Hong Kong, July 14. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Exports performed slightly better than economists polled by Bloomberg, who had forecast a 1.7 per cent drop, while imports were lower, with the poll predicting a 4.6 per cent drop. Photo: Reuters
* Exports fell by 1.3 per cent year-on-year after tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods were raised from 10 per cent to 25 per cent by Washington in May * Over the first half of the year, China's exports to the US fell by 8.1 per cent to US$199.4 billion, while imports dropped by 29.9 per cent to US$58.9 billion
China's exports fell in June, as trade tariff increases from the United States came into effect, while imports continued to weaken amid declining domestic demand.
In June, exports fell by 1.3 per cent year-on-year to US$212.8 billion, after tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods were raised from 10 per cent to 25 per cent by Washington in May. This was down from 1.1 per cent growth in May.
Imports, meanwhile, continued to slump, falling 7.3 per cent in June to US$161.8 billion, according to data published by General Administration of Customs in China on Friday. This followed a 8.5 per cent decline in May.
WNU Editor: China needs to create 20,000,000 new jobs each year. This thinking is gospel in Beijing, and a barometer used by the government to measure the well-being of the country. These numbers are horrible, and it is unsettling a lot of people in China.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military recently carried out air and naval drills along its southeast coast, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday, following the latest arms sales from the United States to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as a renegade province.
In a brief statement, and without giving an exact geographical location, the ministry said that the People's Liberation Army had in "recent days" held the exercises.
"These drills were routine arrangements in accordance with annual plans for the military," it said, without elaborating.
China's southeast coast is one of the country's most sensitive regions as it faces Taiwan across the narrow Taiwan Strait. China deems democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province, to be taken by force if needed.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump vote at PS 59 in New York, New York, U.S. November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
It's a mixed marriage of a certain kind. He was a Trump supporter all along and she detested the man.
But these days, they agree on one big thing: The president will be re-elected. Easily.
"Easily?" I asked, making sure I heard them correctly. Yes, they insisted, with her nodding as he said Democrats had gone bonkers and voters would respond by giving Trump four more years.
The recent Manhattan conversation would be insignificant except that it dovetails with national trends, namely a growing belief that Dems are not coming back to this world anytime soon. The election is still a long way off, but there is no sign that the radicalism surging through the party can be put back in the bottle before the election. What we see now is likely what voters will see in 2020.
WNU Editor: A lot can happen between now and election day next year, but what I find interesting is how other countries are viewing President Trump's re-election chances. In Russia, the belief is that President Trump will win, and they are the exception. In China, the general belief (at least from the people I know) is that President Trump will be trounced. In Europe, the consensus is that President Trump will be defeated. In Canada .... no one can even fathom another four years of Trump. As to what do I think .... if the economy continues to grow with low unemployment and real wage gains, coupled with a major international accomplishment like withdrawing most (if not all) U.S. forces from Afghanistan, President Trump is going to be a difficult opponent to defeat.
So interesting to see "Progressive" Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly......
....and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how....
The Democrats are currently embroiled in a civil war so damaging that you have members calling each other racist and threatening to primary one another. For the first time since their election, the self-described "squad" of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her minions are on their heels, not sure how to react to the fire they are taking. Even the liberal media are infighting about which side to take as the volleys are launched.
Meanwhile, the economy is booming and President Trump is enjoying one of the more positive stretches of his tenure.
Well, he was at least. For some reason, he thought it would be a good idea to wake up this morning and tweet the above.
.... Trump is pointing out that these "it" girls are ungrateful asses who don't like America. By not naming them, he's forcing their defenders, and his critics, to admit that they're ungrateful asses who don't like America before they can even talk about the issue. This isn't hard. But if you want more, there's this way of putting it: All the Democrats have to do is not be crazy, and Trump's making it impossible for them to do that.
Glenn Reynolds has a point. President Trump did not say who these Congresswomen are, but the AP just did. And it is going to resonate in a way that I do not think President Trump's opponents realize. I had an experience a few months back listening to two people who were with a friend that I have known for years complaining that they cannot get a job with their engineering degrees, and are forced to work in a restaurant at minimum wage. They are from India, and they told me that they have been in Canada for three years. I did not feel sorry for them, and I told them why. Their English was poor. They have not bothered to learn French even though they live in Montreal, and their university degrees are worth squawk in Canada. It was not what they wanted to hear. From their point of view Canada is intolerant when it comes to people of colour, and we are to blame for their predicament. But what really irked me was their sense of entitlement. That we (i.e. Canada) owe them a better life. As an immigrant and as a Canadian citizen I was offended with this point of view, and I felt like telling them that if they feel like this, they should go back to where they come from. But here is the kicker. They will not. I have been to India, no one wants to live there. But it bothers me that immigrants, and in some cases the children of immigrants, feel this way. President Trump is touching on this nerve, and while his opponents in the media/Democrats/and elsewhere will accuse him of being a racist, they are actually pushing President Trump's narrative on how ungrateful these people are of America, while exposing their own prejudices towards Whites and certain other minorities (i.e. Jews). And while I understand that both sides are playing to their base, in the end the political party that is fracturing right now are the Democrats. The Democrat progressive base wants change, and they will do what is necessary to see people like Pelosi, Biden, and their supporters gone, even using race as an issue. The question that remains unanswered is .... who will the Democrat base follow?
The MQ-8C Fire Scout can last longer and packs more powerful radar.
It took a few years, but the US Navy's beefier Fire Scout helicopter drone is finally ready for action... more or less. The military branch has declared that Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C has reached "initial operational capability," or the minimum state it needs to enter service. The new, Bell 407-based variant is considerably larger than its 8B predecessor, but it's also more capable. The 8C can last roughly twice as long in the air at 12 hours on station, and carry roughly three times the payload -- 701lbs, to be exact. It also packs new radar with a larger field of view and more modes, including air-to-air targeting.
French police fired tear gas at protesters during a tense standoff in central Paris on Sunday in the aftermath of the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees, AFP reporters said.
Officers attempted to disperse dozens of protesters, who chanted anti-government slogans, knocked down security barriers erected for the parade and set fire to refuse bins.
France, in particular Paris, has been rocked since late last year by the "yellow vest" protest movement against the government of President Emmanuel Macron.
Sunday's violence was the worst seen in central Paris since March. Many analysts had believed that the yellow vest movement had lost momentum.
Yale University professor claimed on Twitter that all of the people she surveyed in Eastern Europe and Central Asia insisted that "life was better under the Soviets."
"Every single person I have I [sic] asked in Central Asia (and Eastern Europe) over the past decade and a half has said life was better under the Soviets -- 100 percent," O'Dell tweeted on Tuesday.
O'Dell also detailed that she spoke with an unnamed "Ivy League professor who said coming to America was the greatest mistake of her life & she will be returning soon to her post-Soviet nation [because] neoliberal late capitalism is devoid of all humanity."
WNU Editor: I have family, friends, acquaintances, business contacts, etc. in eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union that would easily fill my Rolodex with 1,000 names. No one I know is saying that life was better under the Soviets, and many of these people were high officials and the privileged elite when the Soviet Union existed. This Yale professor is lying.
Soldiers of the 789th Ordnance Company prepare a cache of landmines, mortars and 107mm rockets to be disposed of by a high explosives charge, near Besmaya region southeast of Baghdad. Army researchers are designing smarter, safer and more mobile landmines for future operations. (Army)
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Army leaders see a future battlefield with networked minefields a commander can see from across the globe through satellite communications and that can be scattered in minutes but also retrieved and reused when needed.
The push is an effort to keep landmines of various types in the weapons portfolio while still meeting the agreements made to get out of the old school "dumb" landmine use.
Smart mines being developed now are a way to replace some of the aging stocks in the "Family of Scatterable Mines" run by the Army's Program Manager Close Combat Systems.
