The trailer for Netflix's upcoming thriller series The Spy paints Sacha Baron Cohen in a new, dramatic light, and judging by this two-minute preview, he shines.
The Spy stars Cohen as Eli Cohen, an Israeli government clerk who has been tasked with taking on a second identity, entering Syria, and spying on behalf of Mossad (the Israeli intelligence agency) in the '60s. He'll do anything for his country, but the double life is taking its toll on his family and his own mental health. The series is inspired by real-life Mossad agent Eli Cohen.
The Spy arrives on Netflix on Sept. 6. Read more...
For Matthew Shifrin, who was born blind, playing with Lego sets presented a challenge. While he loved the blocks and how they taught him about things like engineering concepts and the shape of the Empire State Building, he could not utilize the toys' building instructions, which are represented with images.
Instead a family friend spent hours writing out the steps so Shifrin could upload them into a system that put the instructions onto his braille reader, which converts text into the series of raised dots known as braille.
The experience inspired Shifrin to help children who are blind or have limited vision access Lego instructions just like he did. That's why Shifrin, now 22, teamed up with Lego to begin creating braille and audio building instructions for the company's toy sets. Read more...
TL;DR: The crystal clear Apple AirPods are on sale for £143.98 on Amazon, and come with a charging case included.
Apple AirPods are popular, to put it mildly. To put it less mildly, people absolutely love the little earphones, and continue to buy them up at list price, without any sign of slowing down.
With this in mind, deals are rare. Why would Apple, or any other retailer, drop the price when sales continue to climb? We don't really have an answer for that, but the Apple AirPods are now on sale for under £150 on Amazon.
You can now pick up the latest model of the Apple Airpods (with charging case) for £143.98. This is down by 9% on list price, saving you over £15. This isn't the only Apple bundle deal on offer. You can also find Apple Airpods with a wireless charging case for £169. This is down from £199, saving you £30 on list price. Both are great deals, and the choice is all yours. Read more...
Although it's primarily known as a TV package provider, Sky offers Essential and Superfast broadband packages, and has recently announced a new Ultrafast service that will be usable before the end of 2019.
Sky also has some packages that rival the competition, including bundles with TV and broadband included. There's even every Sky Sports HD channel up for grabs, if you can find the right package. Read more...
One of the great advancements of the 21st century is the move to rechargeable lithium ion batteries. But can we do better?
Wireless charging pads have been around for a few years now and they're certainly appealing. Charging cables can be cumbersome, and there's an inherent elegance to placing a phone onto a little pad and letting it charge without putting any real effort into it.
That said, there are benefits and drawbacks to moving to a wireless charging lifestyle. You might clean up your cord clutter, but you'll miss out on some important advantages of wired charging, too. Thankfully, we're here to help with a few reasons why you should and shouldn't jump on the wireless charger bandwagon. Read more...
Fitbit's finally come to it senses: the days of trying to sell more fitness trackers are over.
Don't worry, Fitbit's still going to launch new trackers and smartwatches like the Versa 2. But rather than bet the farm on smartwatches and trackers that are increasingly steamrolled by the Apple Watch, Fitbit's reinventing itself as a personal health guardian, starting with a new health and subscription service called Fitbit Premium.
Touted as its most personalized health and fitness experience yet, Fitbit says its $10/month (or $80/year) Premium service uses over 10 years of insights gleaned from Fitbit data and various academic medical sources to provide "actionable guidance and coaching." Read more...
Fitbit's Versa 2 smartwatch launches on Sept. 15, starting at $199.95. Compared to the original Versa, the new smartwatch is sleeker, comfier, and more watch-like with its always-on display that shows the time. It's also smarter, with built-in Amazon Alexa voice controls.
The most important additions, though, are the Versa 2's new sleep-tracking features, which are designed to help you live a healthier life.
It’sCheat Weekat Mashable. Join us as we take a look at how liars, scammers, grifters, and everyday people take advantage of life's little loopholes in order to get ahead.
It doesn't seem like spending a day eating delicious food could be anything but luxurious. But diet culture is a powerful villain.
In a typical "cheat day" video, a vlogger documents a day where they (allegedly) break from their diet and eat whatever they want. Usually, this means fast food, pastries, burgers and fries — foods often connoted as "bad."
In February, YouTuber Sophia Kleo posted a 13-minute-long cheat day video called "in n out, pizza, & donuts." In the video, she eats all of those things (plus fruit snacks, bean dip, and more), taking enormous bites of glistening pastries and tall burgers, then holding them up to the camera. Read more...
Few things are more painful than watching oversized construction equipment pull up next to your home, knowing the next few weeks or months will be filled with ceaseless noise.
However, if you're like Redditor fridafluff, you might still be able to hear the music even after the birds are long gone. On August 26, they posted a video in r/SoundsLikeMusic of the rhythmic construction that has been a constant outside their home the last few weeks.
And the subreddit absolutely loved it.
Some users compared it to other tracks, like Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead" or the "Power House" track from Looney Toons. But others were inspired to summon their own masterpieces from the wreckage, like "Banging" by Redditor _Matt_Hues. The track features the banging sound from the original clip and quickly adjusts it to a funky R&B baseline. Read more...
No, really, this is serious. If you haven't yet played Control — or any of Remedy's other games, really — and you have an interest in doing so, turn back now. I'm going to get into some serious spoilers and the last thing I want to do is unwittingly ruin someone's good time.
Here's a buffer paragraph, just to put a little more space between the spoiler alert and the spoilers. Let's use this opportunity to plug Mashable's review of Control. It's great! If you've played any of Remedy's other games, this is the best version of the studio's particular style of third-person shooter. Read more...
TL;DR: The lightweight Huawei MateBook D is on sale for £404.99 on Amazon, saving you 39% on list price.
If you're working on the go, a lot of small details become really important. Your comfort and connection speed is crucial, as is a constant source of snacks. Above all else though, space matters.
The Huawei MateBook D is designed with this in mind, with portability as the priority. With an ultra-thin design, the Huawei MateBook is the perfect companion to accompany you on your travels. Its metal unibody weighs just 640 grams and measures only 6.9 millimetres across, making it easy to carry, wherever you need to go. Read more...
Another day, another massive saving on a 4K TV. This Amazon "End of Summer Sale" has been great for many devices, but nothing has come close to matching the quantity and quality of TV deals.
The Hisense 75-Inch 4K UHD HDR Smart TV features HDR Plus, HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma), and a Quad core processor for high-speed smart functions. It also comes with Ultra HD 4K, Dolby Vision Picture technology, and access to Freeview, YouTube, Netflix, Rakuten, and Prime Video. It is a stunning device, available at a stunning price. Read more...
Obviously no Slow Mo Guys video should be tried at home, but this one is so dangerous they actually put their own warning at the start of the video. You know things are about to get risky when that happens.
In the clip above, Dan holds up a fan with wire wool attached to each of the four blades. He then lights each one and twirls the thing above his head, creating a mesmerising dome of falling sparks.
The soothing effect is only slightly dampened by the occasional sound of Gav yelping. Read more...
TL;DR: The renewed Apple MacBook Pro A1278 is on sale for £377.96 on Amazon, saving you 10% on list price.
The Amazon "End of Summer Sale" presents a wonderful opportunity to make big savings, but you know what presents an even bigger opportunity? Buying renewed products.
Renewed products work and look like new, but come at massively lower prices. So if you can get over the fact that someone else has previously owned your device, you can walk away with some great deals.
If you are happy to go down the renewed route, you can pick up a wide range of Apple products in the Amazon sale, including MacBooks and iMacs. These pre-owned products are not Apple certified but have been inspected and tested by Amazon-qualified suppliers, and come with the one-year Amazon Renewed Guarantee. This means your product is eligible for a replacement or refund within one year of receipt if it does not work as expected. So there's nothing to lose. Read more...
It's a feeling many of us can relate to. You work hard on something that requires a painstaking level of precision. And then...it breaks.
During the Season 10 premiere of The Great British Bake Off on Tuesday, contestants were asked to make a fruitcake as their first challenge during Cake Week.
GBBO contestant Henry made an intricate house out of piped royal icing to put on top of his fruitcake — and his epic fail made the entire viewing public grimace in horror.
The finished house looked beautiful. Just one final step remained, however. Henry needed to place the rather fragile icing house atop the cake. Read more...
We love finding Black Friday-level deals in August. Amazon is currently discounting a ton of different smart TVs: For those with wall space begging to be covered, this 82-inch Samsung smart TV is $2,197.99 — a massive $1,002 savings. Looking for a design that'll blend with your artsy decor better? Consider the Samsung's The Frame TV — the 55-inch model is $400 off.
We are slowly coming to the end of Amazon's "End of Summer Sale", which means you are running out of time to pick up a bargain. We're not being pushy here, but come on guys, there are so many great deals to be had, and you're in danger of missing out.
In a bid to avoid this disappointing situation, we have lined up another selection of the very best deals from the sale, including discounted speakers, headphones, tablets, and laptops. All the biggest brands are included in this list, like Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Philips, and much more.
These are the best deals from across the sale for Aug. 28. Read more...
For centuries, biologists, ecologists, and taxonomists have documented critters around the globe. But, in a world teeming with biodiversity and remote ecosystems, they acknowledge there are plenty more species out there. The broad assumption is that humanity has named around 1.5 to 1.7 million plant and animal species, so far. Everything else is an educated guess. Read more...
Before joining the cast of Queer Eye, Jonathan Van Ness was most famous for Funny Or Die web series Gay of Thrones. And before she was a Jonas Sister and hardcore Shawn Mendes/Camila Cabello shipper, Sophie Turner was most famous for playing the Stark sibling with the best hair (fight me), Sansa, on Game Of Thrones.
And when the two met backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards, the mutual fan-out reached a pitch that can only be heard by child queens and direwolves.
If you're wearing earbuds, turn the volume down a little bit before you hit play on this. No, a little more.
Turner, spotting Van Ness, lurching towards him with both hands out like a perfectly coiffed zombie, at a pitch to shatter glass: "JONATHANVANNNESSSSSSSSS"Read more...
Selfie sticks are so 2000 and late. Drones are currently the coolest way to take billions of pictures of yourself. But they also tend to be expensive as heck, which means you find a great deal on a drone — like the Force1 with HD video camera for 40% off — you should probably get on that.
The Force1 easily connects to your iPhone or Android and lets you take some sick first-person photos and 720p HD videos. It's fully loaded with three speed settings and one-key takeoff and landing, making it super easy to fly — even for beginners. Read more...
If your brain's been out of commission for the summer, it's time for a jumpstart. While everyone else is still daydreaming about their summer spent at the pool or the beach, you can climb the career ladder like the boss you are.
There's never been a better time to work in IT. And since these five IT training bundles are massively discounted, why not sign up and fuel that big ol' brain of yours? Whether you want to switch paths, advance your current career, or just add some new skills to your résumé, these e-learning bundles will help you get on your way to greatness.
If you weren't lining up for some kind of fried chicken product this week, were you even living?
First Popeye's sandwiches sold out. Now KFC has proved that whether the chicken is the real thing or not, people will queue for that finger-lickin' deliciousness.
The Colonel went plant-based at one Atlanta restaurant on Tuesday, complete with its signature red trim wrapped in bright green, to test out its Beyond Meat fake Fried "Chicken" on real humans.
And the real humans lined up literally around the block for the popcorn chicken and "wings", until supply ran out less than five hours into the promotion. Read more...
Monday marked the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. And while we got Lil Nas X clowning us with his giant scroll speech and Lizzo being an absolute queen, there was a distinct absence of one thing — BTS.
That's not to say the massively popular group didn't win any awards. Oh no, they cleaned up, taking home "Best Group," as well as the newly minted "Best K-pop" category for their single "Boy With Luv" featuring Halsey. But the wins, while expected, were bittersweet for their fanbase, the BTS ARMY.
Fans had been vocal about the creation of an entirely new category dedicated to K-pop. As with the controversial award show history of separating categories like "Latin Pop" and "R&B," many felt the VMAs were preventing BTS from being successful among other mainstream players in the music industry, despite their ability to garner millions of music video views on YouTube. ARMY quickly called the VMAs out for their gatekeeping of non-white artists, trending tags such as #VMAsRacist and #VMAsXenophobic. Read more...
Welcome to our 2019 Fall Movie Preview. All week long we're covering the films you need to know about as we head into the final months of the year, from indie gems to awards hopefuls to blockbuster smashes.
Our fall movie preview got off to a chilling start on Monday, but now it's time to loosen up and have some fun — whatever that might mean for you.
Maybe you're into pitch-black comedy or criminal thrills. Or perhaps your idea of "fun" is getting swept up in drama and tension. Whatever your taste, the fall movie calendar has something for you.
Here's what to watch if you're in the mood for fun... Read more...
Monday was Women's Equality Day. It was also the day that Mattel, the company behind Barbie, released two new dolls: One honoring the Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks; the other paying homage to astronaut Sally Ride.
We’re adding two courageous women to the #Barbie Inspiring Women Series – Civil Rights activist, Rosa Parks, and the first American woman to fly in space, Sally Ride
"Both Sally Ride and Rosa Parks made the world better for future generations of girls. By celebrating their achievements with dolls made in their likeness, we hope girls will be inspired to pursue their dreams," a Mattel spokesperson told Mashable. Read more...
We all helped Popeyes win the great chicken sandwich war, but at what cost?
The fried chicken chain announced on social media Tuesday that its instantly iconic chicken sandwich — for which fans have been lining up in droves since it debuted last week — has sold out completely.
Never fear, though: Popeyes promises the sandwich will return "soon," and that when it does, it will be a permanent part of the menu. (Isn't that what we were promised in the first place? Whatever.) We have a feeling Popeyes isn't really sweating the shortage — all the sandwich buzz gave the company about $23 million in free press. Read more...
If it takes a few transit methods to get from a party to your front door, Google Maps didn't used to be much help. But, as announced Tuesday, the navigation app can now give transit directions that include different modes.
"Mixed modes" will soon show up on the transit tab and will include ride-sharing and cycling options within the public transit directions. Instead of you having to manually piece together a trip, the app puts together different options for you.
You can get detailed information about ride-sharing, like the cost of either an Uber or Lyft and the different types of rides, like a carpool or SUV and how long it'll take to get to you. The app will give info about the train or bus you're catching and how much traffic to expect on the way. But you still have to book an Uber or Lyft in its respective app. Read more...
If you thought the Waymo v. Uber trial wrapped up when the companies settled early last year ... well, nope.
An unsealed federal indictment Tuesday revealed 33 charges against engineer-turned-executive Anthony Levandowski, whose arraignment is set for this afternoon in San Jose. If convicted, Levandowski faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Levandowski was an engineer at what was then called Project Chauffeur at Google (it later became Waymo) before he started his own autonomous truck company, Otto, in 2015. That business was quickly snatched up for $680 million by Uber, which was starting to develop its own self-driving car program. Read more...
On Tuesday, Variety reported that SNL cast member Leslie Jones would be leaving the NBC sketch comedy show ahead of its Season 45 premiere this September. Mashable has confirmed the news, although Jones has not yet commented.
Jones first joined the SNL writer's room in early 2014, frequently serving as a guest commentator on the series' Weekend Update segment. In October of the same year, Jones was made a featured player for the remainder of Season 40. She became a repertory player in Season 42.
Per Variety, Jones' departure from SNL came as part of her decision to focus on other projects, including undisclosed film opportunities and her already-confirmed Netflix stand-up comedy special. NBC has yet to announce a replacement for Jones. Read more...
The Italian town Ivrea was once a model for workers' rights and progressive design. Now, it's both a cautionary tale and evidence of a grand experiment in making labor humane.
"The Laundromat," a dark comedy about the Panama Papers, also stars Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, David Schwimmer and Sharon Stone. The movie streams on Netflix this fall.
Three tiny balls of fur huddle together for warmth inside a cardboard box. The baby cheetahs are just a few weeks old, but they've had a traumatic start to life.
With over 200 million singletons, young people need to find new ways to meet people — and a literal overnight "Love Train" might be the answer to this problem.
Captain Stephens has an illustrious crime history, according to the scam caller, that includes drug trafficking and money laundering of more than $10 million dollars.
Scientists predict we've got about eleven years to vastly reduce global emissions before we're, in a word, screwed. That would require governments to dramatically restructure their economies. So where does that leave everyday people doing their best to recycle? A city in Sweden claims to have an answer.
Aside from military contractors, it's rare to find a group of Americans so openly besotted with the idea of taxation as the Patriotic Millionaires are.
Orchestrating a social gathering is tough. All sorts of dynamics are at play, different sections intermingle, tempo changes and some people just do their thing solo. That's why a good party host not only brings the tunes, but also acts like a good conductor.