Franky Zapata, 40, brandished an unloaded rifle as a he raced at 118mph above world leaders in Paris today Mr Zapata calls his invention the Flyboard Air, and admits it is similar to the hoverboard used by Marty McFly Earlier Macron was booed during the Bastille day celebrations by protesters from the Yellow Vest movement He was hosting EU leaders including Jean-Claude Juncker and Angela Merkel for July 14 celebration in Paris
A 'flying soldier' caused astonishment in Paris today when he arrived at France's Bastille Day parade on an 118mph 'Back to the Future'-style hoverboard.
Franky Zapata, 40, brandished an unloaded rifle as a he raced at high speed above world leaders including President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Then he landed comfortably on his so-called Flyboard, which he hopes to sell to the French military.
The annual Bastille Day celebration in Paris this year was not just about showcasing France, but also military cooperation among European continues.
The flags of 10 countries of the European Intervention Initiative, a joint military pact created last year, led Sunday's military parade down the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris.
In a message to the French people before the parade, President Emmanuel Macron highlighted the importance of France's commitment to boost European security.
* Sir Kim Darroch's 2018 memos accused Donald Trump of 'diplomatic vandalism' * The ambassador claims that Trump abandoned Iran deal to spite Barack Obama * His comments came after Boris Johnson tried to change the US president's mind * Then-Foreign Secretary failed to persuade the White House to save nuclear deal
Donald Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear deal as an act of 'diplomatic vandalism' to spite his predecessor Barack Obama, Britain's Ambassador to Washington wrote in a bombshell memo to Downing Street.
Sir Kim Darroch's claim – made after Boris Johnson made a doomed trip to the White House to change the President's mind – is revealed in leaked cables and briefing notes which led to Sir Kim's resignation last week.
The new revelation comes after an extraordinary row over the freedom of the press blew up this weekend, with Mr Johnson and leadership rival Jeremy Hunt leading the condemnation of Scotland Yard over its threats to prosecute this newspaper.
URSULA von der Leyen faces a final desperate bid to convince the European Parliament to support her bid to become the next president of the European Commission and avert an "institutional crisis".
THE European Union faces huge pressure to remedy growing tensions after Turkey and the Greek Cypriot Governments have clashed over energy cooperation in the region.
THE EUROPEAN Union has "shot itself in the foot" with its attempts to strong-arm Switzerland into signing up for a wide-ranging agreement covering financial services - but Brussels is likely to try a similar strategy when it comes to Britain as Brexit looms, a senior economist has predicted.
US AMBASSADOR Gordon Sondland has warned the European Union "time to reflect is over" and urged member states to join President Donald Trump in his bid to condemn Iran's "aggressive" behaviour.
CHINA's nascent digital reputation system could see citizens having to "report on their neighbours for speaking against President Xi Jinping" in order to improve their own social credit score.
MELANIA TRUMP's Slovenian roots and her families "chain migration" to the US have been dragged into a vicious row over Donald Trump's tweets that Democratic congresswomen "go back" to where they came from.
JEREMY HUNT is set to warn of an "existential threat to mankind" if Middle Eastern nations become armed with nuclear weapons as he launches a fresh diplomatic bid to quell tensions in the Gulf and prevent the beleaguered Iran nuclear deal falling apart at the seams.
(TAIPEI, Taiwan) — Taiwan’s main opposition party picked a pro-China populist mayor Monday as its candidate for the 2020 presidential race against an incumbent who often bashes Beijing.
The Nationalist Party said Han Kuo-yu had won the presidential primary after opinion poll results gave him a 45 percent support rating. He defeated four other candidates including former Foxconn Technology chairman Terry Gou and will face incumbent Tsai Ing-wen in the January election.
Han has vowed to make peace with China, and signed deals with four Chinese cities in March to sell 5.2 billion New Taiwan dollars ($167 million) worth of Taiwanese agricultural products. Tsai has refused to negotiate with China on Beijing’s condition that the two sides belong under one flag.
China and Taiwan have been separately ruled since 1949, but Beijing still claims sovereignty over the island and occasionally threatens use of force to take it, if needed. A Taiwan government public opinion survey in January showed that most Taiwanese prefer self-rule.
In November, Han was elected mayor of the port city of Kaohsiung, a traditional ruling party stronghold, largely by pledging to improve the local economy. A rising star, he is a charismatic speaker who often appears with his blue shirt sleeves rolled halfway up.
“Han mobilized the middle class and the lower middle class without paying money,” said Joanna Lei, CEO of the Taiwan-based Chunghua 21st Century Think Tank. Over the past 12 years of Nationalist leaders, she said, “Han Kuo-yu is the only candidate who has a really strong appeal to the lower middle-class voters.”
Tsai has vociferously stood up to China since taking office in 2016 and particularly since Chinese President Xi Jinping advocated earlier this year that China govern Taiwan under the same “one country, two systems” setup as it rules Hong Kong. Millions of Hong Kong citizens have protested in the streets since June against elements of Chinese rule.
Tsai’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party suffered a major setback in the November local elections that gave Han the mayoral job. Voters said then that they felt dissatisfied with Tsai’s management of the economy, but her anti-China stance has boosted her ratings this year.
Gou, the billionaire former Foxconn head, came in No. 2 in the field of five candidates with a 28 percent support rating based on opinion polls earlier in the month.
Gou’s candidacy attracted interest in overseas business circles, as Foxconn churns out iPhones and other consumer electronics as a contract manufacturer for Apple and other major brands. Gou founded the firm 45 years ago and built it by investing heavily in factories around China to tap into the vast, cheap labor pool there.
Candidates focused on economic improvement will get the most votes in the presidential election, said Ku Chung-hua, a retired sociology professor and standing board member with the Taiwan advocacy group Citizens’ Congress Watch.
“I still think the economy will carry more weight than China this time around,” Ku said. “China matters, including Hong Kong, will make people feel on guard, but when they vote for a president, they’ll hope to change their own lives and voting will follow that direction.”
Taiwan’s GDP growth is expected to slow this year to 2.2 percent from 2.6 percent in 2018. Common Taiwanese often fret over salaries and housing costs.
“We’re most afraid for the next generation of youth,” Han said at a news conference Monday after winning the primary. “Tsai Ing-wen has been in power for three years, but I’d really like to know what she’s done.”
China-born Han, 62, was a Nationalist Party lawmaker from 1993 to 2002. He once managed a company that markets Taiwanese farm products. He lost a bid two years ago to become the chairman of his party.
Han traveled to Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Xiamen to sign the agricultural product deals. He visited the United States a month later to speak at two universities and meet members of Congress, and sought to encourage American investment in Kaohsiung.
(JAKARTA, Indonesia) — A strong earthquake in eastern Indonesia killed two people and damaged at least dozens of homes, a disaster official said Monday, as the government declared a seven-day emergency response period.
The magnitude 7.3 quake on Sunday was centered 166 kilometers (103 miles) southeast of Ternate, the capital of North Maluku province, at a depth of just 10 kilometers (6 miles). Shallow quakes can cause more damage.
National disaster agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said two women were killed by collapsing houses and more than 2,000 people have fled to temporary shelters. The quake was followed by at least 65 smaller aftershocks.
The agency is still assessing the level of destruction but said two bridges and about 58 homes in one village alone, Saketa, were damaged.
Authorities said there was no tsunami risk from the quake, but many people ran to higher ground anyway. TV footage showed people screaming while running out of a shopping mall in Ternate.
The hardest-hit areas, Sofifi and Labuha, only can be accessed by a 10-hour boat trip from Ternate or by small plane, Wibowo said.
With a population of around 1 million, North Maluku is one of Indonesia’s least populous provinces.
Indonesia, home to more than 260 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location along the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed a total of 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
Chinese authorities detained another Canadian citizen last week in the eastern city of Yantai, further raising diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
Canada’s foreign ministry confirmed that the unnamed person is receiving consular services, according to the New York Times.
Relations between the countries have been strained since two Canadians were detained in China in December. Their arrest was believed to be a retaliatory move for the arrest of Huawei’s CFO, Meng Wangzhou, in Vancouver at the request of U.S. authorities over alleged Iran sanctions violations.
The Canadians, ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor, have been charged with espionage.
The latest arrest happened around the same time that China detained several foreign students and teachers on drug-related charges in the eastern Chinese city of Xuzhou. At least four are Britons, according to the Times.
It is unclear if last week’s detention is related to the drug case, or was meant to put pressure on Canada. In addition to arresting Canadian citizens, China has also responded with economic pressure. Imports of Canadian beef and canola oil were halted after Meng’s arrest, according to the Times.
Canada is not the only nation whose citizens are being targeted by Beijing’s detainee diplomacy. Last month, a Chinese-American executive at Koch Industries was held and questioned for several days. The State Department has issued a warning about China’s “exit bans” against dual-national citizens.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked President Donald Trump to discuss the release of Kovrig and Spavor with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, when he met Xi at the G20 Summit in late June, reports the Times. It is not known if Trump raised the issue with Xi.
“We hope that the Canadian side will not be too naïve,” Geng Shuang, a spokesman at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in response to Trudeau’s request to Trump, according to the Times. “Canada shouldn’t naïvely think that gathering so-called allies to put pressure on China will work.”
With its stylish music videos, slick choreography and versatile melodies, K-pop has amassed a growing number of fans worldwide. Drawing increasing global attention is the country’s hip-hop scene, of which rap group Epik High has been a mainstay for nearly two decades.
Opinions vary as to whether the trio of Tablo, DJ and producer Tukutz and rapper Mithra Jin falls under the umbrella of K-pop, but they don’t seem to care much about what people call them. “There are debates online as to whether Epik High is K-pop or not, and we’ve seen certain arguments where fans get really heated up about it,” said Tablo, Epik High’s leader. “We don’t mind what we’re classified as.”
The group was formed in 2001, and released their debut album “Map of the Human Soul” in 2003. Their music is known for its lyrical complexity, often containing delicate introspective messages or sharp commentary on social issues. They also don’t shy away from incorporating different genres such as soul and R&B, carving out a distinct niche in the competitive Korean music industry.
This March, the band released Sleepless in __________, their first independently-produced EP after leaving YG Entertainment, home to popular K-pop acts including BLACKPINK. With tracks like “Lovedrunk,” featuring hip-hop and R&B singer Crush and Eternal Sunshine, co-produced with BTS’ Suga, the album generated buzz and peaked at No. 6 on Billboard’s World Album chart.
After wrapping up parts of their world tour in Europe and North America, Epik High sat down with TIME in Hong Kong.
How was this tour different than the last ones you had in North America?
Tablo: We played many more cities, and the venues were bigger. There were cities that we’ve never been to. For example, we went to Raleigh. I don’t think there are many K-pop artists or Korean artists that perform there. So it was just great, being there, seeing different cities, trying different food, meeting new people. And also we did the entire tour by bus and this is something we’ve never done before. We’ve always seen these crazy amazing bands in documentaries do that so it felt like we were like a rock band. It was tough but fun.
Do you feel a lot pressure to put out new music?
Tablo: We don’t feel the pressure to keep up with trends or constantly put stuff out to prove ourselves or to stay relevant. I think one of the benefits of being this deep and this far into a career is that you’re no longer in a position where people are rushing you to put stuff out. There’s plenty of music that’s out every day that will keep people occupied. It’s not like it’s essential for Epik High to release a new song every month. Because that pressure is not there, it allows us to sit down and really think about the things that we want to say.
Why do you think Korean music is becoming more popular around the world?
Tablo: Honestly I think it’s not just Korean music or K-pop. There’s a lot of Spanish-language music that is exceptionally popular, even in Korea. I think people are no longer building walls because of languages. [In the past], every time we went to do a show in the States one of the questions we would get is “how do you overcome the language barrier?” But in the last five, six years, we don’t get that question any more. It’s not even an issue.
I think it’s great because people are more open to enjoying cultures that they’re not used to. Of course there’s always a long way to go, but I think currently with all the music that’s popular right now, so many different languages, so many different sounds, so many different cultures, that’s one beautiful thing that has happened because of the Internet.
With growing global interest in Korean music in the world, are there any stereotypes about it that you hope to break?
Tablo: You must have seen articles that mention K-pop as just this bubble gum music made in very factory-style companies right? And I’m sure they exist. I mean I’m sure that kind of thing does exist, but that exists everywhere. That has existed throughout the history of music, in any place where there are people that want to make profits off of artists. To just focus on that little thing, and then define the whole thing, is wrong. Korean music is amazingly vibrant right now. The indie music scene itself is humongous. So I would say if you are getting into K-pop music now, you might as well go very deep and very wide and experience all of the amazingness that’s there.
The album features many other artists like Yuna, Sunwoo Jung-a, Suga and Crush. How do you decide who to work with?
Tukutz (in Korean): I imagine myself as the director of a movie, and with the mindset of a director I search for the most suitable candidate fit to play that role. I use that frame of mind when I’m cooperating with other artists.
Who do you want to collaborate with next?
Tablo: We’ve worked with so many amazing people [on our] checklist. I think we’ve worked with pretty much everyone we wanted to work with. I would love to work with non-musicians. I would love to work with Spike Jonze to do, like, a very weird music video maybe?
Tukutz (in Korean): Tom Holland.
Tablo: Tom Holland? Spiderman? What would you do with Spiderman, though?
Tukutz (in Korean): I don’t know.
Mithra Jin (in Korean): I want to go to Hans Zimmer’s studio, because it doesn’t seem like it’s possible.
Tablo: I would love to work with Samuel L. Jackson to do anything, have a picnic.
After the tour, are there any personal projects you want to work on?
Tablo: I’m considering doing a podcast, an English-language podcast. I’ve realized that a lot of people are coming to me for advice or just someone to hear them out. And I think podcasts are a different way to do that away from music. There are certain things that music can do but there are certain things that just speaking to someone can do.
Tukutz (in Korean): I want to watch a lot of soccer, but I’m not thinking of actually playing it.
Tablo: He (Mithra Jin) is really into travel. Right before this trip we took a couple weeks off and he went to France and Spain. He was at the Vatican before. He’s always traveling. [Looks at Mithra Jin.] Do you want to put out like a travel book or something?
Mithra Jin (in Korean): So, rather than saying that I want to travel, I think I gain more experience from it. I think it’s better traveling to areas that are considered difficult to go to when you’re a bit younger, so that’s why I’m traveling before I get any older. But the most important thing right now is Epik High. We have a lot of other activities going on throughout the year, so whenever we get short breaks in between I use that time to travel. But the most important thing is Epik High and getting our work done.
(SRIHARIKOTA, India) — India aborted the launch on Monday of a spacecraft intended to land on the far side of the moon less than an hour before liftoff.
The Chandrayaan-2 mission was called off when a “technical snag” was observed in the 640-ton, 14-story rocket launcher, Indian Space Research Organization spokesman B.R. Guruprasad said.
The countdown abruptly stopped at T-56 minutes, 24 seconds, and Guruprasad said that the agency would announce a revised launch date soon.
Chandrayaan, the word for “moon craft” in Sanskrit, is designed for a soft landing on the lunar south pole and to send a rover to explore water deposits confirmed by a previous Indian space mission.
With nuclear-armed India poised to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, the ardently nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is eager to show off the country’s prowess in security and technology. If India did manage the soft landing, it would be only the fourth to do so after the U.S., Russia and China.
Dr. K. Sivan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, said at a news conference last week that the around $140-million Chandrayaan-2 mission was the nation’s most prestigious to date, in part because of the technical complexities of soft landing on the lunar surface — an event he described as “15 terrifying minutes.”
After countdown commenced on Sunday, Sivan visited two Hindu shrines to pray for the mission’s success.
Practically since its inception in 1962, India’s space program has been criticized as inappropriate for an overpopulated, developing nation.
But decades of space research have allowed India to develop satellite, communications and remote sensing technologies that are helping solve everyday problems at home, from forecasting fish migration to predicting storms and floods.
With the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission this month, the world’s biggest space agencies are returning their gaze to the moon, seen as ideal testing grounds for technologies required for deep space exploration, and, with the confirmed discovery of water, as a possible pit stop along the way.