Bret Stephens is above me in the status hierarchy. He knows this. I know this. He has won a Pulitzer Prize and has a regular op-ed column in the New York Times. I am just some professor. I've written two books, but unless you are professionally involved with digital politics, you probably have never heard of me.
"The ship is amazingly intact," says Ryan Harris, the lead archaeologist on the project. "You look at it and find it hard to believe this is a 170-year-old shipwreck. You just don't see this kind of thing very often."
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a gyre of 160 million pounds of floating plastic trash situated between Hawaii and California, continues to grow. But how can we visualize the scale of this problem?
This was a time when everyone had ringtones — when the song your phone played really said something about you. These 15-second melodies were disposable, yet highly personal trinkets. And it was all thanks to a man named Vesku-Matti Paananen.
Using a durable and comfy blend of both hemp and organic cotton, this pillow case and duvet set is made by hand in India. Even as you sleep, you can help foster sustainability.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked the Queen to suspend the UK Parliament from mid-September, a move that would shorten the time available to lawmakers to block a no-deal Brexit and has been decried by critics as a "constitutional outrage."
The chairman of the Japan Wolf Association, Maruyama believes that the reintroduction of wolves — extinct in Japan for the better part of a century — can help curb the damage caused by deer and restore ecological balance to affected regions of the country.
One man claimed to be 92 and a pioneer of Iowa. Another claimed to "not regret" marrying his wife. This is a bizarre video representative of a bizarre time.
If you let Yelp know you're a vegetarian, you probably won't see many steakhouses in your search results anymore, even if they get 4.5 stars from local carnivores.
Massood Sanjer, Afghanistan's most famous radio host, had an unlikely start to his career as a beacon of free speech. Under the Taliban rule, his voice used to carry Taliban propaganda all over the world.
Working in the country with the world's longest office hours, a growing number of South Koreans are keen on decorating their desks with zeal to bring a little colour to their days.
Back in 1994, Oliver Stone wanted to make a big, bold satire about serial killers, celebrity and the media. But in light of our recent deadly shootings, the film just feels hollower than ever.
150 years ago, parks were still a privilege for the upper-class in America, if they even existed at all. So folks flocked to the next best thing: the cemetery.
Counter-demonstrators and supporters of President Donald Trump fight for a U.S. flag during a "People 4 Trump" rally in Berkeley, California on March 4, 2017. Stephen Lam / Reuters
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that 70 percent of Americans say they're angry at the political establishment.
WASHINGTON — The political and cultural upheaval of the last four years has divided the country on ever-hardening partisan and generational lines, but one feeling unites Americans as much as it did before the 2016 election.
They're still angry. And still unsettled about the future.
The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that — despite Americans' overall satisfaction with the state of the U.S. economy and their own personal finances — a majority say they are angry at the nation's political and financial establishment, anxious about its economic future, and pessimistic about the country they're leaving for the next generation.
Satellite photos indicate North Korea is building a ballistic missile submarine and may be making preparations to test a submarine-launched missile, according to an analysis of the commercial images by experts at a Washington-based think tank. https://t.co/cKLpZjK1kh
The SEALs and potential adversaries Iran and Russia both use personal watercraft.
U.S. special operations forces have embraced civilian vehicles, from trucks to ATVs, to get around quickly and quietly on the modern battlefield. At sea this practical attitude means that Navy SEALs operate their own jet skis, allowing naval special warfare operators the ability to move quickly from sea to shore in very small numbers. But SEALs aren't the only ones zipping around on personal watercraft—Iran's Revolutionary Guards also use them.
Egyptian Air Force has signed a military agreement to buy 50 MiG-35 warplanes from Russia the US' National Interest reported on Saturday.
The $2 billion deal, the largest in the post-Soviet era, was signed between Cairo and Moscow in April 2015, under which Egypt will receive the warplanes by 2020. It comes following joint negotiations that took place between the two countries in November 2013 over Egypt's purchase of 24 MiG-29M fighter jets from Russia.
MiG-35 is a revision of the basic MiG-29. The aircraft features a more robust multi-role capability with enhanced use of air-to-air and air-to-ground high-precision weapons. Also, it has an increased combat range owing to an increase in its internal fuel capacity.
This NASA image shows fires raging just as strongly in sub-Saharan Africa as in the Amazon rainforest in South America, where the fires have attracted global attention
Brazil is the third worst-affected region by recent wildfires after two countries in Central Africa.
Blazes burning in the Amazon have put heat on the environmental policies of President Jair Bolsonaro, but Brazil is actually third in the world in wildfires over the last 48 hours, according to MODIS satellite data analyzed by Weather Source.
Weather Source has recorded 6,902 fires in Angola over the past 48 hours, compared to 3,395 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 2,127 in Brazil. It's not an uncommon phenomenon for Central Africa.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson delivers remarks during his retirement and change-of-office ceremony held at the Washington Navy Yard. (MCC Nick Brown/U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON — After four years on the job, U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson on Aug. 22 handed the reins over to Adm. Michael Gilday.
Gilday was a nontraditional pick selected from the three-star ranks after the Senate-confirmed CNO, Adm. Bill Moran, stepped down amid an Inspector General investigation.
Richardson, who was himself a nontraditional selection, was pulled from his job as head of the naval reactors office, three years into an eight-year billet.
Before he headed out the door, Defense News sat down with Richardson in his mostly empty office to talk about the state of the Navy, great power competition, partnerships in Europe and the submarine industrial base.
Thousands of people are hastily exiting Cameroon's conflict-torn Anglophone regions as repercussions of the jailing of separatist leaders by the Francophone-led government begin to take hold.
Separatist factions demanding the release of their leaders have begun locking down the north-west and south-west regions and urging a boycott of a 'back to school' campaign supported by the Francophone-led state and civil society groups.
Thousands of people have already fled their homes in cities like Bamenda, Buea and Kumba - at the epicenter of the conflict. Some have sought to hide out in the bush to escape the wrath of both the security forces and armed separatists.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (not pictured) and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono (not pictured) after the ninth trilateral foreign ministers' meeting among China, South Korea and Japan at Gubei Town in Beijing, China, 21 August 2019. Wu Hong/Pool via REUTERS
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told a Hong Kong business delegation that more support should be given to the city's government to end violence that has evolved into the biggest crisis it has faced since the return to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hong Kong has been engulfed in angry and sometimes violent protests against the government for three months, sparked by a now-suspended extradition bill and concerns that Beijing was trying to bring the territory under greater mainland control.
Police fired water cannon and tear gas at anti-government demonstrators on Sunday, and Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam later warned that authorities would be forced to stamp down on the escalating violence.
WNU Editor: Two months before the Tienanmen massacre, I was told by a senior Chinese diplomat that the central government was going to send in the tanks to crush the demonstrators (I was in China at the time). I did not believe him at the time, but seven weeks later the tanks were sent in. Flash forward to today. China's senior diplomats are not talking like that. What they are saying is what the Chinese Foreign Minister is saying. They are voicing support for the Hong Kong government, and they are confident that the Territory will resolve the crisis independently from Beijing. This is a confirmation to me that the Beijing government has not made the decision to send in the military. As long as the Hong Kong government remain loyal, and as long as the police do not desert and let the mob rule the territory, Beijing will stay out. But there is one disturbing similarity between the 1989 protesters in Tienanmen and the protesters in Hong Kong today. In 1989 every young Chinese person I met felt they had nothing to lose by protesting. Today, people in Hong Kong are saying the same thing .... 'Now or never': Hong Kong protesters say they have nothing to lose (Reuters).
Israel has reportedly struck targets in four different countries within the span of two days as it broadened the scope of its extraterritorial activities against allies of Iran.
Israeli forces openly claimed attacks over the weekend in Syria and the Palestinian-administered Gaza Strip and were blamed for two more operations in Lebanon and Iraq. As reports of what occurred across the region emerged, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at his country's ongoing efforts abroad, telling a Monday planning meeting that "we will deepen our roots and strike at our enemies."
Leaders of Russia and Turkey agreed on steps to "normalize" the situation in Idlib, where Syrian troops are advancing with Russian air support, Vladimir Putin has said. Erdogan hinted at buying Russian fighter jets.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the Syrian government over its offensive into the rebel-held Idlib on Tuesday, saying it was "unacceptable that the regime rains death on civilians from air and land, under the pretext of fighting terrorism."
Meeting his Russian colleague, Vladimir Putin, Erdogan also said that Turkey's troops in the region were "in danger."
China's economic miracle is reaching its limits and is in danger of doing more harm than good, writes Geoffrey Yu
China's economic ascent over the past 40 years is considered one the defining achievements in human history. In less than two generations, an autarky closed to the outside world has managed to insert itself into every facet of modern life. From the simplest manufactured goods to sophisticated hardware, from asphalt roads to nuclear power stations, Chinese companies, predominantly state-owned, have disrupted the global production and investment chain.
WNU Editor: The central government is stinking rich, but China's debt problem is primarily on the provincial/municipal/and company level. They have been kicking this can down the road for many years, hoping that it will be the next guy's problem. But they are now at the point where some hard decisions will need to be made, and there is going to be blow-back in China when this period of austerity is implemented.
Taking a page from T.E. Lawrence and excelling at primitive drone technology, these 'ragtag' insurgents are besting major powers in Yemen.
If you want to see the future of war, look closely at the fighting in Yemen.
There, the Houthis, a rebel group based in the country's northwest, have fought the lavishly funded and equipped militaries of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to a standstill. They have even proven capable of launching attacks deep inside Saudi Arabia. How did this poor, lightly equipped and armed rebel group do it? And what does it mean for the United States, which continues to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in complex, costly, and vulnerable weapons systems?
Troops on the battlefield could soon face a new threat — swarms of autonomous kamikaze drones loaded with explosives.
That is the assessment of a leading Australian military thinker after claims "killer drones" were both deployed and defused over recent days in the Middle East.
Iran is accused of preparing to launch a squadron of drones, while Israel has been blamed after one exploded in Lebanon's capital.
Beijing is set to perform new military exercises in the East China Sea later this week, as Taiwan pens a deal to buy dozens of advanced F-16V Viper fighters from the US.
The sea east of Zhejiang Province will be closed from Tuesday through Thursday as the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) carries out its third set of military exercises near Taiwan in a month's time.
It's unknown how big the drills will be or which warships will take part, but the Global Times noted it would be a "live-fire drill."
Last week, Washington signed off on a much anticipated sales agreement that will see Taipei armed with F-16V Viper Block 70 aircraft, one of the most advanced iterations of the jet, for $8 billion. It will be the largest weapons sale to the island by the US since 1992.
The army said that four rockets were fired toward Israel but only one reached Israeli territory
Israel attacked a Hamas position in the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket that was fired toward Israel Tuesday, the Israeli army said.
According to the Shehab News Agency, several minutes after the rocket was identified, Israel struck a field control point in central Gaza.
The army said that four rockets were fired toward Israel but only one reached Israeli territory. The other three appear to have exploded within the Strip. The three rockets that did not make it to Israel fell in the northern Gaza Strip.
Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Kim Jong Un's powerful younger sister made her first publicly known appearance at a North Korea weapons test site, according to state media images of the test of a "super-large multiple rocket launcher" that took place early Saturday.
Kim Yo Jong's presence at the test site for the "new weapon" is unprecedented. Her profile has grown since 2018, when her brother met for the first time with world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korea's Moon Jae-in and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Read more ....
WNU Editor: This blog has been watching her for six years. She is actually never far away from him, the difference now is that the decision was made to have her in this picture.
A missile is fired during the test of a multiple rocket launcher in this undated photo released on August 25, 2019 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS
TOKYO (Reuters) - Pyongyang appears to be developing warheads to penetrate a ballistic missile shield defending Japan, the country's defense chief said on Tuesday, pointing to the irregular trajectories of the latest missiles launched by North Korea.
Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference Japan believes the rockets were a new short-range ballistic missile, according to a ministry spokesman who confirmed his comments carried by domestic media.
Recent short-range missile tests by Pyongyang have stoked alarm in neighboring Japan even as U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed the launches as unimportant.
The United Nations Security Council discussed North Korea's actions behind closed-doors on Tuesday at the request of Germany, France and Britain. The three countries condemned Pyongyang's "repeated provocative launches" as violations of Security Council resolutions.
President Vladimir Putin showed off Russia's latest stealth warplane to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who's been barred from buying a new U.S. fighter jet in a dispute with Donald Trump over the purchase of a Russian missile system.
Flanked by the Russian and Turkish defense ministers, Putin and Erdogan inspected the cockpit of the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter on Tuesday at opening of the MAKS-2019 international air show outside Moscow. They also toured the Su-35 fighter, helicopter displays and an amphibious aircraft.
Welcoming his "good friend" Erdogan to the air display, Putin pitched the "technical capabilities of the latest generation of the Russian Air Forces," which he said "will open up new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation," according to a Kremlin transcript.
Turkish president condemns Syrian army offensive as Russian leader urges 'terrorist attacks' in rebel-held Idlib to end.
The leaders of Russia and Turkey have held discussions about a possible expansion of defence industry cooperation, even as differences appeared to remain over the situation in northwestern Syria, where a Moscow-backed government offensive has been going on since late April.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met in Moscow on Tuesday, just days after Ankara said one of its observation posts in Syria was surrounded and a military convoy was attacked by Syrian government forces in two separate incidents.
Turkey says the Russian-backed Syrian offensive violates a truce deal between Moscow and Ankara. The advance has exacerbated Syria's humanitarian disaster and threatened Turkey with mass refugee flows.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday to discuss a Syrian military offensive against the jihadi-dominated province of Idlib, where Moscow and Ankara had set up a demilitarized zone.
A Turkish army convoy drives along the Bab al-Hawa highway on 24 August, on their way to reinforce a Turkish military observation point in northwestern Syria (AFP)
Five generals reportedly resign over re-assignment dissatisfaction, as Ankara's troops seek to extricate themselves from tricky situation in Syria.
Five Turkish generals are reportedly seeking to retire from the military after being tasked with operations along the southern border and in Syria's Idlib, handing the army another headache as it grapples with a tense situation in the Syrian province.
Two Turkish officials confirmed to Middle East Eye that some generals have asked for retirement but declined to provide further comment.
Major-General Ahmet Ercan Corbaci, the joint special task force commander responsible for mechanised infantry forces in Idlib, and his deputy, Brigadier-General Ertugrul Saglam, were among the officers who wanted to step down, according to Turkish media reports on Monday.
StudyFinds.org survey shows Americans feel 48 is the ideal age for a presidential candidate.
BALTIMORE — Many polls have pointed to a general election featuring President Trump facing off against Joe Biden in 2020, but would the country be better off with a younger president? According to a survey conducted by StudyFinds.org, 72 years old is the average age at which Americans think a presidential candidate is too old to run for office.
This means that Americans may believe that the top candidates for presidency, including Donald Trump, who is 73, are simply too old to lead the nation. In fact, the top three Democratic candidates for president according to most poll — Joe Biden (76), Bernie Sanders (77), and Elizabeth Warren (70) — would all take the record for oldest president at the time of inauguration, which was set by Trump. At the time of his inauguration, Donald Trump was 70.6 years old.
WNU Editor: New medicines and technologies now help us live healthier and longer lives. So age is not a factor as it use to be. But speaking personally. I prefer a candidate to be 50+. In business leaders, my preference is different. I find the best years for an entrepreneur/manager is between 40 - 45 years old.
The Air Force says it might just source chase cars there if it can't cut through various red tape to fly them. Why isn't it doing that already?
Two Dodge Charger chase cars the Air Force uses to help U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes land are hung up in red tape at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey as the service works to clear them to fly aboard one its transport aircraft to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. It's not entirely clear how this has happened or why the Air Force has chosen what will invariably be the very costly option of shipping these cars via airlifter across the pond, to begin with.
The Air Force first revealed the cars' predicament in a news story on Aug. 21, 2019. It's not clear when the cars first arrived at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL), but they were there at least as of Aug. 12. Four days later, the 305th Aerial Port Squadron received orders to get them ready to go to RAF Mildenhall. An unspecified support truck is also part of the prospective shipment.
* Russia's state weather agency said on Monday that a cloud of inert radioactive gases that swept across a Russian town earlier this month was produced by fast-decaying radioactive isotopes released by an explosion at the Nyonoksa testing range. * Though Russia's explanations for what occurred have varied, the blast has been tied to a failed missile test. * A Norwegian nuclear expert told The Barents Observer that these isotopes — of strontium, barium, and lanthanum — were caused by a "nuclear chain reaction," saying it was evidence that it "was a nuclear reactor that exploded." * US experts and intelligence officials suspect that the failed weapons test involved the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, a superweapon that NATO calls the SSC-X-9 Skyfall.