“The moon is sort of our backyard for training to go to Mars,” said Adam Steltzner, NASA’s chief engineer responsible for its 2020 mission to Mars.
Because of repeated delays, India missed the chance to achieve the first soft landing near the lunar south pole. China’s Chang’e 4 mission landed a lander and rover there last January.
India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission orbited the moon in 2008 and helped confirm the presence of water. The Indian Space Research Organization wants its new mission’s rover to further probe the far side of the moon, where scientists believe a basin contains water-ice that could help humans do more than plant flags on future manned missions.
The U.S. is working to send a manned spacecraft to the moon’s south pole by 2024.
Modi has set a deadline of 2022 for India’s first manned spaceflight.
Mexico’s finance minister Carlos Urzua abruptly quit his post last week, just seven months into the job. The Mexican peso tumbled more than 2 percent in the aftermath of the announcement before rebounding somewhat, but the resignation points to a deeper problem plaguing the Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) administration. And no, it’s not Donald Trump.
Why It Matters:
While leftist firebrand AMLO remains popular with the Mexican electorate, international markets and the Mexican business community are decidedly less enamored with the populist politician. That’s why the well-credentialed and widely-respected Urzua (who was AMLO’s finance secretary while he served as Mexico City mayor) was appointed as finance minister in the first place—and why his departure is causing such a stir. In a blistering resignation letter, Urzua called out the appointment of unqualified government officials and extremist economic policies that weren’t “based on evidence” as reasons for his departure.
Truth be told, AMLO wasn’t elected for his fine grasp of economic policy. Rather, his rise to the Mexican presidency was fueled by the broad perception that corruption in Mexico—both in the public and private spheres—had spiraled out of control in recent years, something which even the Mexican business community readily admits. AMLO ran on a fierce anti-corruption campaign, and even his most ardent critics acknowledge that he isn’t on the take. Moreover, more than any other populist world leader elected to office, AMLO is genuinely committed to addressing the underlying grievances of Mexico’s population—he has ambitious plans to improve education and job training, to increase salaries, to improve roads and bridges to better connect marginalized communities, and to improve Mexico’s rapidly deteriorating security situation.
The problem is that all these plans cost real money, and AMLO has neither the experience nor talent to run a modern-day economy. To his credit, AMLO seems genuinely committed to fiscal discipline and general macro stability in the country. But his unorthodox approach to business and economic decisions—like scrapping a new Mexico City airport construction already underway, or refusing to let state oil giant Pemex shore up its woeful finances through privatizations—is straining the country’s economic growth (the Mexican economy contracted 0.2 percent in the first quarter of the year; in January, Pemex’s oil output fell to its lowest level in 40 years), and with it the government finances needed to fund those ambitious social programs he campaigned on. AMLO believes he can find the money to fund his programs through slashing government budgets, but his government austerity push and cuts to salaries and benefits are weakening institutional capacity, forcing out plenty and demoralizing the public workers left behind. He’s also promised not to raise taxes for the first three years of his administration, further limiting his government’s ability to raise any additional revenue.
Which gets us to the heart of the matter. In typical administrations, a president relies on advisors to help craft policy in fields they have limited experience in—for example, new Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is similarly ill-equipped to handle economic policy, but has a strong network of economic advisors he regularly defers to. But AMLO has centralized all political decision-making in his own hands, both as a way of limiting corruption in the broader Mexican government and as a way of ensuring his populist political agenda is adhered to. This has already caused friction with a number of his cabinet officials, culminating in the decision of Urzua to resign rather than continue to implement “extreme” measures he believes will negatively impact the Mexican economy.
What Happens Next:
Urzua’s deputy Arturo Herrera has already been named as the country’s new finance minister, and while he took pains to publicly support AMLO’s economic priorities in a follow-up news conference, he has already had a number of public clashes with the AMLO administration over policy in the past. The reality is that Herrera, like Urzua before him, will be expected only to implement AMLO’s policy decisions rather than shape them in any way. And given how unorthodox those policy decisions are to trained economists like Urzua and Herrera, it’s unlikely Herrera lasts long in his position, either.
The Key Quote That Sums It All Up:
“I am convinced that all economic policy must be carried out based on evidence, taking care of the diverse effects these decisions can have and they must be free of all extremism. However, during my time I did not find this was the case.” -Urzua in his resignation letter.
The One Major Misconception About It:
That Trump and his tariff threats are the greatest source of political risk facing Mexico these days. As we’ve already seen earlier this summer, AMLO has no desire (nor ability, if we’re being honest) to get into a tariff war with the US, and would rather appease Trump as much as possible so he can focus on the underlying structural problems facing Mexican society, like the 40 percent-plus of the population that lives in poverty. But addressing such issues require money, and when you’re finance minister resigns on account of how you’re planning to spend that money, you have bigger problems than Donald Trump.
The One Thing to Say About It at a Dinner Party:
You can have the best intentions in the world, but you also need to have the capacity to act on those intentions. Politics require compromise—both in the traditional sense (like working with your political opposition), but also in the sense that political goals need to be tempered by economic realities. AMLO is fortunate that he has a political opposition that’s currently in shambles, but until he finds a way to square his social goals with the economic resources actually available to him, he’s going nowhere fast.
(HONG KONG) — Police in Hong Kong fought with protesters on Sunday as they broke up a demonstration by thousands of people demanding the resignation of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s chief executive and an investigation into complaints of police violence.
The protest that began at about 3 p.m. in the northern district of Sha Tin was peaceful throughout most of the day. But some scuffles broke out after nightfall, when police with helmets and shields started clearing streets in the densely crowded area of high-rise buildings.
Hundreds of protesters, many wearing helmets and surgical masks, retreated into a shopping complex, where some threw umbrellas and water bottles at police. Police followed them, and reporters could see the two sides along walkways of several floors of the complex hitting each other with umbrellas and grabbing each other’s helmets.
The demonstration added to an outpouring of grievances over the past six months against the former British colony’s leaders. Critics complain they are eroding Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy and are more responsive to the Beijing government than to the territory’s people.
Protests that began last month in opposition to a proposed extradition law also have swelled to include complaints about an influx of mainland Chinese into Hong Kong.
On Sunday, protesters demanded an investigation into complaints that police assaulted participants in earlier demonstrations against the extradition law. Some carried signs reading “Police Are Liars.” Other signs read “Defend Hong Kong.”
“There were a lot of large-scale protests and the government has not responded to them,” said one protester, 59-year-old Peggie Cheung. “The police seem to have become even more violent. I didn’t think this protest would do much to help, but coming out on the streets felt like a responsibility to me.”
The protests reflect mounting complaints that Hong Kong’s leaders are eroding the freedoms and autonomy promised when the territory was returned to China in 1997.
Some protesters carried American or colonial-era Hong Kong flags.
The government of Chief Executive Carrie Lam suspended action last month on the extradition bill, which would have allowed Hong Kong crime suspects to be transferred to the mainland, where the ruling Communist Party controls the court system.
Lam apologized for her handling of the legislation, but critics are demanding she resign.
“Carrie Lam has been hiding,” said Nelson Yip, a man in his 40s who joined Sunday’s protest. “She has made many promises, but she has not been able to fulfill them. There is no sign she is going to fulfill them.”
On Saturday, police used clubs and tear gas to break up a crowd of mostly young protesters who called for tighter control on mainland traders who visit Hong Kong. Critics say they are improperly undercutting Hong Kong businesses.
Earlier Sunday, a group representing Hong Kong journalists marched to Lam’s office on Hong Kong island to highlight complaints that police beat and obstructed reporters at earlier demonstrations. They handed a letter addressed to the territory’s police commissioner to an officer.
“It seems that they have deliberately targeted the journalists,” said Chris Yeung, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
(MOSCOW) — Russian opposition leaders led a rally in Moscow of about 1,000 people Sunday to protest the city election commission’s decision that will keep several opposition candidates off the ballot in a local election.
The unsanctioned rally was billed as a meeting between opposition leaders and voters after the Moscow election commission rejected signatures needed to qualify the candidates for the September city parliament election.
Demonstrators chanted “We are the authority here!” and “Putin is a thief.”
Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, was not seen at the protest. The demonstration was led, in various stages, by opposition figures Dmitry Gudkov, Ilya Yashin and Lyubov Sobol.
“We were collecting the signatures under rain and in the heat,” Gudkov said. “And you know what (the election commission) told us yesterday? They told us that our signatures are fake. Many of the people who gave me their signatures are here today. Friends, do you agree?”
The crowd responded: “No!”
Yashin, one of the disqualified candidates, called on the crowd to march with him to the mayor’s office to state their election demands. They knocked on the doors of city hall, but no one answered.
“I think this is outrageous,” Sergei Bukharov, a former Moscow parliament press officer told The Associated Press outside city hall. “And what they say at the election commission, how they explain why they don’t admit independent candidates, it’s all lies. Those signatures are real.”
Opposition activist Sobol, who also is fighting to be on the September ballot, urged protesters to continue on down the street to the election commission.
“They are stealing our elections. They are stealing our future,” Sobol alleged, going on to accuse Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of ordering the rejection of the signatures.
Police made no attempt to stop the protesters. The march began fading out after three hours, though Sobol and others continued to appeal on social media for more supporters to make their way to the election commission.
An election commission spokesman told Yashing that chief Valentin Gorbunov would not meet with the demonstrators Sunday since he was spending the weekend at his cottage outside the city, the Ekho Moskvy radio station reported.
A few hundred protesters remained outside the election commission as of 7 p.m. Moscow time (GMT 16:00.) About 30 said they would stage a sit in in the courtyard until morning — when, presumably, Gorbunov returns to his office.
(LONDON) — A U.K. newspaper has published more leaked memos revealing a British ambassador’s blunt assessments of the Trump administration, including one in which the envoy to Washington claimed President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal to spite predecessor Barack Obama.
In the May 2018 cable published by the Mail on Sunday, U.K. Ambassador Kim Darroch called Trump’s decision to abandon the international accord “an act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons” because the pact “was Obama’s deal.”
Darroch wrote the memo after then-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Washington in a failed attempt to persuade the United States not to abandon the 2015 nuclear agreement.
He alleged the White House had no strategy for what would come after its withdrawal and “no sort of plan for reaching out to partners and allies.”
The newspaper published new details from confidential diplomatic cables despite a police warning that making the documents public might be a crime.
Scotland Yard is hunting for the perpetrator who leaked confidential diplomatic cables to the Mail on Sunday. Last week the newspaper published memos from Darroch describing the Trump administration as dysfunctional and inept.
The publication of the ambassador’s unguarded views, meant for a small group of ministers and senior officials in London, cost him his job.
Trump responded by calling Darroch “very stupid” and a “pompous fool” in a Twitter fusillade, and the White House cut off contact with the British envoy.
Darroch announced his resignation Wednesday, saying “the current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like.”
He remains formally in the post while a successor is chosen for one of Britain’s most important diplomatic jobs.
British politicians and officials are embarrassed at the leak of Darroch’s frank — though widely shared — opinions about Trump. And they are angry that a British ambassador was forced to step down because of pressure from a foreign leader.
Some also blame Johnson, who is likely to become Britain’s next prime minister, for refusing to publicly defend Darroch after Trump posted disparaging tweets about the ambassador for two days. Darroch has said Johnson’s silence contributed to his decision to quit.
British officials have said they have no evidence that hacking was involved in the documents’ release, and that the culprit is likely to be found among politicians or civil servants in London.
Rumors are swirling in government circles in London about who was behind the leak, widely seen as benefiting supporters of Brexit and Trump.
The journalist who reported the cables, Isabel Oakeshott, is a strong supporter of Brexit and an ally of Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who also is Britain’s leading champion of Trump.
Farage has accused Darroch of lacking enthusiasm for Britain’s departure from the EU and said he should be replaced with “a non-Remainer who wants a trade deal with America.”
Police are investigating the leak as a potential breach of the Official Secrets Act, which bars public servants from making “damaging” disclosures of classified material. Breaking the act carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison, though prosecutions are rare.
Contentiously, police issued a warning to journalists that publishing the documents “could also constitute a criminal offence.”
Both Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, his rival in the race to be Britain’s next leader, defended the media’s right to publish. And the Mail on Sunday said publication was in the public interest.
“Our readers across the globe now have important information about how Britain tried, but failed, to stop President Trump abandoning the Iran nuclear deal,” the newspaper said in a statement.
“What could be more in the public interest than a better understanding of how this position was reached, which may have serious consequences for world peace?”
(PARIS) — French President Emmanuel Macron has overseen France’s annual Bastille Day celebration, which this year showcases European defense cooperation.
Flags of the 10 countries of the European Intervention Initiative, a joint military pact created last year, led Sunday’s military parade down the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris.
Although the display included over 4,000 armed forces, 69 planes and 39 helicopters, its biggest crowd-pleaser was a man rocketing through the air on a flyboard device — the invention of French former jet-skiing champion Franky Zapata.
Tensions in the street remain high in Paris following months of demonstrations by the anti-Macron yellow vest protesters who want more help for French workers. On Sunday, television images showed police grabbing one of the movement’s leaders, Eric Drouet, as he stood on the sidelines of the parade and escorting him away.
At France’s 2017 Bastille Day events, U.S. President Donald Trump, as guest of honor, was so impressed he ordered a military parade in Washington for America’s July 4 celebrations.
Macron will later host a lunch at the Elysee Palace with other European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
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ESIC UDC Cut Off 2019 is available here. Applicants who are applied for the ESIC Upper Division Clerk Recruitment had written the UDC Exam on 14th July 2019 at pre-decided exam centers. Candidates who have taken the exam are looking for the Employees State Insurance Corporation Expected Cut Off. Download ESIC Exam cut off Marks at www.esic.nic.in
ESIC UDC Cut Off 2019
Employee State Insurance Corporation had released a recruitment notification to recruit skilled and talented candidates for various posts. It invites online applications from the eligible and interested candidates. An enormous number of interested candidates have applied to this recruitment notification before the last date. ESIC Board had published the ESIC Admit Card for the applied candidates on June 2019. Applied candidates had written the ESIC UDC exam at pre- decided Exam centers made by the ESIC Board. Now the candidates are browsing the internet for ESIC UDC Exam cut off 2019 to guess their status. Recruitment.guru is the right place for those aspirants who are in search to the ESIC Exam expected cut off 2019.
Employees State Insurance Corporation Expected Cut Off
ESIC abbreviated as Employee State Insurance Corporation. It was Established by the Parliament under the ESIC Act in the year 1948. The government of India organized ESIC. Every year it releases the recruitment notifications for various posts in large number. Likewise, this year ESIC had issued the recruitment notification for Upper Division Clerk Category. The applicants who are waiting for the Central government jobs had applied for this recruitment through online mode before the last date. Applied candidates had written the ESIC UDC Exam, which was held on 14th July 2019. ESIC will publish the Candidates shortlist at its official site of www.esic.nic.in. We will update the ESIC UDC Cut Off on this page once it is available at the official site.
Here is a section where an applicants can get ESIC UDC Cut Off for the exam held on in the recent time in the exam centers. People need to consider this as expected Cut Off. This is not an exact Cut Off for the ESIC UDC Exam. This is for just candidates reference. though on this page, we will update the exact Cut off once it officially released by the Employees State Insurance Corporation. Well, Check out ESIC UDC Expected Cut Off here.
Category
Expected Cut Off
General
135-140
OBC
125-130
SC
115-120
ST
110-115
ESIC UDC Cut Off for 2012 (DC Kerala Region)
Category
Cut Off Marks
Un-Reserved
94.00
OBC
89.75
SC
70.25
Ex-Serviceman
81.75
PWD
62.00
ESIC UDC Cut Off for 2012 (North Eastern Region)
People who took ESIC UDC Examination can check this reference Cut off for the North Eastern Region which was held on 01st April 2012.