A mysterious explosion at a Russian weapons testing site earlier this month released various radioactive isotopes, creating a cloud of radioactive gases that swept across a nearby town, the country's state weather agency said Monday, and experts said the mixture removes all doubt about what blew up.
The deadly August 8 blast at the Nyonoksa military weapons testing range released a handful of rapidly decaying radioactive isotopes — strontium-91, barium-139, barium-140, and lanthanum-140 — which have half-lives ranging from 83 minutes to 12.8 days, the Roshydromet national weather and environmental monitoring agency said in a statement on test samples.
TWO TROPICAL storms are churning across the Atlantic Ocean and tracking closer to land, as both Dorian and Erin strengthen. Here are the latest alerts and hurricane watches.
ITALY could end weeks of chaos as it nears the formation of its new Government but the European Union will be bracing itself for more turbulence as the country's unpredictable political system could still send it on collision course with Brussels.
THE US Navy made an astonishing find more than 3,000 metres below the North Atlantic while on a top-secret mission during the Cold War, declassified details revealed.
MELANIA TRUMP was savaged on Twitter after pictures showing her wearing sunglasses in the darkness of night emerged from her return back from the G7 Summit in France.
(CANBERRA, Australia) — Australia announced Wednesday that it has formed a task force to crack down on attempts by foreign governments to meddle in Australian universities.
The move comes as concerns grow over Chinese influence at Australia’s universities, where Chinese students are by far the largest group of foreign students. Pro-Beijing student demonstrators have recently clashed with Hong Kong democracy advocates on Australian campuses.
Australia has also raised concerns about the influence of Beijing-funded Confucius Institutes at Australian universities.
Education Minister Dan Tehan said the task force will comprise half university staff and half government agency officials.
“Our government is taking action to provide clarity at the intersection of national security, research, collaboration and a university’s autonomy,” Tehan said.
“Universities also understand the risk to their operations and to the national interest from cyberattacks and foreign interference and we are working constructively to address it,” he added.
The task force includes a cybersecurity working group that would better protect university networks against unauthorized access and damage.
The Australian Cyber Security Center, an intergovernmental agency, has said Australian universities are increasingly attractive targets for cyberattacks because of their research across a range of fields and the intellectual property that the research generated.
Australian universities said through their representative body, Universities Australia, that they want to work collaboratively with the government to enhance existing safeguards.
“Australian universities have worked with government for decades to protect our intellectual property and to rebuff attempts to breach our security,” Universities Australia Chair Deborah Terry said in a statement.
“But in a world of ever more complex risks, we will work together through a new task force to add to the current protections, while preserving the openness and collaboration that is crucial to the success of Australia’s world-class university system,” she added.
The new task force will also include a research and intellectual property working group to protect academic freedom and intellectual property and safeguard universities against deception and undue influence, Tehan said. A foreign collaboration working group will ensure that collaborations with foreign entities are transparent and don’t harm Australia’s interests, he added.
The move comes a year after the government angered China by banning covert foreign interference in Australian politics. Foreign political donations have also been banned.
Organizations and individuals who are operating in Australia on behalf of a foreign government or a foreign political organization have had to register under the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme since December.
Attorney General Christian Porter last month urged all universities to ensure international partnerships, including with Confucius Institutes, complied with Australian law and that the partners potentially needed to register.
At that point, none of the Confucius Institutes that had partnered with 13 Australian universities had registered. By contrast, the U.S. State Department-funded U.S. Studies Center at Sydney University was registered.
Last week, Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, ended its China-funded Confucius Classroom language and culture program, which had been offered in 13 public schools. It was replaced by a state government-funded program.
The state education department said a review found no evidence of “actual political influence being exercised,” but concluded there were “a number of specific factors that could give rise to the perception that the Confucius Institute is or could be facilitating inappropriate foreign influence in the department.”
China’s foreign ministry accused New South Wales of politicizing a “normal exchange program.”
(MEXICO CITY) — An attack on a bar in Mexico’s Gulf coast city of Coatzacoalcos (koh-AHTzah-koh-AHL-kos) has left 23 people dead and 13 injured.
The attackers started a fire that burned through the bar, killing eight women and 15 men.
The state prosecutor’s office in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz said the fire may have been started with gasoline bombs.
It came almost eight years to the day after a fire at a casino in the northern city of Monterrey killed 52 people. The Zetas drug cartel staged that attack to enforce demands for protection payments.
A ferry in the southern Philippines caught fire early Wednesday, killing at least two passengers while more than a hundred were rescued, according to the country’s Coast Guard.
At least 172 people were on board, including 136 passengers and 36 crew members, according to the Associated Press. A spokesperson for the Philippines Coast Guard said the number rescued was as high as 245, far more than the number listed on the vessel’s manifest.
A one-year-old girl and a 60-year-old male passenger were reportedly among those killed. The spokesperson said the Coast Guard did not have patrol vessels in the area and called on nearby boats to assist with the emergency, the AP reports.
By some accounts, it took hours for help to arrive.
According to local newspaper the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the ferry departed the province of Cebu at around 6 p.m. Tuesday and was headed for Dapitan City. The blaze was believed to have started in the engine room just after midnight.
As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, 102 passengers had been rescued and brought to hospitals, a disaster management officer in Dapitan said according to local news site Rappler.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Scores of people die yearly from ferry accidents in the Southeast Asian nation, which has a poor record of maritime safety. In August, 31 people were killed after three ferries sailing in bad weather conditions overturned.
Malaysian prosecutors will seek to prove that Najib Razak acted together with fugitive financier Jho Low in their alleged roles in 1MDB, as the former premier faces his biggest trial linked to the troubled state fund.
“In truth, Jho Low was the accused’s mirror image,” prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram said in his opening statement in the Kuala Lumpur court. “The prosecution will establish facts which will give rise to an irresistible inference that Jho Low and the accused acted as one at all material times.”
The 25 charges Najib faces revolve around 1MDB’s multibillion-dollar bond sales and acquisitions. That includes accusations he received 2.08 billion ringgit ($495 million) of bribes related to a letter of government support for $3 billion of 1MDB bonds in 2013, as well as allegations he accepted 49.9 million ringgit linked to a $975 million loan facility from Deutsche Bank AG. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Jho Low, or Low Taek Jho, has denied any wrongdoing in response to charges against him in the U.S. and Malaysia.
The start to the proceeding was postponed many times as it clashed with Najib’s first 1MDB trial, which involved local transactions by the state fund’s former unit. The delays point to the massive task Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has ahead of him in getting to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal. Since wresting power from Najib last year, the prime minister has prioritized investigations into the scandal, as well as recouping funds believed to be lost through the scandal-ridden fund.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s lawyer is also present in court to hold a watching brief. Malaysia has charged three of the bank’s units as well as 17 of its current and former directors over $6.5 billion of bond in bonds the bank arranged for 1MDB in 2012 and 2013.
Multiple Charges
Here are a few of the charges Najib faces today:
He allegedly received 90.9 million ringgit linked to 1MDB deals, including:
Joint venture with PetroSaudi International Ltd. costing $1 billion and subsequent 1 billion ringgit investment in the JV
10.6 billion ringgit bid for Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn.
2.75 billion ringgit purchase of Syarikat Mastika Lagenda Sdn. shares
He allegedly received 60.6 million ringgit gratification for approving a state guarantee on 5 billion ringgit of Islamic notes sold by Terengganu Investment Authority Bhd., the precursor to 1MDB
He allegedly received funds from illegal activities involving a total of 2.08 billion ringgit from Tanore Finance Corp.’s account at Falcon Private Bank in Singapore
He’s accused of money laundering in relation to a total of 2.2 billion ringgit of fund transfers to Tanore’s account at Falcon
He allegedly used funds from illegal activities involving 20 million ringgit paid to United Malays National Organisation, the largest opposition party, as well as 100,000 ringgit to UMNO’s Batu Kawan division
He allegedly spent illicit funds, including 303,000 ringgit sent to Semarak Konsortium Satu Sdn., 2 million ringgit to ORB Solutions Sdn., and 246,000 ringgit sent to Lim Soon Peng
(Bloomberg) — Costco Wholesale Corp.’s first outlet in China opened on Tuesday and was soon overrun with customers willing to fight over discounted products and wait hours to pay for their purchases.
The American retail giant had to suspend operations in its Shanghai store in the afternoon citing “heavy traffic and customer flows”, according to a text message sent by the company to consumers holding its membership card. The message was shared on Weibo, China’s micro-blogging website.
HECTOR RETAMAL—AFP/Getty ImagesPeople try to get a roast chicken at the first Costco outlet in China, on the stores opening day in Shanghai on August 27, 2019.
HECTOR RETAMAL—AFP/Getty ImagesPeople visit the first Costco outlet in China, on the stores opening day in Shanghai on August 27, 2019. –
The frenzy at Costco’s store comes at a time when the U.S. and China are locked in a tit-for-tat tariff war that shows no signs of abating and is making American firms wary of investing in the largest Asian economy. Costco is also entering a market where many of its global rivals have struggled and given up. Carrefour SA sold 80% stake in its China unit at a discount in June while German wholesaler Metro AG is looking to sell its operations.
“There’s no other word to describe Shanghai’s Costco but crazy,” a Weibo user said, who gave up on the shopping plan after seeing two-hour queues at the checkout counters. Other Weibo users shared that they had to wait three hours to enter the parking lot while some decided to walk to the store to avoid the traffic jam.
Sure. The crowd I had at checkout was at 9:25am, well before it turned chaotic. Also, this 12k RMB Burberry cape fascinated me. China is an exotic place, I’ll tell you what. pic.twitter.com/mbcE2w36Bt
Other pictures showed customers grabbing packets of roast chicken and elbowing out other shoppers at the store. Local news reports said the retailer offered discounts as deep as 60% on some products and annual membership for just 199 yuan ($28). The sale also includes the nation’s coveted fiery liquor drink from Kweichow Moutai Co. and Wuliangye Yibin Co.
Costco didn’t immediately answer phone calls and an online inquiry seeking comments on Tuesday’s shopping frenzy.
(GENEVA) — Countries have agreed to limit the controversial sale of wild elephants caught in Zimbabwe and Botswana, to the delight of conservationists but the dismay of some of the African countries involved.
Wildlife experts say the Tuesday vote at a conference in Geneva on trade in endangered species known as CITES is a “momentous win” for elephants because it restricts their sale to zoos.
The European Union tweaked the language of the resolution to reach a compromise that limits exports of live elephants outside of Africa but allows for some exceptions relevant to Europe. Conservationists explained, for example, this would allow for an elephant already in France to be shipped to nearby Germany without having to be sent back to Africa first.
But the new resolution means zoos will no longer be able to import wild-caught African elephants to the U.S., China and many other countries beyond the elephants’ natural habitat. The resolution passed by a vote of 87 in favor, 29 against and 25 abstaining. The U.S. voted against it.
Animal advocates applauded the move, even though some felt it didn’t go far enough. “While it is disappointing that it is not an outright ban on trade in live elephants, the new language adds vital independent oversight and scrutiny,” said Audrey Delsink, wildlife director at Humane Society International. “The capture of wild African elephants for export to zoos and other captive facilities is incredibly traumatizing for individual elephants as well as their social groups,” she said in a statement.
Dozens of celebrities, including actress Judi Dench and comedian Ricky Gervais, had signed a letter to EU president Jean-Claude Juncker saying it would be “obscene for the EU to endorse snatching wild baby elephants and condemning these beautiful leviathans to a life of captive misery.”
Even renowned conservationist Jane Goodall weighed in, saying she was “absolutely shocked” at the idea of separating young elephants from their families and shipping them off to zoos.
Some African officials, however, said the new proposal would deny them some much-needed cash and that they should be free to do what they wished with their elephants. “The government has been pumping out a lot of money for conservation with no real return, yet our government has competing social needs,” said Tinashe Farawo, spokesman for Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.
“We view our animals as an economic opportunity, so we should sell our elephants.”
Farawo said that Zimbabwe, Botswana Namibia and other southern African countries would meet for consultations following the CITES meeting.
“We cannot continue to be hamstrung and told what to do with our resources,” Farawo said. “We cannot continue to allow powerful countries and NGOs to set the agenda when the elephants are ours,” he said, disputing there was any conservation concern. “We have too many of them so selling them should not be a problem for anyone. Why should we continue to impoverish our people when we have the resource?”
(HARTFORD, Conn.) — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut says the Russian government has denied him a visa to enter the country.
The Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Tuesday he had planned to be part of an upcoming bipartisan congressional delegation. Murphy has described himself as a “tough critic” of Russia.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin planned to be part of the same group and announced Monday that he was also denied a visa. Johnson said he had planned to speak with government officials, American businesses and others during his trip. The Republican is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation.
A news release from Johnson’s office didn’t say when he had planned to visit Russia or name the other members of the congressional delegation. Johnson spokesman Aaren Johnson said the trip had been planned for next week and the delegation had planned to visit several countries. He said he was unable to say why Johnson was denied a visa.
An email to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., inquiring about the denial bounced back as undeliverable Monday. No one immediately responded to another email sent to a different address for the embassy. Calls to the building couldn’t connect.
Ron Johnson has spoken in the past of Russia taking “a dark turn” under Putin, and he criticized the Russian president sharply in announcing the visa denial.
He and fellow Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming were granted visas in 2017 to visit Russia in January 2018 but canceled the trip after another member of their delegation, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, was denied. Shaheen has been an outspoken supporter of measures meant to counter Russia’s interference in U.S. elections. The Russian Embassy said at the time that Shaheen’s request was rejected because she is on a black list created in response to U.S. sanctions.
Murphy says he believes “it’s important to maintain dialogue, especially during moments of tension.”
He calls it unfortunate the Russian government is “further isolating their country” by blocking this and other visits in recent months.
It was five o’clock on a recent Monday afternoon, and at one of the busiest connectors between the city’s center and its surrounding neighborhoods, rush hour was in full swing. Hundreds of vehicles flowed across Dronning Louise’s bridge every minute, but this being Copenhagen, the vast majority of them–some 48,000 by day’s end– were bicycles, not cars. Among the surging tide of cargo bikes, fixies, and plain, old-fashioned two-wheelers, two tourists stood upright on e-scooters, their uncertain weaving prompting a few angry chimes from passing bike bells. From the sidewalk, Marie Djernes, a 24-year-old student who was standing next to her own bike as she waited for a friend, watched the scene with bemusement. “Yeah, they’re a bit annoying,” she said. “They don’t really seem to know what they’re doing.”
Bird, Lime, Circ, Tier, Dott, Voi, Volo, Scoot, Trotti, Poppi: since making their first appearance in California in 2017, electric scooters with names that sound like modern-day versions of Snow White’s dwarves have popped up in over 100 cities worldwide, the progeny of companies aiming to become the next Uber of alternative transport (that includes Uber itself, which, despite having recently posted $5.2 billion in losses, has its own line of e-scooters, Jump). Yet for all its success, this new form of “micromobility,” as its promoters love to call it, has also brought a slew of problems, from safety risks to impassable sidewalks. The solution, say many scooter advocates in the U.S. and Europe, lies in creating the kind of infrastructure—wide bike lanes, ample parking— found in cycling-friendly cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam. But as those cities are themselves learning, e-scooters and bikes don’t necessarily play well together either.
It’s not hard to understand the appeal of electric scooters. For a commuter arriving by train from the suburbs, already late and facing a half mile slog on foot to the office, or a tourist with only a day in a city and a lot of ground to cover, the devices present an easy solution: download the app, add credit card information, unlock one of the seeming gazillions of scooters parked nearby, and off you go. Because they are dockless, the devices can be left anywhere, and because they run on electric batteries instead of fossil fuels, they allow users to feel good about making a climate-friendly choice. And most of all, as their heavy use among the young suggests, zipping through a city on an e-scooter is just plain fun.
But safety is a growing concern. Collisions with both cars and pedestrians have sent thousands of e-scooter users and their unwitting victims to hospitals; one study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control for the city of Austin, Texas found roughly 20 injuries per 100,000 rides, with half of those considered serious. Scooters have also been implicated in deaths in Paris, London, San Diego, Singapore, and Barcelona, among other cities. On August 9, following four fatalities within three months, Atlanta banned their use at night. A few days later, a French organization representing 60 or so citizens injured in e-scooter collisions announced plans to sue the Paris authorities for negligence in protecting pedestrians.
Britta Pedersen—picture-alliance/dpa/AP A man drives an electric pedal scooter from Tier in Berlin, Germany.