Category
Cut Off Marks
Un-Reserved
107.50
OBC
107.50
SC
88
Ex-Serviceman
97.75
PWD
70.50
ESIC UDC Exam Pattern 2019 (Prelims)
Employee State Insurance Corporation will conduct Preliminary exam and as well as Main Exams. The Corporation will conduct the Skill Test for Clerk Posts while in the Main Examination. Skill test and Stenography Test for Steno Posts will be conducted on the scheduled date. So, here is the ESIC UDC Exam Pattern.
For Upper Division Clerk:
Test Name
No of Questions
Total Marks
General Intelligence& Reasoning
25 Questions
50 Marks
General Awareness
25 Questions
50 Marks
Quantitative Aptitude
25 Questions
50 Marks
English Comprehension
25 Questions
50 Marks
Total
100 Questions
200 Marks
Exam Duration – 1 Hour
The Questions will be in Bilingual Pattern.
Marks will be as in the exam pattern.
For Stenographer:
Name of The Test
No. of Questions
Total Marks
Duration
English Language And Comprehension
100 Questions
100 Marks
70 Minutes
Reasoning Ability
50 Questions
50 Marks
35 Minutes
General Awareness
50 Questions
50 Marks
25 Minutes
Total
200 Questions
200 Marks
130 Minutes
Time Duration – 130 minutes
The Prelims Examination will be based on Multiple Choice Questions
The Version will be Bilingual except English Language and Comprehension.
There will be negative marks for both the Posts of 1/4 Marks for each wrong answers.
ESIC Upper Division Clerk Exam Cut Off 2019 – Sectional Cut off Marks
Applicants can check the ESIC UDC Cut Off Marks on this page. Aspirants can check their probability of result through the Cut Off. The candidates who will get shortlisted in the written exam are only eligible for the next round. The shortlisted candidates in the ESIC UDC Exam will be a call for the interview. Call Letter will be sent to the applicants who have shortlisted in the written test. Applicants can also view the ESIC UDC cut off at the official link attached on this page. Here we are providing the easy steps for downloading the ESIC UDC Exam Cut Off. The Sectional Cut off Mark is not present in the ESIC UDC Exam. The candidates will be selected based on the Category wise Cut Off.
Steps to Check ESIC UDC Exam Cut Off Marks
Log on to the official site through the link attached to this page.
Search for the link related to the ESIC UDC Cut Off.
India has told a tribunal the local auditing affiliate of international accounting group Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is misreading a key federal law as the firm seeks to avoid a five-year ban on new business, according to legal documents reviewed by Reuters on Sunday.Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP is contesting the government's call for the ban on the auditor for its alleged involvement in a financial fraud.The government has said it detected several violations of auditing standards by Deloitte and a KPMG affiliate while investigating fraud at IFIN, a unit of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, whose debt defaults last year triggered fears of a financial contagion. Both auditors deny wrongdoing.Deloitte's filing showed it last month argued the government case should be dismissed because it came after the auditor's 10-year stint at IFIN ended. The last audit it did was for the fiscal year to March 2018.The alleged fraud began to be exposed last autumn and Deloitte said the law only allowed such a ban to be imposed if the auditor was actively auditing the company at the time, and didn't allow the government to take into account the firm's work over previous years.India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs has countered, saying the law can't be read in such a "narrow and pedantic manner", according to its June 28 tribunal filing, which has been reviewed by Reuters and is not public."A fraud that continues till date on account of errant past auditor ... can undoubtedly be covered" under Indian law provisions, the government said in its 13-page filing, adding Deloitte was misreading and incorrectly interpreting the law.The law was intended to "weed out an errant auditor from practicing so that corporate democracy, transparency and the economy of the country is not destabilizing", it added.The case will next be heard on Monday at the National Company Law Tribunal in Mumbai."ORGANIZED CRIME"A spokesman for Deloitte told Reuters on Sunday it had been advised the government's case was "not maintainable", declining to comment further. It has previously said "it has been thorough and diligent" in its duties as an auditor.India detected auditing failures as part of its wide-ranging probe into alleged fraud and mismanagement at IFIN, which has also been investigated by several other agencies including the Serious Fraud Investigation Office and the central bank.The auditing firms gave clean audit reports and "miserably failed to fulfil the duty entrusted to them," the government has alleged, saying the fraud at IFIN was "nothing short of organized crime, actively aided and abetted by the statutory auditors".In its filing, the government also said that if Deloitte's interpretation of law was to be accepted, it would mean any auditor who commits fraud, but resigns before legal proceedings are initiated against it, can't be banned in the country.The KPMG affiliate accused in the case, BSR & Associates, has also denied the allegations and said it performed IFIN's audit in accordance with the applicable auditing standards and legal framework. BSR audited IFIN alongside Deloitte in the year to March 2018, and then was the sole auditor for the 2018-19 year. It resigned days after the government filed the tribunal case last month.Whichever way the Indian tribunal rules, the government's allegations have already cast a shadow on local operations of big foreign auditors, who audit many of the foreign companies in India, as well as large domestic firms."We are already seeing evidence of some of our global clients being spooked by this and the extent of the punishment being sought," said a senior partner with a global audit firm.
Top consumer companies such as Tinder, McDonald's, Tide, Reebok and Zomato are finding a backdoor to advertise on WhatsApp, the most-used messaging app, through fun and quirky stickers and GIFs.These companies hope to make their presence felt through branded GIFs and stickers that will be made available through keyboard applications that people can download, access and add stickers and GIFs to their messages."These formats come from the idea that communication should be informal, casual and emotionally connected.It adds the right kind of humour to conversations. Brands need to leverage this trend. We do two to three campaigns every month on stickers and GIFs, but budgets are very small," said Sharadh Manian, GM at digital agency SVG Media.WhatsApp has about 350-400 million users in India with no advertising model. Its business product prohibits spread of promotional content, restricting mass distribution of brand messages."People in India want conversational content. If you see the student population, they talk in stickers. It is an entry for brands into WhatsApp as it does not allow advertising yet. Being part of daily conversations improves brand positioning," said Ankit Prasad, founder of Bobble AI, a keyboard startup that works with brands to make personalised stickers and GIFs. It claims to have 5 million daily active users.Until now, stickers and GIFs have had international themes, which are not able to meet local demand. Indian startups such as Bobble AI, GifsKey and Xploree have become the primary sources of localised stickers and GIFs, apart from dozens of applications available on app stores. "We are thinking of making stickers for brands that go well with different festivals or occasions.For example, a sweet company may want to create a sticker for Diwali. Viral content is always helpful for brands," said Bhawna Bansal, founder at Stickotext.Google acquired Tenor, which powers a variety of GIF keyboards on phones and messengers, last year.GIF search engine giant Giphy is one of the major competitors of Tenor. In China, GIFs and stickers have been very popular on applications like WeChat.In India, as the trend is still picking up, most brands are experimenting with the format as it is yet to be proven. Companies are launching these campaigns from their experimental budgets."If a brand wants to be part of a conversation, it has to be smooth, not intrusive.I think it has potential for brands who have a heart and tone of voice, who are fun brands," said Syed Hasan, A&B Advertising. "However, the kind of budgets that are being put behind these are minuscule
Apple has taken four of its 'lower priced' smartphones off the shelves in India, making it more expensive to buy an entry-level iPhone.As part of its new strategy to focus on driving value in India instead of chasing volumes, Apple has stopped selling the iPhone SE, 6, 6Plus and 6sPlus, three senior industry executives said. This will increase the entry level price of an iPhone in India by almost Rs 8,000.The executives said supplies of these models stopped last month. Apple's distributors and sales team have informed traders that the new entry model will be the iPhone 6s, as and when the existing stock of the earlier models gets sold.The iPhone 6s currently sells for about Rs 29,500, while the iPhone SE, the earlier entry model, used to sell for Rs 21,000-22,000.The four models are out of stock on Amazon India, while on Flipkart, the iPhone SE and 6Plus are out of stock and not all variants of the other two models are available. All four models continue to be listed as available in the US, according to Apple's website.The decision was taken after Apple improved its revenue and profit in India in 2018-19, even though iPhone sales volumes took a hit, with the focus more on pushing the latest and higher-priced models. An industry executive said Apple India's sales in the April-June quarter had gone up after it undertook apromotion to drop iPhone XR prices.Apple is yet to file its India financials for FY19 with the Registrar of Companies. In FY18, Apple India's revenue increased 12% to Rs 13,097 crore while net profit more than doubled to Rs 896 crore, as per RoC disclosures.Cupertino, California-based Apple reduced the number of distributors in India to two from five last year and decided to rein in arbitrary discounts to reinforce the brand's premium."Cupertino does not want Apple India to chase volumes by discounting at the cost of profit," said one leading trade partner of Apple. "These models which are being phased out will increase the average selling price of iPhones in India and boost both profit and revenue." Apple India declined to comment on the matter.Apple used to assemble the iPhone SE in India along with the 6s and 7. The idle capacity may now be used to expand production of other models, one executive said.Another executive said Apple has certainly not given up on the potential of the Indian market and will continue to roll out affordability programmes like buy-back and cashback offers.The company will localise its upcoming iPhone operating system iOS 13 for the first time for Indian consumers, with support for 22 Indian languages, maps for navigation and virtual assistant Siri, which can now talk and understand Indian English."These initiatives highlight how Apple still considers India an important market for business. Just that the priority has changed from just selling a box to improving overall-sales experience, brand positioning and financials," he said.Analysts estimated that iPhone shipments fell in India last year and continue to plunge this year.The company, however, has expanded its iPhone assembling operations in the country and soon plans to start offering the newer and super-premium models too.
The Indian Space Research Organisation has put off the launch of its second moon mission, Chandrayaan II, after it detected technical snags just an hour ahead of the launch in the early hours of Monday.Around 2 am, an official from ISRO said the space agency would not be able to proceed with the launch within the slated window. The countdown was frozen at 56:24.A technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system at T-56 minute. As a measure of abundant precaution, Chandrayaan 2 launch has been called off for today. Revised launch date will be announced later, read a statement from the space agency.A battery of press corps and public had assembled at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota around midi night to cover the launch.A source in ISRO said technical snags were noticed while fuelling the rocket with cryogenic fuel, adding that scientists need to approach the vehicle to assess the problem. "This process may take days and only after that we will decide on a launch date," said a source.The GSLV MK-III was slated to carrying an orbiter, lander and a rover in a stepped up moon mission to uncover lunar secrets launched into space. The Chandrayaan-II, a Rs 978-crore project, will place the country in a niche league of nations populated by the US, Russia and China that have successfully conducted a moon-landing. Beyond that, the lander will touch in the region of the south pole of the moon, an unexplored territory, according to ISRO.The target is find more evidence of water, clues about the moon's evolution and work the natural satellite as a test bed for more space missions concerning the solar system.Chandrayaan will primarily study the elements on the moon, map its topography through high-resolution pictures, study its minerals and most importantly, confirm sub-surface water/ice presence.
MUMBAI: A State Bank of India commissioned forensic audit of Jet Airways books has revealed misappropriation of funds relating to provision of loans and fraudulent billing for JP Miles, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.The report also highlights that invoices raised were not verified leading to excess billing and fuel expenses were raised substantially for Jet even when they remained static for other airlines."Provision has been made for Rs 3,353-crore loan given to Jet Lite over four years. Board resolution, shareholder approval for making the provision was not made available to the auditors," the forensic audit conducted by EY says. ET has seen a copy of the report. "Loans were given to Jet Lite despite Jet Airways recording losses in fiscal year 2015 and declining profit over the years," the report added.The government had recently ordered a probe into Jet Airways for alleged siphoning off funds and for financial irregularities. The MCA ordered the SFIO probe under Section 212 (1) C of the Companies Act, based on its inspection report. The report indicated "prima facie" that the company was involved in "malpractices, mismanagement through siphoning off funds… preferential and related party transactions, prejudicial to public interest."The forensic audit also says that invoices raised on Jet Privilege were not verified, resulting in excess billing of nearly 1crore during July-September 2015.Monthly invoice of Rs 15 crore was accounted for by Jet Airways for commercial activities without relevant documents supporting them. The report also says that the company was billed Rs 140 crore fraudulent JP miles leading to a loss of Rs 46 crore. Multiple other discrepancies were noted in the miles accrued versus what the company reported. 70220925 "There has been a systematic effort to siphon money from the company. In the limited analysis conducted it is clear that multiple methods were used to take out funds from Jet Airways," said a person aware of the development.SBI did not respond to an ET query. An official spokesperson for EY India said, "We are bound by our client confidentiality obligations and are unable to comment."
MUMBAI: Tata Sons is grappling with what to do with loss-making Tata Communications and one option being considered is to combine some businesses of the digital infrastructure company with Tata Consultancy Services and sell off the rest, people familiar with the matter said."Some similar services of Tata Communications may be merged with TCS and the rest of the business sold as separate business ventures. But it may not be an easy plan to execute, given the government shareholding in the company," said one person.Tata Communications, whose CEO Vinod Kumar resigned abruptly last week, owns and operates a sub-sea fibre network that carries about 30% of the world's Internet routes. Its services including cloud platforms, real-time connectivity and hosted data centres are currently offered together with software company TCS, the people said.The government, which holds a 26% stake in Tata Communications, appears to be on the same page as the salt-to-steel conglomerate. A senior official at the department of telecommunications said the Tatas must exit Tata Communications, especially after the consumer mobility business of Tata Teleservices (TTSL) was sold to Bharti Airtel."Telecom is all about footprint. The Tatas need to exit the business altogether now that TTSL is gone. The government should be given its valuation of 26% stake," the official said. He added that the government has set a target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore from asset sales in FY20. Tata Sons, India's oldest business house, and Tata Communications declined to comment on the matter.Tata Sons officials said that the group's top brass, including chairman N Chandrasekaran, had set deadlines to turn around Tata Communications, failing which a decision would be taken on its viability. This is in line with the group's decision to restructure the $104 billion conglomerate into 10 verticals such as consumer, trading and investments, to help its 100 companies synergise operations and cut costs.