With an estimated 20,000 trotinettes on its streets–many of them ridden on sidewalks, abandoned in heaps in city squares, or tossed into the Seine–it’s no wonder that Paris’s situation was described as “anarchy” earlier this summer by its once e-scooter friendly mayor Anne Hidalgo. But with regulations varying from country to country, and even city to city, and with an ever growing number of companies placing as many devices as they can in as many cities as possible (Madrid alone has authorized 18 different operators) in an attempt to achieve market dominance, the chaos–and the risks–seem to be growing.
At least one solution to this Wild West situation is better infrastructure, say advocates. In a safety report it released in April, the California-based e-scooter company Bird, with a presence in over 100 cities from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv, noted that it sends helmets to users who request them, but called on the cities themselves to “design for safety.” Bike lanes and similar infrastructure investments, the report stated, “effectively reduce crash risk for all road users.” Maxim Romain, the CEO and co-founder of the Amsterdam-based e-scooter company Dott, agrees. “We work closely with the municipality to invest in infrastructure,” he says of the Dutch company, which currently operates in Belgium, France, and Italy, but hopes to expand to its home country as well. “Like everybody else, at first we put ours on the sidewalk because that’s where we could [station them]. But now, we only deploy them in the parking spaces that each municipality advises. And we’re helping to open 2500 more parking spaces for shared e-scooters.”
In places like San Francisco and London, pro-e-scooter groups have found common cause with cyclists. In July, a television presenter died when the electric scooter she owned collided with a truck at the same south London roundabout where a cyclist was killed in 2018. Although the vehicles are currently banned in London, the city is reviewing their status, and recently met with representatives from Bird and Lime. Rachel White, head of policy for Sustrans, a U.K. cycling advocacy group recently told The Guardian,“Generally, another group of organizations lobbying for improved cycleways can only be a good thing.” And the popularity of the devices–as well as their risks–can alter infrastructure in a way that bikes never have: on Sunday, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms promised in an editorial for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the city would put temporary barriers and painted lanes in place to separate e-scooters and bikes from automobile traffic.
Yet some cities with that kind of infrastructure already in place are discovering that a strong cycling culture isn’t necessarily compatible with shared e-scooters either. In Copenhagen, for example, where half of all trips to work or school are made by bike, the reception has been decidedly mixed. “Egypt had 10 plagues. Copenhagen has only one,” complained Berlingske newspaper’s culture editor Anne Sophie Hermansen, in reference to e-scooters which, she wrote “tyrannize traffic” and “look ridiculous.” On Twitter, the hashtag #løbehjulsgate–or ‘e-scootergate,’ has been popping up all summer to refer to the controversy the devices have generated.
Some of the resentment stems from the scooter company’s appropriation of the city’s public furniture. “As a cyclist in Copenhagen you feel taken into consideration, that the city has built a proper space for you,” says Klaus Bondam, director of the Danish Cyclists Federation. “There’s a democratic sense that has been built into the urban streetscape over several generations. That’s basically being disrupted at the moment; [e-scooters] don’t fit into our democratic model of how we use the urban space.”
And that space can get crowded. “We have one of the largest cycling capacities anywhere,” says Mikkel Halby Mindegaard, head of the Streetlife Division for the city of Copenhagen. “But we’re seeing congestion on some streets from e-scooters. And we don’t have sufficient parking infrastructure even for bikes. The scooters add a lot on top of that.”
In Münster, Germany, where bikes outnumber citizens 2 to 1, the municipal government has thus far limited the pressure on infrastructure through regulation and careful selection. Shared e-scooters were first allowed onto streets on July 27–but only 200 of them. After a trial period, that number will double, but all of them will be provided by the Berlin-based company Tier, which collects their entire fleet each night, and puts it out again in the morning–a measure that ensures the scooters are not left randomly parked in thoroughfares or heaped on sidewalks. “We had a lot of problems with share bikes before,” says traffic planner Andreas Pott, “We learned from that.”
Fabian Sommer—picture-alliance/dpa/APDuring a police check, an e-scooter driver is warned by the police because he has driven over a pedestrian path in Stuttgart, Germany.
Bike-friendly Amsterdam has taken a different tack. The Dutch city has over 400 miles of cycle paths and bike lanes, but with nearly half the population traveling by bicycle each day, some of those pathways have become dangerously crowded. Even before the advent of e-scooters, a 2016 report from the Institute for Road Safety Research found that bottlenecks along the busiest paths were already increasing the number of crashes. In an attempt to ease the pressure, the Dutch government recently forced mopeds, previously allowed in bike paths, into the road with cars. E-scooters, however, fall under earlier legislation, originally drafted for Segways, that requires motorized vehicles to come equipped with air tires and double brakes, before they can be certified for public use in bike lanes. Thus far, no manufacturer has met the requirements.
Even if they do, it’s not clear the Dutch will take to them. “I don’t think Amsterdam is very interested in changing the current situation,” says Maud de Vries, cofounder and managing director of BYCS, an Amsterdam-based organization that promotes cycling. “There’s not enough space for bikes as it is. And with their speed difference, the accidents, and the environmental impact, a lot of people just don’t see the advantages of them.”
Closer scrutiny has called into question some of the e-scooter’s self-branding as a green transportation solution. For one thing, they don’t last very long. Because of their lightweight design and the heavy usage to which they are subjected, Bird and Lime scooters in Louisville and Indianapolis last a mere 28 days on average, with only a handful making it past the two-month mark. Even the hardiest claims — CEO Romain, for example, says Dott’s scooters average just one year — pale in comparison to the average bike’s life cycle.
If their disposability casts doubt on e-scooters’ environmental credentials, so too does their carbon footprint. A life-cycle impact study (which includes an assessment not only of carbon emitted while the device is in use, but also that released by manufacturing, transporting, and charging the vehicles and their batteries), conducted by scientists at North Carolina State University and published earlier this month in the journal Environmental Research Letters found that although e-scooters had less than half the total emissions of cars (202 grams of carbon dioxide per mile traveled for the former vs. 414 grams for the latter), their output was still dramatically higher than that of bicycles,whose life-cycle emissions only average 8 grams per mile.
And while e-scooters do indeed offer an attractive alternative to automobiles (34% of riders surveyed said they would have made the trip by car had the devices not been available), the same study, conducted in Raleigh, North Carolina, shows that with an even higher percentage–49%–would have walked or biked. Those proportions roughly coincide with findings from Portland, Oregon’s bureau of transportation, which, in its own 2018 study, concluded that 45% of e-scooter rides would have been been made on foot or by bike.
“Of course, moving people away from cars is a positive thing,” says Mindegaard. “But we have no hard evidence that e-scooters are doing that. We don’t have numbers yet on where the customers are coming from, but we know that tourists use them a lot, and young people. So it seems like [e-scooter riders] are probably coming from people who would have walked or biked than from people in cars.”
Jens Kalaene—Jens Kalaene/picture-alliance/dp/APNumerous e-bikes and e-scooters stand on a footpath where pedestrians are on the move.
Technically, e-scooters are currently illegal in Denmark, because national law requires any object placed in public space for commercial purposes to be licensed and no company has received a permit yet. But Lime, Voi, Tier and many others “moved into the streets before we got them through the permit process,” says Mindegaard, “It all happened so fast, and they grew so quickly that we didn’t see it coming.” The city of Copenhagen is currently conducting a pilot program that will grant permits for 200 e-scooters stationed in the historic city center, and another 3000 in the outlying neighborhoods. But in the meantime, many companies are blithely operating anyway because the legal requirements for enforcing the ban are complicated enough that police, who, according to Mindegaard, cite limited resources, don’t ticket them.
They do, however, go after drunk e-scooter riders. After a report came out noting that since January, over 100 people had sustained injuries from e-scooters severe enough to send them to the region’s hospitals, Copenhagen police began ticketing users found riding under the influence. But safety remains a concern, as does the broader impact on health. In the greater Copenhagen area, where the number of sick days is reduced by one for every 745 miles cycled, there is concern among cycling advocacy groups like the Danish Cycling Federation that switching to passive e-scooters will result in more obesity and related diseases.
All of those concerns–health, safety, the imposition on public infrastructure—are on activist Yael Bassan’s mind every day when she moves the e-scooters that inevitably crowd the area around her shop–and posts images to social media of herself doing it. But as the owner of Copenhagen Bikes, she has an added worry: economic survival. Located in the picturesque neighborhood of Nyhavn, one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations, her bike rental business is losing what she estimates to be 5-10% a year to e-scooters, a decline that began last year. “Every scooter that takes one of my customers is 100 kroners I don’t get,” she says. “If there are 30 of those a day, that’s 3000 kroner a day, 30,000 a month, a quarter million in half a year.”
There are roughly 300 bike shops in Copenhagen, and most of them also supply rentals; anecdotal information from a few owners confirms that they too are seeing revenues fall. But what is especially galling, Bassan says, is to lose money to companies so actively flouting the law. “I applied to get permission to put my bikes in the square in front of my shop, and was told it wasn’t possible,” she says. “If I put my bikes there, I’ll get a fine. But every day, there are 20 or more scooters parked there, trying to take my customers, and no one does anything. That’s why I started getting angry.”
Since she started posting videos and photos of herself moving the scooters on Twitter, she’s gotten a lot of support from other Copenhageners tired, she says, of having to dodge the devices on sidewalks and in bike lanes. “Disruption is supposed to be such a positive thing these days. People are afraid to be annoyed at disruption because it makes you sound old or old-fashioned. But we need to ask, do we want this disruption? Is it good for us?”
At the Danish Cycling Federation, director Klaus Bondam is wondering the same thing. Although he himself feels comfortable sharing lane space with e-scooters (“We go about the same speed,” he says with a smile), he knows that isn’t the case for seniors or parents with small children. He worries that those groups will simply stop cycling, just as he worries about the impact on Copenhagen life if public space succumbs to private businesses. “We’ve built a really good bicycle culture in Denmark,” he says. “Ruining that would be a terrible thing.”
(Bloomberg) — President Vladimir Putin showed off Russia’s latest stealth warplane to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who’s been barred from buying a new U.S. fighter jet in a dispute with Donald Trump over the purchase of a Russian missile system.
Flanked by the Russian and Turkish defense ministers, Putin and Erdogan inspected the cockpit of the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter on Tuesday at opening of the MAKS-2019 international air show outside Moscow. They also toured the Su-35 fighter, helicopter displays and an amphibious aircraft.
Welcoming his “good friend” Erdogan to the air display, Putin pitched the “technical capabilities of the latest generation of the Russian Air Forces,” which he said “will open up new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation,” according to a Kremlin transcript.
When Erdogan inquired during the tour whether the Su-57 is already available to buy, a smiling Putin replied “You can buy,” the Interfax news service reported.
Andrey Rudakov—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesVladimir Putin, Russia’s president, center left, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, center right, inspect a Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet at the MAKS International Aviation and Space Salon at Zhukovsky International Airport in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019.
Erdogan’s visit follows the U.S. decision last month to suspend Turkey’s ability to buy and help build the advanced F-35 stealth warplane in retaliation for defying Trump and taking delivery of a Russian S-400 air-defense system. The U.S. says the S-400 purchase is incompatible with Turkey’s role in NATO and the F-35 program because it may allow Russia to glean information about the fighter’s advanced technology.
Turkey had planned to buy about 100 F-35s and will have to seek alternatives if the U.S. maintains the ban. After a crisis in relations when Turkish jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in 2015, Putin and Erdogan have strengthened economic and military ties in recent years as relations between Turkey and its NATO ally have strained.
Syria Strains
The two leaders are holding their latest talks to try to resolve disagreements over a Kremlin-backed offensive by the Syrian army against rebels in the northwestern Idlib region that risks sparking a fresh exodus of refugees to Turkey.
“Turkey is our very close partner, it’s our ally,” Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Monday of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization member. While he declined to say whether Putin and Erdogan would discuss new arms sales, he noted that “everything is really concentrated right there” at MAKS.
Turkey insists it was forced to buy the Russian air-defense system because NATO allies, including the U.S., wouldn’t meet its defensive needs on Turkish terms. The U.S. has repeatedly offered to sell Patriot air-defense missiles to Turkey, but without the technology sharing that the Turkish government says it needs to develop its domestic production capabilities.
While Turkey and Russia back opposing sides in the Syrian war, they have cooperated in trying to enforce a halt to the fighting. The Syrian military earlier this month broke a cease-fire over Idlib to wage an offensive against a one-time al-Qaeda affiliate in the last major rebel redoubt. Erdogan has called the recent developments a “very serious security threat.”
Erdogan hopes to find common ground with Putin before hosting Russian and Iranian leaders in Ankara on Sept. 16 to discuss ways to hold back the Syrian army. Russia says preserving the cease-fire in Idlib depends on the elimination of thousands of militants.
Turkey has so far refrained from using force against the jihadists despite repeated calls from Moscow, relying on the presence of Turkish troops in Idlib as a deterrent against a large-scale attack on the Sunni Muslim-majority province.
Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro, who initially was to reject $20 million in immediate aid funding pledged by world leaders at the G7 summit to fight fires in the Amazon rainforest, now says he’ll consider accepting aid if French President Emmanuel Macron apologizes, according to the Associated Press.
According to G1, a Brazilian news site, Bolsonaro and the Brazilian government announced Monday it would reject the pledge. In a series of tweets and media interviews, Bolsonaro and a Brazilian official accused French president Emmanuel Macron of colonialism and imperialism. Bolsonaro said that the G7 leaders were trying to save the Amazon “as if we were a colony or no man’s land.”
– Não podemos aceitar que um presidente, Macron, dispare ataques descabidos e gratuitos à Amazônia, nem que disfarce suas intenções atrás da ideia de uma "aliança" dos países do G-7 para "salvar" a Amazônia, como se fôssemos uma colônia ou uma terra de ninguém.
Though Bolsonaro’s chief of staff Onyx Lorenzoni told reporters Monday that Bolsonaro would reject the pledge, Bolsonaro said on Tuesday that Macron would have to apologize before he’d accept the aid.
When Lorenzoni said on Monday that Brazil would reject the pledge, according to G1, he added the money should be used to repair Europe instead.
“Brazil is a democratic, free nation, and has never had colonialist and imperialist practices as perhaps the objective of the French Macron,” Lorenzoni told G1.
Macron made subduing the Amazon fires, which have burned at a record rate in August according to Brazil’s National Space Research Institute, a leading agenda item during the G7 summit over the weekend in Biarritz, France. Tensions were already increasing between Macron and Bolsonaro before the summit, after Macron shared his thoughts on the Amazon fires on Twitter, which Bolsonaro took as criticism.
Macron and Chilean president Sebastián Piñera, announced the pledge on Monday — which also included an additional $12 million from Britain and $11 million from Canada, and a reforestation plan to be outlined in September — and minutes later Bolsonaro took to Twitter to criticize the G7 leaders.
Macron told reporters on Tuesday that Bolsonaro is misinterpreting the intention of the pledge.
“We respect your sovereignty. It’s your country,” Macron said. “The Amazon forest is a subject for the whole planet. We can help you reforest. We can find the means for your economic development that respects the natural balance. But we cannot allow you to destroy everything.”
Bolsonaro has faced international criticism for his response to the fires, and on Saturday he deployed fire fighters to begin subduing the flames, which environmental groups say were started by loggers and farmers. And some environmental groups like Greenpeace say the $20 million pledge is insufficient.
“The offer of $20 [million] is chump change, especially as the crisis in the Amazon is directly linked to overconsumption of meat and dairy in the UK and other G7 countries,” Richard George, the head of forests for Greenpeace UK, told The Guardian.
Bolsonaro has also faced criticism from indigenous groups who depend on the Amazon to maintain their way of life. Raoni Metuktire, a Brazilian indigenous chief, traveled to the G7 summit to discuss the Amazon with world leaders, and publicly criticized Bolsonaro.
“I am speaking now to all leaders, to all of you who are leaders in your countries, you have to set up ways to put pressure on the Brazilian government so it takes action to put a definitive end to forest fires,” Metuktire said in a video statement released Saturday. “I would like you to know that Bolsonaro says that I do no represent anyone, that I am not a chief. Bolsonaro comes from elsewhere, his ancestors are not from Brazil. As for me, I am from this land, and if I am a chief of my people, it’s because I wish that everyone can live in peace.”
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MPPEB Result 2019 Announced!!! Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board has recently Uploaded the Result for Madhya Pradesh Pre Polytechnic Test, MPPEB DAHET, PV & Fisheries Entrance Test Result. Applicants those who have attempted the Madhya Pradesh Pre Polytechnic Test can check their MPPEB Result from the official website i.e, peb.mp.gov.in. Here we have provided a direct link to check your results from the below table. Those who are waiting to check the precise details about MP PPT Exam Results 2019 are advised to bookmark the current post.
MPPEB GNTST, PNST Admission Result 2019– Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) has recently uploaded Result for the GNTSTS, PNST Admission 2019 on 27th August 2019. Those Candidates who have appeared in this Exam can download the result now. We have provided a direct link to download your MPPEB GNTST, PNST Admission Result 2019. Applicants just by clicking the quick link to check your GNTST, PNST Result easily. Also, Candidates can get their result from the official website i.e, peb.mp.gov.in.
MPPEB GNTST, PNST Admission Result 2019
Organization Name
Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board
Exam Name
General Nursing Training Selection Test (GNTST) & Pre Nursing Selection Test (PNST) Admission 2019
MPPEB GNTST, PNST Admission Result 2019 – Click Here
Pre-Veterinary & Fisheries Entrance Test 2019 (PV & FT) Result – Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) has recently uploaded Result for the Pre Veterinary and Fisheries PV an FT Admission 2019. Those Candidates who have appeared in this Exam can download the result now. We have provided a direct link to download your result. Applicants just by clicking the quick link to check your Pre-Veterinary & Fisheries Entrance Test 2019 (PV & FT) Result easily. Also, Candidates can get their result from the official website i.e, peb.mp.gov.in.
MPPEB Pre-Veterinary & Fisheries Entrance Test 2019 (PV & FT) Result
Organization Name
Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board
Exam Name
Pre-Veterinary & Fisheries Entrance Test 2019 (PV & FT)
Pre-Veterinary & Fisheries Entrance Test 2019 (PV & FT) Result – Click Here
MPPEB DAHET Result 2019 – Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) has recently uploaded Result for the Diploma in Animal Husbandry Entrance Test Admission 2019 on 15th July 2019. Those Candidates who have appeared in this Exam can download the MPPEB DAHET Result here. We have provided a direct link to download your result. Applicants just by clicking the quick link to check your Diploma in Animal Husbandry Entrance Test 2019 Result easily. Also, Candidates can get their DAHET result from the official website i.e, peb.mp.gov.in.
MPPEB Result 2019 – MP PPT (Madhya Pradesh Pre Polytechnic Test) is a state-level exam regulated by Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB). Candidates seeking admission in diploma courses in various fields can appear in this examination. Admission in various polytechnic colleges in Madhya Pradesh will be done through the MP PPT exam. The Examination was held on 07th May 2019 andthe result has been published on 01st June 2019. We know that many students are waiting for the Results. Everyone can check the MPPEB Result from the official website i.e, peb.mp.gov.in. Hence, all those might be looking for the MPPEB Result now!
Students who want to make their Study in Diploma Courses have taken the PPT Examination and checking the MP PPT Cut Off Marks also which the Student needs to get qualify in the Entrance Test. MP Vyapam officials decided some qualifying marks for the Exam. Those who qualified in the exam will get entry into 3 Year Diploma Course. So, the candidates need to list out first all the documents which are necessary for counseling to make seat allotment.
MPPEB Board also issues the MP Pre Polytechnic Test Rank Cards also after MP PPT Results announcement which is to be taken by all the aspirants to know the Marks achieved by the postulants in each section. As the officials confirmed the counseling in July 2019. Aspirants need to participate in the Counseling for choosing their Choice of Branch in Diploma and list of colleges they want to join diploma. Officials of MPPEB will check the aspirant's MP PPT Exam Marks and category and according to that, the Seat allotment is done.
MP PPT Merit List 2019 | peb.mp.gov.in
The conducting authority will publish the MP PPT Merit List after the release of MP PPT Result 2019. It will be prepared by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board to offer admissions to the candidates. And, aspirants those who get placed in the merit list will only be allowed to attend the counseling process 2019. There will be a separate merit list for each category. The merit list will be prepared based o the subject wise and category wise.
Steps to download MP PPT Result 2019
Visit the official website of Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board @ peb.mp.gov.in.
Now search for MP PPT Result 2019 link on the homepage
Now, the main page shows the new link
Click on it
Enter your Roll Number and Date Of Birth
Now, hit on the submit button
MP Pre Polytechnic Test Result 2019 appears on the screen
KPSC Hall Ticket 2019 – Dear Candidates!!! Here you can get the admit card for various posts of Karnataka Public Service Commission. All the eligible aspirants can download the hall ticket from this webpage. KPSC Admit Card is an important document to take down the examination. So each and everyone has to download the hall ticket by their own responsibility. Follow all the steps given in the upcoming page to get the KPSC Hall Ticket.
KPSC Hall Ticket 2019
Karnataka Public Service Commission will conduct the written examination for all the posts. The Karnataka Public Service Commission Admit Card contains the details of the candidate’s for the verification process. Thus, Aspirants can download the Karnataka PSC Admit Card by entering the application number and the password. Take a photocopy of the downloaded hall ticket and participate in the examination. Candidates who are interested to take down the examination should download the valid KPSC Exam Admit Card.
Required Information to Check-in KPSC Admit Card 2019
Now, the board is mandated to release the admit card for the Group C examination. Below-listed details should be filled as in the application form. Check to the KPSC Hall Ticket details before downloading it. Examiners will not be allowed to take down the examination without the admit card. So, make sure to download the admit card before the exam. No, admit cards will be sent through the post to any of the candidates. KPSC Hall Ticket can only be downloaded through Online mode. KPSC Admit Card will be available on the Official Website from the declared date by the selection board.
Name of the Applicant.
Exam Date, Time & Centre.
Post Applied for.
Application or Registration Number
Father Name and
Important Instructions.
Needed Things to Carry for Karnataka PSC Exam 2019
Aspirants are suggested to check with the admit card details while downloading it. If any mistakes made with the admit card, contenders are advised to contact the board through the helpline numbers given on the official website. Thus, the below documents are very important to take down the KPSC Examination. So, Aspirants must carry the original Government ID proofs along with the KPSC Hall Ticket.
College ID
Driving License
2 or 3 latest photographs
PAN Card
Aadhar Card
Voter ID
Passport
Bank Passbook
Ration Card
Employee ID
The photograph on any ID Proof declared by the State or Central Government
Any Authorised ID Proof Announced by Gazetted Officer
How to Download KPSC Hall Ticket 2019-20?
Click on “KPSC Admit Card” link.
Enter the Login details.
Fill the Captcha appeared in the image.
Log in to get the admit card.
An Admit Card page will be available on the screen.
Fill all the mandatory details.
Click on to the download option and download the admit card.
Kendriya Hindi Sansthan Recruitment 2019 – Apply Offline for 55 MTS, LDC, Driver, and Other Vacancies. New Job Alert!! Recently a job notification was released by the authorities of Kendriya Hindi Sansthan Recruitment Board. The Notification was released on 27th August 2019. Offline Applications are invited from the eligible aspirants. Candidates looking for UP Government Jobs can apply for this Kendriya Hindi Sansthan Agra Jobs. There are 55 vacancies are available for LDC, Driver, MTS, Clerk, Proof Reader, and other posts.
Interested can apply for the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan Recruitment. The Application form should reach on or before 11th October 2019. Aspirants willing to apply for the LDC, Driver, Clerk, and other jobs can start with the application procedure. It is important that the applicant should fulfill the eligibility criteria of Kendriya Hindi Sansthan Recruitment. Read the below section which is loaded with information like educational qualification, age limit, pay scale, and other details regarding Kendriya Hindi Sansthan Recruitment 2019.
Kendriya Hindi Sansthan Recruitment 2019 – Job Highlights
Minimum of 5 years experience as S.A.S. Accountant & Adequate knowledge in Hindi.
Academic Assistant
Master Degree in Hindi or Linguistics from a recognized University and Adequate knowledge of English.
Junior Stenographer
Passed 12th Class or equivalent qualification from a recognized board or university. Skill Test norms Dictation: 10 mts – 80 words per minute in shorthand English or Hindi. Transcription : (Only on a computer) 50 mts (English) 65 mts. (Hindi)
Auditor
B. Com. degree from a recognized University 3 Years of experience in maintenance of Accounts & Good knowledge of Hindi/English.
Proof Reader
Passed Intermediate, PUC + 2 or equivalent standard Proficiency in Proof Reading Good knowledge of Hindi and English
Library Clerk
Passed Intermediate or equivalent from a recognized institution. Hold a Certificate in Library Science from a recognized institution.
Lower Division Clerk
Passed 12th Class or equivalent qualification from a recognized board or university English Typing – 35 w.p.m. Hindi Typing – 30 w.p.m
Driver
Passed Matriculation or equivalent Must Possess valid permanent license for driving light and heavy vehicles. Working knowledge of English or Hindi. Have good practical experience of driving vehicles
MTS
Passed Matriculation/ ITI/ equivalent from a recognized institution.
Kendriya Hindi Sansthan organization is to run unique projects identified with the Hindi language, to do research work and to assume the main job in the advancement of Hindi. At first, the primary capacity of the organization was to prepare qualified, skillful and compelling Hindi instructors for non-Hindi talking zones to educate at the preparatory school and school levels. In any case, later, keeping in view the instructive engendering and advancement of Hindi, the establishment extended its work territories and capacities, under which fundamental researchers identified with subjects like Hindi educating preparing, Hindi-language research, semantics and relative writing and so on. Begun directing examination projects and different level courses, instructive materials, educators Irdeshikaaa additionally began to get ready more.
BRLPS Result 2019: Community Coordinator, Office Assistant & Other Result 2019 | Cut Off Marks, @ brlp.in | Hello Guys!! We have a piece of good news for you!! The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS) is going to declare the BRLPS Result 2019 on August 2019. Candidates those who had attended for the Community Coordinator & Other Examination on July 2019, can check and download the Result from the direct link provided below in the table. Aspirants just click on that link and find your results easily.
New Update: The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS) is going to declare the BRLPS Result 2019 on August 2019 (Tentatively).Get Direct link from the below section.
BRLPS Result 2019 – 3409 Vacancies @ brlp.in
Applicants those who are waiting for your BRLPS Community Coordinator Result 2019 can check and download your result from the below link. In the below table we have mentioned the BRLPS Community Coordinator Sortlist. To download your result applicants should enter the BRLPS Admit Card 2019 details. Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS) will soon release the BRLPS Office Assistant Result 2019 on their official website. Additionally, we had given the complete details of the BRLPS Cut Off Marks 2019 and the BRLPS Merit List 2019 in the below sections. Furthermore, for additional information about the BRLPS Community Coordinator list 2019 has mentioned in the below table.
BRLPS Community Coordinator Result 2019 – Overview
BRLPS Result 2019 | Community Coordinator & Other Cut Off, Merit List
Description
Details
Organization Name
Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS)
Exam Name
State Project Management Unit Positions, District Project Coordination Unit Positions, Block Project Implementation Unit Positions, State Consultant-MLE & MIS, Accountant, Project Manager (ODF-S Cell), Consultant-SLWM (ODF-S Cell), Consultant-IEC/ CB (ODF-S Cell), Consultant-Technical Sanitation (ODF-S Cell), District Coordinator, District Consultant-CB & IEC, District Consultant-MLE & MIS, District Consultant-SLWM
Applicants those who are interested in this BRLPS Vacancy 2019 can keep track on this page to get your results on time. Also, applicants can get all the details from the above table. If candidates wish to check your BRLPS Community Coordinator 2019 Results, everyone can download this from the official website i.e, brlp.in. The BRLPS Community Coordinator list will help the candidates to attend the further rounds of Recruitment. As we know, there are a huge number of candidates are interested in the Jobs BRLPS Inner Community Coordinator.
If the candidates prepare well for the Written Examination, they can clear this round easily. By referring to the BRLPS Community Coordinator Syllabus 2019 applicants can get an idea about the Examination. Through this kind of information, applicants can get some additional knowledge about the BRLPS Cut off Marks 2019. Because the officials will decide the cut off marks depends upon the Written Examination marks and some other categories.
BRLPS Office Assistant Merit List
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to appear for participating in further stages of recruitment in a phased manner. List of applications received shortlisted applications, dates, and venue of tests for selection, etc. If the applicants’ name will attain into the BRLPS Merit List 2019, they will get more importance at the time of Interview. All the applicants can get the BRLPS Community Coordinator & other Result, Cut Off Marks, Merit List @ brlp.in.
How to check BRLPS Result 2019?
Initially, click on the official website of the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS) using the URL: http://brlp.in/
Now, you will be redirected to the Home Page of the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society.
Applicants can observe the Latest News section on the home page.
Over there, search for the link of BRLPS Community Coordinator Result 2019.
Click on it and enter the required details.
The BRLPS Result 2019 appears on the screen.
Direct link to download BRLPS Result 2019
Download BRLPS Community Coordinator, Office Asst & Other Result 2019
NIE Chennai Jobs2019 – Apply Offline for 50 Project Technical Assistant Vacancies. Indian Council of Medical Research, National Institute of Epidemiology is inviting application from the Science Graduates. Recent Notification for NIE Chennai Jobs has released to engage eligible candidates for the India Hypertension Control Initiative Project. NIE Application forms are accepted from 23rd August 2019. Aspirants should send your application form through postal mode or a proper format application can be sent to the mail ID ihcinie@gmail.com on or before the last date.
Candidates will be recruited for One year and extendable based on the performance and extension of the project. The application form for the NIE Chennai Jobs should reach on or before 23rd September 2019. Selected aspirants will be placed anywhere in India for the India Hypertension Control Initiative Project. Candidates willing to work as a Senior Treatment Supervisor can apply for this NIE Chennai Jobs. Scroll down for more details about the NIE Chennai Jobs at ICMR.
NIE Project Technical Assistant Recruitment 2019 – Job Highlights
The National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) is a medicinal research association situated in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. NIE behaviors research including interventional ponders, sickness demonstrating and wellbeing frameworks, conducts epidemiological examinations and clinical preliminaries of conventional remedies.NIE has been directing an MPH (Epidemiology and Health Systems) program of the Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology. The Institute is additionally perceived by the University of Madras for research prompting Ph.D. degrees in the territories of the study of disease transmission and bio-measurements.
The committee’s exploration needs match with National wellbeing needs, for example, control and the executives of transferable infections, ripeness control, maternal and tyke wellbeing, control of wholesome issue, creating elective procedures for human services conveyance, regulation inside security points of confinement of ecological and word related medical issues; inquire about on major non-transmittable illnesses like malignant growth, cardiovascular maladies, visual impairment, diabetes and other metabolic and hematological issue; emotional wellness research and medication examine (counting conventional cures). These endeavors are embraced so as to lessen the complete weight of ailment and to advance wellbeing and prosperity of the populace
RPSC SI Result 2019 Released @ rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in | Here we have a piece of good news for you!! The Rajasthan Public Service Commission has declared the RPSC Police SI Result 2019 on 26th August 2019. Candidates those who had attended for the RPSC Police Sub Inspector Examination on 7th October 2018, can check and download the Result from the direct link provided below in the table. Aspirants just click on that link and find your results easily.
New Update: The Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) has declared the results of Sub Inspector (SI) examination on the official website, the link for which is rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in. Get Direct link from the below section.
RPSC SI Result 2019 Released @ rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in
Applicants those who are waiting for your RPSC Police Sub Inspector Result 2019 can check and download your result from the below link. In the below table we have mentioned the RPSC SI Result and Cut off Marks. Candidates can get your Cut off marks and result from the one Pdf file. As per the list released by RPSC, a total of 11, 346 candidates have cleared the examination in the state. All the candidates will be selected for RPSC SI Recruitment 2018- 19 on the basis of written test, physical efficiency test followed by interview round. Furthermore, for additional information about the RPSC SI Result 2019 has mentioned in the below table.
All the candidates those who are interested in this RPSC Police SI Result 2019 can keep track on this page to get your results on time. Also, applicants can get all the details from the above table. If candidates wish to check your Rajasthan PSC Sub Inspector Result 2019, everyone can download this from the official website i.e, rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in. The RPSC SI 2019 Written test result will help the candidates to attend the further rounds of Recruitment.
If the candidates prepare well for the Written Examination, they can clear this round easily. By referring to the RPSC SI syllabus applicants can get an idea about the Examination. Through this kind of information, applicants can get some additional knowledge about the RPSC SI Cut Off Marks 2019. Because the officials will decide the cut off marks depends upon the Written Examination marks and some other categories.