NEW DELHI: Indian markets witnessed bulls hammering during the week gone by as investors gave a thumbs down to Union Budget amid somber global mood following weak China data that raised concerns over slowing global economy.Both Sensex and Nifty extended their weekly loss into the second week, falling 1.97 per cent and 2.18 per cent, respectively. This week's Tweet Buster explores where could market head and what should be your investment strategy amid all this. So, let's dive in.Shyam Sekhar, co-founder, iThought said selling in market would soon end. Selling is also like Rainfall. Somewhere, the precipitation will have to end. The Monsoon like selling in markets… https://t.co/Te88UUg5Q6— Shyam Sekhar (@shyamsek) 1562835378000 Sandip Sabharwal, independent market adviser, also believes the economic revival was around the corner.Many are indicating a significant easing of financial conditions since Mid June. This combined with falling bond yi… https://t.co/gtWAVUxsbp— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1563032339000 Sabharwal says had the government's tax policy been more supportive, growth and employment generation would have been much higher.Markets and the Economy should still do well Largely due to the significant monetary stimulus If the tax policy of… https://t.co/yybY9fIkDA— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1562857644000 Amid all this, there are a few investment tips to navigate over the next couple of days.Research, says Sekhar, is the key to making the right investment decisions. Sekhar said, "Rarely, is the road to investment easy. It must not be."Before reaching an investment idea, one has to go through a lot of search, struggle & study. If we reach stock ide… https://t.co/Ni8aGxbK9I— Shyam Sekhar (@shyamsek) 1562732333000 Sekhar said, "Reacting to big mistakes is far more important than living with them."One stock loses two thirds of its value over 10 years. Another loses two thirds of its value over one year. Which… https://t.co/5VulQCD1rW— Shyam Sekhar (@shyamsek) 1563066481000 Sabharwal warns against investing in bond funds.Indian 10 yr bond yield moves below the 6.5% level to end at 6.49%. Next level, where it could possibly bottom out… https://t.co/g7MF5R3ZMD— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1562845064000 Now, is the time to invest in consumption stocks, Sabharwal added.Warning by #Titan sends all high priced consumption stocks into a tailspin Normally a 25% correction from the top… https://t.co/YiVArivmIq— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1562647732000 Lastly, Sanjay Bakshi tells you why borrowing by governments in foreign currencies might not be a good idea.Completely agree. Borrowing by governments in foreign currencies has three problems. One, most likely it's variabl… https://t.co/MYASW7dgIZ— Fundoo Professor (@Sanjay__Bakshi) 1562725473000
New Delhi: With promoter spat intensifying at the country's largest airline IndiGo, markets watchdog Sebi and the corporate affairs ministry have started digging deep into allegations of governance lapses and violations that could force the government to override existing arrangements and pacts at InterGlobe Aviation, officials said.Bringing into public the differences between long-time friends and promoters of IndiGo into the open, Rakesh Gangwal has sought Sebi's intervention into alleged corporate governance lapses at the company and even said that 'paan ki dukaan' (betel shop) would have managed things with more grace.InterGlobe Aviation, which got listed in 2015, has come under intense regulatory scanner and there are indications of multiple violations of Sebi norms. The role of each and every entity associated with all board members and entities linked to the promoters are being probed amid signs of lapses in complying with governance requirements, fair market trade and insider trading norms, the officials said.One of the major issues raised by Gangwal was about related party transactions involving co-founder Rahul Bhatia's InterGlobe Enterprises (IGE) Group and the allegations have been refuted by the Bhatia camp.An official said the corporate affairs ministry would be seeking a "para-wise comments" from the company on Gangwal's complaint and would also be looking at the related party transactions.With the promoter feud igniting concerns over corporate governance practices at InterGlobe Aviation, the ministry would examine whether memorandum, articles, agreements and resolutions are in consonance with provisions of the Companies Act.The company could face strict regulatory action, including overriding of existing pacts, in case there are violations of the Act.The official said the ministry can even invoke powers under Section 6 of the Companies Act, 2013.Section 6 provides powers to override any memorandum, articles, agreements or resolutions passed at general meeting or by the board of directors in case they violate norms. Following Gangwal's letter to Sebi, the ministry and others, the markets regulator has sought response from the company by July 19.Against this backdrop, Sebi has also widended its probe, launched a few months ago, into suspicious insider trading violations in the shares of InterGlobe Aviation.The officials said that a number of executives and board members are likely to be summoned by the markets regulator.Among the issues flagged by Gangwal are that various related party transactions with the IGE Group were executed without seeking the audit committee's approval and without seeking competitive bids from third parties, and non-appointment of an independent woman director.Regarding the board's decision to reject request for an extraordinary general meeting, Gangwal alleged that legal requirements and basic governance norms were violated by not providing board members timely material facts prior to voting by board.On July 12, Bhatia' IGE Group said the company is well run, financially sound and managed by a competent set of managers as it termed Gangwal's allegations of governance lapses as much ado about nothing.Gangwal and his affiliates own around 37 per cent stake in InterGlobe Aviation while Bhatia and his IGE Group has about 38 per cent shareholding.
Apple has taken four of its 'lower priced' smartphones off the shelves in India, making it more expensive to buy an entry-level iPhone.As part of its new strategy to focus on driving value in India instead of chasing volumes, Apple has stopped selling the iPhone SE, 6, 6Plus and 6sPlus, three senior industry executives said. This will increase the entry level price of an iPhone in India by almost Rs 8,000.The executives said supplies of these models stopped last month. Apple's distributors and sales team have informed traders that the new entry model will be the iPhone 6s, as and when the existing stock of the earlier models gets sold.The iPhone 6s currently sells for about Rs 29,500, while the iPhone SE, the earlier entry model, used to sell for Rs 21,000-22,000.The four models are out of stock on Amazon India, while on Flipkart, the iPhone SE and 6Plus are out of stock and not all variants of the other two models are available. All four models continue to be listed as available in the US, according to Apple's website.The decision was taken after Apple improved its revenue and profit in India in 2018-19, even though iPhone sales volumes took a hit, with the focus more on pushing the latest and higher-priced models. An industry executive said Apple India's sales in the April-June quarter had gone up after it undertook apromotion to drop iPhone XR prices.Apple is yet to file its India financials for FY19 with the Registrar of Companies. In FY18, Apple India's revenue increased 12% to Rs 13,097 crore while net profit more than doubled to Rs 896 crore, as per RoC disclosures.Cupertino, California-based Apple reduced the number of distributors in India to two from five last year and decided to rein in arbitrary discounts to reinforce the brand's premium."Cupertino does not want Apple India to chase volumes by discounting at the cost of profit," said one leading trade partner of Apple. "These models which are being phased out will increase the average selling price of iPhones in India and boost both profit and revenue." Apple India declined to comment on the matter.Apple used to assemble the iPhone SE in India along with the 6s and 7. The idle capacity may now be used to expand production of other models, one executive said.Another executive said Apple has certainly not given up on the potential of the Indian market and will continue to roll out affordability programmes like buy-back and cashback offers.The company will localise its upcoming iPhone operating system iOS 13 for the first time for Indian consumers, with support for 22 Indian languages, maps for navigation and virtual assistant Siri, which can now talk and understand Indian English."These initiatives highlight how Apple still considers India an important market for business. Just that the priority has changed from just selling a box to improving overall-sales experience, brand positioning and financials," he said.Analysts estimated that iPhone shipments fell in India last year and continue to plunge this year.The company, however, has expanded its iPhone assembling operations in the country and soon plans to start offering the newer and super-premium models too.
Telecom talks: Airtel loses rural subscribers, Jio sees a rise Jio's rural base during the same period rose from 35.87% in December end to 37.92% in March end.
Mumbai's lifeline to get on track with better signalling system With CBTC, the headway will be reduced up till 2 minutes thus improving speed of trains
Two die, many feared trapped as building collapses in Himachal Pradesh The building, which reportedly collapsed due to heavy rainfall, is located on Kumarhatti-Nahan highway in Solan, around 45 km from state capital Shimla
Should education wean babies off reality? As we stand at a cusp of massive disruption that technology is about to bring, we really need to get extremely cautious before applying technology in sensitive areas like training a human brain
Karnataka: Congress talks with rebel MLA MTB Nagaraj fails The coalition government is on a shaky wicket with 16 MLAs -- 13 of the Congress and three of the JD(S) resigning their assembly membership
Goa Forward Party withdraws support to BJP-led government The regional party decided to end its alliance with the BJP just a day after their ministers were asked to quit from Pramod Sawant-led Goa cabinet to adjust Congress rebels as ministers in the government
To boost cadre morale, Congress hands over party rein to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Uttar Pradesh As the party managed to win a single LS seat in state, it now falls back on Gandhi blood to change tide
E-commerce: Reliance Jio not to take on Amazon and Flipkart, readies platform to wire kirana stores From Jio Prime, not only will these merchants be able to source products cheaper than from normal suppliers and distributors but will also get cash backs and other discounts which would enable them to compete with bigger, organised retail players who now operate in this segment.
Missed targets: Pace of CPSE capex moderates, finally On a year-on-year basis, however, capex by these entities fell 1.1%, in what reflected the drying up of cash reserves with them owing to robust investments made over the last few years on the government's prodding.
Relief for power firms: Govt asks Aptel to crack down on 'regulatory assets' According to official sources, regulatory assets in Maharashtra went up 390% to Rs 12,382 crore since the Uday launch and Uttar Pradesh saw a rise of 25% to Rs 33,000 crore in this period.
Opportunity knocks for Indian agriculture India faces the same "triple challenge" as other countries: delivering safe and nutritious food to a growing population at affordable prices; providing a livelihood for farmers and others in the food chain; and overcoming severe resource and climate pressures.