RPSC SI Merit List 2019
The Sub Inspector, Platoon Commander Selection process based on the Screening (written exam followed by interview only if passed in written exam). Successful candidates will further undergo Interview for final selection. If the applicants’ name will attain into the RPSC SI Merit List 2019, they will get more importance at the time of Interview. All the applicants can get the Rajasthan PSC Sub Inspector, Platoon Commander Cut Off Marks, Merit List @ rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in.
How to check RPSC SI Result 2019?
Go to the official web portal of Rajasthan Public Service Commission @ rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in
Search for the RPSC SI Result, Cut Off 2019 result link and click on it,
Enter the details mentioned in the empty particulars.
In general, these details include hall ticket number and password.
Check the details twice after entering them and click on Submit.
Check your results along with Rajasthan PSC Sub Inspector, Platoon Commander Cut Off Marks, Merit List.
Direct link to download RPSC SI Result, Cut Off 2019
GTRE Recruitment2019 – Apply Online for 150 Apprentice Vacancies. Latest Job Notification released by Defence Research and Development Organization to fill up the Apprentice vacancies at Gas Turbine Research Establishment. There are 150 vacancies are allotted for Apprentice post under various trades. DRDO GTRE Apply Online link is active from 26th August 2019. Aspirants looking for Central Government Job can apply for this GTRE Recruitment 2019.
The last date to submit your application for the apprentice post through online mode is 07th September 2019. Candidates who have completed Degree or Diploma or ITI in the respective stream can apply for Apprentice post. To know more about GTRE Recruitment 2019 refer the following sections of this page.
Overview of GTRE Bangalore Apprenticeship Notification 2019
Name of the Organization
Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
Eligibility Criteria for GTRE Recruitment Apprentice Trainee Job 2019
Educational Qualification:
Graduate Apprentice Trainee
Completed Degree in engineering or technology granted in the relevant stream by a statutory University/ by an institution empowered to award such degrees by an Act of Parliament.
Diploma Apprentice Trainee
Diploma in relevant engineering or technology trade granted by a State Council or Board of Technical Educational established by a State Government /by a University/by an Institute recognized by the State Government or Central Government as equivalent.
ITI Apprentice Trainee
Hold a Certificate in vocational Course (2 Years) after the secondary school stage education recognized by All India Council for Technical education.
A Sandwich Course student who is undergoing training in order that he might hold a certificate which is mentioned in the above sections.
Age Limit:
Minimum Age Limit – 18 Years
Maximum Age Limit – 27 Years
Age Relaxation:
OBC Candidates – 30 Years
SC/ ST Candidates – 32 Years
PWD Candidates – 37 Years
Salary Details:
Graduate Apprentice Trainee – Rs.4984/-
Diploma Apprentice Trainee – Rs.3542/-
ITI Apprentice Trainee – 80%/ 90% of the wages payable per month to the semi-skilled workmen as fixed by Karnataka Government Gazette Notification.
Application Fee:
Refer GRTE Recruitment Official Notification 2019.
Selection Process:
Shortlisting
Written Examination/ Interview.
How to Apply Online for DRDO GTRE Recruitment 2019?
Click on the GTRE Recruitment 2018 Apply Online Link provided below.
Enter all the required details in the Application Form.
Attach scanned copies of required certificates.
Do a check with the credentials which are enclosed and filled in.
Finally, press the submit button to complete the GTRE Recruitment Application process.
Take a printout of the duly filled application form for the future procedure.
Essential Document Copies to be brought during Interview/ Document Verification:
Application form hardcopy.
10thMark sheet and Certificate.
B.E/B.Tech/Diploma/ITI Mark sheets for all semesters.
Degree / Provisional Degree Certificate.
Caste Certificate (if applicable).
PWD Certificate (if applicable).
Photo ID Card issued by Govt. of India/ Aadhaar Card.
EWS certificate (if applicable).
ImportantDates for GTRE Apprentice Job 2019
Starting Date to Apply
26th August 2019
Last Date to Apply
07th September 2019
Publishing of shortlisted candidates in DRDO website
17th September 2019
Probable Date of Written Test/Interview
Graduate Apprentice Trainee
24th September 2019
Diploma Apprentice Trainee
25th September 2019
ITI Apprentice Trainee
26th September 2019
Probable Date of declaration of selected candidates
Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) is a lab of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Situated in Bangalore, its essential capacity is innovative work of air gas-turbines for the military airplane. As a side project impact, GTRE has been creating marine gas-turbines also. Principal accomplishments of Gas Turbine Research Establishment includes Plan and advancement of India’s “first radiating sort 10kN push motor” between 1959-61. Structure and advancement of a “1700K warm framework” for the Orpheus 703 motor to support its capacity. The overhauled framework was guaranteed in 1973.
Effective overhaul of the warm arrangement of the Orpheus 703 to 2000K. Improvement of the Orpheus 703 motor by supplanting “the front subsonic blower organize” with a “transonic blower arrange” to expand the “essential dry push” of the motor. Plan and improvement of a “demonstrator” gas turbine motor—GTX 37-14U—for contender airship. Execution preliminaries initiated in 1977 and the “demonstrator stage” was finished in 1981. The GTX 37-14U was “designed” and “upgraded” to assemble a “low by-pass proportion fly motor” for “multirole execution flying machine”. This motor was named GTX 37-14U B.
Indian Army Result 2019 | Check Territorial Army Officer Result 2019 @ jointerritorialarmy.gov.in – Applicants those who are interested and waiting for your Indian Territorial Army Officer Result 2019 can check and download your results from this page. The Join Territorial Army organization has conducted the Territorial Army Officer Exam 2019 on 28th July 2019. As we know all of you are searching now for Indian Army TA Result 2019. We are here to help you out with the this and we will be updating the TA Officer Result link, it will activate at the time of official announcement.
New Update: Territorial Army Written Exam Result will Release in September month. Get a direct link from the below link.
Indian Army Result 2019 – Territorial Army 2019
The Indian Territorial Army Officer Recruitment 2019 has been announced officially to recruit the right candidates for the Army Officer. A huge number of applicants have applied and attended the written examination on 28th July 2019. If the applicants will select in the Written Examination, they can appear for the next round of Selection process i.e, Interview. Also to check and download your Result of Territorial Army Pdf, applicants should have your Indian Territorial Army Officer Admit Card 2019 details. Based on the admit card details, applicants can check your results from the below link. Candidates can get the complete details about TA Army Merit List 2019 from the below table.
All the candidates those who are interested in this Territorial Army Officer Recruitment 2018-19 can keep track on this page to get your results on time. Also, applicants can get all the details from the above table. If candidates wish to check your TA Army Merit List 2019, everyone can download this from the official website i.e, www.jointerritorialarmy.gov.in. The Territorial Army 2019 Written test result will help the candidates to attend the further rounds of Recruitment.
If the candidates prepare well for the Written Examination, they can clear this round easily. By referring to the Indian Territorial Army Officer syllabus applicants can get an idea about the Examination. Through this kind of information, applicants can get some additional knowledge about the Territorial Army Officer Cut off Marks 2019. Because the officials will decide the cut off marks depends upon the Written Examination marks and some other categories.
Territorial Army Officer Merit List 2019 @ www.jointerritorialarmy.gov.in
The Indian Territorial Army Officer Selection process based on the Screening (written exam followed by interview only if passed in written exam). The Successful candidates will further undergo tests at a Service Selection Board (SSB) and Medical Board for final selection. If the applicants’ name will attain into the TA Army Merit List 2019, they will get more importance at the time of Interview. All the applicants can get the Territorial Army Officer Merit List 2019 @ www.jointerritorialarmy.gov.in.
How to check Territorial Army Officer Result 2019?
Applicants should go to the official website of the Join Territorial Army @ www.jointerritorialarmy.gov.in
On the home page enter the security code
Click on the submit button to enter into the website & click the careers section.
Select join as an officer option mention on it.
Then, click on the Territorial Army Officer Result 2019 link.
A new page will open with a login form.
Fill the E-mail id and password details.
Now, Indian Army TA Result 2019 appears on the screen.
Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FCAT) Admit Card 2019: Aspirants applied for director (technical) & other recruitment can download the admit card here. Aspirants can find the direct link to download the FACT admit card on our page. Also, check the exam date 2019 and other important details.
FACT Admit Card 2019
Applied for the Fertilizers and Chemical Travancore Limited recruitment 2019. Then download the admit card for the written test going to conduct by the FACT. Admit Card is an important document which the applicants need to carry to the exam center on the day of examination. Candidate without admit card is not allowed to enter the exam hall.
Generally, FACT allows its applicants to download the admit card online 15 to 20 days from the date of examination. The board allows the candidates to download the admit card online. Hence, we have given the direct link for FACT admit card for assistant finance, assistant general and other vacancies. Hence, go through the exam date details and check the steps to download the admit card and download it today.
FACT AGM Interview Letter 2019
Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited has released the Interview call letter for the post of Assistant General Manager, Sr Manager, Assistant Company Secretary, Medical Officer, Deputy Manager, Assistant Manager, Officer, Management Trainee & Other vacancies. Hence, download the call letter from the for the above-mentioned posts from the below table. Aspirants are suggested to enter the valid credentials to download the FACT Hall Ticket.
Fertilizers and Chemical Travancore Limited AGM Admit Card 2019
FACT admit card has been released on June 2019. The Exam will be held in the month of July 2019. Hence, the admit card is available in the below table. Drag down to download the FACT Admit Card for various posts.
FACT has released the admit card for the post of Management Trainee, Assistant Managers and more. Hence, Candidates who have applied for the post now can download the FACT Hall Ticket. The examination will be held on 07th July and 08th July 2019.
Are you guys in search FACT Admit Card 2019 then here is the great news for such contenders. The officials of Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited will release its FACT Exam Hall Ticket 2019 soon. Admit card plays a major role for those applicants who are attending the examination. However, the FACT Exam Admit Card 2019 contains important information like the examination date, timings, venue which help aspirants to reach the exam hall on time. Moreover, we have provided direct links to help applicants easily acquire their FACT Hall Ticket 2019. Moreover, the admit card can be downloaded only by those contenders who had applied for the post. Applicants can make use of the link given below to acquire their admit card.
Recently the officials had released its FACT Recruitment to fill candidates for the post of Trade/Diploma or Technical Apprentices. A huge number of aspirants had applied for the post. Interested and eligible contenders had made use of this opportunity and had applied on or before the last date. Moreover, the mode of application for the post is through online. However, contenders are selected based on their performance in the written examination. The job location for the selected aspirants is in India. Moreover applied applicants are eagerly waiting to acquire their FACT Exam Hall Ticket 2019. Hence don’t waste your time and get ready with your application number to acquire hall ticket.
Download FACT Exam Hall Ticket 2019
Candidates can make use of this page to acquire their FACT Admit Card 2019. As admit card is an important document to be carried while entering the examination hall. Those applicants failing to get their FACT Exam Hall Ticket 2019 will not be allowed to attend the examination. However, aspirants can acquire the admit card here when released by the officials. Moreover to help aspirants easily get their hall ticket we have provided direct links and steps. Hall ticket contains important information like the examination date, timings and venue details which help contenders to easily acquire their FACT Exam Admit Card 2019. Here we have provided some information present in admit card.
Name
Category
Test date and session timing
Test City and center address
Entrance Test Seat Number
Steps to Download FACT Hall Ticket 2019
First, visit the official website of Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited i.e www.fact.co.in
It redirects to the home page.
Click on the download link.
Enter the application number, date of birth and password details.
Then, click on the submit button.
Now, the FACT Hall Ticket will display on the screen.
Download the admit card 2019.
Finally, take a print out of the Hall Ticket and carry the admit card while attending the examination.
A financial plan is a road-map drafted now that can be followed over time. A financial forecast is a projection or estimate of future outcomes predicted today.
Fiscal policy refers to the use of the government budget to affect the economy including government spending and levied taxes. Find out how the policies adopted have a direct influence on the budget deficit.
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Learn how these multi-billionaires from California built their fortunes to stand out from the crowd of the countless ultra-rich who call Los Angeles home.
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Compared with the nation's largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, the top five black-owned banks in America are tiny, but they still serve their customers well.
Find out if there is a tax advantage for corporations issuing preferred shares when compared to other forms of financing such as common shares or debt.
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By Ram SinghOn Monday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) transferred Rs 1.76 lakh crore to GoI. It's a much-needed shot in the arm of the finance ministry that, last Friday, had announced a raft of measures to revive the economy. These measures — recapitalisation of banks, refund of input tax credits to businesses and exporters, clearing of dues of public sector undertakings (PSUs) — are aimed at improving liquidity in the system. By reducing the fiscal deficit, the RBI transfers will further help improve availability of funds for the private sector. But the real problem isn't a shortage of liquidity. Money hasn't disappeared from the system. It's just that nobody wants to use it for investment. Interests are low, and expected to fall further, and global debt with negative yields has ballooned to $17 trillion. With plummeted cost of debt, one would expect investors to queue up to borrow to invest. But that's not happening. The debt-equity ratio is at an all-time low. Consequently, the total investment has declined to less than 30% of GDP, lowest in the last 15 years. Clearly, increase in liquidity in itself is not enough. Moreover, GoI appears to be rigid about fiscal deficit targets, and tax collection is expected to fall short of expectations. Still, several measures can be taken without violating fiscal limits. GoI should use the RBI reserves received to expedite investment of Rs 2,27,849 crore budgeted for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Bharat Mala and the Indian Railways. Today, infrastructure investment is key to reviving the economy. Bundles of roads, highway, railway tracks and urban development projects should be rolled out double-quick. This will immediately boost core sectors like steel, cement, petroleum and power. It will also attract private sector investment in infrastructure and increase competitiveness by reducing logistical bottlenecks. Second, woes of the real estate sector must be addressed urgently. While the demand slowdown in the auto and FMCG sectors is cyclical, several structural issues have brought them to a grinding halt. Unlike in the past, black money-backed speculative demand for housing and land has disappeared. Lakhs of housing units are lying unsold. Many projects have been abandoned and the resulting non-performing assets (NPAs) have contributed to the crisis in the non-banking financial companies (NBFC) sector. NBFCs face acute shortage of equity and credit. What has made things worse is that multiple authorities — Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (Rera), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), consumer courts — have jurisdiction over the disputes arising from the sector. Consequently, restructuring and liquidation processes have got delayed. A legal framework with a single forum is needed. Moreover, interests of individual investors and lenders deserve precedence over claims of tax and law enforcement agencies. Future demand is going to come mostly from buyers of small- and medium-size houses who would prefer to move into houses. The low interest rates will surely help revive the demand. However, for a revival, it's critical that abandoned projects are completed, which requires infusion of equity capital along with debt funding. There is a case for relaxing foreign direct investment (FDI) norms to encourage inflows of foreign equity capital. Tax incentives can be used to encourage long-term investments. A similar logic applies to the NBFC sector. Next, GoI should start acting like a responsible business partner. It's not enough to instruct PSUs to clear their dues. Payments delayed by the Centre are a more serious problem. The Centre owes thousands of crores to various public and private sector entities. This forces vendors and contractors to borrow from the market and raise the cost of supplies. It is also a leading cause of project delays, and contractual disputes involving government agencies. By paying the sums it owes, GoI can provide a big stimulus to the demand and economic activities. Moreover, the invoice-generating software for the goods and services tax (GST) can be improved to ensure timely refund of input tax credits. Refunds are pending mostly on account of mismatch between returns filed by suppliers and corresponding buyers. GoI should provide free software that generates invoices for trading partners. A good software can ensure that the returns of sellers and buyers match at the invoice level. This will check fraudulent practices, while ensuring that due tax credits are not delayed. Finally, GoI should expedite strategic monetisation of assets such as operational highways, railway stations and airports that offer ample scope for raising resources needed to fund infrastructure investment. Real estate investment trusts can be used to monetise large tracts of government-owned land. Also, this is a good time to borrow cheap from overseas markets. These measures will go a long way in restoring the economy to a high-growth path without compromising fiscal discipline.The writer is professor, Delhi School of Economics
After a welter of measures announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week to deal with the economic slowdown and then RBI surplus' transfer on Monday, the government will announce relief package for the real estate sector, under which a stress fund could be set up to help complete unfinished projects.The announcement is expected this week.Sources said liquidity problems and completion of stalled projects formed the core agenda of the meeting here on Sunday between Finance Minister Sitharaman and real estate players which discussed ways to create demand in the country's realty market.Last Friday, she said the government would come up with "solutions" for stalled housing projects for stressed home buyers this week. Sitharaman announced more credit support to housing finance companies where she extended additional liquidity support to HFCs by the National Housing Bank, which has been increased from Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore.The government is also likely to make changes to the definition of affordable housing as sought by developers so that more projects can come under the category. Further, bank loans for developers, which have always been an issue as banks try to avoid lending to developers, may witness some favourable changes.Developers and distressed home buyers had suggested to the government that a fund be set up for completion of stalled projects.Further, the real estate sector also received a shock after the National Housing Bank recently asked housing finance companies to stop funding under the subvention scheme. The government is likely to ease the recent direction in favour of developers.After the Finance Minister met developers earlier in the month, Niranjan Hiranandani, the President of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), said that the issue of ways to use stress funds for financing stalled projects was discussed.Hiranandani pointed out at the meeting that rationalisation of taxes and resolution of the liquidity crisis would be paramount in helping real estate and infrastructure get a boost, in turn enabling these to positively impact the economy in terms of GDP growth and job creation.Jaxay Shah, President of CREDAI, said that the organisation had suggested the inclusion of financial institutions under the ambit of the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) in order to aid the completion of stalled projects.Creation of a stress fund and the inclusion of financial institutions undr RERA are likely to figure the government's upcoming announcement on the realty sector.The home buyers' association, Forum For People's Collective Efforts (FPCE), in its letter to Sitharaman, had noted that the stalled projects can be solved with a stress fund of at least Rs 10,000 crore."It should also be ensured that the promoters of projects which shall be completed from this 'stress fund' should be stripped of all their assets including personal and company's assets, to realise the entire funding utilised for completion of those projects," it said.Seeking amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the forum said that as a home buyer is not a secured creditor, he or she would not be benefited in case of liquidation.
By Peter S. GoodmanAs President Donald Trump intermittently escalates and moderates his trade war with China, his conflicting signals reflect a reality that limits his actions: He can try to sever the deeply intertwined U.S. commercial relationship with China, or he can prod economic growth to assuage the fears of investors around the planet.But he cannot do both at the same time.Trump need not rely on the testimonials of economists to deduce this. He can disregard the admonitions of news outlets he derides as fake news. He can simply consult the one source whose verdicts he tends to celebrate: the stock market.Among those who control money, portents of further trade hostilities between the United States and China, the two largest economies on Earth, have proved an impetus to sell with abandon while amplifying talk of recession. Intimations of a deal avoiding further animosity reverberate as a clarion call to buy, sending share prices higher while easing worries about a potential global economic downturn.Trump often appears caught between competing impulses that pull markets — and his China policy — in opposite directions.Talk of a trade deal with China makes for happy stock markets and retirement account statements that Americans open up to learn that they are, also happily, richer. For a president seeking reelection next year, this option holds appeal.Thunderous threats of fresh tariffs on Chinese goods and the forging of a new order in which American industry forsakes China may damage share prices and shrink economic growth prospects. But it brings plaudits from Trump's most ardent political base — nationalists who portray the trade war as a tough but necessary piece of business, the sort of action evaded by the cowards who resided at the White House before.The latest evidence for this state of affairs followed Trump's angry reaction to China's announcement of retaliatory tariffs of 10% on some $75 billion worth of U.S. exports.On Friday, the president unleashed furious tweets threatening China with pain. He vowed to raise tariffs on $550 billion of Chinese goods. He declared that China's president, Xi Jinping, whom he had previously called a "good man," was an "enemy." And he commanded U.S. companies to abandon China and start making their products in the United States.That last bit was especially striking given that successive American administrations have criticized Chinese counterparts for using state-owned companies as tools of policy in contravention of market forces. Now, here was the president of the United States, traditional champion of swashbuckling capitalism, ordering American companies to heed his dictates.In markets around the globe, investors reacted to these developments as powerful signals to yank their money to safety. They sold stocks and bought bonds. They dumped a vast assortment of currencies and purchased the U.S. dollar, the ultimate haven in moments of worry.They reacted, in short, as if much of the globe suddenly appeared riskier.Signs of trouble had already been mounting. For better or worse, the United States and China have been fused for two decades, with their fortunes influencing economic conditions everywhere.China has invested aggressively in manufacturing plants, ports and power systems to become the factory to the world. American consumers are the most significant drivers of economic growth on Earth. Together, the United States and China are responsible for about 40% of the world's economic output.Any sign of a breakdown in this arrangement — the threat that China will be impeded in selling its goods, or that the American appetite is waning — spreads worry far and wide.The trade war that has escalated over the last year has already produced distress. Germany, the largest economy in Europe, is teetering toward recession in large part because of weakening exports. As China's economy slows in the face of American tariffs, Chinese factories have less need for goods made in Germany, from machinery to petrochemicals.German weakness has contributed to a general sense of malaise in Europe, just as the Continent grapples with the prospect that Britain — also contracting — might crash out of the European Union without a deal governing future commercial relations.Across Asia, the drop in trade has sown trouble, with Singapore and Hong Kong now declining and South Korea slowing. Even Vietnam — a country that has received fresh investment as multinational companies seek alternatives to making their wares in China — looks vulnerable if global trade overall continues to diminish.As far away as Brazil and Argentina, the effects of a slower-growing China are being felt by soybean farmers who ship their harvest to Chinese ports to feed livestock."For the rest of the world, there are many other countries that are innocent bystanders that will actually suffer even more than the United States and China," said Louis Kuijs, the Hong Kong-based head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics. "There is not going to be any deescalation any time soon."The United States is still growing, with the unemployment rate lower than it had been in half a century. But companies are deferring investments as they puzzle over the effect of trade hostilities. How can executives proceed with expanding operations in Ohio or Michigan when they have no certainty over the tariffs that will apply to parts and electronics brought in from China? A slowdown in investment could eventually prompt households to curb their spending, bringing a recession.If a continued trade war footing tanks stock markets, share prices could themselves become an affliction. As millions of Americans absorb the reality that their investments are worth less, they may question whether to buy that new home, take that trip or open that new business.Long before Trump took office, U.S. governments complained about China and its failed promises to open its market. China has lavished subsidies on state-owned companies. It turned itself into an export juggernaut while ignoring labor and environmental standards.Beijing and Washington have argued over this state of affairs for decades, while American labor interests and industry groups have demanded redress.But Trump has gone much further than his predecessors in his diagnosis. In his telling — at least, in his combative moments — China is a rogue operator that fleeces Americans. The solution is not another slow-moving case at the World Trade Organization, but a fundamental redrawing of commercial geography. American companies must vacate China, walking away from customers and supply chains. In his view, the U.S. economy is supposed to "decouple" from China, as the think tank vernacular has it.Trump's tweet storm on Friday morning appeared to underscore that he was serious, that he was truly willing to see Americans accept the costs — plunging stock markets, weakening investment — for a wholly new sort of relationship with China as adversary.Stock markets suffered a sell-off because a dissolution of American and Chinese commercial arrangements was certain to be disruptive. Companies with global operations would have to figure out where they would buy parts and raw materials. The potential outcomes were many, but none of them involved the world's getting richer.Yet by Sunday morning, at the Group of 7 summit in France, Trump was expressing "second thoughts" about the new tariffs on Chinese goods. By Monday morning, he was calling Xi a "great leader" and reporting that China was interested in resuming trade talks. Stock markets were buoyant. At least for a few hours, the bewildering notion that the United States and China were dissolving ties could be forgotten.But for how long? And what is the end game?For as long as Trump has occupied the Oval Office, trade experts have parsed his often contradictory words and actions for clues to his real policy aims and beliefs. They have labored to divine what he values, and somehow separate it from what he may say as a negotiating ploy or as a diversion from scandal.Most have come to conclude that his policy is perpetually flexible, depending on which advisers have his ear and on the tenor of television conversations about American economic growth prospects and — especially — the stock market.His hard-line advisers — like the U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, and Trump's chief trade adviser, Peter Navarro, author of a book called "Death by China" — urge him to untether the U.S. economy from China.The president's national security adviser, John Bolton, portrays trade as but one element in which China poses grave peril to U.S. interests. In this calculus, economic damage is the unavoidable cost of reclaiming American status as a superpower that dictates the terms of world engagement.But Larry Kudlow, the former television host who leads Trump's National Economic Council, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tend to focus on areas of interest to investors, not least share prices. Conventional wisdom has it that Trump is channeling their influence when he talks up possible deals with China.Trump is famously adept at maintaining positions that seem mutually exclusive. In recent weeks, he has touted the awesome strength of the U.S. economy while excoriating the Federal Reserve chair for imperiling it by not aggressively lowering interest rates. He has flirted with tax breaks to juice the economy further.But the trade war threatens to force Trump to choose between it and economic growth.In Beijing and Washington alike, hard-liners have dug in, shrinking room for a compromise. In both capitals, a sense of permanent alteration has transpired, a deepening assumption that — whatever comes next — China and the United States will proceed with profound wariness.For the global economy, that could entail grave uncertainties and perils.
NEW DELHI: InterGlobe Aviation's management on Tuesday sought to assure shareholders that the issue of related-party transactions at the operator of IndiGo airline wasn't as serious as it was made out to be by co-promoter Rakesh Gangwal.At the first annual general meeting (AGM) after the differences between the promoters, Rahul Bhatia and Gangwal, spilled over into the public domain, the management said related-party transactions constituted less than 1% of revenue and the company had maintained an arm's length on the deals.Gangwal had alleged that IndiGo was getting into high-value related-party transactions (RPTs) with InterGlobe Enterprises, a company owned by the Bhatia family. He had also talked about the existence of a whistleblower plaint over corporate governance at the airline operator.The value of such transactions was about Rs 156 crore last fiscal year, against the company's revenue of Rs 30,000 crore, CEO Ronojoy Dutta told shareholders. 70867937 No Whistleblower Complaint: DuttaDutta also denied the existence of any whistleblower complaint.Gangwal didn't attend the AGM, but said in a statement that he voted in favour of all the resolutions, which included amendments to articles of association that the company moved in Tuesday's meeting.Earlier this month, Gangwal had said he would not support the resolution as a loophole in the new structure, which increased the number of board members to 10 from six and assigned them new responsibilities, would end up giving Bhatia more rights than he already had.ET reported last week that he had changed his position and would support the company's proposals.Companies need board approval when the value of a single RPT is more than Rs 100 crore, or 10% of the turnover. But they don't need to seek such approval when the deals are carried out at an arm's length. While none of IndiGo's contracts was worth more than Rs 100 crore, Dutta said the company had not given any special treatment to such deals."There is not a single case where RPT is not at arm's length. All RPTs have been seen by the audit committee as well," CEO Dutta said. On the airline's corporate office in Gurgaon, which was in a building leased from InterGlobe Enterprises, Dutta said the office was close to a metro station and moving it away would mean causing inconvenience to about 2,000 employees.At the AGM, a large number of shareholders raised questions over the dispute between the two promoters. Many of them complained that the developments had impacted the valuation of the company. Some shareholders termed Gangwal's actions as "unfortunate".One of the shareholders wanted Bhatia and Gangwal go on a holiday together for a couple of days and not discuss business.While Bhatia said that he liked the idea, he wanted the shareholder to come along with them.The company management assured shareholders that the issue was over for the company. To conclude, Bhatia said he expected Gangwal to walk the talk. "I hope his actions speak louder than his website."
Ganesh Utsav, Mumbai's main festival and forerunner of hope for the business community, didn't bring much cheer to top bosses at India's biggest infrastructure financier last year. On the eve of the 10-day festival on September 12, the then VC and MD of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), Hari Sankaran, was busy in meetings with top investment bankers, including Credit Suisse's India head Mickey Doshi. The meetings came two weeks after IL&FS reported its first default, and predated the sacking of the board, some members of which would later end up in jail.Unlike in the past, those meetings were not for mandating banks to raise funds, but to sell assets to IL stay afloat. Items on the block included the IL&FS headquarters, a circular building in the heart of Mumbai's financial district housing corporations such as buyout fund Carlyle. The writing was on the wall. The house was on fire.Even as the default of an unlisted blue-chip company sent shockwaves through the financial markets and threatened to engulf the system, New Delhi sacked the board and named billionaire Uday Kotak to fix the mess. At least, the action calmed the nerves.More of the sameTwelve months later, the picture remains equally cheerless – dislocated financial markets, risk-averse mutual funds, wary investors, a fragile NBFC industry, and an economy where businesses are shuttering in the absence of credit, leading to worker layoffs. And not a penny of the Rs 1 lakh crore of dues has been repaid."The 1992 securities scam, after two decades, is unresolved and not untangled," says Nilesh Shah, managing director at Kotak Mutual Fund. "Our success came in Satyam where a practical solution created value for employees, shareholders, lenders and the country."What IL&FS leaves in the wake of its destruction are weaker banks, mutual funds, pension funds, and many more institutions. It has 348 subsidiaries and associates with operations spread from Spain to China and innumerable offices dotting the globe. Businesses range from sanitation projects to multilane highways to thermal power projects, and solar parks.The sheer complexity of the operations and the lack of legal mechanism coupled with divergent interests pulling on all sides, any resolution of the IL&FS crisis could take years before the last creditor is paid off. After all, it took nearly a decade to settle claims in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. "In large cases like IL&FS, banks are expected to go in for faster resolution wherein the promoters have to make sacrifices and banks as well will deal with it appropriately," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das told ET in an interview. 70868074 A cobweb of companiesKotak, the dealmaker, started with a bang and a plan. He hired advisors Arpwood led by former DSP Merrill Lynch's Rajeev Gupta and Nimesh Kampani's JM Financial to sell off assets. A cash-flow solvency test was carried out to determine the ability to pay back lenders. As many as 157 out of 169 domestic IL&FS entities were categorised under three buckets - Green that could service loans, Amber reasonably sustainable with some financial engineering and Red with little hope. Under Green, the debt was worth Rs 10,472 crore, Amber Rs 16,372 crore, and Red Rs 61,375 crore.Orix of Japan, which is the second largest shareholder in IL&FS, bid to buy the renewable energy assets for a value that would cover the entire debt of Rs 3,800 crore and result in an equity valuation of Rs 500 crore."IL&FS has certain classes of assets which it has built. One category of assets should be grouped together, and an investor should be found who is interested in aggregate assets," says Sridhar Ramachandran, chief investment officer at IndiaNivesh Renaissance Fund that buys distressed assets. "Ultimately, the confidence will come with how quickly the group is able to monetise its assets and bring the cash-flow into the system."While Satyam Computer Services fraud may have been resolved in a record time, the structure of IL&FS and financial dealings make it more complicated. Unlike IL&FS, Satyam did not have market borrowings and a complex corporate structure.As infrastructure threw open opportunities in a country starved of roads, clean drinking water and electricity, it brought in as much procedural complications that became a breeding ground for red tape and corruption.Capital giver and executorWhile at a parent level IL&FS was a lender, it did not stop at that. It began to be a major equity owner in roads, power companies and educational institutions. Much of its debt is equity in operating companies, which would make it difficult to recover as other assets are yet to generate cash. These businesses not only required capital at a project level but had to be ring fenced from other operations. Bureaucracy designed rules in such a way that it led to numerous legal structures for funding that ultimately became a vehicle for corruption.The Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the Delhi Police and tax authorities are all probing various alleged irregularities into the affairs of IL&FS. SFIO alleges the erstwhile management of IL&FS hid non-performing loans, falsified accounts and concealed material information for their benefit.The probe charged former top management, including its long-time chief executive, the reticent but powerful Ravi Parthasarathy, with forming a "coterie" with its auditors and independent directors to defraud the company while running the business as their "personal fiefdom".In a separate probe on credit rating companies, forensic auditor Grant Thornton flagged direct and indirect bribes in the form of sponsoring a football match, property deal and contribution to a trust in lieu of better ratings. The company was triple A until it defaulted. The next day it was junk.While it piled up debt across the spectrum that led to its collapse, its quarrelling shareholders missed an opportunity to save the situation. Its IPO plan did not take off.Shareholders such as Housing Development Finance Corp, Orix of Japan, State Bank of India and Life Insurance Corp after agreeing to buy shares in a rights issue, backed out. Furthermore, an offer from billionaire Ajay Piramal to buy a stake was turned down by LIC demanding Rs 1,150 apiece against Rs 750 a share offered by Piramal.The beginning of the endThe financial services arm of the group – IL&FS Financial Services – defaulted on its commercial paper on August 28 but repaid it within two days. Soon after, on September 4, it defaulted on a Rs 1,000-crore loan to Small Industries Development Bank of India. That sent mutual fund managers into a huddle on what could be in store for the rest if a triple A-rated company such as IL&FS defaulted. 70868080 As fund managers began to inspect their own books, they realised that the NBFC party has been going on for quite a while and that the punchbowl was being taken away.The excesses of a bull market began to unravel. Many of the NBFCs have been borrowing for short term in the market, mainly in commercial papers (CPs), and lending to home builders and buyers for five to 20 years. The next big jolt came from mortgage firms when Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) began its slide.On September 21, its triple A-rated bonds traded at an yield of 11% inflicting mark-to-market losses on its mutual fund portfolio. What began as a liquidity issue was beginning to emerge as a solvency issue. DHFL has since defaulted and is likely to inflict losses on lenders with a haircut of as much as 35%."A realisation dawned on how these guys were funding themselves," says Romesh Sobti, managing director at IndusInd Bank. "When growth was good at 20-30%, these guys got good valuations. Suddenly everybody woke up to the ALM (asset-liability mismatch) issue which brought in risk aversion."With mutual funds turning their backs on NBFCs, cost of funding climbed. The cost of funds for NBFCs has increased 60 basis points despite a 110-basis points reduction in repo rate by the Reserve Bank of India.The slowing of the economy reflects in the economic growth rate that fell to a five-year low. Data due this week may show that the economy grew 5.7% in the quarter ended June, below the 5.8% pace seen in the previous three months. Car sales were the worst in 19 years in July, with shipments falling 31%.Policy reactionAs the credit markets froze and shut out many lenders, the industry began to feel the pinch. With that came the chorus that a special liquidity package was needed to bail out NBFCs and prevent the crisis from snowballing into a larger solvency issue.But policy makers led by the then Governor Urjit Patel and his deputy Viral Acharya stuck to their stance that imprudent business practices were at the heart of the trouble and the market should be allowed to correct itself, failing which it would be bailing out bad behaviour.When Das succeeded Patel, there was hope. But he stuck to his predecessor's stance on special package for the industry."The liquidity window is a misnomer. The RBI cannot be giving clean money, unsecured money to NBFCs," Das told ET in an interview. "We have also interacted with the banks and they are trying to find market-based solutions to the problems like bringing in additional promoter equity, initiating stake sale, securitisation of assets."But Das was generous with nearly 110-bps reduction in interest rates and pushing liquidity to surplus."RBI and the government have been trying to come out with policies helping NBFCs to get over the crisis to restart credit delivery," said Umesh Revankar, MD and CEO, Shriram Transport Finance.As equity valuations fell from stratosphere, firms such as Piramal Enterprises have cut down their dependence on CPs and raised longterm funds. DHFL and Reliance Capital of Anil Ambani sold many businesses, including mutual funds."Well, there's an understanding that the funding model needs to change… too much dependence on short-term funds is unsustainable," says TT Ram Mohan, professor of finance at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. "The regulator has plans to introduce norms for improved liquidity at NBFCs. So, yes, some important lessons have been drawn."The RBI and the government have announced several sops to restore confidence in the NBFC sector. Without announcing any bailout package or giving a liquidity window for the sector, it has relaxed securitisation norms, eased priority sector norms, provided partial credit guarantee, reduced rates, and recapitalised public sector banks to support growth. The Finance Bill 2019 has given powers to RBI to restructure NBFCs.The collapse of IL&FS not only exposed imprudent business practices at the NBFCs, but also the lack of a legal framework to handle a financial market crisis. Although the government was able to enact a bankruptcy law for businesses in general, the special reform measure for the financial sector like something on the line of the FRDI Bill has been left out.Absence of specific laws to resolve a financial services bankruptcy is also being felt. "It's hard to see that banks or systemically important NBFCs can be resolved along the same lines as non-financial companies," says Ram Mohan of IIM. "There are issues of systemic stability involved."Sound policy making is not to let any crisis go waste. Will IL&FS lead to legislation to handle such crises in future?
NEW DELHI: IndiGo on Tuesday said it is scouting for an aircraft to launch direct services to long haul destinations including London. This is the first time the low-cost carrier has issued a statement regarding its plan to launch flights to long-haul markets, and it comes at a time when a void has been created by the grounding of Jet Airways.Until recently, Jet was the only private carrier that was offering flight connections between India and London. National carrier Air India is the other airline."Clearly, at this point we are range limited. (Airbus 321) XLR is a great plane, we think, but that plane cannot reach London. The plane can take us to Seoul and we would be looking at markets like these through XLR," said IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta, adding that the airline is still discussing a model for its wide-body aircraft."We are looking at the plan for wide body. It would not make sense if we launch wide-body aircraft without business class. So, we are discussing every day to ensure what model we follow to make wide-body operations work," Dutta said, adding that executives brainstorm every Tuesday on the issue.Dutta said a large part of Indigo's growth over the next few years will come from international flights. "We are very optimistic about international. We would grow by about 30% annually for the next few years and we expect that half of that growth will go international, half will go domestic," Dutta said.On the domestic market, Dutta said Indigo is connecting through ATRs several smaller cities where Airbus 320s cannot fly.
Mumbai: Mutual funds are not banks and are not around to provide risk capital, said Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman Ajay Tyagi. The capital market regulator's comments come in the wake of criticism against debt mutual funds, which have been blamed for investing in companies beyond their capacity and not following the best risk practices. "There is clear distinction between lending and investing..Mutual funds do not have risk capital and are essentially pass through vehicles wherein NAV(net asset value) ought to reflect the correct value of assets held at any time," Tyagi said at the industry body AMFI's conference on Tuesday.The Sebi chief said the industry needs to adhere to its regulations and play as per the rule book. Some mutual funds were criticized for entering into a standstill agreement with the promoters of Essel Group that allowed delayed repayment. Mutual funds have also sought Sebi's view on whether they can be part of the inter-creditor agreement process for resolution of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation.Sebi is in the process of examining the issue, Tyagi had said earlier.Sebi said based on its study of liquid schemes, the average holding in liquid instruments in 20% of the instances was less than 5% of AUM (assets under management) as compared to an average net redemption in these schemes of around 19%. "A certain element of self-discipline by the industry could have averted such a situation.The recent events also threw into the spotlight several risky investments made by the industry in the quest for higher yields.The safety of the investment cannot be compromised for want of higher yields,"Tyagi said. In the closed door meeting with mutual funds, Tyagi said during its inspections the regulator noticed that the difference in the TER (total expense ratio) between direct and regular plans is not exactly to the extent of distribution expenses and commission paid."Such practices are not desirable and defeat the very purpose of direct plans.We have recently specified that all fees and expenses charged in a direct plan in percentage terms under various heads including the investment and advisory fee shall not exceed the fees and expenses charged under such heads in a regular plan.This is expected to ensure that the difference in expense ratios between the two plans is not misused for charging additional expenses under other heads," Tyagi said.The regulator has been pushing the industry to promoter direct plans for investors to benefit from lower TER.Tyagi also said mutual fund trustees are not expected to be passive participants."Where there are concerns and lapses, we expect the trustees to step up their efforts as the first level gatekeepers,take remedial steps and immediately make necessary intimations to SEBI and not wait for SEBI to step in and take corrective measures,"Tyagi said.
Perhaps nobody was more surprised to hear that China had called President Donald Trump's administration to restart trade talks than the government in Beijing itself.After a weekend of confusing signals, Trump's credibility has become a key obstacle for China to reach a lasting deal with the U.S., according to Chinese officials familiar with the talks who asked not to be identified. Only a few negotiators in Beijing see a deal as actually possible ahead of the 2020 U.S. election, they said, in part because it's dangerous for any official to advise President Xi Jinping to sign a deal that Trump may eventually break.In off-the-cuff remarks to reporters at the Group of Seven summit in France on Monday, Trump claimed that Chinese officials called "our top trade people" and said "let's get back to the table." In subsequent appearances he portrayed the outreach as evidence China was desperate to make a deal: "They've been hurt very badly, but they understand this is the right thing to do."It all made for splashy headlines and momentarily boosted stocks, but nobody in Beijing officialdom appeared to know what he was talking about. Even worse, his efforts to depict China as caving in negotiations actually confirmed some of their worst fears about Trump: that he can't be trusted to cut a deal."Trump's flip flop has further enlarged the distrust," said Tao Dong, vice chairman for Greater China at Credit Suisse Private Banking in Hong Kong. "This makes a quick resolution nearly impossible."Two Chinese officials likened the country's approach to the U.S. during the Korean War, saying it consisted of fighting while talking, and using fights to speed up talks. China has prepared contingency plans in case of a no-deal scenario, three officials said, including putting U.S. companies on its unreliable entity list and stimulating the economy.China's foreign ministry on Tuesday again said it was unaware of the phone calls mentioned by Trump, reiterating a statement immediately after his remarks. One of the first to call out Trump was Hu Xijin, chief editor at the Communist Party-backed Global Times newspaper, who said Monday that the U.S. president was exaggerating the significance of low-level talks and China's position hadn't changed.While officials in Beijing are still willing to engage in trade talks, they are concurrently girding for a decoupling from the world's biggest economy -- an effort made all the more acute when Trump "ordered" U.S. companies via Twitter to look for alternatives to China. After trade talks broke down in May, Xi renewed calls for China to pursue "self-reliance" in key technologies and even called on citizens to join a "new Long March.""A gradual decoupling is happening de facto because companies have to make alternative plans when there's so much uncertainty," said Tim Stratford, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China and a former assistant U.S. trade representative.The conflict has inflicted pain on China, exacerbating the slowest economic expansion in almost three decades as authorities also seek to keep a lid on debt and financial stability risks. Still, officials have room to loosen policy further: The central bank last week unveiled a major reform designed to help lower borrowing costs, and the government is considering allowing provinces to issue more bonds for infrastructure investment.Politically, Xi doesn't have much wiggle room to indulge Trump. Hardliners have become more emboldened each time Trump has shattered a temporary truce and hit China harder, from raising tariffs to blacklisting leading tech company Huawei Technologies Co.While China has been open to a deal that includes greater purchases of U.S. agriculture goods, it's politically unfeasible for Xi to sign off on an agreement that leaves the punitive tariffs in place. He also can't agree to privatize parts of the economy that are crucial to the Communist Party's grip on power, such as certain state-owned enterprises.Party Legitimacy"For China, it is about legitimacy of the Party's rule -- economic performance and nationalism, especially about the rise of the Chinese people on the world stage," said Suisheng Zhao, executive director of the Center for China-U.S. Cooperation at the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies. "Both are at stake, and China can't afford to lose. China is not likely to make any substantial concessions currently."For now, the two sides are technically supposed to meet next month to resume trade talks. From China's perspective, progress primarily depends on Trump's political calculations heading into the 2020 election -- and even then they will want iron-clad reassurances he makes good on his word.Trump may be realizing that his China-bashing will be "disastrous" for the U.S. economy and American companies, according to Charles Liu, a former economic negotiator with the Chinese delegation at the United Nations and founder of Hao Capital."The only thing that conceivably has changed is that Trump is under a lot of pressure to make a deal -- not the Chinese, Trump," Liu said. "The Chinese position will be that if you want to talk, the door is always open, but this bullying is not going to be helpful for the discussion."
BENGALURU: SoftBank-backed Automation Anywhere plans to invest $100 million over three-five years to expand its capacities in India with the country emerging as the second largest market for the company.The robotic process automation (RPA) major said it would set up more research and development centres in India and focus on training more people in automation, apart from creating a partner ecosystem to boost automation.So far, the company has raised more than $500 million, while $300 million was raised in the latest round through a SoftBank Vision Fund investment.As part of the expansion plan, Automation Anywhere would strengthen its presence in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Vadodara and open new offices in Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.Currently, the company has three engineering centres in India – two in Bengaluru and one in Vadodara. It also plans to open a new product engineering centre in Pune by the end of 2019 to expand its R&D footprint.
MUMBAI: Captains of India Inc. took home about 16% more in average salary last year, even as corporate earnings remained tepid, as companies sought to retain their managing directors and chief executive officers to steer them through a difficult business environment.That was higher than the 9-9.5% average industry salary increase, sparking concerns over the wide pay gap between those at the helm and other employees."People want to hold on to good talent in an uncertain business climate. If there is continuity, it makes sense," said Harsh Goenka, chairman of the RPG Group, citing the volatile scenario in India and globally as a possible reason for CEOs bagging more increases than the average. "There is also a dearth of talent at the top, which could be one of the factors."The average pay of MDs and CEOs of companies in FY19 was Rs 6.39 crore compared with Rs 5.53 crore in FY18 and Rs 4.49 crore in FY17, according to an ET analysis of CEO salaries, excluding promoters. The data is based on the published annual reports of 90 BSE500 companies, including sector front liners such as ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life Insurance, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals.A total of Rs 549.41 crore was paid to 90 CEOs and MDs in FY19 compared with Rs 475.62 crore a year earlier. The amount includes basic pay, perquisites, variable pay and commissions, excluding stock options. 70867959 Multiple Factors at Play"The nomination and remuneration committees are extremely conscious about rewarding people in terms of pay for performance. What we are trying to bring in is to link up the pay and reward not just to one single-year performance but for an entire cycle to make the person more accountable," said Shailesh Haribhakti, chairman of audit and accounting company Haribhakti & Co.Going by Aon's annual Salary Increase Survey in India published this year, India Inc. employees got an average salary hike of 9.5% in 2018 and can expect a 9.7% increase this year."We are trying to reduce the gap and are conscientious about not just the top guy but the whole team being rewarded," said Haribhakti, an independent director in many Indian companies.Anurag Malik, partner, people advisory services at EY, was of the view that CEO/MD salaries should be compared with those of others after removing the impact of variable pay and the value of stock options. "These typically form a much larger proportion at the CEO/MD level," he said, adding that "one also needs to check what percentage of this was on account of renegotiation of contracts, as the typically year-on-year growth in CEO/MD salary is relatively lower."HR viewHuman resource consultants and search industry experts said there could be multiple factors at play, including demand-supply of leadership executives, indispensability of current leadership to meet business goals and vulnerability of companies losing their top executives, in addition to performance, roles and responsibilities."I don't see any reprieve in the CEO compensation," said R Suresh, founder of boutique executive search firm Insist. "The CEO takes responsibility of the entire company to make it function effectively and will not fall even in a recessionary market."In difficult economic environments, companies would want to retain their high-performing CEOs who get more job offers than others. "Even in an absolute bad market, I am not sure if CEO compensation will drop," said K Sudarshan, managing partner at EMA Partners India. "It is also a function of demand and supply. You cannot hire high-performing CEOs at lower cost."Experts said there are no fixed norms for CEO salaries and the rules can't be the same for employees at other levels. Salary renegotiations can take place every year, depending on a company's requirements and the business environment."CEO is like a medicine for a company and no company ever thinks of cutting the CEO package," said Suresh.Salaries of CEOs are relatively more linked to company performance than the remuneration paid to other whitecollar employees, which is more a factor of market trends and a company's capacity to pay, compensation experts said.
Mumbai: RoRo service by December, hovercraft expected by Jan '20 The first vessel, which will be operationalised on the route and cost Rs 50 crore, will be brought from Greece after the agreement is signed.
Ahmedabad: Civil hospital doctors remove mucous cyst from infant Doctors said that such cases are observed in about 2-3 persons out of 1,000, however, it is rarely seen in new-borns.
Mumbai ka Manifesto: Original inhabitants want reservation and partnership in city's development Kolis or the fishermen community, the original inhabitants of the city, are feeling ignored. The primary reason is the lack of hearing from public authorities on issues that affect their, life, livelihood and the way they live.
Mumbai's 'richest' Ganpati insured for Rs 266.65 crore The mandal has even taken care of its devotees as every visitor will have total coverage of Rs 20 crore.
Maharashtra: Smuggled liquor seized by excise cops State excise officials are also on the lookout for two individuals, one based in Surat and the other in Mumbai, who are alleged to be the kingpins.
Gujarat Education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama files plea to be witness in poll win case The request by the minister was made in connection with an election petition filed by Congress leader Ashwin Rathod against his Assembly poll victory from Dholka constituency.
Mumbai: Cops hunt honcho after 2 drug seizures According to the Meghwadi police, earlier this month, the police had seized 43 boxes of Phencyrex syrup which contained total 5160 bottles and four boxes of Cefrex syrup which had 480 bottles.
Mumbai Police switches to new, 'more accessible' online interface The new website has introduced new features and the police claims that the as per the directions of government of Maharashtra, the latest version is bilingual offering content in English and Marathi language.
Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank compromised fiscal prudence for politics: NABARD NABARD raises alarm over bank's questionable decisions on loan disbursements
Odisha teacher dances his way to kids' lessons The clip, that is now going viral on social media, was captured in Lamtaput upper primary school of Odisha's Koraput district.
Jharkhand: Woman beat up by mob for suspected kidnapping The police, who came in to rescue the woman, Lilavati Devi, also faced attacks by the mob and had the windows of their vehicle broken due to stone-pelting.
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